JIM DEMINT REPORTS BACK FROM HONDURAS

A prime example of why John Kerry didn't want Republican Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) to travel to Honduras on a fact finding mission. If you remember, Kerry tried to blackmail DeMint by preventing the trip because DeMint was holding up ambassadorial appointments as a member of the Foreign Relations Committee.

It seems Mr. DeMint has written a column for the WALL STREET JOURNAL that details what he found. As suspected, Micheletti's government was further vindicated by DeMint's trip, which seems to explain Kerry's alleged blackmail attempt.

After visiting Tegucigalpa last week and meeting with a cross section of leaders from Honduras's government, business community, and civil society, I can report there is no chaos there. There is, however, chaos to spare in the Obama administration's policy toward our poor and loyal allies in Honduras.

That policy was set in a snap decision the day Mr. Zelaya was removed from office, without a full assessment of either the facts or reliable legal analysis of the constitutional provisions at issue. Three months later, it remains in force, despite mounting evidence of its moral and legal incoherence.

Calling the Obama adminstration's policy toward Honduras a "snap decision" without the "facts" is actually giving him the benefit of the doubt and a bit kind. Assuming that's all it was would likely mean another beer summit, this time with different guests. Obama would speak to the White House press corps. and tell them that he should have "calibrated" his "words differently". But unlike the fracas Obama caused domestically with his "police acted stupidly" comment, there has been no real political damage for his insistance on reinstating a would-be dictator and friend of Hugo Chavez, Daniel Ortega, and the Castro brothers.

I found two more very revealing things in DeMint's column. One is that the only person in Tegucigalpa that he met who insisted that Zelaya was ousted via coup was the U.S. Ambassador:

In a day packed with meetings, we met only one person in Honduras who opposed Mr. Zelaya's ouster, who wishes his return, and who mystifyingly rejects the legitimacy of the November elections: U.S. Ambassador Hugo Llorens.

When I asked Ambassador Llorens why the U.S. government insists on labeling what appears to the entire country to be the constitutional removal of Mr. Zelaya a "coup," he urged me to read the legal opinion drafted by the State Department's top lawyer, Harold Koh. As it happens, I have asked to see Mr. Koh's report before and since my trip, but all requests to publicly disclose it have been denied.

Again, take note of the socialist tendency to withold the truth because the positions taken by socialists are so untenable, sunlight would lead to certain defeat in the debate arena.

As further illustration of my point: John Kerry (D) tries to prevent DeMint from going on a fact-finding mission to Honduras and fails. While in Honduras, DeMint asks the U.S. Ambassador why the Obama Administration insists on siding with a would-be dictator. Said Ambassador doesn't answer DeMint's question but instead directs him to a legal opinion written by another Obama appointee, Harold Koh. When DeMint attempts to obtain that legal opinion, he can't get it.

Obama is acting stupidly on Honduras.

Be sure to read DeMint's ENTIRE COLUMN.

ZELAYA CLAIMS HE'S BEING TORTURED BY JEWS

Who'd have thought that Zelaya would unmask himself to this degree since June 28th, when he was forcibly removed from power? Just think, if current president Roberto Micheletti would have backed down, this kook Zelaya would actually be running a country.

The MIAMI HERALD reports:

It's been 89 days since Manuel Zelaya was booted from power. He's sleeping on chairs, and he claims his throat is sore from toxic gases and "Israeli mercenaries'' are torturing him with high-frequency radiation.

"We are being threatened with death,'' he said in an interview with The Miami Herald, adding that mercenaries were likely to storm the embassy where he has been holed up since Monday and assassinate him.

Micheletti has got to be laughing out loud. In fact, I understand that shortly after it was discovered that Zelaya was inside the Brazilian embassy, loud speakers were placed outside the building. I'm not sure if they're still there but a recording of Micheletti laughing on a continuous loop would be a great addition to the play list.

Somebody needs to check Zelaya's white cowboy hat and see if it's made out of tin! Hillary was close enough when she was shaking his hand. Perhaps she should have checked that out.

