Elecciones Por Hugo

We interrupt the death of Michael Jackson to bring you some slightly more important information.

Need to win an election by hook or by crook? Call Hugo Chavez.

Honduras Defends Its Democracy

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 [...]

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." [...]

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 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.

This was not a coup against Zelaya. It was the prevention of a coup by Zelaya. The military refused to help him improperly change the constitution. The Congress, Attorney General, and the Supreme Court all said the President was acting illegally. Now Congress has constitutionally appointed the next President according to the line of succession, and the next elections will not be disrupted. If anyone was attempting a "coup" it was Mr. Zelaya and his "Ballots by Hugo." Just look at who's supporting him: Chavez, Ortega, Castro, and the Obama administration.

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Help The Iranian Protesters

This couldn't hurt... If anyone is on Twitter, set your location to Tehran and your time zone to GMT +3.30. Security forces are hunting for bloggers using location/timezone searches. The more people at this location, the more of a logjam it creates for forces trying to shut Iranians' access to the internet down. Cut & paste & please pass it on.

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A Bad Case Of "Now What?" Syndrome

Via Reuters Vaunted Obama Message Machine Is Off-key

At the White House, spokesman Robert Gibbs reacted defensively, saying Obama has only been in office seven weeks and it should be no surprise that "all of the problems that took many years to take hold haven't necessarily been solved."

Obama, at Tuesday's education event, rejected criticism that he is trying to do too many things at once, citing three predecessors who managed to juggle challenges on many fronts --Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt and John Kennedy.

"President Kennedy didn't have the luxury of choosing between civil rights and sending us to the moon. And we don't have the luxury of choosing between getting our economy moving now and rebuilding it over the long term," he said.

What was it Lloyd Bentsen said about John F. Kennedy?

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Recommended Reading

An excellent post by a faithful reader of this blog, Shawmut:

Your tax, Your vote, Your Sovereignty

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I Wonder How Princess Feels About Congressional Pork?

Pet Pig Gets Voter Registration Mail

Pamela Winston's pet pigs turn up their noses at the mention of politics -- the mudslinging is too much even for them.

So imagine Pamela's surprise when Princess -- one her dearly departed potbellies -- got a letter encouraging her to vote.

"I found that a little strange," Winston told FOX 13.

This time of year, a lot of political organizations are sending out letters encouraging people to register to vote. Pamela opened one up recently without looking at whose name was on the front, and didn't think much about it.

When she glanced at who it was addressed to, she did a double take.

The pitch letter was for "Princess" Winston.

Pamela says she doesn't have the faintest idea why the letter was sent to Princess. A few days later, she got a follow-up recorded phone call reminding Princess to return the voter registration application. She didn't.

Hey, I'd trust Princess to make a better decision than your average 18 year old.

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