SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET: 

A VULGAR DAY – Which is the way I prefer to put it.  The planting of bombs was bad enough.  What followed was an orgy of irresponsible comment, especially from CNN, which fans the flames of Trump hatred more vigorously than does any other network.  CNN claimed to be a "victim" of today's discovery of potentially explosive devices addressed to prominent political figures and CNN.  But, wait a minute.  CNN wasn't actually the target of the "CNN Bomb."  It was former CIA Director John Brennan, to whom the device was addressed.  He sometimes comments on CNN, and thus the bomber, or kook, or conspirator, simply sent the device to Brennan, using CNN as his address.  But, no matter, CNN whined all day about its victimhood, and allowed once-important historian Douglas Brinkley to charge on the air that President Trump is a neo-fascist.  Please note that all this is taking place before we even know who the guilty party is.  CNN's childish performance has to win some kind of bad journalism award.  Maybe it can award itself the CNN Prize for Mediocrity. 

SPECULATION – That's all we have right now – speculation.  We know that none of the devices went off, suggesting that the person or persons behind the grand plot are no geniuses, and have no training in explosives.  We know that all the targets are on the political left, which tells us nothing about the motive of the plotter.  We know that at least one device, the one addressed to Brennan at CNN, was delivered either by the bomber himself or by a courier.  Curious, that point.  Why would someone intentionally walk into an area covered by video surveillance?  I find that to be the most intriguing aspect of this episode so far.  Of course, the authorities may know things they're not releasing, and it may be that the plotters are in secret contact with some agency.  It is also possible that the drama will pass, and that the perpetrators will never be found.

WONDERFUL – We end on an inspiring note.  Despite all our concerns about the young generation, we have many terrific young people in this country.  From CBS:  Eighteen-year-old Dalton Shaffer was working his shift at Steve's Pizza in Battle Creek, Michigan, Tuesday night when he got a call about an old customer.  The man on the phone said his son-in-law, Rick Morgan, who had moved to Indianapolis, was a big fan of Steve's Pizza and was battling cancer. They had planned a trip back to Michigan and a visit to Steve's, but Morgan's health took a turn for the worse and he was now in hospice care. The man wondered if the shop might be willing to send Morgan a text or a card.  "He was kind of telling me just a little bit about how they used to live in Battle Creek and they were just really big fans of Steve's Pizza," Shaffer told CBS affiliate WWMT.  After hearing that a fan of Steve's Pizza was unable to fulfill his dream of eating a slice again, Shaffer wanted to do more than send a card. He asked the father-in-law what kind of pizza Morgan wanted. Then, after he closed up shop for the night, Shaffer jumped in his car with two pizzas.  He drove three and a half hours from Michigan to the home in Indiana.  "The family came up, gave me a hug... The expressions on their faces and everything, like, that was cool," Shaffer told the station.  What a great kid.  I hope some good college offers him a scholarship just based on character.

October 24, 2018