This article was originally written on Feb. 22, 2010. A few evenings after its publication, I was interviewed about the piece by radio talk show host, Gayle Falkenthal, substitute hosting for The Rick Amato Show.
Well, it didn’t take them long. Almost immediately after pilot, Joe Stack flew his small plane into the federal building in Austin, Texas, the FBI uncovered a suicide note in which the murdering thug explained his motives. Actually, a litany of complaints were discovered, including a hatred for the IRS. Well, say no more. This was red meat for the mainstream media. After all, anyone who doesn’t like taxes must be connected to those nasty Tea Parties. Right?
A Washington Post editorial described Joe Stack’s alienation as “similar to what we’re hearing from the extreme elements of the Tea Party movement.”
New York Magazine said the suicide note “could have been taken directly from a handwritten note at a Tea Party.”
But you have to hand it to the The Daily Cos. They were much less subtle, refusing to beat around the bush at all with a blog post titled,”Teabagger Terrorist Attack On Federal Building.” Sweet! They aren’t satisfied with holding an opinion of Stack as a kindred spirit of Tea Parties. Indeed, they are absolutely positive the man is a real honest-to-goodness Tea Party patron.
Of course, Stack’s other passionate scents, carried in by a more left leaning wind, are being conspicuously omitted from the articles quoted above. Yes, the man hated taxes. He also ranted against George Bush, big corporations, and anyone who would seek to delay health care reform. That was just for starters. His dramatic closing points praised Communism and denounced Capitalism. Yeah, I get guys like this mixed up with Conservative idealists all the time.
We’ll mercifully put aside the Daily Cos. We expect such poisonous drivel from unaccountable bloggers. As for our “mainstream media;” Have you no shame? I guess that’s a pointless rhetorical question. Why pose questions to people who do not know how to ask questions of their own? They’re only journalists after all. What would they know about tough, fair, probing questions?
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