Breaking news

[unixronin]

It is being reported that a presumably-disgruntled individual in set his house on fire, then took off in his Cirrus SR22, a single-engined private plane, and deliberately flew it into a building in Austin that housed government offices. There is some speculation that he may have been targeting an IRS office on the first floor.

CNN is tracking it here.  Whatever the reasons behind it, I think the odds are good this is going to end up bad for almost everyone.  New restrictions on general-aviation flight are probably in the offing, just for starters.

Comments

[hrrunka]

Whatever the knee-jerk legislators cook up, there's one thing pretty much guaranteed; it would not have prevented the event...

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

That's a pretty safe bet, yeah.

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

Just to exercise my right to be mean and snarky, I'll suggest that the IRS placed a tax lien on the house and plane . . .

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Entirely possible. See the followup I just posted.

[lblanchard.livejournal.com]

karenkay posted a link to what is purportedly a rant by the perp:

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/blotter/entries/2010/02/18/internet_note_posted_by_man_li.html?cxntfid=blogs_the_blotter

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

The Smoking Gun also has a copy of it. The original site has already been taken down by his hosting provider "after a visit from the FBI".

[luxobscura.livejournal.com]

I was hoping that he'd have spray painted a check to the IRS across the wing, and then, you know, hand delivered it par avion.

(er... ranty now)

[wyrdling.livejournal.com]

i read a post to that effect just now on face book.... that we should restrict light airplanes.
boggled my mind.
how about take people out of cars, too? no more moving vans? ban nitrate fertilizer? what else can we do to both futiley strive towards pretending we can do something and further erode our fundamental liberties????

Re: (er... ranty now)

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately there will always be babbling idiots out there who are willing to restrict the 999,999 for the sake of preventing the one in a million from doing that specific thing, without understanding that the one in a million will just DO SOMETHING ELSE. As long as, of course, it isn't their ox that's getting gored. They're endlessly willing to give up other people's liberties in the name of a temporary illusion of increased security.

Re: (er... ranty now)

[wyrdling.livejournal.com]

.....the thing that gets me is that it's someone i would expect more openmindedness and support of personal liberty from. the reactive protectionism really startled me....