Month: September 2018

Every morning for the past seven days I have awakened to the horror of the latest obscene Democrat attack on Brett Kavanaugh and the calculated leftist conviction that this 36-year-old accusation is true because all men, especially all white men, are gropers and abusers of women.  With every ridiculous excuse for why they believe this unbelievable allegation, they are attacking my masculinity.  They are attacking the masculinity of the loving, women-adoring people that most men are.  I have been married for 53 years to the love of my life; three great kids, nine fabulous grandchildren and countless friends and relatives.  At no time have I ever looked into the mirror and seen a vindictive sexist human being.  I am a conservative; I am also a college teacher, a musician and a friend to all the wonderful people that populate my life.

Being the father of a daughter and friend to many women who have experienced improper advances and yes, subtle and not so subtle molestations, I do understand how unpleasant, even horrific, these experiences can be.   As a man, I want to find each and every perpetrator and beat them to a pulp myself.  To me, that is my divine duty; women are precious to me and as a 74 year old big dude that is my charge.

However, when I listen to all the noise surrounding the Christine Blasey Ford accusations, I feel that I am being drawn into a Kafkaesque novella.  She has surrounded herself with hard core liberal partisans whose only goal is to delay Kavanaugh’s confirmation past the drop dead date and the entire proceeding runs out the calendar. These anti-men shriekers, Hirono, Gillibrand, Blumenthal, Whitehouse, Durbin, Schumer, Joy Behar, and many others, have contempt for men, especially white men. They actually think we have no credibility or even the right to express or defend ourselves, unless we are doctrinaire Democrats.  Any accusation, spurious or not, is to be taken at face value.  I am appalled.  Slow-Joe Biden said this out loud; men should presumed guilty until proven innocent. He obviously lacks any familiarity with the Constitution.

I have two sons; both are fine, strong men, loving husbands and fathers.  How dare all the pusillanimous Democrats insult me and them and all the other wonderful men who populate my life.   We take our responsibility to protect our families very seriously and revel in the joy and privilege it affords us.  So does Kavanaugh.  That is indisputable.  

I truly hope that enough men and women who are observing this absurd, vicious kabuki theater realize that the only hope for our nation is to get out and vote to prevent the Democrats from destroying what is left of what America used to be. The future of every young man in our republic is at grave risk thanks to the power-mad grasping of the progressives who think nothing of devastating an individual man as a stand-in for all men.  Most men are decent, loving and non-toxic.

Women like Blasey Ford and her defenders, not one of whom in Congress has ever met or spoken to her, have done terrible damage to women and girls.  Two generations of women have been taught that men are their enemies, that children are an unnecessary burden, a contribution to overpopulation.  The have been taught to see men as predators when in fact they are natural protectors.  They are taught that they don’t need protectors but they often do.

Blasey Ford is playing the victim, the victim of a grope 36 years ago about which she apparently has no specific memories.  This entire, abhorrent plot and all of its attendant anti-male nonsense is a crime, a terrible crime against this nation.

Every morning for the past seven days I have awakened to the horror of the latest obscene Democrat attack on Brett Kavanaugh and the calculated leftist conviction that this 36-year-old accusation is true because all men, especially all white men, are gropers and abusers of women.  With every ridiculous excuse for why they believe this unbelievable allegation, they are attacking my masculinity.  They are attacking the masculinity of the loving, women-adoring people that most men are.  I have been married for 53 years to the love of my life; three great kids, nine fabulous grandchildren and countless friends and relatives.  At no time have I ever looked into the mirror and seen a vindictive sexist human being.  I am a conservative; I am also a college teacher, a musician and a friend to all the wonderful people that populate my life.

Being the father of a daughter and friend to many women who have experienced improper advances and yes, subtle and not so subtle molestations, I do understand how unpleasant, even horrific, these experiences can be.   As a man, I want to find each and every perpetrator and beat them to a pulp myself.  To me, that is my divine duty; women are precious to me and as a 74 year old big dude that is my charge.

However, when I listen to all the noise surrounding the Christine Blasey Ford accusations, I feel that I am being drawn into a Kafkaesque novella.  She has surrounded herself with hard core liberal partisans whose only goal is to delay Kavanaugh’s confirmation past the drop dead date and the entire proceeding runs out the calendar. These anti-men shriekers, Hirono, Gillibrand, Blumenthal, Whitehouse, Durbin, Schumer, Joy Behar, and many others, have contempt for men, especially white men. They actually think we have no credibility or even the right to express or defend ourselves, unless we are doctrinaire Democrats.  Any accusation, spurious or not, is to be taken at face value.  I am appalled.  Slow-Joe Biden said this out loud; men should presumed guilty until proven innocent. He obviously lacks any familiarity with the Constitution.

I have two sons; both are fine, strong men, loving husbands and fathers.  How dare all the pusillanimous Democrats insult me and them and all the other wonderful men who populate my life.   We take our responsibility to protect our families very seriously and revel in the joy and privilege it affords us.  So does Kavanaugh.  That is indisputable.  