Then again, maybe Honduran officials are lying.

Witnesses said that for a short time Tuesday morning, soldiers used a device that looked like a large satellite dish to emit a loud shrill noise.

Honduran police spokesman Orlin Cerrato said he knew nothing of any radiation devices being used against the former president.

"He says there are mercenaries against him? Using some kind of apparatus?'' Cerrato said. ``No, no, no, no. Sincerely: no. The only elements surrounding that embassy are police and military, and they have no such apparatus.''

When Zelaya first arrived in Honduras, it was a source of great concern for many who are in support of Micheletti but with these developments, the only radioactivity that may be inside that embassy is emanating from Zelaya and potentially keeping his supporters away.

With words like the ones coming out of Zelaya's mouth while inside the Brazilian embassy, it's quite possible he may find himself under the Obama bus soon.

Other suggestions for the playlist:
Beatles' White Album
Jewish Folk Songs
Twilight Zone Music
Continual loop of Six Million Dollar man's bionic eye in action.

WOW!

h/t to DRUDGE

HONDURAS: AS NEW GOVERNMENT EXPOSES TRUTH, OBAMA PENALIZES THEM

On Monday, the 27th, sitting Honduran president Roberto Micheletti's Op-Ed appeared in the Wall Street Journal. On Tuesday, the Honduran government reports that FARC has been funding ousted president Manuel Zelaya.

As the new government continues to reveal more and more very unflattering and dubious facts about Zelaya, the U.S. State Department has announced that it has revoked the VISAS of four officials working for the Micheletti government according to BREITBART.

The announcement comes as the United States has been pressing for Honduras to allow the return of exiled President Manuel Zelaya.

So Micheletti enumerates all the reasons why Zelaya was removed for breaking his country's Constitution and Obama responds by thumbing his nose at Micheletti by telling his country's diplomats that they're unwelcome in the United States.

That's called CLASS boys and girls!

Again, Micheletti's Op-Ed is a MUST READ.

CHECK OUT THE TRANSCRIPT from the press conference held by State Department spokesman Ian Kelly.

The most telling part of the transcript is a question about aid to Honduras being suspended prematurely:

QUESTION: And one – one other on Honduras. I’m well aware that the Legal Adviser’s Office was examining whether the events in Honduras technically met their definition of a coup and therefore would trigger the cutoff in aid that I realize you have already suspended.

MR. KELLY: Yes.

QUESTION: Have you yet reached a determination on that question?

MR. KELLY: I’ll have to get you an update on that.

Did you catch that?

Obama suspends aid to Honduras for ousting Zelaya as president but still hasn't determined if he was illegally removed (a key criteria for suspending aid).

Again worth noting that Micheletti presents cold hard facts about Zelaya while we the United States behave by bullying him for presenting them because Obama supports Zelaya.

Amazing.

h/t to Free Republic

WSJ Critical of Obama on Honduras

Mary Anastasia O'Grady's piece in the Wall Street Journal today is very critical of Obama's stance on Honduras. With a title like, 'The U.S. Steers Left on Honduras', you know it has to be. Steering left on Honduras necessarily means aligning with Hugo Chavez, Daniel Ortega, and the Castro brothers.

Throw on top of that the fact that as the sitting government, led by Roberto Micheletti, continues to stand up to Zelaya and practically the rest of the entire world, it is looking more and more like Micheletti is with the good guys. Another benefit to Micheletti is that Zelaya's rhetoric has been so incendiary and caustic since his ouster, he appears to be unmasking himself by the minute.

For her part, O'Grady does a great job of zeroing in on the consequence of Obama's policy toward Honduras having the effect of aligning the United States government with Hugo Chavez of Venezuela.

The Venezuelan may feel that his aims have enough support from the U.S. and the Organization of American States (OAS) that he would be justified in forcing Mr. Zelaya on Honduras by supporting a violent overthrow of the current government. That he has reason to harbor such a view is yet another sign that the Obama administration is on the wrong side of history.

