449 Comments

Can someone please get around to sentencing Steve Bannon already?

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Here's hoping that Lula will be as successful in his first two years as President Biden has been. Programs that substantially improve a nation and the lives of its people are the best antidote to the lawlessness, chaos, and lies of right-wing extremists.

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How telling the silence of McCarthy and McConnell is. How can they condemn what just happened in Brazil without acknowledging the significance of what happened in this country a year ago?

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It’s not that it “looked” eerily like the US January 6, it was pretty obviously a copycat.

Curiously, Bolsinaro is in Florida and he has a son who seems to be a Bannon buddy. You wonder if this is a world-wide plot with thugs like Trump and Bannon and others. Then there are those hard right members of the Republican Congress. I believe that this attempted coup was timed for a Republican House. And also curious, there is newly-elected George Santos who is from Brazil. He fits in with the other Republicans in that he embraces lies. We don’t even know if he is an American citizen. The far right connections are probably world-wide.

As for McCarthy and McConnell- they are doing what Republicans do.

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And so it begins…the Republican ‘silence’ when dictators (friends of Trump) attempt international power grabs and treasonous behavior….

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While I know that most are comparing the similarities with the US Coup attempt on January 6 two years ago, some of what struck me were the differences. One, the people who did this, were not led by the sitting president on the day of the new president's confirmation. In fact, Bolsonaro is hiding in Florida, presumably with his buddy Trump. He is avoiding potential prosecution for crimes he committed as president. Apparently Brazil is proud of its strong courts is what I have heard. They have cleaned up and will prosecute the powerful. We do not have a Supreme Court that we can be proud of. It is a shame for us with its' corruption.

https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/corruption-rule-law-how-brazil-strengthened-its-legal-system#factor-1-the-plea-bargain-option

Secondly, according to the German report that I saw on ZDF tonight, after the military came out to help the police since they could not handle the number of people who showed up, the people had to disburse when faced with a wall of military who could contain and arrest the demonstrators. The people that should have called the military early on, did not and in fact many people involved in the riots were part of the safety system we have. They acted like on their days off from their jobs they can just go and overthrow the government. We may find out that there were police and military involved in Brazil's uprising too, but when it came down to it the military backed democracy in a timely manner. Also, President Lula was not there when this happened, he was starting to undo some of the horrendous damage done in the Brazilian Rainforest which our planet is dependent on. His government reflects these priorities in cabinet positions. It may still be too late because I understand the Brazilian Rainforest is now releasing more carbon than it is capturing and the developers do not care what the government wants, they will just go in and do what they want to. While Brazilians may have learned from the USA how to do this, they were not effective.

https://www.lmtonline.com/news/article/Brazil-authorities-seek-to-punish-pro-Bolsonaro-17703996.php

Lula is claiming that he wants not just the perpetrators of the insurrection to be found and brought to justice, but their financial backers too. If that were to be the case in the USA wouldn't the Koch Brothers be investigated and held to account.

https://kansasreflector.com/2021/01/21/how-kansas-koch-industries-helped-fuel-the-u-s-capitol-insurrection/

http://www.unkochmycampus.org/gopinsurrectiongeorgemasonuniversity

https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2021/01/05/the-koch-coup-charles-kochs-political-machine-bankrolled-senators-who-will-attempt-to-steal-election-for-trump-tomorrow/

In fact, all of the people listed in this article would be investigated and on trial.

https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-reports/insurrectionist-members-have-received-2-6-million-from-corporate-interests-since-january-6th/

If Brazil is successful in prosecuting its funders of insurrection, whereas we cannot go after them, because of the First Amendment and the difficulty of proving that they understood that they funded this insurrection, I will want to have our constitution look more like theirs. I would love for our courts to go after the rich and powerful who are corrupt too. Less likely to happen when the Republicans can create a committee to investigate the investigators, and keep them too busy defending themselves to get their jobs done, and probably bleeding them of money. However, perhaps the Federal Government employees can use the SLAPP laws to defend themselves if they work in the District of Columbia.

https://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/responding-strategic-lawsuits-against-public-participation-slapps

https://earthjustice.org/from-the-experts/2022-september/its-time-to-end-strategic-lawsuits-against-public-participation-slapp

https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/news/representative-jamie-raskin-introduces-the-first-federal-bill-to-deter-strategic-lawsuits-against-public-participation-slapps/

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One very sad result of autocrats, dictators, and fascists, like tfg and Bolsonaro is the wasted and lost focus, policies and funding of environmental, educational and technological expenditures and mandates to make this planet habitable for our grandchildren and future generations. Bloated military budgets reduce the funds that our representatives will approve for critical quality of life budget categories. President Biden’s agenda and policies have focused on many of those needs but the repubs proudly broadcast their threats to dump or reverse what has improved life for many Americans. President Eisenhower: “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired,” the outgoing president warned in his farewell message of January, 1961, “signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, and the hopes of its children.” The continuing use of fossil fuels is connected to exploration and exploitation of resources that threaten an environmentally healthy and peaceful present and future. Right now in current conflicts, pipelines and fuel are controlled and used as bargaining chips. Freeze during winter or negotiate land for oil. Or in some countries resources like water are negotiable. It’s not random. If countries work to be energy efficient and “green” that’s a step towards a healthy and safe planet for now and the future.

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If Brazil seeks extradition of Bolsonaro and his son Eduardo along with Bannon, do it! For Bannon, after he serves his time for Contempt of Congress.

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Thank you Heather.

“Political scientist Brian Klass observed that “[p]olitical scientists have a name for what’s happening in Brazil: ‘authoritarian learning.’ It’s when autocratic playbooks spread across borders. Trump taught the world how to do January 6th. Brazil won’t be the last one.””

And here’s yet another of myriad reasons why Trump must be tried, convicted, sentenced and sent to prison.

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The Brazilian police and military response was lots more forceful and quick than ours for our fascist revolt. The element of disbelief that anyone would do such a thing must have been a lot lower.

And Trump's comment about the wonders of Bolsonaro translate to "he sucked up to me more than anybody else". What a thrilling endorsement! Hope HCR can get a decent night sleep soon.

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I am not surprised about the weak insurrectionist speaker and former senate leader remaining silent. They plan to take over the next election and there is no one that is stopping them. Although I hear that the DOJ must act by spring in order to have the trials prior to the next election cycle. I think many dems misjudged the threat and failed to act by charging them with crimes, possibly against oath of office, the constitution and country.

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I’m afraid we have more chaos coming to our Capitol Building. The rioters now have the keys to the building.

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Of course theGOP is silent after all this is their play book. A Election is rigged unless you win.Tfg wasn’t happy with screwing with his own country he has to wreck others too..

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Hold on to your hats. Be ready to write to your congresspersons. It’s likely to be a very rough two years preparing to rid Congress of the traitors. Be sure to know who they are in case some of them are in your district.

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How many more indicators do we need to conclude that the Republican Party is an American fascist party?

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