A Brief History
By October 28, 2018, we had such deserving jerks, idiots, creeps, and scumbags from the preceding weeks in October 2018 that we just could not wait until the end of the month to list them for you! These people are so bad, we have to “honor” them right now. Hopefully there will not be any other total goofs in the next couple days, but if there are, we will amend our list by adding them as well later. As always, if you think someone was wrongly listed here, please tell us and be sure to specify whey you think that way. If we overlooked any truly deserving jerks, let us know about them as well. (See our other articles about Jerks of the Month and Heroes of the Month.)
Digging Deeper
1. Cesar Sayoc, Mad Bomber.
This colossal jerk dominated the news feed for a few days by mailing at least 14 bombs to people he saw as opponents of his hero, President Trump. Lucky for all of us none of the bombs exploded, but the FBI assures us the devices were quite real and capable of causing severe injury or death. Sayoc turned out to be a Florida resident, a 56 year old goof ball that ranted about conspiracy theories bandied about on far right wing wacko media. A pizza delivery guy that had previously worked as a bouncer at a strip joint, Sayoc covered the windows of his van with stickers and posters espousing his hatred of all things he perceived as anti-Trump, including pictures of “enemies” such as Hillary Clinton and film maker Michael Moore with rifle scope crosshairs superimposed on their faces. Sayoc was not shy about sharing his hatred of Liberals and Democrats, as well as LGBTQ persons among others. He apparently lived out of his van for “over a decade” per the Sayoc family attorney and was believed to be mentally ill. Authorities found him through DNA and a fingerprint left on one of the bombs. Among his attempted victims were Democratic politicians, including some no longer in office, as well as actor Robert DeNiro and billionaire liberal cause supporter George Soros. Despite his obvious nuttiness, no family member or acquaintance did anything to get Cesar the mental help he obviously needed. Cesar, above and beyond his political and conspiracy theory rants, was also a racist White Supremacist that often lied about his previous accomplishments and work history. He claimed to be of Native American (Seminole) descent and to have managed a strip club, owned businesses, been a professional arena football player and been a Chippendale’s dancer. (He was none of those things.) In fact, Sayoc is of Filipino and Italian heritage making his White Supremacist stance at least half contradictory. Sayoc previously had run ins with the police, including incidents involving fraud, theft, drug possession and threatening to bomb an electric utility. (He pled guilty to the bomb threat and was sentenced to probation.) A cousin said Sayoc was an avid body builder that took “too many steroids.” Cesar’s social media accounts were replete with invective toward the Clintons, Obamas, and Soros. Oddly enough, his openly lesbian pizza employer said Sayoc espoused the killing of Blacks, gays, and Jews, even telling her that he would see her dead if it were within his power. Yet she kept him employed! She reported Sayoc had quit his job in January of 2018 to work a “Top Secret” truck hauling job. Did we mention no one told authorities about this dangerous idiot?
2. Conspiracy Theorists Claiming Mail bombs were a “hoax.”
With no evidence whatsoever, some of the fringe right wing wackos (far, far right, not merely Republicans or conservatives) immediately started claiming the mail bomb campaign that turned out to be perpetrated by Cesar Sayoc was a Democratic “false flag” ruse committed to make ultra-conservatives and Donald Trump supporters look bad. Even after the arrest of Sayoc, some of these cretins continued their conspiracy theory rants, and plenty of gullible Americans continue to buy into the myth, despite overwhelming evidence of Sayoc’s guilt. Even some mainstream Republicans such as Fox News and the President himself seemed to endorse the possibility of such a scenario, even after any such baloney was clearly wrong. Instead of blaming the overtly nutty suspect of the crimes, these anti-truth propogandists continue to attempt to unapologetically undermine the law enforcement efforts and keep up the false narrative. Such action is despicable and seriously undermines the credibility of anyone involved in such attempted trickery.
