At least 20 dead, 100 injured at shooting on Las Vegas Strip

[Imagine20]

And now Infowars is calling it a false flag, just like Sandy Hook.

I really want off this planet sometimes.

[Destiny]

I've honestly become so numb to these shootings which I hate so much.

Me too. I feel nothing about the actual shooting right now and it makes me mad that I don’t.

I do echo the oh god please don’t be Muslim first thoughts that many of us in this thread had though.

[fraurosena]

Sobering truth. I wonder how many people actually realize this.

 

Tweet contains link to NYT article. I reccomend reading it.

[onekidanddone]

30 minutes ago, 47of74 said:

Shut the fuck up Alex.  

Somebody needs to tell him that HE an illusion nobody can see. Give him come crazy right back at him.

[onekidanddone]

How Trump thinks

"There are some good mass murders on both sides.  Well not the brown people.  If the brown people shoot it is bad. If the white people shoot, then they are still are good people, and the brown people made them do it. But frankly white people never shoot. It is all a false flag planted by Obama. I'll get great ratings if go to Las Vegas.  

3 hours ago, ThunderRolls said:

Yes, this POS could have killed people with a rifle or a pistol, but there's no way he would have been able to kill 50 people and injure 400 without assault weapons. There is no reason assault and military weapons should be accessible to the average person. The GOP is so far up the NRAs ass that it's doubtful anything will ever happen. This shit just keeps escalating, though, and it's fucking scary. 

I would have thought when one of their own was shot they would suddenly do something and blame the left for inaction. No, they keep on sending prayers for a few days and then they will go back to business as usual.

[ThunderRolls]

14 minutes ago, onekidanddone said:

I would have thought when one of their own was shot they would suddenly do something and blame the left for inaction. No, they keep on sending prayers for a few days and then they will go back to business as usual.

I'm waiting for when Trump and the GOP to twist this tragedy into a reason for why need more guns (like how they did with Sandy Hook and pushing teachers having guns in classrooms for protection). 

[fraurosena]

More sobering facts. 

This just boggles my mind.

[Audrey2]

17 minutes ago, ThunderRolls said:

I'm waiting for when Trump and the GOP to twist this tragedy into a reason for why need more guns (like how they did with Sandy Hook and pushing teachers having guns in classrooms for protection). 

I'm waiting for the knuckleheads to conclude that everyone needs to carry a gun and be easily able to purchase body armor. That way, everyone can defend themselves, and if you are shot, it's your fault for not being fast enough on the draw or wearing body armor all of the time. Yes, I'm gagging as I'm thinking this and writing this. It just seems like a way out there conclusion that some would come up with.

[GreyhoundFan]

From Jennifer Rubin: "Death in Las Vegas: The diminished president responds"

Spoiler

The slaughter at a Las Vegas concert venue, the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history, likely will spur the same nonproductive, maddening political argument. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) put out a statement, which read in part:

This must stop. It is positively infuriating that my colleagues in Congress are so afraid of the gun industry that they pretend there aren’t public policy responses to this epidemic. There are, and the thoughts and prayers of politicians are cruelly hollow if they are paired with continued legislative indifference. It’s time for Congress to get off its ass and do something.

Most Republicans will finger-wag, admonishing Democrats not to “politicize” the incident, which itself is a preemptive attempt to cut off discussion about gun legislation. One fears that reasoned discussion about a holistic approach that might, for example, include restrictions on numbers of guns that can be purchased, mental-health resources and public-safety measures is beyond our capacity. Our political leaders and their hyper-partisans seem utterly incapable of rational problem-solving that goes beyond thread bare talking points. If the shootings of children (in Newtown, Conn.), nightclub-goers (in Orlando) and a congressman (in Alexandria) did not provoke sober debate and concrete results, we doubt the result here will be any different.

President Trump spoke appropriately in expressing “sadness, shock and grief.” He dubbed the shooting as an act of “evil” and praised the speed of the response by police and first responders as “miraculous.” His appeals to unity and the “ties of community” were aptly chosen and soberly delivered. And yet, his reputation as a provocateur and angry accuser now colors how many of us absorb his response. His frequent resort to race-baiting and contrived controversy lessens his effectiveness, and his erratic personality virtually ensures that in hours or days he will be back to his old stunts. His sincerity about unifying the country is immediately called into question.

