Dennis Prager, NY Times on Honduras

Mr. Prager asks:

"When did a military coup ever take place that was ordered by that country's supreme court, that was supported by the political party of the president who was overthrown, in which not one person was injured, let alone killed, and which replaced the ousted president with the president of the country's congress, a member of the same party as the ousted president?"

He also says:

"Even if you know little or nothing about the crisis in Honduras, nearly all you need to know in order to ascertain which side is morally right is this: Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega, Cuba's Castro brothers, the United Nations, and the Organization of American States are all lined up against Honduras."

We note that as of today, there actually has been one person killed in demonstrations. That may have happened after Mr. Prager wrote his column. He also note that he fails to include Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton along with Hugo Chavez, Daniel Ortega, Fidel and Raul Castro as those who are lined up against Honduras.

Even the New York Times seems to be getting the picture. They printed a guest column by Roger Marin Neda, a columnist at the Honduran daily El Heraldo. Emphasis added:

"He (Zelaya) began his four-year term in January 2006, and by mid-2008, the idea of a second term was already in the air, even though it is forbidden by the Constitution. Since its independence from Spain in 1821, Honduras has had 16 constitutions, as these documents were vulnerable to leaders’ desire to extend their stay in office. The current constitution, which came into effect in 1982 after many years of military rule, was written to forever protect the country against presidents’ overstaying their welcome.

But over the years, the lust for power has proved too strong. The first president under the 1982 Constitution, Roberto Suazo Córdova, sought to eliminate the constitutional prohibition. Most of his successors have also tried, one way or another, to stay in the presidential palace longer than they were constitutionally allowed.

But only Mr. Zelaya had the guts to go all the way to plan a referendum, laying the groundwork for an assembly to remake the Constitution to allow him to serve one more term. His larger goal seemed to be a change from our democratic system into a kind of 21st-century socialism. In other words, he wanted to create a Hugo Chávez-type of government."

Posted by Gibbons J. Cooney