Vegas Shooting's Reality

By Douglas V. Gibbs
Author, Speaker, Instructor, Radio Host
Before we get started, be aware that evidence is pointing towards the Las Vegas Shooter being a liberal left anti-Trump Democrat, so while the Democrats are screaming for gun control, I am wondering if we should be more worried about Democrats with guns since so many Democrats wind up being identified as mass shooters.  Also, note that nearly all of the modern day mass shootings have occurred in gun-free zones, proving that the "no guns allowed" liberal policy is a lie.  As for the gun control argument, because the firearms the Las Vegas shooter was using are already illegal, gun control would not have stopped the Las Vegas massacre.

That said, in the beginning I knew about the shooting in Las Vegas shortly after it happened.  But, I decided to wait until I knew all of the details before writing about it.

On Sunday Evening at 11:37 pm, October 1, 2017 I received a message from a friend about his son.  "Andrew is in Vegas at the Mandalay, guy next to him was shot.  He says they are in the airport, safe."

I struggled with the choice of if I should research and write about the shooting immediately, or go to bed as planned, pray for the fallen, and wait until all of the details were in.  The problem, often, with the news regarding such events is that the reporting agencies jump to conclusions before all of the facts are known, and then make up the news as they see fit.  Confusion sets in, and the facts remain unknown.

My thoughts at the moment were that a few things were inevitable.  Conservative writers and commentators will immediately assume the attack was orchestrated by a Muslim, and most of the time, they would be correct when it comes to this style of shooting.  Liberal left writers and commentators will immediately hope the attack was orchestrated by a white Republican.  Since the concert was a country-western music festival, someone on the liberal left will speak without thinking and say something like Phil Montag, former volunteer co-chairman of the Nebraska Democratic Party's technology committee, did regarding the shooting of Republicans at a baseball practice in Washington D.C. a few months ago when he said of GOP Congressman Scalise who was shot during the incident, "I hate this motherf***er. I'm f***ing glad he got shot. I'm glad he got shot ... I wish he was f***ing dead."  And, Democrat Party legislators would immediately move to create more gun control laws because they believe that the sick minds of killers could not possibly have anything to do with the carnage.  The blame, from their point of view, rests solely on the existence of guns in the hands of Americans.

Early in the morning at a time when the only people probably getting out of bed are truck drivers and airline pilots, I woke up and during the short time I was up-and-around I checked my phone and another message came in from my friend at 1:34 am.  He wrote, "100+ injured, 20+ dead, police dead, "asian" [sic] (muslim?) [sic] woman, no id of shooter.  She is on the loose."

Again, unconfirmed information, but the insinuation was ominous.  Could the deed have been carried out by a female Muslim shooter?  I still decided not to check the news, just yet.  I wanted to wait until the facts truly fell into place before I mustered an opinion piece regarding the shooting.

Later in the morning, at 8:23 am, a friend from KMET 1490 AM radio (the station where my radio programs air on Saturdays) texted me that one of my colleagues from the station, Chris of the Christopher Show that airs before my afternoon program does, was "at the show in vegas [sic] when the shootings happened.  His friend he was standing next to was shot."

I've asked him to be on my radio program on Saturday Afternoon to discuss what he witnessed.

I knew that the shooting in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay hotel was becoming the story that the talking heads on the news networks would be talking about all day.  But, the identification of the gunman remained shrouded in mystery, and while I wanted to write about the horrid event while the news was hot, again, I wanted to know the details before I did so.

One thing was becoming clear as I began to gather information here and there.  The shooting in Las Vegas would wind up being the worst shooting of its kind in the modern history of the United States.  59 dead, hundreds injured.  The words "massacre," and "slaughter" came to mind.  The pictures emerging were horrifying.

Another interesting part about the shooter, once he was finally identified and his identity was made available to the public, was that the politically biased writers hoping for him to be one thing, or another, were not satisfied on all sides.  The gunman at first seemed to be a nobody that would have been on nobody's radar as being the kind of guy to do this kind of horrible thing. “No affiliation, no religion, no politics. He never cared about any of that stuff,” Eric Paddock, the shooter's brother, said as he alternately wept and shouted. “He was a guy who had money. He went on cruises and gambled.”

As indicated above, some folks are not convinced that the Vegas killer was apolitical.

ISIS, before the details were known, claimed the act of terror was by one of their own.  They told us he was a soldier of ISIS.  Now that the details are known, while the shooting was carried out in a style that one would expect from a Muslim jihadist, the reality is that the guy probably wasn't one to even give Islam much of a thought.  That said, ISIS continues to insist the shooter was a recent convert to Islam, and belonged to them.  Stephen Paddock, the Mandalay Bay Shooter, was not a Muslim terrorist, he was a millionaire, a retired accountant, and a guy who loved to gamble (hence, Las Vegas).

