Lynching a "Fed" [Updated]

[Update] As it turns out, this was a suicide. A tasteless, divisive suicide. See the update below. -P13

I wish that headline were hyperbole.

A U.S. Census worker found hanged from a tree near a Kentucky cemetery had the word "fed" scrawled on his chest, a law enforcement official said Wednesday, and the FBI is investigating whether he was a victim of anti-government sentiment.

Bill Sparkman, a 51-year-old part-time Census field worker and teacher, was found Sept. 12 in a remote patch of the Daniel Boone National Forest in rural southeast Kentucky. The law enforcement official, who was not authorized to discuss the case and requested anonymity, did not say what type of instrument was used to write "fed" on his chest.

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. - The AP

This is where militant anti-government rhetoric spawned of an inability to come to terms with November 2008 gets us.

The census is the way in which we measure and apportion the basic unit of our republic, representation. It is the duty and responsibility of every American, and especially every American elected official, to encourage and promote participation in the census. It doesn't matter if it's a county where "Feds" may not be welcome, Federal responsibility, and authority, extends there. We fought that battle in the 1860s.

I sincerely hope that Republican leaders step up and speak out against this despicable act.

[Update] It is also despicable to commit suicide, and try to place blame on others in the staging in an attempt to enable insurance fraud.

The Kentucky census worker who was found hanging from a tree with the word "fed" written on his chest was not the victim of foul play, authorities announced today.

Instead, they believe 51-year-old Bill Sparkman killed himself and set up the scene so that it would appear he'd been murdered. Sparkman apparently hoped his son would then be able to collect on a life insurance policy. -NPR.org

I apologize for being taken in by this self-destructive hoax.