Falbert, I hold no brief for Castro- as an American I will probably never know what the man could have done or tried to do. The United States quite consciously elected to try to starve him out. The US has never - officially, at least - cared about the poverty the Cuban people have had to live in.

So when you or I or anyone else talks about how bad it is in Cuba and has been for 40 years we might keep that in mind.

I don't know if our Cuba policy came about because many high muckymucks in the US lost their fancy vacations in Cuba or if it just displays what we can do when we get mad at a dictator. In recent years no president has dared even take a serious look at the situation, what with the large Cuba-born bloc in Miami.

When the time comes that Castro dies I hope that that same bloc will go home forthwith.