Back to Basics

A painting of Che Guevara subtitled “Revolucion!” by a Mexican–American artist was on display for over three months at the International Airport in Reno, Nevada, USA. On May 9th it was taken down by airport officials as originally scheduled. Complaints by outraged airport patrons had nothing to do with this removal.

“The painting of Ernesto “Che” Guevara will remain on display through May 9 with the other nearly 100 items in the employee art exhibit,” was how airport spokesman Brian Kulpin answered the complaints.”

Ernesto “Che” Guevara scorned Mexicans as “a rabble of illiterate Indians,” jailed artists at a higher rate than Stalin, co-founded the terrorist movement that pulled off among the first and deadliest airplane hijackings in the Western Hemisphere, and craved to nuke the USA.

In November 1958 Cubana Airlines Flight 495 from Miami to Varadero was hijacked at gunpoint by terrorists belonging to Castro and Che’s July 26th Movement. The plane crashed in Cuba killing 14 passengers. Che’s glowing face greeted thousands of passengers boarding their flights at Reno-Tahoe Airport. How very thoughtful of airport officials!

Actually, in the interest of historical accuracy, I should clarify that Che Guevara’s anti-American blood-lust could have been slaked only by nuking the American patrons of this American airport born before 1962. So he mostly craved to nuke the parents and grandparents of the Americans who patronize, run and fund Reno-Tahoe International Airport. This obviously includes those who awarded 1st place in the airport’s Employee Art contest to the Che Guevara iconography on prominent display for over three months.

Earlier this month an American of Cuban heritage who lives in Nevada was the first to complain about the painting, but as usual, to no avail. “Artistic freedom” trumped him to a pulp, as explained by airport officials, and further rationalized by Linda Curcio, chairwoman of the University of Nevada history department.

“Linda Curcio said she was not surprised that a Cuban American such as Paz would be concerned about an image of Guevara,” explained the AP story.

“For him, (Guevara) means the Castro regime,” she said.

“Guevara’s military tactics (italics mine) led to the deaths of thousands during revolutions in Cuba, Bolivia and other South American nations. But his beliefs on communism and Latin America’s stance in the world appealed to anti-establishment college students in the 1960s, and his iconic image has been portrayed on posters, T-shirts and murals since his death, Curcio said.”

“Radical college students may have had posters in a dorm room or worn a beret like (Guevara),” Curcio said. “He was connected to the idea of useful revolt and revolution. For (the artist) it may not be about Cuba. It may be about (Guevara) and student revolt in the U.S.”

Leave it to a history department chairman to recite the Castro-concocted talking points on Che Guevara almost flawlessly.

For any University of Nevada students who read Townhall, here’s some talking points for any question and answer sessions after your next lecture by professor Linda Curcio:

“In fact, professor Curcio, according to the U.S. embassy, the total military casualties on both sides of the anti-Batista skirmishing in Cuba from 1956-59 actually ran to 152. New Orleans has an annual murder rate double that.

“In 1970, a Senator from Wisconsin named Gaylord Nelson raised his voice and called on every American to take action on behalf of the environment,” read President Obama’s Earth Day proclamation two years ago. “In the four decades since, millions of Americans have heeded that call and joined together to protect the planet we share.”

Well, I’ve got news for our President. Millions of Americans who had never heard of Gaylord Nelson “took action on behalf of the environment,” decades before the good Senator “raised his voice.” More newsworthy still, most of these belonged to those insufferable rustics who “cling to guns and bibles.” To wit:

The Pittman-Robertson Act (1937) imposed an excise tax of 10 per cent on all hunting gear. Then the Dingell-Johnson act (1950) did the same for fishing gear. The Wallop-Breaux amendment (1984) extended the tax to the fuel for boats. All of this lucre goes to “protect the environment” in the form of buying and maintaining National Wildlife Refuges, along with state programs for buying and maintaining various forms of wildlife habitat.

For the last couple of decades hunters and fishermen have contributed over $1.5 billion per year towards Senator Gaylord Nelson’s lofty goal. To date, hunters and fisherpersons have shelled out over $20 billion “on behalf of the environment.” A study by the National Shooting Sports Foundation found that for every taxpayer dollar invested in wildlife conservation, hunters and fishermen contribute nine.

