He LIES: Obama’s Extortion of America!

I’m BEYOND tired of the political blackmail that goes on. This is seen throughout the body politic, whether it's local government and schools are clamoring for more tax dollars, or now, as the President out and out lies about the sequestration and what the deadline means.

1)   Sequestration was proposed and supported by Obama. Congress did not dream this up and, in fact, was told that the president would veto any attempt to get rid of the automatic cuts.

2)    Sequestration does NOT cut the budget, it merely slows the rate of growth and spending! All the Chicken Little doom and gloom is a big fat LIE.

So why are the president and his minions screaming about all the services that will be cut? It is the EXTORTION of America! It’s the Chicago Way—you hurt my business, I hurt you back. Never mind that, even if there were actual cuts, there’s plenty of pork and redundancy that can be reduced. But no, they are threatening longer times in airport security, cuts in education and cutbacks in border patrol agents. Their threats are to whatever they can find to cause the most outcry from the public. As an opening salvo against the American people, the administration is releasing hundreds of illegal alien detainees. Never mind that these are FUTURE reductions in spending that haven't occurred yet.

“The last thing you would do to meet a budget cut of this size would be to voluntarily undertake actions that undermine the rule of law and endanger the public safety,” said Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama.

But when you’re facing budget reductions, just open the prisons and then complain you don’t have enough money for police protection—it’s the Chicago Way!

Is Obama’s Skeet Shooting Photo All Smoke?

Update: Did you say we the people can't "manipulate the photo in any way"? We the people say FU! Twitchy captures the very funny results! Best tweeted caption: "A lame duck shooting a clay pigeon." Also POTUS is now known as "President Mom Jeans".

The White House has released a photo which claims to be POTUS skeet shooting. However, I’m calling BS on this as nothing more than a staged, and perhaps partially photoshopped, print.

The photo shows the president holding a shotgun (at first mislabeled by the liberal press as a rifle). Blue smoke is seen shooting out the barrel and vent. But did the president actually fire the gun, or was the smoke added later to a staged shot?

Skeet are clay disks called “pigeons” that are usually flung by a trap, meant to represent a bird in flight. The point is, when the pigeon is flung, the shooter must move the gun to try and “lead” the pigeon so the shot will reach the moving target as the paths intersect. Furthermore, the skeet is usually flung up in the air, so someone firing at one would have their gun pointed up, not straight like target shooting.

Yet Obama has almost no movement at all when allegedly firing the weapon, even in high resolution. Whatever the level the skeet was at, he should have been moving left to right while firing. So unless he shoots skeet in a “caged hunt,” this is simply another staged WH photo.

Furthermore, the gun looks to be held (mounted) incorrectly, which could result in a substantial “kick” a shotgun produces.

In the AP article, Michael Hampton, executive director of the San Antonio-based association, tactfully suggest the president obviously didn’t go “skeet shooting all the time.”

“This isn't something he's done very often because of how he's standing, how he has the gun mounted,” he said.

If you want to see a slow motion of what skeet shooting looks like, here’s a good example:

One former senior advisor, David Plouffe, tweeted the challenge, “Make our day — let the photoshop conspiracies begin!” He does have a point. Hopefully, this doesn’t become the latest “bait” set out to distract conservatives from a president trying to take away gun rights.

The user is also warned that, “The photograph may not be manipulated in any way and may not be used in commercial or political materials, advertisements, emails, products, promotions that in any way suggests approval or endorsement of the President, the First Family, or the White House.”

Really? I’d bet the courts might have something to say about that as it’s taken by the White House photographer. It’s not a private photo. And I’m so looking forward to the motivational posters.

Tina Turner Latest to Renounce US Citizenship

The famous threatened to leave when Bush was president, but apparently some actually are leaving the country—even renouncing their citizenship—while Obama’s in charge.

Tina Turner is the latest to return her U.S. passport. She will become citizen of Switzerland where she’s been living since 1995. It should be noted that the United States and Switzerland do allow dual citizenship.

