Saturday, June 17, 2017

Trump days of reckoning, ahead ... by gimleteye


Trump was in Miami yesterday, "God how I love Miami". But Miami didn't vote for Trump. Cuban American hard liners, did. By any yardstick, yesterday's Pruning of Obama Iniatives to bring US Cuba relations into the 21st century was a blatant show of wishing to run the rehabilitation of the Cuban economy through their own cash machines.

Why else dictate (as Marco Rubio said) change in Cuba from Miami? 97% of Cubans APPROVE of the steps Obama took to normalize relations between the US and Cuba. BTW, in the case of Myanmar or China, has Trump also blocked US business investments with companies whose shareholders are tied to the military? Or arms sales to Qatar whose military may be providing covert support to radical Islamic terrorists?

No. Trump desperately needs friends, and Marco Rubio will cut a deal with anyone so long as it advances his own power. Rick Scott? In the jumper seat. Both see Trump as an opportunity: they can climb this ladder.

Trump would be happy to cut a deal for Cuba -- putting Miami Cuban American Republicans in charge of partitioning Cuba -- , but the most incoherent, chaotic presidency in US history is unlikely to include that story line unless of course Trump partitions Florida & Cuba to Marco Rubio, Rick Scott, and the Diaz Balarts.

Meanwhile in the real Fort Dodge, Trump has problems. Big ones. The kind that has his lawyers, hiring their own lawyers. Esquire Magazine's Charles Pierce hits the nail on the head: From Esquire yesterday.

Former FBI Director Robert Mueller "... isn't some roofing specialist that you can stiff and then drag through the courts until he can't afford the trip any more. He isn't someone you can scare off with your usual gang of billable-hour button men. He isn't some dingy Russian banker who can float you a loan to tide you over. He is honest and respected and relentless, and the only way you're going to get rid of him is to fire him. In a way, the country is daring you to do that, just to see if you have the stones for what comes next, and (possibly) as the last excuse it needs to insist on a new president. Go ahead. Make our day."
For a long time, I didn't believe that the president* would bring all this down on himself just to hide the fact that he isn't as rich as he says he is, but now I'm less sure. I think, maybe, that's what's at the bottom of everything else. I think he isn't that rich, so he and the family business allegedly needed freshly laundered Russian money to keep the business—and his image—afloat. Then, of course, the bill came due from Moscow, and that required another set of malodorous transactions which, in turn, required that they be concealed by another set of malodorous transactions, including the firing of James Comey, and so on.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Let me be clear, plenty of Cuban Americans in South Florida, both Republicans and Democrats voted against Trump and refuse to be complicit to Trump's ongoing charade. Secondly, Marco Rubio was born in the U.S. and his family migrated here prior to the Cuban revolution so his relatives were never shot, imprisoned, exiled or interned in concentration camps by Castro as most Cuban Americans have and Rubio has never gone hungry for a single day. The last thing is neither Rubio nor Diaz Ballart have a cohesive understanding of the Cuban saga and their so called efforts are self serving at best. These new "changes" are cosmetic at best and fed to a peanut gallery of old Cuban Americans who continue to hold a grudge against all things Cubans. If Trump wanted to do something benefitial for the Cuban people he should work on ending the embargo, he should return Guantanamo base to Cuba, he should cut the 25,000 family visas to Cubans fleeing the island who come here and receive every benefit known to mankind only to be in Cuba six months later to flaunt their newly found wealth. Just like the Castros, this entrenched group of old Cubans will soon pass on and hopefully Cuba will choose its own path to freedom without U.S. interference and the likes of greedy politicians.

Anonymous said...

Great lines in the Esquire piece by Charles Pierce:

“shit hasn't been anything but real there ever since the country determined it would be best led for the next four to eight years by a vulgar talking yam.”

"In any event, it appears that we're all going to get a crash course in the crooked side of high finance—like we need another one of those—and in identifying all the various fauna in the wild kingdom of the international real estate game. I love those teachable moments. Truly, I do."

http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a55668/mueller-trump-money-russia/

Anonymous said...

I grew up in Cuba, a child of the revolution, "a new man", as they taught us from the day we first attended, "el círculo" (day care). Pretty early on I learned the joke that we would always beat "la Yuma" (the US) because Americans were so stupid, so gullible and of course, the ultimate Cuban pejorative, "complete comemierdas". I didn't believe it because the dream of every Cuban youth is to escape that hell hole and reach the United States. I finally achieved my dream. I studied, became a professional and have never gone back.

A couple of years ago, a friend told me about this site as an example of how true our lessons had been, that Americans are so gullible, so
Incredibly stupid, to actually believe all of the Cuban propaganda. I read your columns and I am sad to see it is true. Not all of course, but a large number of Americans do believe all the crap Cuba feeds you. Nothing they say is true! The blockade, el bloqueo, as they call the embargo has nothing to do with the poverty in Cuba. The "mayimbes" (the ruling class) are millionaires. They live in mansions, have servants and have all the food and luxuries of the world. It is the people who are forced to find food every day so they don't have time to think about fighting. Stop believing the crap! Stop helping communism! When the US falls, there will not be anywhere else to go!

