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Austin, TX Crashed Pilot's Suicide Note
Austin Texas pilot Joe Stack's suicide note (h/t Market Ticker).
If you’re reading this, you’re no doubt asking yourself, “Why
did this have to happen?” The simple
truth is that it is complicated and has been coming for a long time. The writing process, started many months
ago, was intended to be therapy in the face of the looming realization that
there isn’t enough therapy in the world that can fix what is really
broken. Needless to say, this rant
could fill volumes with example after example if I would let it. I find the process of writing it
frustrating, tedious, and probably pointless… especially given my gross
inability to gracefully articulate my thoughts in light of the storm raging in
my head. Exactly what is therapeutic
about that I’m not sure, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
We are all taught as children that without laws there would
be no society, only anarchy. Sadly,
starting at early ages we in this country have been brainwashed to believe
that, in return for our dedication and service, our government stands for
justice for all. We are further
brainwashed to believe that there is freedom in this place, and that we should
be ready to lay our lives down for the noble principals represented by its
founding fathers. Remember? One of
these was “no taxation without representation”. I have spent the total years of my adulthood unlearning that crap
from only a few years of my childhood.
These days anyone who really stands up for that principal is promptly
labeled a “crackpot”, traitor and worse.
While very few working people would say they haven’t had
their fair share of taxes (as can I), in my lifetime I can say with a great
degree of certainty that there has never been a politician cast a vote on any
matter with the likes of me or my interests in mind. Nor, for that matter, are they the least bit interested in me or
anything I have to say.
Why is it that a handful of thugs and plunderers can commit
unthinkable atrocities (and in the case of the GM executives, for scores of
years) and when it’s time for their gravy train to crash under the weight of
their gluttony and overwhelming stupidity, the force of the full federal
government has no difficulty coming to their aid within days if not hours? Yet at the same time, the joke we call the
American medical system, including the drug and insurance companies, are
murdering tens of thousands of people a year and stealing from the corpses and
victims they cripple, and this country’s leaders don’t see this as important as
bailing out a few of their vile, rich cronies.
Yet, the political “representatives” (thieves, liars, and self-serving
scumbags is far more accurate) have endless time to sit around for year after
year and debate the state of the “terrible health care problem”. It’s clear they see no crisis as long as the
dead people don’t get in the way of their corporate profits rolling in.
And justice? You’ve got to be kidding!
How can any rational individual explain that white elephant
conundrum in the middle of our tax system and, indeed, our entire legal system? Here we have a system that is, by far, too
complicated for the brightest of the master scholars to understand. Yet, it mercilessly “holds accountable” its
victims, claiming that they’re responsible for fully complying with laws not
even the experts understand. The law
“requires” a signature on the bottom of a tax filing; yet no one can say
truthfully that they understand what they are signing; if that’s not “duress”
than what is. If this is not the
measure of a totalitarian regime, nothing is.
How did I get here?
My introduction to the real American nightmare starts back in
the early ‘80s. Unfortunately after
more than 16 years of school, somewhere along the line I picked up the absurd,
pompous notion that I could read and understand plain English. Some friends introduced me to a group of
people who were having ‘tax code’ readings and discussions. In particular, zeroed in on a section
relating to the wonderful “exemptions” that make institutions like the vulgar,
corrupt Catholic Church so incredibly wealthy.
We carefully studied the law (with the help of some of the “best”,
high-paid, experienced tax lawyers in the business), and then began to do
exactly what the “big boys” were doing (except that we weren’t steeling from
our congregation or lying to the government about our massive profits in the
name of God). We took a great deal of
care to make it all visible, following all of the rules, exactly the way the
law said it was to be done.
The intent of this
exercise and our efforts was to bring about a much-needed re-evaluation of the
laws that allow the monsters of organized religion to make such a mockery of
people who earn an honest living.
However, this is where I learned that there are two “interpretations”
for every law; one for the very rich, and one for the rest of us… Oh, and the
monsters are the very ones making and enforcing the laws; the inquisition is
still alive and well today in this country.
That little lesson in patriotism cost me $40,000+, 10 years
of my life, and set my retirement plans back to 0. It made me realize for the first time that I live in a country
with an ideology that is based on a total and complete lie. It also made me realize, not only how naive
I had been, but also the incredible stupidity of the American public; that they
buy, hook, line, and sinker, the crap about their “freedom”… and that they
continue to do so with eyes closed in the face of overwhelming evidence and all
that keeps happening in front of them.
Before even having to make a shaky recovery from the sting of
the first lesson on what justice really means in this country (around 1984
after making my way through engineering school and still another five years of
“paying my dues”), I felt I finally had to take a chance of launching my dream
of becoming an independent engineer.
On the subjects of engineers and dreams of independence, I
should digress somewhat to say that I’m sure that I inherited the fascination
for creative problem solving from my father.
I realized this at a very young age.
The significance of independence, however, came much later
during my early years of college; at the age of 18 or 19 when I was living on
my own as student in an apartment in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. My neighbor was an elderly retired woman
(80+ seemed ancient to me at that age) who was the widowed wife of a retired
steel worker. Her husband had worked
all his life in the steel mills of central Pennsylvania with promises from big
business and the union that, for his 30 years of service, he would have a
pension and medical care to look forward to in his retirement. Instead he was one of the thousands who got
nothing because the incompetent mill management and corrupt union (not to
mention the government) raided their pension funds and stole their
retirement. All she had was social
security to live on.
