I was born at a relatively young age in the first year of "Camelot" --
no, not King Arthur's reign in the 6th Century, but President Kennedy's in 1961.
You could say I was literally a child of the 60s, but love, peace and understanding
had no chance to pervert my young mind, since my family was strictly Christian
conservative.
I had just begun wondering why everyone complained about Army life when they
shipped me off to Fort Bragg, to play G.I. Joe in the dirt. While my paperwork was still
being processed, President Reagan decided to invade Grenada. I waved my comrades goodbye
at neighboring Pope Air Force Base, unable to join them without my paperwork. (Damn
bureaucracy!) No matter -- I got to see a war anyway, in Central America,
doing things I am not at liberty to discuss (but which you can read about in any newspaper).
When I first heard that Steve Kangas may have died in Pittsburgh, I
searched for an obituary and could find none. I wanted to know about
the circumstances. I knew Steve Kangas had written an investigative
essay on Richard Mellon Scaife and wondered whether there might be a
connection, though I really didn't expect to find one. Finally, someone
with Lexus Nexus access verified that Steve Kangas had actually died,
and sent me the short obituary from the the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette of
Feb. 12:
Since then, the questions surrounding the death of Steve Kangas have
snowballed. There were two parallel tracks being taken. One track was
seeking more information about Steve's death and wanting a further
investigation. The other track was bent on smearing Steve's reputation
and turning him into everything from an embezzler to a neo nazi to a
down and out womanizing drunk to an assassin out to murder Richard
Mellon Scaife. For instance Tucker Carlson, in an article "Stalking
Scaife" characterized Steve Kangas as, "Kangas, a 37-year-old Internet
pornographer from Las Vegas" and Tony Snow, in an article "Steve Kangas
Left-Wing Vince Foster" characterized Steve Kangas as, "Squeeky Frohme
with intellectual pretensions."
For any who are unfamiliar with Steve Kangas and wish to make up their
own mind, I suggest you visit his web page and read through his essays
He posted his last essay to his Web site
on February 3, just five days before
his untimely death. In my opinion, it is not the
writings of a man in throes of alcoholism, though people
like Richard Scaife have suggested as much and he may well
view Steve's work as pornography. See: 
ABOUT ME
I left religion at age 12, and conservatism at age 26, to become the godless pinko
commie lying socialist weasel that conservatives find at right. I'm sure that
liberals will recognize something of the kindly, gentle, good-humored progressive
student I actually am in this photo, which makes this a political Rorschach ink-blot
test (and probably about as attractive).
I've led an interesting life, even if it hasn't always taken me where I want to go. Upon
graduating from high school in 1979, filled with high hopes and dreams of wealth and fame,
I promptly ran into the back-to-back recessions of 1980-82, the worst since the Great Depression.
So I did the politically correct thing to do -- for a conservative -- and joined the Army.
I must have scored really low on their qualifications tests, because they relegated
me to military intelligence. This included a year of learning a foreign language (Russian)
while basking in the sun at the Presidio of Monterey, California.
In 1984 they shipped me off to Berlin, to do more of the things I can't discuss.
Basically this involved electronic eavesdropping on Soviet military units in
Eastern Europe, analyzing the transcripts and reporting back to NATO. It was here
that I learned that a Soviet invasion of Western Europe was impossible, because
their soldiers lacked certain sophisticated training -- like, oh, say, driving
skills. But I must not have been in the entire intelligence loop, for our leaders
could often be seen on television solemnly warning us of the grave Soviet threat that
hung over Europe like a pall.
And then there were the wake-up calls -- the terrorist bombing of a Berlin discotheque
only a few blocks away from my living quarters. In response, Reagan ordered the bombing of
Libya, even though it later turned out that we had no proof they did it. (The subsequent
terrorist alert, however, forced me to cancel my vacation to Spain.) And
then there was the Soviet's assassination of Major Arthur Nicholson, one of my
intelligence compratiots,
whose funeral I attended. The image of his 4-year old daughter clutching a Cabbage Patch
doll throughout the entire service is one that is forever burned into my memory. This was a
pivotal moment in my life, causing me to question my conservative beliefs and take
a more serious look at the costs and benefits of the arms race. And I was also
there when Chernobyl experienced the worst nuclear disaster in history, giving Berlin
a nice radioactive bath in my last month of service. But other than this, I loved Europe.
