Can someone explain to me how it is that Obama is willingly giving $900M to Hamastan (i.e., the jihadist-controlled Gaza strip) but would pull back a comparative pittance of aid in order to penalize [the Honduras] for trying to preserve its democracy against a would-be left-wing dictator?
Or too busy golfing. I remember the days when that was a bad thing.
* Flashback: “You would think this is the time he’d really knuckle down and get to work “
Update – Lots more Honduran analysis today at The Corner for those who can’t find it in the Dead Freak Media.
Giving large sums of money to your enemies or potential enemies is called “paying tribute” something which the U.S. has developed to an art form. As to helping your friends – hey, they’re just hangers on who’ll always be there. Yeah.
I was wondering about that mess in Honduras. It seemed that the Army had acted rather bluntly to prevent an end-run around the laws of the country.
First time I’ve seen ANY analysis though, any other sources?
Obama’s insistence on reinstalling Zelaya is in response to his own sphincter tightening at seeing his future.
Anyone want to bet when SCOTUS and the military uninstall Obama for ignoring/subverting the Constitution? Or maybe when they find his actual birth certificate…
First Jimmeh, and now the Obamunist. Jeane Kirkpatrick’s “Dictatorships and Double Standards” would seem to be appropriate re-reading just about now…
find it here: http://www.commentarymagazine.com/viewarticle.cfm/dictatorships–double-standards-6189
Don’t assume Obama is too lazy or unaware of what he is doing. He knows exactly what he is doing: undermining the principles of freedom and democracy around the world because he believes those principles are wrong and must be rectified. He is a most un-American president. Naturally, this will catch up to him at some point, the people will revolt and then what, impeachment? another terrorist attack? assasination?
CIVIL WAR????
There is nothing civil or civilized about civil war……it’s already happening but only one side has taken to the field.
Red flags must be shooting up if Obama is siding with Chavez and Ortega to re-install a leftist leader.
When is someone going to call him on this?
Did we forget Iran? Iraq?
A hate filled black socialist that deeply hates the US is now the president (lack of capital noted) of the USA.
Simply beyond belief.
I must confess that I haven’t been following Honduras that close but I must agree with Fred2 about the analysis of the situation (or lack thereof). A junta with the blessing of the Supreme Court AND the legislature is a whole lot different than some colonel figuring he can run the country better.
Calling it a coup is very misleading.
When the Supreme Court orders the Army to intervene because the current President is acting illegally, it is really justice in action.
Obammasiah doesn’t care cause his kissing buddy Chavez is involved and Big O owes him some favours.
Obama watched “The King of Scotland” and liked what he saw.
Rasmussen Polls today bring Obama back into the negative ratings of minus 2. The GOP now has to start moving its policies and people, slowly, more into the light, to give people a view of reality rather than Obama-fiction.
As for Obama and Honduras, Krauthammer on Fox was openly criticizing Obama for siding with the attempt by Zelaya to turn Honduras into his own private dictatorship by rejecting the votes of Congress, by going against the constitution, the courts and rule of law, and even his own party. The military removed him, Congress installed the second-in-line as a temporary leader and set up democratic elections in November. That is, CONGRESS was working to prevent the destruction of democracy in Honduras.
What did Obama do? He sided with Chavez and other dictatorships in L. America, supporting Zelaya, who was moving outside of the law and Honduran constitution!
But Obama is not a supporter of democracy. In the US, Obama is turning the Congress into a rubber stamp, refusing to allow it to follow its duty of reading the bills it passes! Refusing to allow it its duty of reading, debating, critiquing those bills. He insists on immediate passage, which transforms Congress into a rubber stamp.
Iran? Obama supported the thugs not those who wanted freedom.
Note: Obama supports Power. That’s all. How you get it and how you retain it are not the issue; he’ll be OK with deceit, manipulation and sheer thuggery. Power; that’s all that matters to Obama.
Obama supports the deposed thug in Honduras – along with his buddies Chavez and Castro – because that’s what Obama wants to do here.
I’ve been saying it since he won, and since he got ACORN involved in the 2010 census.
America will not have another free election. It won’t. Obama will make sure that we don’t question his messianic quality and throw him out of office. Mark my words.