3. Robert Bowers, Synagogue Shooter.
This 46 year old jerk is apparently a fiercely anti-Semitic loony toon that claims he attacked a Pittsburgh Jewish Synagogue because of his hatred of President Trump who Bowers believes is a puppet of the Jews or some such thing, perhaps because of Trump’s family connection to son-in-law Jared Kushner, a Jew. (Daughter Ivanka Trump Kushner converted to Judaism and is raising her children Jewish.) On October 27, 2018, Bowers interrupted religious services at the synagogue, including a “bris,” a circumcision and baby naming rite, by shooting up the place, killing 11 worshippers and wounded several others, including police officers that responded to the shooting. Bowers was wounded by the police and was captured alive, and now faces possible execution if convicted of the murders. Police had actually arrived when Bowers was leaving the scene, engaging him in a shoot out before he could escape. A total of 4 police officers were shot, and Bowers suffered “multiple” gunshot wounds. Bowers had been armed with a rifle and 3 pistols during his murder spree, and had previously ranted online about hating Jews and blaming Jews for orchestrating the thousands of wannabe immigrants marching from Honduras to the US border (currently just inside Mexico). He also ranted about President Trump having surrounded himself with Jewish advisors. Online social media forum, Gab, blocked Bowers’ account and notified the FBI of the dangerous invective placed on line by Bowers, including photos of Bowers’ gun collection. President Trump stunned Americans by stating that the shooting could have been prevented or stopped early if an armed guard had been posted at the synagogue. (While this is true, this statement seemed out of place in face of the tragedy and seemed to blame the victims. Despite the prudent nature of having an armed guard, the thought of needing an armed guard at any sort of place of worship is repugnant to many Americans.) Oddly enough, the synagogue does employ armed police officers at services during high holidays, so perhaps President Trump’s opinion is not so far off. Anti-Semitic incidents went up 60% in 2017, perhaps a reflection of political polarization in the United States. Feel free to consider anyone that partakes in anti-Semitic or any anti-(fill in the blank) sort of bigoted behavior as a Jerk of the Month. Bowers is not believed to have previous criminal involvement with law enforcement authorities.
4. Senator Elizabeth Warren, wannabe Native American.
In response to Senator Elizabeth Warren’s often stated claim having Cherokee Native American heritage, Donald Trump, now President Trump, had taken to calling her “Pocahontas” in a derisive way. Warren has apparently been claiming “Indian” heritage for many decades, perhaps using such a claim to get into colleges on the pretext of being of Native American ancestry. She claims she did not use such claims to her advantage, but the fact is that she did repeatedly label herself as Native American under “race” which may well have assisted her in landing acceptance into schools and perhaps scholarships as well. Later claiming Native American heritage when applying for a position at Harvard, both she and Harvard now claim that “heritage” did not affect her selection for employment by Harvard, although the school was quick to brag about their first “Native American” faculty member. President Trump had previously offered a $1 million donation to the charity of Warren’s choice if she would take a DNA test that showed she actually was of Native American descent. This month Warren released the results of a test she had privately contracted (not through one of those public agencies we see advertised on television all the time) and claimed the test “proved” she was of Native American heritage. In fact, the test implied that Warren had about 1/1024th Native American DNA, and even that is debatable as such a finding does not really definitively mean she has such heritage, just the genetic markers that show the “migration pattern” of the DNA, meaning her genetic material could come from some other Asian source. In any case, it turns out the average American of European ancestry actually has considerably MORE (18/1000) so called Native American DNA than Warren! Despite her gleeful crowing of the “proof” that she is indeed Native American, the real Cherokee Nation has gone on record denouncing her claim as have other Native American spokespersons. NBC News (reporter Jon Allen), a noted supporter of liberal causes and champion of Elizabeth Warren, actually denounced her claim as spurious! Now along with the nickname Pocahontas, some have taken to calling Warren “Lie-a-watha.” (Note: We strongly disapprove of calling people names, especially names that are racially, religiously, or ethnically charged.)
