Free Republic

Thousands of people have come out to show their support of the new government in Honduras. But the media is reluctant to cover or report accurately what has happened, and what is happening in Honduras. But these Honduran bloggers are determined to get the word out and set the record straight in light of media bias, and the irresponsible support Obama and other world leaders are giving to this would-be usuper. More-

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, July 4 -- Although the U.S. government knew for months that Honduras was on the brink of political chaos, officials say they underestimated how fearful the Honduran elite and the military were of ousted President Manuel Zelaya and his ally President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela. Rumors were buzzing in the capital that the fight between Zelaya and his conservative opponents had reached the boiling point, but diplomatic officials said the Obama administration and its embassy were surprised when Honduran soldiers burst into the presidential palace last Sunday and removed Zelaya from power... The overthrow, and the new Honduran...

After insisting that it is not the United States’ place to meddle in the internal affairs of other nations in the case of Iran, US President Barack Obama demanded that Honduras restore Manuel Zelaya to the presidency of that country. Zelaya was removed from office by order of the country’s supreme court with the concurrence of the legislature when he attempted to illegally implement a proposed amendment to the nation’s constitution. According to the Honduran constitution, Zelaya was to be barred from reelection by its term-limit provision. Rather than seek to amend the constitution through methods specified in the document,...

Editor’s note: The following letter was written by Somerset County native Chester Thomas of Honduras and sent to relatives and friends to present his perspective on the coup that resulted in the ouster of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya. Thomas, of the Hollsopple area, is executive director of Project Global Village, a multi-church-affiliated organization that responds to natural disasters, operates health clinics and constructs housing, among other things, in Honduras. Our warmest greetings to you from Honduras. Many of you are well aware of what is happening in Honduras, although a lot of the information being transmitted is being twisted by...

Senator defends U.S. overthrow of Zelaya. DeMint, a conservative Republican, described Zelaya as a "dictator in the style of Chavez," referring to Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez Senator Jim DeMint on Thursday defended the toppling of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, said that now is still the rule of law in the Central American country. Zelaya was overthrown by a military coup, after ignoring an order from the supreme court, seeking to avoid a constitutional reform, which according to many Hondurans, was to allow for re-election. DeMint, a conservative Republican, Zelaya described as a "dictator in the style of Chavez," referring to...

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Honduras' Supreme Court rebuffed a personal appeal from the Americas' top international diplomat Friday, refusing to restore ousted President Manuel Zelaya before a Saturday deadline. Jose Miguel Insulza, who heads the Organization of American States, flew to Honduras in an attempt to persuade the forces that ousted Zelaya to take him back in the face of overwhelming international condemnation and economic sanctions. He met for two hours with Jorge Rivera, president of the Supreme Court that authorized the military to seize Zelaya on Sunday and fly him into exile. "Insulza asked Honduras to reinstate Zelaya, but the...

The people of Honduras have struggled too long to have their hard-won democracy stolen from them by a Chavez-style dictator. The Honduran Congress, the Honduran Supreme Court, and the Honduran military have acted in accordance to the Honduran constitution and the rule of law. For weeks leading to his arrest, Zelaya flouted the constitutional authority of the Honduran Congress and Supreme Court, and claimed for himself extra-constitutional control of his nation’s military and political institutions. Every institution from the Electoral Tribunal to the Supreme Court ruled that his actions were unjustified and illegal. Zelaya’s open defiance of democratic norms has...

Democracy -- or rule by majority vote -- is a genuine political good. So is republicanism -- or rule by legitimate representatives. Both have considerable social and economic value to the individual and the nation. Similarly, autonomy and self-rule are governmental goods and values which a given society finds very much worth having. And it's even worth while for that civilization to enjoy non-violation of their national soverignty and non-interference in their internal affairs by non-citizens. But none of these political goods and values are anywhere near as important as freedom. In the life of the person and his nation,...