So please note: to “preserve nature,” they don’t tax Birkenstock hiking boots and Ying-Yang pendants – but do tax my shotgun. They don’t tax Yoga manuals and Tofu tid-bits wrapped in recycled paper – but do tax my 30.06 deer rifle. They don’t tax binoculars or birding Field Guides with cutesy photos of the red-cockaded woodpecker and spotted Owl – but do tax the shotgun shells I blast at Mallards before arraying on my grill as Duck-K-Bobs (cooked rare and lovingly basted with plenty of butter, Cajun seasoning and teriyaki sauce).

Going further, they don’t tax Kayaks and rock climbing picks and ropes – but do tax my compound bow and rifle scope. They don’t tax the plastic water bottles on Mountain bikes (or the mountain bike itself, come to think of it) or the cutesy spandex shorts these yo-yos wear – but do tax my duck decoys and camo pants. They don’t tax Yanni and Enya CDs – but do tax the arrows I fling at Bambi before he sizzles on my grill as Bambi-burger (lovingly draped with thick bacon slices that dribble their appetizing fat into the meat while cooking. Then a chunk of cheddar cheese melted on top.)

You talk about a “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” Jimmy Buffet! Try one from Bambi!

Ten cents of every dollar I spent on my hunting and fishing toys (I’d cite the total but my wife might read this) funds Federal and State “conservation” programs. From my guns and ammo to my duck calls and decoys, from my rods and reels to my lures and gaffs, from my trolling motor to the very fuel for my outboard – ten cents of every dollar in this ghastly expenditure funds habitat for Spotted Owls, Red Cockaded Woodpeckers, Bald Eagles, Ospreys, Manatees, Snail darters, Black-Footed Ferrets, California Condors, Florida Panthers and Sea Otters.

As his audience clapped and squealed like seals last week a smirking Bill Maher gushed that: “Castro is a Bad*ss because we (the U.S.) have been trying to kill him for 60 years!” His trained seals howled and clapped –not at the (alleged) assassination attempts, obviously– but at their failure against the mass-murderer who had craved to nuke them.

Their wisecracking host smirked– not at the (alleged) assassination attempts, obviously—but at his apparent crush on the mass-murderer whose “constitution” mandates two years in prison for any of his subjects overheard wisecracking about him.

Welcome to yet another week of Alice in Castroland. Actually, what Alice found after tumbling down the rabbit hole makes more sense than what we hear and read about Cuba/Castro from the MSM/Hollywood axis almost daily.

Bill Maher has a large and intrepid staff—at least he used to. After arranging my four Politically Incorrect gigs and after spending plenty time in the ABC greenroom with some, I certainly got that impression. If those folks are still around, Bill Maher should have them look up some actual history on U.S. “hostility” to Castro.

“Without U.S. help Castro would never have gotten into power,” flatly testified former U.S. Ambassador to Cuba, Earl T. Smith during Congressional testimony in 1960.

“We ended up getting exactly what we’d wanted all along,” snickered Nikita Khrushchev in his diaries regarding the Cuban-Missile “Crisis” resolution 3 years later. “Until today the U.S. has complied with her promise not to interfere with Castro and not to allow anyone else to interfere with Castro.”

So far from “defying” a superpower, “Bad*ss!” Castro shot, bombed and lied his way to power with the moral and material help of one superpower, and has poked along lo these many years by hiding behind the skirts of two superpowers plus the British Empire. After the Missile Crisis “resolution” Castro’s “defiance” of the U.S. took the form of the Coast Guard of the most powerful nation on earth and even the British Navy (when the genuinely Bad*ss Cuban freedom-fighters moved their operation to the Bahamas) shielding Castro from exile attacks by arresting his Cuban-exile enemies.

While cowering behind the skirts of his omni-powerful bodyguard and Sugar-Daddy “Bad*ss” Castro was free to imprison and torture Cuban women and girls by the thousands, and even murder many. This cowardly totalitarian horror was utterly unknown in our Hemisphere until Castro’s “Macho” rule. The crimes for which some of these girls and ladies were tortured consisted of being overheard saying things about (Bad-*ss!) Fidel Castro similar to those (Bad-*ss!) Bill Maher says about Sarah Palin and Ann Romney almost weekly.

While cowering safely behind these skirts the “Macho Bad*ss!” was also free to murder hundreds of defenseless Cuban children.

