Jim Bell and Why the Government Did What It Did

[Fisher Mark <FisherM@exch1.indy.tce.com>]

I've been doing a lot of thinking on Jim Bell's plight, so based on my
experiences with government workers, this is how I think it happened:

(A little background -- my wife and I have a hobby of doing small
real-estate developments, so we have ended up dealing with the local
government employees quite a bit, so much so that they know us by name
and face by now.)  One big impression left with me by government
employees is that most of them are serious, nay even solemn, people.  I
think that they are the kind of people who never have perpetrated a
prank in their lives.  Couple that fact with the kind of prank Jim Bell
pulled (using mercaptan (sp?) to the level of making people vomit from
the smell), and I suspect that the IRS folks got incredibly bent out of
shape over it.  (As I myself would if I had an office that I
administered and someone did that to my employees and/or me.)

The incredible anger that was likely generated by that action (a prank
in Jim's eyes, but certainly not in the eyes of the IRS employees)
caused them to try everything legally within their power to "get" Jim
Bell.  His use of multiple SS#'s to avoid paying taxes probably just
increased their fury, given that the job of the IRS (according to the
likely majority viewpoint of IRS employees) is to ensure the compliance
of their fellow citizens with the tax code so that the burden may be
shared fairly.  Jim's AP writings added fuel to the IRS employee's
fires, most likely causing them to think that Jim was going to be up to
more serious deeds in the future -- but that was not the likely the
initial cause of their furor, it was the attack on their offices and the
attack on their livelihood and the government that they all work for.
If Mr. Bell had not made his attack on their office, and had not tried
to illegally evade taxes, we would still likely be reading his musings
and rantings on AP as he would be walking around a free man.  AP, of
course, made for wonderful :) publicity for the IRS in Jim Bell's case,
as it is something that the media could really sink its teeth into.

So, in short -- Jim Bell, IMHO, is in jail because he vandalized IRS
offices and prevented them from doing their legally-appointed duties --
not because of AP.  AP just gave the IRS and the media a lot of good,
juicy tidbits to feed to the public about Mr. Bell.
==========================================================
Mark Leighton Fisher          Thomson Consumer Electronics
fisherm@indy.tce.com          Indianapolis, IN
"Their walls are built of cannon balls, their motto is
'Don't Tread on Me'"