Last year, Eduardo Saverin, a co-founder of Facebook, renounced his U.S. Citizenship, prior to the initial public offering of Facebook, to reduce his tax liability. He had moved to Singapore in 2011, where there is no capital gains tax.

According to a Bloomberg article on Severin’s move, “A record 1,780 gave up their U.S. passports last year (2011) compared with 235 in 2008, according to government records.”

During the reelection campaign of President George W. Bush in 2004, Alec Baldwin, director Robert Altman, Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, among others, threatened to leave the USA if President George Bush was elected. None of them acted on it, however, and some backpedaled to "clarify" their position after Bush was reelected.

The United States is not the only country where the wealthy are leaving their homeland to avoid oppressive government taxation. After the Socialist French government went to raise the their top tax rate from 41 percent to 75 percent for top earners, film star Gerard Depardieu threatened to renounce his French citizenship and planned to move to Belgium. He ended up being granted Russian citizenship by a special decree from Russian President Vladimir Putin, bypassing the usual citizenship process because of his "outstanding services to cinematography." Russia has a flat income-tax rate of 13 percent. The French plan has been struck down by France's highest court for now, but lawmakers are working on a way to reinstate it.

A Country Divided?

We are no longer a country who can "agree to disagree"—we are now at each other’s throats. We snipe at each other on Facebook and Twitter. We try to hold our tongue at the office or seek out allies we can voice our opinions to safely. If you go back over to the Real Clear Politics map and look back through past elections you can see how we've become more and more fundamentally divided just in the past 30 years. Instead of being rational, some people make excuses for their politicians like it's their hometown football team who got caught in a foul. They ignore and excuse them like a mother screaming at the police for arresting her “innocent” child for the 50th time.

The press has largely gone from the investigation arm, to the propaganda arm. You can find more objective reporting in blogs and by independents these days—which not surprisingly, are hated by both the politicians and the so-called “real journalists.” Politicians on both sides want to keep us divided so we go after each other, instead of calling them out for the sneaky business they're up to. Journalists no longer just report the news, they openly seek to influence it. They both look down on the majority of the populace as too stupid and uneducated and who must be spoon-fed and taken care of by an overprotective Big Brother. Bills are no longer written by the elected, but by the special interests. It's no wonder politicians can't tell us what's in them until after they made into law—they're spending more time raising campaign funds and running for office instead of actually writing the thousands of pages of laws they pass every year.

The more people who get what they didn’t earn, the angrier they are when someone tries to take it away. Give a child a bunch of toys and then tell them they aren’t going to get any more and watch them throw a fit.

I blame them and I blame the press. But I also blame the lazy public who refuse to lift a finger to educate themselves about what's going on. As long as your politician throws some money you're way, you remain coddled and asleep while the country goes down. And who's fault will that be if the country implodes financially? People will point the finger to Washington. But don't blame the politicians or the press—look in the mirror. Because it's you. You who couldn’t be bothered to look at what a politician does, not just what s/he says at election time. You who’d rather sit down than stand up. You who can’t be bothered to make an informed vote. Yes, you who watch The Colbert Report and The Daily Show with John Stewart instead of searching out the truth. It’s not always easy to find, but it’s out there. You who refuse to look at the overall well-being of your country and the massive spending going on and only care that your state gets a piece of the pie.

Because we are closer to Greece than you think, my friends. We are at the tipping point. But in our case I fear we could easily turn into a second civil war. The more people who get what they didn’t earn, the angrier they are when someone tries to take it away. Give a child a bunch of toys and then tell them they aren’t going to get any more and watch them throw a fit. But allow a child to work and earn what they can and buy their own toys and you have a more responsible child who is more secure because they are dependent on themselves, not others.

The generation that came out of the Great Depression and WWII were called the Greatest Generation. Unfortunately, they did not all pass these lessons on to their children and grandchildren. Within a few short years we went from a generation of self-sufficient and independent to the Me Generation fighting over our toys and expecting them to be provided to us. We went from the people who pursued happiness to those who demand it. Nearly fifty percent of the population now pays NO federal income taxes. Eventually someone is going to have to tell a number of them that there will be no more free toys.

