Census Worker Hanged In Rural Kentucky

Word "FED" scrawled across his chest.

Quote :

A part-time census worker found hanging in a rural Kentucky cemetery was naked, gagged and had his hands and feet bound with duct tape, said an Ohio man who discovered the body two weeks ago.

Based on eyewitness descriptions and details released by police, Bill Sparkman was found hanging with his census ID badge taped to his body and the aforementioned "FED" written on his chest.

Quote :

State police had announced the cause of death was asphyxiation, then clarified Friday that was a preliminary determination pending a full medical examination of the body. Rudzinsky said investigators hadn't yet determined whether the death was a homicide, suicide or accidental.

I highly, highly doubt it was suicide or accidental death. I understand that the police have to wait until all the facts are in, but the amount of information already out there makes a pretty compelling case for murder.

Yeah, this is pretty horrifying. I don't have any source to quote for this, but I heard that Michele Bachmann ran her mouth again and might be indirectly responsible for this, because she claimed that census workers were invading Americans' privacy.

ETA: Googled it and found this.

Quote :

Earlier this summer, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) waged a high-profile, wildly-dishonest campaign against the Census. The Minnesota congresswoman said she was so worried about the threat of the government asking “very intricate questions” and collecting information that she would illegally
refuse to fill out the form. “They will be in charge of going door to
door and collecting data from the American public,” she said. “This is very concerning.” She repeatedly used inflammatory and fear-mongering rhetoric against the Census:

– “I think there is a point when you say enough is enough to government intrusion.” [6/25/09]
– “If we look at American history, between 1942 and 1947, the data
that was collected by the census bureau was handed over to the FBI and
other organizations, at the request of President Roosevelt, and that’s how the Japanese were rounded up and put into the internment camps.” [6/25/09]
“You will receive approximately six contacts from them [Census
workers], either through phone calls or they will knock on your door. If you still do not give them the information, they said they’ll contact your neighbor to the left of you, to the right of you to get information.” [6/25/09]

Bachmann’s irrational diatribes about scary stalking Census workers
quickly spawned a right-wing movement. During an interview with
Bachmann, Fox News’ Glenn Beck said, “Ok, so let me talk about the
Census because there’s a lot of people that are concerned
with it because they don’t want to fill it out, they’re not comfortable
with ACORN members coming to find out all this information, they don’t
want to give the government all this kind of information.”

At any rate, this looks very much like the end result of hyperconservative demagoguery, even if it didn't spawn directly from her diarrhea of the mouth.

This actually may not be linked to any particular catalyst. My mother was a census worker one year, and there were certain areas that the normal workers weren't allowed to cover because they were considered too dangerous. But then again, Kentucky doesn't have the Michigan Militia...but then again again, Kentucky doesn't NEED the Michigan Militia...

...the fuck??

You know, I've always gotten the impression that census worker is, like, the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to federal jobs, right above janitor.

To kill this guy reminds me of brain-dead hillbillies in horror movies and 'The Postman' with Kevin Costner, where mailmen are 'SERIUS BISNEZ'.

Oh, noes, the census workers are out to get us! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Seriously, right wing nutjobs, the census happens every ten years. Census workers are not out to get you. They've never been out to get you. They're just getting data on the population in general. A century from now, the data will be released to the general public, because the majority of the people who lived at the time of this census will be gone, and most of those who remain will be too young to remember it.

This sounds like a pretty clear-cut case of homicide to me. The odds of someone accidentally dying after being bound, gagged, and hanged are pretty slim, especially with the hated word Fed scrawled on them. Yes, there are some people who get off on asphyxiation, but it doesn't usually happen like this. The odds of it being suicide are even slimmer--how would you hang yourself if you had already bound yourself up? You could murder a person this way, though--in fact, it reminds me of lynching.

Edit: Am I the only one who thinks the national dialogue would be improved if Michele Bachmann and Glenn Beck had their mouths sewn shut?

Yeah, they certainly showed the damned Federal Government not to try and get accurate demographics in Kentucky again. How dare they committ such a henious act? Communism I tell ya. Pure Communism.



And that Republican lady is a nut.

I've got a needle and thread.

Lady Anne wrote:

Oh, noes, the census workers are out to get us! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Seriously, right wing nutjobs, the census happens every ten years. Census workers are not out to get you. They've never been out to get you. They're just getting data on the population in general.

If you want real fun, point out that the Census was explicitly written into Article I of the Constitution. You know, that document that all the "right wing nutjobs" claim is absolutely sacrosanct.

Spotts1701 wrote:

If you want real fun, point out that the Census was explicitly written into Article I of the Constitution. You know, that document that all the "right wing nutjobs" claim is absolutely sacrosanct.

Silly Spotts, the Constitution is only sacrosanct when the Republicans are in power.

How can this not be an accident?

