The Envelope, Please...

Cuba's Fidel Castro has been named the U.N.'s "World Hero of Solidarity." If by "solidarity" they mean restricting the freedom of your people and imprisoning political dissenters then, yes, I think the U.N. made the right call. Otherwise this move only strengthens my belief that the U.N.'s values and those of the United States are, current administration notwithstanding, wildly divergent.

Besides Morales, the former Cuban head of state Fidel Castro has been named “World Hero of Solidarity” and the late ex-president of Tanzania, Julius Nyerere, will be honored as “World Hero of Social Justice.”



“What we want to do is present these three people to the world and say that they embody virtues and values worth emulation by all of us,” said D’Escoto, who like the socialist Morales is a staunch critic of U.S. foreign policy in Latin America.

Fidel Castro embodies virtues and values worth emulation by all of us? Hell, Fidel Castro barely embodies Fidel Castro! I wonder what would happen if we held a three party presidential election and pitted a "Reagan" Republican, a "Dean" Democrat and a "Castro" Marxist against each other. Imagine the confusion as voters try to discern which is the Democrat and which is the Marxist.

Still, I'm left wondering: just how common can our interest be with those of the U.N. if this is what they value?