As you know, we have been following the investigation into the death of part-time census worker, Bill Sparkman, since his his bound and naked body was found in September with "FED" scrawled across his chest. Yesterday, the Kentucky State Police, along with other agencies, concluded that the death was a suicide, not a homicide as earlier reported by witnesses. Apparently, Sparkman believed that lymphoma, which he had fought off last year, had returned. He had taken out several insurance life insurance policies prior to the death, and apparently hoped that his son would benefit from his apparent murder.
Some, oddly including Michelle Malkin, are now demanding apologies for the earlier reports that this was a hate crime. On the heels of several other murders and attacks by extremist right wingers and anti-government types, this certainly appeared to be yet another, especially in light of the witness accounts. For Clay County, Kentucky's sake, it is fortunate for them that this was not a brutal murder, especially since, ironically, in the same edition, the Clay County News reported on the recognition of a Kentucky Alcohol Beverage Control investigator who had been beaten to death 40 years ago in an alcohol theft case. Certainly, there is a long history of anti-government sentiment and activity in this part of the world that continues to be fed by eliminationist rhetoric.
Hopefully, maybe those who practice hateful rhetoric against the government, minorities, and immigrants can learn from this case and tone it down.
I'm not holding my breath, though.
Some, oddly including Michelle Malkin, are now demanding apologies for the earlier reports that this was a hate crime. On the heels of several other murders and attacks by extremist right wingers and anti-government types, this certainly appeared to be yet another, especially in light of the witness accounts. For Clay County, Kentucky's sake, it is fortunate for them that this was not a brutal murder, especially since, ironically, in the same edition, the Clay County News reported on the recognition of a Kentucky Alcohol Beverage Control investigator who had been beaten to death 40 years ago in an alcohol theft case. Certainly, there is a long history of anti-government sentiment and activity in this part of the world that continues to be fed by eliminationist rhetoric.
Hopefully, maybe those who practice hateful rhetoric against the government, minorities, and immigrants can learn from this case and tone it down.
I'm not holding my breath, though.
i could be the most naive person in the world. but could someone please explain how a suicide is staged to reflect a torture/murder? something about this seems very out of order. was there a medical confirmation this man's lymphoma had returned? was the police work totally shoddy or did they purposely release false info to the public? i admit to being out of touch with the news cycle over the past 10 days with a research project, so perhaps i'm just missing something elementary here. appreciate my hurricane friends filling in my gaps with answers.
An apology? I demand an apology for the lie that is the Iraq War. I demand an apology for the 2.6 trillion tax dollars Bush gave to the banks. How about an apology for the 4 trillion taken from Social Security to pay for Ronald Reagan's military spending spree. I demand an apology for having to suffer the ignorant statements coming from the brain dead right that we are force to endure everyday.
Michelle Malkin is the last person who should be asking for an apology. Her one sided book The Culture of Corruption clearly shows she doesn't have a decent grasp of reality. If she had cared to do any real research she would have learned that the bulk of corruption comes from her side of the ideological fence. Anyone slamming the left for corruption after the Bush/Cheney administration needs to have their head examined.
Obviously Michelle and her ilk don't pay attention to current events. They reside in the place I call Fantasy Land.
Not to abjure the dead too much, but doesn't Sparkman deserve a little bit of bile for attempting to use anti-government sentiment in his setup? He was obviously counting on the history of the region to support the staging of his death. He posthumously suckered a bunch of people into what turned out to be a facade.
And forget Malkin; we know and expect bullshit vitriol from her. I think the concern now should be for Sparkman's son.
Really, I totally agree Artemus. If not for the hate and lies brought on by MM and others in the media, who would have reason to believe it was anything other than a hate crime? That was my first thought, the poor man was killed because he worked for the government. Any logical person would likely think the same thing given the amount of rousing and continous spewing of hate by that woman.
"Some, oddly including Michelle Malkin, are now demanding apologies for the earlier reports that this was a hate crime"
An apology? Ok, let's explore that one just a bit. We've seen a GOP VP candidate hold a political rally, accusing Obama of "palling around with a terrorist". We've heard shouts of "kill him" at her rallies. We've heard Bachmann et al suggest that FEMA concentration camps were being built. We've learned that right wing radicals (or mainstream Republicans, since the term has become interchangeable) are stockpiling guns and ammunition. We've heard whack jobs talk about watering the tree of liberty.
And now Malkin wants an apology for reports that the death of a census worker in backwoods anti-government Kentucky may have been a hate crime.
Gee, I wonder why we might have thought that?
What I found interesting about that report was the notation that the victim's mother was loudly denouncing the findings. That's another one of those weird things because I know in her initial statement she hinted that she felt it was a suicide. I'm thinking she may have not been aware of the insurance policies when she initially made that statement. At any rate, at first report the general consensus was that it was likely a hate crime. Not completely unlike the situations where perpetrators scream the black guy did it, the suicidal individual in this case was exploiting a general consensus of which he was well aware.
The speculation was that he wanted money to go to his son, that's why he staged the murder.
Why would a person planning to commit suicide take insurance policies since not money will then be paid?!?