In retrospect, the situation was laughable because here I was
living on peanut butter and bread (or Ritz crackers when I could afford to
splurge) for months at a time. When I
got to know this poor figure and heard her story I felt worse for her plight
than for my own (I, after all, I thought I had everything to in front of
me). I was genuinely appalled at one
point, as we exchanged stories and commiserated with each other over our
situations, when she in her grandmotherly fashion tried to convince me that I
would be “healthier” eating cat food (like her) rather than trying to get all
my substance from peanut butter and bread.
I couldn’t quite go there, but the impression was made. I decided that I didn’t trust big business
to take care of me, and that I would take responsibility for my own future and
myself.
Return to the early ‘80s, and here I was off to a terrifying
start as a ‘wet-behind-the-ears’ contract software engineer... and two years
later, thanks to the fine backroom, midnight effort by the sleazy executives of
Arthur Andersen (the very same folks who later brought us Enron and other such
calamities) and an equally sleazy New York Senator (Patrick Moynihan), we saw
the passage of 1986 tax reform act with its section 1706.
For you who are unfamiliar, here is the core text of the IRS Section
1706, defining the treatment of workers (such as contract engineers) for tax
purposes. Visit this link for a conference
committee report
(http://www.synergistech.com/1706.shtml#ConferenceCommitteeReport) regarding
the intended interpretation of Section 1706 and the relevant parts of Section
530, as amended. For information on how these laws affect technical services
workers and their clients, read our discussion here
(http://www.synergistech.com/ic-taxlaw.shtml).
SEC. 1706. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN TECHNICAL
PERSONNEL.
(a) IN GENERAL - Section 530 of
the Revenue Act of 1978 is amended by adding at the end thereof the following
new subsection:
(d) EXCEPTION. - This
section shall not apply in the case of an individual who pursuant to an
arrangement between the taxpayer and another person, provides services for such
other person as an engineer, designer, drafter, computer programmer, systems
analyst, or other similarly skilled worker engaged in a similar line of work.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE. - The
amendment made by this section shall apply to remuneration paid and services
rendered after December 31, 1986.
Note:
·
"another person" is the client in the
traditional job-shop relationship.
·
"taxpayer" is the recruiter, broker, agency,
or job shop.
·
"individual", "employee", or
"worker" is you.
Admittedly, you need to read the treatment to understand what
it is saying but it’s not very complicated.
The bottom line is that they may as well have put my name right in the
text of section (d). Moreover, they
could only have been more blunt if they would have came out and directly
declared me a criminal and non-citizen slave.
Twenty years later, I still can’t believe my eyes.
During 1987, I spent close to $5000 of my ‘pocket change’,
and at least 1000 hours of my time writing, printing, and mailing to any
senator, congressman, governor, or slug that might listen; none did, and they
universally treated me as if I was wasting their time. I spent countless hours on the L.A. freeways
driving to meetings and any and all of the disorganized professional groups who
were attempting to mount a campaign against this atrocity. This, only to discover that our efforts were
being easily derailed by a few moles from the brokers who were just beginning
to enjoy the windfall from the new declaration of their “freedom”. Oh, and don’t forget, for all of the time I
was spending on this, I was loosing income that I couldn’t bill clients.
After months of struggling it had clearly gotten to be a
futile exercise. The best we could get
for all of our trouble is a pronouncement from an IRS mouthpiece that they
weren’t going to enforce that provision (read harass engineers and scientists). This immediately proved to be a lie, and the
mere existence of the regulation began to have its impact on my bottom line;
this, of course, was the intended effect.
Again, rewind my retirement plans back to 0 and shift them
into idle. If I had any sense, I
clearly should have left abandoned engineering and never looked back.
Instead I got busy working 100-hour workweeks. Then came the L.A. depression of the early
1990s. Our leaders decided that they
didn’t need the all of those extra Air Force bases they had in Southern
California, so they were closed; just like that. The result was economic devastation in the region that rivaled
the widely publicized Texas S&L fiasco.
However, because the government caused it, no one gave a shit about all
of the young families who lost their homes or street after street of boarded up
houses abandoned to the wealthy loan companies who received government funds to
“shore up” their windfall. Again, I
lost my retirement.
Years later, after
weathering a divorce and the constant struggle trying to build some momentum with
my business, I find myself once again beginning to finally pick up some
speed. Then came the .COM bust and the
911 nightmare. Our leaders decided that
all aircraft were grounded for what seemed like an eternity; and long after
that, ‘special’ facilities like San Francisco were on security alert for
months. This made access to my
customers prohibitively expensive.
Ironically, after what they had done the Government came to the aid of
the airlines with billions of our tax dollars … as usual they left me to rot
and die while they bailed out their rich, incompetent cronies WITH MY
MONEY! After these events, there went
my business but not quite yet all of my retirement and savings.
By this time, I’m thinking that it might be good for a
change. Bye to California, I’ll try
Austin for a while. So I moved, only to
find out that this is a place with a highly inflated sense of self-importance
and where damn little real engineering work is done. I’ve never experienced such a hard time finding work. The rates are 1/3 of what I was earning
before the crash, because pay rates here are fixed by the three or four large
companies in the area who are in collusion to drive down prices and wages… and
this happens because the justice department is all on the take and doesn’t give
a fuck about serving anyone or anything but themselves and their rich buddies.
