Daylife/AP Photo used by permission
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The long, rambling rant posted on a website eerily reflected the angry populist sentiments that have swept the country in the past year. In it, a Joe Stack inveighed against intrusive Big Brother government, corrupt corporate giants, irrational taxes, as well as the “puppet” George Bush. “I choose not to pretend that business as usual won’t continue,” he wrote. “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.” And then Stack apparently got in a Piper Cherokee PA-28 at about 9:40 a.m. at an airport in suburban Austin, Texas, and flew the plane into a commercial building housing an IRS office, killing himself, seriously injuring two people on the ground and starting a conflagration that lasted several hours.
The building houses regional offices of the IRS and other federal agencies. As one unidentified office worker from the building said, “If you have problems with the IRS, this is where you come in person to work them out.” According to news reports, 199 IRS employees work in the building, and all are accounted for. Toward the end of what appears to be his final note, Stack wrote, “Well, Mr. Big Brother IRS man, let’s try something different; take my pound of flesh and sleep well.”
These economic times are creating stress. This guy is being called a terrorist. Why are all these people named Joe?
Not a nutball, just someone fed up with big government.
At least you’re consistent, dude. “Fed up with big government” justifies suicide and attempted murder.
Uh, OK.
#1 I was just logging in to say the same thing. I read his note. Seems like everything JCD and Curry are always saying on No Agenda. I guess he just had enough.
The building looks bad and it is fortunate that none of the IRS employees were killed.
Now we all get to buy them a new building.
Why couldn’t this moran just douse himself with gas and set himself on fire in the parking lot.
Oh wait, the MSM controlled by the liberals wouldn’t have even reported it.
He got himself a little attention.
Quick! Round up some Muslims!
Technically he is a terrorist, right?
I assume all of his friends and family will be water boarded promptly.
Another sad terrorist attack on our Homeland by Muslims…but this is why we’ve spent $1,000,000,000,000 (trillion) fighting them over there (Iraq)!
What? The guy who hates America’s government and flew a plane into a building full of people (including water cooler refillers, UPS delivery guys, etc) was a white Christian…like the Oklahoma City bombers? Golly, I thought all terrorists who attacked us and tried to kill hundreds without regard to who gets caught in the crossfire were all Muslims. What? There are non-Muslim terrorists (IRA, KKK, Basque separatists, Japanese subway gas attack, etc)? SHOCKING!
Maybe we should invade Texas and Oklahoma since that’s where the angry dumb terrorists live.
If he really wanted to stop run away government spending he should have blown up Congress. The best time to do it? State of the Union Address. Best plane to do it with? Fully fueled 747 from Ronald Reagan airport.
#8 – Time for your dialysis, Imam. Just step into the cave, please.
(Somebody got that IP Address, right?)
Did any of you actually read the letter? He’s not a tea party guy, he is an anti-capitalism guy.
Sounds like the IRS caught his tax evasion scheme’s too many times and he was sick of big biz getting away with it, but not him.
Look at the last line!
He’s more Micheal Moore then Glen Beck.
Both are nut jobs!
#10 – I would pay good money to watch Glenn Beck fly a plane into Michael Moore.
#7 Glass Half Full
“Maybe we should invade Texas and Oklahoma since that’s where the angry dumb terrorists live.”
Can we start with California first since that is were he is original from. He had failed business there a few time being suspend for taxes before moving to Texas.
A Kamikaze Libertarian.
“Joe Stack inveighed against intrusive Big Brother government, corrupt corporate giants, irrational taxes, as well as the “puppet” George Bush”.
Sounds like a Liberal to me, except for the irrational taxes. Libs love taxes.
Who should give the eulogy? Maybe this guy!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=97KllcZidKQ
#11 it would just bounce off, an injure some poor shmoe standing near by.
#14 – Libertarian, not Liberal.
Google “nolan chart”
@#9
You want to get Tom Clancy’s IP addy while you’re at it since that was from his book “Debt of Honor”?
where is algore?
Ok, he doens’t like George Bush, therefore he’s a Democrat – therefore he’s a terrorist.
Yep, makes sense to me.
Another crazy engineer. A software mind. You are born with good software, so you guys can quit playing God now. Some people spend their whole life wondering if they made a difference. Some people don’t have that problem.
I find it funny that Many of the taxes in the USA are hidden in the PRICE of goods.
FEW are required to SHOW the tax you are fully paying. The easiest is on your water bills. Which is MOSTLY tax from the city to DO the service. The PHONE company likes to HIDE the tax under other names, as WELL as the doubling of the PRICE under something that LOOKS LIKE a tax from the FCC., and the franchise TAX for being able to do service in your STATE/COUNTY/CITY..which goes to those mentioned.
Did I mention that ALL the taxes put together end up costing MOST of you over 60% of your pay check, including that 25-35% the GOV takes off the TOP..
@I. B. Geflargen
They better go after Tom Clancy first. That is who I stole the idea from.
Why is there a link to an article about the tea party embeded in the middle of the Time Magazine article? I didn’t see anything in the article linking this guy to them…
Are they trying to link the tea party to this guy?
Well this is Obama’s fault for inciting him with tax increases, just as Bush created terrorists in the Middle East with his policies.
#22 – Everybody wants to depict this lunatic as being on the opposing team.
To remain sane, a Libertarian would also have to be very self-sufficient, and certainly not prone to blame others for life’s difficulties.
Frigging habitual whiner that had to blame all his troubles on anyone and everyone but himself.
The POS could have at least had the decency to off himself in a way less harmful to others.
Frigging whiners suck like a Hoover on steroids.
This is weird. That place is like three and a half miles from where I used to live. I drove by that building all the time.
I think “nutball” is a charitable description.
Speaking of nutballs, I’d just like the Secret Service (and every sane person here) to know that I don’t know Improbus, have never met him or her and don’t encourage that kind of thinking….
What? The headline was changed from “nutball” to “Irked Taxpayer”? I’m a little disappointed, John!
It seems Joe was even a failure in death.
How embarrassing it must be to plan, prepare and brag to the world why you’re doing it then when the big day comes to go Kamikaze the only person you kill is yourself.
Wonder if he yelled, “I’m king of the world!” just before he hit?
What a dink.
So is apathy against some law yet? Because you couldn’t dare me to care even if one of the fabled Soviet suitcase nukes took out DC.