Honduran Presidency seized in Coup by Military

goin_south says on Jun 28, 2009, 10:56:

Power to the People!
Que Bien!

nothin I say is to be takn for my words, but rather for the words of Sailor Jerry.

1 funny, 1 helpful.

miamimike says on Jun 28, 2009, 10:58:

Jeez All he wanted to do was remove term limits to his re-election,,,Sound familiar? LOL

My neighbor has property there she is currently trying to sell and is concerned about the effects this may have on her selling. That's the risk you run in owning property in LA.

No hay Peor Ciego que el que no quiere Ver o Sordo que el que no quiera Oir--Soy Yo, Sarah Palin, Wasilla Alaska.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Miguel_Clavo says on Jun 28, 2009, 11:48:

wait, they say they arrested him but he is in exile at the same time?????

RVW orderded me to remove my tagline congratulating the PBH Mods New Golden Boys. Lame.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

miamimike says on Jun 28, 2009, 11:54:

Miguel_Clavo says on Jun 28, 2009, 11:48 (today): flag

wait, they say they arrested him but he is in exile at the same time?????
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That's the way things are sometimes in LA,,,no muy claro or transparent

No hay Peor Ciego que el que no quiere Ver o Sordo que el que no quiera Oir--Soy Yo, Sarah Palin, Wasilla Alaska.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

jonny305 says on Jun 28, 2009, 12:47:

they arrested him took him to cr

0 funny, 0 helpful.

scumbuster says on Jun 28, 2009, 14:09:

I can only hope if I am ever arrested they will send me to CR..lol

Tomas Jefferson “When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”

1 funny, 0 helpful.

miamimike says on Jun 28, 2009, 16:35:

I read on Yahoo where this General Vasquez is a Graduate of the SOA(school of America). Past SOA Grads played roles in Chile, Argentina ect we all know how these Coups turned out,,,


Military Coup in Honduras
A military coup has taken place in Honduras this morning (Sunday, June 28), led by SOA graduate Romeo Vasquez. In the early hours of the day, members of the Honduran military surrounded the presidential palace and forced the democratically elected president, Manuel Zelaya, into custody. He was immediately flown to Costa Rica.

A national vote had been scheduled to take place today in Honduras to consult the electorate on a proposal of holding a Constitutional Assembly in November. General Vasquez had refused to comply with this vote and was deposed by the president, only to later be reinstated by the Congress and Supreme Court.

The Honduran state television was taken off the air. The electricity supply to the capital Tegucigalpa, as well telephone and cellphone lines were cut. Government institutions were taken over by the military. While the traditional political parties, Catholic church and military have not issued any statements, the people of Honduras are going into the streets, in spite of the fact that the streets are militarized. From Costa Rica, President Zelaya has called for a non-violent response from the people of Honduras, and for international solidarity for the Honduran democracy.

While the European Union and several Latin American governments just came out in support of President Zelaya and spoke out against the coup, a statement that was just issued by Barack Obama fell short of calling for the reinstatement of Zelaya as the legitimate president.

No hay Peor Ciego que el que no quiere Ver o Sordo que el que no quiera Oir--Soy Yo, Sarah Palin, Wasilla Alaska.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

goin_south says on Jun 28, 2009, 22:11:

yeah, Mongo... now, if we can ever get things right ,... here in America!

nothin I say is to be takn for my words, but rather for the words of Sailor Jerry.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

romy says on Jun 28, 2009, 22:25:

if democracy wants to be promoted this coup should be condemned. The Hondurian judiciary should have impeached the presidente if they felt that was the right move. But illegally removing the elected president is not to be tolerated in a democratic country.

btw mongo, the move in Iran is to move from a conservative government to a liberal one hahaha

3 funny, 0 helpful.

romy says on Jun 28, 2009, 22:32:

The Right to Rebel, I'm very familiar... it applies to a tyrant, not a democratically elected president

1 funny, 0 helpful.

goin_south says on Jun 28, 2009, 22:37:

such is life, romy.

nothin I say is to be takn for my words, but rather for the words of Sailor Jerry.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

romy says on Jun 28, 2009, 22:41:

"Anyone who takes away anothers property and livelihood is a tyrant."

that's not the definition sorry

3 funny, 0 helpful.

miamimike says on Jun 28, 2009, 23:45:

goin_south says on Jun 28, 2009, 22:11 (today): flag

yeah, Mongo... now, if we can ever get things right ,... here in America!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well we are off to a good start with Bush/Cheney out of sight ! Things can only get better ~

No hay Peor Ciego que el que no quiere Ver o Sordo que el que no quiera Oir--Soy Yo, Sarah Palin, Wasilla Alaska.

1 funny, 0 helpful.

scumbuster says on Jun 29, 2009, 07:10:

MM.. Wait till your buddy has us paying 50% in income tax to pay for all the new programs and see how you feel. Not to mention our money will be worth half as much because of all of the cash they are printing.
I agree Bush was in a hole and digging it deeper every day. But Obama has moved in a backhoe to dig and it doesn’t appear he will be happy till he hits China.

Now besides the spending, our biggest problem is that our representatives will not vote there conscious. They let the party leadership twist there arms to vote with the party. They will not stand up to them and vote in the interest of the people they represent. If things keep up we will start to see the same thing as we witnessed in Iran. Thousands of protesters in the streets. At least I can hope we will.

