Updated April 4, 2010: It appears this story has a major update that broke over the Thanksgiving holidays that I managed to completely miss. Bill Sparkman's death has been ruled a suicide. Sincere apologies all around to jumping the gun on this one. However, I'm afraid numerous other examples of vandalism, violence, and threats shows that the extreme right-wing fringe are far from a peaceful bunch.
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The FBI is investigating the hanging death of a U.S. Census worker, 51-year-old Bill Sparkman, near a Kentucky cemetery. According to reports, the body of the part-time Census field worker had the word "fed" scrawled across the chest.
As details continue to emerge, investigators claim they are trying to determine whether the death was a killing or a suicide, and if a killing, whether the motive was related to his government job or to anti-government sentiment. Lucindia Scurry-Johnson, assistant director of the Census Bureau's southern office in Charlotte, N.C., said law enforcement officers have told the agency the matter is "an apparent homicide" but nothing else.
Setting aside the fact that this would be the mother of all bizarre suicides, Johnson seems oddly confident that this was not a political killing, considering the word "Fed" -- short for "Federal" -- is a loaded label that usually indicates anti-government sentiment. "Federal" means "Big Government," and the word has taken on a derogatory meaning in right-wing circles where fear and paranoia reign supreme. I agree with Johnson that this seems like an apparent homicide, but it's not "nothing else." By utilizing the branding "Fed," the killers were clearly trying to make a political statement, namely "Obama: Stay Out."
The word definitely packs an ideological punch, but not only is it anti-government, it's anti-Obama. Let's remember that most of the fringe now screaming about the dangers of Big Brother never made a peep during eight years of Bush's ballooning executive branch. Suddenly, big government is a big problem, and the "Feds" are to blame.
Today on Federal News Radio, news director Ted Werbin of WHAS-radio in Louisville reported that Sparkman had told others he had been warned by a retired state trooper to be careful in rural Clay County because some people there "aren't fond of anyone from the federal government." Such paranoia and anger isn't contained in the woods of Kentucky. The problem is systematic.
Rather than immediately condemn the killing, some right-wing commenters are now using the occasion of Sparkman's death to chat about their various conspiracy theories all involving the "feds." Over on the message boards of Conservative radio and TV host Sean Hannity, "mtbeaches," writes
Just this week I heard another story about the Daniel Boone Forest in Kentucky...odd coincidence, but someone was telling me they stumbled onto a Obama/seiu/acorn retraining camp they have out in the middle of nowhere there. Of course, there's a proper government name for it...but eyewitnesses that mistakenly took it for a welcome center said "there were obama posters plastered all over the walls, along with pro union propaganda about what your government can do for you". of course they didn't get to spend too much time looking around as they were told it was "for employee's only"
Weirdly, in this government building, which of course has a "proper government name" (those crafty sons of bitches,) there are photos of the current sitting President. Communists! And then for some odd reason, when mtbeaches's friends busted into the government building, they got kicked out. He's not sure why.
By the way, the Obama/SEIU/ACORN retraining camp mtbeaches refers to is a Job Corps center, a no-cost education and vocational training program administered by the U.S. Department of Labor that helps young people ages 16 through 24 get a "better job, make more money, and take control of their lives," according to their official website. You and I may call this a banal example of a government program. Others, namely the type to kill a Census worker and string up his body as message to the government, may call it a retraining camp run by the "Feds."
This is the kind of violent event that emerges from a culture of paranoia and unsubstantiated attacks. Personalities like Glenn Beck have irresponsibly accused the government of running FEMA concentration camps, and constantly stoke the fear of "the Feds" taking over. For example, during this May interview conducted by Beck with Judge Andrew Napolitano, FOX News analyst and author of The Constitution in Exile, Napolitano continually uses "Feds" in a derogatory and fear-mongering way.
Napolitano explained that Montana's governor signed a law nullifying the federal regulation of firearms that are built, sold and used exclusively within the State of Montana, and "if the Feds don't like this, Montana will consider secession." Because, let's remember, the government wants to take away all the guns, another fear-mongering lie spread by right-wing fringe leaders.
Napolitano uses the term "Feds" again when Beck asks him if he's worried that we're losing the "essence of America" (seriously).
I'm terrified, Glenn, and I watch this stuff for a living as you know, that the congress will soon authorize the treasury secretary to interfere with private contracts and that, of course, will destroy commercial activity as we know it if the Feds can come in and say you charged too much, you didn't charge enough, you paid this person too much.Fear and anger: these are the only two gears Beck, Napolitano, and the merchants of miseducation use.
