U.S. Census Worker Found Lynched in Kentucky

Last week House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged conservative leaders to tone down their anti-Obama rhetoric and warned that the hate speech coming from right-wing nut-jobs like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck could result in violence.This story from the Associated Press shows that her words may have been more prophetic than anyone could have imagined.

"The FBI is investigating the hanging death of a U.S. Census worker near a Kentucky cemetery, and a law enforcement official told The Associated Press the word 'fed" was scrawled on the dead man's chest.

The body of Bill Sparkman, a 51-year-old part-time Census field worker and occasional teacher, was found Sept. 12 in a remote patch of the Daniel Boone National Forest in rural southeast Kentucky. The Census has suspended door-to-door interviews in rural Clay County, where the body was found, pending the outcome of the investigation.

Investigators are still trying to determine whether the death was a killing or a suicide, and if a killing, whether the motive was related to his government job or to anti-government sentiment.

Investigators have said little about the case. The law enforcement official, who was not authorized to discuss the case and requested anonymity, said Wednesday the man was found hanging from a tree and the word "fed" was written on the dead man's chest. The official did not say what type of instrument was used to write the word.

FBI spokesman David Beyer said the bureau is helping state police with the case.

"Our job is to determine if there was foul play involved — and that's part of the investigation — and if there was foul play involved, whether that is related to his employment as a census worker," said Beyer.

Beyer declined to confirm or discuss any details about the crime scene.

Lucindia Scurry-Johnson, assistant director of the Census Bureau's southern office in Charlotte, N.C., said law enforcement officers have told the agency the matter is "an apparent homicide" but nothing else.

Census employees were told Sparkman's truck was found nearby, and a computer he was using for work was found inside it, she said. He worked part-time for the Census, usually conducting interviews once or twice a month.

Sparkman has worked for the Census since 2003, spanning five counties in the surrounding area. Much of his recent work had been in Clay County, officials said.

Door-to-door operations have been suspended in Clay County pending a resolution of the investigation, Scurry-Johnson said."

Barney Frank Deals Town Hall Smackdown

All summer long we've been hearing news about right-wing nut-jobs and their insane rantings at town hall meetings called by elected officials to discuss health care reform. Thanks to folks like Ex-Gov. Sarah "I'm-a-loser-and-a-quitter" Palin and Rush "Bow-down-and-worship-me" Limbaugh, efforts to educate the public about Pres. Obama's proposed health care overhaul have been met with shouting matches, accusations of socialism, paranoia about death panels pulling the plug on Grandma and comparisons to Nazis.

When faced with the lunatic fringe (or what Republicans call their base) doing their best Chicken Little impressions, most Democrats have turned tail and skipped out the service entrance.

Leave it to Congressman Barney Frank to put these idiots in their place. Love him or hate him, you've gotta admit that Barney's got more balls than Bill and Hilary Clinton combined. Check it out:

Ant-Abortion Domestic Terrorism Suspect in Custody

(From huffingtonpost.com) WICHITA, Kan. — A man suspected of fatally shooting abortion doctor George Tiller in church was in jail Monday while investigators sought to learn more about his background, including his possible connections to anti-abortion groups.

Tiller, 67, was serving as an usher during morning services Sunday when he was shot in the foyer of Reformation Lutheran Church, police said. The gunman fired one shot at Tiller and threatened two other people who tried to stop him.

The suspect, identified by one law enforcement agency as Scott Roeder, was taken into custody some 170 miles away in a Kansas City suburb about three hours after the shooting.

Tiller had been a lightning rod for abortion opponents for decades. The women's clinic he ran is one of three in the nation where abortions are performed after the 21st week of pregnancy, when the fetus is considered viable, and has been the site of repeated protests for about two decades. A protester shot Tiller in both arms in 1993, and his clinic was bombed in 1985.

Abortion Provider Assassinated at Church by Christian Terrorist

(The Wichita Eagle) WICHITA - George Tiller, the Wichita doctor who became a national lightning rod in the debate over abortion, was shot to death this morning as he walked into church services.

Tiller, 67, was shot just after 10 a.m. at Reformation Lutheran Church at 7601 E. 13th, where he was a member of the congregation. Witnesses and a police source confirmed Tiller was the victim.

No information has been released about whether a suspect is in custody.

Homicide detectives and Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston have arrived at the church.

Members of the congregation who were inside the sanctuary at the time of the shooting were being kept inside the church by police, and those arriving were being ushered into the parking lot. Witnesses are being transported downtown for interviews and other members of the congregation are slowly being released from inside the sanctuary.

Tiller has long been a focal point of protest by abortion opponents because his clinic, Women's Health Care Services at 5701 E. Kellogg, is one of the few in the country where late-term abortions are performed.

This message was posted on the anti-abortion website armyofgod.com:

"A great day for the unborn children scheduled to be murdered by Babykilling Abortionist George Tiller. George Tiller reaped what he sowed and now has been cast alive into everlasting torment and fire for the innocent blood he has shed. Psalm 55:15 Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them. I pray the person who performed this deed is never known or apprehended."

These are the same people who oppose marriage equality and LGBT rights of any kind. How can anybody take them seriously or see them as anything other than domestic terrorists?

We need to show the American people just how dangerous it is to let these nut-jobs have any say in government, public policy and civil rights decisions. They will stop at nothing to achieve their goals, no matter who gets hurt or killed, all the while playing the victim. Soon enough some spokesperson will release a statement saying "this was the action of a lone, disturbed individual and we do not condone violence."

Bullshit!

When your words motivate people to commit acts of violence against anyone who disagrees with you or your religious beliefs, you are not simply practicing your faith, you are a jihadist.