Tomas Jefferson “When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”

0 funny, 1 helpful.

billyb says on Jun 29, 2009, 08:04:

And in some more good news, the Kirchner couple in Argentina got their butts kicked in sunday's election.

"All I want to know is where I'm going to die, so I never go there" Unkown (at least to me) wise man.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

romy says on Jun 29, 2009, 09:21:

"A tyrant's actions can encompass many things. Did you fail logic 101, or what?"
if you fully define a tyrant your examples don't fit in. What logic are you talking about anyways? you described certain political actions and directly related them to a term, completely misrepresenting the term, thus why I said that it wasn't the definition. You forget who you are discussing with?

4 funny, 0 helpful.

miamimike says on Jun 29, 2009, 10:32:

I agree Bush was in a hole and digging it deeper every day. But Obama has moved in a backhoe to dig and it doesn’t appear he will be happy till he hits China.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bush put us down so deep that's why Obama had to bring in the Backhoe. We will pay for that ridculous Iraq War of Bush's for decades...Wait Til those Bills come due for the Medical care needed to treat our wounded iraq war vets at our VA Med Centers,,,good for the next 50 years...Bush will never be far from our memory when we reach for our wallets,,,Remember that nice surplus Clinton left Bush in 2001??

Medicare Fraud here in Miami has reached a fever pitch and this Administration is finally doing something about it. Miami is Ground Zero for this Fraud. Why didn't the Bush Admin do something about rooting out this Massive fraud and save the Taxpayer's money? Why pass it on to the next Guy like he did? Not to mention the debt we occurred because of it? Why no criticism of Bush for this lack of oversight?

No hay Peor Ciego que el que no quiere Ver o Sordo que el que no quiera Oir--Soy Yo, Sarah Palin, Wasilla Alaska.

2 funny, 0 helpful.

billyb says on Jun 29, 2009, 11:23:

"Medicare Fraud here in Miami has reached a fever pitch and this Administration is finally doing something about it."

This thread is about Honduras Mike, just must have mistaken it for your Bush/medicare fraud thread.

"All I want to know is where I'm going to die, so I never go there" Unkown (at least to me) wise man.

0 funny, 2 helpful.

miamimike says on Jun 29, 2009, 11:26:

No, actually I was answering Scumbuster's Comment a few posts up. Did you read it? It also wasn't related to the OP but you said nothing concerning his post. You will see why my comment was timely,,,

Billy--why not leave the same type comment for Scumbuster as you left for me? In fairness, I think you should.

No hay Peor Ciego que el que no quiere Ver o Sordo que el que no quiera Oir--Soy Yo, Sarah Palin, Wasilla Alaska.

1 funny, 0 helpful.

billyb says on Jun 29, 2009, 11:34:

Mike, I'm only messing with ya, last thing I want to do is be a mod, but ok, all of you, stay on topic, OK?

"All I want to know is where I'm going to die, so I never go there" Unkown (at least to me) wise man.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

miamimike says on Jun 29, 2009, 11:39:

The Mechanism exists in the Honduran Constitution to deal with Zelaya in court. Why didn't they take this course of action? After all, aren't we in the 21st Century?

Also, a Miami Poster made a Good Point today:

"Eugenio6 wrote on 06/29/2009 01:54:03 PM:
THEY MADE A MISTAKE . . . They should have held a trial in the Honduran Congress and impeach Zelaya. That way Zelaya would have been exposed as the one breaking the law. Now he is the "victim" and all the countries feel obliged to recognize him"

Now all the countries will simply say "There you go, another Latin Amerrican Country (read Banana Republic) stages a Coup" Nothing ever changes down there, same old 3rd world tactics and Business as usual" And they are right! Otherwise they would have followed the course of action as permitted in their constitution. If they respected the Law,,,If

No hay Peor Ciego que el que no quiere Ver o Sordo que el que no quiera Oir--Soy Yo, Sarah Palin, Wasilla Alaska.

1 funny, 0 helpful.

billyb says on Jun 29, 2009, 12:00:

I agree, they could have been smarter about it, but make no doubt, he has no respect for the constitution our democracy, regardless of what he's saying now. He just wanted to be a cheap immitation on chavvie.

"All I want to know is where I'm going to die, so I never go there" Unkown (at least to me) wise man.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

miamimike says on Jun 29, 2009, 12:03:

Check this Pic out, doesn't look like Democracy in action with all those Soldiers and Tanks. Looks more like China and Tinammen Square when the Communist Soldiers quashed the Uprising!


"The new government declared an indefinite curfew and shut down media sources."

Doesn't sound like the new Government is off to a Democratic Start either...

Going to be a Bumper Crop Of "Bananas" in Honduras this growing season. lol


http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/06/29/honduras.president.arrest...

No hay Peor Ciego que el que no quiere Ver o Sordo que el que no quiera Oir--Soy Yo, Sarah Palin, Wasilla Alaska.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

ColombianoGringo (Moderator) (Trustee board) (☼Travelguide writer) says on Jun 29, 2009, 12:04:

billyb says on Jun 29, 2009, 12:55:

Mike, at least the Honduran military have not shot or beat protesters, like the Iranian regime, which Obbie coddled for a couple of weeks until he was embarrassed into condemning.

