Neera Tanden Trounced for Dancing on Graves, Campaigning for #Dems, After Mass Shootings

This is really, really bad.

At Twitchy:

Never let a crisis go to WASTE --> Neera Tanden TROUNCED for dancing on El Paso/Dayton graves to campaign for Dems https://t.co/DYa5JklEoB

— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) August 4, 2019

Never let a crisis go to waste, eh Neera? Instead of an intelligent conversation about what’s driving these shootings, who’s responsible, and how to stop them, why not attack your ideological opponents to score points?
You don’t care about lives, you only care about power.

— Tryx™️🌪 (@Tryxt3rocks) August 4, 2019

'Shitposting Nihilist Trolls' and the Lolz of the El Paso Shooting Masscre

Actually, I suspect one can be a little more scientific when trying to identify root causes, but he's not entirely wrong. It's Brian Cates with a tweetstorm from earlier, via Ed Driscoll, at Instapundit, at Twitchy:

‘Media and politicians DON’T get it’: Brian Cates’ thread on the gunman’s alleged ‘manifesto’ is a must read https://t.co/rSDkI6aykT

— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) August 4, 2019

We’re now facing something new.

Before, a person intensely motivated by politics would write a manifesto to explain their reasons for resorting to violence.

Shitposting trolls on the chans aren’t trying to affect real political change.

The manifesto is PART of the trolling.

— Brian Cates (@drawandstrike) August 4, 2019

The **Antifa** guy from three weeks ago, now THAT was an old style attempt at a mass murder.

He left behind a rambling, disjointed manifesto enumerating political reasons for his attack on the ICE facility. https://t.co/ZDA16zeYhT

— Brian Cates (@drawandstrike) August 4, 2019

But something new has been added into the mix in the last year and we have to recognize it:

Mass shootings done for **fun** as the ultimate troll where these shitposters write confusing manifestos and then sit back & watch the fun as both sides claim he belongs to the other.

— Brian Cates (@drawandstrike) August 4, 2019

Trump Must Condemn 'White Nationalist Terrorism'

Sure, he can denounce it, but that never satisfies the left. Democrats would do well to bone up on the policy and legislative efforts the Obama administration launched after the Newtown massacre What new guns laws were effected? Bupkes.

I’m going to agree here. But, if Trump denounces “White nationalist terrorism” blood thirsty #Democrats won’t be satisfied. That’s the problem when it all gets politicized. Double standards will get more people killed. 🤷‍♂️ #ElPaso #CieloVista #MassShooting #Walmart https://t.co/noG9uWz0jY

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) August 4, 2019

#Democrat Pete Buttigieg Warns Against the 'Domestic White Nationalist Terror' Threat (VIDEO)

Democrats didn't wait long.

Following-up, "Democrat Beto O'Rourke Politicizes Mass Slaughter at #CieloVista #Walmart in #ElPaso (VIDEO)."

Buttigieg, who otherwise often sounds reasonable, is pathetic and desperate here.

#Democrats in a race to demonize law-abiding citizens for the actions of an evil individual filled with racist hatred. STFU and fix your #Democrat thug-controlled cities before blaming #Republicans for this evil act. #ElPaso #CieloVista #MassShooting 🙏🤷‍♂️ https://t.co/zK4fypY6YJ

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) August 4, 2019

El Paso Shooting Suspect Posted Online 'Manifesto' Decrying 'Ethnic Replacement' in the U.S. (VIDEO)

Bellingcat has an investigative report, "The El Paso Shooting and the Gamification of Terror." (Via Memeorandum.)

And click through at Gateway Pundit to read the shooter's racist screed, which cites the New Zealand Christchurch massacre as inspiration: "El Paso Walmart Shooter Patrick Crusius Admits in Manifesto That he Chose a Gun-Free Zone for Obvious Reasons."