I truly hope that enough men and women who are observing this absurd, vicious kabuki theater realize that the only hope for our nation is to get out and vote to prevent the Democrats from destroying what is left of what America used to be. The future of every young man in our republic is at grave risk thanks to the power-mad grasping of the progressives who think nothing of devastating an individual man as a stand-in for all men.  Most men are decent, loving and non-toxic.

Women like Blasey Ford and her defenders, not one of whom in Congress has ever met or spoken to her, have done terrible damage to women and girls.  Two generations of women have been taught that men are their enemies, that children are an unnecessary burden, a contribution to overpopulation.  The have been taught to see men as predators when in fact they are natural protectors.  They are taught that they don’t need protectors but they often do.

Blasey Ford is playing the victim, the victim of a grope 36 years ago about which she apparently has no specific memories.  This entire, abhorrent plot and all of its attendant anti-male nonsense is a crime, a terrible crime against this nation.

There is something we know that is absolutely true about the endless reports on networks and in newspapers about Christine Blasey Ford, and the man she is accusing of bad conduct, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. That would be that there is absolutely no evidence that indicates that Kavanaugh did anything to Ford in 1982 or at any other time she might come up with in the future.

The first thing that the public should recognize about the reporting is that for the last several decades the media has colluded with Democrats to destroy people who get in the way of the Democrats’ quest for power They have been supported with the tag teams of Hollywood and leftist groups. The technique is always the same and facts haven’t mattered. They throw mud against the wall on people and hope some of it sticks. It does not matter how many lives they destroy, the Democrat agenda is all that matters. They hope a significant amount of the public believes the crap they spew forth. There are numerous easy examples: Anita Hill and Clarence Thomas, forged documents with Bush, a false story in NY Times about McCain and a lobbyist, a false story about Sarah Palin not being the mother of Trig, Herman Cain’s mistreatment of women, Romney bullying a kid over forty years ago, Romney not paying his taxes, Trump not paying taxes and a Democrat fake dossier used to destroy Trump. The media plants the stories in the publics’ head to destroy people’s chances to win.

We do know lots of actual things about this Kavanaugh story and the charges being leveled by Christina Ford. Here are some of them.

The Democrats and the media were always intent on delaying or destroying whichever candidate Trump nominated. If they dispose of Kavanaugh they will set out to destroy the next nominee no matter how clean and qualified.

Kavanagh has been a judge for years and his name has been well known for years that he might be a Supreme Court nominee and yet this story never came up until now.

Kavanaugh has gone through six FBI background checks over decades and the story never came up until now.

Democrats have had over one month to question Kavanaugh in private and in a public hearing and the story never came up. They have actually had years to review his record.

Senator Feinstein had the letter at the end of July and she never asked Kavanaugh in private or in public about the allegations.

Kavanaugh was sailing through to conformation and only then did the Democrats bring the accusation up because all their other efforts to stall, delay or derail Kavanaugh’s appointment had failed.

We still don’t know what is in the letter from Ford because Feinstein is keeping the unredacted letter private. What is she hiding? Isn’t the media curious?

I have read that Ford did not bring up Kavanaugh’s name in the 2012 session with a therapist but I believe none of us know because I assume those notes are protected by privacy.

I have heard or read that what Ford told the therapist does not match what she said in her letter but we obviously have no idea since we haven’t seen the letter or the therapist’s notes.

Somehow, Ford doesn’t know when or where the attack happened and she didn’t tell anyone at the time but she and her leftists backers want FBI to investigate. How would that go? Would they interview everyone that went to those schools for years and then ask if there ever was a party? The request for an FBI investigation is obviously a joke and a delaying tactic.

We are told that a woman would never make stuff like that up but we know that is absolutely not true. The fake Duke University rape case and the fake Rolling Stone rape case about a fraternity come to mind. In those cases, the media were also willing to destroy young men’s lives with absolutely zero evidence that the stories were true. But there was an agenda to push that men abuse women so those boys’ lives didn’t matter.

The story the Ford-Kavanaugh story most reminds me of is the unverified story about Roy Moore. For decades Moore had been running for public office and the story never came up. Roy Moore ran for the primary for Senator and the story never came up. After Moore won the primary and it was too late for Republicans to put another candidate on the ballot, all of a sudden, decades-old accusations that he abused a few young women showed up. The story didn’t end up in an Alabama paper. Nope, it ended up on a national paper, the Washington Post (the same paper Christine Ford used) and they ran the story. Of course the national media immediately picked up the unverified story as if it was true. The agenda was that the Democrats wanted to win a Senate seat in the red state Alabama and they couldn’t win on their agenda so they had to destroy. The accusers were used until Moore lost and then as far as I know of they have essentially disappeared. They were useful pawns. The method was successful so why not use it again against Kavanaugh?

The media, Democrats, Hollywood and leftists pretend they care about the supposedly abused Ford and other abused women but we know that is absolutely not true. For decades Bill and Hillary physically and mentally abused multiple women and these groups wholeheartedly supported putting them back in the White House in 2016. Bill and Hillary set out to destroy the lives of any of the accusers as they got in their way of their quest for power and the media and other leftists were complicit in destroying the accusers. Not once did Democrats or the media care about these women and we are supposed to all of a sudden believe that they care. These accusers of the Clintons were as disposable as the accuser of Keith Ellison.

