"She was an early ballbuster, and I mean that in the nicest possible way. She rattled a lot of cages before women were even allowed into the zoo." (Katie Couric hailing Barbara Walters last week in Vanity Fair.)
Some women living in the U.S. today (and with long experience in literal cages) strongly differ with Couric. They know—and from first-hand experience--that far from “busting” any gentleman parts, the figurative description for Ms Walters’ services to a powerful man matches a famous performance by another woman much in the news last week, also courtesy of Vanity Fair. (Her fist name starts with an M and last name with an L.)
“All I know about Cuba in the 1950’s I learned from the Godfather II!” (Jon Stewart, July 23, 2008)
Jon Stewart’s recent snark-fest against Fox News over Benghazi finally prompted a rebuttal (of sorts) from Greta Van Susteren: “Note to Jon Stewart (who I think is smart and clever …but like the rest of us, not always right…but a comedian has, of course, way more latitude – we in the media should get it right.)”
(You always hear and read of a "fiasco," a "defeat" a "disaster" at the Bay of Pigs, 53 years ago this week. But you rarely hear about the cause. Here it is.)
“Everyone knows that the Cubans control (Venezuela’s) military intelligence and police intelligence. They control the coordination of the armed forces.” Such convictions are held by critics in both countries (Venezuela and Cuba) although they offer little hard evidence to back their suspicions.” (Victoria Burnett and William Neuman, The New York Times, March, 2014.)
Last week Jimmy Carter fired off letters to Venezuela’s fraudulent President Nicolas Maduro and to Venezuela’s defrauded Presidential candidate Enrique Capriles expressing “grave concern” regarding the political turmoil and bloodshed convulsing their nation. From his pulpit at Emory University’s Carter Center, the former U.S. president calls for “dialogue” among the embattled Venezuelan parties and offers to visit the troubled nation--but not as a formal “mediator.”
That silence you hear issues from the media/celebrity axis regarding the massive protests in Venezuela where hip college kids are being beaten, tear-gassed and shot down in a manner to shame anything done by Mayor Daley’s police in 1968 or the Ohio National Guard in 1970. Six Venezuelan youths are confirmed dead and hundreds have been injured and/or arrested.
"Venezuela and its revolution will endure under the proven leadership of Vice President Maduro." (Sean Penn, March 5, 2013.)
To say nothing of the "proven"--and particularly, the enduring--"leadership" of Maduro's colonial overlords in Havana, of whom Sean Penn is also extremely fond. "I had the privilege to introduce my children to comandante Fidel Castro!" (Sean Penn, arm in arm with "great friend" Hugo Chavez, Caracas Feb. 13, 2012.)
If Justin Beiber had returned from Cuba smitten with its healthcare and calling it “awesome!” most Americans would understand. But Iowa Senator and Obamacare champion Tom Harkin serves as chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. He just returned from an official tour of Stalinist Cuba hailing its healthcare as “quite remarkable.”
Only in America would a singer who insults a U.S. President (Lyndon Johnson) as "a big fool" in song be awarded the National Medal of the Arts by a U.S. President (Bill Clinton), hailed as a "Living Legend" by the U.S. Library of Congress, and be invited to play at a U.S. Presidential inauguration (Barack Obama's.)
Singer-actress Maria Conchita Alonso, a multiple Grammy nominee, was scheduled to star in a Spanish-language production of The Vagina Monologues next month in San Francisco’s Brava Theatre. Then she starred in a video ad for California Assemblyman and gubernatorial hopeful Tim Donnelly, a Tea-Party Republican who calls for enforcement of U.S. immigration laws.
GLAAD needs a makeover. Their Queer Eye for Straight Guy Phil Robertson blew up in their face. Just ask A&E. Not since the young Vito Corleone persuaded landlord Signor Roberto to “walkback” his decision to evict the poor widow and her dog (“of course the dog stays, right?”) has a business decision been reversed as abruptly, awkwardly or hilariously.
At the funeral extravaganza commemorating a black “political prisoner” President Obama went out of his way to smilingly shake hands with the jailer and torturer of the most and longest suffering black political prisoners in modern history.
A Martian visiting earth this week, coasting TV channels and perusing papers, would have to conclude that among the items that most interest this planet’s news bureaus is the plight of former political prisoners, especially black ones.
“Of all the people I interviewed in New Orleans regarding the Kennedy assassination, Carlos Bringuier was the one I trusted most. I could see in his eyes he was always telling me the complete truth.” (Oriana Fallaci, L, Europeo, 1969.)
"The skinny guy walked into my store and started looking around," recalls Carlos Bringuier about the afternoon of August 5, 1963. "But I could sense he wasn't a shopper. Sure enough, after a few minutes of browsing he came up and extended his hand. "Good afternoon," he said. "I'm Lee Oswald."
“Mr President the American people are asking with new urgency: what is going on in Cuba?” On August 31st 1962, Senator Kenneth Keating (Republican, New York) was on the Senate floor prompted by reports of a huge and rapid deployment of Soviet troops and sophisticated arms to Cuba.
That Khrushchev swept the floor with Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis was mainstream conservative conclusion throughout much of the Cold War. Richard Nixon and Barry Goldwater, for instance, represented opposite poles of the Republican establishment of their time.
(October 9, 2013 marks the 5th anniversary of the YAF sponsored “No More Che Day.” It also marks the 46th anniversary of Che Guevara’s death.)
Good thing the college “hipsters” who wear Che T-shirts didn’t live in Stalinist Cuba under their idol.
“Foreign reporters—preferably American--were much more valuable to us at that time (1957-59) than any military victory. Much more valuable than recruits for our guerrilla force, were American media recruits to export our propaganda." (Che Guevara 1959)
Humberto Fontova is the author of four books including "Exposing the Real Che Guevara and the Useful Idiots Who Idolize Him." Visit hfontova.com.
