Honduran dictatorship, day 366

From Comedy Central America, aka the State Department (Arturo Valenzuela edition):

Since its first days in office, the Obama Administration has worked very hard to shift the balance in the U.S.-Latin American relationship in a positive and constructive direction – and we are confident that our approach is achieving results.
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Indeed, our greatest regional challenges – including inequality, the impunity of power, lack of rights, ineffective institutions, lack of opportunity – are receding in most countries in the Americas.
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Our priorities are based on the premise that the United States has a vital interest in contributing to the building of stable, prosperous, and democratic nations in this hemisphere that can play a pivotal role in building a rules-based international system capable of meeting today’s global challenges.
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[Based on a 2010 poll by Latinobarometro] The role of the United States in Latin America is also overwhelmingly viewed as positive.
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We also recognize the central role played by economic integration in our hemispheric relations. In 2009, total U.S. merchandise trade between the United States and Latin America and the Caribbean reached $524 billion and more than 40 percent of the region’s exports flowed to the United States, making us the region’s single largest export destination – as well as the largest source of foreign direct investment – and the Western Hemisphere, including Canada, absorbs 42 percent of U.S. exports.
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The coup d’état that occurred in Honduras in June 2009 marked an egregious setback to democratic governance in the region. We are, however, pleased that during 2010 Honduras made significant progress in strengthening democratic governance, promoting national reconciliation, and restoring diplomatic relations with many countries in the hemisphere. In our view, President Lobo has prepared the groundwork for the restoration of Honduras to the Organization of American States.
(emphasis added)…

He’s saying that we should just forget the coup. It was just a “setback,” not an interruption. If Latin American opinion is, as the Latinobarometro poll says, 2/3 favorable to the US, I am sorry. It simply means that our reputation has not caught up with our actions.

Friday Cat Blogging

This is Alexander’s favorite place to sit during the winter.

Sergeant Schultz Media Calls RW Bigot/Disruptor “Citizen”, Ignores His Activism

Our Sergeant Schultz legacy media knows nothing and sees nothing, it would seem. Continuing the tradition of ignoring the unsavory actions and connections of right-wing fringeoids like Michele Bachmann, the local media is pretending that a similarly loony anti-gay bigot and political activist is just a plain old “citizen”:

Governor Dayton is earning high marks for his civility to friend and foe alike at yesterday’s event, but the legacy media’s wan performance in identifying those who sought to disrupt the bully pulpit is another matter.

[…]

It’s approaching journalistic malfeasance for the press to lack the curiosity to ask a simple “five W” question about “who” that young man at the podium might be. It’s their duty to ask such questions, a responsibility implied in the freedom of the press.

[…]

After all, this “ministry” is no stranger to the political storyline that led to Dayton’s election; Jake MacMillian/ McAulay’s fellow “minister” Bradlee Dean played a strong supporting role last year. Dean’s radio approval of kindred spirits in murderous homophobia was a key piece in the “Target supports an anti-gay politician” narrative that led many to boycott the retailer.

Sally has more over at BSP — including this news that even though the legacy sloth media have yet to pick up on Jake MacMillian/McAulay’s ties to right-wing bigotry, at least one member of the local conservative blogosphere was alarmed enough by his poor showing at the podium to try and pretend that his appearance wasn’t orchestrated.