And at Russia Today (with the obvious caveats):

El Paso Shooting Suspect Could Face Death Penalty (VIDEO)

I hope the dude fries. Let's so leftists launch an anti-death penalty campaign to free this guy from death row. I mean, it helps to be politically consistent, right? (*Eye-roll.*)

At the El Paso Times, "Capital murder charge filed, death penalty sought against man arrested in El Paso Walmart mass shooting."

Democrat Beto O'Rourke Politicizes Mass Slaughter at #CieloVista #Walmart in #ElPaso (VIDEO)

I'm shocked, horrified, sick, and angry with all the mass shootings, whatever the background of the shooter. And obviously, politically-motivated hate crimes must be denounced and prevented. But let's work as a team. Not tear each other apart. Beto's not helping. And he's especially not helping the #Democrat Party, which will not win a battle to secure even more regressive and confiscatory guns laws.

#Beto is really hitting the “blame Trump” talking points hard. Politicizing #ElPaso won’t turn out well for #Democrats, especially when the left’s inevitable gun confiscation propaganda goes into overdrive. #FakeNewsCNN #Dems #CieloVista #massShooting 🤷‍♂️

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) August 4, 2019

This is what I’m talking about. 🙄 #Beto https://t.co/vz1rjdWN7V #ElPasoShooting #CieloVista #MassShooting https://t.co/u1PLugKNXv

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) August 4, 2019

A tragedy like this is not an opportunity to reboot your failing presidential campaign.

This is disgusting and wrong.https://t.co/gHfPHx1Oet

— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) August 4, 2019

NRATV Shuts Down

I don't follow the ins and outs of NRA's internal politics and organization, but things aren't going well, apparently.

At the New York Times, via Memeorandum, "N.R.A. Shuts Down Production of NRATV."

Leftists are cheering, at HuffPo, "Twitter Users Celebrate NRATV’s Demise With ‘Thoughts And Prayers’ For Dana Loesch."

It's all political warfare. Dana gets their goat and she can take the flak.

N.R.A. Shuts Down Production of NRATV: https://t.co/Od8PRrsr50

Oh and Dana Loesch is out too.

Sending my #ThoughtsAndPrayers

— igorvolsky (@igorvolsky) June 26, 2019

You Gotta Love It: California Gun Owners Buy Ammunition on #BlackFriday (VIDEO)

Getting ahead of the new state legislation, which takes effect January 1st.

This guy Walt Fetgatter, interviewed at the piece, speaks for millions of Californians. Our rights are being violated. People are fleeing the state. In addition to gun control, taxes are way too high (and all kinds of "climate change" emissions regulations are killing businesses statewide).

At ABC News 10 San Diego:

Dana Loesch: 'Law-Abiding People Should Not Always Be Paying the Price for the Actions of Criminals...' (VIDEO)

Here's Ms. Dana, on Fox and Friends the other day:

Alex Jones and Infowars Fight Radical Left's Campaign of Censorship (VIDEO)

I don't care about Alex Jones, although I think he's hilarious. I generally won't pay attention to anyone who claims September 11 was an inside job. I hate that. It's insidious, and it actually aligns with the radical left's agenda (which I saw first hand in my coverage of ANSWER protests in Los Angeles.)

But this is interesting, nevertheless.

At London's Daily Mail, "YouTube ditches videos from Infowars founder and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones as part of its latest bid to 'remove hate speech' from the site."

And at CNET, "YouTube is playing whack-a-mole, but Infowars keeps streaming."

Nice Second Amendment Lady

Seen on Twitter:

Got petitioned to sign a ban on assault rifles. Lol. pic.twitter.com/3lmy4SqYqT

— Anna Paulina (@_annapaulina_) June 11, 2018

Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition: Guns, God, and Church Services

At the Los Angeles Times, "At a church security seminar: Guns, God and 'get those heads up' when you pray":

At a church security seminar: Guns, God and 'get those heads up' when you pray https://t.co/NIWtSJ6n49 pic.twitter.com/gK3a9goaQx

— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) May 22, 2018

Just as the people in Mariners Church began to pull off their hats, bow their heads and close their eyes to pray, Jimmy Meeks snapped at them.