"All I want to know is where I'm going to die, so I never go there" Unkown (at least to me) wise man.

1 funny, 2 helpful.

ColombianoGringo (Moderator) (Trustee board) (☼Travelguide writer) says on Jun 29, 2009, 14:42:

Lcacique says on Jun 29, 2009, 17:21:

Chavez took over the government in a coup? The only thing he took over was a museum...and he is not the only one crying like a baby, the whole region - including conservative governments like Mexico and Colombia, are against the coup. So, you might as well mock them as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5YNlCxo43E

"Es fácil vivir con los ojos cerrados interpretando todo lo que se ve mal..." ~ J. Lennon

1 funny, 0 helpful.

Lcacique says on Jun 29, 2009, 18:21:

I rarely attended class (you got that wrong, also). When I did, I never sat in the front (you got that one wrong, also). I got tons of approval at home (you got that wrong, also). I got no approval from the government (you got that one wrong, also).

Let me try on your shoes for a moment (warning: this is satire and it should not be taken seriously. It is not meant to offend): a typical conservative blowhard like yourself has no use for facts and - when confronted with them - resorts to making disparaging remarks. Even though nobody was questioning your point, you instantly become defensive and hostile. And of course your paranoid mind believes that the leftists are hiding in the shadows waiting to pounce on any mishap. You take yourself way too seriously, but that is to be expected from an angry conservative.

I thought it would be fun, but I was wrong.

"Es fácil vivir con los ojos cerrados interpretando todo lo que se ve mal..." ~ J. Lennon

0 funny, 0 helpful.

miamimike says on Jun 29, 2009, 20:49:

The new government declared an indefinite curfew and shut down media sources."
=======================================================================

Billy--you didn't answer my question about why the new regime cut off the News and Imposed a Curfew. Does this sound like a Democracy? Also, why not let the Hondurans deal with this Problem in their court system? Their Constitution allows them to, isn't that how Democracies are supposed to function? Can't compare Iran --never was a Democracy with Transparent Elections.

No hay Peor Ciego que el que no quiere Ver o Sordo que el que no quiera Oir--Soy Yo, Sarah Palin, Wasilla Alaska.

1 funny, 0 helpful.

goin_south says on Jun 29, 2009, 21:43:

Well we are off to a good start with Bush/Cheney out of sight ! Things can only get better ~

I chose to disagree,... with the second part.
Things got 10 X's worse within a few months.
Obama should have let the free market play out (NO BAIL OUTS!)
And, then worked to clean up the corruption.... (impossible task)
just my humble opine.

nothin I say is to be takn for my words, but rather for the words of Sailor Jerry.

1 funny, 1 helpful.

Lcacique says on Jun 29, 2009, 23:41:

What does your screen name have to do with whether or not you take yourself too seriously?

Of the 14 constitutions that Honduras has had, which should be obeyed as the rule of law?

"Es fácil vivir con los ojos cerrados interpretando todo lo que se ve mal..." ~ J. Lennon

1 funny, 0 helpful.

Lcacique says on Jun 29, 2009, 23:57:

Why?

"Es fácil vivir con los ojos cerrados interpretando todo lo que se ve mal..." ~ J. Lennon

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Lcacique says on Jun 30, 2009, 00:37:

Because of the reference to Blazing Saddles?

"Es fácil vivir con los ojos cerrados interpretando todo lo que se ve mal..." ~ J. Lennon

0 funny, 0 helpful.

tasco66 says on Jun 30, 2009, 04:49:

This was not a military coup, this was a Constitutional coup:

Why is Zelaya’s Constitutional coup attempt ignored by the world?

June 29, 2009

Let’s review the stages of what happened in Honduras:

-President calls for a vote on having a referendum to allow his reelection

-Supreme Court and Assembly say it is illegal and Court rules so. Military warns that the law should be obeyed. Constitution actually says even promoting reelection is illegal.

-President removes Chiefs of Staff of military, Court tells him he can’t do that.

-President continues with plans to carry out vote on Sunday. On Sunday, military arrests him.

-National Assembly votes unanimously to name a new President, Supreme Court backs it.

-World is in outcry over Zelaya’s overthrow but was not over outright coup against Constitutional order.

The first question is why was the removal of Zelaya illegal, despite all independent institutions backing it, while similar removals of elected Presidents in Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia did not even raise an eyebrow in the world’s international “democratic” institutions and Nations?

The second question is why it appears as if democracy in our Hemisphere refers only to the fact that Presidents are elected, but somehow they can ignore the laws, the institutions and the Constitution once they get there and its fine with the world, but any attempt to force these elected Presidents to respect the institutions is somehow ignored and even considered suspect by world opinion, particularly if the elected President seems to be left wing. There is clearly a double, if not triple standard in all this.

Finally, why is it that the OAS can meet so fast to meet in these cases but has yet to look at the rape of the Venezuelan Constitution by Hugo Chavez or even his role in the Honduran affair. Chavez was indeed elected by the people but that does not give him the right to violate our rights, anymore than Zelaya attempted to violate everyone’s rights in Honduras by carrying out an illegal vote.

Until institutions like the Supreme Court, the National Assembly and others are not allowed to curtail Presidential power, by maintaining checks and balances and limiting what Presidents can do, our countries will not have a true democracy. The Constitution is there for everyone and the President should be the first person to defend it and promote. If not, it is the people that are left defenseless from the Dictadorcitos that fate throws upon us like Hugo Chavez and wannabe Zelaya.

