(originally launched into cyberspace on 02/17/2007)Dear Subscriber,
Today I got an e-mail from someone who said: "I
can't afford to be put in jail and loose my job because I followed
the law, but don't know how to keep the Gestapo from bullying me
and twisting the truth and making me a criminal with a record." How
does it make you feel to know that an American is afraid to OBEY
the law, and tell the truth, for fear of what his government might
do to him? It would be bad enough if one person felt that way, or a
dozen, or a hundred. But his lament is not at all unique. THOUSANDS
of people are now regularly surrendering money to the IRS that they
firmly believe they do NOT owe. Whether or not you agree with them,
anyone professing to cherish freedom ought to be disgusted with a
government that achieves "compliance," not with reason and law, but
with coercion and intimidation. Thomas Jefferson said that when the
people fear the government, there is tyranny. (How many people do
you know who are NOT scared of the IRS?)
And the fear of the feds
is not at all baseless. Two days ago, someone I know very well went
to prison. He is scheduled to be in for five years. Five YEARS.
Think of that. What would justify sticking someone in a cage for
five years? Did he kill someone? Assault someone? Rob someone?
Defraud someone? Nope. Did he at least lie about something, hide
something, or engage in some shady financial dealings? No. (He'd
probably be in Congress, not prison, if he did that stuff.) No,
while the official charges were about not filing returns, and
trying to get money back he had erroneously paid before, his true
sin was to stand by his principles, speak his mind, tell the truth,
and point out government wrongdoing. His name is Dr. Charles Thomas
Clayton. And since I know him well, let me describe his sins to
you.
In 1998, after finding my "Taxable Income" report on the
internet (on someone else's web site), he contacted me. We
discussed the issue at great length. Once convinced that my
conclusions were correct, he was determined to have the information
publicly available. So he donated the funds to create the
www.taxableincome.net web site, which included my "Taxable Income"
report, and related articles and documents. Everything on the site
was free to anyone who wanted it. Dr. Clayton (known to many as
"Dr. Tom") made that possible.
Later, not satisfied with the speed
at which the truth was spreading, we discussed making a video
version, since reading a 60-page legal brief wasn't something most
people were likely to do. I daydreamed aloud to Tom about how the
best way to explain the issue would be with the use of computer
rendering/animation software (like you may have seen in Toy Story,
Monsters Inc., etc.). However, I told him that wouldn't work,
because the equipment and software for that is so expensive. But he
was so determined to have the American public, particularly those
folks NOT as well off as himself, have this information, that he
kept asking me for a number: just how much would it take to make
such a video? Ultimately he donated tens of thousands of dollars of
his own money, for the hardware, software, and initial copying
costs. And when I say "donated," I don't mean "invested." He
DONATED it, REFUSING to make any agreement whereby he would ever be
paid back a dime. He did it because he felt obligated to do it. And
so the "Theft By Deception" video (
www.theftbydeception.com )
became a reality.
Keep in mind, Dr. Tom was in the perfect
position to let someone ELSE deal with the problem. He had a lot to
lose, but he put it on the line anyway. Why? Because the man has
principles, and a devotion to the truth I have rarely seen
elsewhere. Now the feds are determined, not only to lock him up,
but to destroy him financially. They illegally rushed a lien onto
his home so that he couldn't sell it before going in, so his family
could get the equity from it. They want to make sure that his
family suffers as much as possible. I want to make sure they don't,
as you'll see below.
Between funding various information-
spreading projects, Dr. Tom was writing letters of his own to all
sorts of government officials, seeking rational answers to rational
questions, trying to get an honest dialogue going with anyone in
the federal government. He wrote to Andrew Card, Bush's chief of
staff. Along with many of us, he wrote to the IRS Commissioner, the
Attorney General, the Secretary of the Treasury, and many more. He
went to the trouble of finding the IRS attorneys specializing in
Section 861 of the tax code (David Bergkuist and Barbara Felker),
trying to get them to answer the questions. He received insults and
threats, but no answers.