5. Cop Killers.
At least 4 American police officers were fatally shot, murdered, so far in October of 2018, including 3 of African American heritage. Officer Antwon Toney of Gwinnett, Georgia, was shot and killed by 18 year old Tafahree Maynard, who was later shot to death by police. Toney and another officer had been dispatched to investigate a suspicious occupied auto, and before even approaching the car Maynard opened fire on the surprised cops and took off. Both Toney and Maynard were African American. In Florence, South Carolina, Deputy Farrah Turner and FPD Sergeant Terrance Carraway, both African American officers, were killed by a 74 year old Vietnam veteran and disbarred attorney when they came to arrest his 28 year old son wanted on an assault warrant. The suspect started firing before the police knocked on the door, hitting 4 cops and then going upstairs where he continued to shoot at the many other arriving police, wounding 6 as well as the 2 he killed. The 74 year old shooter, a White man, described himself as a competitive marksman, apparently a person that has competed in shooting sports for decades. His deadly rifle fire prevented the police from rescuing their wounded until an armored vehicle arrived to evacuate those officers that had been shot. Both the suspected shooter and the wanted man were both injured by police bullets during the shootout, and both survived. North Carolina State Trooper Kevin Conner (a White male) stopped a car for speeding on October 17 and was fatally shot as he approached the vehicle, which then sped off. A 20 year old, Raheem Cole Dashanell Davis, an African American man, was later arrested and on October 23 a second suspect, Chauncy Askew, also African American, age 18 was also arrested. The speeding truck had been stolen earlier. The 20 year old suspect had already done jail time for firing a gun into an occupied car back in 2015. In all 3 incidents in which the 4 officers were killed the shooters fired on the police before the cops had even gotten up to the suspects or even voiced a verbal command. Unprovoked, ambush style killings of police by jerks. Super, colossal, giant idiot jerks. Wastes of life. To top it off, 3 of the 4 cops killed were African Americans, great people and great police officers that will be missed by their departments and their communities. Yet we have not heard any outrage expressed from the usual sources that loudly protest the police shootings of “innocent” people. You cops out there, BE SAFE! Approach everyone and every situation as if you might be walking into an ambush, because you might be.
6. Murderers of Jamal Kashoggi.
.jpg)
Saudi Arabian ex-patriate journalist and critic of the Saudi government Jamal Kashoggi was living and working in the United States, writing for the Washington Post newspaper. He went to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey on October 2, 2018, in order to arrange for a marriage license to marry his fiancé. Kashoggi had previously done extensive reporting for Saudi news agencies and was actually close to the Royal family until he fell out with the ruling family over criticism of their administration of the country. Kashoggi emigrated to the United States to continue reporting without fear of reprisals from the Saudi government (the Saudi government and Royal family are one and the same). Kashoggi was seen on outdoor video cameras entering the consulate but was never seen leaving. Saudi officials denied any knowledge of his whereabouts or of complicity in any harm that may have befallen the journalist, hollow claims that rang distinctly of lies, although President Trump seemed willing to readily accept Saudi denials. Over a period of time, Saudi officials finally admitted that Kashoggi was indeed dead and that he had died violently in the consulate. However, the officials came up with a story that Kashoggi died from injuries sustained in a “fist fight” inside the consulate. No real explanation for the 15 man hit squad that had been sent to the consulate prior to Kashoggi’s “accidental death” and probable dismemberment (a bone saw accompanied the 15 agents). No body has yet been produced, and speculation is that Kashoggi was cut up into little pieces and disposed of. Under increasing scrutiny and skepticism by virtually the entire world, the Saudi’s put forward another story that Kashoggi had been killed by “rogue agents” acting without government sanction. While Turkish officials demanded all those agents be handed over to Turkish law enforcement authorities for investigation and trial, Saudi Arabia insisted that they would perform their own investigation. Obviously, the killing of a journalist for the crime of disagreeing with a government is something almost every nation finds abhorrent. We will see what happens.