To survive, I was forced to cannibalize my savings and
retirement, the last of which was a small IRA.
This came in a year with mammoth expenses and not a single dollar of
income. I filed no return that year
thinking that because I didn’t have any income there was no need. The sleazy government decided that they
disagreed. But they didn’t notify me in
time for me to launch a legal objection so when I attempted to get a protest
filed with the court I was told I was no longer entitled to due process because
the time to file ran out. Bend over for
another $10,000 helping of justice.
So now we come to the present. After my experience with the CPA world, following the business
crash I swore that I’d never enter another accountant’s office again. But here I am with a new marriage and a
boatload of undocumented income, not to mention an expensive new business
asset, a piano, which I had no idea how to handle. After considerable thought I decided that it would be
irresponsible NOT to get professional help; a very big mistake.
When we received the forms back I was very optimistic that
they were in order. I had taken all of
the years information to Bill Ross, and he came back with results very similar
to what I was expecting. Except that he
had neglected to include the contents of Sheryl’s unreported income; $12,700
worth of it. To make matters worse, Ross knew all along this was missing and I
didn’t have a clue until he pointed it out in the middle of the audit. By that time it had become brutally evident
that he was representing himself and not me.
This left me stuck in the middle of this disaster trying to
defend transactions that have no relationship to anything tax-related (at least
the tax-related transactions were poorly documented). Things I never knew anything about and things my wife had no clue
would ever matter to anyone. The end result
is… well, just look around.
I remember reading about the stock market crash before the
“great” depression and how there were wealthy bankers and businessmen jumping
out of windows when they realized they screwed up and lost everything. Isn’t it ironic how far we’ve come in 60
years in this country that they now know how to fix that little economic
problem; they just steal from the middle class (who doesn’t have any say in it,
elections are a joke) to cover their asses and it’s “business-as-usual”. Now when the wealthy fuck up, the poor get
to die for the mistakes… isn’t that a clever, tidy solution.
As government agencies go, the FAA is often justifiably
referred to as a tombstone agency, though they are hardly alone. The recent presidential puppet GW Bush and
his cronies in their eight years certainly reinforced for all of us that this
criticism rings equally true for all of the government. Nothing changes unless there is a body count
(unless it is in the interest of the wealthy sows at the government trough). In a government full of hypocrites from top
to bottom, life is as cheap as their lies and their self-serving laws.
I know I’m hardly the first one to decide I have had all I
can stand. It has always been a myth
that people have stopped dying for their freedom in this country, and it isn’t
limited to the blacks, and poor immigrants.
I know there have been countless before me and there are sure to be as
many after. But I also know that by not
adding my body to the count, I insure nothing will change. I choose to not keep looking over my
shoulder at “big brother” while he strips my carcass, I choose not to ignore
what is going on all around me, I choose not to pretend that business as usual
won’t continue; I have just had enough.
I can only hope that the numbers quickly get too big to be
white washed and ignored that the American zombies wake up and revolt; it will
take nothing less. I would only hope
that by striking a nerve that stimulates the inevitable double standard,
knee-jerk government reaction that results in more stupid draconian
restrictions people wake up and begin to see the pompous political thugs and
their mindless minions for what they are.
Sadly, though I spent my entire life trying to believe it wasn’t so, but
violence not only is the answer, it is the only answer. The cruel joke is that the really big chunks
of shit at the top have known this all along and have been laughing, at and
using this awareness against, fools like me all along.
I saw it written once that the definition of insanity is
repeating the same process over and over and expecting the outcome to suddenly
be different. I am finally ready to
stop this insanity. Well, Mr. Big
Brother IRS man, let’s try something different; take my pound of flesh and
sleep well.
The communist creed: From each according to his ability, to
each according to his need.
The capitalist creed: From each according to his
gullibility, to each according to his greed.
Joe Stack (1956-2010)
02/18/2010
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Neither was the problem with the Nazi soldiers, or even their bosses. As they all told the world at the Nuremberg Trials, "We were just following orders." This is a time in which every person must evaluate who they are serving, and be ready to pay the consequences.
+1*10^100
JT Marlin, Are you for real? How else was this guy going to fight back? He is a true American and if his story is real felt cornered by a corrupt system.
nazi lover
Looks like the Bill of Rights has turned into the Bill of Wrongs......sad.
just wait...once the fires of all those wooden desks have time to melt the steel the building will fall symmetrically into its own footprint. and the BBC will announce it fell 20 minutes before it does.
Happens everytime.
Hell, we had a house fire in our neighborhood some years ago. The upstairs bedroom was on fire, and boom! the whole house suddenly pancaked on itself in a perfectly symmetrical manner.
I mean really. Can a building collapse any other way?
Steel structures in residential must come with a hefty price tag.
True patriot. Too bad he will be marginalized by the big media.
Fox News' Headline currently is: Feds Investigating Whether Crash of Plane Into Austin, Texas, Building Was Intentional
No, Mr. Fed. It wasn't intentional at all. He was just trying to find a place to land so he could pay his taxes...
Yeah, a real true patriot. Tries to kill innocuous bureaucrats, probably many who are temp workers who can't find a real job. Yeah, real patriot. Just like Timothy McVeigh.
Shit...we bombed the hell out of Belgrade...did we GIVE A CRAP who was working in those buildings?