He hid nothing. He explained his
position, and SOUGHT OUT opposing views from the government; he
asked for answers, invited discussion. For his trouble, he had his
home raided on May 6, 2003, the same day mine was raided. It
quickly became abundantly clear (the feds didn't even bother being
secretive about it) that his funding of the "Theft By Deception"
was the reason that a dozen armed agents invaded his home. They
took every copy of the video they could find, under the guise of a
"search." (We had already sent over 100 FREE copies of the video to
all sorts of government officials, so the contents weren't any
secret to the feds.)
When he called the DOJ to complain about the
obvious First Amendment violation, the lawyer there told him that
he could file a complaint, but it probably wouldn't be processed,
because it would be a "conflict of interests." Why? Because, as the
government's own lawyer said, the DOJ was trying to STOP THE
DISTRIBUTION of the video--a video they have NEVER alleged is
illegal, and have no injunction against. Yet they took every copy
they could find, even though the Supreme Court says that search
warrants are NOT to be used to confiscate protected First Amendment
materials. (Are you getting a little queasy yet? Does this sound a
little too much like fascist book-burnings for your tastes?)
Funny how the government couldn't find the resources to answer a
few simple questions about the law, but could find the resources to
raid this man's home, prosecute him, and now imprison him. Speaking
of prosecution, those of you familiar with my case probably won't
be surprised to learn that the government, with the help of the
"judge" in his case, went to great lengths to SUPPRESS all relevant
evidence from his trial. (He wasn't allowed to show the jury the
video, for example.) It was not a trial; it was a witch-hunt. After
his selfless contributions and efforts, he was demonized, treated
as a criminal and a villain, and forbidden from defending himself.
Now he is in prison.
There are countless other ways in which Dr.
Tom has been an advocate of the truth, from funding THIS e-mail
list (that's why you didn't pay anything to subscribe), to helping
out financially with the 861 Evidence presentation, to making sure
I could afford to do my part in exposing the issue, and so on. I
won't even try to list them all (or remember them all) right now.
Suffice it to say that he is being punished precisely because he
gave of himself so that YOU could know the truth about what is
being done to you by your own government. After all that, his first
concern still is not himself; it is that his family be taken care
of. And I intend to do everything in my power to make that happen.
Right now, having mortgaged our house to give the IRS nearly
$70,000 already (despite knowing that we didn't owe it), and with
the IRS still wanting over $70,000 from us, not to mention the
court wanting another $15,000 in penalties, my wife and I today
will be sending Dr. Tom's family $100. I say this not to boast,
because $100 is hardly worth boasting about. (I hope to soon be
able to send a lot more than that.) Rather than as a lame boast, I
tell you this to illustrate that however bad your finances might
be, in the long run $100 is chump change. It's a very small "thank
you" to give for someone risking so much--and losing so much--for
the sake of justice.
There are about 6,000 people on this list.
The vast majority will give nothing. But if 10% each give $100,
that will go a long way towards supporting the family of this
American hero--albeit an "unsung" hero. He put himself in harm's
way for YOUR sake, and is now being tortured for it. Let's at least
make sure his family is well taken care of during his stay as a
political prisoner. So before you get back to your daily routine
and it slips your mind, get out your checkbook, write that check--
if not for $100 then for whatever you can afford (if that's more
than $100, great)--and send it along to Tom's wife at the following
address. (If you'd rather make donations in some more anonymous way-
- -money order, or even cash if you dare trust the post office with
that--in case you have concerns about getting the IRS' attention,
that's fine too. It all counts as gifts, which even the IRS knows
are not taxable.)
Donna Clayton
202 N Vesper Bend Circle
The
Woodlands, TX 77382
Be sure to make the donations out to Donna,
not Tom, not only because he's not there (obviously), but because
it's not for him; it's for his family. Most of us will never know
what his family has gone through, and will go through, because of
Tom's loyalty to the truth. Let's at least help spare them further
financial problems.
Sincerely,
Larken Rose
www.larkenrose.com(P.S. Whatever you would have given to support Tessa and me, give
it to Dr. Tom's family instead.)
(P.P.S. If you still insist on
helping out Tessa and myself, feel free to buy my book from the
www.tyrantbook.com web site--though I'd rather have people buy it
because it's a good book, rather than as an act of charity.)
