Fidel Castro Is Dead (nytimes.com) 279
Striek quotes the New York Times: Fidel Castro, the fiery apostle of revolution who brought the Cold War to the Western Hemisphere in 1959 and then defied the United States for nearly half a century as Cuba's maximum leader, bedeviling 11 American presidents and briefly pushing the world to the brink of nuclear war, died Friday. He was 90. His death was announced by Cuban state television.
In declining health for several years, Mr. Castro had orchestrated what he hoped would be the continuation of his Communist revolution, stepping aside in 2006 when he was felled by a serious illness. He provisionally ceded much of his power to his younger brother Raul, now 85, and two years later formally resigned as president. Raul Castro, who had fought alongside Fidel Castro from the earliest days of the insurrection and remained minister of defense and his brother's closest confidant, has ruled Cuba since then, although he has told the Cuban people he intends to resign in 2018.
Kebertson shares an AP article which remembers a book proclaiming "Castro's Last Hour" -- in 1982. And Miamicanes jokes there'll be celebrations among Castro-haters in Miami, sharing a CNN article which notes that in the end, Castro "lived long enough to see a historic thaw in relations between Cuba and the United States."
In declining health for several years, Mr. Castro had orchestrated what he hoped would be the continuation of his Communist revolution, stepping aside in 2006 when he was felled by a serious illness. He provisionally ceded much of his power to his younger brother Raul, now 85, and two years later formally resigned as president. Raul Castro, who had fought alongside Fidel Castro from the earliest days of the insurrection and remained minister of defense and his brother's closest confidant, has ruled Cuba since then, although he has told the Cuban people he intends to resign in 2018.
Kebertson shares an AP article which remembers a book proclaiming "Castro's Last Hour" -- in 1982. And Miamicanes jokes there'll be celebrations among Castro-haters in Miami, sharing a CNN article which notes that in the end, Castro "lived long enough to see a historic thaw in relations between Cuba and the United States."
Meh (Score:2)
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This. Castro had little to none political weight for years now - he was basically a t-shirt symbol by now.
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Noam chomsky's take on us vs cuba: https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
He's having quite extreme viewpoints in some cases, but nevertheless he is very smart and often it is interesting to see things in a different light.
Re:an unpopular opinion. (Score:4, Insightful)
Well, he seems to take the, to me, logical point of view that as a US citizen it behooves him to critcise his own government first.
Oh. Never mind. Logic is wasted on you. Carry on then.
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...Cultural Marxist 'Critical Theory',...
I guess what you mean is something like "I don't know what Marxism is, and I don't want to know because it's evil, evil, EEEEEVIILLL!!!", am I right?
To everybody else, Marxism is a theory in economy; one of the things that distinguish it is the fact that it doesn't make unrealistic assumptions about resources being infinite or the effects of financial mechanisms being instantaneous, among other things, like many modern theories do. Marxist economic theory has seen a bit of a renaissance in the last decade
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Thanks Obama (Score:2, Troll)
Cuban immigrants were a big part of winning Florida for the Republicans. They're why we've maintained the embargo. Anyone politician who tried was dead in the water on a national stage.
That said time passed, those immigrants died and their kids didn't listen much to granddad's story and Obama formed a big anti-Bush jr coalition to put him in the Whitehouse.
That left us open to normalizing relations. Busine
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It was never going to last, in the 20th century the US got it all laid out on a silver platter... the "Old World" fucked itself royally with two huge wars, the Soviet Union and China was stuck in a communist plan economy, many countries were colonies or stuck in old structures like caste systems or authoritarian structures or broken education systems and so on. It was not only that America had many opportunities but that other countries had few. Today I think most people feel there are opportunities at home
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As a South American (Argentinian) i cannot but disagree.
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I remember being told the dollar was a dead letter ten years ago, when the euro was going strong. So much for that. Call me back in ten years.
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this isnt going to be a very popular opinion here, but the reason for the historic thaw is surprising. Typically the united states is content to hold trade embargos indefinitely against any nation that so much as thinks of challenging unfettered capitalism.
