USA - Canned Whining About Obama's Cuba Policy

Editorial: Rubio on wrong side of Cuba policy changes Wednesday, February 4, 2015 5:44pm Sen. Marco Rubio has a new Senate chairmanship but the same old tired perspective on Cuba. The new chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere was at it again this week, criticizing President Barack Obama for the promising diplomatic overture he launched with Cuba. Rubio is out of touch with the public and on the wrong side of history, and his views hurt the cause of democracy in Cuba and the interests of Floridians. The Republican senator used the first congressional hearing since Obama announced a shift in Cuba policy to proclaim that he was "pretty convinced" the move would not lead to positive change. That's not startling from a lawmaker who has clung to the falsehood that 54 years of isolation is working. But it's irresponsible from a Senate chairman mulling a run for president and whose home state is an outsized player in the Cuba debate that stands to gain economically from an improvement in relations. Obama announced a further loosening of restrictions on Cuba in December, expanding legal travel to the island, increasing the amount of money that could be sent to Cuban nationals and authorizing new commercial exports to the island. Though only Congress can end the U.S. trade embargo, the steps by the administration will increase contacts between the two nations, giving those in the communist state more exposure to Western ideals. [Eyeroll.  Hey, they chose in favour of communism, rather than 'Western ideals', of which they were aware.] The president is also moving to re-establish diplomatic ties with Cuba, including opening an embassy in Havana. Improving diplomatic relations would have immediate benefits, enabling the two sides to better coordinate everything from drug interdiction efforts and disaster relief to immigration matters and oil spills in the gulf. The new trade provisions will help more Cuban families who are struggling to survive. They also will build Cuba's nascent private sector and help open up society by clearing the way for new communications between the two countries. These efforts take time, and it is no easy haul to overcome the suspicions on both sides after a half-century as enemies. But that's what isolation brought. It's been a painful lesson for decades, but the American public has come around, and so have Cuban-Americans in Florida. Polls show a majority of Americans support opening ties to Cuba. That's also the view of the large and influential Cuban-American community in South Florida. The Cuba Poll at Florida International University, which is the longest-running research project to track Cuban-American opinion in South Florida, found last year that two-thirds of those polled favored diplomatic ties with Cuba, while a slim majority opposed the embargo. The younger generation opposed the embargo by nearly a two-thirds majority. These are the voices Rubio needs to recognize and Congress needs to hear. There are serious differences separating the Cuban and American governments, and Cuba has a long way to go on human rights and economic freedom. But it's senseless to pursue a course that hasn't worked for a half-century and oppose positive reforms because they come from a Democrat in the White House. http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-rubio-on-wrong-side-of-cuba-policy-changes/2216420 COMMENT Politicians sound like complete wastes of space, and it's beyond me how anybody has the tolerance to listen to this crap day, in and day out, like it means anything. Here's more from Rubio and Bob Menendez: Politicians Against The U.S.-Cuba Deal Miss The Point — It Was, Absolutely, A Failed Policy http://www.bustle.com/articles/54787-politicians-against-the-us-cuba-deal-miss-the-point-it-was-absolutely-a-failed-policy Wondered why such an anti-Cuban (or is that an anti-Obama?) headline, so checked out Bustle: Bustle, a site for women, raises $15.5 million The new round, led by General Catalyst, brings the young company’s total capital raised to $27 million and is the latest in a line of high-profile venture capital investments in digital media companies. Bustle, a digital publication aimed at young women, has raised $15.5 million in venture funding led by General Catalyst. The company, founded in 2013, has raised a total of $27 million in venture funding to date. Existing investors Time Warner Investments, Rothenberg Ventures, 500 Startups, and The Social+Capital Fund participated. ... Bryan Goldberg, Bustle’s founder and chief executive ... Time Warner [fortune=stock symbol=”TWX”] ... acquired Goldberg’s previous company, Bleacher Report, for less than $200 million in 2012. http://fortune.com/2014/12/18/bustle-raises-15-5-million/ General Catalyst Partners is an American venture capital firm. Nothing jumps out at me, apart from biggish money and probable neocon investors. 'Bustle' is a crappy name for a site aimed at women.