ANOTHER OF DELAY'S SCANDALOUS, HYPOCRITICAL ACTS

Thanks to Elisabeth Donovan at The Miami Herald's Infomaniac Weblog:

Time magazine has a picture in it's new edition showing House Majority Leader Tom DeLay enjoying a fine Cuban cigar two years ago during a meeting in Jerusalem with the Republican Jewish Coalition.

The Hoyo de Monterrey double corona, considered a very good smoke by many in the cigar world, costs about $25 each when purchased overseas, and is not available in the United States because of the long-standing embargo against products from the Communist island. DeLay, who has been a longtime vocal critic of the Fidel Castro regime (a "thugocracy", as he has referred to it), continues to support the embargo, saying during a debate last year about possibly loosening the sanctions:

"Every dime that finds its way into Cuba first finds its way into Fidel Castro's blood-thirsty hands.... American consumers will get their fine cigars and their cheap sugar, but at the cost of our national honor."

According to the Time piece, DeLay's smoke in Israel was not illegal at the time...but it would be today:

Last September, the Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control tightened its prohibitions against U.S. citizens importing or consuming Cuban cigars. Even Americans licensed to bring back up to $100 worth of Cuban goods are no longer allowed to include tobacco products in what they carry. The regulation also noted that Americans are barred not only from purchasing Cuban goods in foreign countries, but also from consuming them in those countries.

DeLay's spokesperson said when asked about the Majority Leader's taste that there has been "no change in our Cuban policy."

Yes, friends...Tom DeLay, Man of Principle (said VERY sarcastically)