Who is the Real Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman?

After almost two weeks of seeing the innocent, smiling face of a 12-year-old Trayvon Martin, very different photos are starting to emerge of the 17-year-old. The latest photos of a more “street” Trayvon, show him sporting tattoos and a gold “grill” on his lower jaw, pulled from his MySpace page. In addition to MySpace, he had a Twitter account with username, “@NO_LIMIT_NI**A”. His mother is claiming people are trying to smear her son’s reputation, although stories seem to be balancing the story of a straight-A student, perfect child that his parents understandably want to maintain. It is a view of a teen who was having trouble at school who was suspended ten days in February for allegedly having an empty bag in his backpack that contained a pipe and marijuana residue. In fact, Trayvon was staying at his father’s house during the suspension.

Also released has been an updated photo of George Zimmerman, presumably by his lawyer. Previously, the media had shown (and in most cases, is still showing) a 2005 photo when Zimmerman allegedly had been arrested on unknown charges, which were later dropped. Once again, the media manipulates the audience by showing five and seven year-old photos, one of a young, innocent boy and the other of an unshaven man in jailhouse orange. Both photos were used to give a deceptive impressions regarding what each man was about.

Updated photos of Zimmerman and Martin

The media have ridiculed Zimmerman’s description of Trayvon acting suspiciously and possibly on drugs. Now, because of the suspension for drug paraphernalia, there’s evidence that was possible. Was Trayvon’s body tested for drug use? In October, he was caught in possession of a “burglary tool,” a flathead screwdriver and 12 pieces of women's jewelery that he insisted didn’t belong to him and had been previously suspended for skipping class.

Besides the race baiters like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, you have the New Black Panthers who put out a “Wanted Dead Or Alive” poster, offering a $10,000 reward for the capture of Zimmerman, who is in hiding and yet to be charged. You may remember these characters from the 2008 election when they were shown via video intimidating white voters who showed up at the polls. Of course, Eric Holder, the new US Attorney General, did nothing. In fact, only last week, a video surfaced where Holder spoke about getting women to brainwash kids against guns. A gun control lobby, The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, wrongly claimed that Zimmerman still had the gun used to shoot Martin.

The bigger picture is this: You would think members a race who were so clearly targeted with intimidation and public lynchings themselves a few decades ago would never stoop to the same level of hatred and rush to judgment. They are pushing the same vigilante justice they accuse Zimmerman of dealing. There are some cooler heads trying to reason with a better nature, including the Rev. C. L. Bryant, a former NAACP leader, GOP Presidential candidate Herman Cain and Deneen Borelli, African-American conservative commentator.

Then you have director Spike Lee who idiotically tweeted what he thought was Zimmerman street address to his over 200K followers. That address turned out to belong to an elderly couple who have nothing to do with Zimmerman. Now they live in fear because of their being linked to the case and even having their address displayed at public protests. This is one case I’d LOVE to see go to court--I hope they sue the crap out of Lee and anyone in the news media who disseminated that information. Marcus Davonne Higgins, a 33-year-old Los Angeles man, who originally sent out the information should do jail time for not too subtle threats of, “FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT & TOUCH HIM” to his 4,000 ‘friends’ on Facebook and holding up signs with the address at protests.

And for all those trying to blame the right-wing for all this: Zimmerman is apparently a registered democrat.

Obama Plays Race Card in Martin / Zimmerman Case

Obama inserted himself into another highly confrontational case this week. This one involving a 17 year-old black teen and an adult white/Hispanic male. Unlike many in the news media, however, this piece will not pass judgment on the guilt or innocence of either Mr. Zimmerman or Mr. Martin.

Last time this president involved himself in a police matter, he accused a white policeman, Cambridge Police Sgt. James Crowley, of racism when he detained Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. who was entering his own house, after a neighbor reported a possible burglary in progress. Instead of simply showing his ID, the professor became confrontational and was arrested for disorderly conduct. That charge was later dropped, but ignited a discussion on whether police were racial profiling. Obama criticized the arrest and arresting officer. The neighbor, Lucia Whalen, who had called 911, was also tagged as a racist, even though it was later shown she never mentioned the men as being black when calling 911. Obama had a beer summit--although he never apologized directly to Sgt Crowley for his remarks. He said he hoped it would be a “teachable moment.” (Lucia wasn’t invited.)