World: Please ask yourself these questions and then ask your own media outlets why they aren't reporting anything from the Honduras newspapers, the Honduran television, or the Honduran man on the street. Why are they not reporting the Honduran bloggers, Twitters, and Facebookers (who are not being censored)? They do that for Iran.

What is wrong with this picture? Obama: Honduras Coup "Not Legal" What is wrong with this guy? You have a sitting president who is literally pulling an Andrew Jackson and defying his own Supreme Court, and he gets removed from office (rightly) and this coward takes the side of the Stalinist dictator?!? Did I miss a meeting or something?!? Well Hoo Ray for the people of Honduras I commend and respect you and your Supreme Court for fighting the Dictator and the scum bags at the United Nations! Now only if our O-Mussolini and the Banana Republic Dictators at the...

Hondurans have united like never before and have stood up to the world to protect and defend their democracy no matter what. Today I saw a large group of brave men and women stand side by side yelling, singing, dancing, cheering, clapping, and making their voice be heard all over the world. The big peaceful manifestation that Hondurans put up this morning in Tegucigalpa’s Central Park in support of their new Constitutional Government has set an example to the world, that even though it is a small and one of the poorest countries in the world, it will not fall...

The New Republic splits from the Obama administration and scolds Barack Obama over his response to the removal of Manuel Zelaya in Honduras. Francisco Toro accuses Obama of “fetishizing” the presidency and ignoring the facts on the ground. The military may have conducted a coup, but it did so at the unanimous behest of the legislature and the Honduran Supreme Court — and for good reason (h/t HA reader Desmond L):

The Industrial Revolution (1820-1870) ushered in significant advances in agriculture which resulted in an increased supply of food and raw materials. Developments in technology resulted in increased production, efficiency, profits, commerce, both foreign and domestic. Industries directly affected were textiles, coal mining, iron, transportation, and steam. The United States was second only to England in the production of wealth and export of goods. The American economy was strong and the dollar was gaining global recognition and nations were waiting in line for America’s exports and the American currency. But this rapid growth began to decline around the turn of the...

RABAT -- If you want an antidote to the photographs of police officers beating demonstrators and girls dying on the streets of the Iranian capital, take a drive through the streets of the Moroccan capital. You might see demonstrators, but not under attack: On the day I visited, a group of people politely waving signs stood outside the parliament. You might see girls, but they will not be sniper targets... Welcome to the kingdom of Morocco, a place which, in the light of the past two week's events in Iran, merits a few minutes of reflection. Unlike Turkey, Morocco is...

During the past 3 1/2 years, my country has lived through a sad satire of governance. Influenced by the No. 1 promoter of 21st-century socialism, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, our ex-president, Manuel Zelaya, took us down the road of social divide, propaganda and the absolute void of checks and balances with one end in mind: to stay in power indefinitely... Running a campaign disguised as promoting change for the people and true direct participation of the masses, Zelaya started to promote this project with all his might. The judicial branch deemed this project illegal, as did our electoral tribunal and...

The more one sees President Obama in action the more you realize that the leader of the free world is not a big fan of democracy. Take a look at his foreign policy, with few exceptions he has positioned the United States against the force of democracy in the world. He has insulted out close allies in Great Britain by dissing their Prime Minister when he came to visit; no state dinner, no press conference and to top it all off President Obama gave the Prime Minister a crappy take-home gift, old DVDs. Then he insulted France when he refused...

Seven years ago, Reuel Marc Gerecht looked into the best crystal ball in all global strategy and wrote down what he saw in the pages of the Weekly Standard: If the United States stays in Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein and his Baathist regime, and ushers in some type of a federal, democratic system, the repercussions throughout the region could be transformative. Popular discontent in Iran tends to heat up when U.S. soldiers get close to the Islamic Republic. An American invasion could possibly provoke riots in Iran--simultaneous uprisings in major cities that would simply be beyond the...

"America is still the abiding alternative to tyranny. That is our purpose in the world." Ronald Reagan "Freedom's never more than 1 generation away from extinction We didn't pass it to children in bloodstream it must be fought for" President Obama's weak response to Iranian government's reign of terror against its own people, not only goes against the most basic of American values, but it has also struck fear in the hearts of those looking to bring freedom and democracy to the Middle East. Not Just in Iran, but in the Arab world also. The democracy activist is afraid the...