Actually I'd say the US will hold indefinite embargo against any nation who has defied or disobeyed them. The US supported Batista over the communists in Cuba, the US supported the Shah over the Islamist's in Iran. There are a lot of bad things you can say about the Theocratic despotism that is the Iranian government... but they're far from socialist.
Conversely the US maintains a lot of trade with nations that are significantly more socialist than Iran... Like Sweden or Norway.
Whilst I've got no particular
Has it been confirmed? (Score:2)
Resistance (Score:5, Insightful)
You can say anything about Fidel, but he was a tough guy. Cuba resisted bravely (if you allow me to use the term) to an enemy way bigger and more powerful for many years. Curiously, the end of the Castro era could have arrived long before if the past presidents would have used the Obama approach: Embrace, extend and extinguish. Personally, I think he chose a wrong path and became the perfect example of why communist social structures are not sustainable. "Join together to share the lack of wealth", to use Stallman's words, simply goes against human nature. RIP, anyway.
Fidel - The little bully sidekick (Score:2, Insightful)
You can say anything about Fidel, but he was a tough guy. Cuba resisted bravely ...
Fidel was the little bully sidekick talking sh*t, sucking up to, the real tough bully, the Soviets. He was a useful idiot, nothing more. Once the Cuban people are allowed a voice he will be consigned to the dustbin of history.
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He was a brutal dictator who murdered tens of thousands of his own people. The fact that Batista was a monster too hardly absolves him from the guilt of his murder and torture of his own people. To see people try to excuse this monster is incredible. Seldom do I truly rejoice in the death of another human being but it's hard not to feel good about Castro's demise.
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Oh he has a place I guess, like Franco. A bit player. You know I was surprised by a young coworker of mine about 7 months or so ago something came up about Castro and I mentioned it to him. He literally had no idea who Castro was. He could tell you every Heisman candidate any year but Castro he'd never heard of. I went around and did kind of a quick Leno style quiz and found that of the under 30 crowd at work maybe half had heard of Castro and most of them only had a vague idea who he was. I was prett
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"Poverty is not socialism. To become wealthy is honourable." --Deng Xiaoping
I'm skeptical ... (Score:2)
... until I see it on Fox News (sic).
"Fidel Castro" ... (Score:2)
... comes to us from the Greeks (ca. bay of pigs) and is a concatenated corruption of the form, "infidel castration," and generally refers to a paynim in the ass with no balls.
Dies on Black Friday (Score:5, Funny)
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I recently visited Chengdu, China. In the center of the town square is a monster statue of Mao.
Literally underneath him, in the last few years they have built an underground shopping center.
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. All because he shoved the "Affordable Health Care" act through with Zero compromise. An Ultra Left agenda that swung Congress heavily right ending his power.
So you think the ACA was and ultra left agenda shoved through with zero compromise. You keep using those words. I do not think they mean what you think they mean.
Obligatory SNL Quote: (Score:2)
"In other news, Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead."
Pushed into comunism (Score:4, Insightful)
When Castro first came to power, he was inspired by the Mexican revolution of 1910-1920 who did not turn communist. Moreover the Cuban Communist Party had denounced Castro's revolution as pro-Western. He was pushed into the USSR sphere of influence by the aggressive CIA-led actions.
Then the embargo provided the biggest excuse ever for Castro and his dictatorship. He could always blame his failed economic policies on the USA led embargo.
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There really is enough evidence to cast at least doubt on that theory. The more accepted wisdom is that he did harbour strong Marxist sympathies and that the US opposition to his revolution was a good excuse to implement Marxist policies.
Re:Pushed into comunism (Score:5, Interesting)
Well, we're in the realm of alternate histories here. But just from a power politics standpoint Castro would have been forced to side with the Soviets no matter what his true principles were, or indeed if he had no sincere principles whatsoever. The Soviets were friendly and the Americans were hostile. American business interests preferred his genuinely odious predecessor Fulgencio Batista, who could be bought by anyone with sufficient money, even the Mafia.
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I have some sympathy for Fidel because at least he wasn't Batista. But the narrative that makes him a mere plaything of forces beyond his control, as in 'he only turned communist because he got forced' does not square with my impression of a forceful man who was willing to do without support if need be for his cause.