Now Obama has jumped in the middle of a fatal shooting. Trayvon Martin, 17, was shot and killed by George Zimmerman. That is not in dispute. What is disputed is if this was a case of self-defensed, as claimed by Zimmerman, against an allegedly unarmed teen. The media immediately portrayed George Zimmerman as the racist killer of a black teenager, who was merely walking home with a bag of Skittles and a soda. The media emphasized Zimmerman was white, even though his family said he is Hispanic. The police report also described Mr. Zimmerman as white; the media was either ignorant or chose to ignore the fact that often Hispanic people are labeled as white if they have a “white” surname. They didn’t let the fact that Mr. Zimmerman and his family identify with their Hispanic heritage get in the way of stirring the pot, claiming he was a racist, white man from a rich neighborhood who shot an innocent black boy.

Now, one day after President Obama inserts himself into the case by saying that if he, "had a son, he would have looked like Trayvon,” it’s reported police have a witness who backs up Zimmerman’s self-defense story. This, as yet unnamed, witness collaborates Zimmerman, who said he was attacked first by Martin.

In a partial release of a 911 tape, you can hear the operator tell Zimmerman, affiliated with the neighborhood watch, not to follow the suspicious person (Martin) he’s reporting. Later in the tape (not released), screams are heard. Although law enforcement believe the screams came from Zimmerman, it becomes a subject for debate on many TV shows whether it’s actually Zimmerman screaming or Martin. The witness claims that the screams did come from Zimmerman and that he was on the ground, being beaten by Martin.

The only thing that’s certain is no one fully knows what happened except Mr. Zimmerman and now, possibly, a witness. The media, who is fond of reminding us how we shouldn’t rush to judgment, certainly didn’t follow their own advice. If this had been the wild West, they would’ve been the gang of vigilantes out in front with the rope to hang Mr. Zimmerman from the nearest tree. They are the true racists, both for ignoring Zimmerman’s family and continuing to label him as white, assuming he must have been the aggressor and that the young, black teenager was a victim of “walking while black.”

President Obama is having another "teachable moment"--he's again teaching us he likes to play the race card. What he is teaching is to remind, in particular, the black minority of racial tensions, even manufactured ones. Like the case with Fluke, he's also using it as a distraction from his abysmal record: the economy, the failure in the war on terrorism and the Supreme Court about to weigh in on Obamacare.

The media also does not want the public to think of Zimmerman as anything but white; it makes the story more controversial if Zimmerman is portrayed as a non-minority. It would make things more difficult for Obama when he goes to court the Latino vote if he’s seen as pitting the Hispanic community against the black community. No doubt we’ll see Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and the other media hogs racing to Florida to stand with the family in front of the TV cameras. George Zimmerman is in hiding, reportedly because of death threats. Rallies and prayer vigils are being held for Trayvon Martin and his family. Pressure to try Zimmerman already being expressed and could ignite communities if he is no-billed. But no one, except the families involved or the community, cares about future repercussions, not the President, the outsiders taking advantage of a charged situation and certainly not the media.

India Native Arrested in Houston Airport on Weapons Charge Out on Bail

UPDATE: The judge lowered the bail to just $5,000. The Times of India reports that Kumar is, "an activist film-maker traveling in America to expose Islamic 'terrorism'."

Prosecutors seem to be satisfied with this and agreed to a plea with time served for the brass knuckles. Kumar said the weapon was for his protection from Islamic fundamentalists. He claims the jihadist materials were "educational tool" used for his lecture to the Hindu Congress of America involving, "interfaith discussion between Hindus and Muslims about the harms of terrorism."

However, no explanation was given for Kumar having over $10,000 in undeclared money.

At the end of the article, The Times of India notes: "The US is going through another mild bout of Islamophobia following the controversy over building a mosque close to the 9/11 ground zero."

