(KTD) Persuasive Argument?

(originally launched into cyberspace on 05/21/2008)

Time for another tidbit from my newly-released book, "Kicking the
Dragon."

When I was tried for "willful failure to file," the ONLY thing the
jury needed to decide was whether I BELIEVED that my income was
taxable (and therefore believed I that was required to file tax
returns). If I believed I wasn't required to file, there was no
crime, whether I was right or not, because of the "willfulness"
issue. So the government had the burden of proving that I BELIEVED
that I owed the tax.

Well, the government's entire case consisted of saying that federal
paper-pushers had TOLD me that I owed the tax. But how can their
words possibly prove what I believe? They can't, obviously, but
that wasn't the half of it. At the trial, two of the government's
main witnesses testified about administrative meetings they had
with me, at which I explained my position and asked them to tell me
on which points they disagreed. The government wanted the jury to
hear that these people had "told" me that my position was
incorrect, and that my income was taxable. However, on cross-
examination, the government's witnesses admitted that:

1) They never quoted anything from the law supporting their
position.
2) I quoted lots of statutes and regulations supporting mine.
3) They were not familiar with the sections of law I showed them.
4) They could not answer my questions about the proper application
of the law.
5) They could not decide the specifics of their OWN position
regarding 861.
6) They said they would get back to me (and never did).

(At Tessa's trial, one of the IRS agents even admitted that she
found MY position "somewhat persuasive." I can't return the
compliment.)

So should that have convinced me that my conclusions were wrong? At
the meeting, after carefully explaining my position, providing
numerous supporting citations at every step, should I have been
persuaded by such a display of ignorance, uncertainty, and evasion?
Well, as it happens, at the meeting I asked the IRS agents exactly
that, and here is what happened (from the transcript of the
meeting):

Me: “You personally have had my [Taxable Income] report for weeks.
The Service has had my report for more than a year. This argument
has been around for several years. And, as I understand it, there
are special sections of the IRS devoted to trying to come up with a
response to this. Now, you’re implying that I owe you something and
that I have some requirement to file, and in your letter you even
mentioned that you were gonna ask me to file later returns. Is this
really what’s supposed to persuade me here?”
Cathy Spaulding (IRS): “No.”
Me: “Am I supposed to be persuaded by this?”
Cathy Spaulding (IRS): “No, we’re not saying you’re supposed to be
persuaded.”

How nice of them to admit that they didn't expect their bungling
incompetence to persuade me. And what do you think the jury at my
trial thought when they saw that?

Well, the jury never saw that quote, nor did they hear the audio-
recording of it. You see, while the IRS employees were allowed to
inaccurately testify about what happened at the meetings, I was NOT
allowed to show the jury the actual transcripts, or play the actual
recordings of those meetings. (This was despite the fact that no
one was disputing the authenticity of either.) So the jury never
saw or heard the IRS employees admitting that even THEY didn't
think that their uncertain, evasive yammerings should have
convinced me that I was wrong. And yet the government's entire
"proof" of my crime was that such clueless bureaucrats had ASSERTED
that I was wrong, so how could I possibly believe otherwise?

I'll be sharing more tidbits of the surreal tale in the coming
days. For the whole story, order your own copy of "Kicking the
Dragon (Confessions of a Tax Heretic)," via mail at the address
below (cost is $22, including shipping and handling), or online at
http://www.kickingthedragon.com

Sincerely,

Larken Rose
P.O. Box 653
Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006

Might Makes Truth?

(originally launched into cyberspace on 05/12/2008)

I continue to be stunned by how many people--not just in
government, and not just in the general public, but even those in
the "pro-freedom movement"--seem to subscribe to one of the most
idiotic logical fallacies imaginable: the idea that HURTING people
alters what is true. Of course, when it's put that way, no one
would say they believe in such a thing, but their own comments tell
a different story.

"How come you still talk about the 861 issue, when you went to
jail?"