Trump lacks the emotional stability to reduce emotions over the long haul. He lacks the intellectual sobriety to grapple with complicated, contentious issues. And we suspect he’ll soon return to senseless tweets and outbursts about the mayor of Puerto Rico, the press, Muslim immigrants, the NFL and the American flag, mention of which in remarks following a shooting would be unremarkable for any other president but sound like a dig at his adversaries coming from him.

We’d be remiss if we ignored how misdirected his prescriptions have been to various challenges and threats throughout his presidency. He focuses on foreigners, regardless of the actual threat they pose, as purveyors of crime and terrorism. He encourages cultural divisions as a way of cleaving to his base. A president who continually casts blame in the direction of politically convenient targets, rather than focus on the actual causes of our deep-seated problems, soon loses his moral authority and political influence. We are grateful he got through the remarks today without calamity, but we know the country’s calamitous plunge into irrationality, rancor and political dysfunction under this president will not end anytime soon.

 

[AlwaysExcited]

Saw on Twitter: “Run, hide, fight” is going to be this generation’s “stop, drop and roll”.

[onekidanddone]

1 hour ago, ThunderRolls said:

I'm waiting for when Trump and the GOP to twist this tragedy into a reason for why need more guns (like how they did with Sandy Hook and pushing teachers having guns in classrooms for protection). 

Let's not stop at arming teachers. How about giving first graders high powered weapons.  Shit rocket launchers for everybody.  You get a rocket launcher and you get a rocket launcher.  Yay!

Now I'm going to have the Bruce Cockburn song going through my head:

Spoiler

Here comes the helicopter, second time today
Everybody scatters and hopes it goes away
How many kids they've murdered only God can say, hey
If I had a rocket launcher, if I had a rocket launcher
If I had a rocket launcher, I'd make somebody pay

I don't believe in guarded borders and I don't believe in hate
I don't believe in generals or their stinking torture states
And when I talk with the survivors of things too sickening to relate
If I had a rocket launcher, if I had a rocket launcher
If I had a rocket launcher, I would retaliate

On the Rio Lacantun, one hundred thousand wait
To fall down from starvation, or some less humane fate
Cry for Guatemala, with a corpse in every gate
If I had a rocket launcher, if I had a rocket launcher
If I had a rocket launcher, I would not hesitate

I want to raise every voice, at least I've got to try
Every time I think about it water rises to my eyes.
Situation desperate, echoes of the victims cry
If I had a rocket launcher, if I had a rocket launcher
If I had a rocket launcher, some son of a bitch would die

 

[47of74]

Attention any Branch Trumpvidians lurking here, let me tell you a couple of three things.

First, fuck you and fuck your gun humping refusal to consider anything that keeps unstable people away from your metal penis extensions guns.

Second, I think even today I would feel safer in Turkey than I would in this country.  Even though it's full of people you BTs hate.   I know I did in 2012 once I got settled. 

[onekidanddone]

31 minutes ago, 47of74 said:

Attention any Branch Trumpvidians lurking here, let me tell you a couple of three things.

First, fuck you and fuck your gun humping refusal to consider anything that keeps unstable people away from your metal penis extensions guns.

Second, I think even today I would feel safer in Turkey than I would in this country.  Even though it's full of people you BTs hate.   I know I did in 2012 once I got settled. 

I'll add....if you are a BT...GET THE FUCK OF OUR PLANET.

[fraurosena]

Of course it isn’t... it’s only the worst massacre ever, but meh... let’s not talk about gun control. What would be the sense in that?

 

[onekidanddone]

4 minutes ago, fraurosena said:

Of course it isn’t... it’s only the worst massacre ever, but meh... let’s not talk about gun control. What would be the sense in that?

When is a good time Sarah Fuckabee? Wipe that smug look of your face and tell us. 