Power plants, radio stations...hey, ur on the bridge? Tough shit, DIE.
How many freaking innocents do we kill ROUTINELY in those drone strikes on houses in Pakistan? All those wimminz and chillinz are "collateral damage" just to try to get one or two "AQ" guys.
The Waffen SS were just "doing their jobs."
+1000
Hey those guys in the Belgrade embassy were only Chinese and the world is full of them anyway.
USA USA USA!!!
Its no wonder you cant spell "innocent"
He was just trying to find a place to land so he could pay his taxes...
+1040EZ
I am Chumbawamba.
+1099
I wonder what those people who call this lunatic a true patriot would say if someone decided to fly a plane into their place of employment, becuase that person was not happy with what their company was doing? Hypocrites.
Hm, are you planning to go to work for the IRS? You might want to reconsider.
...
edit: this was a reply to a message that now seems to have been deleted.
Fascinating,,, My post is also missing,,Not provocative..Also the response...by Unscarred...
The moniker 'war on terror' seems to me sort of uninspired.
Why not a Lovecraftian 'War on Horror' or 'War upon Horrorists' . Exploring it further we might declare 'War upon Cthulhonic Discordianism in general' or perhaps a more compelling 'War on Violence' , 'war on conflicts' , and obviously and the most cerebrally sintering 'The final War to end all wars period bitches'
Sadly, we seem to be heading for 'The Mother of All Wars'
which might have been better be-spoken
'The Motherfucker of All Wars' had Saddam been more familiar with the emotionaly charged keywords of English.
Lightingly, the name 'Desert Storm' was most excellent in implying some far remote happen stance few if any save some Bedouins might be interested in. Storms in the desert interest no one.
Obviously, food producers might capitalize thusly:
'Dessert Storm' , a sinful blend of clashing chocolate , oranges, vanilla, maple syrup, caviar and truffles.
The masking of evil events with 'Products' works well for blotting out painful memories.
If the jews had no power in this world, the germans may very well be selling a very sweet honey flavored soda pop under the moniker 'Himmler pop'.
True criminal ism must derive the darkest of humours, much as chocolate is finest in it's bitterest form.
Thus 'The Patriot Act'.
-MobBarley
They'd probably say, "Fuck, I guess working for the Nazi's was stupid."
Anyone that works for the FED,Treasury, IRS or any other Federal office is a true Hypocrite.
Feel free to look into 911 and then ask yourself to whom you should be patriotic
Eh...
Some truth, some half-truth, some well-laid blame, some wild fingerpointing... all with a tax scam beginning. Sounds like he followed one of those "You don't have to pay taxes!" gurus, and became bitter when it fell apart. (If he really was only trying to demonstrate a point re the church tax exemption, he would have put his tax payments into an escrow account. No escrow account..? Then it's just another tax scam.)
Agree.
Sadly, this won't be the last similar incident.
Even if you think this guys letter is great and full of truths, how can you idiots support him so much when he just flew into a building filled with innocent people?
The comment posters on this site never cease to amaze me.
Chumba;
Perhaps not cowardly way out. Perhaps martyrdom.
Personal fight may have never been seen. This was.
40muleteam borax
This man was a hero.
Its the tree of liberty and he started it for us all as well.
Cowardly sheople now trying to disect this mans action as "wrong" and hide behind their old believes ?
Show some respect people !
THIS MAN WAS A HERO !
What would be most unfortunate is twisting this event as a false pretext for going after political opponents.
That twisting has already begun. Remember, never let a good crisis go to waste.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/2/18/13251/7661
The start of more terrorism?
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2010/0218102stack1.html
Many parts of it read something like a teabagger manifesto, purportedly written by Joe Stack.
No taxation without representation.
I hope, there will be more to follow ASAP !
This man was waking up to late but ended up as genuine hero.
When 1 does this , he's a cracpot etc. What will the say about the marches on the IRS buildings coming when your told you don't geta refund, they will just apply it to next years return? Shades of " wolverines".
The Tea Party will get the blame for this.
The economy went into the shitter in September 2008. The revolution began with a plane crash in Austin, TX, in February 2010. This is no small deal.....
Tea parties must be over.
Its time to grab the pitchforks !
The revolution began today.
Sad, very sad day indeed for the victims and their families and freinds. And it's sad to see the responses here that are in any agreement with the sick "logic" presented in the note.
Either you are very rich, stupid or a victim.
Upick
Better copy and paste this into a word doc to read later. Obama and his Internet cronies will be removing this very soon. Bad for press. The people are not supposed to really know we're beeing looted and it's all a sham to screw us.
Like I have said....Brazil the movie is a better example of the state of affairs now.
Could be a false flag.
Obviously a very isolated individual emotionally shot, what do you expect?
Still no justification for this. And the legion will use it as supporting one POV or another.
i will be buried with that movie in my coffin.
will probably make for one confused archeologist someday...
wonder if bill maher will say that joe slack was courageous like he said the 9/11 hijackers were for crashing into the twin towers etc ...
that pretty much covers it, doesn't it...
AND SO IT BEGINS...
If it must come down (as all argue here mathematically and anecdotally), it would be easier to bring down because of grassroots violence, protest, striking rather than the real malefactors: captured gov't and int'l banking and debt purveyors.
It would enable them to resort to martial law and the stripping of freedom, in order to protect us from...us.
