Fighting Blogs with Blogs

The Miami Herald recently had an article, "Cuba fighting blogs with blogs" making reference to the growing influence the Cuban blogosphere has been garnering. Within the article there was a revealing quote from a Castro supporter talking about independent bloggers:

``There must be a defense, but how?'' wrote one government supporter on Progreso-Weekly.com ``If you [answer] them, you validate them. If you ignore them, you confirm them. If they are repressed, they are empowered. And if they are not repressed, they are also empowered.''

This quote embodies so much of what is wrong with the regime--a fear of criticism. Why must you "defend" against people who are speaking their minds? Why does the "Revolution" require the silencing of voices in order to maintain its "legitimacy" (not that it was ever or could ever be considered legitimate). Still, it is promising to see that bloggers are receiving so much attention from the government. The Castro's control of the flow of information is weakening and, with that, so is the government's illegitimate control over its people.