Cambridge, MA, 20 January 2018
Passages in bold in the body of the texts below are my emphasis. This is an ongoing project, and I update the site frequently. Because I try to stay focused on what has actually happened, I usually let the news ‘settle’ a day or so before posting. I hope readers will peruse the articles in full for a better understanding of the issues and their context; our democracy and our future depend on citizens who can distinguish between facts and falsehoods and who are engaged in the political process.
Friday, 26 October 2018, Day 645:
Cesar Altieri Sayoc Jr., an Outspoken Trump Supporter in Florida, Is Charged in Attempted Bombing Spree, The New York Times, William K. Rashbaum, Alan Feuer, and Adam Goldman, Friday, 26 October 2018: “An outspoken supporter of President Trump from South Florida was charged on Friday with sending explosive packages to at least a dozen of the president’s critics, apparently bringing to a close an attempted bombing spree that has gripped the country just ahead of the midterm elections. The suspect, Cesar Altieri Sayoc Jr., 56, was arrested outside an auto parts store near Fort Lauderdale after a fast-moving investigation in which the authorities said they were able to pull a fingerprint from one of the bomb packages and collect Mr. Sayoc’s DNA from two others. Mr. Sayoc, who seemed to be living out of a van in Aventura, Fla., was taken into custody on a day when four more explosive packages were found, including two intended for United States senators, both Democrats. A federal criminal complaint spells out his contempt for this week’s many bomb targets, noting that Mr. Sayoc’s van was slathered with images and slogans often found on fringe right-wing social media accounts…. Mr. Sayoc posted frequently on right-wing social media groups, the authorities said. On Facebook, Mr. Sayoc published photos of a Trump rally he attended during the 2016 presidential campaign. He was wearing a red ‘Make America Great Again’ hat. See also, Man in Florida is arrested and charged in connection with mail bombs sent to prominent liberal figures and Democratic politicians, The Washington Post, Devlin Barrett, Mark Berman, and Matt Zapotosky, Friday, 26 October 2018: “A lone fingerprint and a set of misspellings helped point FBI agents to a Florida man with a long criminal record now charged with mailing homemade bombs to prominent critics of President Trump — a politically charged case that has roiled the run-up to next month’s congressional elections. Cesar Sayoc, 56, a former pizza deliveryman, strip-club worker and virulently partisan supporter of the president, was arrested Friday and charged with a string of crimes in connection with the homemade pipe bombs sent this week to former president Barack Obama, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and others. He was formally charged with sending 13 such devices, and a law enforcement official said he is likely to be charged with sending a 14th device to Tom Steyer, a major Democratic donor. That package was intercepted in California, officials said.” See also, Living in a Van Plastered With Hate, Bombing Suspect Was Filled With Right-Wing Rage, The New York Times, Patricia Mazzei, Nick Madigan, and Frances Robles, Friday, 26 October 2018: “On Twitter, Cesar Sayoc Jr. lashed out at immigrants, gun control advocates, and prominent Democratic politicians. On Facebook, he misspelled a racial epithet, directing it at the likes of Oprah Winfrey and former President Barack Obama. With fury in his fingers, he shared inflammatory news stories from Breitbart, hard-edge videos from Fox News, and angry posts from pages like ‘Handcuffs for Hillary.’ He tweeted a threat to former Vice President Joe Biden. And he posted photographs of himself wearing a red ‘Make America Great Again’ hat at one of President Trump’s campaign rallies. After a frenzied nationwide search for the person who sent 13 makeshift bombs to some of Mr. Trump’s most prominent critics, Mr. Sayoc, 56, was arrested Friday morning in Plantation, Fla., at an AutoZone car parts shop. Authorities released a photograph of a man with a buzz cut and a mouth that drooped toward a frown. They hauled away a white van plastered with bombastic stickers expressing support for Mr. Trump and animosity toward those who clashed with him. ‘Dishonest Media,’ read one on the van’s back right window. ‘CNN Sucks.’ Cross hairs appeared on a photograph of one of the liberal commentators at the network, which received more than one package from Mr. Sayoc at its offices in New York.” See also, Who is Cesar Sayoc? What we know about the suspected mail bomber arrested in Florida. The Washington Post, Matt Zapotosky, Annie Gowen, Sari Horwitz, and Cleve R. Wootson Jr., Friday, 26 October 2018: “On the Internet and in real life, Cesar Sayoc was not shy about broadcasting his support for Donald Trump and his contempt for those the president might consider enemies. He plastered stickers across his white van — supportive of Trump — alongside images of the president’s critics with red targets over their faces and a large decal that read ‘CNN sucks.’ On Twitter, the 56-year-old trafficked conspiracy theories and ranted about liberal billionaire George Soros, former president Barack Obama, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and others whose politics were out of line with his.”
Trump questions ‘this bomb stuff’ and suggests the attempted attacks have hurt Republican momentum in the polls, The Guardian, Sabrina Siddiqui, Friday, 26 October 2018: “Donald Trump on Friday appeared to question the series of explosive devices sent to current and former Democratic officials this week, while suggesting the attempted attacks were halting Republican momentum before next month’s midterm elections. ‘Republicans are doing so well in early voting, and at the polls, and now this “Bomb” stuff happens and the momentum greatly slows – news not talking politics. Very unfortunate, what is going on. Republicans, go out and vote!’ the president tweeted. Trump’s comments came shortly after the discovery 0f two more suspicious packages, addressed to the New Jersey senator Cory Booker and former intelligence chief James Clapper, pushing the total number of devices intercepted by authorities to 12.” See also, Trump, at Charlotte Rally, Tries to Rebuild Political ‘Momentum’ by Reviving Old Attacks, The New York Times, Katie Rogers, Friday, 26 October 2018: “For two days, the president toyed with a bipartisan message and watched as the news cycle focused not on him, and not on the midterm elections, but on at least 14 explosive devices delivered to prominent Democratic figures. By Friday, he had had enough. As he left Washington for his latest campaign rally here, President Trump made it clear that he was no longer going to sit through another news cycle without President Trump at the center. ‘The Republicans had tremendous momentum, and then, of course, this happened, where all that you people talked about was that,’ Mr. Trump said to reporters about the bomb scares. ‘But now we have to start the momentum again.'” See also, Trump is mad that the mail bombs are distracting people from his campaign rhetoric, The Washington Post, Philip Bump, Friday, 26 October 2018.
Trump Is Considering Executive Actions to Stop Asylum Seekers From Central America, The New York Times, Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Gardiner Harris, Friday, 26 October 2018: “President Trump is considering a major speech on Tuesday to announce a broad crackdown on the southern border, administration officials said Friday, making a significant play to energize his anti-immigrant base one week before midterm congressional elections where Republican control of Congress is at stake. Mr. Trump is expected to use the remarks to outline his plans for the deployment of hundreds of Army troops and to fortify the border, including executive actions he is considering to deny entry to Central American migrants and asylum seekers. A bid to freeze or cut financial aid to Central American countries whose citizens are making their way north toward the United States is also under discussion, with proposals coming from both the National Security Council and the Office of Management and Budget, according to two Trump administration officials, who said a final decision would be reached by Tuesday. Even as the president’s advisers met on Friday to nail down the details of the multipronged border operation, human rights groups raised concerns about Mr. Trump’s plans, calling them politically motivated and potentially in violation of United States and international law. And Democrats condemned what they called a blatant political ploy to distract voters before Election Day.”
Continue reading Week 93, Friday, 26 October – Thursday, 1 November 2018 (Days 645-651)