With an honorable discharge in one hand, and the GI Bill in the other, I flew back
to California in 1986 to recreate the college lizard lifestyle. Port of entry into said lifestyle
was the University of
California - Santa Cruz. This campus is one of the most beautiful in the world, sitting atop
a small mountain of redwood forests, overlooking all 50 miles of Monterey Bay. It is also
one of the most liberal places in America, only one of two U.S.
cities to have ever elected a socialist mayor. Needless to say, Santa Cruz is often the target of
Rush Limbaugh's wrath. UCSC is also famous for its appearance in the movie Pulp
Fiction, albeit as an emblem on John Travolta's "dorky" T-shirt. (The yellow
creature you saw was a banana slug, the school mascot.)
Going from the Army to USCS was like going from conservative heaven to liberal heaven at warp
speed. There, kindly professors pointed out to me the illogic of defending life
by taking it, destroying the planet for a buck and shutting down schools
to build more prisons. I am now thoroughly brainwashed to believe that kindness and human
decency are positive traits to be emulated and encouraged. I know this is a radical thought
for a straight white male, but I suppose it proves that European traits are not really,
reeeeeaallly genetic.
Today I have a major in Russian studies, with an emphasis on political science and economics.
However, I am applying to grad school in U.S. political science, which has interested me much
more since communism fell. I visited Russia in 1989, and the trip was one of the most incredible
experiences of my life. The
Russians are the warmest, friendliest people I've met anywhere. But their country was in the
final stages of collapse, with devastating environmental problems and economic stagnation.
Yet more proof, if more be needed, that dictatorships are disastrous. Long live democracy...
I have many interests in life, among them traveling, writing, movies and socializing
in Santa Cruz's deservedly famous coffee shops. But one of the biggest is
chess. From 1992 to 1995, I served as the Santa Cruz Chess Club
President, where I am both a tournament director and a strong A-player.
Teaching chess to school children is one of my life's greatest joys.
("The Origins of the Overclass" is the essay that mentions Scaife).
A letter from John Van Matre
"The body of a 37-year-old man found in a 39th floor bathroom
of One Oxford Centre late Monday night has been identified as
Steven Kangas of Las Vegas. He died of a gunshot wound to the
head. The Allegheny County coroner's office ruled the death
a suicide."
I plugged in One Oxford Centre and Scaife -what popped up made the hair
on the back of my neck stand up.
Scaife Foundations
One Oxford Centre
301 Grant Street, Suite 3900
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15219-6401
There are more questions than answers. Richard Scaife hiring a
detective to try and dig up dirt on Steve Kangas raises a red flag. He
used the same detective, Rex Armistead, that was used to try and dig up
dirt on President Clinton for the Arkansas Project. The Pittsburgh
police should have been so thorough. I doubt the police even questioned
Richard Scaife, though one report did say they were thinking about it.
The systematic attempted trashing of Steve Kangas' raises questions.
Discrepancies between the coroner's report, in which Steve was injured
when first found, and the police report, with no mention of injuries
when he was first found raises questions. The quick cremation and the
erasure of Steve Kangas' hard drive raises questions.
If magically I could have three questions about the circumstances around
this case answered, I suppose they would be -- (1) Is the checking of
the circuit breakers in One Oxford Centre rest rooms sop, and is there a
log to prove this? (2) Was the gun that killed Steve empty when found?
The news articles infer this, stating 47 rounds were found in his
backpack and in one pocket. This is important because if Steve Kangas
were in custody of Scaife security, they may have initially taken his
gun away and emptied the clip. There may even be prints on the bullets
or the clip, if the gun is still in evidence. (3) One intriguing puzzle
piece that doesn't fit with the theory of suicide -- the bullet found
around the time that Steve Kangas was found. There was a bullet hole
found in the window of a street level clothing store. The slug was
found inside the store. The bullet got there somehow. The location of
One Oxford Centre doesn't appear to be a part of Pittsburgh where random
bullet holes would be found. I suspect this may be the first time ever
that a bullet hole was found in a window of one of the shops. Maybe
some time after all the stores had closed, Steve Kangas had attempted to
leave, was stopped by Scaife security, shots or a shot were fired, with
Steve Kangas was forced to go back up to the 39th floor. If that bullet
is connected, suicide becomes implausible.