Zelaya simply tried to stage a Constitutional coup because he was the President, but somehow the world seems to have ignored all of this, against the background of institutions that in the end did follow the law and the Constitution in order to remove him.

http://devilsexcrement.com/2009/06/29/why-is-zelayas-constitutional-co...

The trouble with free elections is, you never know who is going to win (Leonid Brezhnev)

0 funny, 1 helpful.

tasco66 says on Jun 30, 2009, 05:24:

Honduras Defends Its Democracy
Fidel Castro and Hillary Clinton object.

Hugo Chávez's coalition-building efforts suffered a setback yesterday when the Honduran military sent its president packing for abusing the nation's constitution.

It seems that President Mel Zelaya miscalculated when he tried to emulate the success of his good friend Hugo in reshaping the Honduran Constitution to his liking.

But Honduras is not out of the Venezuelan woods yet. Yesterday the Central American country was being pressured to restore the authoritarian Mr. Zelaya by the likes of Fidel Castro, Daniel Ortega, Hillary Clinton and, of course, Hugo himself. The Organization of American States, having ignored Mr. Zelaya's abuses, also wants him back in power. It will be a miracle if Honduran patriots can hold their ground.
[THE AMERICAS] Associated Press

That Mr. Zelaya acted as if he were above the law, there is no doubt. While Honduran law allows for a constitutional rewrite, the power to open that door does not lie with the president. A constituent assembly can only be called through a national referendum approved by its Congress.

But Mr. Zelaya declared the vote on his own and had Mr. Chávez ship him the necessary ballots from Venezuela. The Supreme Court ruled his referendum unconstitutional, and it instructed the military not to carry out the logistics of the vote as it normally would do.

The top military commander, Gen. Romeo Vásquez Velásquez, told the president that he would have to comply. Mr. Zelaya promptly fired him. The Supreme Court ordered him reinstated. Mr. Zelaya refused.

Calculating that some critical mass of Hondurans would take his side, the president decided he would run the referendum himself. So on Thursday he led a mob that broke into the military installation where the ballots from Venezuela were being stored and then had his supporters distribute them in defiance of the Supreme Court's order.

The attorney general had already made clear that the referendum was illegal, and he further announced that he would prosecute anyone involved in carrying it out. Yesterday, Mr. Zelaya was arrested by the military and is now in exile in Costa Rica.

It remains to be seen what Mr. Zelaya's next move will be. It's not surprising that chavistas throughout the region are claiming that he was victim of a military coup. They want to hide the fact that the military was acting on a court order to defend the rule of law and the constitution, and that the Congress asserted itself for that purpose, too.

Mrs. Clinton has piled on as well. Yesterday she accused Honduras of violating "the precepts of the Interamerican Democratic Charter" and said it "should be condemned by all." Fidel Castro did just that. Mr. Chávez pledged to overthrow the new government.

Honduras is fighting back by strictly following the constitution. The Honduran Congress met in emergency session yesterday and designated its president as the interim executive as stipulated in Honduran law. It also said that presidential elections set for November will go forward. The Supreme Court later said that the military acted on its orders. It also said that when Mr. Zelaya realized that he was going to be prosecuted for his illegal behavior, he agreed to an offer to resign in exchange for safe passage out of the country. Mr. Zelaya denies it.

Many Hondurans are going to be celebrating Mr. Zelaya's foreign excursion. Street protests against his heavy-handed tactics had already begun last week. On Friday a large number of military reservists took their turn. "We won't go backwards," one sign said. "We want to live in peace, freedom and development."

Besides opposition from the Congress, the Supreme Court, the electoral tribunal and the attorney general, the president had also become persona non grata with the Catholic Church and numerous evangelical church leaders. On Thursday evening his own party in Congress sponsored a resolution to investigate whether he is mentally unfit to remain in office.

For Hondurans who still remember military dictatorship, Mr. Zelaya also has another strike against him: He keeps rotten company. Earlier this month he hosted an OAS general assembly and led the effort, along side OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza, to bring Cuba back into the supposedly democratic organization.

The OAS response is no surprise. Former Argentine Ambassador to the U.N. Emilio Cárdenas told me on Saturday that he was concerned that "the OAS under Insulza has not taken seriously the so-called 'democratic charter.' It seems to believe that only military 'coups' can challenge democracy. The truth is that democracy can be challenged from within, as the experiences of Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and now Honduras, prove." A less-kind interpretation of Mr. Insulza's judgment is that he doesn't mind the Chávez-style coup.

The struggle against chavismo has never been about left-right politics. It is about defending the independence of institutions that keep presidents from becoming dictators. This crisis clearly delineates the problem. In failing to come to the aid of checks and balances, Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Insulza expose their true colors.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124623220955866301.html

The trouble with free elections is, you never know who is going to win (Leonid Brezhnev)

0 funny, 1 helpful.

billyb says on Jun 30, 2009, 07:33:

"Also, why not let the Hondurans deal with this Problem in their court system?"

errrrr, earth to Mike, they did deal with it through their court system, their Supreme Court declared the poll illegal and ordered him to reinstate the Chief of Staff and your boy ignored both orders (usurping the constitution), hence he was sent packing.