Come 2012, some ginned-up crisis or other “tragedy” will either prevent the November elections or delay the inauguration of the new president.
If you don’t believe me, think about how concerned about Constitutional law – American or otherwise – Obama seems to be.
Also, this latest brouhaha over Honduras, added to the fumbling over Iran, shows that “The One”TM is as mortal as the rest of us: his administration is obviously making it all up as they go along.
Incidentally, notice how Secretary of State Clinton is rapidly becoming “Secretary of State Who?”
She may yet come to regret selling her presidential soul for a cabinet position…
For a good roundup of what has been happening in Honduras, see…
http://faustasblog.com
you may have difficulty reading the msm “news” regarding what has transpired in Honduras after this…
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/other-views/story/1120408.html
Nothing so shocking about this coup
BY GLENN GARVIN
ggarvin@MiamiHerald.com
The greatest tourist attraction in Central America has always been politics. Diplomats stop by every few years, take a couple of snapshots of what’s going on at the presidential palace, and then profoundly declare their opinions, devoid of context or history. This week’s favorite diplotourism destination is Honduras, where the army Sunday arrested President Manuel Zelaya and booted him across the border to Costa Rica. In the Polaroid analysis, it’s pretty clear what happened: ”A return to barbarism in our hemisphere,” as Argentina’s president Cristina Fernández put it.
She had plenty of company. ”The action taken against Honduran President Mel Zelaya violates the precepts of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, and thus should be condemned by all,” said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. “We call on all parties in Honduras to respect the constitutional order and the rule of law.”
The OAS Permanent Council voted ”to condemn vehemently the coup d’etat staged this morning against the constitutionally established government of Honduras.” U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon demanded “the reinstatement of the democratically elected representatives of the country and full respect for human rights.”
Here’s a question for all these new-found defenders of Honduran democracy: Where were you last week? Perhaps if some of these warnings about sticking to the constitution had been addressed to President Zelaya, the Honduran army would still be in the barracks where it belongs.
A naked power grab
For weeks, Zelaya — an erratic leftist who styles himself after his good pal Hugo Chávez of Venezuela — has been engaged in a naked and illegal power grab, trying to rewrite the Honduran constitution to allow him to run for reelection in November.
First Zelaya scheduled a national vote on a constitutional convention. After the Honduran supreme court ruled that only the country’s congress could call such an election, Zelaya ordered the army to help him stage it anyway. (It would be ”non-binding,” he said.) When the head of the armed forces, acting on orders from the supreme court, refused, Zelaya fired him, then led a mob to break into a military base where the ballots were stored.
His actions have been repudiated by the country’s supreme court, its congress, its attorney-general, its chief human-rights advocate, all its major churches, its main business association, his own political party (which recently began debating an inquiry into Zelaya’s sanity) and most Hondurans: Recent polls have shown his approval rating down below 30 percent.
In fact, about the only people who didn’t condemn Zelaya’s political gangsterism were the foreign leaders and diplomats who now primly lecture Hondurans about the importance of constitutional law. They’re also strangely silent about the vicious stream of threats against Honduras spewing from Chávez since Zelaya was deposed.
Warning that he’s already put his military on alert, Chávez on Monday flat-out threatened war against Honduras if Roberto Micheletti, named by the country’s congress as interim president until elections in November, takes office.
”If they swear him in we’ll overthrow him,” Chávez blustered. “Mark my words. Thugetti — as I’m going to refer to him from now on — you better pack your bags, because you’re either going to jail or you’re going into exile.”
Hey, Hillary: What does the Inter-American charter say about that?
The Honduran army clearly did not act on its own when it arrested Zelaya and sent him packing. The supreme court says the generals acted on its orders, and almost every Honduran politician of any note — regardless of party — has voiced approval.
Long, unpleasant history
They may come to regret their decision. Honduras had a long and unpleasant history of military government in the 20th century, and perhaps the army will not march back into Pandora’s box and close the lid behind it so willingly.
But the initial signs are promising; the army, after getting rid of Zelaya, put congress in charge of choosing his replacement. Elections are still scheduled for November. Let’s see if the OAS and the United Nations and the Obama administration come back to take another snapshot then.
