Raise a mojito and drink to Fidel

In a bit of foreshadowing last week, Fidel Castro joked that he would not be in office at age 100. Looks like he might have been right. Of course, the Cuban expatriates in Miami are partying like it's 1959 (well, for them, probably more like the end of 1958, right before the New Year.)

This looks to be a mixed bag for Cuba:

What to Gain	What to Lose
normalized relations	universal healthcare
trading partners	gay rights
able bodied returnees	political autonomy
increased tourism	freedom from American corporate control

However, it's a complete and total win for the US. First off, we get a new vacation spot with great food and music. We also get a foreign policy "victory" at a time we so desperately need something to go our way. And - this is the biggest for me - when the expats return home, it should effect a radical shift in the voting patterns of Florida.

Those expats have been one of the most reliable blocs of Republican voters in the country; as they depart, the South Florida demo will move perceptively to the left. The snowbirds are my peeps: expatriated Tri-state Jews. We're a voting bloc, too.