So the census worker, Bill Sparkman, staged his own death after all. Color me surprised.

[cherokeeprogressive]

Apparently, it was an attempt to scam insurance companies.

Boy oh boy, there were some DU'ers who were all over this, and claiming that it had to be the result of Michelle Bachmann's anti-census rhetoric, or that he died at the hands of right-wing loonies. Some very bad shit was also posted toward anyone and everyone who said we should wait before jumping to conclusions. Those people wanted to wait turned out to be right. Some were called freepers, some were called reich wing defenders, and other bad shit.

http://www.kentucky.com/latest_news/story/1032979.html

Some real interesting reading at the link below about how DU'ers percieved Sparkman's suicide.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/searchresults.html?domains=democraticunderground.com&q=%22census+worker%22+%2Bhomicide&sitesearch=democraticunderground.com&client=pub-7805397860504090&forid=1&ie=ISO-8859-1&oe=ISO-8859-1&cof=GALT%3A%23008000%3BGL%3A1%3BDIV%3A%23336699%3BVLC%3A663399%3BAH%3Acenter%3BBGC%3AFFFFFF%3BLBGC%3A336699%3BALC%3A0000FF%3BLC%3A0000FF%3BT%3A000000%3BGFNT%3A0000FF%3BGIMP%3A0000FF%3BFORID%3A11&hl=en

[TheBigotBasher]

1. At minimum

I am sceptical. DU scepticism has been right many many times.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7080489

[Mudoria]

16. And wrong more times than not..

[joeybee12]

20. Can i see the studies you've done confirming this?

Thanks so much.

[Prism]

2. But speculation is fun . . .

I mean, sure, you have to climb over a dead man and his devastated family to get your internet warrior on, but it's all in the name of entertainment. Doesn't harm anyone!

I expect a lot of "fake but accurate" to come flying out of this. "Sure, we were 100% wrong in our conclusions, but the meta-narrative is true!"

It's like a strange kind of secular political religion.

[cherokeeprogressive]

4. LOL too true. n/t

[sailor65]

6. +1

Well said....

[timeforpeace]

31. Still say it was a conspiracy to make us look stupid. Well played, Bill.

[DefenseLawyer]

3. It is always easier for police to solve a suicide than a murder

Hey and the insurance company is off the hook too. We can all close the file and go home. This may turn out to have been a suicide, but people have plenty of reason to be skeptical of such a conclusion on its face.

[WCGreen]

5. Excuse me but I seem to remember the media putting that spin on

the whole affair.

They went all yellow journalism on it. Is it so much of a surprise that people thought it was a hate crime.

[otohara]

38. They Jumped On It Like WMD's in Iraq

Wrong again!

[DJ13]

7. I want to see a demonstration

Lets see someone recreate the scene, where he supposedly bound his own hands with duct tape , removed the roll from the scene, wrote the word FED on himself, then used his self duct taped bound hands to climb a tree, put a rope around his neck, then hang himself.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

11. You obviously missed the part where his feet where touching the ground.

Reading is fundamental.

[Barack_America]

14. Not at all. How many days do you figure you could stand in such a manner?

Before collapsing and strangling yourself?

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

18. Why would he need to stand there for days?

[Barack_America]

22. Well, he was found some days after he went missing.

So there is a good deal of time to account for. When did he die? Did he die early in the week and his body sit at the tree or did he die closer to the time he was found?

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

24. Based on the decomposition he'd reportedly been dead for several days.

[Bluebear]

25. 'His legs were bent at the knee and his knees were less than six inches off the ground' -

Where does it say his feet are touching the ground?

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

26. Unless he was a dwarf or a double amputee his feet were on the ground.

Besides it was widely reported when the story first came out.

[Bluebear]

28. OK well you were bitching about reading being fundamental, though

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

34. I guess a little common sense is too much to ask.

[MattBaggins]

37. Well there Mr Expert of Common Sense

could you fill me in on just how a person overcomes the "fight or flight" part of instinctive self preservation. If a person hangs themselves with their hands so loosely bound and feet touching the ground; how do they get past that overpowering urge the body will send them to stop doing it?