Care to meet some GENUINE Cuban Bad*asses, Mr Maher? Many of these same Cuban freedom fighters mentioned above were outnumbered 30 to one and betrayed by their “allies” at the Bay of Pigs (51 years ago this very week.) Yet they fought to their last bullet and thrashed their Soviet led and armed enemies to the tune of 20 to one in casualties. Later they ran Che Guevara out of Africa with his tail between his legs and witnessed his whimpering capture in Bolivia.

Last week Miami Marlin’s manager Ozzie Guillen told Time magazine that he “loves and respects” Fidel Castro. This week, reacting to outrage by Americans of Cuban heritage (i.e. a huge chunk of Marlin ticket-buyers,) the MLB suspended Guillen for five games. Apparently eager to head-off worse retribution (and damage–control ticket sales) on April 19th a moping Guillen issued a groveling apology at a Miami press Conference.

“I am here on my knees,” he whimpered. “I am here to say I am sorry with my heart in my hands…I hurt a lot of people’s feelings. Now I want to apologize because I did the wrong thing. It was a very stupid comment…This is the biggest mistake so far in my life. If I don’t learn from this mistake, then I will call myself dumb.”

As if hailing a Stalinist dictator who jailed political prisoners at a higher rate than Stalin himself during the Great Terror, murdered more Cubans than Hitler murdered Germans during the Night of Long Knives, repeatedly craved to nuke Ozzie’s adopted country and shattered the lives of half of Miami’s families were some kind of offense in this country! (except for ticket-sales.)

Many luminaries in the Democratic party and mainstream media must be snickering at the hapless Ozzie Guillen.

Take the very Time magazine that quoted his “respect” for Fidel Castro. In their “Heroes and Icons” issue Time honors Fidel Castro’s chief hangman Che Guevara as among the most heroic and iconic of the lot, right alongside Anne Frank, Andrei Sakharov, Rosa Parks and Mother Theresa. “This obscure Argentine doctor who abandoned his profession and his native land to pursue the emancipation of the poor…” starts their eulogy. For the record: no record of Ernesto Guevara’s medical degree exists.

Take two-time candidate for the Democratic Presidential nomination Jesse Jackson. “Viva Fidel! Viva Che!” he bellowed while arm in arm with Fidel Castro himself in 1984.

Take Democratic presidential candidate, Presidential Medal of Freedom winner, and “Conscience of the Democratic party,” George Mc Govern: “Fidel Castro is very shy and sensitive, I frankly like him and regard him as a friend.”

Take former President of the United States and official ‘Elder Statesman” of the Democratic party, Jimmy Carter: “Fidel Castro first and foremost is and always has been a committed egalitarian. He wanted a system that provided the basic needs to all — enough to eat, health care, adequate housing and education. Cuba has superb systems of health care and universal education…We greeted each other as old friends.”

Take NBC’s Andrea Mitchell: “Fidel Castro is old-fashioned, courtly–even paternal, a thoroughly fascinating figure!”

Take Dan Rather: “Fidel Castro could have been Cuba’s Elvis!”

Take Barbara Walters: “Castro’s personal magnetism is still powerful, his presence is still commanding. Cuba has very high literacy, and Castro has brought great health care to his country.”

Take CNN founder, Ted Turner: “Fidel Castro is one helluva guy!”

Taken Colin Powell while serving as Sec. of State under George Bush. “Fidel Castro has done some good things for Cuba.”

But actions speak louder than words.

For historical truths you’ll never get from the New York Times, NPR, The History Channel, CNN NBC much less your history professor click on Dancing With The Stars nowadays.

I’m serious, here, at least for recent shows. This week’s show sent hearts-a-thumping and knees-a-knocking from People Magazine to the Hollywood Gossip. The legendary (after only a few weeks on the show ) heartthrob William Levy cranked up the heat on last week’s show when the Cuban refugee ripped his shirt open for a sizzling salsa routine with dance partner Cheryl Burke.

“You are ridiculously HOT!” hyperventilated Judge Carrie Ann Inaba, to the panting couple, who score near the top as we go to press.

But you ladies eager to see more of William Levy in showbiz better hope his agent counsels the soap-star wisely. “Watch your mouth, William!” Let’s hope she’s berating after last week’s show. “Now about that hokey stuff you were saying in the backstage segment. Billy–what’s the matter with you,?!” Granted, you’re fairly new to this country. But serious bloopers like “the best day of my life was the day I came to the United States from Cuba.”—No-NO-NO, Billy boy!”

