This was an incredibly awful week. An ardent Trump supporter sent pipe bombs to over a dozen Democratic leaders and funders, a white supremacist killed two African-Americans in Kentucky (and the only reason that number isn’t higher is that the shooter couldn’t get into a locked Baptist church), and an anti-Semite opened fire in a Jewish synagogue in Pennsylvania and killed 11 people (because he thought Jews were funding the migrant Caravan in Central America). Words matter. The perpetrators were all mentally ill, yet all motivated by the same hateful, fearful rhetoric. I hope everyone who goes to the polls in the coming weeks thinks about that when they vote. Will you vote for someone who spreads this hate and fear? Who supports this hate and fear? Who says nothing when other leaders spread it? Or will you vote for someone works to unify us? Who calls out the fear mongers and hate mongers among us? Who works to decrease hate crimes like these? Words matter, and your votes matter.

Russia:

1. National Security Advisor John Bolton goes to Moscow. While there, he says he doesn’t think Russia’s meddling in the 2016 elections had any effect on the outcome of the U.S. election. He also says all the meddling did was cause us to distrust Russia, which is partially true. But it has also caused us to distrust each other.
2. A few months ago, a federal judge refused a request from House Intelligence Committee Chair Devin Nunes (R-CA) for sealed testimony of key witnesses in the Russia investigation. The judge requested followup info from Nunes, which he has not yet received after all this time. Must not’ve been important.
3. U.S. intelligence agencies say that Chinese and Russian spies have been listening in on Trump’s unsecured cell phone, which he uses frequently. Aides have given up trying to get him to stop using that phone, and they worry that he might be discussing classified information on it. Spies can use the information to find out who Trump trusts and who influences him, along with what type of persuasion influences him most.
4. Trump says the report is boring. I guess Hillary’s email server was a big nothing burger, too, then.
5. Robert Mueller has emails from Roger Stone and Jerome Corsi to the Trump campaign where they take credit for John Podesta’s stolen emails. Mueller is looking into whether Corsi knew about the emails before Wikileaks published them, whether he told Stone, and whether Stone told the campaign.
6. Text messages show that Stone was working on a blanket pardon for Julian Assange. Representative Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) also pushed for a pardon.
7. Before Trump’s inauguration, a Saudi intelligence chief, Joel Zamel, Michael Flynn, and other member of the Trump transition team met to discuss strategies for ending the Iranian regime. Joey Zamel owns a media strategy company that pitched misinformation campaigns during the elections. The Saudi intelligence chief is also implicated in the Khashoggi murder.
8. The company that runs USA Really, a website that pretends to be American but is really Russian, admits that Elena Khusyaynova is their CEO. Elena was arrested recently for meddling in our elections.
9. George Papadopoulos testifies for House committees (again). Republicans come away saying this proves the investigation never should’ve been opened; Democrats say there wasn’t much new to learn from it.
10. Papadopoulos requests immunity before his upcoming testimony before Senate committees.

Legal Fallout:

1. Newly released documents show that Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross met with Chevron executives to discuss “oil and gas developments, tax reform, and trade issues” at a time while Ross’s wife had $250,000 invested with the company. This puts him at risk of violating criminal conflict-of-interest laws.
2. A judge rules that Trump must answer questions in the Summer Zervos sexual harassment case.
3. A new lawsuit alleges that Trump Organization was paid by three businesses to promote get-rich-quick schemes and encourage vulnerable people to invest in sham business opportunities.

Courts/Justice:

1. Florida’s Supreme Court denies outgoing Governor Rick Scott the ability to appoint three new judges to the court on the morning of the day their terms expire. Scott said he’d appoint them on that day before noon, at which time his successor will be sworn into office. The problem with that is technically Scott will no longer be governor on that day. So his successor will fill those seats. Scott is running for Senate.
2. Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley refers Michael Avenatti and his client Julie Swetnick to the DOJ for investigation. Grassley claims they lied to Congress. Grassley then refers them a second time for conspiracy, lying, and obstruction.
3. Jeff Flake says he’s not sure he believes Kavanaugh, but he voted for him anyway.

