May, 28 2011, 09:48am EDT
EXCLUSIVE: Democracy Now! Host Amy Goodman Reports From Airplane Returning Ex-President of Honduras Manuel Zelaya
***Goodman is ONLY U.S. journalist on the plane with Zelaya***
NEW YORK
Amy Goodman, the award-winning journalist and host of Democracy Now!, will report from the flight of the ousted former president, Manuel Zelaya, as he returns to Honduras after a 23-month exile following the coup d'etat that began June 28, 2009.
Zelaya is expected to return to Honduras on Saturday, May 28, 2011. In the first military coup in Central America in a quarter century, General Romeo Vasquez led the military coup in Honduras against the democratically-elected President Zelaya. On September 21, 2009, Mr. Zelaya returned to Honduras and entered the Embassy of Brazil in Tegucigalpa, hoping a popular rebellion would restore him to office. Democracy Now! reported from inside the Embassy of Brazil for the 129 days Zelaya remained there before departing Honduras January 27, 2010. (For video and transcripts of Democracy Now! reports, including an exclusive interviews with Zelaya, please see links below.)
**Goodman, the only U.S. journalist on the plane with Mr. Zelaya during his historic return, will be available for interviews in Honduras.**
Mr. Zelaya is expected to land at the Toncontin airport in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, on Saturday, May 28, 2011 at 11:00 AM local time.
Democracy Now! will report on Mr. Zelaya's return to Honduras from Saturday, May 28th through Monday, May 31, 2011 and will post reports and updates on its website and Tumblr page. High resolution photographs and audio will be available for download on the Tumblr page.
(CREDIT: DEMOCRACYNOW.ORG)
Democracy Now!: https://www.democracynow.org/honduras
Democracy Now! on Tumblr: https://demnow.tumblr.com/
Reports in Spanish will be available on the Democracy Now! en Espanol website: https://www.democracynow.org/es
ABOUT AMY GOODMAN:
Amy Goodman is an award-winning investigative journalist, syndicated columnist, author and the host of Democracy Now! Goodman is the first journalist to receive the Right Livelihood Award, widely known as the "Alternative Nobel Prize" for "developing an innovative model of truly independent grassroots political journalism that brings to millions of people the alternative voices that are often excluded by the mainstream media." The Independent of London named Amy Goodman and Democracy Now! "an inspiration"; pulsemedia.org placed Goodman at the top of their 20 Top Global Media Figures. Goodman is the author of four New York Times bestsellers. Her latest book, Breaking the Sound Barrier, proves the power of independent journalism in the struggle for a better world.
SELECTED DEMOCRACY NOW! REPORTS ON HONDURAN COUP
(Includes Video/Audio Podcast & Complete Transcripts)
EXCLUSIVE: Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya Speaks from Nicaraguan Border on Who's Behind the Coup, His Attempts to Return Home, the Role of the United States
(July 30, 2009)
https://www.democracynow.org/2009/7/30/exclusive_ousted_honduran_president_manuel_zelaya
Honduran Coup Regime Blocks Ousted President Zelaya's Return; Troops Open Fire on Supporters at Airport, Killing Two
(July 6, 2009)
https://www.democracynow.org/2009/7/6/honduran_military_blocks_ousted_president_zelayas
Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya Speaks from the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa
(October 5, 2009)
https://www.democracynow.org/2009/10/5/ousted_honduran_president_manuel_zelaya_speaks
Report from Honduras: Ousted President Manuel Zelaya Returns to Honduras in Defiance of Coup Government
(September 22, 2009)
https://www.democracynow.org/2009/9/22/report_from_honduras_ousted_president_manuel
Zelaya to Leave Honduras as Coup Leaders Cleared
(January 27, 2010)
https://www.democracynow.org/2010/1/27/honduras
Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya: Talks Are Off with Coup Government After Deal Collapses
(November 9, 2009)
https://www.democracynow.org/2009/11/9/ousted_honduran_president_manuel_zelaya_talks
Hondurans Divided After Coup Backer Wins Presidential Election Boycotted by Zelaya Supporters
(December 1, 2009)
https://www.democracynow.org/2009/12/1/hondurans_divided_after_coup_backer_wins
Coup in Honduras: Military Ousts President Manuel Zelaya, Supporters Defy Curfew and Take to the Streets
(June 29, 2009)
https://www.democracynow.org/2009/6/29/coup_in_honduras_military_ousts_president
More information: www.democracynow.org
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No Labels Picks 'Dangerous' Experiment Over US Democracy
"Their decision to move forward with a dark-money, Trump donor-funded third-party fantasy bid is shameful and puts millions of Americans at risk," said one opponent.
