Cuban-American Irony

Last week’s New York Times Magazine cover story detailed the grim reality that is contemporary Cuban life and chronicled the near half century of the Cold War atavism that is the United States-Cuba relationship.

            One comment seemed particularly cogent – and ironic.

Among those in officialdom that writer Roger Cohen interviewed was Elena Alvarez, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Economics. She was asked if it were still worth persevering with a two-generation revolution that has left Cuba with “dilapidated buildings, deserted highways and a need to import sugar?”

“The revolution has been a success,” responded Alvarez. “It overthrew a tyrannical regime. We got our national sovereignty. We got our pride. We survived aggression by the most powerful country in the world for 50 years. We preserved the essence of what Fidel fought for.”

Yeah, but about that crumbling infrastructure, subsistence lives and an economic model only North Korea could admire?

 Upon further reflection, her spin-doctoring seemed the perfect — and ironic — complement to the perverse rationalization we hear from the usual suspects about the “success” of the Cuban embargo.

Indian Interrogation Questions

           The United States has understandably absorbed plenty of international opprobrium for its treatment of terrorism-related prisoners. Abu Ghraib became the face of American occupation for much of the Middle East. Guantanamo became the symbol of judicial overkill. And “water boarding” became a 2008 presidential campaign issue.

            No one, of course, looks good defending torture – even of a legitimate suspect with likely knowledge of an imminent, and possibly catastrophic, threat. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the Gitmo-incarcerated 9/11 mastermind, notwithstanding.

             So how is India eliciting valuable information from Mohammad Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving gunman from the deadly Mumbai attacks? Keep in mind, this was a suicide mission. All of the mass-murderers, including Kasab, expected to die.

            And yet India, through repeated interrogations, has learned that Kasab was trained by Lashar-e-Taiba, the banned, Pakistan-based militant group. Kasab also revealed details of the maritime infiltration and supplied the names of fellow plotters and locations of training camps.

            So how did the Indians do it?

What do you use for leverage with one so soulless that he would massacre innocents and so inured of death that he would “martyr” himself? Ravi Shankar played at the decibel level of a jet engine? 73 virgins?

Or does water boarding really work?

Harris Mullen Remembered

            Harris Mullen was one of those people who you wished you had known better, but felt privileged to have known at all. As a business writer and a magazine editor, I had some entrée into Mullen’s milieu.

            The word is overused, but he was a visionary. He focused on business as a publication commodity before it was Florida fashionable; he started Florida Trend magazine. He developed Ybor Square. He saw the Tampa streetcar as an economic development tool and light-rail starter. He was a natural resource for Tampa Bay.

            And to his core, Harris Mullen was the consummate gentleman.

Quaint Concept

            It’s well documented that Bill Clinton has leveraged his White House years into a post-presidency windfall. Moreover, under the Former Presidents Act the feds have provided the former president with nearly $8 million in support. That’s roughly the same amount over the same period of time as provided to former presidents Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush combined.

There’s nothing illegal, of course, about it. Although it is at odds with a rather quaint concept expressed by Harry Truman on the way out of the Oval Office. “I could never lend myself to any transaction, however respectable, that would commercialize on the prestige and dignity of the office of the presidency,” noted Truman.

Just another reason that Harry S. gets better by the year.

Sports Shorts: Bowls, Barber And Tebow

*It’s obvious that the prospect of a major college football playoff, instead of a designated BCS National Championship game, is still a long shot – or a no shot. Not even a President Obama will trump the financial vested interests of schools and bowl-hosting cities.

But no less perplexing is the plethora of bowl games themselves. There are now 33 – plus the ultimate bowl, this year’s BCS match-up between Florida and Oklahoma. The 68 teams involved constitute 57 percent of the 120 Division 1-A teams.

Used to be that bowl games were rewards for teams that had successful years. Every season had its share. But there never were – and they’re surely not now – 68 worthy teams. Not even close. In fact, nine of the 33 bowl games (New Mexico, St. Petersburg, New Orleans, Hawaii, Motor City, Independence, PapaJohns.com, Music City and Liberty) could only muster one winning team. That should be as embarrassing for the host chambers of commerce as it is for the schools that have to win a bowl game to avoid a losing season.

And, yes, USF (7-5 overall, 2-5 Big East) is in one of those nine, the inaugural St. Petersburg Bowl, against Memphis (6-6) this Saturday.

*In one of the closest races in Heisman Trophy history, Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford edged Texas quarterback Colt McCoy and Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, who won it last year.

The case could be made for any of the three. Bradford was an excellent choice.

The only thing that didn’t make any sense was this: Although Tebow compiled the most first-place votes (309), he was left off 154 of the 904 ballots.

Obviously, individual statistics were a consideration. Competition was a factor. Quality of play-making teammates mattered. Playing a prime-time league championship game counted. Early voting thickened the plot.

Obviously, some voters seceded from Gator Nation.

*One of the classiest guys to ever play for the Bucs is Ronde Barber. Bright, articulate, involved in his community and the consummate team player.

Just one disclaimer. After he makes an interception, couldn’t he just hand the ball back to the official – and not take it to the sideline for a personal souvenir?

