In yet another example of either Castro-philia or ill-informed gullibility by a member of the press, this time from CNN's Larry King, who fell for the propaganda of Hollywood, leftists and Fidel Castro who portray the oppressive Communist dictator in the media as a Communist--uh, strike that--socialist Sheriff Andy Taylor, who is so beloved by his “constituents,” that he is never challenged and doesn't need to take basic security precautions.

On a June 14 encore of a Glenn Beck show which originally aired May 17, the “Larry King Live” host responded to Beck's question which asked who King wished he could have interviewed. King answered Pope Jon Paul II and Fidel Castro. King didn't seem to want to interview Castro to discuss the brutal hold that he maintained on the island, now supposedly passed on to his brother Raul, or his relationship with Hugo Chavez, another civil rights-crushing dictator, but because he's so popular and, apparently, doesn't need bodyguards (from CNN transcript, bold mine):

KING: And the guy I`d like to do is Castro, because he fascinates me.
BECK: Better hurry on that one.

KING: I know. When you -- we`re getting close. When you can run a country for more years than anybody ever ran a country in this century, the 20th century until now, you`ve got to -- there`s got to -- somebody likes him.

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BECK: I don`t really know who that would be.

KING: Except -- no, but the weird part is he doesn`t go out with bodyguards. He doesn`t walk down the street. There`s not a lot of super secret service around him. He goes out fishing alone, goes to baseball games.

BECK: Why won`t they do the interview or why haven`t they yet?
BECK: OK.

KING: You keep trying.

BECK: Much more with Larry king in a minute.

And so Larry was sucked into the Castro “is the longest-serving political leader and has outlasted nine US presidents” Hollywood and media fairy tale about an island “socialist” utopia ( just like Canada!) where everyone is educated, everyone has the world's best health care and no one, repeat, no one, is ever unhappy, especially with their government.

King's admiration for Castro's longevity and popularity was plain; he clearly had one of those “all of those people loving Castro must be onto something; they can't all be wrong” expressions on his face and in his voice. Beck's face exposed how silly he thought this admiration was, but as this was a puff-piece promoting the festivities of King's Big 5-0, which was likely not supposed to be confrontational, Beck remained quiet.

How is it that Larry King and the media—and Michael Moore--continue to compare the US and other democracies to communist Cuba, as if they are equal? Sure, Cubans love Castro; they are not allowed to do otherwise. Sure, Castro's served a long time; he didn't allow any other options.

The ridiculous claim that Castro has no bodyguards with the unspoken statement therefore that he's universally loved, and no one wants to kill him, is so obviously false. King must have missed the CNN coverage of Castro's fainting and falling spells that resulted in several of his security detail rushed in to help. You can recognize Castro's security in this YouTube video by their guayabera shirts. Besides, when did Castro stop worrying about the CIA, George Bush and the Miami Cuban exiles assassinating him?

The media and celebrities—and Michael Moore again-- usually take what comes out of Cuba and out of Castro's camp as gospel and refuse to acknowledge the difference between totalitarian governments and the more transparent democratic governments where there are some reality checks by a free press and a free citizenry.

If only the Cuban people were aware of how much King wanted to interview Castro, but unfortunately, most Cubans are unable to watch American TV or even connect to the Internet.

Contact Lynn with tips or complaints at: tvisgoodforyou2 AT yahoo DOT com