"All I want to know is where I'm going to die, so I never go there" Unkown (at least to me) wise man.

0 funny, 3 helpful.

ColombianoGringo (Moderator) (Trustee board) (☼Travelguide writer) says on Jun 30, 2009, 08:56:

miamimike says on Jun 30, 2009, 09:00:

your boy ignored
--------------------------------

Billy--Why do say my "Boy" ?

No hay Peor Ciego que el que no quiere Ver o Sordo que el que no quiera Oir--Soy Yo, Sarah Palin, Wasilla Alaska.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

tasco66 says on Jun 30, 2009, 10:09:

Obama backs dictatorship in Honduras

Honduras removed its bullying, autocratic President after he began behaving as a dictator, and its Congress replaced him with a less power-hungry member of his own political party. Now Obama is joining the Cuban dictator Castro and Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez in demanding the Honduran ruler’s return. This is simply outrageous.

As Investors Business Daily notes, Honduras had ample reason to remove its dangerous, out-of-control President, who had repeatedly violated his country’s constitution and laws:

“Honduras’ now ex-president, Mel Zelaya, last Thursday defied a Supreme Court ruling and tried to hold a “survey” to rewrite the constitution for his permanent re-election. It’s the same blueprint for a rigged political system that’s made former democracies like Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Ecuador into shells of free countries. Zelaya’s operatives did their dirt all the way through. First they got signatures to launch the 'citizen’s power' survey through threats — warning those who didn’t sign that they’d be denied medical care and worse. Zelaya then had the ballots flown to Tegucigalpa on Venezuelan planes. After his move was declared illegal by the Supreme Court, he tried to do it anyway. As a result of his brazen disregard for the law, Zelaya found himself escorted from office by the military Sunday morning, and into exile. Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez and Cuba’s Fidel Castro rushed to blame the U.S., calling it a 'yanqui coup.' President Obama on Monday called the action ‘not legal,’ and claimed that Zelaya is still the legitimate president. There was a coup all right, but it wasn’t committed by the U.S. or the Honduran court. It was committed by Zelaya himself. He brazenly defied the law, and Hondurans overwhelmingly supported his removal (a pro-Zelaya rally Monday drew a mere 200 acolytes).”

John Fund of the Wall Street Journal call’s Zelaya’s ouster a “triumph” of the law:

“Many foreign observers are condemning the ouster of Honduran President Mel Zelaya, a supporter of Hugo Chavez, as a ‘military coup.’ But can it be a coup when the Honduran military acted on the orders of the nation’s Supreme Court, the step was backed by the nation’s attorney general, and the man replacing Mr. Zelaya and elected in emergency session by that nation’s Congress is a member of the former president’s own political party? Mr. Zelaya had sacked General Romeo Vasquez, head of the country’s armed forces, after he refused to use his troops to provide logistical support for a referendum designed to let Mr. Zelaya escape the country’s one-term limit on presidents. Both the referendum and the firing of the military chief have been declared illegal by the Honduran Supreme Court. Nonetheless, Mr. Zelaya intended yesterday to use ballots printed in Venezuela to conduct the vote anyway. All this will be familiar to members of Honduras’ legislature, who vividly recall how Mr. Chavez in Venezuela adopted similar means to hijack his country’s democracy and economy. Elected a decade ago, Mr. Chavez held a Constituent Assembly and changed the constitution to enhance his power and subvert the country’s governing institutions. Mr. Zelaya made it clear that he wished to do the same in Honduras and that the referendum was the first step in installing a new constitution that would enhance his powers and allow him to run for re-election.”

The press coverage of the Honduran crisis, which refers to the ex-president’s removal as a “military coup,” is amazingly biased. As Tom Palmer, who has helped promote democracy abroad, notes, what really happened in Honduras is that “a President who seeks dictatorial powers in an illegal move” was “removed by the Congress and by the Supreme Court“:

“Imagine that George Bush, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan or some other American president had decided to overturn the Constitution so that he could stay in power beyond the constitutionally limited time. To do that, he orders a nationwide referendum that is not constitutionally authorized and blatantly illegal. The Federal Election Commission rules that it is illegal. The Supreme Court rules that it is illegal. The Congress votes to strip the president of his powers and, as members of Congress are not that good at overcoming the president’s personally loyal and handpicked bodyguards, they send police and military to arrest the president. Now, which party is guilty of leading a coup?”

If Richard Nixon had been impeached and convicted for Watergate, and then refused to leave office, until being forced out by the military, would that have been a “military coup”? Of course not. But Obama and many in the press are taking a similarly extreme position in demanding the reinstatement of Honduras’s would-be despot.

Even the Cato Institute, which espouses antiwar positions and a dovish, liberal foreign policy, approved of Honduras’s removal of its oppressive ruler. Cato’s Juan Carlos Hidalgo notes that “the removal from office of Zelaya on Sunday by the armed forces is the result of his continuous attempts to promote a referendum that would allow for his reelection, a move that had been declared illegal by the Supreme Court and the Electoral Tribunal and condemned by the Honduran Congress and the attorney general. Unfortunately, the Honduran constitution does not provide an effective civilian mechanism for removing a president from office after repeated violations of the law, such as impeachment in the U.S. Constitution. Nonetheless, the armed forces acted under the order of the country’s Supreme Court, and the presidency has been hastily bestowed on a civilian figure — the president of Congress — as specified by the constitution.”

