Democrat Congressman Backtracks on Honduras

A Congressman in New York who roundly criticized the de facto government of Honduras for ousting its president, Manuel Zelaya, appears to be reassessing his position. Eliot Engel (D-NY) also chairs a House subcommittee that oversees Honduras.

Here are Engel's comments on June 29th, one day after Zelaya was removed from office:

I strongly condemn the removal of President Zelaya and believe that he should be reinstated without delay.

Here is Engel on Friday, July 10th:

When the entire political establishment speaks and expresses dire concerns, the President needed to listen. From everything I can see, he did not.

The Hill has the full story (h/t to Hot Air)

So what changed? Not sure, but it's pretty sad that a politician starts reporting on both sides of a story before the Mainstream Media Does.

Guess who else appears to be speaking on behalf of the sitting Honduran government?

Lanny Davis???

As The Hill reported Friday, the Honduran branch of CEAL, the Latin American equivalent of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, has hired Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe to lobby on its behalf in Washington.

Firm partner Lanny Davis, a former special counsel to President Bill Clinton and supporter of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential run, is representing CEAL and testified at Engel’s hearing Friday.

In his opening statement, Davis said his client supports the mediation process but that “they believe that no one is above the law — including the President — under the Honduran Constitution, just as no one is above the law under the U.S. Constitution.”

Davis is a Clintonite and Obama earlier this week dragged Hillary into the fray to deal with the Honduran Hot Potato. If nothing else, Lanny Davis speaking out against Zelaya could prove a liability for Obama considering the TOTUS is on record as calling it a "coup" that is "not legal".

The international deck has been stacked overwhelmingly in Zelaya's favor since he was ousted. That appears to be changing (if ever so slightly) as sitting President Micheletti continues to stand his ground. As more and more people learn the real story in Honduras, I think we'll see Obama back away completely at some point.

A lie makes it halfway around the world before the truth can get its pants on.
- Winston Churchill

Washington Post on Wrong Side of Honduras Media Bias?

After reading the Washington Post's headline, 'In Honduras, One-Sided News of Crisis' you might be initially hopeful that writer Juan Forero is going to call out the MSM for its biased coverage of the Constitutional crisis in Honduras. However, it doesn't take long to realize that he's talking about media outlets in Honduras showing slanted coverage the other way.

Talk about Piling On!


Unless you're a blogger or a talk radio listener, you probably wouldn't know both sides of the story if you live in the United States! CNN actually put forth a bogus story about a Zelaya supporter in Honduras covered in blood who said a child died in his arms. Turns out the blood got there because the guy found some and wiped it all over his shirt. We're still waiting for a retraction from CNN (exposing this despicably unchecked journalism might prove a nobler endeavor Forero could follow).

Aside from the fact that the Obama administration continues to call what happened in Honduras a "coup", it refuses to acknowledge that deposed president Manuel Zelaya attempted to discard the rule of law by using a referendum to circumvent the Honduran Constitution which expressley forbids presidents from being re-elected. The entire outside world seems to be backing the wrong guy if you live in Honduras and show support for your Constitution.

Here, the MSM is biased in favor of Zelaya, the Obama administration is biased in favor of Zelaya, the U.N. is biased in favor of Zelaya, and the Organization of American States has expelled Honduras because they expelled Zelaya. Chavez, Ortega, and the Castro brothers also back Zelaya

Yet the Washington Post is now shining its light on the Honduran media for not covering both sides?! Why should they? The MSM in practically every other country has the other side covered. Coincidentally, the Honduran media is in support of the sitting goverment and against Zelaya (then again, the notion of a patriotic media is rather foreign the American MSM).
From the Post:

Several countries condemned the events of June 28 as a military coup. But in Honduras, some of the most popular and influential television stations and radio networks blacked out coverage or adhered to the de facto government's line that Manuel Zelaya's overthrow was not a coup but a legal "constitutional substitution," press freedom advocates and Honduran journalists said.

That sounds neutral but how is it interpreted to someone just starting to dig into the story? Forero highlights the fact that "several countries" support Zelaya while attacking the local media for supporting its "de facto government".

Now check this out...

Such allegations underscore the one-sided nature of the news that has been served up to Hondurans during the crisis. According to results of a Gallup poll published here Thursday, 41 percent of Hondurans think the ouster was justified, with 28 opposed to it.

Note the insinuation...

While Forero reports the favorable support for the sitting government, he seems to be attributing that support to the one-sided nature of the news in Honduras as a significant reason and practically uses it as a disclaimer for the Gallup poll results.

In fairness to Forero, he does quote sources on both sides of the issue but the central theme of the story is that media bias in Honduras is slanted against Zelaya.

True or not, media coverage elsewhere is EXTREMELY slanted in favor of Zelaya.

Forero's piece did more to contribute to that bias than moderate it.

Pallywood In Honduras!

