More on Death of Andrew Veal

Andrew Veal is the young man found dead of a shotgun blast to the head at "Ground Zero" in New York. Apparently, the man was distraught over the election and "personal issues", so he drove up from Georgia, scaled a 15-foot fence while holding a shotgun and undetected by the (admittedly outsourced) security firm, and then killed himself.

At first, the reports all said there was no suicide note, which is one of the things I found odd. Later reports said there was, in fact, a suicide note on his body that mentioned the election and that his girlfriend was too good for him. Apparently, he had a girlfriend in Seattle but also had feelings for a girl there in Athens. The local media called that his "double life." Whatever.

Then, it turns out that, quite helpfully, he left a three page, detailed diary of his trip from Georgia that explains everything. Unfortunately they've only released a couple of paragraphs. You can read the story here.

These excerpts, if they are true, sure makes it look like he did, indeed, drive himself up to New York after purchasing a shotgun and 60 rounds of ammunition. Umm....60? All right, I admit it, I'm not gun owner. Maybe they don't sell boxes of shotgun shells in smaller than 60 per box, but that seems like an AWFUL lot of ammo for suicide.

Here's the excerpt:

"I got 60 rounds of shells and I'm driving toward the beach or Jersey. I'm still in Walmart . . . I just bought a Smith and Wesson 12-gauge action shotgun. I can't wait to fire it. I can contact Trent, but if I do I won't tell him about the shotgun because he'll get nervous."

Well, yeah, I guess Trent would get nervous. But he "can't wait to fire it"? I don't know. I will certainly admit that the details in this note (there are others about the two women, etc.) certainly make it seem genuine. But in the excerpts he mentions neither suicide (just shooting, and 60 shells worth, at that) nor politics. While it is certainly possible his suicide was for purely personal reasons, it seems unlikely that he'd travel all the way to NYC and ground zero for that purpose if there were not political overtones. The link above, to add to the confusion, makes no mention of the note allegedly found on the body that DOES mention Bush's election win.

I don't expect to get much more information on this. I'll keep looking though.

Here's the Secret Battle Plan for Fallujah

Although a Kurdish man recently fled the coop with the American battle plans for Fallujah in tow, they have not been released to the general public. The American forces are poised to enter the city which had an estimated population of 250,000 before 200,000 evidently decided to wait out the war in their summer homes.

Even if you believe that bullshit, that still leaves 50,000 civilians in Fallujah. Here now, in the words of one army officer, is the U.S. plan:

"We're going to start at one end of the city, and we're not going to stop until we get to the other," said Lt. Col. Pete Newell, a battalion commander from the U.S. Army's 1st Infantry Division.

"If there's anybody left when that happens, we're going to turn around and we're going to go back and finish it." link

Despite the rather simplistic and macabre nature of such a plan, victory is assured. You see, God is on their side. This philosophy is best summarized byColonel Gary Brandl of the United States Marine Corps:

"The enemy has a face. It is Satan's. He is in Fallujah, and we are going to destroy him." link

Another marine compared the coming battle to the Biblical David v Goliath. It was unclear which one he thought the U.S. was in that metaphor.

Fear not, my friends, Jesus is truly on the American side. As Our Savior said 2000 years ago:

"Yeah, verily, I say unto thee: forgive not thy enemies but blow them into tiny bits. And also the families of they enemies and again also their very pets. He who lives by the sword gets the hottest chicks."

More on Veal

The young man who committed "suicide" in New York is getting a little more attention. Here is a New York Times article about him. Among interesting facts:

Veal works for a "Survey Research Center" at the University of Georgia. You're thinking what I'm thinking, but so far I see no evidence any of their work was concerning the elections.

The area his body was found in was very secure. NYT:

It was not clear how Mr. Veal had entered the site, which is guarded by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police. The gates are more than 15 feet tall, made of long metal slats with tarpaulins along the bottom half that obscure views of the interior.

