Monday, July 06, 2009
Tom Palmer on Honduras
Trying to sort out all the details on Zelaya's failed coup in Honduras isn't easy, given the propaganda put out by the OAS, US government, UN, and similar outlets. But Tom Palmer provides some very thoughtful analysis and discussion.
As he puts it:
"Imagine that George Bush, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan or some other American president had decided to overturn the Constitution so that he could stay in power beyond the constitutionally limited time. To do that, he orders a nationwide referendum that is not constitutionally authorized and blatantly illegal. The Federal Election Commission rules that it is illegal. The Supreme Court rules that it is illegal. The Congress votes to strip the president of his powers and, as members of Congress are not that good at overcoming the president’s personally loyal and handpicked bodyguards, they send police and military to arrest the president. Now, which party is guilty of leading a coup?"
Interestingly enough, our own president B.O. seems to be taking sides in this one (the wrong side) but still maintains his neutrality when it comes to the Iranian election, and for that matter North Korea's belligerence.
Read Palmer's posts on Honduras here and here. Good stuff.
7 July update: The Independent Institute has a very nice summary & analysis by Alvaro Vargas Llosa that's worth reading. Elsewhere, I entered a minor brouhaha on Think Markets, responding to a post by Gene Callahan. Probably not worth reading, but mentioned here for the sake of completeness.
I certainly cannot understand why it is "propaganda" to note Obama's very uneven treatment of Honduras vs. Iran, North Korea, etc.
As he puts it:
"Imagine that George Bush, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan or some other American president had decided to overturn the Constitution so that he could stay in power beyond the constitutionally limited time. To do that, he orders a nationwide referendum that is not constitutionally authorized and blatantly illegal. The Federal Election Commission rules that it is illegal. The Supreme Court rules that it is illegal. The Congress votes to strip the president of his powers and, as members of Congress are not that good at overcoming the president’s personally loyal and handpicked bodyguards, they send police and military to arrest the president. Now, which party is guilty of leading a coup?"
Interestingly enough, our own president B.O. seems to be taking sides in this one (the wrong side) but still maintains his neutrality when it comes to the Iranian election, and for that matter North Korea's belligerence.
Read Palmer's posts on Honduras here and here. Good stuff.
7 July update: The Independent Institute has a very nice summary & analysis by Alvaro Vargas Llosa that's worth reading. Elsewhere, I entered a minor brouhaha on Think Markets, responding to a post by Gene Callahan. Probably not worth reading, but mentioned here for the sake of completeness.
I certainly cannot understand why it is "propaganda" to note Obama's very uneven treatment of Honduras vs. Iran, North Korea, etc.
