R. Emmett Tyrrell: 52 Years Later, Fidel Keeps on Ticking
[R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr. is founder and editor in chief of the American Spectator and an adjunct scholar at the Hudson Institute. His new book is "After the Hangover: The Conservatives' Road to Recovery" (Thomas Nelson, 2010).]
This week marks the 52nd anniversary of Fidel Castro's arrival to his Cuban throne. I cannot wait to see how it will be solemnized. Will little children appear before Fidel throwing flowers? They better not throw them too hard. He is pretty frail. Will there be a military parade? If there is, where will they come up with the gasoline? There is hardly enough in the country for the Communist Party leaders' limousines. What will they be celebrating? By now, everyone knows that the revolution was a stupendous bust starting about 51 years ago.
Perhaps Steven Spielberg will be there. He dined with Fidel back in 2002. Upon leaving his presence, Mr. Spielberg enthused that he had just spent "the eight most important hours of my life." Fidel is no fast-food enthusiast. He has long repasts and two, possibly three, desserts. He also has long and luxurious confabs. After a three-hour visit in 1998, Jack Nicholson called Fidel a "genius." He added, "We spoke about everything" - which probably makes Mr. Nicholson a genius, too. I wonder if they talked about the plight of political prisoners in Fidel's jails? Actually, I wonder if they talked about how Fidel was presiding over one of the last communist dictatorships left on earth, and naturally enough, an impoverished one?
Something there is about a communist dictator that brings out the stunning vacuity of idiots like Mr. Spielberg and Mr. Nicholson and all the rest of the Hollywoodians. Remember when filmmaker Saul Landau complimented Fidel for having "brought a greater equality in terms of wealth distribution [to Cuba] than I guess any country in the world today"? Fidel accomplished this feat by simply stealing all of Cuba's wealth and leaving everyone poor except him and his cronies. Would Mr. Landau and his fellows admire such confiscations if practiced here in America? Who would have enough money to go to the movies?..
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This week marks the 52nd anniversary of Fidel Castro's arrival to his Cuban throne. I cannot wait to see how it will be solemnized. Will little children appear before Fidel throwing flowers? They better not throw them too hard. He is pretty frail. Will there be a military parade? If there is, where will they come up with the gasoline? There is hardly enough in the country for the Communist Party leaders' limousines. What will they be celebrating? By now, everyone knows that the revolution was a stupendous bust starting about 51 years ago.
Perhaps Steven Spielberg will be there. He dined with Fidel back in 2002. Upon leaving his presence, Mr. Spielberg enthused that he had just spent "the eight most important hours of my life." Fidel is no fast-food enthusiast. He has long repasts and two, possibly three, desserts. He also has long and luxurious confabs. After a three-hour visit in 1998, Jack Nicholson called Fidel a "genius." He added, "We spoke about everything" - which probably makes Mr. Nicholson a genius, too. I wonder if they talked about the plight of political prisoners in Fidel's jails? Actually, I wonder if they talked about how Fidel was presiding over one of the last communist dictatorships left on earth, and naturally enough, an impoverished one?
Something there is about a communist dictator that brings out the stunning vacuity of idiots like Mr. Spielberg and Mr. Nicholson and all the rest of the Hollywoodians. Remember when filmmaker Saul Landau complimented Fidel for having "brought a greater equality in terms of wealth distribution [to Cuba] than I guess any country in the world today"? Fidel accomplished this feat by simply stealing all of Cuba's wealth and leaving everyone poor except him and his cronies. Would Mr. Landau and his fellows admire such confiscations if practiced here in America? Who would have enough money to go to the movies?..