"Get those heads up!" said the pastor and retired Texas police officer.

Hadn't he just warned them that closing their eyes made them targets? Sheep in the presence of wolves.

"What's wrong with y'all?"

Their eyes duly peeled, he then led the crowd in a prayer.

"Wherever we are, Father, should the wolf cross our path, give us the wisdom to know what to do with that moment, and give us the power and the courage to act to stop the wolf and protect our sons and daughters."

Churchgoers, preachers and law enforcement officers from across Southern California had gathered for a church security seminar in Huntington Beach hosted by the California Rifle & Pistol Assn., which delivered a warning: Faith alone will not protect you in a house of God.

In the sleek sanctuary of Mariners Church, the mostly male crowd sipped coffee, jotted notes and punctured the air with shouts of "Amen!" and "Hooah!" as a series of out-of-town speakers at the Sheepdog Seminar encouraged them to be the ones who step up and protect others if, God forbid, an attacker comes.

In the months since a gunman in November killed 26 people at the First Baptist Church in rural Sutherland Springs, Texas, many people of faith have begun questioning how to keep religious institutions safe, said Rick Travis, executive director of the California Rifle & Pistol Assn. His organization has been inundated with requests for church security training and probably will be hosting events for the next several years, he said.

"We don't want people to be afraid," said Travis, a churchgoer himself. "We want people to be knowledgeable."

The seminar happened four days before a mass shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas killed 10 people, mostly students, and reignited the never-ending debate over gun control, the 2nd Amendment and the place of firearms in American society.

Appearing on Sunday morning news programs, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said that teachers need to be armed. He said guns are not the problem.

"Guns stop crimes," he said on ABC's "This Week." "If we take the guns out of society — if you or anyone else thinks that that makes us safer, then I'm sad to say that you're mistaken. That will just give those that are evil … [the ability] to put more of us in danger."

Were the assembled at the church safety event being told to pack heat in the pews? Not always in so many words — and that wasn't the whole kit and caboodle of advice. But if you're legally able to carry a gun, the speakers said, it's best to do it.

"If you do not have an armed presence in your church, you are simply not ready," Meeks said...

Kaya Jones

She's a sweetie.

#PinkHair 💗 don’t care 🤷‍♀️ 🤣 pic.twitter.com/m90w6hnOL5

— Kaya Jones (@KayaJones) May 10, 2018

"I don't know if I'm going to be singing with any groups again or what I'm going to do. But I definitely know that my goal right now is to be that ambassador for the #2A community in the entertainment sector that really isn't spoken for and needs more education." —@KayaJones #NRA pic.twitter.com/hg7buqc2rH

— NRATV (@NRATV) May 14, 2018

Pool time play date with this amazing woman @TheAmyRobbins ❤️🇺🇸❤️ pic.twitter.com/7NEgizxbTH

— Kaya Jones (@KayaJones) May 20, 2018

Texas School Shooter Dimitrios Pagourtzis Murdered Girl Who Turned Down His Advances

It's horrible.

At LAT, "Texas school shooter killed girl who turned down his advances and embarrassed him in class, her mother says":

NEW: The Santa Fe High School gunman killed a classmate, Shana Fisher, who had turned down his advances, her mother tells us. Shana finally stood up to him and embarrassed him in class, and "a week later he opens fire on everyone he didn't like." https://t.co/clHL0gO6zP

— Matt Pearce 🦅 (@mattdpearce) May 20, 2018

As he heard the gunshots approaching down the hall Friday morning, Santa Fe High School student Abel San Miguel, 15, hid with a few classmates in the art class storage closet.

He wasn't sure if he was going to survive. Through the door, he could see the barrel of a shotgun. Then the shooter began shooting through the door, killing at least one student inside, and grazing Abel's back.

