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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009

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|NEXT STORY »

'Fed' Written on Chest of Hanged Ky. Census Worker

FBI investigating if incident was based on anti-government sentiment

Posted Sep 23, 09 9:26 PM CDT|

(AP) – A US Census worker found hanged from a tree near a Kentucky cemetery had the word "fed" scrawled on his chest, a law-enforcement official said today, and the FBI is investigating whether he was a victim of anti-government sentiment. The official did not say what type of instrument was used to write the word on Bill Sparkman, a 51-year-old part-time Census field worker and teacher. He was found Sept. 12 in rural southeast Kentucky.

The Census Bureau has suspended door-to-door interviews in rural Clay County, where the body was found, pending the outcome of the investigation. An autopsy report is pending. "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," says an FBI rep.

Census enumerators check computer data during a training session in Dummerston, Vt., May 19, 2009. (AP Photo)

A Census vehicle. (AP Photo)

Census enumerators check computer data during a training session in Dummerston, Vt., May 19, 2009. (AP Photo)

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55 comments

VIEWING:

riffran
Sep 23, 09 9:37 PM CDT

thats jacked up...poor guy was just doing his job.....whatever happened to "No thank you, and slam the door on them" if you dont like them? Reply

+19

IN RESPONSE:

JaneMP
Sep 23, 09 10:08 PM CDT

If people don't like their privacy invaded, is murder the accepted way to deal with that? Blame Michelle Bachman.

+26

IN RESPONSE:

BlahBlahBlah
Sep 23, 09 10:17 PM CDT

Jiblitz, I don't know if you are just stupid or an a**hole. The man was 51 years old and from the preliminary findings just doing his job. Having your privacy "invaded" is not a reason for hanging a man. We have yet to hear all of the details of this case but one thing is clear. People like you are the ones who make this world a scary place to live.

+24

IN RESPONSE:

dax
Sep 23, 09 10:34 PM CDT

@jiblitz - GPS the front door? Then these folks are really going to be ticked off over the Google satellite and streetview imagery of their homes.

+13

IN RESPONSE:

yoeydude
Sep 24, 09 6:15 AM CDT

because ass wipes like you have jacked up the tension levels , thats why you fiking morAn

IN RESPONSE:

Fondue
Sep 24, 09 8:09 AM CDT

dax, do you really think they know what Google is?

| 0 minutes ago

Wraith
Sep 23, 09 9:38 PM CDT

Well, sounds like one of Beck's "people" finally got the chance to water the tree of liberty, They have been spoiling for it and now looks like they are finally getting their wish. Reply

IN RESPONSE:

rajanKazhmin
Sep 23, 09 9:52 PM CDT

ugh.... I sure hope that's not the case. Not that it would shock me if it was.

IN RESPONSE:

reasonator
Sep 23, 09 10:14 PM CDT

@wraith: Ok, try to think about this. Census workers go to every home in the country. That means some of them will visit the homes of killers and psychos (of various political persuasions). Does it make much sense to use this death, as tragic as it is, as a jab against the people you disagree with politically? To use logical terms, you are making false associations and are poisoning the well. All I have to do is find a killer with a liberal political viewpoint, and use the same tactic against you. But it would still be an ignorant, dumb, and illogical argument.

IN RESPONSE:

shonangreg
Sep 23, 09 10:30 PM CDT

And reasonator, the word "fed" scrawled into his chest fits into your random killer view how exactly?

IN RESPONSE:

reasonator
Sep 23, 09 10:40 PM CDT

@shanon: I didn't say he was apolitical. I am saying there are psychos of many different belief systems. It's not logical to first of all jump to a conclusion that the murderer watches Glenn Beck every night, and second, it's not logical to find some crazy, and then try to associate everyone who disagrees with you politically with that crazy person, as though they would approve of murder. Like I said, I could find a psycho murderer of any political persuasion.

