Huckabee: ‘Sin and Evil’ Caused Oregon Shooting

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By Mark Hensch. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee says that “sin and evil” are to blame for the recent mass shooting in Oregon, not access to guns.

“You know, we have not so much a gun control problem as we do have a problem with sin and evil,” Huckabee told host Alisyn Camerota on CNN’s “New Day” on Monday.

“I think we always talk about what the weapon was, but whether it’s a pressure cooker or whether it’s a gun, we’re dealing with people who are either deranged or they’re very focused, because they want to kill people in the name of terrorism,” the GOP presidential candidate added.

“This is a matter of evil,” he said. “This is an evil thing, when people kill another person. It happens way too often.”

Huckabee’s remarks follow a mass shooting in Oregon last week that killed 10 people, including the alleged gunman. (Read more from “Huckabee: ‘Sin and Evil’ Caused Oregon Shooting” HERE)

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Marco Rubio Addresses Gun Control in Wake of Oregon Shooting

By Amanda Andrade-Rhoades. Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida is now among the many presidential candidates who have weighed in on what might have caused the tragic shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, which left nine students and the gunman dead.

In an interview with Today, Rubio fell in line with most of his Republican colleagues and said that gun control wouldn’t fix the issue. “For example, these were not assault rifles; these were handguns that he had purchased,” he said. “The laws that many are proposing would have done nothing to prevent these attacks.”

Rubio suggested that the U.S. consider the role of mental illness, “which we need to begin to address more seriously, as opposed to stigmatizing it or, in some cases, trying to put it aside, and that’s a societal thing that we need to confront.” (Read more from “Marco Rubio Addresses Gun Control in Wake of Oregon Shooting” HERE)

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This Is Why Donald Trump Sent Marco Rubio ‘Trump-Brand’ Water Bottles

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Donald Trump pranked his perpetually sweating rival Marco Rubio with a heat relief care package full of spring water and towels.

The bombastic billionaire sent his fellow Republican a 24-pack of Trump Ice Natural Spring Water — with Trump’s face emblazoned on the labels — and two “Make America Great Again” towels, aides told CNN.

“Since you’re always sweating, we thought you could use some water. Enjoy!” the Trump camp wrote in a note inside the package.

Rubio, who recently exchanged insults with Trump after the real estate mogul called him out for sweating during a debate, took the gag gift in stride . . .

The Florida senator touched on more serious issues in Tuesday interview, too. In the wake of last week’s school shooting in Oregon, Rubio advocated for better metal health services — but not stricter gun laws. When Matt Lauer asked what could have prevented gunman Chris Harper Mercer from buying 14 guns, Rubio said “His family shouldn’t have allowed him to do it.” (Read more from “This Is Why Donald Trump Sent Marco Rubio ‘Trump-Brand’ Water Bottles” HERE)

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Historic Pacific Trade Deal Faces Skeptics in Congress

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Twelve Pacific Rim countries on Monday reached the most ambitious trade pact in a generation, aiming to liberalize commerce in 40 percent of the world’s economy in a deal that faces skepticism from U.S. lawmakers.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) pact struck in Atlanta after marathon talks could reshape industries, change the cost of products from cheese to cancer treatments and have repercussions for drug companies and automakers.

Tired negotiators worked round the clock over the weekend to settle tough issues such as monopoly rights for new biotech drugs. New Zealand’s demand for greater access for its dairy exports was only settled at 5 a.m. EDT on Monday.

If approved, the TPP pact would cut trade barriers and set common standards for a region stretching from Vietnam to Canada. It would also furnish a legacy-shaping victory for U.S. President Barack Obama, who will further promote the agreement on Tuesday in remarks to business leaders in Washington.

The Obama administration hopes the pact will help the United States increase its influence in East Asia and help counter the rise of China, which is not one of the TPP nations. (Read more from “Historic Pacific Trade Deal Faces Skeptics in Congress” HERE)

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Bill Clinton Suppressed This Evidence of Iran’s Terrorism

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Bill Clinton’s administration gathered enough evidence to send a top-secret communique accusing Iran of facilitating the deadly 1996 Khobar Towers terrorist bombing, but suppressed that information from the American public and some elements of U.S. intelligence for fear it would lead to an outcry for reprisal, according to documents and interviews.

Before Mr. Clinton left office, the intelligence pointing toward Iran’s involvement in the terror attack in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 U.S. servicemen and wounded hundreds was deemed both extensive and “credible,” memos show.

