President Obama and his advisers share with most of the mass media the same visual weakness when it comes to Cuba: they don’t see the obvious, the crucial facts and context that stare them in the face.

Grabbing other people’s land and interfering in their affairs became as American as apple pie before the annexation of Texas, and “Manifest Destiny” as the engine of U.S. foreign policy.

On March 12, after a two day trial, a Cuban court sentenced Alan Gross to 15 years in prison for “acts against the independence and territorial integrity of the state” referring to his role in a “subversive project” designed by Washington “to undermine” Cuba’s government. Alan Gross actually acted his part in the Washington play designed 50-plus years ago.

On July 8, the Washington Post lead story reported Cuba had released five political prisoners with assurances of forty-seven more to come in the near future. The Post story and its July 9 editorial omitted facts readers would need in order to understand the significance of the prisoner release.

What provoked a dozen families last June to conspire to overthrow Honduran President Manuel (Mel) Zelaya? He did not apparently harbor a secret revolutionary agenda, nor try to impose non-legal changes to bridge the immense gap between the handful of super rich and millions of poor. The oligarchy bogusly accused Zelaya of seeking constitutional changes so he could run again.