Once upon a hoopty...

My first response is to be passionately outspoken against Mr. Ortega. I have seen the lies that have been told and unfulfilled by his party. I was not there in the eighties when he was in control of the country, alligned himself with the soviets and with a marxist socialism, but i have heard the stories. They celebrated their revolutionary victory by calling on the poor farmers in the cattle lands of the north to share and eat the cattle. And then there were no cattle. They discredited education, and placed as teachers anyone who would parrot the ideals of the party. They did try to educate the poor and country folk, but only in marxism.

Can people change? Of course I believe that. Has Daniel Ortega changed? I am sure he has changed in some ways...he is 16 years older than when he last was presidente. Has he mellowed out a little? Does he still hold to socialist ideals? Like many countries, and like his Venezuelan ally, I think he is mostly a proponent of any idealogy that is against the United States and their attempts to neo-colonize his country. Does he have a point? maybe so.

And that's where I find myself. If I had been born and raised in Nicaragua, I might want to believe the party lies, too. I might want to believe that Ortega is the best hope for Nicaragua. And I hope he is. I hope I'm wrong and that he reaches out to the poor without so offending the rich and the international community that he can continue to help the poor to put food on the table. With Fidel's rebellion against the U.S. fading to a fizzle, Chavez and now Ortega will continue to stand against the U.S. in this new era of capitalist colonialism. Are they any better? I doubt it. Will they challenge the way we view international politics? I hope so. Maybe we'll even have to act like equal partners in the international stage.

Oh, I don't know what I think anymore. God bless Nicaragua and have mercy on her whether her new leader be good or bad.