While Obama is busy ignoring the Honduran President’s violation of his citizens’ constitutional rights, he is busy extending U.S. Constitutional rights to foreign terrorists overseas. The Obama Administration is needlessly making investigators give Miranda warnings to captured terrorists and enemy combatants in Afghanistan. It is doing that even though Miranda rights do not apply to aliens captured in Afghanistan, a foreign country, and neither Afghan law, nor human-rights treaties like the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, mandate such warnings.

http://www.examiner.com/x-7812-DC-SCOTUS-Examiner~y2009m6d30-Obama-bac...

The trouble with free elections is, you never know who is going to win (Leonid Brezhnev)

0 funny, 0 helpful.

romy says on Jun 30, 2009, 11:06:

"busy ignoring"
hahaha I don't read Tascoganda, but that ridiculous statement caught my eye and made me laugh

0 funny, 0 helpful.

tasco66 says on Jun 30, 2009, 11:21:

Sorry, I could not find a pic with a parrot called romy..jajajajajaja

The trouble with free elections is, you never know who is going to win (Leonid Brezhnev)

3 funny, 3 helpful.

tasco66 says on Jun 30, 2009, 11:32:

Honduras' Coup and the Great South American Game

http://catholicgauze.blogspot.com/2009/06/honduras-coup-and-great-sout...

The trouble with free elections is, you never know who is going to win (Leonid Brezhnev)

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Lcacique says on Jun 30, 2009, 11:42:

Where's Uribe in the photo above? Calderón?

"Es fácil vivir con los ojos cerrados interpretando todo lo que se ve mal..." ~ J. Lennon

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Lcacique says on Jun 30, 2009, 11:45:

Still waiting, Mongo...

"Es fácil vivir con los ojos cerrados interpretando todo lo que se ve mal..." ~ J. Lennon

0 funny, 0 helpful.

tasco66 says on Jun 30, 2009, 11:51:

This is what Uribe said:

" 'Principio de la no intervención' ante crisis en Honduras defendió el presidente Álvaro Uribe

"La posición de Colombia ha sido el respeto a los principios democráticos, el respeto a la determinación democrática de cada pueblo y el respeto a la no intervención", dijo el mandatario.

El 'principio de la no intervención' consiste en el deber de los países de no intervenir en los asuntos internos de otro.

De acuerdo con el mandatario, "el respeto a la no intervención tiene que ser de todas las horas, frente a todos los casos. No puede ser sesgado. No puede ser: 'en este caso no intervención, en este caso sí intervención'".

Y agregó: "Cuando se viola el principio de la no intervención, se crean enormes dificultades políticas en el país intervenido. Y esas dificultades políticas en el país objeto de la intervención, se convierten en fuente que le crean dificultades a las instituciones democráticas".

Las declaraciones fueron entregadas por el presidente Uribe durante un discurso en el Centro Woodrow Wilson, un instituto de estudios en Washington"

http://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/latinoamerica/ARTICULO-WEB-PLANTILLA_NOT...

very different from the state of war of Chavez and his amigos...

The trouble with free elections is, you never know who is going to win (Leonid Brezhnev)

1 funny, 1 helpful.

Lcacique says on Jun 30, 2009, 12:21:

Did anyone ask for a compare and contrast? Was someone championing the response by Chavez?

"Es fácil vivir con los ojos cerrados interpretando todo lo que se ve mal..." ~ J. Lennon

0 funny, 0 helpful.

romy says on Jun 30, 2009, 12:40:

tasco is always dreaming about chavez, it seems like a sexual obsession

0 funny, 0 helpful.

billyb says on Jun 30, 2009, 13:19:

"Where's Uribe in the photo above? Calderón?"

LC, are you really trying to compare Uribe's and Calderon's governments with the Castro Dictatorship? Or is that you think Cuba is truely a democracy?

"All I want to know is where I'm going to die, so I never go there" Unkown (at least to me) wise man.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Lcacique says on Jun 30, 2009, 13:24:

I have no idea what gave you that impression; however, billyb, are you under the impression that Obama's government is comparable to the Castro dictatorship? My point is quite simple, Obama and LA leftists are not the only ones who have come out against the coup.

"Es fácil vivir con los ojos cerrados interpretando todo lo que se ve mal..." ~ J. Lennon

3 funny, 0 helpful.

Chriscan (☼Travelguide writer) says on Jun 30, 2009, 13:34:

miamimike says on Jun 30, 2009, 13:36:

I find it very funny that these Cons are blaming Obama for everything yet stood pat while Bush/Cheney almost destroyed this country while they stood by and said nothing. I keep asking them for a Link to their quote "Criticism" of GW Bush but so far, they come up dry. lol

No hay Peor Ciego que el que no quiere Ver o Sordo que el que no quiera Oir--Soy Yo, Sarah Palin, Wasilla Alaska.

1 funny, 0 helpful.

billyb says on Jun 30, 2009, 13:42:

"billyb, are you under the impression that Obama's government is comparable to the Castro dictatorship? "

Did I compare Obama to Castro? Many leaders are calling for the wannabee dictator to be reinstated, whether they really wish him to be so, or, more likely, are just paying lip service to that notion because it is the politically correct thing for them to say. The four clowns in the pic above are there to show the irony of those four who give a lick about democracy crying about it, yet you asked why Uribe and Calderon were not included.