Mar 08, 2024
With Democratic U.S. President Joe Biden expected to face former GOP President Donald Trump in the November election, No Labels on Friday confirmed it is pushing ahead with plans for a third-party "unity" ticket that critics fear could help the Republican return to the White House.
"The consequences of the next presidential election could not be more serious or more existential, and, despite this, No Labels has put their dangerous, reckless thought experiment ahead of the rights and freedoms of millions of Americans and the future of our democracy," declared MoveOn Political Action executive director Rahna Epting. "Their decision to move forward with a dark-money, Trump donor-funded third-party fantasy bid is shameful and puts millions of Americans at risk."
"Their own founder said they are 'not in it to win it,' and several current and past supporters of No Labels have implored them to stand down. And yet, they have decided to pump millions of dollars of dark money into a run that would swing the election to Donald Trump," she warned. "Any candidates who join the No Labels presidential ticket will be complicit in making it easier for Donald Trump and MAGA extremists to win a second term in the White House."
"Any candidates who join the No Labels presidential ticket will be complicit in making it easier for Donald Trump and MAGA extremists to win a second term."
Epting's comments came after No Labels national convention chair Mike Rawlings said in a statement that "earlier today, I led a discussion with the 800 No Labels delegates from all 50 states. These citizen leaders have spent months discussing with one another the kind of leadership they want to see in the White House in 2024. These are some of the most civic-minded, thoughtful, and patriotic Americans I have ever met. They take their responsibility seriously."
"Even though we met virtually, their emotion and desire to bring this divided nation back together came right through the screen. I wasn't sure exactly where No Labels delegates would land today but they sent an unequivocal message: Keep going," he added. "They voted near unanimously to continue our 2024 project and to move immediately to identify candidates to serve on the unity presidential ticket. Every one of our delegates had their own explanation for wanting to move ahead."
No Labels is a dark money group with secret far-right donors.
It’s not trying to find the so-called “middle ground.”
It’s trying to put Donald Trump back in the White House.
Be warned. pic.twitter.com/5cJgBTFGNj https://t.co/PCluXaWhBQ
— Robert Reich (@RBReich) March 8, 2024
While Rawlings provided some examples of delegates' statements from the call, so did journalists who obtained recordings of it. The New Republic's Greg Sargent—who got the audio from Matt Bennett, co-founder of the Democratic-centrist group Third Way—reported on concerns about a No Labels candidate being a spoiler for Trump:
For instance, a No Labels leader in Idaho said that while members are all for a run, they believe the ticket should "only" be offered to a candidate who has a "reasonable path to succeed and not be a spoiler." A leader in Iowa said the candidate must be "strong" and have "the ability to win."
Many others echoed these sentiments. At one point a party member from New Hampshire said: "We are in it to win it. But we also don't want to look like liars when we're telling people that we're not going to be a spoiler."
However, participants in the call expressed support for pursuing a unity ticket, according toPolitico's Shia Kapos and Daniel Lippman, who also obtained a recording and reported that "delegates compared what No Labels was doing to Abraham Lincoln delivering the Gettysburg Address and the Founding Fathers during the American Revolution."
Third Way's Bennett said in a statement Friday: "What part of 'no' is so hard to understand? Time and again, voters, candidates, and election experts have told No Labels that a third-party presidential ticket can't win and would help Trump."
Just in case you forgot: No Labels is not what they say they are. They\u2019re a political party masquerading as a non-profit to promote the interests of their wealthy donors.\n\nDark money has no place in politics. We\u2019re helping to lead the fight to hold No Labels accountable by filing\u2026— (@)
As Andrew Perez and Nikki McCann Ramírez detailed Friday for Rolling Stone:
Over the past year, the dark-money group has been leading a reported $70 million campaign to secure ballot access nationwide for a potential 2024 "unity" ticket. No Labels has refused to disclose who's funding this effort, claiming that this is to protect its donors from "agitators and partisan operatives." Thanks to a quirk in America's broken system of campaign finance laws, the group will never be required to disclose who funded its ballot access effort—and would only have to start reporting donors if it were to formally back candidates.
So far, No Labels has secured ballot access in 16 states, and is trying to do so in 17 other states. The group has given no concrete hints as to which two divide-spanning politicians might run on its unity ticket, or to what party they might belong.