I mean, who hasn't known someone who decided to take a shortcut through the cemetery instead of walking around it (because all census workers working off in the middle of nowhere do it on foot), tripped over a headstone, only to have all of their clothes fall off when they hit the ground, fell into a pile of loose duct tape and Sharpies while trying to retrieve his clothes, then, while trying to free himself from the duct tape, hopped into the noose that every cemetery has hanging around?

Mikey Go WOOGA wrote:

How can this not be an accident?

I mean, who hasn't known someone who decided to take a shortcut through the cemetery instead of walking around it (because all census workers working off in the middle of nowhere do it on foot), tripped over a headstone, only to have all of their clothes fall off when they hit the ground, fell into a pile of loose duct tape and Sharpies while trying to retrieve his clothes, then, while trying to free himself from the duct tape, hopped into the noose that every cemetery has hanging around?

You forgot 'rolled around in such a way that the word 'FED' was scrawled across the chest while leaving everything else fairly clean'.

^
Well, falling into the Sharpies was supposed to cover that.

I've been following this story for the past few days. I hope they catch the bastards who did this real soon.

Now that I think about it, it could be suicide. I mean, if I were going to kill myself, I'd certainly take off my clothes, write on myself, duct tape myself together, then hop into a noose I had previously tied.

Just saying.

Mikey Go WOOGA wrote:

Now that I think about it, it could be suicide. I mean, if I were going to kill myself, I'd certainly take off my clothes, write on myself, duct tape myself together, then hop into a noose I had previously tied.

Just saying.

Yeah. This happens like every week in the cemetery. I know it, since I've worked in one. Everyday shit there. *nods*

I also bet the person will haunt all the cemetery workers for the rest of the year.

Mikey Go WOOGA wrote:

I mean, who hasn't known someone who decided to take a shortcut through the cemetery instead of walking around it (because all census workers working off in the middle of nowhere do it on foot), tripped over a headstone, only to have all of their clothes fall off when they hit the ground, fell into a pile of loose duct tape and Sharpies while trying to retrieve his clothes, then, while trying to free himself from the duct tape, hopped into the noose that every cemetery has hanging around?

Wait, I didn't think we went to the same college...

Delcat wrote:

Wait, I didn't think we went to the same college...

Well, if we did we all managed to go the same college in different countries. Which is quite impressive.

I think this is a symptom of a much larger problem.
People are staring to let fear and paranoia get the best of them.
People are starting to believe everything the government says is a lie, even when it's the truth.
This kind of thinking leads to anarchy.
I really feel sorry for the census workers out there. I applied to be one and I'll be taking a test soon. I hope I don't get lynched as well (although I'm sure one or two people around here would jump for joy if that happened.)

"If you spend your life looking over your shoulder, you become susceptable to frontal attack." - anon.

I love how the investigators are still investigating whether foul play was involved.

"So, after he stripped himself naked, wrote the word on his head, and tied himself up with duct tape, he hung himself from the tree using a stool that he then hid. Is that what happened, Jethro?"

"Yup."

You know Kentucky, if you want me to stop making those offensive jokes about y'all being a bunch of inbred, gun-toting, dumb-as-dirt hicks, maybe you should, I don't know, stop giving me fuel.

Apparently some people are saying that the facts regarding the death have yet to be properly verified and that they aren't even sure if he was hanged, or if "FED" was written on him.

Penguin wrote:

Apparently some people are saying that the facts regarding the death have yet to be properly verified and that they aren't even sure if he was hanged, or if "FED" was written on him.

And are these people the civilian eyewitnesses who found the victim, the officers they called or the forensic investigators in the case?

Penguin wrote:

Apparently some people are saying that the facts regarding the death have yet to be properly verified and that they aren't even sure if he was hanged, or if "FED" was written on him.

Even better, now the real fun folks on the right are making whispers that the guy deserved it because he was a pedophile (based on the way the body was posed). Or so they claim, and you know it would be irresponsible not to speculate about such things.

Spotts1701 wrote:

Penguin wrote:

Apparently some people are saying that the facts regarding the death have yet to be properly verified and that they aren't even sure if he was hanged, or if "FED" was written on him.

Even better, now the real fun folks on the right are making whispers that the guy deserved it because he was a pedophile (based on the way the body was posed). Or so they claim, and you know it would be irresponsible not to speculate about such things.

This is what it looks like when the right-wing clears its throat, tugs its collar, and sidesteps away from the dude it'd been making out with.

Spotts1701 wrote:

Penguin wrote:

Apparently some people are saying that the facts regarding the death have yet to be properly verified and that they aren't even sure if he was hanged, or if "FED" was written on him.

Even better, now the real fun folks on the right are making whispers that the guy deserved it because he was a pedophile (based on the way the body was posed). Or so they claim, and you know it would be irresponsible not to speculate about such things.

Right, maybe that "Fed" on his chest was just "Ped" spelled wrong.