One thing is for sure, Paddock meticulously planned the shooting in advance (therefore, every time a news person says he "snapped," I just shake my head), and he used an arsenal that negated the idea that a killing needs high-capacity magazines.  Yes, high-capacity magazines were found in the hotel room the gunman was firing from, but he also had 23 guns in there with him.  He didn't need to reload.  All he needed to do was keep firing until the magazine was empty, and then grab the next gun in line.  The flurry of shots sounded like they were from an automatic firearm.  While the presence of an automatic firearm has not been confirmed, officials say they found two gun stocks that would allow the shooter to replicate fully automatic fire.  At Paddock’s home, authorities found 19 more guns, explosives and thousands of rounds of ammunition. Also, several pounds of ammonium nitrate, a fertilizer that can be turned into explosives such as those used in the 1995 Oklahoma bombing, were in his car, the sheriff said.

The crowd of 22,000 country music fans heard the shots, but the reality of the danger that lurked above was not realized at first.  They didn’t understand what was happening when the band stopped playing and singer, Jason Aldean, was led off stage.

“That’s gunshots,” a man could be heard saying emphatically on a cellphone video in the nearly half-minute of silence and confusion that followed. A woman pleaded with others: “Get down! Get down! Stay down!”

The shooter committed his terror from a 32nd-floor hotel room at the Mandalay Bay Resort, firing down into the crowd of country-western music fans below.  The 64-year-old gunman was eventually discovered, and when police approached his room, Stephen Paddock shot through the door at them, injuring a security guard. Paddock then shot and killed himself, police said.

The 59 people killed represented a broad swath of society, there for the Route 91 Harvest Festival, a three day event in its final day of country music on the Vegas Strip.  Looking at the pictures of the victims, mostly white, one wonders if the shooting had happened at a Rap Music Concert if the screams from the liberal left Democrats would have been "racism!"

Nonetheless, the liberal left wasted no time to politicize the shooting as a way to, in their minds, advance their political agenda.  As expected, the Democrats are already using the Las Vegas shooting to demand more gun control. Democrat Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy issued a statement calling for Congress to “get off its ass and do something” following the shooting.  Democrat Massachusetts Senator, and Presidential consideration, Elizabeth Warren wrote on Twitter, “Tragedies like Las Vegas have happened too many times, we need to have the conversation about how to stop gun violence. We need it NOW.”  Nancy Pelosi, the Democrat that was once Speaker of the House, called for Congress to form a special committee regarding gun violence.

Hillary Clinton targeted the oldest Civil Rights organization in the United States, the National Rifle Association (NRA), whose original creation was for the purpose of defending the gun rights of blacks so that they could defend themselves against the Democrat Party sponsored KKK, by writing, “Our grief isn’t enough. We can and must put politics aside, stand up to the NRA, and work together to try to stop this from happening again.”

Self-Proclaimed Socialist, and 2016 Presidential Candidate that nearly dislodged Hillary Clinton, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont wrote on Twitter, “It is long past time for Congress to take action on gun safety to save innocent lives.”

Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey demanded Congress “close the gun show loophole” (which is a myth and does not exist) in response to the shooting. (There’s no evidence at this time that Paddock bought his weapons at a gun show.)

A note about the mythical gun show loophole:

Typically, at a gun show, only federally licensed dealers are allowed to participate.  Some gun sellers at gun shows are individuals.  I've seen them walking around with the gun they have for sale slung over their shoulder.  Technically, even those individual to individual sales are supposed to be scrutinized by federal regulation (and State regulation).  In some States, however, there are some person to person sales that are allowed without a background check.  Some long rifles, in particular, usually fall under this "loophole."  This is not a "gun show loophole."  This is an allowance in some States for one person to sell to another person (of the same residency of the same State) certain firearms in which that particular State allows person to person sales of without a background check, and is not fully covered by federal regulations. 

Here's what it comes down to.  There are some sales, and other transfers of ownership, that the federal government doesn't know about, that are perfectly legal, and it drives Democrats nuts.  Their call to "end the gun show loophole" is another way of saying that they don't like the fact that some guns are purchased without their knowledge, and that not all transfers of ownership falls under federal control.  In other words, the Democrats (without actually saying it) are pushing for a full scale, no exceptions, national registry.

New York Representative Carolyn Maloney demanded Congress “show they care by taking action” on gun control.

“How long do we let gun violence tear families apart? Enough,” wrote former Vice President Joe Biden. “Congress & the WH should act now to save lives. There’s no excuse for inaction.”

“It has been barely a year since what was previously the largest mass shooting in American history — the deadly attack at Pulse nightclub. In the interim, thousands more have been lost to the daily, ruthless toll of gun violence,” Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal said in a statement.  “Still, Congress refuses to act. I am more than frustrated, I am furious.”