Islam is, undeniably, a major source of inspiration for terrorism, oppression and barbarism. Many would even say the very nature of Islam is nothing but sheer evil and among these gainsayers of Islam we find plenty of well educated and highly literate individuals. Personally speaking, I can't say that I've grown more tolerant of Islam the more educated I've become. But could Muslim nations that today are run by advocates of pure evil eventually be transformed into well functioning democracies? Will Iran ever become a true democracy? Will Iraq? Will Saudi Arabia? - Or will Islam hinder such a development?...

At Tuesday’s press conference, Barack Obama finally condemned the Iranian regime for brutality that “appalled and outraged.” But as forceful as some of Obama’s language was, he left the door open for engagement with a repentant mullahcracy. He was asked: “[I]s there any red line that your administration won’t cross where that offer [to talk to Iran’s leaders] will be shut off?” He responded in part:

The young woman who last weekend emerged as a powerful symbol of opposition to the Iranian government embraced life in many ways, but there was little about her that would have led her friends to predict she would become a martyr, one of them told CNN. Neda Agha-Soltan, 26, rose to prominence within hours after a crudely shot video documenting her final moments was uploaded to the Web shortly after she died Saturday from a single gunshot wound to the chest. "It's heartbreaking," President Obama said Tuesday in Washington, referring to the video of the woman the world has come...

TEHRAN, Iran - It's not just young, liberal rich kids anymore: Whole families, taxi drivers, even conservative women in black chadors are joining Iran's opposition street protests. They say they want something simple: their votes counted and their voices heard. What they will settle for — or push for — is a far bigger question.

Should President Obama condemn the actions of Iran's government? Yes No

Iran Democracy or Dictatorship? It hurts my heart to see the Iranian people going through this anarchy for Democracy and a Free and unbiased election process. The Iranian people need to be free and able to put in power a President of their chosen by a majority vote. How could the current administration call their government a Democracy when they do not let the people’s voice be heard? This is not Democracy, this is a Dictatorship. A Dictatorship that needs to be over thrown, I believe the only way for a free Iran is Civil War. The Iranian people cannot...

New Poll: Is the West doing enough to support Democracy in Iran? A Daily Poll Comments welcome on the site.

Is the United States Doing Enough to Support Democracy In Iran? Yes. This is a delicate balancing act and we must proceed with caution No. We must do more to stand up for democracy I'm not sure.

WHATEVER happens in Iran in the aftermath of this month’s fraudulent elections, one thing is clear: we are witnessing not just a fascinating power struggle among men who’ve known each other intimately for 30 years, but the unraveling of the religious idea that has shaped the growth of modern Islamic fundamentalism since the creation of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt in 1928. The Islamic revolution in Iran encompassed two incompatible ideas: that God’s law — as interpreted by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini — would rule, and that the people of Iran had the right to elect representatives who would advance and...

With Iran on a razor’s edge after a week of swelling protests, the Obama administration has fended off pressure from both parties to respond more forcefully to the disputed election there. But if Iranian authorities carry out their latest threat of a more sweeping crackdown, the White House would reconsider its carefully calibrated tone, officials said Friday. Administration officials said events this weekend in Tehran — when demonstrators plan to rally in defiance of the authorities — would be a telling indicator of whether President Obama will join European leaders and lawmakers on Capitol Hill in more harshly condemning the...

This Sunday, people all across the country are going to dress in green, meet up at 3pm, photograph it, and share those photos with the world. Note that this is being posted in conservative and liberal outlets, since this is an issue that quite clearly transcends typical partisan boundaries. What: Wear green, and gather in solidarity When: Sunday (June 21st), 3pm Where: NYC – Union Square - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=105643799461&ref=nf Washington DC - Dupont Circle - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=110004082526 Other Cities - http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=90245652100&ref=mf Why: To show solidarity with the people of Iran. To send pictures from as many cities as we can. The people...

