Off the coast of Florida only 90 miles south we have Cuba, the largest island in the Caribbean. This island has been fought over and turned over many times in just the past couple hundred years. Even just the 200 years America has been around its changed hands at least twice. Currently, and for the past 40-50 years, a communist government is in place. This is lead by a horrible dictator who I want nothing but hell for. His name is Fidel Castro. The Cuban government used to be a democracy before the communists. Actually we were great allies because we even had Guantanamo bay military base there. Which is TECHNICALLY there illegally now since we don’t pay the “rent” we are supposed to pay to have that land… ANYWAYS. Short story how Castro got power. Castro married a girl whose brother was in the Cuban congress. Castro basically told him all of his plans since they were family. Castro then got a bunch of kids, like you and me and gave them weak rifles and got them to attack a military base! Nothing but weak and worthless rifles. Castro and his brother mysteriously got lost. Coincidence? I really don’t think so considering this is Castro. Then he was going to jail and was convicted. Congress wanted him to have amnesty. The congress man that was family of Castro TOLD them what he would do EXACTLY. It all came true when they voted him amnesty from the horrible crime. Now let’s skip to the government is now set up. The Cubans wanted freedom back. So they formed a rebellion backed by the United States. My own grandfather was in it. He was just a doctor, not a solider by trade or anything, just a freedom loving doctor. Kennedy called off support for the Cubans at the last minute, but it was too late the Cuban rebels attacked and then were all captured or killed. That’s why I dislike Kennedy and my father VERY MUCH dislikes him. My grandfather was captured. For the next 20 some odd years he was tortured in a Cuban prison. The crime? He was a political prisoner. My father endured his childhood as a political out cast and without a father. Not because he left, but because he was captured in the pursuit of freedom. My father was a rower BUT he wasn’t allowed to go any further at a certain level because of my grandfather. They received like a pound of rice a month, like everyone else. Whatever the government could give them that day. My grandmother had to erase and reuse notebooks every year for my dad because they couldn’t afford new notebooks. He illegally listened to American radio in hiding. A HORRIBLE crime in Cuba. He had kids who were friends with him who were actually spies for the government trying to see if he was doing anything they didn’t like. If this isn’t enough to think there is something SERIOUSLY wrong in Cuba get this… They were supported by Russia and the Soviet Union. When they went under… guess what happened to Cuba? That pound of rice per month turned into like half that. Since my father’s family was not welcome in Cuba they allowed them to leave to the United States. There at 18 my dad went straight to a school to learn English so that he could work and begin doing something since the government did not allow them to leave with anything of any value. After that he went to college and has bachelors in Electrical engineering and owns his own Programming Company named Simple Software solutions. He has worked 20+ years for various companies including IBM, Crossmatch, and Tyco. You can see Crossmatch security systems at airports and when getting on a cruise or checking in when you need to take a picture or put a finger print. They even have stuff at some stores. They provided the hardware and my dad helped provide the software for elections in Iraq.
This story about the hardships of my father was not unique in Cuba which is why Cubans have wet foot dry foot policy but not for Haitians and others. You may understand now why Cubans are the only Hispanics that vote conservative. This is also why I naturally feel very tense towards government control of any kind. Since it is eventually manipulated, fails, or worst succeeds at controlling the people.
This is somewhat shortened though because it would take a while longer to pull everything together. Ask Questions, I will try to answer them as best I can.
OH and I still think socialism is a reduced form of communism. [Smiley]
My original Post here on TEENLINK
http://teenlinksouthflorida.ning.com/profiles/blog/show?id=2194231%3ABlogPost%3A1214