IN RESPONSE:

shonangreg
Sep 24, 09 12:05 AM CDT

Yes, of course, this is a question of statistics from a national perspective. Tobacco companies made similar arguments decades ago . . . At the guy's trial, it won't matter. He murdered someone. But from a societal view, we have an apparently politically-motivated murder following stoking of such sentiment. The chain of reasoning, while not error-*proof* in this case, is not hard to connect. FOX News hosts have been egging on exactly this sort of thing. And this is one of the first examples, unprovable though it may be, of loonies falling off the same personal responsibility cliff Malkin/Beck/Bachmann have been daring them to jump off of for months now. If this had been Saddam/Chavez/Ahmadinejad saying such things followed by the death of an American aping their words, you know you'd be all over this.

IN RESPONSE:

proud_prude
Sep 23, 09 10:01 PM CDT

I'm guessing the poor victim was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time - even the psychos have their rationales. I don't think we should pin this one on the mofopomoConHO just yet.

IN RESPONSE:

2-bits
Sep 23, 09 10:05 PM CDT

jiblitz, why do you monitor white nationalist forums? I remember SomethingAwful had a field day with those idiots a while back.

IN RESPONSE:

2-bits
Sep 23, 09 10:08 PM CDT

To be clear, "Neo-Nazi" forums would be a more precise term.

IN RESPONSE:

Altoecko
Sep 23, 09 10:34 PM CDT

www.stormfront.org For those who don't know: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stormfront_(website) "The Stormfront White Nationalist Community is a white nationalist and supremacist neo-Nazi Internet forum that has been described as the Internet's first major hate site."

IN RESPONSE:

atomick
Sep 24, 09 7:21 AM CDT

Actually if you look closely at the bottom of the newser articles the source is listed. This one came from the Associated Press, not www.WhiteyMcDipshitsWebSiteHeDoneBuilted.com

IN RESPONSE:

sully4411
Sep 24, 09 9:32 AM CDT

atomick - thats not a real website, i just tried it... im buying that domain name tho

IN RESPONSE:

Pragmaticrealism
Sep 24, 09 2:48 PM CDT

LOL STORMFRONT

| 0 minutes ago

youngblood
Sep 23, 09 9:56 PM CDT

Glenn Beck and Michele Bachmann your evil is spreading and killing people, are u now finally happy!? Reply

IN RESPONSE:

reasonator
Sep 23, 09 10:06 PM CDT

Uh, don't be stupid. Glenn Beck has repeatedly made it clear that he is very opposed to violence of any kind. But go ahead, blame murders on people you don't agree with politically. See how far that gets you.

-1

IN RESPONSE:

JaneMP
Sep 23, 09 10:11 PM CDT

reasonlacker--I'm not saying Becvk committed the murder but I do blame those who have raised such fear and acted so irresponsibly for their own careers in entertainment (like Fox) or politics. Respobnsible leaders don't stir up the crazies.

IN RESPONSE:

reasonator
Sep 23, 09 10:17 PM CDT

Like i said, Jane. Beck as repeatedly opposed the use of violence. The only weapon he has used is his freedom to speak. (Whether what is says is smart or dumb is really inconsequential to the point at hand.) So, I'd say he has been responsible at least in the sense of making his points while opposing the use of violence. If you want to just denounce people who disagree with you by calling them crazies, then go ahead. But I'd call you an ad hominem-using illogical fool.

-5

IN RESPONSE:

dax
Sep 23, 09 10:30 PM CDT

Wrong Wreasonator -The vitriol from the Rightwing meglomaniacs has poisoned civic discourse That the perpetrators of these kinds of acts may be mentally unbalanced doesn't absolve the those yelling "fire in the crowded theater".

IN RESPONSE:

shonangreg
Sep 23, 09 10:34 PM CDT

The "responsible" mantra from Bachman/Beck/O'Reilly/Palin/Hannity/Malkin/Rush: "These people are slime; they're sub-humans on a mission by the government sent to invade your privacy and maybe even kill you grandma. They do not deserve to live in America. But, please, don't kill them ;-)"

IN RESPONSE:

reasonator
Sep 23, 09 10:37 PM CDT

@Dax: And you don't think you're coming at this with any vitriol? Oh, I'm sure if you are it's Beck's fault, too.

-4

IN RESPONSE:

kyleleitch
Sep 23, 09 10:55 PM CDT

@reasonator: which is precicely why he joked about poisoning Nancy Pelosi's drink... nonviolence my ass.