Healthcare:

1. Medicare enrollment dropped by .6% this year. It’s expected to rise by .9% next year. The drop is partly due to a good economy and partly due to stricter requirements, such as work requirements, which are dropping recipients in some states.

International:

1. Just days after threatening to pull out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, a Cold War arms control treaty with Russia, Trump says we’ll start increasing our nuclear arsenal.
2. And then Russia threatens a new arms race if he goes through with it. Russia has been violating the treaty for years, but it’s been holding us both somewhat in check.
3. Even after saying he won’t meet with the Saudi prince after the Khashoggi killing, Steven Mnuchin ends up meeting with him after all.
4. After Trump threatens to pull out of the Universal Postal Union, they reach out to us saying we’ll no longer receive international letters or packages.
5. The U.S. ambassador to Mexico, a diplomat with over 30 years in government service, resigns her post over the ongoing strained relations with Mexico. She’s leaving even though she considers this a crucial moment in U.S.-Mexico relations.
6. Surveillance videos show one member of the Saudi security team leaving the consulate in Turkey dressed as Khashoggi shortly after Khashoggi’s murder.
7. Trump calls the Khashoggi killing a “complete fiasco.”
8. In the fallout from Jamal Khashoggi’s murder, Trump said that we have $450 billion worth of orders from Saudi Arabia for various goods, including $110 billion in military goods. He also said about a million jobs were on the line. None of this turns out to be true.
9. Khashoggi’s fiancé refuses Trump’s invitation to the White House saying the invitation was only for publicity purposes.
10. Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor now says that the Khashoggi murder was likely premeditated.
11. Brazil elects a far-right populist, Jair Bolsonaro, as president following a violent and polarizing campaign season.
12. I’ve probably mentioned this before, but Yemen is being pushed into a catastrophic famine by the war being played out in their country between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Family Separation:

1. The Trump administration begins releasing families being held in detention centers along with border. They’ve kept some of these families months beyond the allowed 20 days. They’re also releasing recent migrants who’ve been held only briefly, and the combined effect of releasing thousands of migrants is overwhelming non-profits who help house and settle the migrants.
2. Health and Human Services confirms that the government failed to account for 14 additional children separated from their families at the border.

Travel Ban/Immigration/Discrimination:

1. Protests break out over the Trump administration efforts the define gender as being unchangeable from what you’re born with. Protestors see this as an attempt to define transgender out of existence.
2. The caravan of migrants coming up from Central America grows to 5,000 people (still smaller than the number that try to enter through the border each day). A second caravan forms behind it, but is having a hard time crossing into Mexico.
3. Trump calls them hardened criminals and says there are random Middle Easterners in there. In other words, be very afraid. Neither of those statements are verifiable. Trump actually says he has no proof of this.
4. Mike Pence repeats that lie, saying that it’s inconceivable that there aren’t people of Middle Eastern descent in the caravan.
5. Trump says he’ll order armed troops to the border to handle the caravan of migrants. Even though Customs and Border Patrol is well equipped to handle this on their own. In the end, it looks like Trump will send more troops than there are migrants.
6. Nearly 10 years after banning the practice of charging the families of people locked up in juvenile detention centers, LA County finally stops collecting any remaining debts, erasing nearly $90 million in debt.
7. Three more members of the white supremacist group The Proud Boys are arrested for the New York City attacks on protestors. The arrests come from the violent fight that occurred after a Proud Boys member was invited to speak at a Republican group in New York City.
8. Three members of the white supremacist group Rise Above Movement are arrested for attacking protestors, journalists, and a police officer in Huntington Beach, San Bernardino, and Berkley last year. This is on top of four other members who were arrested earlier this year for violence at the Charlottesville rally last year.
9. One of those arrested had been hiding out in Central America.
10. Yet another court ruling comes down against Trump’s attempts to defund sanctuary cities.
11. We learn that Google covered up for three executives accused of sexual misconduct. One was given a $90 million golden parachute.
12. A Florida man sends pipe bombs to Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, George Soros, CNN, Debbie Wasserman Schultz (sort of — she’s actually on the return address), Eric Holder, John Brennan, Maxine Waters, Joe Biden, Robert DeNiro, Cory Booker, James Clapper, Tom Steyer, and Kamala Harris. Luckily none of the devices explode, and the FBI arrest the suspected bomber after lifting a print off one of the packages.
13. The suspect is a self-described white supremacist, likely mentally ill, and also recently radicalized.
14. After the right floats conspiracy theories that these bombs were a hoax perpetrated by Democrats, FBI Director Chris Wray confirms that these devices were not a hoax.
15. On top of that, an armed man in Kentucky tries to enter a locked Baptist church with a largely African American congregation shortly following services. When he can’t get in, he kills two African Americans at a Kroger instead. He tells a white witness that Whites don’t kill Whites.
16. And then a shooter in Pittsburgh kills 11 people at a Jewish synagogue. He, too, seems to have been recently radicalized.
17. Trump blames the media for the violence. Just a reminder of a few things Trump has said:

• • Maybe Hillary Clinton’s secret service should stop protecting her so we could “see what happens to her.”
  • He also suggested that “the Second Amendment people” maybe could do something about her should she become president.
  • “Maybe he should be roughed up.”
  • “Knock the crap out of ‘em, would you?”
  • “I’d like to punch him in the face.”
  • “Any guy that can do a body slam, he is my type!”
  • He’s said there will be violence if Democrats win the midterm elections.
  • He’s pushed the idea that the immigrant caravan is going to storm our border (all 5,000 of them) and that they’re funded by George Soros.
  • And finally, he’s applauded violence against protestors and police mistreating suspects, and frequently calls the press the enemy of the people, often singling out CNN.

18. Trump then issues this statement about the violence.
    “In these times, we have to unify. We have to come together and send one very clear, strong and unmistakable message that acts or threats of political violence of any kind have no place in the United States of America. We’re extremely angry, upset, unhappy about what we witnessed this morning and we will get to the bottom of it.”
19. Trump also says the synagogue should’ve had armed guards. IMO, houses of worship shouldn’t need armed guards.
20. The #MeToo movement has outed 201 powerful men for sexual misconduct, and nearly half have been replaced by women.
21. The Trump administration says they might close the U.S. border entirely to Central Americans and deny them the ability to seek asylum. I think that might be a violation of international treaties.

Climate/EPA:

1. The Interior Department approves plans to drill in shallow waters 6 miles off Alaska’s shores in the Beaufort Sea. If it goes ahead, it’ll be the first oil and gas facility in federal waters around Alaska. Hilcorp Energy, the company that won approval, has already been responsible for several underwater oil spills.
2. A UN report on climate change is accused of bias against nuclear power. While nuclear power doesn’t contribute to climate change (that we know of), its byproduct is obviously a major pollutant that we still haven’t figured out how to deal with.
3. Oregon state will permanently ban offshore drilling on its coastline.
4. The New York and New Jersey Port Authority says they’ll sign on to the Paris Agreement. A big deal, because it’s one of the busiest transportation systems in the U.S.
5. Justin Trudeau says that Canada will implement a carbon tax on four provinces in 2019.
6. The EPA plans to rescind an Obama-era proposal for uranium waste disposal which would have reduced radon pollution. Who was it who said that a little radiation could be good for us?
7. The EPA says a small amount of glyphosate in children’s cereal is OK. The World Health Organization lists it as a carcinogen.