Mr. Obama on the wrong side of history? Naw.

Anyway, O'Grady cites none other than Miguel Estrada who quotes directly from the Honduras Constitution:

"Article 239," Mr. Estrada noted, "specifically states that any president who so much as proposes the permissibility of reelection 'shall cease forthwith' in his duties, and Article 4 provides that any 'infraction' of the succession rules constitutes treason."

So the United States is supporting a man whose own Constitution points to him committing treason to boot?

O'Grady then nails the reality of the current situation had Obama sided with Micheletti and against Chavez / Zelaya:

That might have been the end of it if the U.S. had supported the Honduran rule of law, or simply refrained from meddling. Instead President Obama and the State Department joined Mr. Chávez and his allies in demanding that Mr. Zelaya be restored to power. This has emboldened Venezuela.

But No.

Here's another lesson to be learned by what is happening. The courage shown by Micheletti and the sitting government appears to be concerning Chavez.

Mr. Chávez understands that Mr. Zelaya's star is fading, which is why he called Tom Shannon, the State Department's assistant secretary for the Western Hemisphere at home at 11:15 p.m on July 9. Mr. Shannon told me that Mr. Chávez "again made the case for the unconditional return of Mr. Zelaya, though he did so in a less bombastic manner than he has in the past."

Chavez the bully. We all know what bullies really are, right? Think Scut Farcus in "A Christmas Story". We all know what Ralphie did to him.

I urge and encourage you to read O'Grady's entire piece.

One last thing on Obama and Honduras... I know there's almost a reticence to pay much attention to what's going on with a country like Honduras but when you peel away the layers, we see much about Obama.

Whenever Obama's affiliations are brought up and he is forced to acknowledge them (Ayers and Wright), he attempts to distance himself by saying he doesn't agree with them. In the case of Ayers, he was on a Board with him but didn't share his views. In the case of Wright, he belonged to his church but didn't share his views.

Now, Mr. Obama finds himself in a situation where he cannot say he doesn't support the views of Hugo Chavez. Those views consist of installing a stooge of the latter as the president of Honduras. A stooge that was allegedly going to rig the results of a referendum that showed the country wanted him to illegally change the Constitution.

The group formerly known as ACORN is planning to be very involved in administering the census and we're all familiar with allegations of fraud relating to voter registration, right?

"An acorn doesn't fall far from the tree."
- Barack Obama, 2008

Honduras: Micheletti Getting Church Support?

The truth may finally be getting its pants on. The key for the sitting Honduran government led by Roberto Micheletti is to HOLD ON. The longer this drags on, the more support he will get and the more damage it will do to those who support Zelaya. This is one crisis that Barack Obama doesn't like, which is why it should not be allowed to go to waste.

The American Spectator is reporting that a leader of the Honduran Catholic church appears to be coming out forcefully against Manuel Zelaya and the international support he's been getting:

To the Organization of American States: we ask that you pay attention to all (that) was happening outside the law in Honduras and not only what happened starting on June 28. The Honduras people are also asking why the warlike threats against our country have not been condemned. If the inter-American system is limited to protecting the system of ballot boxes but not to monitoring good governance and the prevention of political, economic, and social crises, a belated reaction in the face of these will be worth nothing to the international community.

I particularly enjoyed this quote from Rodriguez:

"Each and every one of the documents which have come into our hands show that the institutions of the Honduran democratic state are valid and that what it has executed in juridical-legal matters has been rooted in law."

How about 17 U.S. Senators writing a letter to Hillary Clinton expressing disagreement with the notion that Zelaya's removal was a coup? Hans Bader at the Dallas Examiner has more.

The lie that Manuel Zelaya was the unjustified victim of a coup is starting to be questioned more vociferously by voices that carry political weight. Had Micheletti caved to demands that Zelaya be reinstated, we would never see any of this. See what happens when you stand your ground on principle despite the odds (and numbers) being against you?



h/t to Hot Air

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)