Things You Hear on NPR: Castro ‘A Complex Figure’

NPR’s first news story on Castro’s death a couple of days ago, as I remember it (I cannot find it on their Web site), was conspicuously neutral, concluding by calling him (I paraphrase from memory) a figure some saw as a dictator.

Give me a break.  Fidel Castro was a murderous dictator who jailed, tortured, and killed people just for speaking their minds, just for calling for democracy—even for being related to those who did.  Read about any of the brave Cuban democrats and dissidents.  Give them a break.

Castro Dead

Because man is fallen, the curse of free will is that bad men eventually get into power.  Because God is merciful, the blessing of mortality is that they don’t last forever.

Today the world has one fewer murderous dictators.  May God have mercy on Fidel Castro.  Praise God that he is finally dead.

Celebrate with this classic Remy parody song:

Viva Cuba.  Viva la libertad.

Things You Hear on NPR: Everything Is Political, Comrade

In observance of the Thanksgiving holiday, yesterday’s Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me quiz show on NPR was a clip show, a parade of past guests, interspersed with host Peter Sagal joking (several times) that you can avoid unpleasant arguments about politics around the Thanksgiving dinner table by claiming that you’ve just been listening to these Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me celebrity interviews all year.

And then of course politics came up over and over again anyway: making fun of Sarah Palin, agreeing that Dick Cheney is scary and awful—one of the guests had even literally teamed up with President Obama to make fun of a Republican congressman, apparently.  Of the ones I listened to,* most of the guests’ interviews ended up getting into politics—and of course guests, host, and panelists were all on the same page, identifying with the same team, with the left and against the right.

Why People Should Stop Calling Trump Racist

An idiosyncratic and highly metacognitive blogger offers this fascinating, lengthy, thorough, thoughtful piece: “You Are Still Crying Wolf”.

He makes a lot of great points.  I don’t agree with everything he says, but I do think our national discourse would be healthier if more people seriously considered several of his arguments.

For whatever it’s worth, note that the author is not a conservative, and definitely not a Trump supporter (source: this same piece); in the recent election, he endorsed everyone but Trump.  (He is apparently sometimes very tongue-in-cheek—and hilarious—but this piece pretty clearly seems to be in earnest.)

The Case for #NeverTrump (and Never Hillary), in Four Easy Steps

1.  Respect the People

First, it’s important to note that people have a lot of legitimate concerns that lead them to support Trump.  It would be a serious mistake to write them off as bad or stupid people.  It’s just that Trump isn’t the answer to any of their concerns.

For a brief but academic further exploration of this, read distinguished academic Charles Murray’s piece on the subject.

Newspapers, Normal People Endorse Libertarian Gary Johnson for President

The Chicago Tribune endorses Libertarian Gary Johnson for president.

Don’t let others pressure you.  You don’t have to vote for one of the two major parties’ nominees.  You won’t be the only one.

The Chicago Tribune editors make a lot of great points.  On the choice before us:

What should tens of millions of voters who yearn for answers do with two major-party candidates they disdain? Polls show an unprecedented number of people saying they wish they had another choice.

Sudden Thought, Gang

I’m glad the left has finally agreed that it’s unhealthy (for us and for our democracy) to assume bad intentions of/dehumanize/demonize/“other” those we disagree with.

Maybe after the election is over and everyone’s had time to cool down, someone can invite them to consider whether that might have any implications for their own lives.