When the shooter left the room briefly, Abel and others left the closet and tried to barricade the door. But the shooter pushed it open, spotted a student he knew, and with anger said, "Surprise!" before shooting the student in the chest.

"I'm still trying to process everything," Abel said in an interview.

As more details emerged about the shooting that left 10 people dead and 13 injured at the Houston-area school, the student who authorities said confessed to the attack was being held in isolation Saturday as officials identified the victims.

The family of the 17-year-old suspect, junior Dimitrios Pagourtzis, is "as shocked and confused as anyone else by these events that occurred," according to a statement released to the media.

"We are gratified by the public comments made by other Santa Fe High School students that show Dimitri as we know him: a smart, quiet, sweet boy," the family statement said. "While we remain mostly in the dark about the specifics of yesterday's tragedy, what we have learned from media reports seems incompatible with the boy we love."

One of Pagourtzis' classmates who died in the attack, Shana Fisher, "had 4 months of problems from this boy," her mother, Sadie Rodriguez, wrote in a private message to the Los Angeles Times on Facebook. "He kept making advances on her and she repeatedly told him no."

Pagourtzis continued to get more aggressive, and she finally stood up to him and embarrassed him in class, Rodriguez said. "A week later he opens fire on everyone he didn't like," she wrote. "Shana being the first one." Rodriguez didn't say how she knew her daughter was the first victim.

The gunman repeatedly taunted students during the attack, according to another harrowing account posted to Facebook by one survivor's mother.

After scrambling to escape the shooter's blasts in the art room, Isabelle Van Ness, covered in dust from rounds hitting her classroom walls, could hear the shooter in a next-door classroom yelling, "Woo hoo!" while shooting, according to her mother, Deedra Van Ness.

"The gunman then comes back into their room and they hear him saying … are you dead? Then more shots are fired," Deedra Van Ness wrote. "By this time, cell phones all over the classroom are ringing and he's taunting the kids in the closet asking them … do you think it's for you? do you want to come answer it? Then he proceeds to fire more bullets into the closet and tries to get in."

Police arrived within 10 minutes later as Isabelle hid among the bodies of her classmates, and she could hear the shooter reloading after an "exchange" with police, her mother wrote.

Soon after, the shooter surrendered. "She and her friends had been in the same room with the gunman the ENTIRE TIME," her mother wrote. "As the media announces the names of the confirmed dead, Isabelle falls apart. ... She had prayed that her friends lying around the school were just injured and the confirmation of their deaths was crushing."

The dead included two teachers, Glenda Perkins and Cynthia Tisdale, along with Shana Fisher and seven of her classmates: Kimberly Vaughan, Angelique Ramirez, Christian Riley Garcia, Jared Black, Christopher Jake Stone, Aaron Kyle McLeod and Sabika Sheikh, an exchange student from Pakistan.

Two bombs that Pagourtzis allegedly brought to the school Friday were "intended to be IEDs," improvised explosive devices, but turned out to be "nonfunctional," Galveston County Judge Mark Henry said Saturday.

Pagourtzis, a football player who had allegedly posted images of guns and a T-shirt with the words "Born to kill" on social media in the weeks before the shooting, is being held without bond while facing charges of capital murder and aggravated assault on a public servant.

His schoolmates were allowed to return to parts of the school Saturday to retrieve their abandoned belongings...

More.

NRA Darling Sensation 'Alpha Addy'

At the Los Angeles Times, "She's a YouTube sensation and NRA darling: Meet 9-year-old sharpshooter 'Alpha Addy'":

Nine-year-old Addysson "Addy" Soltau became a YouTube sensation after learning to shoot three years ago. Now she's the darling of the NRA https://t.co/C46BKEDEm5 pic.twitter.com/sW3pFPTgch

— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) May 6, 2018

The gap-toothed 9-year-old girl walked the floor of her first National Rifle Assn. convention, her blond ponytail bobbing above earrings fashioned from bullet casings.