It is an extreme danger to our republic, our freedom and our rights when the media, including Google and Facebook collude with Democrats to shut up and destroy anyone who disagrees with the leftist agenda but that is where we are.

I am trying to think of the proper term to call people who will protect and enable anyone whose agenda they like no matter what they do while setting out to destroy anyone whose agenda they don’t like no matter how clean they are. Hypocrite is too polite a term. The best I could come up with is despicable, deplorable creeps.

There is something we know that is absolutely true about the endless reports on networks and in newspapers about Christine Blasey Ford, and the man she is accusing of bad conduct, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. That would be that there is absolutely no evidence that indicates that Kavanaugh did anything to Ford in 1982 or at any other time she might come up with in the future.

The first thing that the public should recognize about the reporting is that for the last several decades the media has colluded with Democrats to destroy people who get in the way of the Democrats’ quest for power They have been supported with the tag teams of Hollywood and leftist groups. The technique is always the same and facts haven’t mattered. They throw mud against the wall on people and hope some of it sticks. It does not matter how many lives they destroy, the Democrat agenda is all that matters. They hope a significant amount of the public believes the crap they spew forth. There are numerous easy examples: Anita Hill and Clarence Thomas, forged documents with Bush, a false story in NY Times about McCain and a lobbyist, a false story about Sarah Palin not being the mother of Trig, Herman Cain’s mistreatment of women, Romney bullying a kid over forty years ago, Romney not paying his taxes, Trump not paying taxes and a Democrat fake dossier used to destroy Trump. The media plants the stories in the publics’ head to destroy people’s chances to win.

We do know lots of actual things about this Kavanaugh story and the charges being leveled by Christina Ford. Here are some of them.

The Democrats and the media were always intent on delaying or destroying whichever candidate Trump nominated. If they dispose of Kavanaugh they will set out to destroy the next nominee no matter how clean and qualified.

Kavanagh has been a judge for years and his name has been well known for years that he might be a Supreme Court nominee and yet this story never came up until now.

Kavanaugh has gone through six FBI background checks over decades and the story never came up until now.

Democrats have had over one month to question Kavanaugh in private and in a public hearing and the story never came up. They have actually had years to review his record.

Senator Feinstein had the letter at the end of July and she never asked Kavanaugh in private or in public about the allegations.

Kavanaugh was sailing through to conformation and only then did the Democrats bring the accusation up because all their other efforts to stall, delay or derail Kavanaugh’s appointment had failed.

We still don’t know what is in the letter from Ford because Feinstein is keeping the unredacted letter private. What is she hiding? Isn’t the media curious?

I have read that Ford did not bring up Kavanaugh’s name in the 2012 session with a therapist but I believe none of us know because I assume those notes are protected by privacy.

I have heard or read that what Ford told the therapist does not match what she said in her letter but we obviously have no idea since we haven’t seen the letter or the therapist’s notes.

Somehow, Ford doesn’t know when or where the attack happened and she didn’t tell anyone at the time but she and her leftists backers want FBI to investigate. How would that go? Would they interview everyone that went to those schools for years and then ask if there ever was a party? The request for an FBI investigation is obviously a joke and a delaying tactic.

We are told that a woman would never make stuff like that up but we know that is absolutely not true. The fake Duke University rape case and the fake Rolling Stone rape case about a fraternity come to mind. In those cases, the media were also willing to destroy young men’s lives with absolutely zero evidence that the stories were true. But there was an agenda to push that men abuse women so those boys’ lives didn’t matter.

The story the Ford-Kavanaugh story most reminds me of is the unverified story about Roy Moore. For decades Moore had been running for public office and the story never came up. Roy Moore ran for the primary for Senator and the story never came up. After Moore won the primary and it was too late for Republicans to put another candidate on the ballot, all of a sudden, decades-old accusations that he abused a few young women showed up. The story didn’t end up in an Alabama paper. Nope, it ended up on a national paper, the Washington Post (the same paper Christine Ford used) and they ran the story. Of course the national media immediately picked up the unverified story as if it was true. The agenda was that the Democrats wanted to win a Senate seat in the red state Alabama and they couldn’t win on their agenda so they had to destroy. The accusers were used until Moore lost and then as far as I know of they have essentially disappeared. They were useful pawns. The method was successful so why not use it again against Kavanaugh?

The media, Democrats, Hollywood and leftists pretend they care about the supposedly abused Ford and other abused women but we know that is absolutely not true. For decades Bill and Hillary physically and mentally abused multiple women and these groups wholeheartedly supported putting them back in the White House in 2016. Bill and Hillary set out to destroy the lives of any of the accusers as they got in their way of their quest for power and the media and other leftists were complicit in destroying the accusers. Not once did Democrats or the media care about these women and we are supposed to all of a sudden believe that they care. These accusers of the Clintons were as disposable as the accuser of Keith Ellison.

It is an extreme danger to our republic, our freedom and our rights when the media, including Google and Facebook collude with Democrats to shut up and destroy anyone who disagrees with the leftist agenda but that is where we are.