IN RESPONSE:

dax
Sep 23, 09 11:53 PM CDT

@reasonator - your response sounds like rationalization.--- Absent from my comments are wildly false accusations of "FEMA concentration camps", govt. stockpiling thirty thousand guillotines and five hundred thousand caskets, of "death panels" and loopy conspiracies about hidden socialist programming in the architectural elements of Rockefeller Center, and racist innuendo. You know, the stuff that makes the unbalanced, even crazier.

IN RESPONSE:

kirby
Sep 24, 09 11:38 AM CDT

So, what are you all going to do if we find out that the person that did this is a Lib? Who are you going to blame then?

| 0 minutes ago

yoeydude
Sep 23, 09 10:04 PM CDT

remember how the hill folk hated revenuers fer taxin their liquer ? Reply

-3

| 0 minutes ago

Reader71485694
Sep 23, 09 10:13 PM CDT

Census workers basically ask Who lives here and how old are they. You are only required to answer the most basic questions. Census records are useful to genealogists. Those long questionbooks they sent out 10 and 20 years back, they are giving those up. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

Jayster999
Sep 23, 09 10:50 PM CDT

Glad he wasn't black, we'd be hearing all kinds of crap about the return of the Klan and Southern hate ad nauseum. Reply

-10

IN RESPONSE:

Doctor_Zaius
Sep 23, 09 10:59 PM CDT

You are an ass.

IN RESPONSE:

Wills
Sep 23, 09 11:04 PM CDT

That sure is a useful response; guy gets murdered doing his job, possibly by anti-government crazies, and all you can think of is "good thing he wasn't black, then there'd really be trouble". I'm with Doctor_Zaius, what the hell is wrong with you Jayster?

IN RESPONSE:

Jayster999
Sep 23, 09 11:24 PM CDT

With all the "progressive" spin about people hatin' on Obummer and hatin' on ACORN because of "race", it's simply a relief that this isn't another reason for them to sing another chorus.

-7

IN RESPONSE:

dax
Sep 23, 09 11:54 PM CDT

Wow Jayster, that's little comfort to the fellow's mother.

IN RESPONSE:

riffran
Sep 24, 09 7:53 AM CDT

But he is probably right. The press would go into a feeding frenzy

-3

IN RESPONSE:

Gallavant
Sep 24, 09 11:41 AM CDT

Of course they would -- we would DEPEND on them to go into a frenzy. It would be an enormous public service to spotlight potential racially-motivated violence. When a hate crime occurs, we need the media to get the word out, so the hateful can be marginalized again and again in the court of public opinion.

IN RESPONSE:

Wills
Sep 24, 09 5:05 PM CDT

Eh, I don't really agree Gallavant. A hate crime is just not that much more serious than a regular more murder. You can't say that someone murdering someone else because of their job is better than murdering them for their race. Yes, the american media devotes more attention to race based crimes, and maybe there's some good things about that, but Jayster, that doesn't mean you point that out every time any crime occurs. That just makes you seem like a bigoted dick (even though you probably aren't)

| 0 minutes ago

Doctor_Zaius
Sep 23, 09 11:06 PM CDT

If this does turn out to be another unhinged right winger this would be what? The fourth or fifth? The crazy who shot up the liberal church, the crazy who killed the three cops in Pittsburgh because he thought Obama was coming to take his guns, the crazy who shot up the holocaust museum guard...How many times does this have to happen before people admit the hate from the right is causing it? Reply

IN RESPONSE:

Fiskebolle
Sep 23, 09 11:28 PM CDT

The Communists and National Socialists took out hundreds of millions and that sure didn't hurt the socialist cause any. So, the answer to your question would probably be, a lot more. As long as we're talking in extremes any way as per your request.

-6

IN RESPONSE:

Jayster999
Sep 23, 09 11:35 PM CDT

Riiight...kind of like how AC/DC and Judas Priest caused teenage kids to kill themselves. Are you gonna try to hang this on Glenn Beck? Suuure, that makes sense. All this whacko stuff is because some of us want to keep our hard-earned money, live by the constitution and keep the government from becoming a socialist quagmire. Yeah it's pure evil.

