Ideas, Opinions, Genealogy, and Book Reviews
I was just reading about the criminal charges for the Brazil insurrection in 2022 and was wondering if the 2021 insurrection in the US was at least a partial inspiration. The article was Bolsonaro and Allies Planned a Coup, Brazil Police Say and it starts like this:
Continue reading “Was January 6 insurrection an inspiration for the Brazil insurrection?”
The insurrectionist Wing of the Republican party is something to fear. Beware of allowing them to take charge.
Should our political leaders be chosen by other politicians ? For example, should the state legislatures be able to override the will of the people as determined by an election ?
Should violent factions choose our leaders as they tried on January 6, 2021 ?
Or should elections determine the results ? I would think most Americans would prefer that.
Benjamin Franklin was asked after the Constitutional Convention what type of government we would have. He replied “A Republic, if you can keep it.” Back in 2018 I posed the same question ‘ “Can we keep our republic ?”.
Continue reading “A Republic, if you can keep it.”
Will former President Donald Trump be prosecuted for crimes in his efforts to remain in office despite his clear election loss? I think he should.
There was an article in Just Security a few days ago that lays out the case that his role in the Insurrection of Jan 6 warrants criminal prosecution. It is well worth reading no matter how you would answer my title question.
It was a bit over a year ago when a mob attacked the US Capitol to disrupt the electoral count and install their choice as President. This is the first attempt to prevent the peaceful transfer of power in our country’s history. This insurrection was based on a lie, And it is important that we find how it happen and what we can do to prevent a repeat.
The January 6 House select committee was charged to do just that after Republicans blocked a bipartisan commission on this attack. The committee appears to making progress despite Republican opposition and the non-cooperation of some high profile Republicans. Kevin McCarthy is the latest.
Since Rep. McCarthy is the House minority leader I find it unlikely that he knows nothing that could be of interest on the January 6 committee. Is his plan and that of some other non-cooperating Republicans to just stall until Republicans can take the House and kill any investigation? If that seems likely to you, you might want to think twice about voting for any Republican in the election later this year.
Insurrection is defined as “the act or an instance of revolting esp. violently against civil or political authority or against an established government”. Seems to describe well the events of January 6 in our Capitol. And was based on Donald Trump’s lie and his direction to his followers.
An Insurrection based on a lie.
The NY Times put together a video of the attack on our Capitol and it is well worth watching.
Although Republicans have blocked a bipartisan Congressional inquiry into the insurrection, the House has been able to form a select committee to learn what went wrong and how we can fix it.