Yeah, I'm sure if terrorists from the US bombed one of your temples, you'd have NO PROBLEM with us coming over 10 years later and wanting to erect a Christian CHURCH near the site.

And how's that Kashmir thing going?

---

Kudos to the Houston airport security screeners who pulled this man out for a second screening. But are sharp screeners going to do any good when judges set BAIL for potential terrorists?

Screeners became suspicious when a FOREIGN NATIONAL from Mumbai, India was acting nervous as he stood in the security checkpoint line at Houston's Intercontinental Airport. Vijay Kumar, 40, was said to be fidgeting and sweating profusely. Security pulled him out of line to give a more thorough screening. I know--wow--it's almost like they'd been trained in Israeli security measures!

They found a set of brass knuckles in his checked baggage, which produced a felony charge of Possessing a Prohibited Weapon in a Prohibited Place. Other items found were books on espionage, bomb-making/disarmament and other, radical Muslim publications, plus over $10,000 in cash, which allegedly had not been declared as required.

Will we end up needing
Dog the Bounty Hunter?

Kumar told police that he had attended an "Islamic seminar." However, despite all that effort by law enforcement, a judge set BAIL for Kumar at $50,000. What many don't realize is using a bail bondsman only requires putting 10% down which covers their fee. The bail bondsman pays the bail. Now if you skip bail, the bondsman can come after you ala Dog the Bounty Hunter, but that's not going to be a problem for someone planning to skip across the open U.S. border and get back home to India via another country

Hint to Judge: Terrorists have LOTS of money so $50K bail is chump change. And a foreign national is hardly going to have ties keeping him in the U.S. Update: Local Houston Fox reported tonight that Kumar is out on bail.

Another troubling aspect is there's almost no reporting on this. Even the report that Kumar made bail was mentioned in passing as if it was no big deal that someone with books on bomb making made bail and could be anywhere.

Best Buy Forces "God Squad" to Remove Logo

Have confessional, will travel?

Best Buy threatened legal action against a priest over the use of a logo they say is similar to their Geek Squad, called the “God Squad.” Father Luke Strand drives a black VW Bug, similar to the one used by Best Buy. Strand says he has stopped using the logo.

"Rev. Luke Strand, pastor of Holy Family Catholic Church in Fond du Lac, Wis., is no longer using the logo after Best Buy served him a cease-and-desist order, arguing that his religious vehicle is a copyright violation of its famous "Geek Squad" mobile."

Strand said he has driven his God Squad mobile, complete with custom plates that say "GODLVYA" and rosary beads on the rear view mirror as a, "creative way to bring God to the streets."

Best Buy may be making a cardinal sin in pursuing this. But Father Strand is forgiving. A church spokeswoman told FoxNews, "There’s absolutely no animosity." She added that the God Squad "will continue in some form." Sounds like reinCARnation. Sorry.

So, should the Mod Squad go after Best Buy? No doubt that's where Best Buy got the Geek Squad idea from....

Will Congress and the Health Care Bill Turn into Thelma and Louise?

Thelma and Louise want to know if
you'd like to ride with them!

We're standing on the edge of a precipice in this country. The ques- tion is: Are we going to jump and hope some net is going to catch us or do we stop, go back and design a bridge?

This week we've been bombarded with cancer victims, children and every sort of attempt to make anyone who opposes this legislation look like a complete Scrooge. Even with the polls showing the majority are against this bill, I'm amazed at how many still believe this bill is a great idea. I suspect that many of them think it wont affect them because they have insurance or medicare and that won't change. If that's you, keep reading.

We will be forced to buy, not just insurance, but government approved insurance. If you don't buy insurance there will be some 16,000 NEW IRS agents hired with full powers to enforce the law. Not buying insurance will mean fines, and possible jail time enforced by an agency who has powers to garnish wages, take your tax refund and come after your property.

Are you under some delusion that you're going to get free insurance? Or that you'll just "get to keep" your insurance. That's not how this works....

