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07 Mar 2010 12:05

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U.S.: The rise of the “lone wolf” extremist hard to combat

  • We have seen an increase in the lone wolf type attacks, which, from a law enforcement and investigation perspective, are the most challenging. Why? Because by definition they’re not conspiring.
  • Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano • Discussing “lone wolf” attacks like the ones by John Patrick Bedell (who shot two Pentagon security guards last week), Joe Stack (who flew a plane into an IRS building in February) and Johnny Lee Wicks (who was killed in a January courthouse attack after losing a case regarding his Social Security benefits). For those playing at home, that’s three “lone wolf” attacks in three months, which is problematic for law enforcement, because it’s not easy to prevent such cases. source

24 Feb 2010 20:40

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U.S.: One widow sues another: The Austin crash becomes a legal battle

  • Vernon Hunter’s wife says Sheryl Stack should’ve known Joe was a threat. Joe Stack may have died in his ill-guided plane crash, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be any lawsuits. Valerie Hunter is suing Sheryl Stack, saying her actions – including taking her daughter with her to a hotel the night before the crash – suggest she knew something like this might happen. In other news, there’s lots of ego-waving over the incident happening right now, including this example. source

22 Feb 2010 09:25

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U.S.: Who’s the hero in the Joe Stack IRS attack? Depends on who you ask

  • His last actions, the suicide, the catastrophe that caused injuries and death, that was wrong. 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.
  • Joe Stack’s daughter Samantha Bell • Regarding her opinion on what her father did. Without condoning the action of crashing into an IRS building in Austin, Bell condoned the intent of the action, which was to bring attention to U.S. tax laws. Ken Hunter, whose father Vernon Hunter died in Stack’s plane crash attack, disagreed completely, as one might assume considering the fact that his dad died in the attack. “How can you call someone a hero who after he burns down his house, gets into his plane… and drive it into the building to kill people?,” he said. “My dad Vernon did two tours of duty in Vietnam. My dad’s a hero.” source

19 Feb 2010 12:06

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U.S.: Plane-crasher Joe Stack’s big issue may have been unfair tax policy

  • What policy? A 1978 law limited how employers could be punished for misclassifying employees as contractors, but in 1986 an exception was made for engineers and computer workers specifically.
  • The effect The exception affected workers like Stack, forcing the employees to have to pay back taxes if the IRS found that they were misclassified. It’s an issue Obama’s still trying to reform today.
  • Joe’s issue Stack spent $5,000 of his own money lobbying to change the law to no effect. The change forced him to pay significant backroll taxes due to his contractor status. He compared himself to a slave. source

18 Feb 2010 20:37

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Politics: Plane-crasher Joe Stack: Terrorism or a really pissed off crazy dude?

  • I know this guy wasn’t part of al Qaida or a white power group, but how can this not qualify as an act of terrorism given the obvious political motive, however nutty it was?
  • True/Slant blogger Michael Roston • Discussing crazy guy Joe Stack, who crashed a plane into an Austin, Tx. IRS building today. Nobody was killed except for Stack, but for whatever reason, the case isn’t being treated like a terrorism thang despite the fact that it looks like, smells like, and quacks like a duck. Roston isn’t alone in debating the political implications of this insane case, with this guy getting tied to liberals, tea partiers, conservatives, and anyone that won’t have him. Personally, we’d stick him with the Lyndon LaRouche company just because we need to stick him somewhere. source