FREDERICKSBURG They’re simply made, sturdy and colorful. But the “eco-clutch” handbags for sale at the University of Mary Washington bookstore are much more than fashion accessories. They are one small step out of poverty for women in Siete de Abril, a wretchedly poor village in Honduras. Thanks to the bookstore and an enterprising group of Mary Washington students, their professor and volunteers, the women are joining the ranks of Third World entrepreneurs.

‘Sfunny in this hour of Afghanistan, Iran, North Korea, and Iraq that perhaps nothing tells us quite so much about the incumbent D.C. administration as its behavior regarding Honduras. The situation is this: Three months ago the Honduran military escorted the country’s president, Manuel Zelaya, out of the country in his pajamas. After the fashion of his ideological mentor, Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, Zelaya had tried to rewrite the constitution to serve a second term—with the anticipated next step of having himself declared president for life. As The Wall Street Journal notes in an editorial:

During the Summit of the Americas, President Barack Obama shook the hand of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez with a congeniality commonly associated with a class reunion. Since then, Chavez:

• Was one of the first foreign leaders to congratulate Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the occasion of his victory in Iran’s disputed election.

Crucial talks to resolve the leadership crisis in Honduras began Saturday following an ultimatum from ousted President Manuel Zelaya that appeared to leave little room for compromise.

Manuel Zelaya admires Hugo Chavez. He intended to install in Honduras what Chavez has installed in Venezuela—the rule of the strong man, a jefe who manipulates institutions to expand and prolong his power while crushing dissent. Zelaya planned to hold a so-called plebiscite to allow him to extend his tenure as president. The Honduras supreme court ruled the vote (widely expected to be rigged) unconstitutional. Zelaya ignored the decision, whereupon the military arrested him and sent him packing—and installed the leader of the Honduran congress (a member of Zelaya’s party) in his stead. Elections will occur later this year as scheduled.