[RosyDaisy]

Oh, another one. That's all I've got anymore.

[catlady]

29 minutes ago, onekidanddone said:

When is a good time Sarah Fuckabee? Wipe that smug look of your face and tell us. 

i've gotten to the point where i can't even look at her or listen to her (just like Orange FuckFace himself).  and i still get angry when i read her quotes int he paper.

[onekidanddone]

5 hours ago, Imagine20 said:

And now Infowars is calling it a false flag, just like Sandy Hook.

Rufus needs to kick this walking shit stain's ass. Is everything a 'false' flag for fucks sake? I can't with this guy. Just can't.  Was talking about him with my brother. My conservative Republican brother and he says just ignore him. Tells me Alex Jones is just a conspiracy nut job. 

Well yea, he is a fucking psycho but it is the people who follow him who are the  people who scare me. Trump loves him some Alex. So yea, bro, I have a good reason to fear Alex Jones.

[Rachel333]

I was up late last night and saw this news right before I was going to go to sleep, but it was hard to sleep after that.

I thought by now there would be more answers about what motivated this guy. Contrary to a post earlier on this thread (which was before the media knew much), he did not have a criminal history and was not known to law enforcement at all. He didn't seem to have any strong political or religious views, had no known affiliation with hate groups or any known history of mental illness. It's obvious he planned this, but no one has any idea why. It's bizarre.

[OtterRuletheWorld]

31 minutes ago, Rachel333 said:

 It's bizarre.

So bizarre. This is one time, that while I myself am not calling false flag, I am not at all shocked people jumped to that narrative. It is always to be expected, but the whole thing is strange.

I mean, the guy managed to get a FULLY automatic weapon and a whole plethora of other stuff into his giant suite? Who the heck was this guy? He is some wealthy real estate guy (I think that is what I read?) and his father was some big time bank robber? His wife (?) isn't in the country and they are currently going through a divorce? And he had a gambling issue?

I almost wonder if this was some kind of blackmail because of his gambling? But I have also just read bits today and maybe I am missing a part of the puzzle that makes this unlikely.

[MarblesMom]

And the weirdos at The Federalist Papers are saying the shooter was a patsy for others.... I think the moon must almost be full.

http://thefederalistpapers.org/us/theres-something-strange-las-vegas-shootings?utm_source=COTR&utm_medium=COTR&utm_campaign=COTR

[47of74]

6 hours ago, fraurosena said:

Of course it isn’t... it’s only the worst massacre ever, but meh... let’s not talk about gun control. What would be the sense in that?

 

Sarah, go off and fornicate thyself in the name of thy Lord Jesus Christ.  Preferably in traffic. 

[GreyhoundFan]

1 hour ago, OtterRuletheWorld said:

his father was some big time bank robber?

Here's an article from the WaPo about his father: "Las Vegas shooter’s father was a bank robber — and on the FBI’s Most Wanted list"

Spoiler

Stephen Paddock’s father was rarely around.

Following the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, Eric Paddock said that he and his brother, the suspected Las Vegas gunman, did not see their father much during their childhood. Their dad, a bank robber and con man, was in and out of prison — and often on the run.

“We didn’t grow up under his influence,” Eric Paddock told reporters outside his home in Orlando on Monday.

“I was born on the run,” he added, noting that “my dad was about to be arrested for robbing banks.”

Benjamin Hoskins Paddock escaped from federal prison in 1969, earning a spot on the FBI’s Most Wanted list.

He was described in the FBI’s wanted poster as “psychopathic’’ with suicidal tendencies. According to news accounts, he was not captured until 1978, when he was nabbed while running a bingo parlor in Oregon.

Officials confirmed that he was the father of Stephen Paddock, who authorities said opened fire from the window of a 32nd-floor hotel room overlooking a concert on the Las Vegas Strip, where 22,000 people had gathered for a three-day country music festival. At least 58 people were killed, including an off-duty police officer with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, authorities said. More than 500 others, including two on-duty officers, were injured.

After the shooting, he was found dead by Las Vegas SWAT officers in his hotel room at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.