Outgoing U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.)—a right-winger who weighed a run for president—suggested last week that a No Labels ticket would be a spoiler, saying that "right now, if you can't get on 50 states and you're going to basically hit in some of the battleground states that could be very detrimental to what the outcome would be."
During Biden's State of the Union speech on Thursday night, Trump said that it was "interesting" that Manchin and retiring Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah)—the 2012 GOP nominee—were sitting together, "and nobody wants to talk to them."
"I think they'd make a great No Labels team!" added Trump—whose only remaining primary challenger, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, dropped out earlier this week. She has also publicly opposed running with No Labels.
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, an Independent who ditched the Democratic Party shortly after the 2022 election, revealed this week that she is not seeking another term in November but she is also "not running for president."
Another potential No Labels candidate, former Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, recently resigned from the group's board in frustration and has decided to run for Senate. He remains opposed to both major candidates, saying Thursday that "I'm like 70% of the rest of people in America who do not want Joe Biden or Donald Trump to be president."
While No Labels searches for candidates, the group's critics continue to warn of the consequences of its potential ticket.
"There is no path to victory for No Labels. They will only ensure a second Trump presidency that serves the interests of their billionaire and corporate special interest backers," End Citizens United president Tiffany Muller said Friday. "It's why they've fought every effort to play by the rules and disclose their donors."
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The Trump administration nearly doubled the height of the border barrier as part of its "zero tolerance" immigration agenda.
Mar 08, 2024
The number of migrants drowning in the Pacific Ocean while attempting to enter the United States from Tijuana, Mexico skyrocketed by 3,200% after the Trump administration dramatically increased the height of the border barrier extending into the southern California sea, a study published Thursday revealed.
The study—published in JAMA, the American Medical Association's journal—found that 33 people drowned while trying to swim across the southern border between 2020-23, compared with just one death in the previous four years. Researchers tied the soaring fatalities to the Trump administration's decision to raise the height of the border wall from 17 feet to 30 feet as part of its "zero tolerance" immigration agenda.
"This height change has been associated with an increased rate of severe injuries seen by trauma surgery departments in San Diego, California," the paper notes.
The study also reported an increase in fatal accidents and a 400% spike in serious injuries caused by migrants falling from the wall.
Study co-author Anna Lussier, a student at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine, told the Times of San Diego that the idea for the paper came amid a dearth of data on migrant drownings in the Pacific.
"Lifeguards showed us a presentation on migrant rescues they were performing because of potential human smuggling," she explained. "Their stories weren't showing up in the news, and the numbers struck me as odd."
Study co-author Peter Lindholm, a professor-in-residence at the UCSD School of Medicine, said he and Lussier are conducting further research to determine exactly how migrants drowned.
"Drowning is the endpoint of death in the water, but we're trying to determine the actual cause of death: Hypothermia? Hypoxia? Swimming-induced pulmonary edema?" he told the Times of San Diego.
The study also found that migrant drownings in the Rio Grande decreased from 97 in 2016-19 to 96 in the following four years.
Higher walls and other barriers including the razor-wrapped buoys installed by Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in the Rio Grande have not deterred migrants from attempting the perilous border crossing. Unlawful crossings of the southern frontier have shot up in recent years.
U.S. President Joe Biden—a Democrat facing a tough reelection campaign in which immigration is a key issue—has responded to the border surge with an unrequited willingness to work with Republicans and adopt some of their anti-migrant policies to stem the flow.
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Oregon Gov. Kotek to Sign 'Unconscionable' Bill Recriminalizing Drugs
The landmark decriminalization measure passed by state voters in 2020 "now stands as a cautionary tale about the failure to match bold policy reform with competent administration," said one reporter.
Mar 08, 2024
The Drug Policy Alliance's leader expressed disappointment on Friday after Democratic Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek confirmed that she plans to sign legislation rolling back the state's historic measure that decriminalized possession of small amounts of all drugs.
"Today is not the end, just a detour. While I am saddened by today's developments, we at the Drug Policy Alliance will continue to advocate fiercely for an evidence-based, health approach to drugs in Oregon and across the United States," said Kassandra Frederique, executive director of the advocacy group, which is part of the Oregonians for Safety and Recovery (OSR) coalition.
"The recriminalization of drugs in Oregon is happening in a difficult national environment where criminal justice reforms at large are under attack by special interests," she added. "As politicians learn that criminalization will not solve—and will worsen—the problems that Oregonians care about, opportunities to establish a true health-based drug policy should emerge. Despite this setback, the movement to replace drug criminalization with care continues. We won't back down until our communities are healthy."
