I say, steady on there. old chap. What, pray, is wrong with an English accent? :)

OldEnglish on July 4, 2009 at 9:46 PM

Nuthin’ if you are in England.

-Dave

Ed, Americans don’t want to think about Hondurans & Iranians now. Like who are they anyway? We’re too busy BBQing the burgers & worrying about an entertainer’s pervert’s funeral.

1) The fact that you don’t like the way the Hondurans handled this does not mean they “botched” it. If what they did was in accordance with their constitution, then the rule of law prevailed. That is what’s important

2) We don’t need to promote just “democracy.” Read the Federalist Papers. The Founding Fathers quite clearly didn’t trust democracy. Pure democracy all too easily leads to some individual gathering all power to himself. This situation in Honduras is a perfect illustration of the danger of emphasizing democracy above a constitution. If Zelaya had successfully ignored the Honduras constitution, subverted the legislature, ignored the rulings of the Supreme Court, and distributed his referendum, he might very well have become the dictator he wanted to be without ever stepping outside of democracy. By following their constitution, the Honduras stopped him cold.

Now, it may well be that the Honduras constitution could be improved somewhat here, with provisions for imprisonment of the president in such cases and a vote for impeachment. Regardless, that’s not how their constitution reads now. Further, as I understand it, this particular section of the Constitution can not be amended in any way. That restriction is to prevent it being amended in such a way as to allow a president to avoid his term limits.

Frankly, the Honduras have the U.N., the U.S. State Department, and the OAS aligned against them already. They deserve better than the media coverage they’ve been getting.

FloatingRock on July 4, 2009 at 11:29 PM

Secretary General: OAS Fails to Reinstate Zelaya

So what was the vote? Since we are all subjects under the rule of this mysterious ruling body, aren’t we entitled to know how they voted?

As for the constitutionality of the circumstances involving the removal of Zaleya, I think there is something in the Honduran Constitution that makes Ed and SilentWatcher higher authorities than the Honduran Supreme Court on the matter. It’s known as the “Morrisey/SilentWatcher Ultimate Authority Clause” in Honduran law parlance…if I’m not mistaken.

Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza asked the organization Saturday to punish the de facto government by suspending the country from the organization.

If I had the authority, I would expel this piece of sputum from our shores.

Here is where Honduras “botched” it: they should have impeached him instead of kicking him out of the country.

SilentWatcher on July 4, 2009 at 10:27 PM

How was it not impeachment?

Would affixing a familiar American label to the process have altered the reality of what Honduras did? It might have helped alleviate Ed’s superficial concerns, but the truth of the matter wouldn’t have changed. By American standards, aside from the absence of the “impeachment” label and some relatively inconsequential procedural differences, that’s precisely what they did, “impeach” him, but Zelaya refused to leave office. This forced their Supreme court into the fray, which ruled against him, and he still refused to back down. Finally the military was called in to force his compliance.

The process worked regardless of what it’s called. That it doesn’t work exactly like ours is immaterial. What’s important was the result.

Ed shouldn’t be so smug that our procedures regarding these matter are somehow superior to Honduras’. They may be, but they’ve never been tested so we can’t possibly know. Honduras has already passed this test with flying colors, and while that may not be surprising considering their experience with dictators in the past, that is also why we should learn from their experience and not malign them with false allegations that they somehow “botched” the job based on superficial technical comparisons to our own system.

Can a two-termer run again – after a hiatus? (I’m thinking of Obama’s wife, here).

OldEnglish on July 4, 2009 at 11:12 AM

Amendment 22
1. No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice,
and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for
more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President
shall be elected to the office of the President more than once. But this
Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President, when this
Article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may
be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term
within which this Article becomes operative from holding the office of
President or acting as President during the remainder of such term.

they actually used to teach this stuff in schools, that’s where I learned it.

I am a certified teacher, elementary through high school. Up until the mid 70’s I taught a class called “Americanism vs Communism” I doubt that the course would be allowed today. If I still taught Government it would be a nightmare trying to justify all the contridictions between the constitution and current reality. Since I would teach it as it is; I am sure that I would make someone unhappy.

Instead of standing shoulder to shoulder with the people and government of Honduras, we are allowing the thugs to take over. Tomorrow morning, Zelaya is scheduled to arrive in “Teguch”…and then we will see exactly where this Administration, this Congress, stands when a free people are threatened by a Leftist thug.

God speed, Honduras. We all can learn a lesson from your valiant efforts.

Dave R. on July 4, 2009 at 9:22 PM

I say, steady on there. old chap. What, pray, is wrong with an English accent? :)

I certainly hope I don’t have to remind you that this nation’s rebellion against King George III wasn’t exactly legal, either.

If we were to apply your apparent standard to that time and place in our history, you would be typing your articles here at HA with a decidedly British accent.

-Dave

Sounds like Obama.

Wade on July 4, 2009 at 11:18 A

Right you are.

-Dave