Shooter loose in Washington Navy Yard in DC

[Duchess]

I don't agree with you at all. There's a reason the guard was one of the first killed, because he had a weapon, if others there had a weapon it certainly would have limited the number deaths.

We are never going to see eye to eye on this issue, never.

[HairOfTheDog]

Relieved that authorities have ruled out the possibility that there's another gunman on the loose. They've confirmed that Alexis was a lone gunman.

Something really needs to be done about the holes in the background check process for governmental subcontractors and employees. I worked in aerospace back in the 80s while going to school at night; just as a supervisor/liaison for GPS and Space Shuttle unit boards on the manufacturing floor. I know that my background and contacts were checked thoroughly even for that low-level confidential clearance.

After 911, the intelligence and security checking industries boomed. But, IMO, a laxness in proper security checking protocol has set in and opened a door for domestic nut jobs (like Hasan and Alexis) to go off on defense and military personnel. Alexis had major red flags, some easily accessed through official records/documents. How the hell did that get missed?

Anyway, hoping that the eight critically injured victims all pull through.

RIP to those who lost their lives yesterday - they've all now been identified and the families notified.

• Michael Arnold, 59, of Lorton, Virginia;

• Sylvia Frasier, 53, of Waldorf, Maryland;

• Kathy Gaarde, 62, of Woodbridge, Virginia;

• John Roger Johnson, 73, of Derwood, Maryland;

• Frank Kohler, 50, of Tall Timbers, Maryland;

• Kenneth Bernard Proctor, 46, of Waldorf, Maryland;

• Vishnu Shalchendia Pandit, 61, of North Potomac, Maryland;

• Arthur Daniels, 51, of Southeast Washington, D.C.;

• Mary Francis Knight, 51, of Reston, Virginia;

• Gerald L. Read, 58, of Alexandria, Virginia;

• Martin Bodrog, 54, of Annandale, Virginia;

• Richard Michael Ridgell, 52, of Westminster, Maryland.

[Misguided]

Duchess,...I agree a lot with what you are saying.People who are armed either stop or slow down the Perp's advance and damage.
I wont go into the arguments about gun control because it is a bullshit discussion,in my opinion.It simply makes the problems worse.More unarmed victims and a more capable and still armed assailant with less deterrants and obstacales.

[Duchess]

I wont go into the arguments about gun control because it is a bullshit discussion

We talk about that quite a bit in here. People feel strongly one way or the other so it always makes for a spirited conversation. I don't know what the answer is to all the violence.

[Midwest Spy]

I don't agree with you at all. There's a reason the guard was one of the first killed, because he had a weapon, if others there had a weapon it certainly would have limited the number deaths.

We are never going to see eye to eye on this issue, never.

I'm not even arguing FOR gun control here.

That'll never happen.

What I am saying though, is, until EVERY person is armed 100% of the time, there will always be successful spree killers who will wreak havoc.

Since we know that every citizen being armed is also a pipedream, it really does come down to being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

[username]

If you think you're safe at work, school or play you are delusional. I'm not a paranoid person, I am a realist.

I think I have every right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness without packing a weapon. I'm not going to arm myself so Joe Fucknut can exercise his 2^nd Amendment rights to carry around an assault weapon. What about my rights? Huh????

[Duchess]

I think I have every right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness without packing a weapon.

I couldn't agree more.

I don't carry a gun & I don't intend to start. I know this type of thing can happen anywhere but I think it could never happen to me (like everyone does). When I went up to training camp it was the first time I had been in a very large public crowd in quite awhile and the thought was rearing its ugly head in the back of my mind that something like the Boston bombings happens in places like this. It's unnerving.

[Misguided]

Why are all you looneytoons always quick to think we all want to carry assult weapons or that we are all trigger-happy nutcases..I want to be able to conceal carry a handgun...or in the open...not carry a fucking AR-15 into the godamn grocery store.

[Duchess]

User is looneytoones, not me.

[Duchess]

Check this out - in order for the military to reach their wartime quota for enlistments they granted criminal record waivers. Yup. They didn't give a rip about the background of anyone who joined, they were glad to have whomever would sign on the dotted line. It appears that anyone who wanted to join the military was allowed to do so. Not only would they give them access to weapons, they would teach them how to use them, in fact, would teach them how to kill. The shooter enlisted during this time.

Americans should be outraged.

Story

[Maggot]

They do that before a draft, lottery, whatever.

[Maggot]

Relieved that authorities have ruled out the possibility that there's another gunman on the loose. They've confirmed that Alexis was a lone gunman.

