Wish other people would quit taking out their problems on the rest of the world.

2/18/2010 1:57:50 PM

eh . . . this shit will keep happening.

2/18/2010 2:03:24 PM

He was a terrorist.

2/18/2010 2:12:07 PM

http://www.embeddedart.com/

Stack's suicide note

[Edited on February 18, 2010 at 2:37 PM. Reason : .]

2/18/2010 2:18:18 PM

Quote :

"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."

I'll buy that.

Quote :

"He was a terrorist."

No. He has no greater agenda, he isn't part of a larger movement attempting to extract change through the application of terror; he was a lone guy who felt backed into a corner . . . I'm not remotely justifying it, but lone nut-cases aren't "terrorists".

2/18/2010 2:29:45 PM

2/18/2010 2:29:56 PM

for those of you that havnt read the story yet:

Quote :

"(CNN) -- An Austin, Texas, resident with an apparent grudge against the Internal Revenue Service set his house on fire Thursday and then crashed a small plane into a building housing an IRS office with nearly 200 employees, officials said. Federal authorities identified the pilot of the Piper Cherokee PA-28 as Joseph Andrew Stack, 53. Two people were injured and one person was missing, local officials said. There were no reported deaths. A message on a Web site registered to Stack appears to be a suicide note. "If you're reading this, you're no doubt asking yourself, 'Why did this have to happen?' " the message says. "The simple truth is that it is complicated and has been coming for a long time." In the lengthy, rambling message, the writer rails against the government and, particularly, the IRS. See text of the note (PDF) The building into which the airplane crashed is a federal IRS center with 199 employees. Austin (Texas) Accidents and Disasters "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," the online message says. "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." Two people were transported to University Medical Center Brackenridge, said hospital spokeswoman Matilda Sanchez. She could not provide additional information. University Medical Center Brackenridge is the only Level 1 trauma center for adults in Austin. St. David's Medical Center, the other major hospital in the area, said it had not received any patients. Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell said one person remained unaccounted for Thursday afternoon. Witnesses described an infernal scene that shook nearby buildings and sent fire and smoke bellowing into the sky. "I just saw smoke and flames," said CNN iReporter Mike Ernest. "I could not believe what I was seeing. It was just smoke and flames everywhere." The crash occurred around 10 a.m. (11 a.m. ET). Firefighters used two ladder trucks and other equipment to hose down the blaze at the Echelon office building, which police said is in the 9400 block of Research Boulevard. Are you there? Share your photos, video, stories with CNN The flames seemed mostly extinguished about 75 minutes later. The FAA said preliminary information indicated the plane departed Georgetown Municipal Airport north of Austin about 9:40 a.m. CT. Jack Lillis, an attendant at Georgetown airport, said initial indications are that the flight originated there but there were conflicting reports and he could not verify that information. The pilot evidently did not file a flight plan, the FAA said. No flight plan was required because flights Thursday morning were under visual flight rules, or VFR, because of clear weather. Leffingwell downplayed any possible terrorism links to the crash. "It is an isolated incident," the mayor said. "The people of Austin, the people of the nation, are in no danger whatsoever." He added that "there is evidence that the gas tank was just about full. ... That amount of gasoline ... can do a lot of damage." Two F-16 fighter jets were sent from Houston as a precaution, but federal authorities said preliminary information did not indicate any terrorist connection to the crash. "We do not yet know the cause of the plane crash," the Department of Homeland Security said in a release. "At this time, we have no reason to believe there is a nexus to terrorist activity. We continue to gather more information, and are aware there is additional information about the pilot's history." "

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/02/18/texas.plane.crash/index.html?hpt=T1

2/18/2010 2:35:36 PM

2/18/2010 2:37:12 PM

Quote :

"but lone nut-cases aren't "terrorists"."

Well I guess that means that Nidal Hassan and Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab weren't terrorists either.

2/18/2010 2:41:34 PM

WAS HE ARAB? NO? NOT A TERRORIST.

2/18/2010 2:43:09 PM

THIS IS JUST MORE PROOF WE NEED THE FAIR TAX OR EVEN BETTER A FLAT TAX

AND A LOCK BOX

2/18/2010 2:45:23 PM

^

2/18/2010 2:45:45 PM

Quote :

"Well I guess that means that Nidal Hassan and Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab weren't terrorists either."

Strictly speaking? No, they were not. Did they function as such within the larger framework of the US psyche? Sure. Were they self-identified Jihadis who wanted to inspire terror? Possibly. Were they functioning within a larger coordinated attempt to inflict terror as a means of changing US policy. Probably not.

2/18/2010 2:49:28 PM

tim mcveigh wasnt a terrorist by that definition

2/18/2010 3:56:50 PM

by Webster's definition...

Terrorism: the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion


So here, while Stack used terror as a means of coercion, I think he's lacking the systematic aspect of the definition. As the news reports say, it was an "isolated incident."


Stack's probably not a terrorist. Asshole, 100% Grade A FDA Approved. Terrorist? ~meh.

2/18/2010 4:18:41 PM

also, how come those assfuckers on 9/11 were better pilots than this asshole?

