U.S. should stay out of Cuba’s affairs
Before the Castro brothers, Cuban industry was largely controlled by American businesses and the American mafia. Mining, ranching, sugar, gambling, cocaine, marijuana and prostitution were among the interests that made Fulgencio Batista very wealthy through kickbacks and various other nefarious schemes. American ambassadors openly colluded with Batista and certain of his predecessors. … It is time for the U.S. to stay out of the internal affairs of Cuba and other sovereign countries.
President Kennedy recognized this more than 50 years ago, but when threatened by a shipment of Russian missiles, he was forced to confront Castro. I support President Obama’s new initiatives on Cuba. Our policies of oppression by siding with foreign oppressors in Cuba, Haiti and other nations have caused much pain. We should stop now.
RICHARD ROSE, ATLANTA
Cuba critics, what really moves you?
Recent news was dominated by two developments: 1. The normalization of relations with Cuba; and 2. movie theater chains exercising censorship by withdrawing “The Interview” from its upcoming release. Seemingly unrelated, the two stories are connected and provide an unequalled opportunity for conservative voices to clearly establish what they believe.
In response to the Cuba announcement, many conservatives criticized President Obama with a theme centered on “weakening the country.” In response to the theater chains exercising censorship, nothing — yet First Amendment rights and principles of free expression have been violated. Are we to understand the acting out in the case of Cuba and absence of reactions to the censorship are somehow different? Or is it solely because the Cuba case is seen as a way to criticize President Obama?
Time for conservatives to make clear what they really believe. Are they about defending American rights for Americans, or is it more important to them to slam the president?
JERRY SEUFERT, ALPHARETTA
Kids suffer when parent is charged
As a parent educator, I am concerned with the trend of charging parents immediately with the deaths of their children. In the recent deadly DeKalb fire ("Mother accused in kids' deaths," News, Dec. 16), the mother was charged with murder before a true investigation could have taken place.
While it could be true this mother left her children alone and unattended, the police could not have ascertained such information so quickly. I want law enforcement to do their job, but not at the cost of children and families. We have children who have suffered the loss of three siblings and now are separated from their mother. The trauma these children face will inevitably lead to post-traumatic stress disorder, which will be compounded by parental separation.
While I know parents who mistreat their children need to be held accountable, I would like law enforcement to work a little harder to protect children by not criminalizing parents without a thorough investigation.
BARBARA E. HARVEY, ALPHARETTA
