LAX shooting follow-up

The murdered TSA agent has been identified, a Mr. Gerardo Hernandez aged 39. What a terrible waste. This man was not evil, he was just doing his job and supporting his family.

As to the TSA agents not being armed at the checkpoints, of course not.  Putting guns in holsters on people doing pat-downs and frisks would not be a very good idea.   Another report this morning says they are trained to 'save themselves' when gunfire rings out.   Another duh.  What could an unarmed TSA agent do to stop someone with a gun or bomb?   That's why they have law enforcement.

Another story details the decision of LAX officials to remove armed police from checkpoints and put them on roving patrols, a move made just recently.  That begs the question as to whether the suspect had been to the airport during the weeks prior for surveillance purposes.  Unless somehow this information had made it into the press beforehand.

As to the confusion of witnesses, there are possible explanations.  Some reported the shooter as wearing camo pants or clothes.  That appears to be correct based on the bloody clothes seen lying on the floor of the airport where he was shot.  Others said he had blond hair, which appears to be erroneous since the ambulance picture seems to show his natural dark hair.  At the same time others claimed he wore all blue or something similar to a TSA official's uniform, both of which could explain why initial reports said he was an off-duty officer.  People may have been seeing an agent with a gun drawn moving to confront the shooter.

As to the note discussing TSA and 'pigs' and 'pissed off patriots', this information has been leaked to the media despite it being evidence in a criminal case against a suspect, who at last report is still alive.  Unless the suspect dies in hospital it's unlikely the full note will be released, unlike what happened with the 'manifesto' written by the guy who flew a light aircraft into the IRS building in Austin, TX a few years ago.  So the leaker is only leaking what authorities want to leak right now.  

Finally, this picture in the Daily Mail needs an explanation.  Who is this person and why was he in handcuffs?

The most reasonable speculation is because he was in a restricted area during the melee.  But according to live feeds this event occurred after the shooter himself was 'down'.   Also, some witnesses claimed the shooter was wearing dark or blue clothes that appeared bulky, which appears to the case with this person.  None of which means there is a conspiracy afoot, only that witnesses are sometimes dismissed for seeing things that weren't there, when in fact sometimes their reports are accurate but they didn't see what they thought they saw.  This information can then be relayed instantaneously by security officials in the 'fog of war' and result in innocent people being scooped up or detained.

ENTER THE SPLC  11/2/13

NBC News goes to the go-to source on right wing terrorism, Mark Potok's SPLC, and doesn't come away disappointed:

But a blog post by Mark Potok, an expert on U.S. hate groups with the Southern Poverty Law Center, added new details about what he described as a one-page “manifesto” that included references to the Federal Reserve and “fiat currency.”

Citing a knowledgeable source with ranking law enforcement contacts, Potok said Ciancia also had a note containing derogatory comments about former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

So who is this knowledgeable source? Obviously someone in a high position of government who would have access to the 'one page manifesto' (that hasn't been fully released to the general public) and would benefit by giving Potok a look-see so he could get the word out to NBC, et al.   

It's true the Patriot Movement includes some people who aren't really patriots, regardless of what nutballs like this guy say (who tried to defend these guys).  But when describing such things to the public it's beneficial for Potok and others to leave some fuzziness between the philosophies of fringe groups and people like Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and Tea Party members in general.  So they will.  Ciancia appears the be the 'terrorist' they've been waiting for.   After all, the mid-terms are coming and Obama is having a spot of trouble with the website.