I am trying to think of the proper term to call people who will protect and enable anyone whose agenda they like no matter what they do while setting out to destroy anyone whose agenda they don’t like no matter how clean they are. Hypocrite is too polite a term. The best I could come up with is despicable, deplorable creeps.

There are three crimes that I consider worthy of capital punishment: murder, rape, and treason.

I consider forcible rape to be one of the most heinous crimes that can be committed against another human being. In my view, forcible rape deserves to be a capital offense. Any person proven guilty of forcibly raping another person should be executed. I suspect that many people would not agree with my view on this. But I state it for perspective.

I consider sexual assault to be a very serious crime. Not deserving to be classified a capital offense in most cases, but, nevertheless, deserving of very harsh punishment. 

Having said that, the idea that any woman who alleges a sexual crime should be believed without regard to evidence is unreasonable and unjust. Every case ought to be judged individually on the specific evidence.

But Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) says:

“Not only do women like Dr. Ford, who bravely comes forward, need to be heard, but they need to be believed…. We have to create an environment where women can come forward and be heard and be listened to… I believe her.”

In the environment which Sen. Hirono would create, men should shut up.

“Guess who is perpetuating all of these kinds of actions? It’s the men in this country. And I just want to say to the men in this country: just shut up and step up, do the right thing for a change.”

In an environment where women must be believed on a blanket basis, men are presumed guilty not for their own crimes necessarily, but for the crimes that other men have committed. Men, collectively, are guilty. The allegation of assault is all that is required to establish the guilt of a man.

Unless the man is a prominent Democrat, like Ted Kennedy, Bill Clinton, or Keith Ellison. Democrats forgave Ted Kennedy for leaving Mary Jo Kopechne to die in the back seat of his car and made him the “Lion of the Senate”. Democrats didn’t believe Kathleen Willey, or Juanita Broadrick, or Paula Jones, each of whom accused Bill Clinton of sexual assault. In the case of Broadrick, it was rape. Even now, they don’t believe Karen Monahan, former girlfriend of deputy Democrat National Chairman Keith Ellison, former congressman and current candidate for Minnesota attorney general. The evidence that Ellison abused Monahan is significant. Yet, Monahan says of the Democrats “I’ve been smeared, threatened, isolated from my own party.” No support for Monahan from Sen. Hirono. No calls from Sen. Diane Feinstein for Keith Ellison to step down from his position with the DNC. No cabal of Hollywood actresses releasing a video with the message to Karen Monahan saying “Millions of us have your back. You and your testimony are credible. We believe you.”

Why? Because Kennedy, Clinton, and Ellison are Democrats. Kavanaugh is not.

In her interview with Politico, Hirono made it clear that this is about politics:

“If Kavanaugh’s nomination fizzles and President Donald Trump has to name a replacement, Hirono says he better find someone whom she considers less of a conservative ideologue, or else prepare for Senate Democrats—especially if they win a majority in November’s elections—to keep the court seat vacant until after the 2020 election.”

Politics. That’s what this is about.

There are three crimes that I consider worthy of capital punishment: murder, rape, and treason.

I consider forcible rape to be one of the most heinous crimes that can be committed against another human being. In my view, forcible rape deserves to be a capital offense. Any person proven guilty of forcibly raping another person should be executed. I suspect that many people would not agree with my view on this. But I state it for perspective.

I consider sexual assault to be a very serious crime. Not deserving to be classified a capital offense in most cases, but, nevertheless, deserving of very harsh punishment. 

Having said that, the idea that any woman who alleges a sexual crime should be believed without regard to evidence is unreasonable and unjust. Every case ought to be judged individually on the specific evidence.

But Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) says:

“Not only do women like Dr. Ford, who bravely comes forward, need to be heard, but they need to be believed…. We have to create an environment where women can come forward and be heard and be listened to… I believe her.”

In the environment which Sen. Hirono would create, men should shut up.

“Guess who is perpetuating all of these kinds of actions? It’s the men in this country. And I just want to say to the men in this country: just shut up and step up, do the right thing for a change.”

In an environment where women must be believed on a blanket basis, men are presumed guilty not for their own crimes necessarily, but for the crimes that other men have committed. Men, collectively, are guilty. The allegation of assault is all that is required to establish the guilt of a man.

Unless the man is a prominent Democrat, like Ted Kennedy, Bill Clinton, or Keith Ellison. Democrats forgave Ted Kennedy for leaving Mary Jo Kopechne to die in the back seat of his car and made him the “Lion of the Senate”. Democrats didn’t believe Kathleen Willey, or Juanita Broadrick, or Paula Jones, each of whom accused Bill Clinton of sexual assault. In the case of Broadrick, it was rape. Even now, they don’t believe Karen Monahan, former girlfriend of deputy Democrat National Chairman Keith Ellison, former congressman and current candidate for Minnesota attorney general. The evidence that Ellison abused Monahan is significant. Yet, Monahan says of the Democrats “I’ve been smeared, threatened, isolated from my own party.” No support for Monahan from Sen. Hirono. No calls from Sen. Diane Feinstein for Keith Ellison to step down from his position with the DNC. No cabal of Hollywood actresses releasing a video with the message to Karen Monahan saying “Millions of us have your back. You and your testimony are credible. We believe you.”