I don't know what happened to Steve Kangas on the evening of
February 8. I can write several scripts from the facts, as reported in
the various newspaper articles. Many of the facts of the case seem
suspicious and do not fit well with the theory of suicide.
When I started digging on my own, that is what I expected to find. But
from the burglar alarm system, to the \$300 gun, to the intensive work
he'd been doing on his political web site, that does not seem to be
where Steve Kangas was at.
And then there is that bullet hole in the window of the Kountz and Rider
clothing store.
For Steve's sake, this case deserves to be investigated further by
someone with the means and abilities far greater than I. Hopefully
someone, or some agency, will investigate the death of of Steve Kangas
in the manner it deserves.
Rest in peace Steve Kangas.
John Van Matre
SINCE NOBODY HAS BOTHERED TO INVESTIGATE:
To his enemies, Steve Kangas was a godless, pinko, Commie, lying socialist weasel, and he deliberately admitted the same, to preempt the libel. To his friends, Steve Kangas was an intelligent, kind, compassionate, well reasoned man. That is the virtual reality of the award winning, successful website publisher. Beyond the images, Steve Kangas was a businessman who had landed a lucrative job in Las Vegas. On Feb. 8 1999, the body of Steve Kangas was discovered in a washroom on the 39th floor of a building at one Oxford Centre in Pittsburgh, just outside the offices of conservative billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife.
And what was Steve Kangas doing in an office building at one Oxford Centre, on the day that he was murdered? What is the intention of every businessman who carries a neatly packed suitcase full of clothes, boards a bus to another city, and enters the premises of a private office building?
Given the logical assumption that Steve Kangas contacted a business prospect at one Oxford Centre, on the very day that he was murdered, there was nothing unusual about his journey to Pittsburgh. To be sure, given the tragic conclusion, Kangas was probably deliberately lured to one Oxford Centre, on the false pretense that he was there to do business.
At the very least, Steve Kangas did not plot his own murder, and despite the fact that Scaife’s private investigator, Rex Armistead, criss-crossed the country to assume control of all the evidence, he failed to whitewash the simple truth.
And what is the simple truth? The simple truth is that the obsessive fanatic who wields power from the shadows is Richard Mellon Scaife, it is not Steve Kangas. Richard Mellon Scaife is the fanatic who finances Clinton’s enemies, and he is so far gone that he funds private advocates like Larry Klayman, to finish the job that Starr abandoned.
Indeed, in stark contrast to the extremely secretive, well funded anti-Clinton cabal, Steve Kangas is an open book, and the attempt to label him otherwise will never wash.
Mr. Armistead may think that he is very clever assuming control of all documented evidence, including Steve’s mail, but he clearly crossed the line when he minimized the fact that Kangas was essentially an intelligent, reserved, well reasoned young man. Mr. Armistead’s exhaustive obsession to monopolize documentation did not produce conclusive evidence about what Steve Kangas was doing in Pittsburgh, and that is exactly what one would expect from somebody who was hired to cover up the truth about the murder of Steve Kangas.
Moreover, the obsession to fabricate absolute nonsense in effort to promote the false claim that Kangas committed suicide is equally incriminating. Arriving at One Oxford Centre at 2:45 p.m., Steve Kangas was in the building until about 11:30 p.m., when he was shot dead, and the suggestion that Kangas was trespassing in a private Office tower for about 9 hours before he conveniently committed suicide is absolutely ludicrous. We are talking about a private building armed with security cameras and security guards, not Hitler’s suicide bunker. All Star propagandists like Tony Snow may call Steve Kangas a “garrulous loser” and focus on foolish reports like the claim that Steve Kangas carried a copy of Mein Kampf, but the reports of people like Richard Gazarik, who works for the Scaife propaganda mill, confirm suspicion. According to the paranoid, Steve Kangas allegedly traveled to Pittsburgh to “confront, and possibly to kill the man he believed to be evil incarnate”, but despite the libel, Steve Kangas was a web publisher and a businessman, and if he traveled to Pittsburgh, he was merely there to conduct his business.