More than five decades earlier, Benjamin Hoskins Paddock was in the same town, running from suspected crimes of his own.

According to newspaper clippings from the summer of 1960, FBI agents had been searching for Paddock, who was accused of robbing banks in Arizona. When agents approached him in Las Vegas in late July of that year, he jumped into his car and tried to run one of them down, the newspaper reported.

He surrendered after an FBI agent fired through his windshield.

“It was a harrowing experience,” the agent, John T. Reilly, said at the time.

Reilly said he aimed at Paddock “to save my own life,” adding that the fugitive’s car stopped about a foot before it hit him — “so fast that it [the car] was rocking.”

Benjamin Paddock had already served time behind bars in the 1940s and 1950s, according to articles in the Arizona Republic.

After his capture by the FBI, he was convicted in 1961 of bank robbery and sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. But on Feb. 3, 1969, he escaped.

At the time, Stephen Paddock would have been 15 years old. Eric was half Stephen’s age and said Monday that they had two other brothers, Bruce and Patrick.

Benjamin Paddock died in recent years, Eric Paddock said, adding that it was news to him: He said he grew up thinking his father was dead.

At 6-foot-4 and 245 pounds, Benjamin Paddock used a host of aliases, and was also known as “Chromedome” and “Old Baldy,” according to his FBI Most Wanted alert, which bore J. Edgar Hoover’s signature.

The Arizona Republic reported in July 1960 that Paddock was “known as a hot rod racer” and shaved his head so he would look like actor Yul Brynner. In addition to bank robbery and escape, his rap sheet included auto theft and a confidence scam.

“He was a larger-than-life kind of outlaw thing-y,” Eric Paddock said.

The FBI noted in its 1969 bulletin that Paddock was an “avid bridge player.” His son, Stephen, was known as a high-stakes gambler, The Post reported Monday.

The elder Paddock remained on the FBI’s Most Wanted list until 1977, when he was removed for reasons that aren’t clear. The FBI said he was “removed from the list when it was felt he no longer fit the ‘Top Ten’ criteria.”

Well, the FBI described the father as psychopathic. It seems the apple didn't fall far from the tree.

[Maggie Mae]

1 hour ago, OtterRuletheWorld said:

I mean, the guy managed to get a FULLY automatic weapon and a whole plethora of other stuff into his giant suite? Who the heck was this guy?

No one has said if the weapon used was fully automated or a semi automatic with an illegal modification. 

It's not difficult to get a bunch of stuff in a hotel room. Las Vegas has gun shows and lax regulations. Put em in a bag or case and put it on a cart. 

Hotel rooms on the strip are nicer than else where for less money so that part doesn't seem odd to me. 

It did seem like a set up for more than one shooter though, with the two guns on tripods. 

1 hour ago, OtterRuletheWorld said:

He is some wealthy real estate guy (I think that is what I read?) and his father was some big time bank robber?

I thought the brother said their dad was in jail most of their life. He was on the FBI list for robbing banks. 

1 hour ago, OtterRuletheWorld said:

His wife (?) isn't in the country and they are currently going through a divorce?

Girlfriend, I think. I'm confused on that as well. She was a person of interest and there was a report of a Hispanic woman telling concert goers they were going to die. The police contacted her and she was in the Philippines but how did he use her ID to check in? And 

1 hour ago, OtterRuletheWorld said:

And he had a gambling issue?

I thought he just liked gambling. 

I don't get the motivation here. It wasn't racially motivated, he didn't dislike country music. He apparently didn't have a political agenda.

 

[47of74]

7 minutes ago, Maggie Mae said:

It's not difficult to get a bunch of stuff in a hotel room. Las Vegas has gun shows and lax regulations. Put em in a bag or case and put it on a cart. 

Hotel rooms on the strip are nicer than else where for less money so that part doesn't seem odd to me. 

I remember when I was in Turkey back in 2012 a couple of the hotels had screening machines and guards set up near the front entrances - I think it was mainly the ones in Istanbul and Ankara.  One day our group was at a mall for about an hour and they had screening at the mall entrances.