I believe you are correct, sir.
white house, not a terrorist, well, i guess it is all in your point of view
fwiw, having edited 1,000's of pages, imho, it's real, actions match emotions and his personality
fact is, you'll find man was always tightly wound, and for the most part depressed the last few years, ie, no joy for me, no joy for you
The inevitable media take: He was a tax-dissenter who blamed the IRS for various personal failings.
Truthfully, it's tough to tell what his deal was. Sounds like he was not skilled at the business side of being a contractor and kept getting himself into trouble. At the end he sounds surprised that not filing a return or having undocumented income could get him into trouble.
He has some good points riddled in there, but obviously has personal problems as well. And of course, killing people is never justified.
i think coming to grips with the fact that there are two different sets of rules, one for the rich and connected, and another one for the rest of us is what really set him over the edge. our evil overlords have wrecked the economy of the most prosperous nation in the history of the world, and have been given carte blanch to continue to gorge themselves on what remains of the carcass of the american taxpayer. but you wanna smoke a little weed? underpay the IRS by $200? to jail you go. that's ILLEGAL don't you know!!!!!! we have LAWS in this country.
bingo
I agree with your sentiments on a general level. But I manage to pay my taxes and not fly planes into buildings.
- of course! me too. but i guess we all handle the realities of the world differently. i am a misanthrope, so this helps.
i am interested if the story will get buried. after all, there are good looking white girls missing......
Yep. (Replying to Chet)
Government is killing folks all over the planet.Its Justified!! And we are all going along with it! I am ashamed for what we have become
There are many more like him.. they felt they lost everything....
The Goldman Sachs building in downtown NY you may be next...
JP Morgan building maybe you are next...
Sleep well....
FBI internet task force out in full force.
inb4 fbi raids this server
Good; happy hunting to them.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-lat-plane-crash-manifesto-story,0...
Apparently its an incoherant, unclear, wandering rant according to the Chicago Tribune whose editing is very specifically tailored to picking out IRS sections rather than the Government per se.
Is this the best that they can do to spin it? Its perfectly legible. What he means is obvious. What he describes is straightforward. And everyone who is getting this via Twitter or on email or the web and takes 10 minutes to read it will see the media tilt for what it is.
He may be a bit nuts, but he's put the willies right up the boys in charge.
I am disgusted by this letter. If someone intentionally crashes a plane into a building they are a terrorist. I cannot conceive of a reason why one would not call this terrorism outside of agreeing with his murderous intent or the fact that this man was white and presumably christian. This man is not a hero, he is a monster. It is no different than if he planted a bomb in the building or walked in with a gun.
To any who sympathize with this man, you clearly believe your and his ideas are worth killing for. How about finding something worth living for instead?
To any who sympathize with this man, you clearly believe your and his ideas are worth killing for. How about finding something worth living for instead?
Fo sho. +1
Steak, live a little, then come back and see if you can write the same thing.
I am Chumbawamba.
I've faced death several times and people I care about have been killed in cold blood. When a gun is pointed at you, its the same feeling no matter whose finger is on the trigger. When someone crashes a plane into a building with the intent to kill it makes absolutely zero difference what is going on in their head beforehand.
i guess gets into the whole Machiavelli thing - does the intent matter, or the results?
the dead from Tienanmen square are very dead... but the images live on, images of commitment that can move entire political systems.
again, i prefer the stay alive to fight another day, AND, i prefer to look my enemy in the eye as a pure point of honor.
Joe Stack = chickenshit with respect to the direct and 'innocent' victims.
idiot crackpot? only time will tell if he's lit a fuse and moved the herd. this is not an opinion. this event will either matter, or it won't. Joe Stack made his bet. some will engage. most will watch until pulled in by necessity.
three years ago (pre-collapse), this wouldn't have mattered. today, i'm not so sure.
Did the guy pointing the gun at your demand your money? Or did he demand your indentured servitude?
There is a difference.
Joe Stack didn't want to live the life of a slave.
The people in that building, whether they knew it or not, are the minions of a despot. It's not their fault that they didn't realize this, but it wasn't Joe Stack's either.
I am Chumbawamba.
it could be rationally argued that tax collectors have been targets since taxes began... i can't imagine being an IRS auditor and not feeling the resultant animosity.
interesting times.
It's ironic that planes crashing into buildings brought the patriot act into existence which allows the government to spy on their own citizens then this guy flies a plane into the main building responsible for doing that spying.
Before you tell all your friends about this marvelous coincidence, you might be interested to know that the Echelon building in Austin has the same relation to the ECHELON intelligence program that Sodium Chloride has to the SALT treaty.
You're right.... Damn, I totally jumped the gun there. Just give me a minute to try and remove my foot from my mouth.
What if somebody drops a bomb on a building?
You're calling every member of our air force out as a psychopath.
i think you've replied to the wrong person....?? oops - my bad, i thought that you were replying to me but you weren't.
yeah, yeah, thats fine, he's a terrorist for his actions. but how do you feel about the military doing things that result in similar actions in other countries? its amazing how many people fail to recognize the cognitive dissonance it takes to call similar actions as a terrorist act or a patriotic one depending on which side you have a preference for and where it is taking place.
one mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter. Just depends on which side of the water you reside.
Steak- Do you have access to information we do not? You just stated that it was a fact he was white and christian? Why are you promulgating that?
