A quick LinkSwarm for a busy Friday:
LinkSwarm for June 22, 2012
June 22nd, 2012Plano Bombing Suspect Anson Chi Wanted on Weapons Charge in California
June 21st, 2012According to this DSM story. The other material in that story should be familiar If you’ve been reading this blog.
On reason I’ve kept on this story is that once I uncovered the Ron Paul connection, it was obvious the MSM would run with Chi as a “Right Wing Extremist.” Which is already happening in the comments for various stories. But, as I showed, it’s not that simple. Chi is also on record as supporting organic food and opposing religion, corporations and genetically modified food, all of which are hardly typical Ron Paul positions. I wanted to get the facts out there before the MSM clouded the issue.
NEWSFLASH: FBI Confirms Anson Chi as Plano Bombing Suspect
June 21st, 2012“In a criminal complaint unsealed in federal court Wednesday, the FBI identified Anson Chi as the suspect accused of setting off a bomb while tampering with a gas main earlier this week.”
But the MSM is only reporting what I concluded on Tuesday .
Texas Senate Race Update for June 21, 2012
June 21st, 2012Busy week, so here’s just a quick update:
More Plano Bombing Tidbits (Including Possible Motivation for Suspect Anson Chi)
June 21st, 2012For those just joining in, on Monday an explosion seriously injured a man near a gas pipeline in Plano. Police investigating the incident concluded that the man hadn’t been hit by a car (as he claimed) but that an explosive device had detonated (possibly early) near a gas pipeline. The police bomb squad also disposed of a device taken from the suspect’s house. Using information in the various news stories and public records, I deduced that an Anson Chi was the likely suspect. Today I posted some background on Chi, in that he seems to be both a Ron Paul supporter, and an opponent of religion, corporations, and genetically modified food.
Now, the latest news: The FBI was back at the suspect’s home today, carrying out another search.
I’ve been skimming through Chi’s novel (actually, based on length, more of a novella) Yellow on the Outside, Shame on the Inside: Asian Culture Revealed, which you can download for free. As you might deduce from the title, it’s largely about the pressures of being expected to succeed as an Asian in America.
Take the opening on the first page for example:
Doctor or lawyer—my only two options. These would be your only two options if you have Asian parents. You would think that you would be able to pick your own career, since you know, it is your own damn life. But not when you have Asian parents. So my only two options: doctor or lawyer.
It’s partially a first person Roman a clef about growing up Asian, partially an indictment of The Way We Live now, partially rants about status, privilege, and what the protagonist (and presumably the author) sees as a lack of moral compass among Asians. Here’s an example:
I hate grocery shopping by myself, especially when my parents make me come here to Culver Plaza, the Chinatown of Irvine and ergo Orange County. It’s always crowded with Asian people of course, all looking for a wide selection of cheap Asian goods. Now when I say cheap, I don’t mean just the price; I also mean the quality. Many people are aware of lead toys manufactured in China, but not many are aware of cadmium-laden kitchenware, which has been linked to birth defects and cancer; or chopped up pieces of bleached cardboard in frozen wontons; or contaminated, toxic pet food that has killed a copious number of animals here in the United States; or milk and baby formula laced with melamine, a banned industrial chemical, the same chemical used in the contaminated, toxic pet food; or the extreme levels of formaldehyde normally for embalming dead bodies used in clothing, and unbelievably, also in noodles, which prompted the shutdown of one of the biggest noodle manufacturers in China. Not to mention the complete violation of human rights and the advocacy of slave labor, but of course, Asians don’t care because it’s always about the money, so ethical and moral values go out the window.
The story concludes when the protagonist and a fellow Asian student friend prepare to commit suicide because they scored too low on the MCAT.
Not exactly the feel-good book of the year.
It’s a stark contrast with Chi’s generally cheerful Facebook page, though the same sense of irony can be found in each.
He even puts in supplemental material at the end of the book, just in case you didn’t get the message:
Question: Why would you write a book that’s not true?
My Answer: This book is a didactic novel, aka literary fiction. But I know what you mean. I wrote this book based on my cognizance and on the lives of others, including my own life. There are people who wouldn’t agree with what I say just like I wouldn’t agree with what they say. Life goes on…
Question: Why did you write this book?
My Answer: The suicide rate for Asian Americans is astronomically higher than Caucasians, African Americans, and Latin Americans. In fact, Asian Americans have the highest suicide rate among women. Moreover, two million women attempt suicide in China every year, with many more not counted due to saving face. This needs to change, and I believe my book is conducive as a start for that change. I see too many Asian children indoctrinated and conditioned like overachieving robots, here in the United States and in Asia. This won’t stop until we all work together, as I have luminously delineated in the last chapter (Détente) of my book.
We will refrain from critiquing the literary value of the novel, or the author calling his own work “luminous,” and note that this, combined with his disenchantment with the current state of politics (and possible job issues, since his resume doesn’t list any paying employer since 2006, unless he was on the Ron Paul payroll in 2008), may start to provide possible motivation for his actions.
Let’s just say he seems to have some issues.
More Information on Possible Plano Bomber Anson Chi
June 21st, 2012Yesterday I noticed a large number of search hits for Anson Chi Plano Bomber, and various combinations thereof. And today a little bird told me that Chi is indeed the hospitalized bombing suspect. So let me post a little bit more about him.
