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"The black U.S. lawmakers' concerns weren't for the 300-plus Cuban prisoners of conscience listed by Amnesty International or the hundreds of dissidents working from their homes under the watch of a totalitarian regime. Or the lack of civil rights in a country with a majority black and mixed-race population ruled by an overwhelmingly white gerontocracy.
"Their angst was for the 'Five Heroes,' as Cuba's controlled media calls the Cuban government spies captured in Miami, including one sentenced for conspiracy to murder the four Brothers to the Rescue pilots killed by Cuban fighter planes in 1996.
"Let's agree that basic human rights have to be upheld for enemies -- that's the very definition of justice.
"Where's the justice in Cuba?
"Certainly the Clueless Seven, led by Rep. Barbara Lee of California, didn't make a fuss about 50 years of the Castro brothers' rule, the human rights violations or the escalating and disproportionate number of black Cubans held behind bars. Indeed, Rep. Bobby Rush, a former Black Panther, could only show his empathy 'for the suffering of political prisoners,' as he referred to the five spies.
"Just once, I'd like to see a delegation of muckety-mucks see the real Cuba. Sure, talk with Tío Fidel, as three of the Clueless reportedly did during their trip that ended Tuesday. But also go see opposition members, feel their pain.
"Rep. Kendrick Meek, who was traveling the Panhandle Tuesday in his U.S. Senate bid, offered this wise analysis of his Black Caucus colleagues' 'fact-finding' mission:
"`THREAT TO SECURITY'
"'Political prisoners jailed in Cuba are held for peacefully expressing their rights and freedoms, like Dr. Oscar Biscet and Antúnez,' he said. 'The Cuban spies held in the U.S. federal prisons were a threat to our national security. That's the difference between night and day.''
"Had the Clueless Seven removed the blinders they would have known it."