Whatever you say of Fidel, character he didn't lack.
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Of course, but that's not the narrative I'm pushing.
I look at things from a game theoretical position here; we played a strategy which, short of armed invasion and occupation, was certain defeat -- at least if fighting a communist toe-hold in the Caribbean was our goal. It may be the way things worked out suited Fidel perfectly, but if so we made it easy for him.
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Not initially. Later on he did fully embrace communism, but the internal debates with Che (who was always fully pro-communist) are well known. As someone else pointed out, Ho Chi Minh is another example of someone who was pushed into communism by CIA actions.
Sorry that this doesn't match your simplistic conception of the world.
Irony: the icon of Cuban Communism died on Black F (Score:2)
Proving that ${deity} truly has a sense of humor, Fidel Castro -- icon and architect of Cuban Communism -- died on Black Friday... a/k/a "Adam Smith Day" -- the day Americans gather in our grand cathedrals of commerce and celebrate capitalism by shopping like there's no tomorrow.
Re: Castro dead (Score:2)
Communists don't have Hell. Castro is burning in Venezuela.
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Perhaps you should educate yourself on his actions.
As opposed to say .. Batista?
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As opposed to say .. Batista?
Barista. Starbucks is hot in Cuba.
Re: Castro dead (Score:4, Informative)
Most people are unaware of the US involvement in pre-Castro Cuba, and would be shocked if they did a little research.
Castro and communism are not my choices for leaders or economic systems, but the US is responsible for overthrowing lots of governments around the world, then acting shocked when a dictator or religious zealot steps in.
Hopefully Trump won't renew the economic oppression of the Cuban people. We have behaved shamefully.
Re: Castro dead (Score:5, Informative)
Batista's Cuba was famous for literacy and doctors per capita, compared to the rest of Latin America, so Castro's improvements were pretty small
Life expectancy in Batista's Cuba was far lower than in the USA at the time, in Castro's Cuba it is higher. Literacy in Batista's Cuba was estimated between 60% and 76% (because there is no data for the neglect countryside), taking the highest esteem it was the fourth highest in Latin America at the time, today it is 99.7% according to Unesco data, highest in Latin America.
Try harder.
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Another echo of the dubious 99.7. It shouldn't take 2 seconds to realize what nonsense that is. Did you also believe the reports of Fidel's popularity?
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Another echo of the dubious 99.7. It shouldn't take 2 seconds to realize what nonsense that is. Did you also believe the reports of Fidel's popularity?
Why is the statistic dubious? This poster even gave the source for the statistic, UNESCO. I looked up the literacy rate data on UNESCO's site and found this page [unesco.org] with literacy statistics. The rates they publish for Cuba seems to match what both posters posted. Do you have data that contradicts this or does it just "feel" wrong to you? You've been around here for a long time, you should know data plays better with this crowd than emotion. Please present your data refuting the statistic or STFU.
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Another echo of the dubious 99.7. It shouldn't take 2 seconds to realize what nonsense that is. Did you also believe the reports of Fidel's popularity?
Why is the statistic dubious?
Well obviously it goes against his preconceptions and biases.
I'm inclined to believe that Cuba has a high level of adult literacy, but that just means they can read and write the native language (Spanish in Cuba's case) at an acceptable standard.
The problem with Cuba's education system is not basic education, but advanced education. A collage degree from Cuba is worth less than a high school diploma from any western nation. Castro once joked that one of the good things about communism was "even our pr
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Because a communist dictatorship's own self-surveys are 100% trustworthy!
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I've been to Cuba, and i wouldn't want to ever have to visit a hospital there.
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99.7, such a believable (and unverifiable) number. I'd like to know who dreamed it up and how they justified it. Was it people who recognized the alphabet?
Any post relying on such a dubious statistic is suspect right off the bat.
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Nothing dubious about it, actual socialist countries considered basic education being the most important thing they can and must provide. That was the way in the USSR, in GDR, in Cuba, in Yugoslavia and so on. GDR schools were quite a bit better than they are in any German state nowadays, I can tell you that from personal experience.