If Tweets coming from Iran are accurate, there seems to be a movement in many parts of the country towards some small taste of freedom and democracy. The reason for this mainly revolves around what seems to have been a concerted effort on the part of the ruling elite in the country to steal an election. Meanwhile, the White House is not saying much about the situation one way or the other because it doesn’t want to hand Iran’s Supreme Ruler (that’s his actual title), Ali Khameni and its president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad an excuse to accuse the United States of...

In February 2006, Secretary of State Condoleezza told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, “We are going to work to support the aspirations of the Iranian people for freedom in their own country.” She requested, and was granted, $75 million dollars to be put toward the effort. What became known as the “Democracy fund” for Iran was routinely slammed as unnecessarily confrontational by critics of robust democracy promotion.

Do it, President Obama, please. Take the side of democracy. Declare yourself and your nation on the side of hope and change where it is more than a slogan and better than a rationalization for ever-bigger government. Stop measuring the success of your diplomacy with Iran by the degree to which the grinning, hate-filled stooge of a clerical junta will “temper” his rhetoric about the pressing need to destroy Israel and slow his ineluctable pursuit of nuclear weapons. Instead, choose a higher standard. Look to history. Look to the aspirations of the students risking their lives and livelihoods to protest...

During the Bush administration, one of the biggest complaints from the left was President Bush's use of the term "axis of evil" to describe Iran, Iraq, and North Korea. The left saw this as undiplomatic. It would incite those he targeted and make it harder to carry out diplomacy. From President Bush's perspective, he saw a clear moral clarity. He felt there are good guys in the world and bad guys. He wanted to draw a clear line between the two. The left saw this is simplictic. The world is filled with gray and the world needs nuance to see...

It's a rant this week. Fightin Words focuses on the dangers of pure democracy and how it leads to socialism and even fascism (Hilter was elected). James von Brunn hates blacks and Jews; he also has a problem with the Federal Reserve. I guess that means anyone who criticizes the Fed is a kook like von Brunn. Right? That's logical, isn't it? Plus, Bill Maher takes on President Obama for not being socialist enough! Obama Not Left Enough, Says Bill Maher: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWulnfog20c&eurl=

Non-ideological, as used here by Schlesinger, is a euphemism for disengaged and civically irresponsible. "Most people have more important things to do than ponder the role of government," he says. Do they? Or is it just that pondering the role of government is not important to most people? I will grant you the latter. However, if you are at all concerned with actual importance, and not just perceived importance, you must concede that few things are as pressing as government's role when you consider what it is capable of, particularly when so few are pondering it. But that does not...

We are entering day three of violence in Iran. There is both violence and even death being reported. Yet, the protesters remain undaunted and forceful. The opposition candidate, Hussein Mousavi, made an appearance in front of a rally of thousands that defied a government order not to organize. Meanwhile, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeni has ordered an investigation of the election results. So, it's safe to say that the situation remains fluid.

Without support from the United States and other Western countries, Iranian opposition groups will likely stop demonstrations against the Iranian regime and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's declared victory in Friday's presidential elections, senior Israeli defense officials said Sunday.

Americans like to lecture China about concepts of government and political participation. Usually, these lectures assume that China should copy the United States, with particular attention to making the government more responsive to pressure from citizens and groups. This is dubious advice, because the US itself is in a crisis over its political institutions, a crisis centered precisely on the ability of groups to pressure the government. This crisis is hobbling the ability of the US to deal with its long-term economic and social problems. As the adage says, the fish is the last to learn of the water, so...

Instead of being a formality, these elections have seen an explosion of pent-up anger against President Ahmadinejad Iran's presidential election was not supposed to be like this - days (and nights) of giddy excitement and political mudslinging and anarchic scenes of a sort that the tightly-controlled Islamic republic has not seen since the revolution. It was meant to be a formality. The Guardian Council, a body of senior conservative clerics, would select a handful of candidates with impeccable Islamic and revolutionary credentials. The country would go through the motions of democracy to impress the outside world and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would...