Why? Because Kennedy, Clinton, and Ellison are Democrats. Kavanaugh is not.

In her interview with Politico, Hirono made it clear that this is about politics:

“If Kavanaugh’s nomination fizzles and President Donald Trump has to name a replacement, Hirono says he better find someone whom she considers less of a conservative ideologue, or else prepare for Senate Democrats—especially if they win a majority in November’s elections—to keep the court seat vacant until after the 2020 election.”

Politics. That’s what this is about.

If the results of an investigation are only as good as the data it utilizes, then the recent investigation into the Las Vegas massacre is one for the record books – at the bottom of the list.

Predictably, Las Vegas Sheriff Joseph Lombardo reiterated the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD)’s preliminary findings in the final report: one and only one shooter, Stephen Paddock, was responsible for the carnage in the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history.  Other possibilities – including shooters at other locations on or near the Las Vegas Strip – he dismissed.  

Where is the muzzle flash?

While the report discusses weapons fired during the event, it does not mention recorded imagery of muzzle flash from the 32nd-floor window where Paddock was determined to have carried out his killing spree.  

Muzzle flash from weapons such as the AR-15 is one of the key indicators of shooter location, particularly in the thermal infrared, a region of the electromagnetic spectrum extending beyond the range that the human eye can see.  According to the report, Paddock used a total of 13 weapons during the shooting (not including the pistol with which he killed himself).  Even if some weapons were flash-suppressed, the incessant, continuous, violent barrage from one location should have produced some flashes whose signatures were captured on video – even on the cell phone camera videos taken by many individuals on the ground.  

Moreover, FBI forensic experts determined that some of the weapons had been loaded with tracer ammunition, making a signature more likely to be seen on imagery.  No discussion of flash or tracer signatures appears in the document, and no explanation for the omission is provided.

The good news is that the LVMPD infrared camera deployed on the night of 1 October appeared to be working properly, clearly showing the broken windows on the 32nd floor.  When the imagery was recorded is left to the imagination, as no time stamps appear on the video.  (Incidentally, the thermal imagery does not show the numerous reflections off the building from light sources below: artificial lighting is designed for the human visual spectrum, and this camera operates outside it.)

Where are the witnesses?

More interesting than the final report is this account of officers deployed in response to the crisis.  Personnel in one helicopter, Metro Air 5, “were able to determine that there appeared to be shots coming from an elevated position on the east side of Mandalay Bay.”  Determine, how?  Did they see muzzle flash?  Hear gunshots?

While the crew did not observe broken windows at the time (what time?), due, they believed, to reflections off the building’s side, they did note several possible firing locations: “the upper roof, the Foundation Room balcony [and] the lower casino roof[.] … They then worked to clear the upper roof first, along with the Foundation Room balcony.”

It is reasonable to assume that “to clear,” in this context, means to direct people away from specific locations.  But why were people present on the hotel’s upper roof during a shooting event, rather than seeking cover inside?  And who, exactly, has access to that area?

The Mandalay Bay tower is composed of 43 floors.  Paddock’s suite on Floor 32 was in the lower segment, floors 1-34.  Floors 35-39 are managed by The Four Seasons Company, whose major shareholders are Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and Bill Gates.  Floors 40-42 contain penthouse suites, and Floor 43 (oddly numbered 63) is the aforementioned Foundation Room with a restaurant and lounge.  Guests on this level had a bird’s-eye view of the tragedy unfolding below, yet their witness statements do not appear among those documented by LVMPD, which focused on hotel employees, police officers, and Paddock family members. 

Why not?

Where are the cameras?

Metro Air 5 later left this scene to respond to reports of a shooter in New York, New York, which it determined to be unfounded.  It next returned to the Tropicana to investigate another call but saw no sign of a disturbance.   The aircrew may not have known that the reported shootings occurred inside the properties, in lounges and casinos.

More than 500 911 calls appear in the records of that night.  The table below, which includes several links to audio files, offers a template that a thorough investigation might have followed before dismissing calls as unfounded.  While most events will not have officer body cam available, the inclusion of video from indoor closed-circuit television cameras (CCTVs) and traffic cameras on the streets would have allowed more detailed consideration of calls than the official approach provided.  It would also have facilitated comparison with individual videos such as this one, showing more than a dozen ambulances arriving and departing Hooter’s Hotel following the massacre.

Suggested data to evaluate 911 calls

Property	911 call file
Excalibur Hotel	407
Tropicana Hotel	381
Hooter’s Hotel	205
America’s Best Value Inn	242
New York, New York	365
Paris Hotel	396

Muzzle flash imagery, statements from key witnesses, camera video…all of these sources would have provided a more robust dataset had they been included in the LVMPD investigation.  While that investigation has concluded, the dataset used to achieve the conclusion is far from complete.  