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The Che fanbois are not ironic, they think he was a hero. You are just as naive if you don't recognize the difference.
Re: Castro dead (Score:5, Informative)
If a war torn banana republic is beating you that badly on growth, there is something seriously wrong with your economic policy.
Let me guess... an embargo?
That aside get your statistics right: Cuba GDP per capita is up 250% since 1970 [tradingeconomics.com] and Honduras GDP per capita is up 230% in the same period [tradingeconomics.com] and still half of the Cuban GDP per capita, life expectancy in Honduras is 73 years, in Cuba 79 (higher than USA by the way). Sen. Joseph McCarthy legacy still lives on.
Soviet subsidies paid for Cuban progress (Score:2)
Economic growth is not everything.
It is if you have to pay for your hospitals, schools, etc. Once the Soviet subsidies ended the Cuban "progress" started to fall apart.
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And the US still imprisons a greater % of our people than Castro did his. So check your human rights violations in the mirror.
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Let's not forget the "good guys" from the UK and the USA overthrew Iran's democratically elected Prime Minister Mosaddegh back in 1953.
Re: Good riddance! (Score:2)
I thought that now that Trump and Putin are best bros that commies are no longer the bad guys.
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Just be sure not to play music around him.
Too late. The Rolling Stones already performed in Cuba earlier this year.
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/live-reviews/rolling-stones-thrill-huge-crowd-at-historic-havana-show-20160326 [rollingstone.com]
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In other news, Francisco Franco is still dead.
I just checked on this and it is true!
Victor Frankenstein was not available for comment...
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Nothing on netcraft...
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Yeah, Obama did so much that you can't name one legitimate thing that he did. Sorry but the man is a completely worthless blowhard.
Like Michael Moore said, getting Trump into office would be like giving the government a big "fuck you" and would be like throwing a molotov cocktail into their midst. The current US government needs to be destroyed and Trump might be the man to start cleaning house.
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Cuba is still firmly in the Castro regimes hands, though Raul does seen somewhat more pragmatic than his big brother.
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Yep [facebook.com]
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Don't worry, there are plenty more evil bastards to take over when Raul kicks the bucket or retires.
Sat Nov 26 16:36:52 UTC 2016 (Score:3)
Castro is still dead.
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Castro is still dead.
Stay vigilant; send periodic updates.
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I'd make a comment about how that SNL reference really dates you, but since I have a 5-digit user id I can't really talk.
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I saw the Beatles live on a B&W TV Feb. 9th, 1964. By that I should have a negative UID.
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You must be new here.
That user does not exist [slashdot.org]
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Cuba needs investment badly. Despite the obvious bad blood between the Castro's and the US, I get the impression Raul would rather that investment come in the form of greenbacks than renminbi.
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I don't disagree, but if that was the intent of the embargo, it has been a stunning failure.
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I don't disagree, but if that was the intent of the embargo, it has been a stunning failure.
The embargo was a reaction to Fidel's involvement with the Kennedy assassination, that's the reason all Presidents until Obama maintained it. Perhaps now the truth can come out. ;-)
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Cubans need freedom far more than they need investment.
This. Any investment in a Communist dictatorship is a huge gamble that the dictator won't suddenly up and declare that your investment is Property of The People (i.e., him) and confiscate it. Cuba needs investment... but they're not going to get much as long as that Sword of Damocles hangs over anything invested there.
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Freedom worked so well in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria...
Cubans have a western culture more compatible with democracy, like the other peoples of the region. You cite countries where the people often have a greater loyalty to local tribes.
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So "democracy" and "freedom" like the way the CIA freed central and south america throughout the 20th century. That was lovely and sure isn't having any lasting negative effects today.
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Cuba needs investment badly. Despite the obvious bad blood between the Castro's and the US, I get the impression Raul would rather that investment come in the form of greenbacks than renminbi.
