"I couldn't possibly fail to disagree with you less."
15 October 2005Screen of Death, though not blueThe father of the late Joel Henry Hinrichs III, the OU engineering student who blew himself to the far side of Kingdom Come two weeks ago, has told the Oklahoman that his son left behind an electronic suicide note on his computer. Joel Hinrichs Jr., in town to clear out the lad's apartment, says that the FBI found the message still onscreen when they searched the place, and disclosed it to him Friday. The FBI says again they have found no evidence of a rumored link between the younger Hinrichs and various terrorist organizations. The story will appear in the Sunday edition; Addendum, 9:30 pm: John Hinderaker at Power Line is not impressed with reassurances given by The Wall Street Journal:
[W]e have no independent knowledge of Joel Hinrichs. We don't know whether he was a free-lance terrorist, part of an extremist group, or just a depressed student. But it simply won't do to cite bland, "no known link" statements by the FBI as an excuse to sweep all questions under the rug. It is important to know whether Hinrichs intended a spectacular terrorist attack at an Oklahoma football game. If he did, it is important to know whether he was inspired by extremist ideology, and it is important to know whether he was part of an extremist group that is still operating. The answers to these questions may be No, No and No. But at this point, we have no reason to believe that the authorities actually know the answers. And the Journal's effort to stifle discussion of the subject is unworthy of that newspaper.
Speaking for myself, I'm still waiting for an explanation of why Hinrichs wanted that load of fertilizer. Actually, "depressed student" might explain that as well as anything else: "By God, they'll remember me when I'm gone!" A much-used Lincoln Town Car as the equivalent of a Murrah-era truck bomb? Yeah, that'll show them. Posted at 5:51 PM to Soonerland |