First of all this bill give over 400+ Billion to the "evil" insurance companies the democrats are so fond or railing against. You will be required to buy only that insurance that is government approved. Your employer will have to buy insurance that is government approved. Insurance will not be able to turn down anyone due to a pre-existing condition. What they don't tell you is how much this required insurance is going to cost!

Remember how the government "helped" consumers by changing laws on credit cards? How much did your interest rate go up, even with good credit? Did the credit card cancel your account or reduce your limit? God help us all when the government tries to "help" consumers.

Massachusetts has a similar plan to the current bill that can now boast the highest healthcare premiums in the US. And they continue to rise The Boston Globe reported last September:

"The state’s major health insurers plan to raise premiums by about 10 percent next year, prompting many employers to reduce benefits and shift additional costs to workers.

Increases will range from 7 to 12 percent, capping a decade of consecutive double-digit premium increases, according to a Globe survey of the state’s top health insurers. Actual rates for 2010 will depend on the size of the employer and the type of coverage, with small businesses and individuals expected to be hit hardest. Overall, premiums are more than twice as high as they were 10 years ago."

Massachusetts State Treasurer Timothy Cahill said in a recent press conference, "If President Obama and the Democrats repeat the mistake of the health insurance reform here in Massachusetts on a national level, they will threaten to wipe out the American economy within four years."

Democrats claim those here illegally will not be covered; however they are planning an amnesty bill so they WILL be covered. In any case they won't be subject to legal actions or fines. And they'll still be able clog up emergency rooms and cost taxpayer dollars for their "free" care.

So those of you who think you're going to be able to keep your current healthcare: How long do you think a) you'll be able to afford that insurance or b) that the company you work for will continue to supply the insurance or c) that companies will want to hire under these conditions? According to reports, companies with 50+ employees who don't provide coverage will pay fines of $2,000 per year, per full time worker.

The fine is much less than the cost of insurance. Average cost of insurance [pdf] runs around $3,800 (single) $9,646 (family) per year¹ How many employers will decide to dump insurance and just pay the fine? How many will start favoring part-time or contract workers who have to buy their own insurance at increasing rates?

Law of unintended consequences? No...that is the plan.

Whatever the start is, the goal is government single payer, socialized medicine, public option--by any name given, it doesn't smell sweet. As more and more people complain about rising insurance costs, Washington plans the final solution: Get rid of insurance for most of the public. Institute the public option that will eventually become the public non-optional (except for those in Congress).

Obama, Pelosi and other progressives have been dying to force the American public into a socialized healthcare system for years. In addition to getting even more tax revenues, they can now start to institute controls over every aspect of a citizen's life.

In the same speech where Pelosi said that lawmakers, "...have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it," she also said this:

"You've heard about the controversies within the bill, the process about the bill, one or the other. But I don’t know if you have heard that it is legislation for the future, not just about health care for America, but about a healthier America, where preventive care is not something that you have to pay a deductible for or out of pocket. Prevention, prevention, prevention—it’s about diet, not diabetes. It’s going to be very, very exciting."

What she's very excited about is not keeping people healthy...it's about control. She and others can't wait to control what food you can buy, remove the salt shakers from restaurants, institute a soda tax, etc. There are so many things they can declare affect health costs and, with the government involved, plan to control every aspect they can.

For one, there's the specter of gun control. The National Institute for Health has quietly started to fund research into health consequences of gun ownership. A decade prior, the CDC was forbidden by Congress to study this, but here we are again. Why is such a study done, by such an agency, except that they plan to tie gun ownership into healthcare.

While the media made fun of Sarah Palin for "death panels" she was, in fact, right. Critics have characterized this as some literal Hitler panel choosing who lives and who goes to the gas chamber. Clearly what was said, however, is simply a description of panels that will decide what degree of care you get. If you're young and generally healthy, that's not a problem. But if you're old or infirm and considered a drain on the system rather than an asset, then inevitably it comes down to the state deciding if it's worth it to continue your life and how much money they should spend preserving it.