The behavior of the obsessive and the fanatic is well documented. As soon as Kangas was murdered, Scaife’s hired hands questioned Steve’s friends, and the intensive, self-serving investigation reflected the compulsive zeal to control information about Steve Kangas. At the same time, the absurd speculation that Steve Kangas was out to murder Richard Mellon Scaife, belied every reality. Steve Kangas was in the process of publishing a completed book, launching a high traffic website and pursuing his lucrative business interests. Steve Kangas did not waste time trying to understand what he called “the insanity of Richard Mellon Scaife”. The Scaife propaganda mill may thrive upon pure, unadulterated propaganda, but the foundation of everything that Steve Kansas accomplished was the persuasive power of his intelligence and his integrity, and that is something that Richard Mellon Scaife’s billion dollar empire will never change.
Despite all the propaganda, Steve Kangas had friends who clearly defined the essence of the man. Columbia University law student, Jason Gottlieb, summed it all up when he said: "I want people to understand that this is not the kind of person who was obsessed or driven by hate or anything like that. He was not the kind of person who would make his way to Pittsburgh on some mission of revenge. This was not the Steve Kangas that a lot of people knew." Could anybody say the same about Richard Mellon Scaife? Could anybody doubt the vicious zeal of the man who lamented the failed, anti-Clinton Inquisition, and who is still in the process of funding his own, private assault, because Starr was effectively disgraced and discredited?
The propaganda that zealots like Richard Mellon Scaife routinely deploy, ultimately betrays the truth. Richard Mellon Scaife, the man who fanned the flames of the claim that Vince Foster was murdered, is suddenly suggesting that “wacko” Steve Kangas killed himself. Where is the consistency? When you are talking about a propagandist like Richard Mellon Scaife, the consistency is always there, but you have to dig deep. When a man like Richard Mellon Scaife promotes the claim that Vince Foster was murdered, he knows what he is talking about and it is the further suggestion that Clinton is responsible for the crime, which reflects the calculated deception. The key to understanding a propagandist like Richard Mellon Scaife is to unravel the evident determination to blend truth and speculation, in order to produce an agenda-driven outcome. In other words, the outrageous claim that Clinton is responsible for the murder of Vince Foster is as contentious and as self serving as the absurd suggestion that Steve Kangas was on a mission to murder Scaife.
In the final analysis, the claim that Vince Foster was murdered is evidently reliable and when one rejects the slander that “wacko” Foster conveniently killed himself to satisfy the delusions of his critics, the elusive truth that Scaife exposes about Foster’s death, is relatively obvious. In retrospect, Vince Foster’s death provided the focus for the Senate Whitewater Hearings, fishing expedition, and if Vince Foster was deliberately murdered to ease the launch of that phony crusade, it is at least understandable. Frivolous accounts of suicide merely occupy a vacume of ignorance. As Scaife suggests, the controversy that surrounds the death of Vince Foster spells murder, but it is Bill Clinton’s enemies, not Bill Clinton, who exploited the vacume of ignorance that Foster's death produced. Moreover, the tendency to demonize people who do not advance bizarre obstruction of justice charges that implicate the Clinton White House, further explains the determination to destroy rational, intelligent people like Vince Foster and Steve Kangas. In the final analysis, we are witnessing nothing less than a wholesale assault upon the truth, because while every single bizarre, anti-Clinton allegation is well publicized, well reasoned charges are ignored, distorted or marginalized. At the same time, propaganda can only reduce the charge that Vince Foster was murdered, to the realm of the absurd conspiracy theory, if the propaganda is accepted. But what about the testimony of independent eyewitnesses like Patrick Knowlton, who filed a lawsuit claiming “a conspiracy to obstruct justice into the investigations of the death of deputy White House Counsel Vincent W. Foster”? Clearly, notwithstanding the ignorance, the propaganda and the cover up, it is not possible to avoid the conclusion that the deaths of Steve Kangas and Vincent Foster were not typical suicides.
In particular, Steve Kangas WAS NOT suicidal, he WAS NOT homicidal and he WAS NOT a lunatic. Steve Kangas had used his spare time to become the most successful Liberal activist on the Internet, and if, or when that becomes a crime, he had every right to be so.
Best Link ever made.
Best of
Human Intelligence by Descartes
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