Open Letter to Joe Stack

Yo Joe,

(Yeah, I know you may have a little trouble reading this right now…)

I read your rant. I guess that is why you flew your plane into a building - as a publicity stunt? To get the rest of us to have a great big pity party for you - right? We’ll name the revolution after you. We’ll call it the Stacked Deck.

Sorry, you have terrorized a nation committing murder, suicide and mayhem.


I am struck by how both educated and stupid you are at the same time. Look at your buddy, Professor “I went to Harvard” Bishop. Yes, you can read all the books you want. Get all the degrees you want, congrats. I think you guys got self-impressed with your education and thought that YOU knew better than anyone else. Guess what – you get talents in only a few specified areas. After that, you are just like the rest of us, fumbling around like fools.

Your arrogance left you with a blind spot that won’t allow you to take information in, absorb it, and analyze it rationally. If you can’t deal with people – you have nothing. I think St Paul is sometimes a bit over the top, but he does have some crystallizing thoughts. If you don’t have love, you have nothing. Trade for all the money, knowledge, power; even turn your body over to be burned – if you ain’t got love – you ain’t got nothin’.

Another guy I like to read about talks about rendering unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto God what is God’s. You spent your life railing against Caesar. You joined a cult that was doing everything it could to undermine society. Your quote,

Some friends introduced me to a group of people who were having 'tax code' readings and discussions. In particular, zeroed in on a section relating to the wonderful "exemptions" that make institutions like the vulgar, corrupt Catholic Church so incredibly wealthy.

It sounds like you were starting to have it in for any institution that would take YOUR money and try to do something with it. I know the Catholic Church has its faults, but so does every other institution that gets the tax exemption (a lot of them do societal good with that tax exemption). You know what, at a certain level, “who cares”, life ain’t always fair. Deal with it.

But you had other ideas; I guess this is where you turned into the Taxed Crusader.

We carefully studied the law (with the help of some of the "best", high-paid, experienced tax lawyers in the business), and then began to do exactly what the "big boys" were doing (except that we weren't steeling from our congregation or lying to the government about our massive profits in the name of God). We took a great deal of care to make it all visible, following all of the rules, exactly the way the law said it was to be done.

Sounds like you got some really good legal advice there champ.

The intent of this exercise and our efforts was to bring about a much-needed re-evaluation of the laws that allow the monsters of organized religion to make such a mockery of people who earn an honest living. However, this is where 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.

Oh yeah, this is really smart; tick off all religious institutions, the IRS, and anyone making or enforcing the laws. What on earth are you trying to do? Expose to the rest of us the tax code ain’t fair. Hey, newsflash –we got it – the tax system ain’t fair.

One the next level of brilliance, you complain you are being punished for the laws you are breaking. Robert Blake is probably singing the theme song to his old TV Show, Toma, 

If you can do the time

Don’t do the crime.

What kind of absolute stupidity are you operating with that says the IRS is not going to haul your sorry butt in.

Then, you complain that legislators won’t talk to you. Hello? What legislators like to associate with tax cheats?

You rant and rave about every political disaster to befall the country. It is always someone else’s fault.

Hey, maybe it is you.

Nowhere do you have any realization that you can control your destiny. If you hate the tax codes so much, MOVE ! There are a couple of hundred other countries on the planet. There are places that could use your skills as a pilot or software engineer. No one is holding you here. In fact, the whining about the taxes is tiresome.

We need these taxes to operate the country. We need them to help other people in our society. Yes, things like Obamacare are valid uses of our tax dollars. We get you don’t want to help anyone, that is great. But stop already with the poor me garbage.

You mention a divorce? Did you have kids? Did you ever take the time to listen to others in your family and take to heart what they tried to tell you?

The problem is you are so self-centered you could not stand to see anyone else get ahead. You are smarter than THEM, you need to be at the head of the line.

When it came down to it your life was just about the money. It is all you wanted. The thing is, even when you had it, you didn’t know what to do with it (things like pay taxes on it or invest it properly). I think it was because YOU had a degree, you knew better than anyone else.

Even the Grinch and Ebenezer Scrooge figured out they had to reform.

If you are getting the idea this letter is really meant for those of you who want to celebrate this coward, you are smarter than you think…