Budget/Economy:

1. Trump promises a 10% tax cut for the middle class before midterms, but that’s just not going to happen. (LOL. Now that I’m re-reading the story, I see that he promised the tax cut would happen in a week.) No one so far is able to provide any additional details on this plan.
2. Trump accuses the Fed of endangering the economy by raising interest rates.
3. The market has erased all gains made in 2018.
4. U.S. GDP annual growth was 3.5% in the third quarter. That was higher than economists expected, but lower than the previous quarter (which, in fairness, was a pretty high 4.2%).
5. Markets continue to tumble, and global tech stocks have lost around $1 trillion in value in October. That’s about a 9% loss overall. The decline comes from expectations for decreased demand, lower valuations, and trade wars.
6. China is working to wean the country off soybeans. Since the U.S. provides about a third of their beans, they’ll definitely be running out shortly.

Elections:

1. The Georgia NAACP files a lawsuit saying voting machines are casting votes for the wrong candidates on party-line ballots.
2. In a bit of positive news amid all the current voter suppression, Oregon passes a law that automatically registers every eligible voter unless they opt out.
3. A court blocks Georgia from rejecting ballots where their amateur handwriting analysts think the signatures might not match. They must go through due process to reject any on that basis.
4. Voters in Texas are enthused to vote. They camped out to vote hours before the polling places opened this week.
5. In Dodge City, KS, they move their only polling location outside of city limits with no public transportation. Voto Latino and Lyft partner up to give voters rides, but they should not have to take up this responsibility.
6. Black students at a Texas university sue for more early voting locations.
7. An online fundraiser raises over $100,000 in an hour to help Native Americans in North Dakota get the newly required ID to vote.
8. Officials are predicting the highest voter turnout for a midterm election in decades. I have to credit Trump for that.
9. Trump is talking about ways to throw legal challenges at the election should Democrats take over the House or Senate. He’s looking into ways to discredit the elections or declare them illegitimate.
10. Trump justifies holding his scheduled campaign rally the day of the mass shooting in Pittsburgh by saying that the New York Stock Exchange re-opened the day after 9/11. The NYSE didn’t open for nearly a week after 9/11 because of missing and dead employees. Trump did condemn the shooting, though.
11. Here’s Trump’s takeaway from the mass bomb mailings:
    “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.”

Miscellaneous:

1. Remember that fire in the National Museum of Brazil? Turns out that 80 pieces of the human fossil named Luzia were recovered. Luzia is named after the 3.2-million-year-old Lucy. Luzia is 12,000 years old, and is the oldest human skeleton from the area.
2. A man allegedly gropes a female passenger during a flight and justifies it by saying “the president of the United States says it’s OK to grab women by their private parts.” I’m frankly surprised that didn’t happen sooner.
3. Trump embraces the nationalist label, and proudly tells rally attendees that he’s a nationalist. Obviously not understanding the true meaning nor implication of being a nationalist.
4. Not long after it was discovered George Soros was mailed a pipe bomb, Trump calls for unity and then repeats audience members’ chants to “Lock him [meaning Soros] up!” About a person who just received a bomb threat.
5. Hours after the bomber is arrested, Trump holds a rally where he again criticizes “crooked Hillary” and the media (bombs were mailed to both Hillary and CNN). The crowd chants “Lock her up!” referring to Hillary. Who just received a bomb threat.
6. In a speech that was supposed to unify after the bomber was arrested, Trump starts out condemning the violence. And then he complains that the bombs had taken the media spotlight away from him and the policies he’s pushing. He then suggests that the bombs are a left-wing false flag.
7. After the bomber is arrested and found to be an ardent supporter of Trump. Trump’s response? The suspect “was a person that preferred me over others.” And “There’s no blame. There’s no anything.”
8. Trump plans to visit Pittsburg on Monday, but Jewish leaders and the mayor ask him to postpone or not come at all.
9. In the run-up to the midterm elections, Trump, along with several Republicans, continue to refer to Democrats as an out-of-control “angry mob” that is “too dangerous to govern.”
10. A passenger plan crashes on take-off in Jakarta. There is no sign of survivors. The plane was carrying nearly 200 people.

Polls:

I am literally refusing to look at polls this close to the election. I don’t need that kind of stress.