The politicization of the horrible massacre is not enough.  Some Democrats are even willing to go so far to place their politics above giving respect to those who died during the Las Vegas slaughter.

Democrat Massachusetts Representative Seth Moulton wrote, "As after #Orlando, I will NOT be joining my colleagues in a moment of silence on the House Floor that just becomes an excuse for inaction...Thinking of everyone in #LasVegas, and praying Congress will have the courage to do more than stand in silence to commemorate them."

While the politicians disgust me regarding this, it was a member of the media that gave us the verbal tirade that revealed what they are really thinking regarding the shooting.  A member of CBS, one of the company’s top lawyers, said she is “not even sympathetic” to victims of the Las Vegas shooting because “country music fans often are Republican.”

CBS fired her, and issued a statement.

“This individual, who was with us for approximately one year, violated the standards of our company and is no longer an employee of CBS. Her views as expressed on social media are deeply unacceptable to all of us at CBS. Our hearts go out to the victims in Las Vegas and their families.”

Hayley Geftman-Gold's social media pages are no longer available for viewing, but the Daily Caller caught a screenshot of the offensive post.

CNN also gladly pointed out that the crowd was likely dominated by Republicans.

The leftist madness didn't stop there...

Actress Alyssa Milano's F-Bomb for the NRA was challenged by a Gay Patriot asking her why she wants to take guns away from gays, women and minorities to protect themselves.

Michael Ian Black claims that the NRA is a Terrorist Organization.

Lady Gaga's message for gun control was directed to the younger generation who doesn't understand that history shows that unarmed populations are enslaved populations.

Through it all, the ignorance of the liberal left has also been percolating to the top.

In the image on the left, ConsMilitia says, "The Constitution provides for such institutions - 'well regulated Militia' #2A which the @NRA seems completely unaware of."

Does ConsMilitia believe that the term "well regulated Militia" means a government controlled and regulated militia?

Wrong answer.

A well regulated militia, based on the definition of "regulated" at the time, means a militia that is in good order.

Since the militia during the Revolutionary War was in poor order (not well trained, poorly armed, not equipped with the equipment necessary to win decisively), the Founding Fathers realized to protect this country the people needed to all be armed without federal interference (the right to keep and bear arms is a natural right, anyway, so no government interference is allowed in the first place), and in Article I, Section 8 the Congress is authorized to provide for the training of State militias (of which nearly half the States continue to maintain).

The ignorance regarding the 2nd Amendment, and guns in general didn't stop with ConsMilitia's idiotic Tweet, however. The halls of government, and the world of former government officials, is filled with people who are so ignorant about guns that the moment they open their mouth, the idiocy comes pouring out.  One of those very ignorant Democrat morons almost became President of the United States in the last election.  In the case of Hillary Clinton, she's the one that tried to start a conversation about the dangers of silencers.

Hillary Clinton remarked, "Imagine the Deaths if Stephen Paddock Used a Silencer."  She Tweeted, "the crowd fled at the sound of gunshots."

Dana Loesch, always consistent in her ability to point out the facts to moronic Democrats.  She Tweeted, "Suppressors only reduce by a few decibels, still same decibel level as a jackhammer."

Hollywood has us convinced that silencers fully silence gunshots, and even a pillow would deaden the sound of a gunshot.

For those who have been around guns, ear protection is a necessity because of how loud the sound of gunfire truly is.  Even devices designed to reduce the loudness of the gun blast is not capable of "silencing" it.

The New Republic magazine/website has proclaimed that all guns should be banned immediately. They even called for getting “rid of guns…on police.”

Ban guns. All guns. Get rid of guns in homes, and on the streets, and, as much as possible, on police. Not just because of San Bernardino, or whichever mass shooting may pop up next, but also not not because of those. Don’t sort the population into those who might do something evil or foolish or self-destructive with a gun and those who surely will not. As if this could be known—as if it could be assessed without massively violating civil liberties and stigmatizing the mentally ill. Ban guns! Not just gun violence. Not just certain guns. Not just already-technically-illegal guns. All of them.

The New Yorker took a similar stand the morning after the Las Vegas attack, suggesting there “can be no truce with the Second Amendment.” They criticized President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and the decision in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008). They then wrote in support of gun control:

Gun control acts on gun violence the way antibiotics act on infections—imperfectly but with massive efficacy. Yet, even with that knowledge, some of us, in our innocence, proposed a sort of truce about Second Amendment issues in the face of the ongoing national emergency—the Trump Presidency—in which it seemed essential to make common cause, even with those who have the strange American fixation on the right to own military-style firearms.

The writer at the New Republic does understand that bad guys still will get their hands on guns, again, right?  We see shootings in Europe all the time by Muslim terrorists, and European gun laws are very strict.  The gun genie has been out of the bottle too long.  Heck, if I wanted to, I could make a gun with a rock and a metal pipe.