Cheers
Hans-Christian Georg Rupprecht, Commander in Chief
1st Saint Nicolaas Army
Army Group “True North”
My wife comes from Honduras. She talked to her sister yesterday in Tegucilpa. Most of the majority are happy Zelaya is gone but a little nerves the way it was done. They called him “El Demente” translated into English meaning the demented one. Honduras has been stable for quite some time and has become of a sort of refuge of people fleeing neighbouring Latin American countries that have been taken over by Marxist thugs so the Hondurans know what is going on with the “Mambo Chimp” Chavez getting his thuggish hands involved is Honduras affairs. My wife didn’t think much of Idi Mubama in the first place and hates his guts now. And it doesn’t surprise most how the empty suit has responded. America has elected themselves a real gem for president.
When you see the President of the USA on side with Hugo Chavez AND Fidel Castro, about any subject, its time to start stuffing gold under the mattress.
Right about now Americans should be doing a major gut check, just to see if they are serious about keeping their Constitution and their freedom. Because Barry is headlong determined to see the end of both, and the apparatus of the United States government will follow the guy who keeps it fed.
Can’t interfere in Iran, but most certainly can interfere in Honduras. One of his commie cronies is in a jam. Must help out.
Obama is a lying POS he says one thing and does the opposite.
He is the most dangerous and stupid leader on the planet. He has to go.
There was a time when an American president would avoid taking a stand with the likes of Chavez and Castro, no matter what the cause. They would have been aware of what it would symbolize to the world to stand with dictators. But not obozo.
I never liked his politics, lost faith in his competency quickly, and now I’m beginning to consider some explanations for his behaviour that I would have considered tinfoil hat stuff a few months ago.
Pat said, “..hate filled black socialist”
Pat, are you a troll, a bigot or just playing one on the Internet? That he’s displaying socialist tendencies has nothing to do with his skin colour. That he’s black really isn’t a surprise to anyone. No honestly! Most of us (excepting you) twigged on that before now.
I must admit though, it is a convenient label for you to proclaim your ignorance and slavish adherence to generalization.
Jack Layton isn’t white-faced and Andrew Jackson Beard wasn’t black-faced.
P.S -> I can help you with the big words if they’re giving you trouble.
Cheers,
lance
all that has been said about obama has been said. when the u.s. circles the bowl we can all weep or in the case of liberals shout for joy. the joy will be short lived.
pat. half black and half white and mostly stupid.
Hillary Clinton said “Some might say President Obama is left-of-center. And of course, that means we are going to work well with countries that share out commitment to improving and enhancing the human potential.”
Note how she sweeps her own statement under the rug with one hand, and then pulls it out and waves it in the air with the other, while keeping the corner of the carpet lifted: the phrase “some might say” indicates or suggests a dubious or inaccurate accusation, but she immediately follows with “and of course, that means…” — in other words, it’s not at all a matter of “some might say” but rather a statement that *she* (half) notes as true. Take out her winking attempted elision and all she really said is that he’s a leftist, and that this means he’s committed to “improving and enhancing the human potential.”
In the specific context in which her statement was made — criticism of his recent legitimizing of Iran’s thug-government with concomitant non-support for those freedom-loving Iranians who oppose that thug government, and his flip-side support for a thug government in the Honduras over the constitutional judgement of the Honduran Supreme Court — her statement that his leftism is a sign of his “commitment to improving and enhancing the human potential” has a really, really foul and lingering smell to it.
Obama’s nationalization of large businesses like banks and auto makers, and the dense, revolting innumeracy of Obama’s destructive spending are bad signs, but now he’s giving the gang-handshake to thug governments around the world (maybe he fetishizes their power?) and giving the Presidential finger to the individual citizens subjected to those thug governments.
What an unfortunate mark on America’s history this vile, vaguely treasonous President is turning out to be. Even if he’s turfed by the voters in 2013, he will have caused untold damage at home, and given renewed strength to hostile forces abroad. If he’s actually re-elected in 2013, all bets are off. The guy is waaay beyond inept; he’s massively destructive.