Remember the town hall meeting where Jane Strum told about her 100 year-old mother (now 105) was able to convince a doctor to give her a pacemaker because of her zest for life. When asked if she would get the same care under his heath plan. Obama said that, "...costs a lot and maybe we will have to say, just take a pill." In other words, you're mother's just going to be given pain management and allowed to die. If that's not a death panel, I don't know what is!

Also it's funny how, in 2009, reports started coming out changing the recommendations on about how often pap smears should be done or at what age mammograms should be done and how often. The report came out almost within days of each other. Think this was just a coincidence?

And we haven't even touched on doctors who plan to retire if this passes and drug stores that are already refusing new Medicaid patients. Or the rob Peter to pay Paul move of over 500 billion being taken from Medicare and put into this bill. All that while trying to claim they've got 500 billion dollars in savings in Medicare when they're in fact spending it elsewhere.

We'll know in a few hours if Congress has the courage to step back and build a better bridge to the future or drive us off the edge like Thelma and Louise, which will result in their going down as well, come November and in 2012.

"If people let government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny." Thomas Jefferson

¹High Deductible Health Plans with Health Savings Account that have deductibles of $1,000 or more (single) or $2,000 or more (family), 2006 numbers.

IRS Bomber Update: Victim's Family to Sue Stack's Estate?

As if things need to get even more twisted.... God help us when lawyers get involved!

Last week, the adult daughter of Joe Stack from a former marriage made headlines by calling her father a "hero." Stack was the pilot of a plane, which deliberately crashed into Austin's Echelon building, killing IRS employee, Vernon Hunter, and injuring several others The building housed offices of the IRS and the crash killed both Stack and IRS employee Vernon Hunter. Said Bell, "His actions at the end were extremely horrific and I'm deeply sorry for my father." While admitting his actions were wrong, she added, "But if nobody comes out and speaks up on behalf of injustice, then nothing will ever be accomplished. But I do not agree with his last action with what he did. But I do agree about the government." She agreed her father was a hero and said, "Yes, because now maybe people will listen."

Understandably, Hunter's family was outraged. Ken Hunter told Fox News, "Are you telling me that an American citizen committing an attack of terrorism against the United States is heroic?" Hunter went on to say that his father, a Vietnam veteran, was the only hero.

Bell later recanted her statement saying, "We are mourning for Vernon Hunter."

Then it came out that the Hunter family was going to file a lawsuit against Stack's estate and named Stack's widow, Sheryl as part of that lawsuit as executrix. Said Hunter family's legal representative, Daniel Ross, "My client of course has stated that her heart goes out to Mrs. Stack and she considers Mrs. Stack as much a victim in this as anyone else," Ross said.

Right, except that now you want to take anything, she has left. I have total sympathy for the Hunter family, but going after his widow, who is also a victim in this, is just wrong.

Ross claimed money was not the motivating factor, but then said it was his job to discover if there was anything left in the Stack estate such as insurance policies. He also wanted to question Stack and speculated that, had she talked to authorities that night, the attack might have been prevented. Mrs. Stack and her daughter had allegedly stayed at a hotel the night Joe Stack set fire to their house.

Sheryl is a single mother, who's homeless after her husband flipped out and burned down their house before crashing his plane filled with fuel into a building. She's probably going to have to deal with the IRS if over any joint or business bank accounts over any non-payment of Stack's taxes, which she may not have even known about previously. And now you want to pile on? For all the talk of 'she's a victim, too' she's not exactly being treated like one.

A few days later, the attorney reported they are removing Sheryl Stack from the lawsuit as they have reached an agreement regarding keeping Hunter's autopsy private. It has not been said, however, that they are dropping the lawsuit. No doubt, lawyers have had enough time to find Sheryl Stack's pockets are not deep enough. The question is, who are they going to sue now? The IRS? The airplane manufacturer? The Echelon building's engineers?

But it's not about the money....

Funeral services were held for Hunter Friday.

Is it Time for Keith Olbermann's Countdown to Oblivion?

Rumors have long speculated that Olbermann's show is on the way out. Maybe that's because no one can believe his show is still on with such dismal ratings. In the critical 25-54 demographic, not only is his audience 1/4 of the O'Reilly Factor, but now he trails Headline News' Nancy Grace in third place, barely ahead of CNN's Campbell Brown.