After watching the Richard Landes film "Pallywood", you'll soon realize that the Palestinians have cornered the market on Melodrama. Whenever they can find a camera or a news crew, it's show time! They're all seemingly in a race to catch the camera's attention by playing out scripts whose plots are always rooted in some perceived Israeli oppression.

Just to set the stage for what's going on in Honduras, here is Landes' outstanding film..



Now, onto Honduras...

William Jacobson at Legal Insurrection appears to be all over a Pallywood recreation in Honduras. Who is it that is mimicking the Palestinians? Well, of course, the supporters of deposed president Manuel Zelaya. The same Zelaya that the Obama administration is backing.

What's more is that CNN appears to have fallen for it. In 2000, as Landes points out, it was 60 Minutes who sacrificed legitimate journalism for acting that didn't measure up to a B movie.

CNN ran with a story of a Honduran protestor / Zelaya supporter covered in blood. Blood he says came from a boy that died in his arms. The problem is that he was photographed wiping blood off the ground and then onto his shirt, knowing that a camera wouldn't be far behind.

It wasn't.

Not only that but have a look at the guy in the lefthand portion of this photo. Donning Palestinian-like headress, I can't tell if he's with Hamas or Fatah.



You would think at some point, CNN would realize the joke is on them and that their antics cause them to come across as inept, shameless, and corrupt journalists.

Honduras Showing Guts

Manuel Zelaya, the man ordered removed from his office as President of Honduras somehow has the support of the United States, the United Nations, the Organization of American States, the Castro brothers, Hugo Chavez, and Daniel Ortega.

Perhaps that is why he decided to boldly attempt to fly back to the country whose government removed him from power despite the insistence of sitting president Roberto Micheletti that Zelaya would be arrested if he re-entered the country. The runways were blocked and Zelaya did not land. The OAS has expelled Honduras from its circle of countries willing to play ball (big whoop).

Mary Anastasia O'Grady has an excellent piece in the Wall Street Journal on the Honduras situation

Hondurans have good cause for calling on divine intervention: Reason has gone AWOL in places like Turtle Bay and Foggy Bottom. Ruling the debate on Mr. Zelaya's behavior is Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chávez, who is now the reigning international authority on "democracy."
Be sure to read the entire column.....

Obama's stance, which calls on Zelaya to be reinstated is a dangerously telling sign that the President of the United States is NOT siding with the rule of law, instead siding with a man who shares a pea pod with Chavez, Ortega, and the Castro Brothers. The signal this sends to the world is that Obama is taking the side of a would-be dictator over democracy in Honduras.

Who would you side with?

In either case, it looks like the constitutional crisis in Honduras is escalating as the man who thumbed his nose at that constitution (Zelaya) seems to be getting much more support than those who insisted on upholding their country's laws.

Scary.

Honduras Showing More Backbone than Obama

As Manuel Zelaya garners the support of the US, the UN, the OAS, and every tin pot dictator in the Southern Hemisphere, the current government of Honduras is treating all of them like the French Kuhnigots treated King Arthur in Monty Python's "Holy Grail".

They don't seem to care about money, recognition, or political solutions at this point. So far, acting president Roberto Micheletti, who was installed after Zelaya was removed by the military while in his pajamas (no word on what Disney character gives Zelaya the most comfort when he sleeps).

Micheletti and company don't seem too deterred by the prospect of losing money that the OAS guarantees but then again, I won't believe they mean business until the rubber meets the road and they literally conduct it.

The sitting government of Honduras gets an A+ for how it has handled everything to this point but it needs to realize it is an underdog with a ton of people just waiting to support it IF it makes the right moves from here on out.

There is a reason Zelaya didn't return to Honduras on Thursday, the 2nd, like he said he would. That reason is that the sitting government threatened to lock him up if he touched down. What's key here is that Micheletti not bow to regional, U.S., or international pressure and actually follow through on his promise to lock Zelaya up if he shows up.

If they do that, all of the coverage the truth is not getting in the MSM will start coming out. When a full battle ensues, both sides MUST be told.

It is absolutely critical that Micheletti bow up to these forces and stand up for good. It is a battle that truly needs to be won.

I mean, heck, everyone else thumbs their noses at the U.N. It's about time for those who have a legitimate right to do so to do so.

h/t to Hot Air (as usual)

The Honduras Gauntlet

Ousted Honduran president Manuel Zelaya first said he would return to his country on Thursday, the 2nd. He's now vowing to do so by Sunday, the 5th. The sitting government that removed him did so with the mutual support and effort of the Judicial, Legislative, and Military branches.

The Supreme Court provided the orders for removal, the military provided the means, and the congress provided a replacement. On Sunday, June 28th it all went down.

With the support of the United States, the United Nations, the Organization of American States (OAS), and oh yeah, Hugo Chavez, Daniel Ortega, and the Castro brothers, Zelaya had a lot of backing. His problem is that the sitting government isn't backing down.