The idea that the shooting may be a false flag incident with multiple people involved.  Who gave Stephen Paddock automatic weapons?  How did he manage to get all of the guns and ammunition into the hotel without being noticed, on his own?  What about the woman who told people that death was coming before the concert?  The gun control nuts have been desperate for another shooting to use for their agenda, after all.

One more thing.  Was there a second angle of shooting from the fourth floor of the hotel in Las Vegas?

The Las Vegas Shooter did not work alone.

If it's not a false flag operation orchestrated by the deep state of leftists, the other possibility is that it truly was a Muslim terrorist attack, but the extent of the operation is being hidden by the deep state of leftists in the government and in the media because they don't want the Muslim connection revealed.

Understanding the Threat by John Guandolo offers the following:

There has been a lot of speculation in both mainstream media and social media about Sunday night's tragedy in Las Vegas, where, according to the latest from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, 516 people were injured and 59 people were murdered by Stephen Paddock.

Before any real information about the shooter was put out via U.S. media outlets, UTT published a tweet at 6:34 AM CST on Monday assessing the Las Vegas attack was likely a jihadi operation.  So far as UTT has been able to ascertain, we were the first organization in America to reach this conclusion.

The following were the basis for that assessment:

1. The Islamic State has previously called for attacks on the U.S. homeland and has specifically mentioned Las Vegas, Nevada as a target.
2. The Islamic State issued a statement last week through one of it's information outlets Nasher News calling for muslims to avoid places in America (and elsewhere) where "Crusaders" gather and have mentioned major events as good targets.
3. In recent days, jihadis have launched attacks in Europe.
4. The target of the attack.
5. The method and execution of the attack.

While investigation reveals Paddock was a politically left-wing individual with possible Marxist ties to Antifa and other groups, the evidence points to jihad.

Since UTT first published it's initial assessment, the Islamic State claimed the Las Vegas attack was conducted by one of their "soldiers."

It should be noted, this is a very strong data point in understanding the events in Las Vegas.
The Islamic State has never claimed responsibility for an attack that was not carried out by a jihadi.

Later in the day Monday, the Islamic State issued a second public message calling Stephen Paddock a "soldier of the caliphate" and a "martyr" and stating he converted to Islam in the last few months.

The Islamic State further gave Paddock the Arabic name of Abu Abed al Bir Al-Amriki.

The fact the FBI found "no evidence" of links between Paddock and "terrorist organizations" is, in fact, evidence he is likely linked to such organizations.

The FBI has been wrong on every single attack of this nature over the last 8 years.

The FBI had investigations on and interviewed nearly all of the jihadis who ended up killing Americans in the attacks in Little Rock, San Bernadino, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, Boston, and others.

The government called the massacre at Fort Hood, Texas and the beheading of a woman in Oklahoma as "workplace violence."

The government continues to catastrophically fail in their basic duties to (1) know the enemy and (2) protect the public.

UTT reminds the public that on numerous occasions we have identified threats inside communities that later produced jihadis who initiated attacks inside the United States.  Once such case involves the Islamic Community Center of Phoenix (ICCP), which UTT included in several presentations given to law enforcement in Arizona beginning in September 2014.  UTT briefed law enforcement and local leaders that the center and its leaders are a danger to the community.

On May 3, 2015, two muslim jihadis from the ICCP went to Garland, Texas to kill people at the Draw Mohammad contest.  Fortunately, the jihadis were killed by police before they could harm innocent non-muslims.

While UTT makes this assessment based on the facts at hand, we will be monitoring the ongoing investigation, as well as the response by law enforcement (federal and local), state and national leadership, as well as the Islamic State.  We will continue to provide the information and our assessment of the situation to American citizens.

I am not suggesting I am fully convinced that the shooting in Vegas was a false flag operation, or that I know for sure that Islam had its own involvement in the massacre, but I do believe in our journey to discover the truth, no stone should be left unturned.

Trump's reaction was without mention of gun control or terrorism, and instead filled with sadness, shock, grief, and an offer of prayer.

We will never be able to reach security and full safety.  In a system of liberty, carnage of this level is possible.  Fact is, even in a system where there are government programs in place to outlaw guns and provide strong security, these kinds of things still happen.  Europe, Sydney, and attacks in Russia are examples of the reality that Islamic terrorism, and other forms of evil terrorism, exists. Truth is, the world is full of evil people, and unstable people.  When it comes to security, bag checks, and things like that, will have to exist.  Gun control, however, is not the answer.  Gun control only disarms the citizens, not the crazies.  And the problem is, once the people are disarmed, it gives government, who is now not worried about any resistance, the freedom to do as it chooses.

One last thing.  Israel stands with us as the image below shows.  I haven't seen any support from Muslim groups, only ISIS claiming to be behind the killings.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary