Fidel Castro; awaiting the MSM/DNC post-mortems; Nathaniel Weyl; Red Star Over Cuba

With Fidel Castro's health problems, rumors have circulated regarding his mortality. Stories continue to circulate as to who might succeed Castro and the transition to the post-Castro Cuba.

If and when Castro dies, I expect the usual MSM/DNC post-mortems on his life. His nearly five decades in control of Cuba will be glorified and whitewashed. His longevity will be trumpeted as an insult to the United States. Matt Lauer's teleprompter will tell us that five (or ten) Presidents tried to get rid of Castro and he survived anyway. Diane Sawyer's teleprompter will tell us of Castro's deep Catholic faith.

Charles Gibson's teleprompter will refer to Castro's Soviet bosses as his "allies."

Katie Couric's teleprompter will remind us that Elian Gonzalez has been safely reunited with his father.

All of the teleprompters will downplay Castro's instigation of revolution in Nicaragua and El Salvador.

None of the teleprompters will mention this [referenced also here].

For a more reliable history of Castro, check out "Red Star Over Cuba." It has been 18 years since I read this book, so I can't quote much of what Weyl wrote. The book covered Castro's early history, his role in the Bogota revolution in 1948, his conquest of Cuba and the tyrannical early years of his rule. (His entire reign has been tyrannical, but the book was written in 1960).



"Red Star" puts the lie to the myth that we somehow pushed Castro into the arms of the Soviets.

Weyl's explanation of the "cult of dirt" remains useful today, not only with regard to Castro, but much of modern culture.

"Red Star" provides enough history to see past the MSM/DNC spin.