90 Miles Into Darkness
Ninety miles south of the United States, Cuba is collapsing. The power grid is down. The lights will not come on this morning.
Cuba now says the Cuban diaspora can come home and start and own businesses there. They want that economic investment. It is much like China taking parts of capitalism that left the Communist Party in place.
For his part, President Trump says the Castros and communists can stay in power, but the present president of Cuba must step aside.
In the view of some Trump administration officials, removing Cuba’s head of state would allow structural economic changes in the country that Mr. Díaz-Canel, whom the officials consider a hard-liner, is unlikely to support, one of the people said.
If the Cubans agree, it would result in the first major political shake-up arising from talks between the two countries since those began a few months ago.
For many Cubans, that would not be enough. They want an end to the communists. Trump, instead, seems intent on modeling a new Cuba after the Venezuela approach, with a client state reliant on the United States.
Given Cuban spying, complicity with China, etc., that does not strike me as wise. But if it could be a launch pad to replace communism with democracy, it would be a good start.
President Trump, regardless of your views on him, has become one of the most consequential presidents. He is rebuilding the Western Hemisphere as the American Hemisphere and, even now, is working to topple the Iranian regime.
The conventional wisdom is that the whole project is poorly defined and wrongheaded, going against expert consensus. Perhaps, however, the experts are wrong.
Time will tell. For now, the Cubans are lighting their nation by burning down local communist party offices at night, and the regime grows weaker by the day.
Hey everyone — it’s been a while since I’ve posted, and I wanted to give a quick update. Not news or Cuba related. Just me telling you what’s up with me.
As some of you know, I was diagnosed with stage 3 stomach cancer back in April 2024. After several rounds of treatment and a lot of ups and downs, things were looking clear for a time. But late last year, follow-up tests found small remaining cancer cells hidden in scar tissue.
Because of that, I made the decision to move forward with a total gastrectomy. On February 26th, my stomach was surgically removed.
The hospital stay was rough — about 8 days of pretty intense recovery — and the first couple days at home weren’t much easier. I’m now about three weeks out, and I’ll be honest: it’s been a slow and humbling process.
Right now I’m on a feeding tube for most of my nutrition, with a gradual transition back to eating by mouth. That part has been an adjustment. Eating isn’t what it used to be — small portions, slow pacing, and learning how my body reacts to everything all over again. Some days go smoothly, others are a bit more challenging.
Energy has been the biggest hurdle. Everything takes longer — getting up, moving around, even just sitting at the computer. It’s a lot of trial and error figuring out what works, how much is too much, and when to rest.
That said, there are small wins. I’m starting to tolerate simple foods like yogurt, soup, and applesauce. I’m getting stronger little by little. And I’m beginning to find a routine that works for this stage of recovery.
The plan is about a 6-week recovery window before hopefully removing the feeding tube, assuming everything continues progressing well.
I wanted to share this both as an update and to see if anyone here has gone through something similar — especially life after a gastrectomy. As I know Erick’s wife similar cancer fight. We got this.
Appreciate all the support. Still in the fight — just taking it one step at a time.
My answer often these days on US actions around the world is "If not us, who? If not now, when?"