Why not normalize U.S. relations with Cuba?

[Politruk]

Why keep that embargo in place? We trade with China. We trade with Vietnam. Why not with Cuba? It should be obvious by now that the embargo is not going to lead to regime change.

To the contrary, if relations are normalized, a lot of Cubans will start visiting the U.S. They will see how things are here. They will visit their relations in Miami, who will fill their ears with the praises of democracy and capitalism. And when they go home, they'll start asking uncomfortable questions, like, why is Cuba so poor? Why are we still driving cars the Americans made in the 1950s? Why does an island the size of Florida, with plenty of good farmland, and abundant natural resources, and an entirely literate population (that's one thing Communists have always been good at), have to be so poor?

 

[Politruk]

It's a shame this isn't an election issue this year.

Puerto Rico is getting all the Caribbean-related attention.

 

[ChloeTzang]

Yeah, we should make Cuba the next State. It'd be another Florida.

 

[Politruk]

Yeah, we should make Cuba the next State. It'd be another Florida.

We can't even seem to agree on statehood for Puerto Rico, and that has been U.S. territory since 1898.

 

[ChloeTzang]

We can't even seem to agree on statehood for Puerto Rico, and that has been U.S. territory since 1898.

I know, and everything else aside, if Puerto Rico wants to be a State, they should be. And Cuba too.

And the Phillipines. Shame they opted for independence instead of becoming a US State. Altho if you look at geography and population, really 2 or 3 states.

 

[Politruk]

I know, and everything else aside, if Puerto Rico wants to be a State, they should be. And Cuba too.

Well, they do seem to value their independence. Castro was a genuinely popular leader -- and I suspect the main reason for that was not widespread enthusiasm for Communism, it was because Castro was the first Cuban leader since the Spanish-American War to stand up to the U.S. and make it stick.

 

[MajorRewrite]

The Cuban-Americans living in south Florida are the only reason why we haven’t normalized relations with Cuban. They scream bloody murder whenever the topic is brought up, and politicians in both parties are afraid of them.

 

[Politruk]

The Cuban-Americans living in south Florida are the only reason why we haven’t normalized relations with Cuban. They scream bloody murder whenever the topic is brought up, and politicians in both parties are afraid of them.

But the ones who fled Castro's revolution are dead or retired now. Their children and grandchildren see things differently.

 

[MajorRewrite]

But the ones who fled Castro's revolution are dead or retired now. Their children and grandchildren see things differently.

That’s not how the politicians see it.

 

[Politruk]

I live in Tampa. There's a Cuban community here, but it's not vocally anti-Castro, because it's older than his revolution, dating from the 1890s. A lot of Cubans came over then to work in Tampa's cigar factories. (This was before cigarettes were popular -- cigars were big business.) Tampa Cubans, at least, would not object to normalizing relations.

N.B.: I've been to Miami, and it's only Tampa Cubans who get the cuisine right! You don't make a Cuban sandwich with soft bread!

 

[Saint_Ann]

Can't we just buy it? How much could it possibly cost?

 

[Politruk]

Can't we just buy it? How much could it possibly cost?

More than Greenland.

 

[Politruk]

Yeah, we should make Cuba the next State. It'd be another Florida.

If the whole Caribbean were U.S. territory, it should be organized as seven states:

1. Cuba
2. Haiti
3. San Domingo
4. Puerto Rico
5. Bahamas -- including the Turks & Caicos (also British)
6. Jamaica -- including the Cayman Islands (also British)
7. And all the Lesser Antilles, the Windward Islands and Leeward Islands, from the Virgin Islands to Aruba, to be united as the State of Antillia.

 

[ishtat]

And the Phillipines. Shame they opted for independence instead of becoming a US State. Although if you look at geography and population, really 2 or 3 states.

An extra 106 million Oriental Catholics! One is enough.

 

[JoePepsiCo]

Because they are in alliance with our enemies; a declared enemy.

When they surrender, then we can agree to terms.

 

[JoePepsiCo]

I say, piss or get off the pot.

Send in the Marines

or desist.

Happy mediums are a misnomer which please no one.

 

[Rebel5soul]

Because they are in alliance with our enemies; a declared enemy.

When they surrender, then we can agree to terms.

"Boom, out go the lights."

Cuba isn't going to last much longer and the reparations list is long indeed.

 

[JoePepsiCo]

https://apnews.com/article/china-cuba-spy-base-us-intelligence-0f655b577ae4141bdbeabc35d628b18f


Why

 

[JoePepsiCo]

"Boom, out go the lights."

Cuba isn't going to last much longer and the reparations list is long indeed.

 

[Rebel5soul]

Bet ya those Chinese sites have their own generators....................and they aren't sharing.

 

[JoePepsiCo]

*chuckle*

The brand-new port is pretty danged exclusive; must be violating some Cuban's rights...



Just not Mark's. Family Values.

 

[Rightguide]

Why keep that embargo in place? We trade with China. We trade with Vietnam. Why not with Cuba? It should be obvious by now that the embargo is not going to lead to regime change.

To the contrary, if relations are normalized, a lot of Cubans will start visiting the U.S. They will see how things are here. They will visit their relations in Miami, who will fill their ears with the praises of democracy and capitalism. And when they go home, they'll start asking uncomfortable questions, like, why is Cuba so poor? Why are we still driving cars the Americans made in the 1950s? Why does an island the size of Florida, with plenty of good farmland, and abundant natural resources, and an entirely literate population (that's one thing Communists have always been good at), have to be so poor?

The American taxpayer can't afford to take on another shithole.

 

[SevMax2]

The funny thing is that there was once a proposal to establish a "United States of the Earth," that is, the idea of the United States of America as a world federation, annexing every other nation on Earth.

It was proposed by this guy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucas_M._Miller

 

[JoePepsiCo]

Probably not a widely discussed proposal...

Pax Americana

 

[Politruk]

Because they are in alliance with our enemies; a declared enemy.

When they surrender, then we can agree to terms.

With whom is Cuba allied?