Unfortunately the vast majority of Latin Americans can't let go of the romantic "ideal" of Che Guevara, to say nothing of its actual accuracy.

It seems that in their misery and poverty they need a reedeming martyr to give them hope, so basically they take Che and create a false mythical tale around him. Truth be damned.

"... I've noticed a growing pro-castro, pro-che attitude in them" - Ray, you are not alone. Here in TX the spanish outlets are sellouts; you can't find intelligent life for the most part, or conservative views in particular, from either radio or tv. It's a continual drip of leftist, anti-American (yes, I said it) propaganda in both blatant and subtle ways. It cater to a crowd that, whether legal or illegal, has little or no knowledge at all of the Cuban situation, or of the history of their own countries. I'm on the warpath to re-educate those I meet, because the ignorance is appalling. So the news channels only contribute to their viewers' intellectual demise.

You'd think that people fleeing the dictatorships and other hellholes south of the border fence would have different ideas, right? Think again. I joke that the commie mindset and anti-US sentiment is a genetic defect among our "hispanic brothers" but sometimes my fear is that it's not a joke. They gravitate to the propaganda because that is all they've ever heard and when they arrive here, it's reinforced by the spanish media. I agree with need something similar to the Jewish ADL and assorted think tanks if we are ever to make a dent in the culture. I've had grown responsible men tell me how much they admire Che; when quizzed, they can't give me any reason, it's just so...... the legend they've heard. It's hard work to bust their misconceptions, but we must do it.

There's a real reason People Magazine is considered the #1 bathroom publication in this country.

They sit comfortably in their posh offices and homes in expensive cities and write this shit. They have no idea or concept of what struggle or oppression is. They are idiots ... and not very 'useful' idiots at that.

Blakeman was enjoying the pizza at the Shirlington outpost of Shallal's small restaurant empire last weekend when he happened to look around at the decor. There, amid images of MLK Jr., Gandhi and President Obama, he saw a silk-screen poster of Che Guevara and Vladimir Lenin. He decided to write a letter.

Che Guevara. (Alberto Korda)
Blakeman is a GOP consultant and occasional pundit who worked in George W. Bush's White House. Shallal is an Iraqi immigrant and liberal activist who established Busboys and Poets (there are two others, both in D.C.) as a sort of lefty clubhouse -- a popular gathering place for Democratic causes and fundraisers.

Blakeman, who says he didn't know the restaurant's leanings, e-mailed Shallal to express disgust over the poster of communist revolutionaries, "two of history's most notorious and infamous figures who dedicated their lives to bringing misery and death to thousands of their political enemies," and urged Shallal to remove them: "They are offensive and inappropriate."

Vladimir Lenin (UPI)
Shallal e-mailed back: Guevara and Lenin "represent the struggles of working people. . . . They fought against the accumulation of wealth in the hands of the few." He forwarded the e-mails to us.
Blakeman says he'll never eat at Shallal's place again. "To give the private conversations of a patron to the newspaper is outrageous." Shallal should know better, he said: "A guy who fled oppression and built a business in the U.S. -- he never would have been able to do that under Che Guevara or Lenin."
Shallal's return slap: "Bush caused more death and destruction in the world than Che or Lenin."
Okay, we're not going to play peacemaker here. We'll step aside and let some cable-news talk-show booker take it up with them.

I think that part of it is that the castroite propaganda machine after 50 years of depicting us as "right winged, fascists, batistianos, troglodytes, intransigents, Miami Mafiosos" has bore fruit. Another thing is that Cuban exiles are exhausted with the struggle. Perhaps Miami is different, but in NYC, there is no Cuban American presence any more. Years ago, if a Castroite agent came to a university or some other place to give a presentation, there would always be a Cuban exile group to confront him, now there is nothing. Nobody cares anymore.

Finally, as I have said over and over again, we have no think tank, no anti-defamation league, and the Cuban American National Foundation which was the best thing we have when Jorge Mas Canosa was around has been totally eviscerated by Jorgito. I mean, I'm not even sure if they are still around.