National security scholar Maria W. Norris of Coventry University, who is covering events in Brazil, reports that today, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva gathered around him the president of the supreme court and the governors or vice-governors of each state, the senators, the attorney general, and congressional representatives, all of whom condemned the coup. Many had been staunch supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro, but since the coup failed, they have thrown their lot behind Lula. After they declared their support, Lula led them through the vandalized buildings, symbolically reclaiming them.
Newly elected Rep. Daniel Goldman, who was lead counsel in Trump's first impeachment, tonight offered the most accurate name for the GOP's special committee to investigate the FBI and other federal law enforcement. In an interview with MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell, called the panel the Committee for Obstructing Justice. Goldman deserves one of the Democratic seats on the panel so he can pulverize Jim Jordan.
I listened to Dan Goldman give his speech on the House floor and he did not mince his words regarding the GQP. He nailed them about trying to squash the DOJ investigations about Trump and about themselves. Seems like most of what the R’s are proposing to change must be approved by the Senate and that is very unlikely to happen, thank goodness! The best news of the day is that Weisselberg Is sentenced to Rikers prison for 5 months. That is a brutal facility. Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. Wait...oh yes, it could...TRUMP!
What really ticks me off about the war against democracy is how the leaders of the social media companies are not being held accountable for what they have done. Kahneman's book "Thinking, Fast and Slow" should be required reading for everyone working in the Justice Department and regulatory agencies that have a voice in online services. The insights Kahneman describes have been used quite deliberately in the design of the algorithms that fan the flames with bad data. It's all done to increase what is called "stickiness" in Silicon Valley, that is the amount of time people spend on each site. Things that trigger a sense of outrage increase stickiness the most, regardless of their veracity. This is because our emotional processes engage first and trump our more methodical rational thinking processes, which are much slower. Making it worse is the dearth of skill in the general public when it comes to dealing with issues of probability and uncertainty. Perhaps Trump, Bannon, Hannity, Carlson, DeSantis, Bolsonaro, and the many other bad folks in politics are bad, but in my book, Zuckerberg, Pichai, Cook. and Nadella are far worse for deliberately fanning these flames just to sell more targeted ads at higher prices because of the better click-through rates they can deliver because of the stickiness they have deliberately built into their platforms.
This gets back to the whole social contract mess in terms of the way we charter and police corporations, and the way the 14th amendment has been abused by the courts to protect them. The whole mess needs to be brought down. It won't end until this behavior is outlawed and the folks doing it are behind bars.
I rarely write twice, here, and I don't think I ever have (so my apologies to those who hate my drivel) but one thing that also sticks in my throat is the milquetoast sentence for the Trump-Goblin that got 5 months of jail (not prison, which is by definition reserved to those who get more than a year of incarceration) for FIFTEEN FELONIES. That means the goblin can do his 'time' by sitting at home having a scotch and watching the Washington Commanders play (with a home-monitor of course) and avoid any ACTUAL time in a facility.
I'm sorry, but that is not 'justice' as any attorney who has had to defend a person on even ONE felony will tell you...look at the incarceration of most convicted of a single felony and you will see that this is unjust. Ask if a person in NY convicted of 15 felonies for drug possession would get 5 months of time...
While you can suggest drug crimes are different; ask yourself if dealing a bit of drugs is the equivalent of shielding MILLIONS of dollars from the government. The two are not the same. But your "drug dealer" goes to PRISON for many years and the goblin stays home and chills for 5 months. One loses all their connections to society and the other has no real consequences. One loses any ability to raise their kids, the other has to stay "home" on "arrest" and still cooks dinner for the kids. Think about that from the perspective of justice.
"Sean Hannity broadcasting from your United States House of Representatives..." I wonder, did Faux Neus and or Hannity pay rent to use the people's house as their broadcast studio?
You forgot the other similarity between Brazil and United States. Both are/were fighting for crooked men who belonged more in jail than leading a nation. Wouldn’t it be nice if they became “pin” pals.
It’s clear in today’s letter that connections between fascist governments not only use the same playbook, but they party together. Why are we not surprised? “Bannon is close to Bolsonaro’s son, who has been seen hobnobbing with Trump-affiliated people, including Trump’s daughter Ivanka.”
"In the U.S., Trump was still in office when his supporters tried to overthrow the government, and there was neither a house cleaning nor a demand for lawmakers to declare their support for the duly elected government.
Many of those who supported Trump in the events of January 6, 2021, are still in Congress. At least six Republican congress members asked Trump for a preemptive pardon, and four of them are still in office."
And why is that? Why were they seated and allowed to retain power? Whose duty was it to move formally to unseat them in accord with the provisions of the Constitution?
Dangerous parallels. The shocking insurgency/storming of the Brazilian house brings into stark focus what the tail is on the 1/6 insurrection at our own capitol produces...it's the closest thing to a 'copy-cat-coup' one can imagine without...imagining one... it seems clear that this was orchestrated at the highest level in terms of not reacting to it, if not actively participating in organizing it. Everyone knew Jair was a POS MAGA guy and isn't it quaint that he escaped to OUR OWN COUNTRY (maybe even Maralago since he is in FL) to avoid any fallout as his own frothed-up supporters engage in mayhem without purpose...