The "private contracts" legislation Napolitano refers to is The Pay for Performance Act of 2009, which prohibits the payment of "unreasonable or excessive" compensation, including bonuses that are not based on performance, by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the federal home loans banks, and firms that have received funds under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act. The Act prevents executives from skipping town with a few billion dollars of tax payer money, and it does not "destroy commercial activity."
Except, the details don't matter in right-wing Crazyville. Rush Limbaugh actually summarized the Pay for Performance Act by saying, "When the leftists start talking about fairness, they are the slave masters." This is the level of insanity we're dealing with here. Regulating lavish bonuses is now akin to slavery in the right-wing fringe's diseased minds.
These kinds of transparent lies would be hilarious to dissect if so many people didn't really believe them. Beck, Hannity, O'Reilly, and Limbaugh not only stoke the fear and anger in the hearts and minds of their listeners, but then they also suggest their audience should then direct that anger at the flavor of the months (gays, feminists, poor people, abortion providers, or the "Feds"). And then they act surprised when a sick person acts on their fear by lashing out violently.
The surprise and indignation from the right-wing is insincere. Violent rhetoric begets violence, and no one should act surprised when a Sparkman-like killing happens again.
Cross-posted from Allison Kilkenny's blog. Also available on Facebook and Twitter.
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Shhh! Census Worker May Have Committed Suicide
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/rusty-weiss/2009/11/06/shhh-census-worker-may-have-committed-suicide
Folks are suspicious of strangers with Federal credentials, who "look like the law," asking questions of any sort, especially In America's "recreational herb farming" and liquor production areas . Census Bureau employees should wear Federal ID that says "CENSUS-TAKER," not "Department of Commerce." (What's that mean to a "woodsie?")
Further, most folks don't have a very good idea of what census is about and the heavy restrictions put on the use of information developed by census interviewers. Census should be explained in the 7th grade! People need to understand that the census provides data the government uses to distribute federal money, programs and services based on the numbers of people in a particular area requiring those services.
Besides, the whole thing about pot growers or meth-labbers making some kind of national bold statement? I'm fairly certain that if these modern day shiners want to get The Man's boot off their neck, they wouldn't do it with a big, bright, national-attention-getting neon "fed" sign that, basically, invites the DEA to swarm in with their SWAT units, armored personnel carriers and automatic rifles.
Sparkman would simply have disappeared into the deep(er) woods and nobody would have found him again. I believe the last thing druggers want is to draw attention to their farms or labs, not invite open warfare.
So, did they get any better?
We are supposed to be a civilized society, yet our airwaves have been overtaken by people who have no concept of civility, morality or ethical conduct. Sure, people could complain and bitch at their elected officials, and they can even not like them, but what these imbeciles are doing is way beyond normal, it is despicable and harmful to our country.
“They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security.”
However, I believe there ARE already laws on the books regarding a) inciting to violence or even b) against sedition. The biggest problem, from my not-even-paralegal understanding, is that you maybe have to prove intent of the inciters. Can we prove these think-tankers who crank out talking points for their ideologue parrots to parrot intend for government workers or leaders to be assassinated or the government overthrown through insurrection? We would need to find super-secret emails that say "let's get them all saying "Nazi" or "socialist" or "kill grandma" so they can assassinate the president or Speaker of the House or poor street-level census workers" or whatever.
Frank Schaeffer (author of "Crazy For God" — and "co-author" of the religious Right movement in this country, now repentant) says there is zero doubt in his mind about the think-tankers' motives. He said (on Rachel Maddow) "They are placing a loaded gun on the table and are daring anybody to use it" with all this socialist, Nazi, birther code-talking.
Still: Just as with any other terrorists (since this is clearly what they are), the moment we curtail liberties to fight against their attacks, instead of using the strengths of free speech (shining the verbal klieg lights under their particular rocks) to fight back, that is the moment they win.
But still, it seems to me there is something going on here that goes above and beyond "free speech". As the original commenter pointed out - there are valid reasons to disagree with Obama, and reasonable ways to do so - many republicans do this. Mostly everything Sarah Palin says is complete drivel, but where she has attempted to disagree with Obama since his election, it has been in a relatively civil manner focused on actual issues like healthcare. She may have told a few porkers with the death panel business, but at least she's trying to connect it to actual legislation.
However, it's something above and beyond when you start plucking random peices, many of which happen to be pure fantastical fabrication, and putting them together to create a conspiratorial puzzle that amounts to Obama seeking to destroy "the American way" and "white culture", and having "secret training camps" out in the woods.
