Help Cuba Recover From Hurricane Ike

I was appalled to read this morning that the U.S. offered the Cubans a paltry $100,000 to help with their Ike aftermath. And to send in some damage assessment teams.

The Cubans said no thanks to the money and that they had the damage assessment under control.

But the Cubans politely asked, would you pretty please lift the trade restrictions so that we can buy lumber and other building supplies? And if you could also pretty please sell us some food supplies, on credit, that would also be helpful.

Our benevolent government said no to the Cuban plea.

We've had Cuba under an embargo for decades now. To what purpose? The Soviet Union is gone. Cuba no longer has a communist patron. China is still, supposedly, communist, be we trade with them like maniacs. And China has nukes. And an awful lot of Chinese. Cuba is just a little island that drives around in American cars from the 50s.

Cuba poses no threat to America. America does pose a threat to Cuba.

I think it's time to be good neighbors and even though we don't like our neighbor's way of doing things, they are still our neighbors. And they need help. And if we help our neighbors it is more likely we'll get them to think of us more kindly and be more open to our suggestions as to how they run their house, than if we treat them like the bad neighbors from hell.

Yes, I know the anti-Castro Cuban-Americans in Florida would go all ballistic if the U.S. suddenly adopted a more enlightened policy towards our communist neighbor.

But. It's the right thing to do. Any country that gave us Ricky Ricardo, I want to be friends with.

Below is video of what Cuba just went through with Hurricane Ike. I wonder if Cuba will offer to send in a damage assessment team tomorow to Texas? And $100,000.