We recently reported on the stunning reform underway regarding Cuba where the hidebound and traditional Cuba "Experts" were transitioning into Cuba "Analysts," and "Scholars". A reform, that it seemed to us, was genuine.

We're happy to report that this inexorable reform continues apace. After all, up until quite recently the term Cuba "Expert" seemed cast in stone. We can only hope that this reform is recognized and acted upon by U.S. policy-makers. Here's an extended hand for a New Deal in U.S.-Cuba relations. Let's hope U.S. policymakers finally slap away the hard-line Cuban-American lobby and accept this hand of reform and rapproachement. As further proof of this reform, see below from just this week:

From the New York Times:

“This is the first time the younger generation has a figure who is first in line,” said Philip Peters, a veteran Cuba scholar"

From the AFP:

"This marks "the start of the post-Castro era," Cuba affairs analyst Arturo Lopez-Levy of the University of Denver told AFP."

From NPR:

"Cuba scholar Arturo Lopez-Levy suggests a system of “republican checks and balances to executive power.”

From the Miami Herald:

“Step by step [Raul Castro] has been preparing for the day when he will leave his post, and he has now picked the one who will relieve him,” said Washington-based Cuba analyst Phil Peters."

From the New York Times:

a “regional czar whose power is discrete but tangible,” said Arturo López Levy, a former analyst with the Cuban government"

All that "expertise," but not an "Expert" in the bunch?!...Again, could Babalu's relentless ribbing have gotten to 'em?