"All I want to know is where I'm going to die, so I never go there" Unkown (at least to me) wise man.

1 funny, 1 helpful.

billyb says on Jun 30, 2009, 13:43:

" I keep asking them for a Link to their quote "Criticism" of GW Bush but so far, they come up dry. lol"

Mike, again you are mistaking this thread about Honduras with your thread about "Bush is to blame for everything". I'm really worried about this unhealthy obsession you have with Bushie, let it go, breath.......

"All I want to know is where I'm going to die, so I never go there" Unkown (at least to me) wise man.

1 funny, 3 helpful.

Lcacique says on Jun 30, 2009, 13:56:

Whatever. It is CLEARLY baseless rightwing propaganda, but have it your way. Uribe and Calderón are bowing down to political correctness. Uribe is a champion of democracy as well as a protector of the constitution?

"Es fácil vivir con los ojos cerrados interpretando todo lo que se ve mal..." ~ J. Lennon

0 funny, 0 helpful.

aztec says on Jun 30, 2009, 13:57:

Same 'sins' produce condemnation for Bush, absolution for Obama

http://www.cleveland.com/obrien/index.ssf/2009/06/web_hed.html#more

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Lcacique says on Jun 30, 2009, 14:08:

And you posted that link because???

"Es fácil vivir con los ojos cerrados interpretando todo lo que se ve mal..." ~ J. Lennon

0 funny, 0 helpful.

billyb says on Jun 30, 2009, 14:20:

"Uribe and Calderón are bowing down to political correctness"

Yup, I agree, it sucks.

"All I want to know is where I'm going to die, so I never go there" Unkown (at least to me) wise man.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Lcacique says on Jun 30, 2009, 14:38:

You agree with yourself. That is a good sign, billyb. There are those that don't on this website.

"Es fácil vivir con los ojos cerrados interpretando todo lo que se ve mal..." ~ J. Lennon

0 funny, 0 helpful.

billyb says on Jun 30, 2009, 15:50:

If don't, who else is going to agree with me?

"All I want to know is where I'm going to die, so I never go there" Unkown (at least to me) wise man.

1 funny, 0 helpful.

Lcacique says on Jun 30, 2009, 21:08:

I do from time to time.

No response from mongo...what a surprise.

"Es fácil vivir con los ojos cerrados interpretando todo lo que se ve mal..." ~ J. Lennon

0 funny, 0 helpful.

aztec says on Jul 1, 2009, 04:35:

"Does anyone dare to ask 0bama before a camera if he understands the Honduran constitution and how Zelaya was breaking that constitution in a way that the laws stated needed immediate response? Don't count on the press whores and don't count on those few who would ask such a question getting access to 0bama for many days. 0bama will be talking about healthcare and we know how he turns away questions which are ''off topic.''

http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/12454
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/06/obama_and_the_bad_villager...

1 funny, 2 helpful.

tasco66 says on Jul 1, 2009, 05:36:

Now that the president has decided it's okay to meddle in Honduras (where they are fighting to keep preserve their democracy against the Chávez-style thug who Obama wants to re-install) but not Iran (where thousands of Iranians who seek democracy are being killed, maimed and jailed by a regime which has been at war with the United States for 30 years), the president's tack is to say that Honduras's action in removing Zelaya is "not legal."

What on earth makes Obama think he knows better about what is legal under the law of Honduras than the Supreme Court of Honduras and the law-writing legislature of Honduras? The Honduran military acted after Zelaya defied an order by that nation's highest court which pronounced his coup attempt illegal; he has been replaced under a Honduran legal process by that nation's Congress, which essentially impeached him and democratically voted in a successor.

http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=M2ZjYzlhOGZkYTk1YThlYWFhMzA0Z...

The trouble with free elections is, you never know who is going to win (Leonid Brezhnev)

0 funny, 0 helpful.

goin_south says on Jul 1, 2009, 06:15:

Interesting development.....
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31677410/ns/world_news-americas

nothin I say is to be takn for my words, but rather for the words of Sailor Jerry.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Miguel_Clavo says on Jul 1, 2009, 07:27:

Gotta love this part"

"Zelaya, who is an ally of leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, backed down from the referendum Tuesday, saying at the United Nations that he would no longer push for the constitutional changes he wanted.

One of several clauses that cannot be legally altered in the Honduran constitution limits presidents to a single, 4-year term, and Congress claims Zelaya, whose term ends in January, modified the ballot question at the last minute to help him eventually try to seek re-election. Chavez has used referendums in Venezuela to win the right to run repeatedly.

"I'm not going to hold a constitutional assembly," Zelaya said. "And if I'm offered the chance to stay in power, I won't. I'm going to serve my four years."

RVW orderded me to remove my tagline congratulating the PBH Mods New Golden Boys. Lame.

0 funny, 1 helpful.

billyb says on Jul 1, 2009, 08:55:

"And if I'm offered the chance to stay in power, I won't."

jajaja, yeah, we believe that one.

"All I want to know is where I'm going to die, so I never go there" Unkown (at least to me) wise man.

1 funny, 0 helpful.