I’ve been following up on this story because I had initially guessed that the then-unknown bombing suspect might be part of Occupy Wall Street. When news outlets have revealed enough information to deduce that Anson Chi was the likely suspect, and it turned out he’s a Ron Paul supporter, then it seemed only fair to post that, since one of the guiding rules of blogging is to correct your own errors, even if it may temporarily hurt your “side.” The first side you should be on is the truth.
Now that I’ve been able to round up more information about Chi, my initial guess that he might be part of Occupy is, if not right, somewhat less wrong than it appeared at first. Indeed, he’s posted some pictures from various Occupy encampments around the world. While he’s not a fan of Obama or the IRS, he’s also not a fan of Christianity, genetically modified food or corporations. Chi seems one of those people both deeply interested in, and deeply disenchanted with, contemporary politics:
That, along with the other images in this post, are taken from Anson Chi’s Facebook page. If Chi is indeed the Plano bomber, he deserves to go to prison from a long time. But his web pages don’t give off the screaming capital letter fanaticism of some nuts; Chi actually comes across as a normal, intelligent, and ironic guy with issues about his own Asian heritage and a disenchantment with politics that, were it not for the bombing angle, would seem pretty normal.
So here are a few pieces of information on Anson Chi, gleaned from his various web pages (and some of which are NSFW).
IBM – Dallas, Texas 2005 – 2006
Web Middleware EngineerAmeriquest Mortgage Company – Orange, California 2005
System Engineer IIAtos Origin – Hsinchu Science Park, Taiwan 2004 – 2005
System EngineerHeartland Payment Systems – Frisco, TX 2002 – 2003
UNIX System OperatorLoudcloud – Sunnyvale, CA 2001
NOC EngineerAlcatel – Plano, TX 2000 – 2001
UNIX System Administrator
The political section of that resume shows “Travis County District 149 Precinct Chairman” and “Ron Paul 2008 Grassroots Campaign – Austin, TX 2007-2008 Campaign Director.”
The thing that strikes me most about spending an hour wading through Chi’s Facebook page (which was last updated June 16) is how perfectly normal everything he put there was, except for the fact that, as far as I can tell, there’s no description of personal interactions at all (maybe they’re there but set to private so his only friends can see them). But Chi strikes me as someone believing in some ideas on the middle of the far left and the middle of the far right, but not as someone who would blow up a gas pipeline.
Obama Asserts Executive Privilege Over Fast and Furious Documents
June 20th, 2012Backing up Eric Holder’s stonewall of congressional investigation of Fast and Furious, today Obama asserted Executive Privilege over subpoenaed Fast and Furious documents. As Judge Napolitano noted, executive privilege only applies if the President was personally involved. That does rather suggest that Obama himself was involved in the decision to let guns walk across the Mexican border to drug cartels, doesn’t it?
I believe this cartoon by Nate Beeler of the Washington Examiner is good:
But I liked this altered version better:
I haven’t been doing much coverage of Fast and Furious, mainly because bloggers like Sipsey Street and Snowflakes in Hell/Shall Not Be Questioned were doing such good jobs moving the story forward I didn’t feel a need. But now that the Obama Administration is in full cover-up mode, well, bring the swarm.
Remember: Over 200 innocent people have died due to Fast and Furious. So when liberals tell you that “It’s not Watergate,” they’re right. It’s much worse.
And the Ted Cruz campaign emailed a reminder that Cruz was on top of the Fast and Furious scandal before anyone else in the Senate race.
Is Anson Chi the Plano Bombing Suspect?
June 19th, 2012It would appear that the Plano bombing suspect is one Anson Chi, based on the following:
More details when I have them…
Added: More details Here. While Chi is not a fan of Obama or the IRS, he’s also not a fan of Christianity, genetically modified food or corporations, which makes him a very atypical Ron Paul supporter.
More Plano Bomber Tidbits: Occupy Wall Street Related?
June 19th, 2012A few more details are dribbling out about the alleged Plano gas pipeline bomber.
Among the most interesting:
- “Neighbors also said the son who lives there is often out and about and doesn’t seem to hold down a job.”
- “They said he typically carried a backpack with him.”
- “One neighbor told News 8 the son seemed to change over the last couple of years. He said his neighbor started running at night, saying he ‘was in training.’ That same neighbor said the young man lived a minimalistic life, saying he was against modern technology, but would then talk about spending hours on his computer.”
No job, backpack, hates technology. Let’s see: Who does that description fit?
Is it too soon to guess at an Occupy Wall Street connection? Probably. There’s only a few shreds of evidence. And yet, want to guess what the most recent concern on the Occupy Dallas website was?
Would you believe “Protecting our Community from Gas Drilling”? Indeed it seems to be a continuing concern.
Certainly other Occupy [Place Name Here] factions have been indicted in bomb plots. And as for the bomb detonating prematurely and injuring the bomb maker, well, let’s just say that such incidents are hardly unknown among the radical left.
This is all very speculative and tentative, and the bomber could still be a lone nut. But at least the Occupy Dallas connection would explain the bomber’s motivation.