I don't consider Brazil to be an unsophisticated political state. The fact that this can happen there, perhaps without effect, means, however, that it is a new playbook move that COULD work in lesser more fragile governments. And this is how it starts. This MAGA-driven corrosion of faith in democratic process and its attendant politically-driven uprisings will only spread. The same nationalistic-fervor brought us the rise of the nazi (Nationalist) party and it is only a matter of time before it is fine-tuned and used to greater effect, in my opinion.
Thus: left unchecked and not tamped-down EVERY time, and harshly, this may be the disease that affects fragile (and even not so fragile) democracies everywhere. This is an existential issue but one with very real consequences globally.
More closer to home and perhaps in key areas that NATO is implicated, this corrosion is going to continue to be a real issue for the near-to-longterm future: if we don't like the vote, we revolt and break shit and kill people. That is not democratic SOCIETY.
While democratic uprisings and victories are out there; it is much easier to compel most people with fear than freedom, as history has shown us. I don't have a path forward, per se, but a good start would be to concentrate our USAID on those hot-spots of fragile democracy (like Ukraine) and to send a clear message that we won't tolerate such, dare I say, treasonous, behaviour in our own house. While some have had justice here in our Country for their behaviour; until justice is brought to the leaders here (who condoned, supported and organized the efforts) and they are held to account, I fear that this, "playbook," will be very appealing to all those who dream of overturning democratic government at best and embracing authoritarianism through violence at worst.
Yesterday's election update for Senate seat of VA-7: Aaron Rouse (D), as of 9:40 p.m. is leading by a narrow margin. Election is to fill seat vacated by Jen Kiggans (R) who won election to the U.S. House of Reps. Also, see House Delegate seats elections in HD-24 and 35 vacated by one death and the other taking a spot in the Biden administration. House is still held by R's.
I have heard that there is a secret 3 page document being passed around to the House republicans with the demands that the terrible 20 squeezed out of mccarthy. Included are demand to cut “mandatory expenditures” from the federal budget. Are there any mandatory expenditures other than Medicare/Medicaid and social security?
Newly elected Rep. Daniel Goldman, who was lead counsel in Trump's first impeachment, tonight offered the most accurate name for the GOP's special committee to investigate the FBI and other federal law enforcement. In an interview with MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell, called the panel the Committee for Obstructing Justice. Goldman deserves one of the Democratic seats on the panel so he can pulverize Jim Jordan.
The next two years!! The last 6!!! Good news today; my previous Rep. Porter said she’s running for Senator Feinstein’s seat in 2024.
I listened to Dan Goldman give his speech on the House floor and he did not mince his words regarding the GQP. He nailed them about trying to squash the DOJ investigations about Trump and about themselves. Seems like most of what the R’s are proposing to change must be approved by the Senate and that is very unlikely to happen, thank goodness! The best news of the day is that Weisselberg Is sentenced to Rikers prison for 5 months. That is a brutal facility. Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. Wait...oh yes, it could...TRUMP!
Dr. Richardson,
Thank you for the complete and clear analysis of these complex events. You, Mr. Hubbell and Ms Vance are becoming our sane news sources.
Today (in reference to Sean Hannity broadcasting from the U.S House of Representatives) historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat nailed it when she tweeted:
“Americans, I give you...President Murdoch and the coronation of Fox News as state media.”
Anyone else fear we can expect an accelerated flow of disinformation?
What really ticks me off about the war against democracy is how the leaders of the social media companies are not being held accountable for what they have done. Kahneman's book "Thinking, Fast and Slow" should be required reading for everyone working in the Justice Department and regulatory agencies that have a voice in online services. The insights Kahneman describes have been used quite deliberately in the design of the algorithms that fan the flames with bad data. It's all done to increase what is called "stickiness" in Silicon Valley, that is the amount of time people spend on each site. Things that trigger a sense of outrage increase stickiness the most, regardless of their veracity. This is because our emotional processes engage first and trump our more methodical rational thinking processes, which are much slower. Making it worse is the dearth of skill in the general public when it comes to dealing with issues of probability and uncertainty. Perhaps Trump, Bannon, Hannity, Carlson, DeSantis, Bolsonaro, and the many other bad folks in politics are bad, but in my book, Zuckerberg, Pichai, Cook. and Nadella are far worse for deliberately fanning these flames just to sell more targeted ads at higher prices because of the better click-through rates they can deliver because of the stickiness they have deliberately built into their platforms.
This gets back to the whole social contract mess in terms of the way we charter and police corporations, and the way the 14th amendment has been abused by the courts to protect them. The whole mess needs to be brought down. It won't end until this behavior is outlawed and the folks doing it are behind bars.