It included FBI interviews with a half-dozen Saudi co-conspirators who revealed they got their passports from the Iranian embassy in Damascus, reported to a top Iranian general and were trained by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC), officials told The Washington Times.

The revelations about what the Clinton administration knew are taking on new significance with the recent capture of the accused mastermind of the 1996 attack, which has occurred in the shadows of the U.S. nuclear deal with Iran.

Ahmed al-Mughassil was arrested in August returning to Lebanon from Iran, and his apprehension has provided fresh evidence of Tehran’s and Hezbollah’s involvement in the attack and their efforts to shield him from justice for two decades, U.S. officials said. (Read more from “Bill Clinton Suppressed This Evidence of Iran’s Terrorism” HERE)

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Boehner Making Waves on His Way to the Exit

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John Boehner’s speakership is not ending quietly.

With less than four weeks left in his decades-long congressional career, Boehner is maneuvering to shape the House Republican Conference on his way out. His goal is to leave the conference he helped build —with countless hours of grunt work and hundreds of millions of dollars in fundraising — in the strongest position possible.

He has all but officially endorsed Rep. Kevin McCarthy to succeed him, giving the majority leader enough of a nod to express confidence but short of the full-throated endorsement that could sink him. Boehner tried to lure a candidate into the majority leader race against one of his own top lieutenants, a move aimed at bolstering McCarthy’s right flank.

And on Monday, he delayed for several weeks the election of the party’s next majority leader and whip. This move gives the conference time to reconsider their internal rules, and could quash arguments that the leadership is rushing to a vote.

None of the moves are seismic, but they are meaningful. And one man in particular is feeling the brunt: Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, the current whip who is running for majority leader. (Read more from “Boehner Making Waves on His Way to the Exit” HERE)

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Oregon Sheriff Writes, ‘Gun Control Is NOT the Answer,’ and Residents Agree

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“I think [gun control is] the worst thing in the world that can happen,” said [Carolyn] Kellim, 86, who runs KC’s Exchange gun shop out of her home . . .

“This is hunting territory,” Kellim said, smiling proudly. Her views about guns — and who should be able to buy them — didn’t change, she said, when a gunman shot and killed nine people and wounded at least nine others at Umpqua Community College not far from her home . . .

An ex-girlfriend of a surviving victim scoffed at the idea of tightening gun laws, and Kendra Godon, an elementary education student who hid from the shooting in a nearby classroom, said she hoped her community’s tragedy wouldn’t get spun into the national debate about firearms.

John Hanlin, Douglas County’s sheriff and the public face of the community since the shooting, is also an outspoken critic of increasing gun control . . .

“Gun control is NOT the answer to preventing heinous crimes like school shootings,” Hanlin wrote in a letter posted on the Sheriff’s Office’s Facebook page. (Read more from “Oregon Sheriff Wrote, ‘Gun Control Is NOT the Answer,’ and Residents Agree” HERE)

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Bloody Baltimore: No End Seen to Post-Freddie Gray Spike in Homicides, Shootings

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Baltimore’s bloody summer ended with a barrage of bangs, as the rate of homicides and gun crimes continued to spike in the wake of the racially charged case of Freddie Gray, whose death in police custody left citizens angry and cops demoralized.

For September, homicides were up 39 percent and non-fatal shootings nearly doubled over the same month in 2014, continuing a disturbing trend that has gripped the Charm City since Gray’s death in April and the rioting that followed. For the year, murders are up 52 percent and non-fatal shootings 80 percent over last year . . .

For the year, the 246 homicides recorded through Sept. 26 put Baltimore dangerously close to the record pace of 1993, when 353 people were victims of homicide. The fact that the spike occurred after April 19 bodes even worse: Before the unrest following the Gray arrest, Baltimore had recorded 65 homicides for the year. A four-decade high of 42 homicides in May was topped in July when 45 people were killed in homicides, making Baltimore the second deadliest city in America on a per capita basis, trailing only St. Louis.

Whether due to demoralized cops, emboldened criminals or some combination of the two, the city is scrambling to turn the tide. Twenty-six killings in September represented a welcome drop from the record 43 seen in May, when the city was roiled by protests and police were ordered by the mayor to stand down in the face of riots. In a statistical quirk that may have an ominous explanation, other categories of violent crime, such as rape, robbery and assault, are only up marginally since the death of Gray, a drug suspect whose death in a police van led to criminal charges against six cops.

