POWIP Piece of Work In Progress – Former Abode of Dan Collins

Joe Stack’s Daughter Considers Him a Hero [UPDATE: Heroism Reconsidered]

Before attacking the IRS offices, Stack burned down his wife's home. While many debated Stack's motives for the arson, Bell said it was likely all part of his anti-government rampage.

"As we pay taxes, we pay taxes on our home as well and my belief is that the house was part of the government," she said. "He wanted to get rid of what was left."

Bell, who lives in Norway and criticized the American system as "very faulty," said that she hopes "everything" will change in light of her father's attack.

"But Rome was not built in one day. But one small step at a time. One step at a time," she said.

The US "system" is "very faulty" and needs to be changed, according to the daughter who lives in Norway. What could she possibly mean? Fortunately, ABC is here to lend a hand:

Melen, 25, said within minutes of taking the note down, the company was "bombarded" with around 3,000 e-mails demanding Stack's words be reposted. Some of the e-mails contained personal threats against Melen.

"What's funny is most people were pretty much praising him," Melen told ABC News last week.

Several pro-Stack Facebook groups popped in the hours after the attack, garnering hundreds of members and postings on Internet message boards from mainstream to extremist sites called Stack a hero and patriot.

The positive view of Stack's personal vendetta against the government online is a reflection of what experts are calling an "explosive" growth in the anti-tax, anti-government movement.

"Extremist groups are already aligning behind [Joe Stack], beginning to talk about him as a hero," said Mark Potok, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which studies American militia and hate groups. "The growth of those groups has been astounding."

Bob Schulz, founder of the anti-tax group We the People Foundation, said that while he only advocates non-violent protest, he can understand Stack's motives and said it is a reflection of a movement unlike any he's ever seen.

"There's a huge patriot movement," Schulz told ABC News Friday. "I've been doing this kind of work for 30 years. Never have I seen the likes of what's going on now. It's delightful."

What? No mention of the Marxist and anti-religious, pro-government health care sentiments in the online manifesto cum suicide note? See, it's the Teabaggers! They're . . . why, they're inappropriate. Also, murderous. But in the eyes of ABC or the Southern Poverty Law Center, the mere position of opposing the administration and its progressive agenda makes one an extremist.

ABC redacts two statements on the part of Samantha Bell. Would they be willing to release their entire interview? I can't see much of her profile, but she's a fan of Barack and John Lennon. On the other hand, she's a fan of a Facebook site managed by Phil Kerpen.

What I want to know is: what made them immediately reach for the Southern Poverty Law Center for comment?

My complaint to ABC/Good Morning, America:

After you interviewed Joe Stack's daughter, Samantha Dawn Bell, why did you reach for the Southern Poverty Law Center for comment? Were you unaware of the Marxist coda on Joe Stack's manifesto cum suicide note online? Did you not see that he was pro-government health care, anti-religion, anti-Bush? Did you not see, when you went to Ms. Bell's Facebook page that she's a fan of Barack Obama?

Tea Partier? No.

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Joe Stack’s Daughter Considers Him a Hero
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Visit came right after visit by this unique IP address, with no referral: 255.255.255.255. Last time someone visited from this experimental broadcast IP, it was via Darleen's link here. Makes me feel a little guinea piggy.

UPDATE: She later called back to Good Morning, America to retract her statement.

Via Memeorandum, others blogging

Dan Collins

Dan Collins is a dude who blogs. He used to blog elsewhere. Now he blogs here.

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