I said "presumably" he is Christian. If you were to pull a random person in Iraq it is reasonable to presume they are Muslim, if you were to pull a random person in Texas it is reasonable to presume they are Christian. But either way, still just presuming here.
I have not seen a photo but it is very reasonable to think that a "Joe Stack" is white. I did state that part as fact and it has not yet been confirmed in the media, but I think it is an exceedingly likely assumption.
It took the shedding of blood to establish our country. Or haven't you considered the historical similarities? Only this time there is not a new continent to move to. Taxes were NOT part of the establishment of the USA. Read your history. The war for independence goes on.
From the declaration of independence:
That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.
"it is their right, it is their duty"
And it is in this right and duty that America is truly fail.
Whatever his intent or status, has little to do with the content of his letter. In fact there's nothing in there that you don't see every day in the comments here at ZH. It's tragic that he put his feelings into actions in this way, but he's articulated the feelings of many people in the country. I am not disgusted by the letter at all.
Anger and despair are simmering now, and the next things you see the government do are going to be geared toward minimizing their effects. They had better tread carefully, because there are many others out there who are just as angry and desperate.
Perhaps it would be in the government's best interest to think about some of the things in his letter.
Anger and despair are simmering now, and the next things you see the government do are going to be geared toward minimizing their effects.
Count on them to fuck it up horribly. The one thing you can count on the government to do is to fuck it up horribly by overreacting. Their worldview is as out of touch as Lloyd Blankfein's, just in a different way. Count on them to respond with something equally brilliant to Lloyd's "doing god's work" comment.
+1
I often find myself wishing I could 'encourage' people to critically evaluate the Government/Tax etc. As much as I want to be able to do that, trying to take out a few random IRS staff isn't the right way to do it.
Even project mayhem made sure the buildings were cleared first...
History point to America as a place that begin with "Give me Liberty or give me death"
Or was it " I am sad i have only one life to give for my country" Forgot the exact wording but evidently some things are worth dying and killing for.
Iraq, afganistan arent! Yet there we are!
Meanwhile the middle class in america is getting KILLED and its no accident.
Violence only begets more violence. Tragic for everyone involved.
In that way, Miles, perhaps violence then cancels itself out so that there can once again be peace.
"Anger is a gift."
I am Chumbawamba.
Chumb, anger is cool as long as it does not cause harm to others right to pursue their vocation. Engage in the arena of ideas.
Great. We've got the arena of ideas, while the oligarchy gets the Colosseum.
+1099
For those who choose to be participants.
Fuck the Colosseum. That's SOOO 3rd century.
Combine the Oligarch's psychopathic intentions, their vast media empire, their bloodthirst for payback, and a need to entertain the sheeple and you get....
The Running Man.
I'm sure the FBI is taking names off of this site for a reality TV show pilot series.
Swimming with the crocs is on at 7:30.. Don't miss it!
What if a chosen vocation violates the intent of the Founding Fathers and grinds their progeny into dust?
I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! - Barry Goldwater
But to be clear I will never advocate the initiation of force against other human beings - all self-defense against any assault is the fight for freedom.
In Fight Club the destoyed buildings were empty.
What if your vocation involves invading other countries?
There goes the Tea Party movement...
There's no need for slander.
Keep the Tea Party movement out of this.
The Tea Party movement is committed to peaceful protest ONLY.
Well one could argue that the Tea Party is a peaceful alternative to the tragedy we've just seen.
Unfortunately, while the Tea Party's organization is somewhat there, it's focus is a little misguided.
With that hijacker Palin explaining they have to pick a party, "only two choices folks". MSM did a great job of marginalizing well-meaning people that want answers instead of lies.
+1000
True, but...take a look over at the comments over at CNN or HuffingtonPost. My post was meant to indicate the UNFORTUNATE potential that this act would be associated with the Tea Party movement. It appears to be happening and I am sickened by it...
The timing and convenience of it all is quite interesting, isn't it.
It's got the "tax protester/dodger" angle.
The "Atheist" angle.
The "See, this is what thinking like an individual instead of part of the hive get's you." angle
The "Tea-party angle", but yet he's "for" socialized medicine. Hmmm.
"Corporations are all corporatey and stuff" nonsense.
Some "lone-nut" panache.
And a dead perpetrator.
Seems almost too perfect for TPTB.
Something both Democrats and Republican establishments can sink their teleprompters into and be sanctimonius about, no?
FBI has taken down the source site http://embeddedart.com/ - and so the war over history begins.
Well, did anyone get a screen capture?
This website has been taken offline due to the sensitive nature of the events that transpired in Texas this morning and in compliance with a request from the FBI.
Regards,
T35 Hosting
---------
It's really too bad he had to take his own life. He truly could've pioneered an amazing revolution. Im saving this note because he is right about everything!! I guess it's better to burn out than fade away. RIP.
FBI just ordered all media outlets to remove this from their sites. Down the memory hole.
Coming up next, FBI orders entire nation to never speak or think of todays incident ever again.
http://embeddedart.com/
This website has been taken offline due to the sensitive nature of the events that transpired in Texas this morning and in compliance with a request from the FBI. If you want to see the original letter, please see the archived version at thesmokinggun.com: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2010/0218102stack1.html
Regards,
T35 Hosting
who didn't see that one coming...
"your move" sayeth 'the man'
We're all monkeys - in the system:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y12hkHdN3Ds
RIP - Joe Stack, obviously had had enough.