He’s still grinning, of course. Loads of fun.
“that I would have considered tinfoil hat stuff a few months ago.”
Hudson
That’s exactly the problem most of us have/had. TOTUS’s lies during the election and the rest of the circumstantial evidence was more than enough for me to know this guy was bad news; but, for my own satisfaction and a desire to not emulate those with Bush Derangement Syndrome, I chose to ignore my nose despite my face. IMO Bill O’Reilly is the most guilty of all. This is the first of many mistakes Americans have made with respect to judging this man.
Amy P.
I agree, but I predict it will go down a little differently. I predict that BO will have a nice popularity bump before the next election. That will be the time voters are seeing the limited benefits of the trillions of dollars being spent. BO’s banking on the benefits outweighing the costs for 50%+ of the voters(many don’t pay any taxes). After 2012 the isht will begin to fly. People that had nice lifestyles in 2008 will be crushed under the burden of the taxes necessary to pay the bill. My understanding is Americans are on the path to owing one million dollars each when they’re born. People will be rioting in the streets, and BO will declare the perpetrators as “right-wing extremists”. This will be the precursor for the following: 2008 was the last free election the Americans will have, 2012 will have the semblance of a free election but it will be corrupted and 2016 will be extra special because it will be the first election in a long time with an incumbent running for his third term, or it may be canceled all together.
Kate you are evil. The man golfs like he governs..very badly. POTUS Biden.. more entertaining… less destructive. My favorite golf swing was ‘The Whiff’ followed by the cell phone flying about 10 feet.
Interesting, brief background explanation from Optimistic Conservative, in comments at Commentary Mag:
“If you’ve been following events in Honduras, the situation was this:
“In spite of the legislature voting against it, and the supreme court ruling it illegal, Zelaya had declared his intention to go forward with a referendum to amend the Honduran constitution, so that he could continue serving in office, by 28 June.
“Numerous reports had emerged in the last month that he was intimidating opposition legislators, government agency heads, businesses, and news outlets with armed thugs.
“On 5 June, he had ordered the military to distribute the ballots for his referendum. The military refused. He declared his 28 June deadline. This weekend, he (unconstitutionally) dismissed the chief of the Honduran armed forces, intending to have his supporters in the army distribute the ballots and hold the referendum.
“Since the referendum had already been declared illegal by the supreme court, only Zelaya’s own supporters would have voted in it.
“To avert the obvious outcome, the legislature backed the military in removing Zelaya from office.
“It is impossible to argue honestly that Hondurans should have been required to have an illegal referendum conducted, by force, over their objections. That is what would have happened if the legislature and military had not acted. It’s impossible to endorse this honestly — unless your preferred outcome would have been Zelaya using this illegal procedure to maintain himself in office.”
Also at Commentary Magazine, ConservativeWanderer fleshes out the form of The One’s foreign policy:
“The common thread is that Obama likes supporting those who hate America, and enjoys snubbing those (like our old ally Great Britain) who appreciate America.
“Most, if not all, of his foreign policy decisions make perfect sense if looked at that way.”
Chavez is just jealous. When he tried his coups years ago everything turned to kaka and he had to spend some time in prison. Now he is an elected thug and everything is still turning to kaka.
Fox News has more on the Honduran situation. People are calling it a military takeover; but it isn’t. The military isn’t in power. As noted, Zelaya was trying to carry out a referendum to violate the constitution to enable him to have yet another term as president. Since Congress and the Supreme court rejected this referendum, he wanted the military to distribute the ballots anyway. They refused but he got his thugs to break in to get the ballots – and so, Congress moved to remove him. A type of impeachment.
And yet Obama mouths about ‘supporting democracy’. Zelaya was denying democracy! Obama has to be one of the most ignorant, the most stupid ..Oh, I forgot. As he says, repeatedly, when questioned about why he does ignorant, stupid things, he says: “I’m the President’.
Fox News on Honduras
And here’s an article by Ray Walser on how the Honduran Act was to protect democracy.
A Coup to Protect a Constitution
From ET’s second link, “A Coup to Protect a Constitution”:
“This was no coup, but a desperate act to protect the nation’s constitution and its institutions from presidential excess and a descent into misrule Chavez-style.
