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Thursday, December 18, 2014

Obama Normalizes Relationship With Cuba. Backs GOP Into New Ideological Corner

And there the elephant sits, 
doing nothing.

"Are Republicans Insane?" Best Pax Posts

The United States will normalize diplomatic relations with Cuba. Eighteen months of secret negotiations, aided by Pope Francis, ended in a prisoner swap and a phone call between President Obama and Raúl Castro, the Cuban leader. A U.S. embassy will open in Havana. Peter Baker in The New York Times.

Obama will ask Congress to lift the trade embargo. For now, the administration plans to use executive authority to weaken the embargo, which has now been in place for 54 years. Americans returning from Cuba are permitted to bring home rum and cigars worth $100. Karen DeYoung in The Washington Post.

Farmers, automakers and energy companies see opportunities for export to Cuba. By one estimate, exports to Cuba could reach $4.3 billion annually. Imports of rum, cigars and more could reach $5.8 billion. Paul Wiseman for the Associated Press.

BBC: How To Roll A Cuban Cigar

Cigar Stories: "El Lector: He Who Reads"

Professionals Lectors Read To Cuban Cigar Rollers

Cuban cigars aren't actually that special. Roberto Ferdman in The Washington Post.

A majority of Cuban Americans now support ending the embargo. That's a drastic change from just fifteen years ago, polls show. Harry Enten at Five Thirty Eight.

Republicans could be losing an important voting bloc in Florida. Younger generations of Cuban Americans, and those immigrants who came here more recently for economic rather than political reasons, do not bear the same antipathy toward the Castro regime. Rebecca Nelson in National Journal.

Christopher Dickey

"Backing Republicans into corners is more fun that laser pointers and cats."




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