MAKING NICE WITH CASTRO
By
Larry Pratt
May 3, 2009
NewsWithViews.com
Some have defined consistency as the hobgoblin of small minds. Certainly the American Left has easily avoided the small minded hobgoblin.
Take the case of boycotting countries to leverage the regime. Boycotting South Africa under its apartheid government was good. Boycotting Cuba ruled by dictator Fidel Castro and his brother Raul is bad.
Not only has the Obama administration ended the boycott of Cuba, a congressional delegation has already forged the path to improved relations with Cuba with their personal visit.
One wonders how previous U.S. governments could have been so mistaken about the Castro brothers. The delegation found nothing of the men who has murdered tens of thousands of Cubans in imposing their tyranny on the once prosperous island nation.
Rep. Laura Richardson (D-CA) reported of Raul: "He looked directly into my eyes." Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver (D-MO) said of Fidel: "He's one of the most amazing human beings I've ever met!"
A comment about Fidel Castro by Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) was typical of the other members of the delegation. Speaking of Raul Castro, Rush said that "Raul Castro was a very engaging, down-to-earth and kind man, someone who I would favor as a neighbor. It was almost like visiting an old friend."
Now,
Rush was a street thug in the 1960's a co-founder of the Illinois
Black Panthers. He did time in jail for illegal weapons charges. Now,
this wannabe Castro neighbor wants to register all
semiautomatic firearms and all handguns, the target of his bill H.R.
45. His fascination with Castro is unsettling to say the least because
the Castros consolidated their power precisely through their use of
gun registration in Cuba.
The first full day the Castros were in power, their goon squads went to every address where a gun was registered and either the gun on the list or the owner of the missing gun was surrendered. Castro rules by monopoly of force, not popular support.
The Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States is in place precisely to prevent government monopoly of force.
Registration is not a legitimate exercise of government power. The Constitution does not read that "the right of the people to keep and bear registered arms shall not be infringed." Moreover, registration is not a crime fighting tool, assuming fighting crime is a legitimate reason to infringe. Registration of handguns has been in force in Hawaii and in Canada since the 1930s, but has never been used to solve a single crime.
Registration of guns is good for only one purpose, and the Castro regime is proof that registration is very efficient for disarming the people.
Rush's gun registration bill (H.R. 45) has been assumed by some to be going nowhere, but that is a happy thought not supported by the facts. Speaking to ABC's Robin Roberts on April 7, Pelosi said quite plainly: "We want them registered."
Who might the "we" be? Well, a co-sponsor of Rush's bill in the last congress, Rep. Rahm Emanuel, is now President Obama's chief of staff. Pelosi would also qualify as substantial support.
From Rep. Bobby Rush's gun registration plan to the Castro gun confiscation plan is not such a long leap with all of the above in mind. We have an administration and members of Congress who admire Castro. Not only have they not criticized his confiscation of firearms, they have been supporting the system that made it all possible for confiscation of guns under Castro.
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Who can even dare oppose registration. The administration has found that fear of gun control is one of the key views of rightwing extremism that might result in terroristic activity. It seems that the message coming from the Obama administration is: "Only a terrorist would oppose the President."
� 2009 Larry Pratt - All Rights Reserved
