A ONE-WAY STREET – AT 11:09 A.M. ET:   The administration is making new concessions to Cuba.  But many are increasingly asking what we're getting in return.  That would be a short answer.  From the Washington Examiner: 

The administration on Tuesday put Americans closer to visiting Cuba and purchasing Cuban-made goods than at any time since Washington imposed severe sanctions on the communist nation.

The Treasury and Commerce departments said U.S. citizens would be allowed to independently make educational trips to Cuba. Previously, Americans could visit only through a government-approved organization and had to be accompanied by a group representative. They made the announcement ahead of President Obama's historic trip to the island next week.

"This change is intended to make authorized educational travel to Cuba more accessible and less expensive for U.S. citizens, and will increase opportunities for direct engagement between Cubans and Americans," the joint news release said.

COMMENT:  And what precisely does this country, or Cuba's oppressed people, get out of this?  Cuba needs the deal far more than we do, and yet we made all the concessions.  Of course, Obama's crowd has always had a crush on Fidel.  Never mind the political prisons.  In Cuba you get free cough drops.  Take that, Mayo Clinic!

If Sanders ever gets elected, he will be far worse.  He not only was a fan of the Castros, he was a cheerleader for the Sandinistas.  And he honeymooned in the Soviet Union.  ("The Kremlin is for lovers.") 

In the meantime, the Castro boys will have to settle for Obama.  Cuba's thousands of political prisoners have not sent their thanks.

March 15, 2016