“Chavez, of course, is outraged, vowing to do everything short of landing Venezuelan marines in Honduras to restore Zelaya. If his ally doesn’t recover power, ‘el Loco’ will lose face at home and throughout the region. Sources report Venezuelan agitators and operatives are already on the ground in the Honduran capitol of Tegucigalpa and elsewhere. Trouble can be expected.
“Utopians in Washington believe that the Organization of American States, Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro, the European Union and the State Department will be able to put the toothpaste back in the tube. Let Ze laya back in power, they urge; defend ‘democracy.’
“This simply ignores the fact that restoring Zelaya would undercut every free institution in the nation — green-lighting every extra-legal move he might take in the name of the people.”
He is the most dangerous and stupid leader on the planet. He has to go.
That sums it up nicely, Momar.
The repubs better get their sh1t together and start talking like conservatives, rather than democrats, else there will be nothing to differentiate them in 2010. A strong repub showing will have maobama playing defense to congress, rather than offense, and that’ll help things. Hopefully the US isn’t irreparably damaged by then
mhb23re
I never liked his politics, lost faith in his competency quickly, and now I’m beginning to consider some explanations for his behaviour that I would have considered tinfoil hat stuff a few months ago.
Posted by: hudson duster at June 30, 2009 3:39 PM
This.
Thanks hudson duster. You summed up my sentiments to a ‘tee’.
Kate,
Completely agree with the basic point — this was not a coup but an action by the Congress, the Supreme Court, and the military to defend democracy and democratic principles. Crazy to have POTUS stand with Chavez et al.
But to answer your question directly, Section 508 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, provides that the US must cut off all aid other than democracy promotion in the event of a military coup (as happened, for instance, in Cote d’Ivoire several years ago). So it’s a point of law rather than policy, strictly. Which is why Secretary Clinton was very cautious in her statement yesterday. (Email me if you want more on this, and happy Canada Day.)
In today’s National Post it was reported that Canada and Russia “..joined a growing list of nations to condemn the Honduran coup ..”. Well from what I’ve seen, the only thing Honduras exports to Canada is drug dealers.
The Honduran military should not have simply deposed Zelaya; they should have shot him on the spot. Better a dead martyr than a live shit-disturber.
Just as the Shah’s secret police, SAVAK, should have shot Ayatollah Khomeini, instead of exiling the rat bastard to France. How did THAT work out, eh?
Posted by: lance at June 30, 2009 3:57 PM>
It’s great that so many defend Obamba’s “Blackness” like their daughters virginity, good going Obamba’s counting on you. The fact that his entire presidential champaign & presidency revolved on race seems to have flown over so many heads is comical.
From Rev. Wright to Michelle during the elections to the entire Motown cast of the 70’s as regulars of the White House, Obamba has thrown his “blackness” in the nations face. He has thrown his Islamic sympathies and ass kissing to the world. In doing so he has divided the nation on racial lines like never before.
Yet this does not seem to be an issue for the left.
Remember the “white’s need not apply” for stimulus construction jobs?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT1TkLgfinE
Yea, keep telling yourself he’s just a common Joe who became president of the USA and the fact he’s black plays no part of it.
And how does the Prez. do at golf? Remember Ford?
I don’t know enough about this whole story to really understand what happened – it seems that everyone is taking sides without having all the facts – and I think that it will be awhile before we really understand what is happening there.
All I know is that the Honduran army grapped this President guy and threw him out of the country. He was not arrested or impeached for some crime or misbehaviour. No matter how you slice and dice it, it does not sound like the rule of law is being followed here and/or democratic procedure for an impeachment. That is a coup in my book and no matter how left wing or right wing the Honduran Prez is it is a big step backward in terms of democracy not only for Honduras but for the rest of Central and South America.
John, your argument in support of the US decision to end aid fails because it wasn’t a military coup. In actuality, the military was tasked to prevent a coup by the incumbent president who was in the process of illegally amending the constitution to instal himself as a Chavez-style president for life.
With regard to US support of the Palestinian terror gangs, lets me fair here: it is a continuation of the psychotic Bush-Rice policy.