Reply #3: Um...WHO has a "basketcase" economy?

[Peace Patriot]

In which country does half the population not have health care?

In which country has unemployment reached Great Depression levels?

Which country is giving $60 BILLION in military aid to the sheiks of araby, while school systems at home lay off teachers, can't afford books and are shortening school hours?

In which country does EVERYONE receive a FREE education to the limit of their ability, including graduate school and medical school?

Which country has millions of people with mental problems, physical addictions, post-traumatic stress syndrome--including military veterans--living ON THE STREETS?

Which country has African-American ghettoes with 40% to 50% unemployment?

In which country are African-Americans 50% of the prison population--and often in jail for long periods for minor offenses like drug possession, and/for being unable to hire a good lawyer?

In which country do the elderly poor have to choose between purchasing high-priced medications and putting food on the table?

In which country are middle class, as well as poor, people being thrown out of their homes by banksters?

Which country has provided employment, medicare care, education, food and homes to all of their people for the last 50 years, even in times of hardship, such as the collapse of their main trading partner?

Which country is crippled by massively expensive, unjust, heinous war, tax cuts for the rich, immense thievery and fraud in the banking and finance industries, and is trillions of dollars in debt?

Which country allowed Savings & Loan institutions to loot the country's small savers and investors?

Which country has allowed financial sharks to loot workers' pension funds?

Which country is losing its "commons"--common infrastructure--parks, ports, utilities, town squares, et al--and common good public programs like Medicare and Social Security--to corporate privatization and greed?

Which country has even lost the transparency of its vote counting system to corporate privation and corporate control, with 'TRADE SECRET' voting machines?

Cuba doesn't have a "basketcase" economy--much as the U.S. government has tried to make it so, with its cruel and universally reviled embargo. WE are the ones with a "basketcase" economy!

It is furthermore arguable that Cuba has a MUCH MORE democratic system than we do. Here, the Supreme Court just turned corporate millions loose upon our elections. Here, you have to have a million dollars, in hand, even to think of running for Congress. Here, we have NO RIGHT to review the 'TRADE SECRET' code--now owned largely by ONE, private, far-rightwing-connected corporation--ES&S, which just bought out Diebold--with which our votes are 'counted.' Here, the will of the people is routinely ignored in the halls of power. Here, private multinational corporations and war profiteers own the broadcast and print media, and control the public discussion in their interest. The Cuban people have better public discussions of policy than we do, more public participation and a better election system! They may have a sort of monarch who holds things together, in peoples' minds--the guardian of the revolution. But these highly educated people--the Cuban people--obviously have FAR MORE say that we do on education, medical care, food distribution, jobs, land reform, organic agriculture, protection of natural areas, public vs. private corporate power, preventing homelessness, care for the poor and the elderly, and a host of other matters that directly affect the lives of everyone in the country. Is that not democracy? And what do we have here? Can it even be called democracy any more?