Barbara G. Grant is an electro-optical engineer and imagery analyst with three technical books in print.  She has investigated primary phenomena such as muzzle flash while studying the manner in which government investigations address controversial scientific issues and is looking for a publisher for a book explaining some of these technologies to the general public.

Image: Alicia Yo via Wikimedia Commons.

If the results of an investigation are only as good as the data it utilizes, then the recent investigation into the Las Vegas massacre is one for the record books – at the bottom of the list.

Predictably, Las Vegas Sheriff Joseph Lombardo reiterated the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD)’s preliminary findings in the final report: one and only one shooter, Stephen Paddock, was responsible for the carnage in the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history.  Other possibilities – including shooters at other locations on or near the Las Vegas Strip – he dismissed.  

Where is the muzzle flash?

While the report discusses weapons fired during the event, it does not mention recorded imagery of muzzle flash from the 32nd-floor window where Paddock was determined to have carried out his killing spree.  

Muzzle flash from weapons such as the AR-15 is one of the key indicators of shooter location, particularly in the thermal infrared, a region of the electromagnetic spectrum extending beyond the range that the human eye can see.  According to the report, Paddock used a total of 13 weapons during the shooting (not including the pistol with which he killed himself).  Even if some weapons were flash-suppressed, the incessant, continuous, violent barrage from one location should have produced some flashes whose signatures were captured on video – even on the cell phone camera videos taken by many individuals on the ground.  

Moreover, FBI forensic experts determined that some of the weapons had been loaded with tracer ammunition, making a signature more likely to be seen on imagery.  No discussion of flash or tracer signatures appears in the document, and no explanation for the omission is provided.

The good news is that the LVMPD infrared camera deployed on the night of 1 October appeared to be working properly, clearly showing the broken windows on the 32nd floor.  When the imagery was recorded is left to the imagination, as no time stamps appear on the video.  (Incidentally, the thermal imagery does not show the numerous reflections off the building from light sources below: artificial lighting is designed for the human visual spectrum, and this camera operates outside it.)

Where are the witnesses?

More interesting than the final report is this account of officers deployed in response to the crisis.  Personnel in one helicopter, Metro Air 5, “were able to determine that there appeared to be shots coming from an elevated position on the east side of Mandalay Bay.”  Determine, how?  Did they see muzzle flash?  Hear gunshots?

While the crew did not observe broken windows at the time (what time?), due, they believed, to reflections off the building’s side, they did note several possible firing locations: “the upper roof, the Foundation Room balcony [and] the lower casino roof[.] … They then worked to clear the upper roof first, along with the Foundation Room balcony.”

It is reasonable to assume that “to clear,” in this context, means to direct people away from specific locations.  But why were people present on the hotel’s upper roof during a shooting event, rather than seeking cover inside?  And who, exactly, has access to that area?

The Mandalay Bay tower is composed of 43 floors.  Paddock’s suite on Floor 32 was in the lower segment, floors 1-34.  Floors 35-39 are managed by The Four Seasons Company, whose major shareholders are Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and Bill Gates.  Floors 40-42 contain penthouse suites, and Floor 43 (oddly numbered 63) is the aforementioned Foundation Room with a restaurant and lounge.  Guests on this level had a bird’s-eye view of the tragedy unfolding below, yet their witness statements do not appear among those documented by LVMPD, which focused on hotel employees, police officers, and Paddock family members. 

Why not?

Where are the cameras?

Metro Air 5 later left this scene to respond to reports of a shooter in New York, New York, which it determined to be unfounded.  It next returned to the Tropicana to investigate another call but saw no sign of a disturbance.   The aircrew may not have known that the reported shootings occurred inside the properties, in lounges and casinos.

More than 500 911 calls appear in the records of that night.  The table below, which includes several links to audio files, offers a template that a thorough investigation might have followed before dismissing calls as unfounded.  While most events will not have officer body cam available, the inclusion of video from indoor closed-circuit television cameras (CCTVs) and traffic cameras on the streets would have allowed more detailed consideration of calls than the official approach provided.  It would also have facilitated comparison with individual videos such as this one, showing more than a dozen ambulances arriving and departing Hooter’s Hotel following the massacre.

Suggested data to evaluate 911 calls

Property	911 call file
Excalibur Hotel	407
Tropicana Hotel	381
Hooter’s Hotel	205
America’s Best Value Inn	242
New York, New York	365
Paris Hotel	396

Muzzle flash imagery, statements from key witnesses, camera video…all of these sources would have provided a more robust dataset had they been included in the LVMPD investigation.  While that investigation has concluded, the dataset used to achieve the conclusion is far from complete.  

Barbara G. Grant is an electro-optical engineer and imagery analyst with three technical books in print.  She has investigated primary phenomena such as muzzle flash while studying the manner in which government investigations address controversial scientific issues and is looking for a publisher for a book explaining some of these technologies to the general public.

Image: Alicia Yo via Wikimedia Commons.

In 1796, America under George Washington enjoyed peace and prosperity unforeseen by even the most optimistic Founders.  The election of 1796 was arguably the most important in the nation’s history because it represented our first true transfer of power.  Many had urged Washington to be king.  Instead, he willingly gave his power back to the people, who then placed it into the hands of our second president, John Adams.  Though Adams beat Thomas Jefferson by a mere three electoral votes – and won just 71 out of 276 cast – thoughts of monarchy were forgotten, and America was set on a course it maintained for the next 204 years.