When Addysson "Addy" Soltau arrived at the Smith & Wesson booth, she gravitated to a sleek silver .22 semiautomatic Victory pistol, a James Bond-style gun with a silencer attached. It was just out of reach. So her godfather lifted it from the wall and handed it to the girl, who gripped and sighted along the gun like a pro. She already shoots an M&P 15-22 rifle hanging nearby.

"That's actually your next gun," her godfather, Johnny Campos, said of the pistol. Addy gaped, overjoyed.

"Alpha Addy" became a YouTube sensation and NRA darling after she started shooting three years ago, one of many competitive girl shooters who buck not only gun culture stereotypes, but the youth-driven gun control movement that sprung up after the deadly mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., this year.

The NRA doesn't track the number of young female shooters, a spokesman said, but as the number of women with guns has grown, they are inspiring their daughters. The National Shooting Sports Foundation says there's been a 77% increase in female gun ownership since 2005, with 5.4 million women participating in target shooting.

All of the youth celebrities at this weekend's annual NRA convention in Dallas, which was expected to draw more than 80,000 people, were female. Keystone Sporting Arms, which sold the Crickett and Chipmunk starter rifles at the convention under the banner "Never too young to understand freedom," sells as many pink and turquoise guns as the traditional colors, staff said. On Sunday, families with children flocked to the Dallas convention center for NRA Youth Day.

Many who stopped at the JM4 Tactical booth where Addy was greeting fans Sunday were parents and girl shooters who recognized her from her videos. A video of her rapidly reloading at home has more than 30 million views; she has 14,000 Facebook followers, 5,600 on Instagram and nearly 300 subscribers on YouTube, where the lead video shows her target shooting to the tune of Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball."

Addy was inspired by 17-year-old Katelyn Francis, a female competitive shooter she saw featured on NRATV while her godfather was babysitting her in San Antonio. Then she found the YouTube channel of Faith and Jenna Collier, sisters in nearby Austin who were about her age, and asked if she could shoot too.

Campos, 28, a retired Marine, agreed to coach her.

"She had never been around firearms. I didn't own any. Her parents didn't. This all started because she showed an interest," he said.

Addy's parents, who work at an education company, had their doubts.

Keep reading.

Hey, Normal Americans, Donˊt Worry About Us Locking Up Your Guns

At Director Blue:

GUN CONTROL FASCISTS: Hey, Normal Americans, Donˊt Worry About Us Locking Up Your Guns https://t.co/EJXni1cQsB pic.twitter.com/e7ov5Zv9t6

— Doug Ross 🔵 (@directorblue) April 18, 2018

Citizen's Righteous Rant Defending 2nd Amendment Goes Viral:

From Nice Deb, at Pajamas:

Citizen's Righteous Rant Defending 2nd Amendment Goes Viral https://t.co/LJ6FHzRkv3 #Video via @pjmedia_com

— Debra Heine (@NiceDeb) April 6, 2018

When Leftists Take Off the Mask

Seen on Twitter. Just wow.

If you are a MAGA or a 2A enthusiast, I legitimately do not care about your life/well-being or the lives/well-being of your family. I don't care if you can't defend yourselves against intruders or whatever. I just don't care if you live or die.

— 🏳️‍🌈Jenny "Lazangia" Trout (@Jenny_Trout) April 3, 2018

Nasim Aghdam Was Angry Over YouTube 'Apocalyspe'

At LAT, "Woman suspected of opening fire at YouTube had battled against platform":

So the San Bruno YouTube HQ shooter was Female, foreign, a Vegan animal activist, off the rails mentally ill, didn't use an AR-15, and shot up a building in the strictest gun control state in America....how fast do you think the mainstream media is going to bury this? pic.twitter.com/oHnkSiolGv

— Mindy Robinson (@iheartmindy) April 4, 2018

The website is a catalog of a woman's passion for animal rights and her anger at YouTube.

She complains of "close-minded" YouTube employees suppressing her page views and stifling her content. She gripes about a lack of revenue.

