Castro's demise

As many of you surely know by now, Fidel Castro went in for intestinal surgery earlier this week and temporarily handed over power to his brother Raul. Well, fret not. (Not that I am.) According to CNN, reporting on a message from the man himself, Fidel is in "stable" condition and in "good spirits". His health may be "a secret of state that cannot be divulged constantly," but "the important thing is that everything is moving perfectly well in the country and will continue to do so".

And I'm sure that's absolutely true. Would Fidel lie to his own people? Surely not. His Communist paradise must be as good as it gets. He says so himself.

Mind you, I've never been to Cuba -- and I have no intention of going until I can be sure that the screams of tortured dissidents and the blight of abject poverty won't get in the way of a relaxing, sun-drenched vacation comfortably insulated from the brutal tyranny that oppresses the Cuban people -- so what do I know?

Well, I may not know much, but Red Sox 3B Mike Lowell certainly does. Quoted in the Boston Herald, Lowell said on Tuesday that "Castro killed members of [his] family". Just like he killed so many others.

Here's what he said about Cuba: "It’s a shame, but that country has been taken hostage for 40 years. It’s time for it to have a chance at being democratic."

And about Castro: "I don’t care if he dies. There are so many people who have died because of him and there’s been so much wrongdoing and so many human rights violations that I hope he does die. That sounds bad, but it’s the truth."

I've been critical of U.S. policy towards Cuba -- engagement would have worked better than passive-aggressive hostility -- but, policy differences aside, who can now lament Castro's demise? His regime deserves to die along with him.

All is not "moving perfectly" in Cuba. It never has. And democracy doesn't have a chance as long as Castro, who is essentially synonymous with Cuba, is still alive and in power.

Good for Mike Lowell for speaking the truth.