The presidential election of 2000 established a new paradigm, where the winner of the contest was considered illegitimate by a large part of the opposition.  Ditto 2004 and 2016.  Though the effort to de-legitimize President Bush was interrupted by 9/11, the new paradigm appears fixed: Democrat winners are as American as apple pie, and Republican winners are cheaters.  The peaceful transfer of power is no longer a given.

As troubling as the new paradigm is, it is just another convenient political gambit for the irresponsible left.  The prominence of the new paradigm should alarm every freedom-loving American.  If unchecked, in time, it will force a breaking point.  It also speaks to a palpable division that goes beyond anything we’ve seen since at least the Civil War.  Politics is no longer the art of reasonable compromise; it has become an exercise in grudging, chafing tolerance, with one side consumed by a passionate hatred for the other side – a spreading hatred that threatens to consume both sides.  America is at a tipping point, and the 2018 elections will likely determine which direction we take for a generation or more.

The fact that we still have a chance to save the country from the collectivist ash heap is miraculous, given that almost every force in society is aligned against its salvation:

• We toil under the baleful eye of the leftist corporate media, which ignores our successes; amplifies every perceived failing; and paints conservatism as intolerant and incompetent, stuffy, and stultifying.
• A small but loud resistance movement inside conservatism is endlessly paraded before the country, obsessing over what is “crass” and “gauche.”  It is animated by a reeking desperation for approval of everyone outside the right and is utterly useless against a left that never puts form over substance.
• The population is widely dependent upon the largess the government has been dispensing for generations.
• The left seems near the end of its long march through society’s consciousness-forming institutions, dominating the media and almost wholly controlling academia, the arts, the sciences, and entertainment and making serious inroads into religion.
• The strings that connect and control the digital age are in the hands of the left, hands that gleefully strangle voices on the right.
• Even as “the right” controls the federal government, recent events have shown that rogue leftist elements within government are active and treasonous.
• The left is utterly ruthless, while the right still pretends propriety and decorum are indispensable hallmarks of civilization rather than civilization-threatening indulgences. 

Problems such as the national debt and unfunded entitlements were once considered paramount.  One can be forgiven for pining for such simple times.

Given the forces arrayed against us, it is hard to imagine that one election could make much difference.  Cynics will argue that the cause is lost, the Republic died long ago in all but form, and the ascendancy and normalization of the left insures that it will be generations before it can be restored to its former glory.  The combined power of the forces of unmaking seem congealed to form an fixed object.  If that is so, then moving the left off its political center of gravity will require an unstoppable force.

The relentlessly energetic engine of that force exists in the person of President Trump, but the body of it consists of those Americans who still value freedom over entitlement, individualism over conformity, work over idleness, nationhood over globalism, and faith over self-worship and idolatry.

The elections this year are critical not because of any dire consequences that may directly result.  Even if Republicans lose control of the House in 2018, Trump will remain in power and will be able to place the Department of Justice into more vigorous hands, so the ongoing coup against his presidency can still be exposed.  It’s likely that victorious Democrats will try to hamstring his agenda with endless investigations, but he may merely settle into a more combative mode, achieving his ends through executive action or budgetary intransigence.

Even if the president can get along with fewer people in his corner, the fact that he will be more empowered to pursue his agenda if Republicans win is a given.  Issues as fundamental as whether we will alter the population by importing poverty or importing merit are at stake.

As important as many of Trump’s agenda items are, this year’s election is the most important in more than two centuries because the left has fully embraced the new paradigm of illegitimacy.  Leftists have never been more clearly defined, and the present moment affords us the best chance we have ever had to turn decisively away from their road to ruin.  For the first time in a generation, the president and his allies have the country moving in the right direction, defined not by statistics, but by the fact that what he has already accomplished offers conservatism a real chance to be shown to work.  All of the propaganda and histrionics of the left will fall on deaf ears if the people are confident about the direction of the country.  The left still represents a cacophonous minority; most Americans are still animated by a desire to secure their place in a world where they can feel proud of themselves and their country.

We’ve been told for months that the left’s ascendancy in the House is a foregone conclusion: Trump alienates many people, and opinion polling is cast in stone, so don’t bother voting.  Given that context, a Republican victory will be a devastating blow to the left and its machinations.  Sitting out the elections is not merely a self-absorbed statement that you are offended by Trump’s personality; it is agreement that the left and its allies can be trusted with power.

The election of President Trump was a richly deserved blow to the establishment and to a political party that despises you if you are not a member of its club of malcontents.  For the first time since their ascendancy, the left and their enablers are off balance and fully exposed.  You can either help to deliver them a crippling blow or extend your hand to help them up.  In this election, inaction is the most telling vote you can cast – it will say everything about you that is really worth knowing.