"Youtube filtered my channels to keep them from getting views!" she wrote on the site, which includes videos promoting veganism and photos of a woman in an array of outfits, including long gowns and a camouflage unitard. She speaks in Persian and Turkish.

"There is no equal growth opportunity on YOUTUBE or any other video sharing site, your channel will grow if they want to!!!!!"

It's the website investigators are looking at as they try to piece together the motive of a woman — identified as Nasim Najafi Aghdam, 39 — who stormed onto YouTube's sprawling San Bruno, Calif., campus with a 9-millimeter handgun and opened fire in a courtyard during lunchtime, wounding three people before turning the gun on herself.

The eruption of gun violence Tuesday in Silicon Valley hit a nation still reeling from recent mass shootings and gripped by a tense gun control debate.

"This is a terrible day in the United States, when once again we have a multiple-casualty situation," said Dr. Andre Campbell, a trauma surgeon at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, which is treating victims.

The shooting left a 36-year-old man in critical condition, a 32-year-old woman with serious injuries and a 27-year-old woman in fair condition. A fourth person suffered an ankle injury while fleeing.

In a tweet, President Trump thanked law enforcement and first responders, and said: "Our thoughts and prayers are with everybody involved."

Law enforcement sources told The Times they initially believed the shooting was a domestic incident, but San Bruno police said late Tuesday there's "no evidence" the shooter knew the victims or targeted specific people. Investigators are now focusing on the alleged shooter's grudge against YouTube.

The YouTube account tied to the website was shut down "due to multiple or severe violations" of the company's policies against spam, deceptive practices and misleading content. But it's unclear exactly when.

The website investigators are probing, titled "Nasime Sabz," translates in Persian to, "Nasim the green." YouTube videos created by an account of the same name can no longer be viewed, but the site also features videos from other sources criticizing YouTube's policies, as well as clips promoting animal rights and veganism. Instagram and Facebook accounts listed on the website were deactivated Tuesday.

Aghdam was quoted in the Los Angeles Times in 2009, speaking at an animal rights protest outside Camp Pendleton.

"For me animal rights equals human rights," said Aghdam, who at the time worked as a construction company office manager. "Just because they can't talk doesn't mean we should take advantage of them."

About two weeks ago, Aghdam vented to her family that YouTube stopped compensating her for her videos, her father told the Bay Area News Group.

Ismail Aghdam said that the family had called police to report his daughter missing Monday because she hadn't answered her phone for two days. He said he had told police she might be going to YouTube because she "hated" the company.

Police in Mountain View, Calif., say they spotted a woman who went by the name Nasim Aghdam asleep in a car in a city parking lot early Tuesday morning and notified her family.

The first reports of a shooting came in to San Mateo County dispatchers before 1 p.m.

Zach Vorhies, a senior software engineer, was sitting at his desk on YouTube's campus when he heard the fire alarm blaring.

He grabbed his electric skateboard and hurried toward an exit. Outside, he heard yelling. On a patio where tech workers often grab lunch, he saw a man lying motionless on his back, blood staining his shirt. As he stared, a police officer with an assault rifle popped through a nearby gate.

Vorhies skateboarded away.

He was one of hundreds of YouTube employees whose workday was thrown into chaos as panic spread across the technology hub south of San Francisco.

"I thought, 'This is a mass casualty event,'" said Vorhies, 37. "I was terrified."

Some employees in a meeting heard rumbling and thought there had been an earthquake. It seemed serious, not just a standard emergency drill. As they moved toward an exit, they heard that someone had a gun.

"I looked down and saw blood drips on the floor and stairs," Todd Sherman, a product manager for YouTube tweeted. After peeking around for threats, he headed down the stairs and out the front of the building.

Police in tactical vests, helmets and rifles swarmed the campus soon after, coming upon a chaotic scene as workers ran from the area. Television footage showed people filing away with their hands up...

Still more.