The Straits Times is Reporting that Zelaya is throwing down the proverbial gauntlet with a (to this point) sitting government that has proven to be quite adamant that he will not be reinstated.

h/t to hot air

And I know I've posted this video of Krauthammer already but it just seems appropriate again..

Honduras: Bloomberg Calls Referendum a Poll?

The reason for the ouster of Honduras president Manuel Zelaya last Sunday was because he was trying to ensure his re-election via referendum despite the fact his country's constitution prohibits it. The only legal way for him to get his wish is through the amendment process.

While otherwise reporting objectively on the story, Bloomberg's word choices are distubring. Instead of calling attention to the primary reason for Zelaya's ouster, Bloomberg has decided to identify the referendum as a "poll" and a "survey".

Instance #1:
Honduras’s institutions remain united in support of Zelaya’s overthrow. The Supreme Court ruled that Zelaya violated the constitution by trying to hold an illegal poll on whether people support his proposal to change the constitution. The court issued an arrest order for the president on June 26.

Instance #2:
Zelaya also ignored a court order that said he couldn’t fire the head of the military for refusing to oversee the survey, and stormed a military base with a mob of civilians to “liberate” the ballots.

Yet, when referring to how Zelaya ally Hugo Chavez did the same thing to ensure that he would retain power in Venezuela, Bloomberg DID use the term.

The Venezuelan president won a referendum to amend the constitution in February that will allow him to run for re-election indefinitely.

Just to illustrate that I'm not splitting hairs here, check out Merriam Webster's definition of referendum.

1 a: the principle or practice of submitting to popular vote a measure passed on or proposed by a legislative body or by popular initiative b: a vote on a measure so submitted

The terms "poll" and "survey" seem to insinuate that what Zelaya was doing was innocuous and without consequence other than to test sentiment. A referendum carries the tone of something that prompts some sort of action. In this case, the action would have been discarding the constitution.

As the United States, the United Nations, the Organization of American States (OAS), and the Mainstream Media has decided to align with Zelaya, word games such as this only serve to further alienate those in Honduras who are defending their country's constitution.

Any and all arguments coming from those in support of Hugo Chavez ally Zelaya have totally avoided the reason for his ouster, a sure sign they have no real defense for it. The spinmeister arguments simply say he was democratically elected and was the victim of an illegal coup.

Kincaid: U.S. and U.N. Aligning with Communists

Cliff Kincaid of Accuracy In Media pulls no punches when it comes to his take on the Obama administration's stance on Honduras. Not only does he make the case that Obama has chosen the wrong side of this issue but he refers to Obama's alliance with the United Nations as a "plot" with respect to insisting on Honduras' ousted president Manuel Zelaya be reinstated.


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.

Read the entire article....

The media bias on this issue just might trump "THE THRILL" that shot up Chris Matthews' leg after hearing Obama speak. The real issue in Honduras relative to Zelaya's ouster is not even being referenced by the "MainStreamMedia".

If Kincaid is right, Obama is not just appeasing communist dictators - he's aligning with them.

Obama's Honduras Problem

For those of you who tire of seeing White House Press Secretary, Robert Gibbs fumble and bumble about whenever he's asked questions that don't leave any room for spin, give thanks that you are not seeing his #2 giving the daily press briefings - Deputy White House Press Secretary Bill Burton.



The key to winning a debate is to take the strongest argument / view held by the opposition and totally discredit or rebut it with facts and persuasive arguments of your own. Bill Burton doesn't even come close to that in this video exchange with Juan Williams (h/t to hot air).

Again, the Obama administration is digging in its heels over a position that doesn't even address the most fundamental issue in the ouster of Honduras' president Manuel Zelaya, which was Zelaya's blatant rejection of his country's constitution by attempting to force his forbidden re-election down the throats of his people with an illegal referendum.

Teaming up to remove Zelaya was his country's Supreme Court, its Legislative Branch, and its military. Yet all these whack job spokesmen like Bill Burton want to talk about is restoration of a democracy that would cease being such if the Obama administration has its way.

A democratically elected president who proceeds to shred his country's constitution in order to assume additional powers not granted by that constitution is no longer presiding over a democracy. Instead, he has made himself a dictator. When branches within that government remove said president in order to protect that constitution, is it really a coup, Mr. Burton?

HEY BILLY, Democracies like the ones you claim to champion necessarily include a president that abides by the law as set forth in his country's constitution!

Instead, Burton (as Obama's mouthpiece) chooses to ignore an inconvenient fact he absolutely cannot rebut and instead focuses on Zelaya being ripped from his home while wearing nothing but his pajamas (awwwww). Nor does he address the charges that Zelaya is little more than a Hugo Chavez puppet who enjoys friendly alliances with the Castro brothers and Daniel Ortega.

Bill Burton almost makes Gibbs look like a boy scout by comparison. In fact, Burton spins arguments that are so ponderous, I'll bet James Carville rolls his eyes at them. Burton is so shameless that he reminds me of that clowny spokesman for ACORN (oh, I'm sorry - Community Organizations International).

Remember this lizard?