In 1796, America under George Washington enjoyed peace and prosperity unforeseen by even the most optimistic Founders.  The election of 1796 was arguably the most important in the nation’s history because it represented our first true transfer of power.  Many had urged Washington to be king.  Instead, he willingly gave his power back to the people, who then placed it into the hands of our second president, John Adams.  Though Adams beat Thomas Jefferson by a mere three electoral votes – and won just 71 out of 276 cast – thoughts of monarchy were forgotten, and America was set on a course it maintained for the next 204 years.

The presidential election of 2000 established a new paradigm, where the winner of the contest was considered illegitimate by a large part of the opposition.  Ditto 2004 and 2016.  Though the effort to de-legitimize President Bush was interrupted by 9/11, the new paradigm appears fixed: Democrat winners are as American as apple pie, and Republican winners are cheaters.  The peaceful transfer of power is no longer a given.

As troubling as the new paradigm is, it is just another convenient political gambit for the irresponsible left.  The prominence of the new paradigm should alarm every freedom-loving American.  If unchecked, in time, it will force a breaking point.  It also speaks to a palpable division that goes beyond anything we’ve seen since at least the Civil War.  Politics is no longer the art of reasonable compromise; it has become an exercise in grudging, chafing tolerance, with one side consumed by a passionate hatred for the other side – a spreading hatred that threatens to consume both sides.  America is at a tipping point, and the 2018 elections will likely determine which direction we take for a generation or more.

The fact that we still have a chance to save the country from the collectivist ash heap is miraculous, given that almost every force in society is aligned against its salvation:

• We toil under the baleful eye of the leftist corporate media, which ignores our successes; amplifies every perceived failing; and paints conservatism as intolerant and incompetent, stuffy, and stultifying.
• A small but loud resistance movement inside conservatism is endlessly paraded before the country, obsessing over what is “crass” and “gauche.”  It is animated by a reeking desperation for approval of everyone outside the right and is utterly useless against a left that never puts form over substance.
• The population is widely dependent upon the largess the government has been dispensing for generations.
• The left seems near the end of its long march through society’s consciousness-forming institutions, dominating the media and almost wholly controlling academia, the arts, the sciences, and entertainment and making serious inroads into religion.
• The strings that connect and control the digital age are in the hands of the left, hands that gleefully strangle voices on the right.
• Even as “the right” controls the federal government, recent events have shown that rogue leftist elements within government are active and treasonous.
• The left is utterly ruthless, while the right still pretends propriety and decorum are indispensable hallmarks of civilization rather than civilization-threatening indulgences. 

Problems such as the national debt and unfunded entitlements were once considered paramount.  One can be forgiven for pining for such simple times.

Given the forces arrayed against us, it is hard to imagine that one election could make much difference.  Cynics will argue that the cause is lost, the Republic died long ago in all but form, and the ascendancy and normalization of the left insures that it will be generations before it can be restored to its former glory.  The combined power of the forces of unmaking seem congealed to form an fixed object.  If that is so, then moving the left off its political center of gravity will require an unstoppable force.

The relentlessly energetic engine of that force exists in the person of President Trump, but the body of it consists of those Americans who still value freedom over entitlement, individualism over conformity, work over idleness, nationhood over globalism, and faith over self-worship and idolatry.

The elections this year are critical not because of any dire consequences that may directly result.  Even if Republicans lose control of the House in 2018, Trump will remain in power and will be able to place the Department of Justice into more vigorous hands, so the ongoing coup against his presidency can still be exposed.  It’s likely that victorious Democrats will try to hamstring his agenda with endless investigations, but he may merely settle into a more combative mode, achieving his ends through executive action or budgetary intransigence.

Even if the president can get along with fewer people in his corner, the fact that he will be more empowered to pursue his agenda if Republicans win is a given.  Issues as fundamental as whether we will alter the population by importing poverty or importing merit are at stake.

As important as many of Trump’s agenda items are, this year’s election is the most important in more than two centuries because the left has fully embraced the new paradigm of illegitimacy.  Leftists have never been more clearly defined, and the present moment affords us the best chance we have ever had to turn decisively away from their road to ruin.  For the first time in a generation, the president and his allies have the country moving in the right direction, defined not by statistics, but by the fact that what he has already accomplished offers conservatism a real chance to be shown to work.  All of the propaganda and histrionics of the left will fall on deaf ears if the people are confident about the direction of the country.  The left still represents a cacophonous minority; most Americans are still animated by a desire to secure their place in a world where they can feel proud of themselves and their country.

We’ve been told for months that the left’s ascendancy in the House is a foregone conclusion: Trump alienates many people, and opinion polling is cast in stone, so don’t bother voting.  Given that context, a Republican victory will be a devastating blow to the left and its machinations.  Sitting out the elections is not merely a self-absorbed statement that you are offended by Trump’s personality; it is agreement that the left and its allies can be trusted with power.

The election of President Trump was a richly deserved blow to the establishment and to a political party that despises you if you are not a member of its club of malcontents.  For the first time since their ascendancy, the left and their enablers are off balance and fully exposed.  You can either help to deliver them a crippling blow or extend your hand to help them up.  In this election, inaction is the most telling vote you can cast – it will say everything about you that is really worth knowing.