IN PASSING
Day is done Gone the sun
From the lakes From the hills From the sky
Safely rest God is nigh
Fading light Dims the sight
And a star gems the sky
Gleaming bright from afar
Drawing nigh falls the night
Thanks and praise for our days
Neath the sun Neath the stars
Neath the sky
As we go this we know
God is nigh
'Occasionally the tree of Liberty must be watered with the blood of Patriots and Tyrants.'
There's an ancient principle called the Hermetic principle. This is from ancient Greece (funny, considering their problems today) and it says that it is our responsibility NOT to be lied to. Blaming the government, executives, etc. for our woes misses the point that we BELIEVED them. It's similar to Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware).
So when you feel tempted to blame someone else, just remember the world is a messy place and if you want to survive you need to work with what you got. There will always be someone who will lie to you and try to cheat you. Don't let it get you down...it's all part of life.
His name is Robert Paulson?
He sounds deranged and mentally ill. Did anyone notice that in his long list of things that had gone wrong for him he never mentioned spending $10K to learn to fly?
Before chanting "his name is Robert Paulson," I hope people can remember that there were innocent men and women in that building who probably felt just as enslaved to the machine as this poor soul.
The problem is there is no practical outlet in our society for the feelings this man experienced, because there is no organized, nonviolent movement among the American public that avoids the left/right false dichotomy and instead focuses on MORALS and BASIC STANDARDS OF DECENY in our government. Just look at what the Tea Party movement has become, or what the left is willing to put up with from their leaders. Everyone is so busy rallying around their banner at either ends of the spectrum that the media perpetuates, that they are paralyzed from working together to recapture our democracy and save this Republic.
A lengthy stop-work strike by a large segment of the American public would accomplish more than a thousand bloody suicides, and cost America's soul a lot less dignity.
Why do people keep dragging the Tea Parties into this?
Have you REALLY fallen for the leftist hype coming from the media that the Tea Parties are exclusively populated by knuckle-dragging right-wingers? There are plenty of leftists and libertarians at the protests, too.
The Tea Party movement is dedicated to peaceful protest, and includes people from viewpoints across the political spectrum.
It's dedicated to peacfully and non-violently resolving many of the same issues that Zero Hedge addresses, including the corruption in our financial system.
The Tea Party protesters are your allies. Embrace them.
+1
.
Just look at what the Tea Party movement has become
What the fuck does that mean?
the 'tea party' is far too organic to be painted with your broad strokes. look again. it's a mass grumble with millions of faces.
that's probably why it's so unsettling. as it should be.
comment# 235902---Wisdom!
"Tea PARTY" is a misnomer. Calling it a 'party' likens it to the 'parties' of republicans and democrats, when the 'tea party' is a label that is being broadly applied to just about anyone that is so fed up with Government BS that they want to get out and protest about it.
There's plenty of kooks that are part of the 'tea party' movement, plenty of people that believe in things that I am absolutely opposed to. But one thing I share in common with most of them is that they are completely fed up with the status quo. The system of Government in this country is broken.
There is no toeing the line, no random distribution of polarizing issues with the two current parties. Plenty of politicians and punditswill want to claim the tea party as being this, or that, in order to legitimize themselves or their message, but the bottom line is that the tea party is sick of the status quo. Everything else is a secondary issue.
Fuck no! American citizens have the right to bear arms against a tyranny. You get paid by the Tyranny, to do the work of the Tyranny, then you are 'a footsoldier': you're in the work of oppression. It's not nice, nor humane, but having to bear arms isn't essentially suggestive of a win-win outcome. The question of whether he was justified, or not, centres around whether the jury returns the current definition of Tyranny as holding thrall.
There's not so much two ways about this- most will feel that the legal system is two-tier. And it is, in every nation. Mostly we learn that life isn't fair, it's conducive to 'I'll make what I can' attitude that empowers US capitalism. What's happened right now is that the vestiges of fairness have been dissolved, the GM wind-down was emblematic in that way. The loss of democracy is a vicious loss of identity, and US citizens have a right to beat the crap out of anyone who tries to disavow themselves of it.
There are some who choose to live humbly and some who must die nobly, for their cause. The point is the 'cause'. The whole monetary system has been hijacked, and it isn't like it has been done in order to return the system to a form of normalcy- if it were Crude would be trading at a significant discount to its current level. Nuff sad.
It's damn difficult to commit suicide. It's also quite difficult to come back from penury more than once. He had a a pair of tough stones and he went out the way he wanted to. I don't feel he's left us poorer.
A man protesting Vietnam poured gasoline on himself outside the Pentagon, and lit himself up in view of McNamara's window.
This incident got lots of coverage and his message got across to the extent possible.
THAT is suicide. And this guy in Austin could have taken the same approach.
Flying a plane into a building during work hours is homicide.
Looking for my gas can
Merehuman...Be cool, bro. Find your power animal.
Slide.............................................................................................
+1
merehuman we need you.
First duty of a Patriot is to stay alive! We'll need all the good people we can get on the other side of this dark tunnel.
Don't joke with us like that. Please?
We need more people awake together to get this done. Or we need to just let it fall, and hang out and pick up the pieces.
Ya but they'll forgive him if he returns to the holy revenue stream. So he's got that going for him. When people really really really want to permanently fuck you over they will forgive these things forever.
American suicide bomber?