“You sound like Marco Rubio, Billy! Granted he was born here. So he’s speaking mostly for his parents—but look at the relentless hatchet-jobs against him in the media!

‘Then Cheryl asks you why you came to the U.S. and you answered: “because people have no future in Cuba..It doesn’t matter how much you work in Cuba.” (This from a nation that prior to Castroism took in more immigrants per-capita than did the U.S. Most of these, much like Levy’s own grandparents, were Europeans seeking the well-known “Cuban dream” of the time.)

“Then, Billy, you add insult to injury by telling your dance partner: “In Cuba you get a quarter of a chicken per month. They give you one piece of bread per person a day. So, it makes your life really tough.” (This from a nation that pre-Castro enjoyed the 3rd highest protein consumption in the Western Hemisphere, more doctors and dentists per capita than the U.S., the 13th lowest infant mortality in the world and was net exporter of food.)

“In this country people think Cubans just drive over to their nearest Safeway and buy all the bread they want, Billy. So here you’re telling them that the Stalinist regime mandates their food intake! That’s a low-blow to their fantasies, Billy.”

“And that bit about. “My father was a political prisoner in Cuba.” “Dios mio, Billy!” None of the people who will influence your career give a rat’s derriere about that stuff. Who cares that Castro’s Cuba jailed political prisoners at a higher rate than Stalin! You’re now living in a nation where the tern “that’s history” is a pejorative, Billy. Remember that.

“If you’re gonna mention Cuba at all with media folks, Billy, mentally bookmark this valuable advice–and like Mr McGuire to Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate,I’ll limit it to one word. “Plastics,” Mc Guire famously advised Benjamin.

“Healthcare, I now advise you, Billy.” Now repeat it after me: “Healthcare, healthcare, healthcare.”

‘Got it? “Free and Fabulous healthcare—world-class healthcare. Healthcare that’s the envy of U.S. citizens.” Got it?

“I know, I know I KNOW, Billy! You were born in Cuba.

A few items to keep in mind regarding the MSM version of the Pope’s visit to Cuba this week:

“Viva Christ the King! –Down with Communism!” the defiant yells “made the walls of La Cabana prison tremble,” wrote eyewitness to these firing squad massacres, Armando Valladares, who suffered 22 torture-filled years in Castro’s prisons and was later appointed by Ronald Reagan as U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Human Rights Commission.

The La Cabana prison and killing field wasn’t far from where Pope Benedict gave his speech this week in Havana, while hosted by the killers.

After the patriot’s yell came, “FUEGO!” And the volley shattered another young patriot. By mid 1961 the defiant yells started unnerving the trigger-pullers and many shots were going wild. The coup de grace, recalls some eyewitnesses, was often delivered to a man (or boy) fully conscious, with eyes open, but convulsed in agony. In the early days of Castroite rule Che Guevara himself reveled in applying these final shots. Earlier while in Cuba’s mountains, Raul Castro specialized in gleefully blasting the skulls apart, say eye-witnesses now in exile.

Most patriots murdered in La Cabana were buried in unmarked graves not far from where Pope Benedict gave his speech this week in Havana, hosted by Raul Castro and with a huge Che Guevara image as backdrop.

“Executions?” Che Guevara exclaimed while addressing the hallowed halls of the U.N. General Assembly Dec. 9, 1964. “Certainly we execute!” he declared, to the claps and cheers of that august body. “And we will continue executing as long as it is necessary! This is a war to the death against the revolution’s enemies!”

Catholic youth groups were among the most militant of the Revolution’s enemies and among the first to mount resistance to Castro and Che Guevara’s Stalinization of Cuba. The Soviets then provided Castro’s economic lifeline. So Cuban Catholics be dammed– and jailed, and tortured, and massacred by firing squads. Nowadays tourists and remittances from the U.S. (many from U.S.-based Catholics) provide the largest lifeline to Castro’s Stalinist regime, right behind Venezuelan subsidies. So obviously a propaganda make-over was in order. And what better propaganda than a visit and blessing from the Pope himself, complete with a condemnation of the “Yankee embargo?”

You simply cannot top this kind of PR, even from Madison Avenue.

