🇺🇸 Brazil Bursts

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Left: Here Comes the Immigration Show Trial Marcela García, Boston Globe

Left: Why the NH Presidential Primary Is Good for Democracy Jim Splaine, The Nation

Left: The Rotten State of House Republicans Juan Williams, The Hill

Right: Biden Leaves Border Having Seen & Learned Nothing Tristan Justice, Federalist

Right: Biden's WH Directed Facebook COVID-19 Censorship Paula Bolyard, PJ Media

Right: House Democrats Are the Real Embarassment Shane Harris, AMAC

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Documents Discovery, Powell's Popularity, Tinder Date and TikTok

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US: Allen Weisselberg, former Trump Org. CFO, sentenced to 5 months in jail (CNN)

World: McCarthy, Dems unite behind new China committee: ‘The era of trusting communist China is over’ (Fox News)

Business: Wells Fargo, once the No. 1 player in mortgages, is stepping back from the housing market (CNBC)

FOREGIN AFFAIRS

Brazil Bursts

In Brazil, 1,500 supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro have been detained for allegedly being part of a group that rampaged through Congress, the Supreme Court, and the presidential offices in Brasilia on Sunday. We covered the South American country’s election in November, which was won by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who is known as Lula.

Reporting from the Left: Brazil congress attack: Everything you need to know (CNN)

Reporting from the Right: Bolsonaro condemns Brazil rioters, denies organizing Capitol riot (Fox News)

From The Flag: Meanwhile, Bolsonaro is being treated for a stomach ailment at a hospital in Orlando, Florida, having reportedly left Brazil for the US prior to the end of his term. He denies being involved in this weekend’s events in Brasilia, but some US officials have accused him of inspiring domestic terrorism and called for him to be sent back to Brazil. Here’s more from both sides.

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Lula’s Crackdown Is Looming, But What Does Biden Do About Bolsonaro?

• While this weekend’s riots have been rightly condemned, the response from Lula’s government bears watching.

• The White House must now decide what to do with Bolsonaro as he hangs out in Florida.

• This past weekend’s events are strikingly similar to January 1, 2021, and there are plenty of parallels between Bolsonaro and Trump.

“Brazil Gets a Democracy Test” Editorial Board, Wall Street Journal: “The near-universal denunciation of the rioters is a welcome sign of democratic resilience. … Government offices in Brasilia were largely empty, and President Luiz Inácio da Silva, known as Lula, was traveling. … The good news is that military leaders have shown no inclination to intervene, and Lula’s inauguration on Jan. 1 was uneventful. The most important figures on the Brazilian right have accepted the election result and denounced the riot. … Lula has vowed to investigate the riot and those who supported it. But an equal test for his government will be whether it respects the right of peaceful dissent and the opposition even as it prosecutes law-breakers. The riots will discredit the radical right, but some in Lula’s Workers’ Party will want to use the event to indict the entire opposition.“

“Brazil Chaos Becomes Biden Administration's Problem” Jim Geraghty, National Review: “As of this writing, the immediate crisis in Brazil appears to have been resolved. … Police and security forces have restored order, the army surrounds the buildings to ensure no further mob action, and the president — known to all as ‘Lula’ — is pledging that the perpetrators will be brought to justice. … Bolsonaro’s hanging out in a vacation home in Kissimmee, Fla.; at the end of the year, he was dining at Kentucky Fried Chicken. … The US government now has a massive headache, as Bolsonaro likely entered the US on an A-1 visa, which are reserved for heads of state, which are usually canceled after the recipient leaves office. Bolsonaro’s term ended December 31. And even before Sunday, he may have had good reason to never return to Brazil. … You know the world’s turning upside down when a Brazilian crook is running to the United States to avoid extradition.”

One more opinion piece from the Right: The rage of the Bolsonaro voter Ben Kew, The Spectator

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

The Legacy of January 6 Was on Display in Brasilia

• If the DOJ fails to indict former President Trump for January 6, events like this will continue around the world.

• No lawmakers were directly threatened by the mob, since it happened on a Sunday, but Bolsonaro’s potential involvement must be investigated.

• The group may have hoped to occupy government buildings for an extended period to prevent Lula’s administration from functioning.

“Americans Set an Example for the Rioters in Brazil” Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic: “If Americans want to help Brazil defend its democracy and avoid sinking into chaos, and if we want to avoid #StoptheSteal movements proliferating in other democracies… We need to prove conclusively both that these movements will fail… The January 6 committee has just made a clear recommendation to the Justice Department, asking for a criminal case to be brought against Trump. The events in Brasília today should remind us that the department’s response to this demand will shape politics not only in the United States, but around the world. We should also get ready to help the Brazilian government in its quest for justice. We should help it pursue financial ties, political relationships, or other connections between American and Brazilian insurrectionists, including links between Trump and Bolsonaro… not just for Brazil’s sake but for ours. Democratic revolutions have long been contagious. Now we know that antidemocratic revolutions can be too.”

“What Brazil's Uprising Means” Nikhil Kumar, Mariana Labbate, Tom Nagorski, Grid News: “Here they were, just like the Jan. 6 mob, breaking windows and trashing furniture, office equipment and even old paintings in the nation’s most important government buildings. … A key difference: This was a Sunday, and so the buildings were largely empty. That may have meant more vandalism, but it also meant there was no repeat of the threats to lawmakers. … But critical questions remain — much like the ones that have haunted the US in aftermath of the Jan. 6 insurrection: What was Bolsonaro’s precise role? More broadly, what does the eruption in Brasília mean for the future of democracy in Brazil? Has misinformation taken root in ways that will be difficult to counter? And — a question for both countries: To what extent did Trump and his followers encourage and assist the Bolsonaristas who carried out their version of a Jan. 6-style violent protest?”

One more opinion piece from the Left: There's no way to sugarcoat it -- Brazil attacks were opening act of attempted coup Arick Wierson, CNN Opinion

FLAG THIS

Bolsonaro Backed by Florida’s Brazilian Voters

Florida is home to more people who were born in Brazil than any other state. US Census Bureau data says almost 130,000 such people are residents, while 830,000 Brazilians traveled to central Florida in 2019.

Brazilian voters who live in Florida tended to favor Bolsonaro in the election, per polling data gathered in 56 locations listed under Miami.

Bolsonaro prevailed over Lula da Silva by margins of 6-to-1 in some of these polling districts. Overall, 81% backed the man sometimes referred to as “the Trump of the Tropics.”

FLAG FINDS

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WATERCOOLER

Grand Canyon, Prank That Lasted 60 Years, Bart Simpson T-Shirt Ban

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Today I Learned that, in the early 90's, Bart Simpson T-shirts were banned at many schools across the country.