Average Joe

Joe Stack (An American) flew his small plane into a Austin, Texas IRS building killing himself and one other. His suicide note has been called ' A manifesto' and he has been branded 'a terrorist' and a 'whackjob'.
Old Knudsen does not support his method of protest or retaliation but the man did have a point and if that Faux news twat Shepard Smith sneers at the letter and argues every point from his out of touch bubble of celeb then I can give my two nontaxable cents worth.

First of no one likes to pay taxes and Americans are the worse ones for it, no taxation without representation well how did that work out fer ya?

His letter:

If you're reading this, you're no doubt asking yourself, "Why did this have to happen?" The simple truth is that it is complicated and has been coming for a long time. The writing process, started many months ago, was intended to be therapy in the face of the looming realization that there isn't enough therapy in the world that can fix what is really broken. Needless to say, this rant could fill volumes with example after example if I would let it.

Most people blog to a brick wall , its true it can't be fixed because those in power want things to run in their favour.

I find the process of writing it frustrating, tedious, and probably pointless... especially given my gross inability to gracefully articulate my thoughts in light of the storm raging in my head. Exactly what is therapeutic about that I'm not sure, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

It is every American's right to armed revolt against the government as that is how this cuntry started.

We are all taught as children that without laws there would be no society, only anarchy. Sadly, starting at early ages we in this country have been brainwashed to believe that, in return for our dedication and service, our government stands for justice for all. We are further brainwashed to believe that there is freedom in this place, and that we should be ready to lay our lives down for the noble principals represented by its founding fathers. Remember? One of these was "no taxation without representation". I have spent the total years of my adulthood unlearning that crap from only a few years of my childhood. These days anyone who really stands up for that principal is promptly labeled a "crackpot", traitor and worse.

There is no government like no government. The government even has a say who can or cannot get married, WTF? A cuntry built on the ideals of freedom signing bills and declarations as slaves fill their cups for a toast and weemen aren't given a say. The Cherokees won their land in court fair and square using the law but the the president Andrew Jackson would not uphold it and they were marched off it and unto a reservation................ those that made it.

Gog forbid you say anything unpopular or yer called anti-American, Old Knudsen is merely anti-cunt.

There has never been a politician cast a vote on any matter with the likes of me or my interests in mind. Nor, for that matter, are they the least bit interested in me or anything I have to say.

Ever so true , you elect them on promises and they do what they want mostly to please those who make a difference to them.

Why is it that a handful of thugs and plunderers can commit unthinkable atrocities (and in the case of the GM executives, for scores of years) and when it's time for their gravy train to crash under the weight of their gluttony and overwhelming stupidity, the force of the full federal government has no difficulty coming to their aid within days if not hours? Yet at the same time, the joke we call the American medical system, including the drug and insurance companies, are murdering tens of thousands of people a year and stealing from the corpses and victims they cripple, and this country's leaders don't see this as important as bailing out a few of their vile, rich cronies.

Have you read anything crazy or untrue in his rant yet?

Yet, the political "representatives" (thieves, liars, and self-serving scumbags is far more accurate) have endless time to sit around for year after year and debate the state of the "terrible health care problem". It's clear they see no crisis as long as the dead people don't get in the way of their corporate profits rolling in.

So much talk and spin then the idea gets voted down after thousands of hours of talk time and mud slinging.

And justice? You've got to be kidding!

The government is more concerned about the welfare of its criminals than its people.

How can any rational individual explain that white elephant conundrum in the middle of our tax system and, indeed, our entire legal system? Here we have a system that is, by far, too complicated for the brightest of the master scholars to understand. Yet, it mercilessly "holds accountable" its victims, claiming that they're responsible for fully complying with laws not even the experts understand. The law "requires" a signature on the bottom of a tax filing; yet no one can say truthfully that they understand what they are signing; if that's not "duress" than what is. If this is not the measure of atotalitarian regime, nothing is.

Victims rights are secondary and nothing is ever fully explained because in America there is always a hidden loophole to screw you over.

I learned that there are two "interpretations" for every law; one for the very rich, and one for the rest of us... Oh, and the monsters are the very ones making and enforcing the laws; the inquisition is still alive and well today in this country.

Those with and those without I believe they called it during Katrina.

That little lesson in patriotism cost me $40,000+, 10 years of my life, and set my retirement plans back to 0. It made me realize for the first time that I live in a country with an ideology that is based on a total and complete lie.

The government promises and the government takes away. Don't sneer at the lazy bums on Welfare do you think most of them want to live under the poverty line and have nothing? Don't count on having a pension either.

It also made me realize, not only how naive I had been, but also the incredible stupidity of the American public; that they buy, hook, line, and sinker, the crap about their "freedom"... and that they continue to do so with eyes closed in the face of overwhelming evidence and all that keeps happening in front of them.

I've been saying that for years its called denial and apathy.

At the age of 18 or 19 when I was living on my own as student in an apartment in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. My neighbor was an elderly retired woman (80+ seemed ancient to me at that age) who was the widowed wife of a retired steel worker. Her husband had worked all his life in the steel mills of central Pennsylvania with promises from big business and the union that, for his 30 years of service, he would have a pension and medical care to look forward to in his retirement. Instead he was one of the thousands who got nothing because the incompetent mill management and corrupt union (not to mention the government) raided their pension funds and stole their retirement. All she had was social security to live on.