“Down With Communism!” was heard again this week in Havana. A young Cuban Black attending the Pope’s speech stood and yelled it in front of the stage. Then he was beaten and dragged off. As we go to press his fate is unknown. But don’t look for this incident mentioned anywhere in the MSM. These “reporters” get Castro-accredited Cuban visas, after all. And as a reminder to those who came of political age after the fall of the Iron Curtain, Stalinist regimes do not issue journalist visas randomly. These coveted visas come with conditions.

Offer your dog a doggie treat. Ask him to beg and roll over first—and you’ll see the nature of these conditions.

“Pray to your Jesus Christ NOW-why dontcha! Ask him to help you NOW why dontcha!—Har-Har-Har!” Such were the taunts by the Pope’s hosts when Cuban Catholics were rounded up en masse at Soviet bayonet- point and herded into forced-labor camps in the mid ‘60’s.

“I love Cuba!” bellowed comedian Jim Belushi last week from a Havana stage. The comedian who cashed-in on his comedian brother’s name was giving a stand-up routine as guest of honor of a regime whose “constitution” mandates two years in prison for any subject overheard cracking a joke about his host.

Jim Belushi was basking as Master of Ceremonies of Cuba’s Cigar Festival, which—while auctioning cigars to millionaire and billionaire businessmen from around the world– raised over one million for the regime that jailed, exiled and murdered most of Cuba’s businessmen. Fidel Castro’s son Tony was chuckling from a ringside seat.

Cuba’s tobacco farmers and cigar makers all had their livelihoods stolen at Soviet gunpoint in 1960. The recalcitrant (people who balked armed at having their life’s work stolen by Stalinists.) were sent to firing squads, torture-chambers, forced labor camps and exile. Shortly afterwards Cuba’s Minister of Industries, Ernesto “Che” Guevara “nationalized” and “consolidated” Cuba’s cigar industry.

“Certainly we execute!” beamed Che Guevara at the UN in December 1964. “And we will continue to execute! This is a war to the death against our revolution’s enemies!” Many of these bullet-riddled enemies had simply resisted the armed theft of their family tobacco farms by Che Guevara’s KGB-trained gunmen.

As he chummed it up with regime apparatchiks in Cuba (where the average annual salary is $230) Jim Belushi was fresh from last month’s $38,500-per-plate Obama fundraiser in Beverly Hills where he shared the honors alongside George Clooney.

Note to Jim Belushi’s agent: Your client’s Cuba visit is probably providing more entertainment to many more Cubans, but in more private venues–and more onerously– without proper compensation. To wit:

“My job was to bug visiting celebrity’s hotel rooms,” says high-ranking Cuban intelligence defector Delfin Fernandez. “With both cameras and listening devices. And famous Americans are the priority objectives of Castro’s intelligence,” says Fernandez. “Most people have no idea they are being watched while they are in Cuba. But their personal activities are filmed under orders from Castro himself.”

And according to some sources, Havana, given the desperation of its brutalized and impoverished residents, has recently topped Bangkok as the world mecca for child sex.

“He [Delfin Fernandez] has not only met some of the most famous men in the world,” says the London Daily Mirror about the Cuban defector, “he’s also spied on them and been witness to some of their most innermost secrets.”

“When the celebrity visitors arrived at the hotels Nacional, Melia Habana and Melia Cohiba,” says Fernandez, “we already had their rooms completely bugged with sophisticated taping equipment. But not just the rooms, we’d also follow the visitors around. Sometimes we covered them 24 hours a day. They had no idea we were tailing them.”

Famous Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar was a special target for this bugging, but nothing of value for Castro came of it. “Everybody already knows I’m a maricon!” Almodovar laughed at Castro’s blackmailers. “So go right ahead! Knock yourselves out!”

“Fidel Castro is a special connoisseur of these tapings and videos,” Fernandez says. “Especially of the really famous.”

And not even his closest “friends” are safe from this bugging. The best example is Castro’s longtime “friend” Nobel Prize-winning novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

“I have been affiliated with the Cuba Council of Churches since the 1980s,” boasted Rev. Jeremiah Wright in a sermon on July 16th 2006. “I have several close Cuban friends (italics added) who work with the Cuba Council of Churches and you have heard me preach about our affiliation and the Black Theology Project’s trips to Cuba. The Cuban Council of Churches has been a non-partisan global mission partner for decades. I have worked with them for two decades.”