The United States is the only country that has sanctions against Cuba. Cuba is free to trade, and get investments from any other country, and indeed did from some European countries, like Spain. Issue is that w/ a communist economy, nothing was ever gonna improve. It still won't, not until Raul is dead and what's left of the Cuban Communist Party implodes
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The rest of the world goes to Cuba for cheap vacations. They aren't hurting.
Re:"Historic thaw"? (Score:5, Insightful)
Cuba's hostility against America is legendary.
From a non-US perspective, USA's hostility towards Cuba is far more legendary. While most of the world have had diplomatic relations, trade and travel to Cuba, USA has consistently refused. This is not due to Cuba not wanting any relations.
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I don't think you understand what he was saying.
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Yeah, well, if someone was in on trying to whack my mom or dad I think I wouldn't play with him any more either, regardless of how many other neighborhood kids did.
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Seriously? It's easy for the world's biggest military that knows they won't be attacked to remove mines from another country. It's absurd that you would even dare to claim it's "hostility" for a small island nation to decline to lower its defenses against a superpower that has a large military force on Cuban land and has already tried to invade and has also made coun
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Well, Castro has survived 10 US presidents, who couldn't or didn't get rid of him. Trump gets elected, and before he even takes office, Comrade Fidel kicks the bucket. Just like in 1980, the day Reagan was elected, the Iranians released the hostages. In 2016, weeks after Trump is elected, Castro is dead!!!
Trump is already a great success, and he didn't even get started on Cuba as yet
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Of course Batista was bad. Castro was worse; under Castro people risked likely death to escape.
It wasn't so much escaping Cuba as wanting riches. Pretty much everyone wanted to go to USA, even though there were other countries they could travel to if escape had been the reason.
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What other countries? They certainly weren't making it to Europe in their little rowboats or whatever they could find to escape on.
That leaves a bunch of tiny islands, many under US control anyway and those that aren't were in just as bad a shape as Cuba throughout much of the cold war era. Mexico, which might be a great tourist trap but not really where most people think of when they want to start a new life of dreams and unicorns. Or Florida.
Not to mention Florida is also the closest of all of those to
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Even before Cuba lifted its exit visa requirements a few years ago, it was not hard to get an exit visum to nearby countries, after which they could board planes and boats, not rafts. A very easy "escape" if that had been what they wanted.
Almost all the Cubans in Florida are economic refugees, running to a place more than from.
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Which would be different from moving to the US how, exactly?
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Though that said, I'd be less than shocked if I found out that a bunch of Cubans had also escaped to Cancun. And I'm sure some did flee to Jamaica and Haiti and whatnot, though that would have been more difficult with Guantanamo (and US military presence) right there in addition to dodging the Cuban military.
I was born and live in Mexico. Over the years, I have met tens of Cubans who came here for different reasons, some exiting legally, some... much less so. Most of those exiting legally returned to Cuba. Yes, not everybody was allowed out — but it was not as dire as you imagine. Now, out of those who left ilegally, basically all of them either had emigrated to the USA (and I met them later, as USA citizens) or were on their way to do so.
Mexico is far from a first-world country, but it's also a place whe
Reagan didn't need guns to people's heads (Score:2)
Cuba is still communist while tricle down economics has been discredited. People die . Its if their ideas live on is what matters.
Fidel's ideas only live on under the gun's of his government. Reagan didn't need to hold guns to people's heads. When the Cuban government's guns are put aside we'll learn the people's true opinion of Fidel.
Khrushchev thought Fidel insane (Score:2)
Khrushchev would agree with you. If he or his dream were still alive.
And Khrushchev was the sane one of the two. Part of the reason he withdrew missiles from Cuba was that he thought Fidel was f'n crazy, willing to let Cuba suffer nuclear strikes if it would advance global communism.
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It's all good! I'm loving it! I watched all the crying faces at Hilliary's campaign HQ on election night. I kept playing it again and again on my DVR. It warmed the cockles of my heart.
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Actually my life is starting to look up. I eagerly look forward to a Trump presidency to Make America Great Again!
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This actually is a just world.
You just have to wait until it's all over to learn the final outcome.
I'm sure it'll be somewhat different than you're expecting.
Just wait
you'll see
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So he had one redeeming quality then.