In the wake of the riots and amid a strong perception Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and other civic leaders did not support cops, union officials openly acknowledged that their members felt abandoned. (Read more from “Bloody Baltimore: No End Seen to Post-Freddie Gray Spike in Homicides, Shootings” HERE)

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Here’s the Ridiculous Thing Hillary Thinks Obama Is ‘Too Strict’ on

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Hillary Clinton took a swing at President Barack Obama for being too strict on illegal immigrants. Clinton said, in an interview with Telemundo, that she would be less strict if she becomes president of the United States.

“I believe in comprehensive immigration reform. And it would include in my plan a path to citizenship, which I think is absolutely essential. That is the goal. But if we still are f– working toward it, fighting for it, then I want to do everything in my power not only to continue– the executive orders that– President Obama has put forth, D.A.P.A., and D.A.C.A., and the kinds of changes that he has made,” Clinton said in response to a question about how much further she’d go on executive action than Obama.

“But I want to do more on an individual basis by putting more resources, more personnel into the system to try to help as many people as possible get a different status. I will not be deporting parents. I will not be breaking up families. I will not be doing what we’ve seen too much of, which is tryin’ to, you know, make immigrants the scapegoat for everything that people are concerned about in the country.

“And the best way to do that is to build on what we have accomplished, keep fightin’ for comprehensive immigration reform, and then use the tools that exist for more individual determinations about how to keep more people who are hard working, contributing people in our country while we still– fight over the comprehensive immigration reform– plan.” (Read more from “Here’s the Ridiculous Thing Hillary Thinks Obama Is ‘Too Strict’ on” HERE)

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Social Media Sites Scrubbed of Oregon Mass Killer Chris Harper-Mercer to Create False Media Narrative [Images]

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On the left is the selfie Christopher Mercer uploaded to his social media. On the right is how CNN presented* the same selfie in broadcast stories about him. Why did CNN need to change the complexion (color) of their broadcast? Why is no-one showing pictures of mom, Laurel Margaret Harper.

AUTHOR’S DISCLAIMER: *Since the original discussion thread was posted [here this morning], the comparative image above has become the matter of some controversy. On Thr/Fri a twitter acct (we did not record who) posted a video vine on showing a CNN broadcast (TV) including that image. Additionally the same source posting a side-by-side as above. We captured the side-by-side image and shared it – as shown. We did not create the image, we copied it from a twitter feed. According to various comments posted: CNN denies attribution. Absent our ability to return to source origination for further inquiry, the comparative side-by-side image should be considered suspect, and quite possibly false.

Why change to hyphenated name? Real name is Christopher Sean Mercer. Media using Christopher Harper-Mercer and Chris Harper-Mercer.

Several months ago we shared the story of Eric Sheppard Jr. a radical “Black Lives Matter”, “F**k The Police” and Islamic radical who used a philosophy of black supremacy similar to the New Black Panthers. Sheppard gained brief notoriety when he held a U.S. Flag Stomping event at Valdosta State University.

After his public exposure, and after the police filed a warrant for his arrest on firearms violations, and after he mailed a racist manifesto to a local Georgia Newspaper – while on the run, he was finally arrested in Tampa Florida by U.S. Marshals.

Eric Sheppard’s story disappeared from the headlines and never resurfaced.

Yesterday, while reviewing the social footprint of Oregon shooter Chris Harper-Mercer, (aka Chris Sean Mercer) an almost identical world-view to Eric Sheppard Jr. was evident in Mercer’s social media history.

Chris Harper-Mercer, a mixed-race angry 26-year-old, was essentially the mirror image on social media as Eric Sheppard Jr.

Mercer held sympathetic words and thoughts for the Virginia shooter Vester Flanagan, and similarly raged against white people, and expressed sympathy toward the Black Lives Matter movement. (Example Below):

However, today almost all of that social media history is GONE -> Example Here. It is either removed entirely, and/or edited for content. How it could be edited is a mystery unless there is some other issue at hand.

In addition, as several researchers have noted, anyone who held attachment to Mercer appears to be deleting the content of their association. Including Umpqua Community College itself.

As D-Man was pointing out Mercer was part of a production class going to present a play at Umpqua Community College named “BLITHE SPIRIT“. The play was scheduled to run later this month:

From the cache Centerstage Theatre at UCC

Please join me in congratulating the team for our Fall show! This is going to be an awesome comedy to start out the year. This British comedy comes with witty language and spooky effects. We are especially delighted to feature our local star who is now based out of NYC, Josh Carlton!