“Non-partisan,” Reverend Wright? Not according to Cuban intelligence defector Juan Vives, who from hands-on experience reports that the Cuba Council of Churches is in fact an arm of Cuba’s ICAP (Instituto Cubano de Amistad con los Pueblos) itself an arm of Cuba’s KGB-founded and mentored DGI (Directorio General de Inteligencia.) The ICAP’s long-time chieftan was Rene Cruz Rodriguez, by the Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s own admission perhaps one of his “friends.”

Rodriguez’ meteoric rise through Cuba’s Stalinist bureaucracy was facilitated by his diligence as an early executioner, often beating out Che Guevara and Raul Castro themselves in his zeal to shatter the firing-squad victim’s skull with a coup d’ grace from his .45. (Here is some dramatic proof of Rene Cruz Rodriguez’ zeal. That’s him on the right giving the firing squad their order of “FUEGO!”)

On November 5, 1982 a Dade County, Florida, grand jury indicted Rene Rodriguez Cruz for smuggling drugs into the U.S.

This murderer headed a Cuban agency that Jeremiah Wright “worked with for decades” by his own admission, and whose staff he regards as “friends.” These “friends,” arranged the visit for the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s and his 300 person entourage to Havana in 1984, which included Rev. Wright.

“Viva Fidel!” bellowed Reverend Jackson while concluding his speech at the University of Havana during that visit. “Viva Che Guevara! Long live our cry of Freedom!”

“He (Jesse Jackson) is a great personality,” reciprocated a beaming Fidel Castro, “a brilliant man with a great talent, capable of communicating with people, very persuasive, reliable, and honest. Jackson’s main characteristic is honesty. He is sincere and there is not a single bit of demagoguery in his conversations.”

As mentioned, this was summer of 1984, so at the time the world’s longest-suffering black political prisoner suffered his incarceration and tortures in stoic defiance. “Nigger!” taunted his jailers between tortures. “We pulled you down from the trees and cut off your tail!”

I do not refer to Nelson Mandela. No, this prisoner was being tortured a few miles away from the Revs. Jackson, Wright and their entourage of black American luminaries. The prisoner was a black Cuban named Eusebio Penalver and he was being tortured by Reverend Wright’s gracious hosts. Mr Penalver’s incarceration and tortures stretched to 29 years which makes him the longest-suffering black political prisoner in modern history, surpassing Nelson Mandela’s record in time behind bars and probably doubling the horrors suffered by Mandela during this period.

In fact, most who climb to positions of authority in Castro’s regime did so as accomplices in mass-murder. Its part of the deal, named El Compromiso Sangriento (The Blood Covenant.) This tried and true Soviet scheme was presented by Soviet GRU agent Angel Ciutat to Che Guevara just days after he and Fidel entered Havana in January 1959.

“In all essentials, Castro’s battle for Cuba was a media public relations campaign, fought in New York and Washington.” (Paul Johnson, Modern Times)

“Foreign reporters, preferably American, were much more valuable to us than any military victory. Much more valuable than rural recruits for our guerrilla force, were American media recruits to export our propaganda.”(Che Guevara in his diaries)

Castro and Che had it easy back then. The U.S. media recruits for their PR campaign in Washington and New York came in only one model. To wit:

“Fidel Castro is humanist, a man of many ideals including those of liberty, democracy and social justice. (Herbert Matthews, New York Times, Feb. 1957.)

“Castro is honest, and an honest government is something unique in Cuba. Castro is not himself even remotely a Communist.” (Newsweek, April 1959)

“It would be a great mistake even to intimate that Castro’s Cuba has any real prospect of becoming a Soviet satellite.” (Walter Lippmann, Washington Post July, 1959)

Arthur Gardner and Earl Smith were the two U.S. ambassadors to Cuba who warned about Castro’s covert Communism (and thus lost their jobs.) In 1960 they testified under oath to the Media/State Department collusion and campaign that brought Castro to power:

Senator DODD. You have been quoted, Mr. Gardner, as referring to, “Castro worship” in the State Department in 1957. … you are quoted as saying you fought all the time with the State Department over whether Castro merited the support or friendship of the United States. Would you explain….

Mr Gardner: “I feel it very strongly, that the State Department was influenced, first, by those stories by (the New York Times’) Herbert Matthews, and soon (support for Castro) became kind of a fetish with them.”

Senator Dodd: (in preparation for his post) your successor as Ambassador to Cuba, Earl Smith was actually (sent by his State Dept. superiors) to be briefed by New York Times’ Herbert Matthews?