Olbermann's latest foot-in-mouth issue was claiming that Tea Parties are ethnically challenged--made up of only white people. He said, "Why are you surrounded by the largest crowd you'll ever see in your life that consists of nothing but people who look exactly like you."

After throwing out that claim, the Dallas Tea Party responded with a great video dispelling his claim and inviting him to their one-year anniversary party. Furthermore, they did a segue from Olbermann claiming a lack in Tea Party diversity to showing the web banner of MSNBC political anchors, all of whom are white. It doesn't help that NBC head, Jeff Zucker was just grilled this week about the subject of diversity in their programming during merger hearings in front of the House Judiciary Committee. NBC wants an okay to merge with cable provider Comcast.



Of course, Olbermann declined the invitation--it might upset his belief system if he was confronted with the truth. He'd rather sit in his comfortable, liberal bubble at MSNBC and spew every thought that comes into his head.

Keith Olbermann has spun out of control...a liberal thrashing like a dying fish, throwing out more and more wild-eye statements, in a failed attempt to get someone to watch. Trying to be a political shock jock, he's become a caricature of himself. If the network keeps him on much longer, they might as well rename themselves S&M NBC because they seem to enjoy the punishment of failing shows.

Harry Reid Blames Domestic Violence on Lack of Job's Bill

Stand by for the next Harry Reid apology 3...2...1....

Apparently bored with making racist remarks, Reid's decide to make sexist ones now. Really? This is supposed to be the enlightened party?

"I have met some people while I was home, dealing with domestic abuse..."

Were they watching the Superbowl?

"Men, when they're out of work tend to become abusive." Harry also explained to the simple children that make up the American public that while women also don't have jobs, "women aren't abusive...most of the time."

I'm sure we all feel better that unemployed women are less violent when unemployed. {eye roll} While I'm sure he'll get another pass, this time by a supportive, liberal women's group, we may have to keep an eye on ol' Harry Reid in 2011. Chances are improving that he'll become one of those unemployed after November.

Austin Echelon Building Hit by Plane - Employee: "It felt like a bomb..."

Update (9:00 p.m. CST): Two bodies have been recovered. No identities released, but it's assumed that one is Stack's. The other is likely the missing, unidentified employee. Two other employees were taken to the hospital in unspecified conditions, but said to be suffering from burns and smoke inhalation. Eleven others were treated for minor injuries.

Update (6:00 p.m. CST): Stack's six-page letter has been removed from his site at the request of the FBI. An archive of the letter is at The Smoking Gun here.

Austin, Texas: The Echelon building in Austin was stuck by a single engine plane. Joe Stack, the named pilot, left a rambling, anti-government manifesto which said, "Well Mr. Big Brother IRS man...take my pound of flesh and sleep well." He left his name and the dates (1956-2010) and today's date at the end.

One IRS employee described the crash. "It felt like a bomb blew off. The ceiling caved in and windows blew in. We got up and ran." Others related that the plane was flying just above the treeline and accelerated, hitting the building deliberately.



Stack was a contract software engineer who had a vendetta against the IRS. Reading through his sprawling statement, it is difficult to understand exactly what happened, but it becomes obvious that he felt personally persecuted for decades. His statement goes back to the 1980s and his complaints run the gambit from the IRS to Arthur Andersen, Enron, GM Executives, Senator Patrick Moynihan and President Bush.

Between the lines, however, it sounds like Mr. Stack blamed a lot of his own problems on the government and others.

"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."

Some time after 911, he moves from California to Austin, but complained he had a hard time finding work and that the pay was low.

"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."

For all his complaints regarding money, Stack was a licensed pilot and the owner of the single-engine aircraft that he ran into the building. Early reports that the plane might have been stolen, were incorrect. There is no official word if his body has been found.

Earlier, this morning, Stack also set fire to his house with his wife and daughter inside. A neighbor saw the flames and helped get the mother and daughter out unharmed.

At the end of his diatribe, Stack wrote:

"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."