BLITHE SPIRIT, by Noel Coward

Presented by UCC Theatre Arts Oct 30-Nov 8

CHARLES: Josh Carlton

RUTH: Rebecca Miles

EDITH: Abby Dooley

DR. BRADMAN: Devin Barnett

MRS. BRADMAN: Alexandra Duvall

MADAME ARCATI: Rachel Fitzhugh

ELVIRA, the Blithe Spirit: Chloe Quinn

Understudy for DR. BRADMAN: Benjamin Jacobsen

Directed by Stephanie Newman

Assistant Director: Aaron Carter

Stage Manager: Anna Mae Whatley

Production Assistants: Alex Frier, Joel Macha, Mary Chitwood, Chris Harper-Mercer, Isaac Guerrero, Ashley Jakubos

Lighting Assistant: Devin Barnett

Special Effects: Jim Smith, Keith Weikum

Program/Ads: Fred Brenchley

Marketing: Travis Newman

Other Volunteers: YOU! Get involved and have some fun!

However, everything to do with that production has been scrubbed and deleted. Including the FaceBook page (since deleted) But visible on Cache HERE and more HERE.

Being part of an Umpqua college production class and performance etc. would run counter to the seemingly preferred media narrative of Chris Harper-Mercer being a loner, no?

Indeed if you were to look for information about Chris Harper-Mercer even being enrolled as a student at Umpqua you might even find contradictions and obfuscations about it. It seems rather odd that only foreign publications even make note of this fact:

“But he was listed as a “production assistant” in a Facebook post promoting a performance of a Noel Coward play by the school’s drama group” (link) ~ British

“Police think Mercer may have been a student at Umpqua because he was found with a receipt from the campus bookstore showing he had purchased textbooks.” (link) ~ Canadian

While generally there will always be a “fog” about events, as something happens and people rush around trying to identify the full story, one would think it would be really easy to determine if Mercer was a student, and what classes he was specifically enrolled for.

Then there’s this little snippet which might clear all of this up:

Stacy Boylan said his daughter told him the man “gave somebody a box, somebody who lived, and said, ‘You gotta deliver this.’ Somebody has a box. I don’t know what that’s about.”

Law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation told CNN that the gunman handed his writings to a survivor, telling that person to give it to police, but the sources could not confirm the writings were inside the box. (link)

So apparently Mercer has given a “manifesto” (another similarity to E. Sheppard Jr) to a surviving student of the shooting.

Summary: The immediate on-line web history of Chris Harper-Mercer showed him to be a mixed-race, angry young man in general alignment with various radical racially aligned groups such as Black Lives Matter, Fuck The Police and Fuck Yo Flag – all of which carry a sentiment of favorability and ideological alignment with Islam which was similarly evident in the Ferguson protest movement.

[Against this backdrop shooting “White” “Christians” makes sense.]

However, in the course of several hours (one media cycle) – the media narrative is selling a profile of a loner, mentally disturbed individual without any mention of his previous writings (deleted/changed), behaviors (hidden) and social tendencies (ignored).

Why?

Perhaps the answer lies within the response to the shooting from the White House where President Obama took quickly to the microphones to decry another school shooting without fully understanding the motive and intent.

Mercer’s possible motive and intent would now represent a political embarrassment against the backdrop of Obama’s speech if it aligns with something other than needed. (For more from the author of “CNN Alters Photo of Oregon Mass Killer Chris Harper-Mercer to Make Him Look White” please click HERE)

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Here’s Why the Army Vet Shot 7 Times Is Being Hailed a Hero in Oregon Massacre

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Law enforcement in Oregon are asking people not to focus on the gunman, but the victims and heroes of a college massacre.

One of those heroes is an Army veteran who was shot seven times while running at the gunman . . .

Mintz told his family he was trying to block a door to keep the gunman out when he was shot.

He says he looked up at the gunman and told him it was his son’s birthday, and that’s when the gunman shot him two more times.

His aunt said the gunman shot her nephew three times at the door. After Chris Mintz fell, he told the armed man, “It’s my son’s birthday today. Don’t do this.’” (Read more from “Here’s Why the Army Vet Shot 7 Times Is Being Hailed as a Hero in Oregon Massacre” HERE)

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