Mr. GARDNER. “Yes, that is right.”

Senator Eastland: “Mr Smith, you had been warning the State Department that Castro was a Marxist?’

Mr. Smith: “Yes, sir….

Senator Eastland: “Would you say that the American Government then, including all of its agencies, was largely responsible for bringing Castro to power?”

Mr Smith: “The State Department played a large part in bringing Castro to power. The press, and other Government agencies (CIA), members of Congress are also responsible..”

Believe it or not the 1960 presidential debates were mostly about foreign policy, Cuba and Fidel Castro in particular. In wistful moments I imagine Breitbart, Limbaugh, Townhall, Fox News , etc. on the U.S. media scene in the late 1950′s, vetting away. You have to think Castro and his media auxiliaries could not have gotten away with dictating the narrative. 100,000 Cuban lives might have been saved, and millions of Cubans spared mass larceny, slavery and torture:

“Mega Dittos, Rush. We listen down here in Havana, pick it up from Miami. Love your show.”

“Thank you, Ambassador Smith. That’s quite an honor, sir. Now regarding this amazing report we saw on Townhall this morning where you claim Fidel Castro’s people, the so-called rebels, tried to assassinate you, the U.S. ambassador to Cuba? And this is the bunch our State Department backs?!”

“We have very credible evidence, Rush. And I’ve made it available to the New York Times, AP, Reuters and CBS people down.

The city of Galway in Ireland is building a monument to Ernesto “Che” Guevara de la Serna y Lynch. That last word in his full nomenclature accounts for the honor. Che’s maternal grandmother, Ana Isabel Lynch, was born in Galway, and while still a lassie, moved to Argentina.

The City Council in heavily unionized Galway where the Labour Party holds a majority approved the plans for the monument unanimously. But the monument to labor union- buster (with firing squads, torture and forced labor camps) Che Guevara was proposed and championed by city Councillor Billy Cameron, who boasts of his credentials as a “trade union activist.”

Cuba’s Stalinist regime (that to this day outlaws trade unionism under the above-mentioned penalties) will fund the trade union-championed monument.

“By no means can Cuban workers go on strike!” declared Cuba’s “Minister of Industries” on June 26, 1961.“Cuban workers must adjust to life a collectivist social order.” This Minister of Industries, in case you haven’t guessed, was Ernesto Guevara de la Serna y Lynch, famous “son” of union-loving Galway.

Don’t look for this on NPR or The History Channel, much less in your college textbooks, but among the first, the most militant, and the most widespread opposition groups to the Stalinism Ernesto “Che” Guevara (who often cheekily signed his named as “Stalin II”) imposed on Cuba came from Cuban labor groups.

And who can blame them? Here’s a report from the International Labor Organization on Cuba circa 1957: “One feature of the Cuban social structure is a large middle class,” it starts. “Cuban workers are more unionized (proportional to the population) than U.S. workers. The average wage for an 8-hour day in Cuba in 1957 is higher than for workers in Belgium, Denmark, France and Germany. Cuban labor receives 66.6 per cent of gross national income. In the U.S. the figure is 70 per cent, in Switzerland 64 per cent. 44 per cent of Cubans are covered by Social legislation, a higher percentage than in the U.S.”

In 1958, Cuba had a higher per capita income than Spain, Austria or Japan. Cuban industrial workers had the eighth-highest wages in the world. In the 1950s, Cuban stevedores earned more per hour than their counterparts in New Orleans and San Francisco.

For obvious reasons, thousands of these men took up arms against Che Guevara. The MRP (Movimiento Revolucionario del Pueblo) was among these Cuban resistance groups of mostly laborers. Here’s how the FBI and CIA described them: “Heavily weighted labor membership, with socialistic leanings. Aimed for Castro overthrow from within; advocated nationalization of economy, agrarian reform, social reform.”

Many opponents of the regime Che Guevara co-founded qualify as the longest-suffering political prisoners in modern history, having suffered prison camps, forced labor and torture chambers for a period three times as long in Che Guevara’s Gulag as Alexander Solzhenitsyn suffered in Stalin’s Gulag.

Given their rights in pre-Castro Cuba, the Guevara-imposed “no strike” provision was obviously unacceptable to Cuban laborers — many of whom took up arms in protest, along with Cuba’s enraged campesinos who rose in arms by the thousands when Castro and Che started stealing their land to build Soviet Kolkhozes.