7. Racist Murderer Gregory A. Bush.
A 51 year old White man with blatantly racist tendencies was caught on surveillance cameras as he attempted to enter an African American church in Louisville, Kentucky on October 24, 2018, but was foiled by locked doors. The apparently frustrated man then went to a suburban Kroeger’s grocery store frequented by African American customers and went inside shooting, killing one customer, a 69 year old Black man. Bush (no known relation to the former presidents) then went to the parking lot where he shot and killed a 67 year old Black woman. Further carnage was interrupted by a legally armed citizen that engaged Bush in a shootout, with no further persons struck by gunfire. Bush fled the scene and was arrested soon afterwards. Bush told a White bystander at the Kroeger’s, “Whites don’t kill Whites.” as an apparent explanation for why Bush was not shooting the White customer. Bush had often posted racist rants on his Facebook page, and even described himself as suffering from schizophrenia. Well, duh! Bush had a criminal history of violence, including menacing a 15 year old girl, domestic violence against his parents, verbally abusing his ex-wife and fighting with a police officer (pled to disorderly conduct). In 2009 and 2011 his parents and ex-wife filed for restraining orders against Bush, his father writing that his son carried a gun at all times, was paranoid and dangerous. Once again, our lack of a mental health system that reliably identifies and treats dangerous people failed the public, costing 2 innocent people their lives. (Note: Normally you would expect any sort of misdemeanor domestic violence conviction to result in a person being barred from legally owning a firearm in the United States, but apparently for that particular “disability” to go into effect the victim must be the spouse or child of the subject and have been assaulted by physical force, not just verbal threats. Thus, physically assaulting his parents did not disqualify Bush from owning or possessing a firearm, nor did the verbal attack on his ex-wife.)
8. Norton Ohio City Government.
The jerks that run this small city (population 12,000+ in 2010) decided to slow down the construction zone traffic on Interstate 76 that passes through their little city. The method they hit upon was to position a police officer on an overpass looking down on traffic through a chain link fence while fielding a speed camera, with the intention of taking a photograph of the front license plate of passing cars and issuing citations to those car owners whose cars were going 10 miles per hour over the 55 mph construction zone speed limit. City officials and rush hour drivers were both stunned when well over 3000 citations, costing $200 apiece, were mailed out in only 20 days. This enforcement is with an officer working the traffic (speed) camera only 3 hours per day. Close to $700,000 has been brought in, but a large chunk of that goes to the camera company. Then, officials were also stunned to find out their scheme to slow traffic down did not work, as cars were traveling just as fast nearly a month after the camera citations started. Number 1, if a city or other jurisdiction sincerely wants to slow traffic down the way to do it is to station a police officer in a marked police car in the targeted area, with that officer writing tickets as needed. Drivers will see the cop and the cop car and slow down. Works like a charm. Number 2, if these officials think for a moment, even a second, they would realize that paying big bucks to a private concern to reap fines from drivers IS JUST WRONG. Levying extra big fines in order to pay a rich company is really, really un-American. Number 3, a problem in the area of Interstate 76/State Route 224 between Interstate 71 and Akron/Canton (in between is where Norton is located) has been under construction now FOR YEARS! Along the route, the speed limit constantly changes, and the locations of these changes change with the construction being done. If these officials would drive the route they would see how semi-tractor trailers block the view of drivers from seeing the speed limit signs, especially in bumper to bumper rush hour traffic. This sort of government overreach is exactly why Americans are so fed up with government that a clearly unqualified outsider could get elected to our highest office. Norton City government, make this right by ending this idiotic farce NOW! (Thank you.)
Question for students (and subscribers): Who do you think was the biggest jerk of the month? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!
Your readership is much appreciated!
Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Chesler, Phyllis. The New Anti-Semitism : The Current Crisis and What We Must Do About It. Jossey-Bass, 2003.
Murdoch, David. DK Eyewitness Books: North American Indian: Discover the rich cultures of American Indians from pueblo dwellers to Inuit hun. DK Children, 2005.
Pitts, Leonard. Racism in America: Cultural Codes and Color Lines in the 21st Century. Herald Books, 2016.
The featured image in this article, a photograph by Derek Jensen (Tysto) of a Redflex red light camera in Springfield, Ohio, USA, has been released into the public domain. This applies worldwide.