Try drowning yourself in a bowl of water and see if you can do it. The feet touching the ground doesn't prove suicide. People might very well be correct in that his feet touching the ground was the result of the bonds stretching over time. The proof of suicide must be in other evidence.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

39. I have no desire to commit suicide. How did the buddhist monks manage to light themselves on fire?

In the position you describe if one weighted the rope around their neck and the knot tightened, it's quite possible that the knot wouldn't slip even if the weight was taken off of it. It only takes a couple of seconds to black out if both carotid arteries are blocked. It is possible he did change his mind and that he did stand back up, only to black out again because the rope was still cutting off circulation to his brain.

[Barack_America]

12. Also, string a dummy of similar height and weight up in such a manner....

...and see what happens to the bindings after hanging there for several days.

I would propose stringing an actual person up in that way and see how long they can stand there before slumping and strangling themselves, but that would be highly unethical.

[EnlightenedOne]

8. I "still" find suicide hard to believe

regardless of the report. According to his son and his friends - he showed no signs of despair and was happy. Just doesn't make sense.

[Barack_America]

9. Well, if the authorities say it, it must be true.

[Peregrine Took]

Yes, I always believe everything the gov'mint tells me. n/t

[EFerrari]

35. Thank God we have the Official Story.

[avaistheone1]

42. The authorities...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejvyDn1TPr8

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

10. Yet when people speculate that Hasan's act was terrorism, they must be freepers.

[paulsby]

32. or that his fanatical religion influenced his actions

nobody dared speculate about that, and even when the facts came out that it clearly was a strong influence, the cognitive dissonance engine was in overdrive.

reminds me of the whole duke case. i was on feministing at the time, and i thought the case stunk from the beginning, and only got worse. i was called a "woman hater" and all other kinds of crap. and no, when it became clear the "victim" was a complete fraud, there were certainly no apologies or admissions. when a story fits the metanarrative, reason goes out the window.

[SidDithers]

13. It makes for interesting reading...

searching on "census" in GD for Sept 23-30.

Sid

[Kaleva]

15. Proving it takes a person with thick skin to go against group think.

[Liberal_in_LA]

17. I'm surprised also. wow

[EOTE]

19. Just like David Kelly killed himself.

Did it ever occur to you that with some deaths, it's far easier to claim suicide than to deal with the alternatives?

[cali]

21. what's the motive? It's not just local and state police but the feds and the ME

why would it be so important to them to stage a criminal cover up of this man's death. David Kelly he wasn't.

[Prism]

27. Did David Kelly buy two life insurance policies just before his death? n/t

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

23. I'll be happy to accept apologies from all those who owe me one.

But run, don't walk, because I won't wait for long.

[Kali]

29. so sad

no work, debt, and fear of medical problems, trying to provide for son

[notesdev]

30. For some, the truth is irrelevant

what really matters is what conforms to their preconceptions.

[Iggo]

33. Well, I'm not glad he did it...

...but I am glad it turned out to be suicide.

EDIT: 'Relieved' would be a better word, I suppose.

[bighart]

36. First line of the statement by the state police.

(LONDON, KY) - "The Kentucky State Police Post 11 in London, with the assistance of the FBI, the U.S. Forest Service, the State Medical Examiner's Office and the Clay County Coroner's Office, has concluded the investigation into the death of William E. Sparkman, Jr."

It appears the feds were involved with the investigation.

[Lex]

40. Color me surprised that police are pushing this story. Not. nt

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

41. Don't forget the FBI. Obama's in on it too I suppose?

:eyes:

[Lex]

44. Gullible = you. nt

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

46. Do tell? Who all is in on the fix? Be precise, please.

[leeroysphitz]

43. OP = "Neener! neener! neener! I told you so! I told you so!" n/t

[MrScorpio]

45. Here's what I said at the time:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=6618424

[cherokeeprogressive]

47. I remember your OP because I posted on it. n/t