Blogs

Babalu Blog writer Claudia4Libertad praises yet somewhat criticizes President Bush for his policy on Cuban during his term:

President Bush is frequently criticized for not doing more to advance the cause for Cuban freedom. I tend to feel the same way because nothing has changed in regard to Cuban policy and the "Wet Foot/Dry Foot" policy still allows Cubans to perish at sea in order to get to US land. However, he has also kept the castro regime in the forefront by making frequent speeches, awarding Dr. Biscet the Presidental Medal of Freedom, and today, holding a teleconference with dissidents in Cuba (see Gusano's earlier post. ) So, when you look at it in terms of what past presidents have done, it certainly is more significant, although obviously "significant" is relative in this case. I suppose a gesture is better than nothing, and it cannot be denied that President Bush is making an effort to make sure the regime is recognized for what it is.

Needless to say, Bush and the GOP have been experts on keeping Cuban-American voters happy without completely alienating those who are strongly anti-immigration and xenophobic.

- Jose D. Duran

This week, Transit Miami blogger Tony Garcia wrote about the whole urban development boundary debacle. While county commissioners deny any wrongdoing, it does seem that they getting very friendly with developers looking to build in the Everglades. Garcia had this to say about the commissioners decision to allow developers to build west of the UDB:

Maybe now when the Mayor vetoes this decision, some of the other commissioners will come to their senses and realize that this is a bad idea. The UDB line does not need to move for a long long time. We need to take advantage of the infrastructure that we already have rather than expand. Its very simple math: the more people living in one area the less it costs on a per person basis to provide public services. The same roads and sewers service sprawl neighborhoods at a density of 4 units per acre as they do at 200 units per acre. In a very direct way, our tax dollars go to subsidize neighborhoods whose tax base doesn’t break even.

Miami-Dade, always moving two steps forward and 20 steps back.

- Jose D. Duran