The Port Authority police say that a worker from a nearby hotel made the initial call to police. Someone contacted by the Times not wanting his last name given but calling himself the head of hotel security "adamently denied this account."

The autopsy is scheduled for tomorrow.

Suspicious Suicide

Read this story:

Man Commits Suicide At Ground Zero

* Was Apparently Distraught Over Bush Re-Election


Nov 6, 2004 8:49 pm US/Eastern
NEW YORK (AP) A 25-year-old university worker from Georgia shot and killed himself at ground zero Saturday morning, authorities said.

The man, Andrew Veal, of Athens, Ga., was found atop the structure housing the 1 and 9 subway lines after a hotel worker spotted what he believed was somebody sleeping inside the site around 8 a.m., said Steve Coleman, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. A shotgun was found near the body, Coleman said. No suicide note was found, he said.

Veal apparently was distraught over President Bush's re-election, Newsday reported Saturday on its Web site edition, citing an unnamed police source. The newspaper also said the man was a registered Democrat who opposed the war in Iraq.

Coleman said he could not confirm Newsday's account.

Police were investigating how Veal entered the former World Trade Center site, which is protected by high fences and owned by the Port Authority.

Veal worked in a computer lab at the University of Georgia and was planning to marry, friends said Saturday.

I know people are upset, but this sounds very strange. He goes all the way to New York. Procures a shot gun (found "near" the body) sneaks into a restricted area and leaves no suicide note despite his plans to marry?

I'll keep monitoring this...

10 Reasons This Election Was Good News for Progressives

(Revised from a previous version.)

1. The Beast Unmasked.

The true nature of our political system has been laid bare for anyone slightly to the left of Mussolini to see clearly. The electoral system, as it stands, is not adequate to address the real problems in our country. The main reason for this, is that the corporate interests which run our country have no real desire to address these issues. Therefore, no candidate who has real change in mind can make it to the top. Consider, as a very small example, how the stock market began to plummet when early exit polls indicated a Kerry victory was likely. Not, of course, that Kerry was a real challenge to the system in the first place (unless you count the condiment lobby.)

2. Kerry Would Have Been Creamed.

I didn't like Kerry, but if you did, consider what you were asking of the man: to be President with a Republican House and Senate and a rabid right wing who would have started impeachment proceedings immediately. (Who knows for what. Surely interns don’t have sex with HIM?) The Iraq mess has no possible happy ending, and all unhappy endings would have been attributed to Kerry. Seriously, you wouldn't wish this on your worst enemy. Well, actually, I think it did just get passed to our worst enemy.

3. Speaking of Impeachment...

Although I doubt the Dems have the strength, courage and conviction it will take, there was a budding movement to impeach Bush that simply ran out of time. Well, they have time NOW! In many ways, a clear impeachment is far better than a closely divided election. Although, to restate, I think anyone who makes it all the way to Presidential candidate is so compromised as to be merely a symbolic leader, the level of corruption in this administration is staggering. Give them chutzpah points, anyway. This corruption is merely the extremes of what has been at the core of our rotten system for decades. But Jesus,at least be discreet about it! Should anyone have the gonads, high crimes and misdemeanors (not to mention war crimes) are easily proveable. ( And I apologize for the "gonads" reference. Been watching too much Fox.) Can you get an impeachment in this Republican dominated Congress? Well, it’s easier than winning the 2004 election will be…since, you know, that’s already over and time travel isn’t really…. Ahem…moving on.


4. Avoided Martial Law and Fake Terrorist Attacks.

Come on, you didn't think Bush would ACTUALLY give up power just because of election results, did you?


5. Hillary Saves the Day.

I have no use for the Clintons. They are the leaders of the corporate side of the Democratic party. However, if you like Hillary, you're happy as a clam. There is evidence, in my opinion, that Kerry was put forward by the Clinton clan specifically to LOSE. If he won, after all, Hillary couldn't run in '08. And, whatever you may think about them...they can play politics as well as any Republicans out there. Hillary vs. Arnold…now THAT’S entertainment.