-6

IN RESPONSE:

dax
Sep 23, 09 11:56 PM CDT

@Fiskbolle - well you've identified your threshold.

IN RESPONSE:

dax
Sep 24, 09 12:11 AM CDT

@Jayster - This is a very interesting and often debated point about human behavior. Simply put, does media content motivate human response? The purveyors of film, music, video games have long argued to the negative.---- But it is undeniable that advertising works. If it did not, the commercial sector would not spend volumes of money on influencing behavior.----- The folks crafting the messages for Beck, for the Freedomworks campaign, and the rest of the angry Right media, know exactly what they are doing.----Their messages bypass the rational and focus on the visceral. If they were interested in engaging their audiences' minds their message content would offer substance and information for the purpose of rational decision making. Rather, the content focuses on latent fears and prejudices.---- Need proof? Go here and check out the slack jaw responses when 9/12 teabaggers are asked to explain their slogans ----http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUPMjC9mq5Y

| 0 minutes ago

cornelison
Sep 24, 09 1:11 AM CDT

How many federal employees feel feel safe in their jobs now? The sooner this crime is solved the better. I'd like to also know what motivated the person(s) to commit this crime. I shudder to think that it might have to do with the extremism we've seen in the media. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

Rembrandt_Q_Einstein
Sep 24, 09 2:19 AM CDT

I just frekin' knew that when this story hit that Jayster, jiblitz, and the rest of the sexually repressed Ku Klux Konservatrolls would be frothing at the mouth and more than eager to spread their special brand of fail. Of course this was only after they fapped to pictures of Hannity and Beck, yelled "WHITE POWER!" at climax, and then wiped themselves off with a mung rag with Sarah Palin's picture on it. Thank you for not disappointing. PS: Jiblitz, referencing Stormfront just reinforces the fact that you're an idiot. Flag away "morans". Reply

+11

IN RESPONSE:

yoeydude
Sep 24, 09 6:23 AM CDT

good work

IN RESPONSE:

Pragmaticrealism
Sep 24, 09 6:42 PM CDT

perfect, rembrandt

| 0 minutes ago

yoeydude
Sep 24, 09 6:21 AM CDT

fukin hillbillies and red necks , the bane of American civilization ,.... two of many I guess Reply

| 0 minutes ago

Fondue
Sep 24, 09 8:14 AM CDT

They don't want to be counted, NO "FED" MONEY FOR ANY OF THEM, if that town doesn't hand these people over. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

Raspootin
Sep 24, 09 1:18 PM CDT

It is probably not a good idea to be askiing intrusive questions in moonshine and meth country. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

MarkFL
Sep 24, 09 3:54 PM CDT

Jiblitz is an idiot but please Newser, stop censoring comments. It is a waste of time. You will never stop them. His comment contained an unpopular political opinion but it was not insulting or crude or filled with profanity. He or She was expressing a possible motive and not even advocating that the killer was justified. Censorship is worse than the worst opinion. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

yoeydude
Sep 24, 09 5:57 PM CDT

raspy , good point , meth labs and pot patches can be just as fatal as hillbilly hatred Reply

| 0 minutes ago

Stupidiot
Sep 27, 09 5:49 PM CDT

Those census workers are a part of something alot bigger, you need to educate yourself on what the census does before you say, "the poor guy was doing his job". Reply

-2

| 0 minutes ago

mowgo
Sep 28, 09 2:45 PM CDT

This is a very interesting case. I wonder what Congresswoman Michelle Bachman has to say about this? She's the one who said the census was a way to get info on people so the government can round them up and put them in FEMA concentration camps. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

View all 55 comments »

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'Fed' Written on Chest of Hanged Ky. Census Worker

FBI investigating if incident was based on anti-government sentiment

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FBI After Calif. 'Geezer Bandit'

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Census Worker May Have Hanged Himself

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Mom Charged
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crime • kidnapping • murder • abuse • child rape • Shaniya Davis • Shaniya Davis found • shaniya davis found dead • Antoinette Davis charged with sex slavery

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