Anonymous said...

I'm so very tired of the Cuban elite of Miami thinking they speak for the entire population of exiles and families of exiles both here and on the island. Many of these elitists were Batista supporters and stole their land and riches back before Fidel's revolution. Remember, these things do not occur in a vacuum. A coup d'etat is precipitated by an unjust government.

MacontheRock said...

I find it duplicitous and cowardly to makes claims of what the Cuban Diaspora means to you with an anonymous attribution. I was born in the United States in 1964 my name Manuel Cambó. I can honestly say although Trump did not tighten the choke hold on Raul Castro he left the possibility to go further if he hears crickets from the regime. Who are you to sit there in the upper stands criticizing the actors in leading roles doing something anything while you do nothing but expose yourself as lapdog appeaser for tyranny? Are you upset your recent travel plans were canceled? Or offended that as an Obama supporter of Visa Mastercard and AMEX access to the Regime did get eliminated even though the cruise passengers must have cash on hand and lose 30% on the exchange for "convertibles"? You just another politically bipolar liberal.

Anonymous said...

Havana will never be won from the safe comfort in Miami.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous above, YES. That is very correct.

Mr. MacontheRockRampage (not sure what that name implies), what is it you think is a "chokehold?" The embargo has NOT worked. It never did. The great majority of Cuban-Americans, not just in Miami, favor a more open relationship with the Castro regime. And I'm pretty sure those polled span across the political spectrum.

"lapdog appeaser for tyranny?"

You mean like 45 is to Putin and Duterte and the Saudis and many others?

"Are you upset your recent travel plans were canceled?"

If I ever traveled to Cuba, I would not do so on a cruise ship or to a resort. It would be to visit and commingle with the locals. In fact, I was in the process of planning a trip to do exactly that. But now that Trump has said I can only travel there with a tour group, I have decided to abandon those plans. The "tour group" requirement only serves the Castro regime. They will only take visitors to approved areas and sites leaving little or no opportunity to truly explore and meet the real people of Cuba. That is a shame. All of the popular hotels are owned by the military. The new rules say an American cannot spend money at these places. Where is it you think the organized tour groups will house guests? The policy makes no sense whatsoever but then again, nothing 45 does makes any sense. He is relying on the elites to craft this policy. Sadly, the elites are still living in the 60s post revolution world. Their primary mission is to take back the land their families stole under Batista that were subsequently stolen by Castro.

And to be sure, these elites chose to abandon their country at a most crucial time. Instead of sticking around and fighting for their homeland, they left. But they were sure to take as much of their stolen wealth as possible. That sir was the epitome of cowardice.

"Or offended that as an Obama supporter of Visa Mastercard and AMEX access to the Regime did get eliminated even though the cruise passengers must have cash on hand and lose 30% on the exchange for "convertibles""

Utter gibberish here.

Anonymous said...

From Mike Rosenthal:

Yesterday Trump came to Miami and announced that he was "canceling completely" Obama's changes in Cuba policy. When you read Trump's policy, you will find:
1. The authorization of cruise ships to sail to Cuba has not changed.
2. The opening of regularly scheduled commercial flight service to Cuba has not changed.
3. The resumption of direct mail service to Cuba has not changed.
4. The renewal of diplomatic relations with Cuba has not changed.
5. The U.S. Embassy in Havana remains open.
6. The removal of Cuba from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism has not changed.
7. Obama's ending of the wet foot/dry foot policy has not changed.
8. The expanded cultural, athletic and educational exchanges under Obama remain in place.
9. The permission to make purchases from the Cuban private sector has not changed.
10. Obama's bilateral agreements to cooperate on narcotics trafficking, cancer research and protection of marine environments remain in place.
Trump is halting individual people-to-people travel and stopping most business dealings with entities controlled by the Cuban military. Calling these changes a complete cancellation of Obama's policy is just another in his long list of lies. For the record, I am not saying the few changes Trump made are right or wrong, just pointing out his dishonesty.

Anonymous said...

The people who are in Cuba will determine their future. The ex-Cubans who are here are now Americans. When the going got rough they cut and ran when their country needed them the most!

Anonymous said...

Cuban democracy must be won from inside the island not with measures imposed by foreign governments. The trouble is that the Castro regime has been very efficient in eliminating any opposition by either executing, imprisoning or sending into exile anyone who opposes that draconian style of government. The cream of Cuban society, the thinkers, the patriotic families who fought Castro were destroyed long ago. The U.S. government should have learned by now that an economic embargo on Cuba serves only to bring additional Cuban economic refugees to these shores. Now that diplomatic relations have been reestablished (just as with China and Vietnam Nam), the embargo is just a symbolic act utilized by politicians as a standing stump for heated speeches with little bite. Do us all a favor, lift the embargo and let anyone foolish enough to lend monies or permit the Cuban government to purchase goods on credit. Give back the Guantanamo Base Area which belongs to Cuba not the U.S. and follow that up by not letting one more Cuban citizen migrate to the U.S. until democracy is reached. Let Cuban citizens fix their own issues on their own soil. This family feud has gone on long enough.