Oh, if only I had a ruble for every time I heard someone tell me that they prefer the Daily News to the Times, because the latter is "a communist paper." After I get over the shudders, I have to laugh and wonder if they're on the lookout for visionaries, ne’er do wells, parlor pinks, reds, hyphenates, soft handed agriculturalists and working men who have never seen a shovel (to borrow a wonderful phrase from the Wall Street Journal), as well.

And after all that snickering on my part, it turns out they're right. Thanks to the always timely, always interesting Mr. Harnisch, the Daily Mirror republishes this awesome article, courtesy of Times freelancer Fidel Castro. Under his byline, where you might expect to see something like "staff writer" or "correspondent," he's listed as "Premier of Cuba."

Mr. Castro promises "I am not a dictator and I do not think I will become one. I will not maintain power with a machine gun."

He's not a bad writer, in terms of rhetoric, but he seems to have a bit of a disconnect with reality.

"And when the people decide they do not want me, I will step down," he says in his closing.

Well, I guess that now, nearly 50 years later, he thinks the people have spoken. And, whattya know, the Times is all over it. Commies.