2/18/2010 4:22:44 PM

i want to see this guy's website

2/18/2010 4:56:07 PM

cached version was still up last time I checked

nope, gone

that is the best I got: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2010/0218102stack1.html

[Edited on February 18, 2010 at 5:02 PM. Reason : pew pew]

2/18/2010 5:00:47 PM

haha those guys got torn apart by the media in that press conference

ITS NOT TERRORISM IF ITS A WHITE GUY IN A COWBOY HAT RAWR RAWR

2/18/2010 5:57:32 PM

WHATEVER, ALIAS.

2/18/2010 6:05:03 PM

2/18/2010 6:06:34 PM

Osama isnt a terrorist by that definition either.....

2/18/2010 6:10:23 PM

Defining terrorism is more difficult than most people think. Unless you get highly specific it can include most violent crime or actions in war.

I don't know, not having read his long and rambling letter, whether Stack actually hoped to change US policy with his actions or was just a cornered, angry, insane man.

Look at that crazy prof in Huntsville. She used violence and inspired a great deal of fear, sure, but I have a hard time believing that she did so in order to coerce universities into changing their tenure policies. She did it because she was an angry, unbalanced lady who wanted to lash out. That's not terrorism.

2/18/2010 6:21:19 PM

actually, his suicide note helped me figure out what to do about maintaining my independent contractor status

so, thanks Joseph Andrew Stack!!!

2/18/2010 6:26:22 PM

blowing up a public place is terrorism any way you cut it. asshats in this country wan't to think islamic extremists are the only people capable of terrorism so they will try and bend the rules.

if you go shoot somebody you're mad at, its not terrorism. if you go shoot random people, its terrorism.

2/18/2010 6:26:33 PM

i am trading Jesus Christ in for Joseph Stack

Joseph Stack died for my tax sins

2/18/2010 6:28:19 PM

As I'm not exactly worried that another Joe Stack will crash a plane into a building any time soon, I don't hardly define it as terrorism.

If the populace isn't terrified, can it really be called terrorism?

2/18/2010 6:29:46 PM

ya you're right, nobody from that buildig in austin is terrorfied

2/18/2010 6:31:59 PM

Why would they be terrified now? Is there an imminent threat of this happening again?

2/18/2010 6:36:03 PM

TERRORFIED!

2/18/2010 6:37:25 PM

so if i nuke a city its not terrorism because im crazy, dead and wont be able to do it again?


basically anything one person does on their own can't be terrorism. Also, planes can't be hijacked now that cockpits are locked so i'm not worried about 9/11 happening again: wasn't terrorism.

2/18/2010 6:50:07 PM

Don't be a god damn retard you fucking mongoloid.

We aren't talking about nukes. We aren't talking about terrorist organizations terrorizing people. We're talking about a fucking disgruntled software engineer that decided to kill himself and take his frustration out on the IRS while he was at it.

This shit is not complicated.

2/18/2010 6:52:21 PM

so people who are mad at the government about having to pay taxes they owe are not terrorists

but people who are mad at the government about atrocities commited in their homelands are

what about abortion clinic bombings?

Do you not believe in domestic terrorism at all? does it have to be foreigners to commit acts of terror?

we aren't talking about nukes but thats an example of something you wouldn't think was iminent to happen again.

2/18/2010 6:56:36 PM

2/18/2010 6:58:34 PM

I'd say it was certainly terrorism

2/18/2010 6:59:59 PM

For fucks sake lafta

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Definition_of_terrorism

2/18/2010 7:00:11 PM

so this guys irs beef is not political enough for you?

[Edited on February 18, 2010 at 7:02 PM. Reason : its not like he crashed into babies r us or uhaul]

2/18/2010 7:02:04 PM

The fact that this guy didn't do this to terrorize people in the way terrorist commit acts of violence to terrorize people is the reason this isn't terrorism. Not to mention the scale.

This wasn't some Tim McVeigh shit.

2/18/2010 7:06:41 PM

dude, it's pretty clearly terrorism

2/18/2010 7:07:34 PM

so how many people have to die for it to be considered terrorism?

2/18/2010 7:08:06 PM

It isn't just about how many people die.

I know this is tough for you, but try to read the literature and understand.

2/18/2010 7:09:23 PM

Its tough for a lot of people when you dodge simply saying it has to be a muslim to be considered teerrorism

2/18/2010 7:10:58 PM

If a Muslim with no ties to terrorist groups decides to drive his car into bank because they foreclosed on his home, I wouldn't call that terrorism either.

Seriously, get a fucking clue.

2/18/2010 7:15:40 PM

who cares if he was or wasn't a terrorist. he's dead. we know the who, why, what, and how (albeit, too late) and the threat of further harm is lacking.

2/18/2010 7:24:20 PM

2/18/2010 7:32:34 PM

this wasn't an attack on the bank. It was an attack on the government of the united states.

2/18/2010 8:33:04 PM

WHATEVER ALIAS

2/18/2010 8:37:03 PM

Quote :

"he threat of further harm is lacking."

I think this is the key


I mean, do we call it terrorism? Sure, there really isn't another catch-all phrase, but is it really? Nah.

2/18/2010 10:57:57 PM