6. They Can’t Blame Nader This Time.

I think the most appropriate symbol for this election was Medea Benjamin’s being led in handcuffs from the Democratic convention for unfurling an anti-war sign, AFTER she had done all in her power to get Nader to drop out. Naturally, she kept on working for Kerry. Could we PLEASE confine our masochist tendencies to the bedroom?

7. Opposition Movements Re-energized.

After progressives mope and moan a bit, especially since no one can blame Nader for this, they will get back to work with the sense of urgency our perilous times demand. This urgency, no matter what these anyone-but-Bushers claimed, would have diminished greatly in a sigh of relief that would have lasted at least a year. "Yes, we must pressure Kerry to withdraw from Iraq, but give him TIME." Shut up.

8. Third Party Possibilities.

I don't mean the Greens. Their idea of a third party is… well, I don’t know what the hell it is. It is not, however, meant as opposition to the two parties we currently enjoy. I don’t need the Greens to tell me to vote Democrat, because (and this is a tricky technical concept from political science so you might need to read this slowly) THAT’S WHAT THE DEMOCRATS ARE FOR!

9. Reform of Electronic Voting Systems.

Well, it won't be the Democrats, or they would already have been challenging paperless, unauditable voting. (Come ON, spellcheck! “Unauditable” isn’t a word either?) Believe me, had the roles been reversed, the Republicans would already have court cases in every county that does not have machines that leave a paper trail. However, assuming that there was hanky panky in Florida and Ohio, among other states, and assuming that the people behind that hanky panky are the same ones prosecuting the Iraq war, they will have made detectable mistakes. Blackboxvoting.org has already requested audit tapes and other materials to see what they can see. There are rumors by people who can add that the exit polls matched up pretty well with the vote tallies, except where electronic voting machines with no printed records were used. In addition, the disenfranchisement of non-white voters continued apace. (See anything written by Greg Palast in the last four years for details.) However, because the Democrats didn’t seize on this issue it will probably be too late.

10. International Cooperation.

Much of the civilized world was just sort of biding its time, assuming that Bush was some sort of anomaly. Now that they know differently, they can stop pretending that the U.S. is a global partner in anything and build international coalitions to stop (or at least attempt to stop) the monster we have become. Think of it as a global intervention: "Now, America, we care about you, but we really can't let you drive in this condition."

Well, that’s all for now, boys and girls. It’s time to build a real opposition movement in this country. Don’t let’s wimp out this time, huh?

Ty Brown owns and operates www.dreamsend.blogspot.com where the original version of this article appeared. Certain portions were edited for wider publication, such as the invitation for David Cobb to kiss his ass. We apologize for any confusion this may cause.

Well, at least they can't fucking blame Nader this time.

Despite a huge turnout which should favor democrats and despite exit polling that put Kerry comfortably in the lead, Bush looks like he's going to win (11:30 pm central time). This was fixed. Obviously, there is only one thing for Kerry and the Dems to do....concede without a fight. It's for the good of the country, you know.

Unless there are some overnight spinal transplants, I expect to have a declared winner by Thursday....but we'll see.

Voting in Wonderland

Well, I voted. yay.

I heard on the radio that there are no major problems voting. That's fantastic. Fantastic, as in not reality.

If you want an early start checking out this mess, you can start with these links.


Election Protection
Democratice Underground discussion board. My favorite? A woman gets harrassed because she's wearing a Boston Redsox hat.

What Really Happened is posting news stories.

Here's a sad thing. This computer professional in Amsterdam has an amazing site with little analysis but a very thorough presentation of poll results. He has been under hacker attack all day and I can't get the site at all anymore, despite 5 mirror sites. Try it yourself. He's a pro and may yet beat the hackers, though he probably shouldn't have gloated after he fended off the first attacks.