Over at Babalu Blog, there's been a lot of activity in the last week or two. The author of the blog is a Cuban American who's putting out a lot of good commentary on Castro's craziness and the dire condition of the island for Cubans. While his politics are more conservative than mine, we agree on a central point: Castro's 'miracle' for the nation is smoke and mirrors. There's health care for everyone, but recently posted photos from the country's 'best hospital' are downright chilling.

A large number of the comments on that blog focus on the idea that, well, sure this is what happens when you don't have capitalism. I think that's a sad rhetorical diversion: Cuba is not poor because it has socialized health care. It's poor because terrible, corrupt, delusional leadership has combined with a US trade embargo to shred the nation's once strong economy.

I don't believe that our current embargo is the most effective way to help Cubans or get Castro out of power -- it hasn't worked, and it isn't going to. It only removes the nation's largest potential trading partner and exacerbates the nation's economic woes. That aside, there's no question that Castro and his original band of revolutionaries are the architects of the nation's downfall. US policies towards Cuba have been paternalistic and destructive for centuries, but Castro has actually been in control of the country, and driven it into the ground with flair. Coincidentally, he remains personally wealthy -- he made this year's list of Forbes billionaires. Hopefully, those of us who are frustrated with the current administration won't be tempted to play "enemy of my enemy" and embrace Castro's lunatic leadership.