Jimmy Carter was a so-so governor of Georgia at the time, and had no chance of winning the Presidency. Who would vote for him? The Republicans would have to find their worst possible candidate if they were to lose this one!

They did. Gerald Ford was nominated to run against Carter, and people were already angry with Ford for pardoning Richard Nixon of his Watergate lies.

The Democrats ran an effective campaign, raised a ton of money, and got their man elected. Trilateral Commission chief David Rockefeller gave millions to Carter's campaign and selected nearly all Carter's Cabinet. Advisor to the President on National Security Affairs, Zbigniew Brzezinski, was Rockefeller's director of the Trilateral Commisssion. Controlling the Presidency would come in handy for David Rockefeller, just as it had in the past.

Businessmen remember the Carter years for their double digit inflation, and 20% interest rates. Builders remember the Carter years as a time when people could not afford a mortgage. Workers remember the Carter years as one of the worst job markets in history.

I remember the Carter years for one of the most terrible crimes against America. President Carter gave away our canal in Panama to General Omar Torrijos, a dope-running socialist dictator. Our Canal was then prepared for its ultimate destiny - the takeover by communist China.

The Red Chinese army now has over 180,000 "workers" there. America's military bases have been taken over the Chinese military and large container ships are being unpacked. We are not allowed to know what the Chinese are unpacking, just a short missile flight from here, but it can't be good.

Last week Carter visited his old friend Fidel Castro in Cuba. It was the first visit by a US President, past or present, to visit Cuba since it became a communist dictatorship. Fidel loved the opportunity to build his prestige. Carter's fondness for the old dictator could not have been more evident.

Most Americans know something of Fidel Castro, but few can imagine the evil this man perpetrated against his country. I know several men who don't have to imagine anything. Last month I visited Puerto Rico to write a story about my old friend Juan San Emeterio for THE SAN JUAN STAR. Juan introduced me to his friends Luis and Orlando Burguera. These brothers were teenagers when Castro overthrew the Cuban government and took power. Their father had helped this effort by supplying Castro's guerillas with food and money. The elder Senior Burguera believed Castro to be a good man who could lead Cuba away from the dictatorship of President Batista - and lead Cuba to freedom.

Luis and Orlando's father was wrong. As soon as Castro took power, he announced that he was a communist, seized the Burguera family business, and sent the family away. You see, Communists have a diabolical hatred for business owners - even the ones who had helped them.

Luis and Orlando decided to escape to America. They checked into a hotel in Havana, and when it seemed safe to travel, headed toward the harbor where they caught a boat northward.

They nearly made it. But their boat was captured by Castro's men and they were both thrown into prison.

This is where Luis and Orlando would learn about brutality and Castro's disdain for everything decent. Luis was stripped naked and locked into solitary confinement. He heard the cries of innocent men before machine guns cut them down. He heard the cries of men tortured because they were not ardent disciples of Castro and communism.

Luis was in prison from age fifteen to age twenty-five. Orlando spent five years in prison before escaping to the coastline where he swam to Guantanamo Bay. Two years after prison, Luis also escaped. Both brothers made their way to America where they learned English, worked very hard, and saved their money.

Both brothers arrived in America only with borrowed clothes - and the freedom to become whatever they wanted to become. The Burguera brothers separately became very successful businessmen who have provided jobs for dozens of workers.

What do Luis and Orlando think of Castro? Surprisingly, they don't seem to harbor bitterness towards the tyrant who lied to them, destroyed their father, took their family's wealth, imprisoned and tortured them, and tried to have them captured and killed. They have only gratitude for their freedom, for their wives and kids, and for the wonderful country that made it all possible. (If only Americans had that same kind of gratitude!)

What do Luis and Orlando think of Jimmy Carter? I haven't asked them, but I think I know. The must surely believe that Jimmy Carter is a fool to trust his friend Fidel. They know what happened to others who put their trust in a tyrant.

© 2002 by George V. Caylor. All rights reserved.