When things are so wrong that the helplessness of the situation prevails.
I was feeling quite down myself lately. Stressing about the Government, the Fed, the "free" markets and I called a suicide prevention hotline.... got a call center in Pakistan and they all got excited and wanted to know if I could drive a truck?
The first shot has been fired.
I was wondering when this would happen. So it begins...
What would be most unfortunate is twisting this event as a false pretext for going after political opponents.
That twisting has already begun. Remember, never let a good crisis go to waste.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/2/18/13251/7661
The start of more terrorism?
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2010/0218102stack1.html
Many parts of it read something like a teabagger manifesto, purportedly written by Joe Stack.
EVERYBODY:
Save this whole page now.
The FBI has taken down the site where the suicide note had been posted initially !
Get ready for a rash of this type of thing to start happening in my opinion. People all over the world are just tired of it all. This has everything to do with the corruption that plagues our society. If I were Lloyd Blankfein, I would see if I could find a doctor to put eyes in the back of my head. Goldman Sachs is the sole root of all financial terrorism acorss the globe, and until that POS company is shut down, problems will continue to escalate. The bankers need to be dealt with in a major way by proper government.
Of course the media will spin this guy as a nut job, but the facts in his letter are undisputable. Its time for FAIR TAX, then IRS is abolished as it should be. Everyone pays their fair share, no hidden clauses or personal interpretations of vaguely written laws benefiting the rich.
Everyone pays their fair share.--Works for me!
I've written countless letters to my representatives in Congress complaining about unregulated hedge funds, naked shorting, H1B visa abuse by corporations, skyrocketing insurance rates, and unfair trading practices of financial banks. All I've ever gotten back was a "thank you for playing" form letter.
We have tax codes no one can understand, a Wall Street co-opted Congress, Goldman Sachs (actually a big hedge fund) infiltrating all layers of government, a toothless SEC that gets retirement jobs over those they are supposed to regulate, an antiquated FDA that is funded by big pharma ... and you wonder why someone "loses it".
My sympathies to everyone in that building that is around the corner from me.
We probably need to invade another country now.
Are we going where Ron Paul warned after this incident?
http://www.ronpaul.com/2010-02-04/ron-paul-to-obama-dont-assassinate-ame...
May this man rest in peace & may his message become a rallying cry to those of us still on this little blue ball.
True that.
Where did they find this note?
(sorry if it has be mentioned)
He posted it on his(?) online blog.
according to Karl at market-ticker, it was the main/only page at his registered domain. It's been taken down at the request of the FBI.
Stack needs an editor real bad. Correction: needed one.
This man is a patriot:may he rest in peace. The IRS and all Federal agencies deserve worse.
He chose the building as his target. So we lost 190 foot soldiers of the criminal government.
I am sorry so many had to die for the greed of so few
How much you think Joe Stacks' mula helped the IRS
All those in power have to do is the right thing but they will resort to this:
Disinformation Tactics: The Methods Used To Keep You In The Dark
There was a time, not too long ago (relatively speaking), that governments and the groups of elites that controlled them did not find it necessary to conscript themselves into wars of disinformation. Propaganda was relatively straightforward. The lies were much simpler. The control of information flow was easily directed. In fact, during the early Middle-Ages in most European countries commoners were not even allowed to own a Bible, nor was the Bible allowed to be interpreted from Latin to another language, let alone any other tome that might breed “dangerous ideas”. This was due in large part to the established feudal system and its hierarchy of royals and clergy. Rules were enforced with the threat of property confiscation and execution for anyone who strayed from the rigid socio-political structure. Those who had theological, metaphysical, or scientific information outside of the conventional and scripted collective world view were tortured and slaughtered. The elites kept the information to themselves, and removed its remnants from mainstream recognition, sometimes for centuries before it was rediscovered.
http://neithercorp.us/npress/?p=251
Part 2
http://tinyurl.com/ygxrnjf
Kudos to ZH for publishing this letter. This guy was no moron. Nor a coward. Anyone who has had to deal with the Professional community--and in particular politicians--knows how frustrating it is. The rule of law is rigid for regular folks: yet incredibly flexible for the wealthy
PTB.
Re-read the last 3 paragraphs.
I find his rhetoric in those paragraphs to be moving. Maybe I am crazy though.
US Taxpayers must hold Politicians and Wall St. Responsible for Totally Indefensible incompetence+greed+arrogance+crimes! Crimes so egregious the smell permeates from London to Shanghai to Dubai! why does the world, including the American tax payer, whose left with the bill time and time again, tolerate such egregious behavior from bankers and incompetence from U.S. regulators and politicians?
Wall Street is a Doomed Ponzi Scheme
The route this guy took to burn his house (domestic dispute is being reported) drive 30 miles north to get his plane then fly it all that way south into the building. HMMMM seems odd that plane musta been READY to take off on a moment's notice. Plus his wife couldn't get the police to call the airport. HE DROVE 30 MILES NORTH AFTER POLICE WERE CALLED!
Odd? In some places your trouble starts when the police comes so they generally don't care about the plebeians calling.
I am an engineer too, and I am beginning to like the idea that if one were perhaps to commoditize drone technology so that every nutter, druglord and their dogs could afford to send a combat-robot with their tax-return it would be good for Democracy. Like always looking at the sky anxiously is good for the Afghanis and the Serbs it would be even better for the banksters and their president, no??