I rarely write twice, here, and I don't think I ever have (so my apologies to those who hate my drivel) but one thing that also sticks in my throat is the milquetoast sentence for the Trump-Goblin that got 5 months of jail (not prison, which is by definition reserved to those who get more than a year of incarceration) for FIFTEEN FELONIES. That means the goblin can do his 'time' by sitting at home having a scotch and watching the Washington Commanders play (with a home-monitor of course) and avoid any ACTUAL time in a facility.
I'm sorry, but that is not 'justice' as any attorney who has had to defend a person on even ONE felony will tell you...look at the incarceration of most convicted of a single felony and you will see that this is unjust. Ask if a person in NY convicted of 15 felonies for drug possession would get 5 months of time...
While you can suggest drug crimes are different; ask yourself if dealing a bit of drugs is the equivalent of shielding MILLIONS of dollars from the government. The two are not the same. But your "drug dealer" goes to PRISON for many years and the goblin stays home and chills for 5 months. One loses all their connections to society and the other has no real consequences. One loses any ability to raise their kids, the other has to stay "home" on "arrest" and still cooks dinner for the kids. Think about that from the perspective of justice.
"Sean Hannity broadcasting from your United States House of Representatives..." I wonder, did Faux Neus and or Hannity pay rent to use the people's house as their broadcast studio?
You forgot the other similarity between Brazil and United States. Both are/were fighting for crooked men who belonged more in jail than leading a nation. Wouldn’t it be nice if they became “pin” pals.
It’s clear in today’s letter that connections between fascist governments not only use the same playbook, but they party together. Why are we not surprised? “Bannon is close to Bolsonaro’s son, who has been seen hobnobbing with Trump-affiliated people, including Trump’s daughter Ivanka.”
How long do folks think it will take for the secret agreement incorporated into the House rules package to be leaked?
"In the U.S., Trump was still in office when his supporters tried to overthrow the government, and there was neither a house cleaning nor a demand for lawmakers to declare their support for the duly elected government.
Many of those who supported Trump in the events of January 6, 2021, are still in Congress. At least six Republican congress members asked Trump for a preemptive pardon, and four of them are still in office."
And why is that? Why were they seated and allowed to retain power? Whose duty was it to move formally to unseat them in accord with the provisions of the Constitution?
Dangerous parallels. The shocking insurgency/storming of the Brazilian house brings into stark focus what the tail is on the 1/6 insurrection at our own capitol produces...it's the closest thing to a 'copy-cat-coup' one can imagine without...imagining one... it seems clear that this was orchestrated at the highest level in terms of not reacting to it, if not actively participating in organizing it. Everyone knew Jair was a POS MAGA guy and isn't it quaint that he escaped to OUR OWN COUNTRY (maybe even Maralago since he is in FL) to avoid any fallout as his own frothed-up supporters engage in mayhem without purpose...
I don't consider Brazil to be an unsophisticated political state. The fact that this can happen there, perhaps without effect, means, however, that it is a new playbook move that COULD work in lesser more fragile governments. And this is how it starts. This MAGA-driven corrosion of faith in democratic process and its attendant politically-driven uprisings will only spread. The same nationalistic-fervor brought us the rise of the nazi (Nationalist) party and it is only a matter of time before it is fine-tuned and used to greater effect, in my opinion.
Thus: left unchecked and not tamped-down EVERY time, and harshly, this may be the disease that affects fragile (and even not so fragile) democracies everywhere. This is an existential issue but one with very real consequences globally.
More closer to home and perhaps in key areas that NATO is implicated, this corrosion is going to continue to be a real issue for the near-to-longterm future: if we don't like the vote, we revolt and break shit and kill people. That is not democratic SOCIETY.
While democratic uprisings and victories are out there; it is much easier to compel most people with fear than freedom, as history has shown us. I don't have a path forward, per se, but a good start would be to concentrate our USAID on those hot-spots of fragile democracy (like Ukraine) and to send a clear message that we won't tolerate such, dare I say, treasonous, behaviour in our own house. While some have had justice here in our Country for their behaviour; until justice is brought to the leaders here (who condoned, supported and organized the efforts) and they are held to account, I fear that this, "playbook," will be very appealing to all those who dream of overturning democratic government at best and embracing authoritarianism through violence at worst.
Dangerous times.
Yesterday's election update for Senate seat of VA-7: Aaron Rouse (D), as of 9:40 p.m. is leading by a narrow margin. Election is to fill seat vacated by Jen Kiggans (R) who won election to the U.S. House of Reps. Also, see House Delegate seats elections in HD-24 and 35 vacated by one death and the other taking a spot in the Biden administration. House is still held by R's.
https://www.vpap.org/electionresults/20230110/state-senate-7/
I have heard that there is a secret 3 page document being passed around to the House republicans with the demands that the terrible 20 squeezed out of mccarthy. Included are demand to cut “mandatory expenditures” from the federal budget. Are there any mandatory expenditures other than Medicare/Medicaid and social security?