Granted, this is one random commenter - but what about Glenn Beck implying that Obama's supporters are raising a black army, just because he found some video of a stepdancing group? There has to be a point at which someone can say, STOP MAKING THINGS UP, and there have to be consequences beyond them shrugging and being like, "well, it COULD be true, I'm just SAYING the evidence might point to..."
When does this turn from deliberately misinformed speculation to
I wish there was an amendment against stupidity, but then we would lose most of the nation.
And this is an addition to what is becoming a laundry list of politically related violence: Poullion, Tiller, the holocaust museum shooting...What is causing this string of rash violence? It has nothing to do with Obama personally, but I do think it's related to a lot of the fearmongering going on since he entered office - people are afraid of a black democrat in charge, and they are trying to justify that fear by labelling it as a fear of big government.
The census has been going on for years - and all of the sudden it's some communist intrusion? You don't think that's a LITTLE bit strange?
Certainly there hasn't been enough evidence in yet in this sad case to say it was some redneck who worships Glen Beck - but it doesn't take much imagination to see that it could be.
P.S. Glen Beck is claiming that he got ACORN defunded.
The surprise here is... ? LOL
Beck probably believes he is the reason helium makes balloons float, yes?
Besides, I can't wait for the first court case challenging this "defund ACORN" bill wins because such bills are unconstitutional (that whole Congress shall pass no bills of attainder thing).
They can't create laws that discriminate against only one individual or organization.
If ACORN employees tried to help a prostitute cheat on taxes — that Repubs and libertarians hate anyway, Right? — and you ban them, then you have to also ban any other private contractor who breaks laws. You know, like Blackwater or KBR for committing murder, those private IT contractors who had employees poking through visa records of Obama, Clinton and McCain during the campaign, and on and on and on.
All those contractors are still employed by the government and not for the monetary peanuts being tossed at ACORN. Yeah: I want to see little Glennie squeal when that "law" gets squashed.
The First Amendment protects all of our speech, of course, so long as it does not advocate wrong-doing.
You say "toh-may-toh" I say "toh-mah-toh".
One person's "wrong doing" is another's "right doing." John Wilkes Boothe wrote in a diary entry after he assassinated Lincoln that he was just fulfilling the will of god, and was completely taken aback when he saw newspaper headlines calling him a criminal after the fact of murder. He thought they would cheer his action.
I believe the 1st Amendment actually pretty much says "anything goes" with speech. It was only later legal precedent (shouting "fire!" in a crowded theater thing) that suggested there ARE limits to what reasonable people can say or do. Ditto with the later laws against inciting mob violence or against sedition (actively calling for the violent overthrow of the government).
Thing is, I believe these screed screechers are treading on extremely thin legal ice with talk of secession and also believe strong arguments can be made that the theater is already very crowded and the Beck/Limbaugh/Savage ilk ARE shouting "fire."
I understand being careful about leaping to any conclusions by investigators, but find it immensely difficult to find any deductive path to "accident" or "suicide."
I get how a person can duct tape their own eyes, mouth and ankles, and could even accept that scrawling "fed" on your own chest could be a suicide note if you are nuts enough to buy in to Michele Bachman's rants about the invasive evils of taking census data.
But how on earth do you duct tape your own wrists? Anybody?
Nope. This was done to Mr. Sparkman. And that whole bit about hanging with feet on the ground? Imagine having your throat tethered to a tree and left alone, naked, in the deep woods. What happens when you get tired? When you have to know you will eventually, unless discovered in time, pass out from fatigue and/or exposure?
This was torture. And clearly a hate crime (murder making a "statement" to a whole group of individuals — feds and those who support them).
Of course, there are "5 Pillars" of the Muslim faith.
I don't believe Mr. Obama used this parallel by accident. I think he used it as a tip of the cap to the followers of Islam.
Islam has no corner on the market of pillar lingo ("he is a pillar of the community" often as not in this dominant culture indicates a person's not just a good citizen, but a good Christian citizen to those same zealots who think Obama is an alien usurper socialist who wants to kill grandma).
He may have used religious lingo as a tip of the hat to Muslims, but could just as easily used that same phrase as a tip of the hat to the Christian world.
I believe we are foolish, or practicing dangerous denial, to believe this is not coordinated. That T-baggers from California to DC carry signs with exactly the same messages, and those messages fit hand-in-glove with virulent prejudices in SC or MS or LA or WV or MT is no super-synchronicity, no super-coincidence.
