It started at 9 AM when Austin firefighters responded to a house fire North of Austin. A neighbor reportedly rescued two people from the house, one of them a child. Approximately forty-five minutes later, Joe Stack flew his small single engine plane into one of a group of professional buildings--the Echelon Buildings. This particular building housed IRS offices, in fact, the entire third floor was comprised of offices occupied by the IRS. Not coincidentally, the small Piper Cherokee plane flew straight into the building somewhere in the vicinity of the second and third floor.
What is known so far is that Joe Stack set his house on fire at 9 AM, drove approximately twenty minutes to Georgetown airport, got into his single-engine plane and flew a path straight to the IRS building on Highway 183 in Austin. He flew the plane very low along the highway, possibly to stay below the reach of radar. An eye-witness reported that the plane flew straight along Highway 183, suddenly banked hard to the right, and flew at full-throttle into the building which was apparently his intended target. In the process, the plane's wing clipped an auto which was traveling on the access road adjacent to Highway 183.
Another eye-witness reported that the plane's engine was "screaming" when the plane hit the Echelon Building, further indication that this was no accident.
Joe Stack, a software engineer by trade, had recent financial problems and it is reported that he had "issues" with the IRS. Mr. Stack posted a lengthy "manifesto" on his company website, which he ends with the following declaration:
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. 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.
To read the complete manifesto posted by Joe Stack:
Joe Stack's manifesto
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Comments
Lady Dove - as am I
And before everyone goes all "right wing nut" on this; the professor in Alabama who shot 6 of her colleagues in cold blood was a "left wing nut" and there will always be fringe elements.
So much for homeland security.
Bea
I think we are being too kind if we classify Joe Stack's actions as any kind of political statement. A political statement is one thing - crazy is something else entirely.
As to the matter of homeland security, two F-16 fighter jets were scrambled from Ellington Field (in Houston) immediately and were in the air flying combat defense over Austin within moments. It's hard to defend against crazy - it almost always has to be reactive as opposed to preventive.
Owl - thanks - yep, crazy world and getting more so all the time.
Pilgrim - :-)
JK - Thanks. I think, though, that Mr. Stack started out crazy, hence his unhinged reaction to the injustices he sites in his manifesto.
M Todd - Well said. I totally agree.
" the inquisition is still alive and well today in this country"
A perfect statement. This guy was sharp, but the sad thing is, there'll not be one politician that'll even take note of the desparation. Instead, they'll start ringing the bell to make more laws (or perhaps expand the Patriot Act that was already snuck in on us).
Clark - thanks!
Bea - scary, indeed!
rwnutjob - oh, I believe it will be. This guy was a home-grown crazy.
WSFTC - thank you!
ronnie - I'm confused. what are you saying?
Frankly, no matter how articulate Mr. Stack may have been, the insane act of torching his house and then flying a plane into a building full of innocent people - that act one act damns any credibility all to hell.
angrymom - the fact that he appeared intelligent and articulate does not preclude insanity.
Studman - Agreed.
Don - Mr. Stack is certainly not in a minority when it comes to people who feel mistreated by governmental entities. The decisions he made this morning lie squarely on his shoulders.
Steven - That's right. And he solved precisely nothing.
LL2 - you just never know what a day will bring anymore
femme - thanks!
Bonnie - interesting concept
Writer to the Stars - thank you. I skimmed his manifesto the first time - enough to catch the general drift. Then I went back and read the whole thing, line by line, word by word. I know we all have different tolerance levels, but I know many people who have suffered far worse injustices and they never flew planes into buildings or set their homes on fire. IMHO, in his manifesto, he attempted to portray himself as the ultimately beleaguered martyr. Obviously, his thought process was not that of a rational mind.
Spudman - it is sad, I agree. Who among us hasn't felt desperation at some point? Fortunately, though, most of us have some kind of support system or safety net to fall back on. He either didn't have that, or chose to surpass it.
T.S. - He blamed everyone. And apparently he obsessed over all of it.
Yea, I suppose you're right. Hell, he could've had an invasive aunt and uncle in his house for three weeks. Now THAT's reason to fly airplanes into buildings :-)
As it is, the damage was bad enough. I was able to get a decent look at the building from probably a half-mile away about 12:30 pm--it was on my way to my son's daycare--and it looked pretty much like you'd expect a glass building to look after it had been hit by a small plane.
*rated
JD - Thanks! Curiouser and curiouser!
Bob - Damn skippy!! :-)
trilogy - when I first heard about it this morning, I went nuts texting and calling my son in Austin. He heard it on the news before he went to school, but there wasn't much info then because it had just happened.
Austin Cynic - It could have been so much worse. It's a miracle more people weren't killed or injured. Glad you're safe!
Scarlett - thanks! yes, it's shocking, isn't it?
Clearly this guy could only think about himself. The IRS was taking his "freedom," my ass. I've had my own experiences with the IRS, and I can tell you that for the most part they're very dedicated and conscientious employees who are very willing to work with people with all kinds of tax problems.
The IRS is a lot like dealing with cops. If you come in with a good attitude, you can minimize your personal distress. On the other hand, if you want to go all mental and yell, "PIG!!" then you'll be treated like an animal.
So this guy was feeling so sorry for himself that he burned his house down and committed hari kari on the feds. He is a self-centered terrorist who only cared about himself -- nothing more and nothing less.
rated
susan - thanks. We realize just how harsh it is on days like this.
old new lefty - bravo! you nailed it. As the day has worn on, I've been amazed at the take some people have on this event. I fail to see how anyone can view Joe Stack as anything more than a selfish cowardly terrorist.
Poppi - thank you for reading and for commenting.
The complexity leads to confusion, anger and mistakes on the part of taxpayers. It also leads to unaccountability on the part of our Gov't. A good fifth of the budget is deductions. When programs are paid for by tax revenue, there's usually some accountability. When projects are paid for by deductions, no one's counting.
When US car companies are struggling, did you know there's a tax credit if you buy a certain type of Mercedes Benz? It'd not even a hybrid. You can bet people would scream if the Gov't were cutting checks, instead of taxes to subsidize those cars.
I understand his anguish with the IRS. I also think there are better methods of dealing with that kind of anguish.
I mean, he could have moved out of the country. Just saying.
Good job, Kim. Rated.
Sparking - thank you very kindly!
Rod - exactly. As a friend pointed out to me today, Mr. Stack raved in his manifesto about once having to exist on PB and bread, however, he did just happen to own a plane that he chose to fly into the IRS offices. Ironic, wouldn't you say?
bobbott - very well said and I agree completely
Bill S. - agreed. He had any number of options to express his anguish. He chose the most selfish one.
Missanthrope - thank you. I'm not a big fan of the IRS either, but killing myself over it? Please. How pointless.