Some people seem to really like looking on the bright side and that clearly includes New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. We’ve now been treated to footage of bombs exploding in New Jersey as authorities tried to neutralize them as well as a mounting pile of evidence pointing toward the New Jersey and Big Apple explosions having come from the same source. The FBI has named a suspect who just happens to be from Afghanistan, and they are now labeling the source of the mayhem as a “possible terror cell.”

And that only came after the Bureau took five “persons of interest” into custody for questioning. (NY Daily News)

The FBI took five people with possible links to the Chelsea explosion into custody Sunday night in Brooklyn as authorities shut down a busy New Jersey rail station after finding multiple pipe bombs in a garbage can, police and New Jersey officials said.

The weekend trail of terror continued along the Belt Parkway where federal agents nabbed several people of interest with a weapons stash inside an SUV, according to law enforcement sources.

By this point you’d think that they’ve got a fairly good grip on where the trail is heading. But through all of this, what did the Mayor of New York City have to say? Plenty… but it wasn’t going to include “The T Word.” Even the New York Times took notice of it as early as last night.

Absent a motivation, Mr. de Blasio suggested the word terrorism should not be used, shaking his head in disapproval at the notion that the basic facts of the bombing could be described that way.

“Here is what we know: It was intentional, it was a violent act, it was certainly a criminal act, it was a bombing — that’s what we know,” he said on Sunday, flanked by law enforcement officials at Police Headquarters in Lower Manhattan. “To understand there were any specific motivations, political motivations, any connection to an organization — that’s what we don’t know.”

Things hadn’t improved when he showed up on MSNBC this morning. Up until the point where they actually named the suspect – an import from Afghanistan with a face decidedly familiar to the feds – the mayor was still insisting that every lead needed to be followed and that this could still be some sort of deranged lone wolf scenario. (As if that makes it “not terrorism” somehow.)

But then… finally… on Good Morning America, Hizzoner seemed to be coming around to the sad conclusion that he couldn’t simply blame it on some kids with leftover firecrackers anymore. (Washington Post)

Speaking to Good Morning America on Monday morning, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said that the investigation into the Chelsea bombing “is definitely leaning” in the direction of terrorism.

Definitely leaning? Well, I suppose some progress is better than none. Sadly, Mr. de Blasio has a city of many millions of people to take care of. If terrorists are detonating bombs in Chelsea and across the river in Jersey, it’s probably something that the mayor should not only let them know about, but provide detailed information on what he plans to do about it. Worrying about offending CAIR really can’t be at the top of the list right now. But you keep on thinking, Bill. You’ll get there eventually, or at least we hope you will because your city is under attack.

And in case it helps, this is what it looks like when something is “leaning” toward terrorism.