Our ED @Kassandra_Fred responds to Oregon's return to failed drug war policies. Her vision? We actually ensure people get the resources that they need to thrive. Decriminalization of all drugs is a part of that vision - one part of a tapestry of interventions communities need. pic.twitter.com/ih8n87Eepz
— Drug Policy Alliance (@DrugPolicyOrg) March 8, 2024
Oregon voters passed Measure 110, also called the Drug Addiction Treatment and Recovery Act, by a 17% margin in 2020, and it took effect the following February. The state was the first and only in the country to take the decriminalization and treatment approach, a shift widely lauded by drug policy groups. However, the measure "now stands as a cautionary tale about the failure to match bold policy reform with competent administration," Tim Dickinson wrote Thursday for Rolling Stone.
The Oregon Health Authority "provided inadequate support to the Oversight and Accountability Council, the body responsible for Measure 110 funding allocations," a Drug Policy Alliance memo explains. "This resulted in a significant delay in funding getting to service providers."
"The state failed to provide any training or standardized citation forms to law enforcement, many of whom were opposed to Measure 110," the memo continues. "The state deliberately chose not to advertise the screening hotline to the public. Rather than working to improve Measure 110 and provide real solutions, policymakers caved to a rollback effort bankrolled by business interests and led by the former chief of Oregon's prisons."
"Locking people up for possessing drugs or forcing them into court-ordered programs does not end drug use, but it does increase harms, including death."
In a wide-ranging statement about the end of this year's legislative session, Kotek announced Thursday that "reforms to Measure 110 will start to take shape, as I intend to sign House Bill 4002 and the related prevention and treatment investments within the next 30 days."
"As governor, my focus is on implementation. My office will work closely with each implementing authority to set expectations, specifically in response to the Criminal Justice Center's Racial Equity Impact Statement, which projected disproportionate impacts to communities of color and the accompanying concerns raised by advocates," she said. "House Bill 4002 will require persistent action and commitment from state and local government to uphold the intent that the legislature put forward: to balance treatment for individuals struggling with addiction and accountability."
As OPBdetailed on Monday:
The system created by H.B. 4002 is complex; people found with drugs can be charged with a crime, but there will be multiple paths they might take to avoid conviction. Lawmakers have envisioned a "deflection" system that is meant to be a major step in that direction. Under the proposal, counties that choose to participate would create a way for police to route people caught with drugs to service providers, rather than to jail and the courts system.
So far, at least 23 counties—accounting for the vast majority of Oregon's population—have signaled interest. But what kind of policies they might create is unknown, hinging partly on state funding.
"H.B. 4002 is being touted as a compromise, but we ask at the cost to whom?" Jennifer Parrish Taylor, director of advocacy and public policy at the Urban League of Portland, an OSR member, said after Oregon legislators passed the bill with bipartisan support last week, with a 21-8 vote in the state Senate and 51-7 vote in the House.
"It is an unacceptable compromise when we know that there will be disparate impacts to Oregonians of color," she argued. "It is not enough to monitor the system when we know it is a system that has bias built into it. I fear that we will be back next year, hearing those stories of harm, figuring out how to make our communities whole."
Frederique warned in an opinion piece for The Daily Beast that "this recriminalization is dangerous. We've been down this road before. More than 50 years of evidence demonstrates that locking people up for possessing drugs or forcing them into court-ordered programs does not end drug use, but it does increase harms, including death."
\ud83d\udc40 Multiple articles and experts have emphasized the racial disparities, surge of arrests, and overall ineffectiveness that will result from recriminalizing drug addiction. We won\u2019t say \u201cWe told you so\u2026\u201d You can see the proof for yourself at https://t.co/MPdGLO5mMQ #orleg #orpol— (@)
Jessica Maravilla, policy director at the ACLU of Oregon, another OSR member, noted that as lawmakers debated the bill, "thousands of us took action and engaged in our democracy—calling and emailing lawmakers and submitting testimony for hearings."
"We asked for real solutions including more treatment, housing, prevention programs, community revitalization efforts, and nonpolice mobile crisis response teams," she said. "The ACLU of Oregon community has deep gratitude for the lawmakers who voted 'no' to the false promises of criminalization in H.B. 4002—and its unconscionable human and other costs to our state."
As Current Affairs' Nathan Robinson concluded while Oregon legislators considered their options last month, "This is not a story about the failure of decriminalization, it's a story about how U.S. politicians, even in a liberal state, seem incapable of addressing any social problem through means other than cruelty."
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