Jeb’s Timing

            Count me among those who think the Bush name is too toxic for Jeb! to ultimately overcome. But what you can’t prevent is the hindsight — not just speculation about the future — that inevitably accompanies any Bush family scenarios and subplots.

Jeb!, as we know, was the anointed one. The one who was Phi Beta Kappa, fluent in Spanish, an accomplished debater and an absolutely wonkish quick study. Plus, there was no alcohol or drug-abuse baggage. He was, as Paul Begala once said of Bill Clinton, typically the “smartest person in the room.”

Had he not been edged by Lawton Chiles in 1994 – Jeb! would have been in position (as a re-elected governor of a critical swing state) to make the 2000 race against Al Gore. Instead, it was his older brother George W., who had upset Ann Richards in ‘94 to become governor of Texas, who won the GOP nomination.

Had Jeb Bush run and won in 2000, say this: Ideology notwithstanding, he would have been smart enough, confident enough and egotistical enough to not outsource his opinions and judgment to any senior cabinet members. Especially when it came to the security and defense of the U.S.

Volunteer Pitch Works Well At Courthouse

The United States allows more jury trials than any other country in the world. Its local impact: About 130,000 jury members are needed each year in Hillsborough County.

            Periodically, your number is up and you’re called. Many of you know the routine. Few relish the opportunity to decide another’s fate. And nobody likes the more likely scenario of sheer boredom that waiting around induces. 

The time-hangs-heavy ambience of the jury auditorium at downtown Tampa’s George E. Edgecomb Courthouse is no exception. After Channel 28’s Brendan McLaughlin overviews it all for you on video, lots of down time ensues. That means lots of reading — occasionally interspersed with toneless announcements that cull more voir dire prospects.

            And then came a different voice with a different message.

            It was decidedly unbureaucratic and belonged to an amiable blonde in a blue business suit, Yvonne Marrone. She is the volunteer recruiter and community outreach coordinator for the Guardian ad Litem Program for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit. A Guardian ad Litem is appointed by the court to advocate for a child, most of whom have been removed from their homes because of alleged abuse, abandonment or neglect.

Marrone was making her rounds, but she was also making an impassioned pitch. The need is critical, she underscored, for more volunteers to be the voices for Florida’s neediest children.

            Now there, I thought, was smart marketing.

Excluding the incarcerated, this had to be the ultimate captive audience. And yet this was also an eclectic cross section of folks that couldn’t or didn’t try to get out of jury duty. And while this room of several hundred wasn’t necessarily the embodiment of civic idealism, it was a venue where the theme of community awareness and responsibility was ever present.

Marrone recruits “anywhere and everywhere,” she said. From print media and personal references to civic clubs, retiree communities, college criminal justice classes and blood banks. Among her most successful venues is the courthouse.

“Overall, our presentations at jury pool give us amazing exposure and create some dialogue,” explained Marrone.

Marrone takes a recruiting dip in the jury pool twice a week every week. The results have been encouraging. She averages 15-20 prospects – who take information and fill out forms – a month. On average, two or three sign up for training classes and become official Guardian ad Litem volunteers.

Right now there are 370 active volunteers to spread among some 1,400 children. Approximately 400 children are now awaiting a volunteer. Hillsborough County’s per-capita needs are more acute than any other county in Florida, lamented Marrone. And who knows what may happen if across-the-board budget cuts are enacted in Tallahassee.

“We have that many cases,” she said. “It’s kind of sad.”

And frustrating, even for the buoyant Marrone.

“It’s easy to stand on the outside and criticize the system,” she pointed out. “But our children are our future. When you volunteer, you’re saying to a child, ‘I care about you.’                                                             

“And these children see that. They see people who don’t have to care, who care anyhow. Often the Guardian ad Litem volunteer is the most consistent person in their life.”                                                         

This day about a dozen jury poolers filed back to a small anteroom to meet with Marrone.

She explained that the Guardian ad Litem program was not a “field-trip organization.” Indeed, it was about juvenile dependency cases and protecting the rights of children and advocating in their best interest. The volunteer Guardian ad Litem makes independent recommendations to the court – based on a child’s history, environment, relationships and, ultimately, needs. The volunteer also monitors the situation – to verify whether the orders of the court – and the plans of the Department of Children and Families – are being carried out.

“Their input in invaluable,” emphasized Marrone. “Our guardians are respected by the judges.”

The guardians put in between eight and 12 hours a month on average, estimated Marrone. That includes visitations, reports and (participation in) court hearings.

For those who opt to sign on, 30 hours of certification training await. That means 10 three-hour (6-9 p.m.) sessions — next available from Jan. 8 to Feb. 10, 2009. They are held at Christ the King Catholic Church in South Tampa. After that, volunteers are assigned to a supervisor. Provisions for volunteer requests – for example, a specific age or age range – can be accommodated.

And not that Marrone doesn’t have enough challenges. One more. January 8 is the BCS National Championship Game between Florida and Oklahoma.

“We promise to have you out as quickly as possible that first night,” Marrone assured all her listeners.

For further information, please contact Marrone at 272-5110 or at [email protected]. There’s also a website, www.guardianadlitem.org, which includes an on-line application.