“Never let a crisis go to waste” seems to be the governing ethos of far too many elected politicians in Montgomery County (and nation-wide).
That, and “never let a good ol’ taxpayer-funded trip to an exotic locale go to waste”. Now, over seven years on from an eyebrow-raising, taxpayer funded trip (over $11,000 in today’s currency) overseas, I thought it would be a good time to look at what former Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett accomplished by traveling to Havana, Cuba for five nights in February of 2016. It was a trip billed to the tax-paying public as “an exploratory mission [with Cuba] that seeks to promote greater cultural ties and business interests with the Washington DC metro area.”
If you believe that nonsense, I have a flying potbellied pig with three heads to sell you.
Have there been any new “Cuban-born” start-ups in the Washington, DC area – or in MoCo in particular? Of course not. Cuba, under its communist kleptocracy and state-run enterprises, isn’t known for a burgeoning technology or agri-business start-up culture. How about any MoCo-based “life sciences” corporations – are they chomping at the bit to invest capital in Cuba in 2023? No.
So the “business interests” part of that press release was a joke. What about the alleged “cultural ties” Ike Leggett and crew were going to make in Cuba? Was there something missing, culturally, from the DC-region that only a communist dictatorship (that has a “Minister of Culture”) could fill? Four years on from CM Ike Leggett’s jaunt to the island, “Decree 349” was issued by the communist regime. Sounds like a very “open” and free culture is being fostered down there thanks to our politician’s efforts:
Artist activist group 27N has filed a legal motion for the dismissal of Minister of Culture Alpidio Alonso, who on January 27 was one of a number of government officials who physically confronted a group of peaceful protesters demonstrating in support of free speech. Alonso can be seen in a video aggressively knocking a cell phone out of the hand of Mauricio Mendoza, a reporter for the newspaper Diario de Cuba, during the protest, which took place outside the ministry building in Havana and was meant to mark the two-month anniversary of a protest against the passage of Decree 349, which requires artists to submit their work to a government review process before being allowed to release or perform it publicly.
So here, again, we see that nothing was accomplished by the trip to Cuba by a few MoCo and DC government politicians. It was all a ruse. A journey for “fun and fulfillment”. Maybe Ike Leggett had Cuba on his bucket list of destinations? It sure seems like current County Exec Marc Elrich would be enthralled with the place. Look at all the decaying communist handbook literature stacking the shelves of a bookstore in Havana [photo courtesy of former CM Roger Berliner’s Facebook]:
The impetus for this post and look-back at Montgomery County spending history comes from a recent independent Cubadata publication and poll. The poll reveals that “a majority of Cubans want to leave their country”. Over 57% in fact, say they want to leave Cuba and go somewhere else for a better future, freedom and prosperity. That “somewhere else” sure sounds a lot like America, even under our current inflation and debt.
Cubadata also asked the respondents what are, in their opinion, the top three reasons that drive Cubans to leave their country. The most-voted options were Cuba’s economic crisis, with 23.3 percent of the votes; followed by food shortages at 17.6 percent; and lack of any future in Cuba, with 16.5 percent.
Less Fidel Castro-era central planning and more freedom in Cuba would help these people build a brighter future, just like more freedom and consumer choice would work in MoCo, too. We can only hope change comes soon for both populations – and that a future taxpayer-sponsored vacation to Cuba for our elected officials truly is harbinger of real prosperity and economic activity between nations and regions.
[Photo again courtesy of Roger Berliner’s Facebook post on the trip to Havana as official MoCo emissary].
Related posts:
Re-Branded as “Action Youth Media”, Gandhi Brigade Youth Media (a MoCo Taxpayer Grantee) Still Appears to be Promoting Only Certain Types of “Activism” Through Art
Comparing the Music Venue Cronyism in Montgomery County, Twelve Years Later
Economic Storm Clouds Are Gathering, But the Montgomery County Council Seems Pre-Occupied with Other (National) Topics