I ran the Human Rights Angle at Pelosi's today. Tomorrow I will demand an end of foreign aid to Honduras.

Thanks, Bernard.

1-202-225-0100---I called today, now its YOUR turn.

Obama's remark yesterday about hypocrisy from the left was annoying and distinctly unhelpful. (I don't have any problem with criticizing him for that.) Now he would have to reverse himself openly to take more aggressive action against the golpistas. That obviously makes it even less likely.

The present Honduran government is going to continue riding this out, and presumably they are getting ready for the November elections, maybe in illegitimate ways. The passage of time is on their side. I assume/hope the Zelaya supporters are getting ready for the November elections too. Is anyone yet doing anything to get the Obama administration or Congress to try to help make sure the November elections are fair, or would that be premature and undercut the effort to get increasingly unlikely help from the Obama Administration?

There's no way to hold "fair" elections under an illegitimate government that took power in a military coup.

Both of the major party candidates supported the coup, and both have tried to distance themselves since. If the U.S. government would join Chile and Brazil in pledging not to recognize any government elected under the coup regime, and back it up by helping organize a formal OAS declaration of same, both candidates would peel off even further and there'd be real pressure on the money men in the parties to bring this brutal clown show to a swift resolution.

The Liberal Party candidate for president is Elvin Santos, who was Zelaya's VP until last December. Read about the shenanigans of Santos, the Congress, the Electoral Tribunal, and the Supreme Court to get around the constitution's bar on VPs being able to run for President. The whole mess also left Zelaya without a VP able to succeed him; so conveeeenient for Micheletti.

The National Party candidate is Porfirio 'Pepe' Lobo, whom Zelaya narrowly defeated four years ago. He's favored, since the participation of many Liberals in the coup has killed that party as a vehicle for reform for some time to come. And he drew the coveted #1 position on the ballot.

Also there are two left candidates who'll siphon off those votes: Cesar Ham of the Unificacion Democratica and, for the first time ever, an independent candidate, popular movement leader Carlos Reyes.

Whoa! Just as I went back to get the link in the paragraph above, I see that blogger RAJ has news about a possible unofficial left 'bloc' in the November elections, something I'd speculated about in comments there and elsewhere. Reyes drew the next-best ballot spot, the last. Ballot position's pretty important in a country where voting is universal and mandatory and a big chunk of the electorate is illiterate.

I'll probably post something on this soon. If the coup regime hangs on until Sept. 14, they'll have been in power more days than there would be remaining until the Nov. 29 elections.

So light a fire under Obama and Clinton!

Call the State Dept. at 202-647-4000; after you wait through the recorded bits for passport/visa-seekers, you'll get an operator; say you'd like to leave a message for Sec. Clinton and you'll get switched to where you'll get a chance to leave a recorded message -- after another brief bit for passport/visa seekers). Or email, using the links in my guest post.

I fixed the State Dept. web comment link at the post on my blog (linked by Bernard above), and will fix the one in my post here in a moment.

Done.

I see this whole problem as a surplus of guns and a shortage of crack-cocaine.

1-202-225-0100 I called today, again, now its YOUR turn, again.

I called again today and opined on Honduras. Will YOU call?

I called today, how about YOU?