Man Tequila says on Jul 1, 2009, 09:29:

I understand the fears that people have about the militrary in Honduras not reliquishing control. This explains a lot of history before 1982. If the gave power back to the Vice President, it is different.

The UN is asking Honduras to reinstate Zelaya. One would think any President would be sympathetic, since the same thing could happen to many of them. Both Uribe and Obama have added their objections to the voices of the left. I can understand that too, this would not have been a preferred way of dealing with the disagreement. My objection is I don't agree that military intervention is "always bad". And I don't really have much sympathy for Zelaya. It would be one thing if he genuinely did help the underclass in Honduras, which I am sure needs help. It is another thing for him to be an idiot, talking like another Chavez, even if he did have the power to back up his arrogance.

Aunque no me creas/ si me lo propongo/ lograre olvidarte/ porque a fin de cuentas/ no soy tan cobarde./ Y termino todo una de estas tardes/ no sera dificil buscar algún sitio donde refugiarme/ donde nunca mas vuelvas a encontrarme. (Polo Montañez)

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Lcacique says on Jul 1, 2009, 11:06:

tasco: lack of quotation marks once again. Not only are you reliant on the thoughts and opinions of others, quite often you steal them and pass them off as your own.

Still, no monguita.

"Es fácil vivir con los ojos cerrados interpretando todo lo que se ve mal..." ~ J. Lennon

1 funny, 0 helpful.

goin_south says on Jul 1, 2009, 11:19:

yeah, Chavez must be a little on the paranoid side,.... wondering, ... Wondering.... if...... his.... military "might/could" be up to the same task!

nothin I say is to be takn for my words, but rather for the words of Sailor Jerry.

0 funny, 1 helpful.

tasco66 says on Jul 1, 2009, 11:41:

Lcacique, I guess your IQ is too low to see the link I include in my posts...maybe you should stick to playing barbies...

Now go harass somebody else, I’m getting tired of your foolishness.

The trouble with free elections is, you never know who is going to win (Leonid Brezhnev)

1 funny, 1 helpful.

Lcacique says on Jul 1, 2009, 12:08:

Estás ido otra vez, mamón. A link is not a proper citation. A link just demonstrates that you want people to follow it. It does not demonstrate whether or not you stole anything from the original author. In your case, I would assume that you stole everything word for word (that is your MO, you cannot think for yourself. When you do it is just pansy ass hate speech).

"Es fácil vivir con los ojos cerrados interpretando todo lo que se ve mal..." ~ J. Lennon

0 funny, 0 helpful.

tasco66 says on Jul 1, 2009, 12:33:

Lcacique, look at miamimike's opening post. No quotation marks from his Miami Herald post, and that did not bother you...like I said, go play with your barbies or go harass somebody else...

The trouble with free elections is, you never know who is going to win (Leonid Brezhnev)

1 funny, 1 helpful.

Lcacique says on Jul 1, 2009, 13:38:

Fine. miamimike, use quotations. More projection...

"Es fácil vivir con los ojos cerrados interpretando todo lo que se ve mal..." ~ J. Lennon

1 funny, 0 helpful.

Lcacique says on Jul 1, 2009, 14:37:

well monguita, still waiting for you to explain how your name and photo mean that you do not take things seriously.

"Es fácil vivir con los ojos cerrados interpretando todo lo que se ve mal..." ~ J. Lennon

0 funny, 0 helpful.

aztec says on Jul 2, 2009, 17:56:

"A U.S./U.N. Plot Against Anti-Communist Honduras"

"The people of Honduras are pleading for media fairness and understanding of how they saved their democratic system of government from an international conspiracy based in Venezuela and Cuba. In desperate messages to the outside world, Hondurans want America to know they do not want former President Manuel “Mel” Zelaya returned to power through the intervention of the United States and the United Nations.

On Tuesday the leftist governments of Barack Obama and Hugo Chavez sponsored a United Nations resolution that condemned the people of Honduras for resisting the spread of communism by evicting a would-be dictator. Many people in Honduras view “Mel” as a puppet of Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, who is destroying the democratic system and the opposition in that country."

http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/12528

0 funny, 1 helpful.

miamimike says on Jul 2, 2009, 18:48:

aztec says on Jul 2, 2009, 17:56 (today): flag

"A U.S./U.N. Plot Against Anti-Communist Honduras"

"The people of Honduras are pleading for media fairness and understanding of how they saved their democratic system of government from an international conspiracy based in Venezuela and Cuba. In desperate messages to the outside world, Hondurans want America to know they do not want former President Manuel “Mel” Zelaya returned to power through the intervention of the United States and the United Nations.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aztec--if Honduras is asking for Media Fairness, why then have they basically shut down TV Broadcasting as well as muzzling News Reporters? Isn't this what Castro and Chavez are guilty of? Interferring with the right of free speech? O thought the right to Free Sppech was a basic tenet of a true democracy ,,,

No hay Peor Ciego que el que no quiere Ver o Sordo que el que no quiera Oir--Soy Yo, Sarah Palin, Wasilla Alaska.

1 funny, 0 helpful.

aztec says on Jul 3, 2009, 13:58:

"Free Sppech was a basic tenet of a true democracy ,,," miamimike

It is a tenet of a free people and if they suppress the press for very long it will indeed be a loss for democracy. Agree with you on the issue of free and unfettered speech.

0 funny, 0 helpful.