OK: All things are possible in this great, wide universe, but this level of "coincidence" bends the stats curve into deep improbability — there is just too much conformity of message going on here for it not to be coordinated.
Rachel Maddow said it best: "Hm. Obama pals around with terrorists. He's not even a citizen. In fact, he's like Hitler — and we know what Hitler deserved... ."
I work with two females, #1, married/white, #2, involved/hispanic. Sharing discussions for the past 10 years, on business, politics, the economy, etc. we've managed to center our agreements, as a rule, binding our friendships.
This year, #1 has markedly increased her antii-government rhetoric, disguised as new contempt for federal spending, the health care debate, wishing someone would just '...drop a bomb on the Congress and the White House...'(her actual words), etc . Mistrust, fear, paranoia, coming chaos, financial and social disintegration are all a part of her regular vocabulary. Yet, #1's own life is full of unquestionable pleasure in her existing federal/state benefits, such as the Hope scholarship program that her children enjoy, or her federal paycheck(!), giving us little room to complain with regard to how effectively the government executes its' responsibility to perform for the taxpayer.
Her favorite TV network? Fox
Her favorite talking heads? Beck
#2 and I have had increasing discussions on our methods of 'handling' the rhetoric, such as, silence on her attempts to make points, moving on to other discussions, and just simply not endorsing her rhetoric.
I'm hoping that she'll catch the hints at some point and realize that she'll have to peddle her wares elsewhere. If not, our group will evolve from 3 and become 2 1/2.
A guest on the Maddow show put it best: these people are the insane quarter of the country, immune to facts that contradict their elements of faith. They've been raised to distrust facts deeply, to put all their trust in faith. This has been hijacked by other slightly smarter people (Beck, O'Rielly) and now her "faith" includes things she's heard on TV -- but still were never run by any fact filters.
And let us remember what took the twin towers down.....radical, religions fanatics who had been trained and encouraged to hate to the point of destruction.
I think when it becomes known who is responsible for the murder of this census worker that he/she should be held up as an example to all home-grown terrorists and have the book thrown at them.
"They are placing a loaded gun on the table" and are inviting those who hear this dog whistle language to use it, Schaeffer concluded. (Rachel Maddow interview still on my DVR.)
Arming up? Not just the underclass. I live in Michigan. There was a recent local news report talking about how there is a run on the gun shops — by corporate management types.
Hint 1: The most insidious African American stereotypes were created by plantation owners, whose goal was to manipulate common people into becoming de facto police for them, in case their slaves escaped. These owners openly discussed this strategy of division and co-opting public ignorance to shore up their profit center (and make it seem less evil, I'm sure).
Hint 2: While pre-Civil War abolitionists fought for change on moral grounds, the southern states seceded and started war for purely economic reasons: Their "corporate" (plantation) profits were being threatened and, to them, it was worth the 600,000+ American deaths that resulted to secure continuance of their inhumane profits. These plantation CEOs whipped-up the populace to a frenzy with dog-whistle language that, yes, led to war. And they were just fine with that, since their greed was more important than the lives of the great unwashed masses.
I don't know how much we can attribute the uptick of violence as a result of the "fake" right-wing disdain for census workers, but I will say that I have never felt so distant from my neighbors. At one point the very neighbors that I would at one point have friendly conversations with, I now just nod in acknowlegement, and rarely engage any of them in conversation since I overheard several conversations in support of the crap that Beck spews. Once I entered the room, the conversations discontinued and the once friendly neighbors left the room, without speaking.
But can they really be my friends if we're so polarized" If I literally HATE their values, and they hate mine?
http://www.squidoo.com/alexandra_pelosi
So, do you have any specific examples where any of these commentators made suggestions to their audiences to harm the groups you indicate in any specific way?
Have they advocated anything beyond exercising one's First Amendment rights?
I watch Mr. Beck regularly. He has on numerous occasions advocated strongly against violence of any kind to anyone.
So how is that strongly against violence? You call the president a "racist", but then say, well maybe he isn't, but he does have a strong hatred for white people". This man is not a well man, and those that lean on his every word, unfortunately are not either. He is inconsistent, inaccurate, he lies, embellishes and is a "inconvenient opportunist".
Actually, I don't think the First Amendment was designed for people like Rush, Hannity, Beck and O'Reilly. I'd say it was designed for sane Americans!
Actually, I think if the founding fathers had had to deal with people like them, they probably would have created an Amendment to kick them out of this country. Well.... I can dream, can't I?