That was back when jobs were for life and you'd be looked after in yer retirement. How many backroom union deals have lost jobs? How many pensions has the government gambled with? Old Knudsen has heard these stories from the mighty Kaiser steel works in Southern Callyfornia.

In retrospect, the situation was laughable because here I was living on peanut butter and bread (or Ritz crackers when I could afford to splurge) for months at a time. When I got to know this poor figure and heard her story I felt worse for her plight than for my own (I, after all, I thought I had everything to in front of me). I was genuinely appalled at one point, as we exchanged stories and commiserated with each other over our situations, when she in her grandmotherly fashion tried to convince me that I would be "healthier" eating cat food (like her) rather than trying to get all my substance from peanut butter and bread.

Old people eating cat food isn't such an uncommon story.

During 1987, I spent close to $5000 of my 'pocket change', and at least 1000 hours of my time writing, printing, and mailing to any senator, congressman, governor, or slug that might listen; none did, and they universally treated me as if I was wasting their time.

Time for armed revolt or learning how to fly I guess.

Rewind my retirement plans back to 0 and shift them into idle. If I had any sense, I clearly should have left abandoned engineering and never looked back.

Instead I got busy working 100-hour workweeks. Then came the L.A. depression of the early 1990s. Our leaders decided that they didn't need the all of those extra Air Force bases they had in Southern California, so they were closed; just like that. The result was economic devastation in the region that rivaled the widely publicized Texas S&L fiasco. However, because the government caused it, no one gave a shit about all of the young families who lost their homes or street after street of boarded up houses abandoned to the wealthy loan companies who received government funds to "shore up" their windfall. Again, I lost my retirement.

Clinton cut defense and didn't think too much about a Bin Laden fella trying to blow up the world trade centre the first time, in the UK Blair was cutting the armed forces doon. The Gulf war abortion was Bush Snr in 1991 if you remember.

Years later, after weathering a divorce and the constant struggle trying to build some momentum with my business, I find myself once again beginning to finally pick up some speed. Then came the .COM bust and the 911 nightmare. Our leaders decided that all aircraft were grounded for what seemed like an eternity; and long after that, 'special' facilities like San Francisco were on security alert for months. This made access to my customers prohibitively expensive. Ironically, after what they had done the Government came to the aid of the airlines with billions of our tax dollars ... as usual they left me to rot and die while they bailed out their rich, incompetent cronies WITH MY MONEY! After these events, there went my business but not quite yet all of my retirement and savings.

To Old Knudsen it doesn't seem like the government of the US really does too much to aid the small people except talk to them. They look from the top doon and not from the bottom up.

By this time, I'm thinking that it might be good for a change. Bye to California, I'll try Austin for a while. So I moved, only to find out that this is a place with a highly inflated sense of self-importance and where damn little real engineering work is done. I've never experienced such a hard time finding work. The rates are 1/3 of what I was earning before the crash, because pay rates here are fixed by the three or four large companies in the area who are in collusion to drive down prices and wages... and this happens because the justice department is all on the take and doesn't give a fuck about serving anyone or anything but themselves and their rich buddies.

Some one always tries to run what goes on in any city or state but self-importance is the American way of life.

To survive, I was forced to cannibalize my savings and retirement, the last of which was a small IRA. This came in a year with mammoth expenses and not a single dollar of income. I filed no return that year thinking that because I didn't have any income there was no need. The sleazy government decided that they disagreed. But they didn't notify me in time for me to launch a legal objection so when I attempted to get a protest filed with the court I was told I was no longer entitled to due process because the time to file ran out. Bend over for another $10,000 helping of justice.

I many court cases the judge will just not allow you to speak on yer own behalf and anything that will benefit you will have a secret expiration date.

I choose to not keep looking over my shoulder at "big brother" while he strips my carcass, I choose not to ignore what is going on all around me, I choose not to pretend that business as usual won't continue; I have just had enough.

Everyone has their breaking point and I an surprised that so many Americans put up with all of this but short of flying planes into buildings they have very little recourse.
I can only hope that the numbers quickly get too big to be white washed and ignored that the American zombies wake up and revolt; it will take nothing less.
Nope you'll be labeled a nut by the press and forgotten about ........ yer point all lost and American idol will get more interest.

I spent my entire life trying to believe it wasn't so, but violence not only is the answer, it is the only answer. The cruel joke is that the really big chunks of shit at the top have known this all along and have been laughing, at and using this awareness against, fools like me all along.
America is revolting but the people are too fat and passive.

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.

Insanity or idiot hope, I doubt the IRS will stop at a pound of flesh. They will say you have paid yer dues but put an alert onto yer bank account so when you have a certain amount they ding you for more.

The communist creed: From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.

The capitalist creed: From each according to his gullibility, to each according to his greed.

Both systems only work for those in charge or that have money. Mr Stack had a valid point and was sick of being punished for nothing while trying to make a living. Just another crazy American but one who didn't stay in the Matrix.

To sum it up he didn't have such a bad life that he needed to do this he lost money but could afford to move and take flying lessons. Yeah he was nuts/stupid but he did have a point but that was all he had.