Something really needs to be done about the holes in the background check process for governmental subcontractors and employees. I worked in aerospace back in the 80s while going to school at night; just as a supervisor/liaison for GPS and Space Shuttle unit boards on the manufacturing floor. I know that my background and contacts were checked thoroughly even for that low-level confidential clearance.

After 911, the intelligence and security checking industries boomed. But, IMO, a laxness in proper security checking protocol has set in and opened a door for domestic nut jobs (like Hasan and Alexis) to go off on defense and military personnel. Alexis had major red flags, some easily accessed through official records/documents. How the hell did that get missed?

Anyway, hoping that the eight critically injured victims all pull through.

RIP to those who lost their lives yesterday - they've all now been identified and the families notified.

• Michael Arnold, 59, of Lorton, Virginia;

• Sylvia Frasier, 53, of Waldorf, Maryland;

• Kathy Gaarde, 62, of Woodbridge, Virginia;

• John Roger Johnson, 73, of Derwood, Maryland;

• Frank Kohler, 50, of Tall Timbers, Maryland;

• Kenneth Bernard Proctor, 46, of Waldorf, Maryland;

• Vishnu Shalchendia Pandit, 61, of North Potomac, Maryland;

• Arthur Daniels, 51, of Southeast Washington, D.C.;

• Mary Francis Knight, 51, of Reston, Virginia;

• Gerald L. Read, 58, of Alexandria, Virginia;

• Martin Bodrog, 54, of Annandale, Virginia;

• Richard Michael Ridgell, 52, of Westminster, Maryland.

Looks like he picked anyone that was turning grey, or was an easy target. Such a waste.

[username]

Why are all you looneytoons always quick to think we all want to carry assult weapons or that we are all trigger-happy nutcases..I want to be able to conceal carry a handgun...or in the open...not carry a fucking AR-15 into the godamn grocery store.

You miss the point. Why do trigger happy nutcases have the right/ability to own AR-15's and trump my right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?

This belongs in the gun control thread but if we can't control who has access to these weapons then I better understand the call to get rid of them entirely.

[HairOfTheDog]

Turns out that the same company that vetted Snowden for his secret clearance also vetted Aaron Alexis for his.

The company is USIS and it's allegedly under investigation for cutting corners and performing poorly as the need for clearances boomed and its revenue soared.

Snip:
USIS performs about 65 percent of all background investigations conducted by contractors, and more than half of all investigations conducted by personnel office, according to (Senator-Dem) McCaskill’s office.

Almost 5 million people held security clearances as of Oct. 1, 2012, according to a report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Federal clearances and background checks by the personnel office cost taxpayers about $1 billion last year, with the expense expected to rise to $1.2 billion by 2014, according to McCaskill’s office.

Full story:
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-09...oter-check

Millions of people holding security clearances done by a company that failed to flag glaring background problems that were essentially surface level (imo), at least for Alexis.

Gotta be some nail biting going on at the governmental personnel office right about now. I don't think they can afford to wait and see if another USIS-cleared contractor ends up making headlines; hope they are revisiting employee files and the review process between the Office of Personnel Mgt and the Dept of Defense. Huge job / cost.

[Maggot]

I'm meticulous in any job I do, I cover my ass, I contemplate my sentences, I consider future consequences, that way nothing bites me in the ass when any questions come my way. Being truthful and biting in any rhetoric is something unfathomable in any government that is politically correct. In that I can understand the dilemma and dodge the few bullets that come my way, but it's getting harder and a bit overwhelming. Soon I fear even the wind will become unwelcome and taxing in its natural state.

[Maggot]

Never mind...........n Nothing a lil milk & Oreo cookies wont fix...

[Duchess]

Turns out that the same company that vetted Snowden for his secret clearance also vetted Aaron Alexis for his.

I know that wasn't intended to be humorous. My laughing is more sarcastic than anything.

SMH.

[HairOfTheDog]

^ I know, it's not funny, just seems unbelievable.

This is a good short piece about how USIS was born out of a cost-cutting measure in the department of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) during the Clinton administration (when the Cold War had ended), and how the private industry background investigations and employee management are now handled (at a time when national security and domestic and international terrorism are major areas of concern).

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/e...ory_1.html

Pretty easy to see how major flags could fall through the cracks given the business model.

[Duchess]

Shooter -



Etchings on gun -

[Maggot]

Oh yeah............that's an assault rifle. The media is so fast in their assumptions that they cannot be taken seriously anymore. Much like 80% of the politicians that drag society's idiots into their stupid schemes. Its very annoying.