A very interesting segment. Watch and absorb :) http://www.teamsarah.org/video/brief-overview-of-all-types-of

Donor Intent at Risk by: Malcolm A. Kline, June 08, 2009 We have written of the risks that the intent of donors will be derailed once universities get a hold of the cash. That is a particularly acute concern when the donors are American taxpayers. “Under President Bush, the United States began a program to support democracy, human rights, and the rule of law in China by quietly providing grants to NGOs, universities, and others who partnered with reform-minded organizations in China on specific projects,” Amy E. Gadsden related in a recent report to the Foreign Policy Research Institute. “This...

According to a recent study of civics literacy by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute:* Fewer than half of all Americans can name all three branches of government, a minimal requirement for understanding America's constitutional system. * Only 24% of college graduates know the First Amendment prohibits establishing an official religion for the United States. * Nearly a third of the respondents failed to name two of America's enemies in World War Two; 22% of college graduates did not answer that question successfully. * 54% of respondents (and only 44% of 18- to 34-year-olds) knew that Congress shares foreign policy power with...

Today marks the dolorous 20th anniversary of the bloody crackdown and heartless massacre of Tiananmen Square by the loathsome, evil, Chinese dictators. It was a truly black day for world freedom. The idealistic, noble, and quite-brave student-led protest was basically advocating overall reform, less corruption, democracy, and liberty. But it was called a pro-"democracy" demonstration, and now it is almost exclusively remembered as being part of a pro-"democracy" movement. Well, democracy has advanced only minutely in the past two decades. Only to a scattered, inconsistent, and tiny extent do the Chinese people actually get to elect their leaders, and decide...

It is 20 years since students and lecturers filled Tiananmen Square, demanding democracy, only to be crushed by tanks and fired on by the Chinese army. Banned novelist Ma Jian, who was there at the protests, returned to Beijing to find a country desperate to erase all memories of the thousands of innocent lives lost...

We are faced with the ultimate nightmare of any democratic republic, and that is the possibility of the tyranny of the majority voting liberty out of existence. Constitutional safeguards are only as good as those charged to safeguard them, and in this respect government officials in every branch of government who take an oath to protect and defend the Constitution have been the worst offenders. The integrity of our political process has been compromised by rampant voter fraud, a tidal wave of illegal campaign contributions and a complicit media. We won’t know just how permanent and deep the damage is...

I repeat: Is democracy the killer of liberty? The dictionary defines democracy as the rule of the people. Even at its best, “democracy is the worst form of government except for all the rest,” according to Winston Churchill. Is democracy a very bad form of government? Does it hold the threat of destroying humanity’s most precious right – liberty? Here are some things to think about. In the so-called democratic societies, a semblance of democracy hobbles along with fits and starts, always on the verge of complete subversion and collapse. For instance, the Western democracies are representative democracies where the...

During the last 30 years we Americans have been so politically divided that some of us have called this left-right, liberal-conservative split a "culture war" or even a "second Civil War." These descriptions are no longer accurate. The precise, technical word for what is happening in the United States today is revolution. Because of our country's history, we tend to think of revolutions as military conflicts, and of the revolutionaries as the good guys; the image of Minutemen fighting valiantly against the British forces at Lexington and Concord lies deep within our DNA. But sometimes -- quite often, actually --...

A business colleague once told me that rewriting your life story line-by-line and chapter by chapter is a futile exercise. "If you want a new life," she said, "you have to throw your old life into the fire."A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, (which is) always followed by a dictatorship.

China's Zhao Details Tiananmen Debate Posthumous Memoir Castigates Party By John Pomfret Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, May 15, 2009 Zhao Ziyang violated one of the central tenets of Communist Party doctrine: He spoke out. But it is only now, four years after his death, that the world is hearing what he had to say. In a long-secret memoir to be published in English and Chinese next week, just in time for the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, the former head of the Chinese Communist Party claims that the decision to impose martial law around Beijing in May...