Honduras: Zelaya Referendum Rigged?

The sitting Honduran government continues to produce facts and evidence justifying the removal of President Manuel Zelaya. They appear to have truth on their side despite most of the world being against them. I suspect the longer they hold on, the more that will change.

Remember the June 28th referendum intended to circumvent the Honduran Constitution by putting to popular vote the changing of the part of the Constitution that forbids a president from running for re-election? It never took place because the Supreme Court ordered the military to remove Zelaya, which it did.

Now we learn that the results of the referendum (that never took place) have been found on a computer in the presidential palace and guess what? Zelaya won!

Obama is supporting the re-installment of Zelaya and as the Babalu' Blog points out, ACORN is probably taking notes. Say, who's in charge of the 2010 census again?

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

Babalu' posts an english translation of an el Europa Press article. Here is an excerpt:

The official investigation now deals with the possible crime of fraud and falsification of documents due to the fact that some of the certified voting results had been filled with the personal information of individuals that supposedly participated in the failed referendum that did not take place because of the coup.

I wonder if this might cause Hugo Chavez' zeal for Zelaya's reinstatement to moderate slightly. Odds are very good Zelaya took a page from the Chavez manual and Hugo may want to distance himself from it.

Here's another interesting tidbit from el Europa:

The deputy district attorney, Roberto Ramirez, declared this area as a "crime scene" and, although he did not want to provide further details, said that further evidence had been found that could be categorized as crimes of fraud, embezzlement of funds, falsification of documents, and abuse of authority.

Note to the U.N., the O.A.S., and Obama. Backing Zelaya is really starting to look bad, isn't it?

Exposed truths are extremely powerful things.

Note to the sitting and very courageous government of Honduras....

HOLD! HOLD! HOLD!



h/t to Gateway Pundit

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.

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?