What an odd question. It's a little like saying, "How can you still
maintain your beliefs after I punched you in the nose?" Granted, if
I had been claiming that saying "861" will magically make the IRS
leave you alone--something I have never said--then my own
imprisonment would be a good refutation of that claim. However, I
spent years saying the exact opposite: "Don't do what I'm doing;
knowing what is true will NOT, in and of itself, protect you from
thieves." As Voltaire said, it's dangerous to be right when the
government is wrong.

Those who are (despite the abundance of misinformation out there)
actually familiar with what happened at my trial, and all my
meetings with the IRS before that, know that substantively refuting
my conclusions was never the agenda of the feds. Their agenda was,
as it is with many people: baselessly assert that the person's
conclusions are "frivolous," and then do whatever is necessary
(legal or not) to censor, demonize, or otherwise harm that person,
in an effort to make him shut up, and to scare other people away.

I can completely sympathize with people who don't dare to take on
the IRS, in light of what they've done to many who have tried. What
I can't understand, because it's so utterly irrational, is how some
people decide what is TRUE based upon whether the federal
government has harmed someone or not. Does the sun really go around
the earth, because Galileo was imprisoned for saying otherwise?

I also sympathize with those who desperately want some procedural
means of making the IRS obey the law. However, I have never claimed
to have any such trick (quite the opposite), and I have never seen
anyone else who has devised such a trick (notwithstanding the many
who CLAIM to have such a magic solution). Believe me, if I thought
there was a sure-fire procedural way to make the IRS obey the law,
I'd be telling everyone about it.

I sympathize a little with those seeking a legal argument "that
works"--in other words, one that makes the IRS say, "Golly gee,
you're right, we'll leave you alone now." However, I can't imagine
why anyone at this point thinks that such a thing could possibly
exist, when the IRS and DOJ have made it abundantly clear that they
don't CARE what the law says, and that they will do anything to
preserve their power. That is why my focus has always been on
spreading the truth, until it is louder than the lie, and the fraud
collapses under its own weight. Until then, I see no procedural way
to achieve justice.

Speaking of which, I still hear people criticizing me for having
any faith that the courts would provide justice. I don't now, and I
didn't before. I had no hope at all that the government or the
courts would do the right thing, but I had a shred of hope that the
American PEOPLE, represented by the jury, might do the right thing.
(I've since lost much hope in that, either, though there have been
a few cases--Cryer, Banister, Kuglin, Harrell, etc.--where juries
did the right thing.)

If you ask me, it's important to know what is TRUE, and to SAY what
is true, even if people in power don't like it, even if acting on
the truth would be dangerous, even if speaking the truth brings
insult, ridicule and threats upon you. If you don't want to act on
the truth, that's understandable. If you keep filing tax returns,
reporting income you think isn't really taxable, to save your own
hide, that's understandable. But if you no longer dare to speak the
truth, that's pretty sad. And if you're to the point where you
don't even want to KNOW what is true if it's dangerous--if you're
one of those who says, "I don't want to know what he has to say,
because he went to prison"--well, then, you're a tyrant's dream
come true.

Sincerely,

Larken Rose
http://www.larkenrose.com

The Bright Side

(originally launched into cyberspace on 05/12/2008)

I admit, the following is a heck of a stretch, trying to see
something good in the current situation. But I'm trying to maintain
at least a scrap of optimism.

One of the biggest problems I see in the "tax honesty movement" is
that most people involved seem to be seeking that one "silver
bullet," the procedure or magic words which will make the federal
extortion machine vanish into thin air. I can't even count how many
times someone has come forward and claimed to have a sure-fire way
to achieve justice (for only $599.99, give or take a thousand
dollars). And over and over again, those "guaranteed" cures have
crashed and burned. In fact, some have crashed, risen again,
crashed again, risen again, and crashed again. Oddly, there are
still some people who are convinced that "method X has never
failed!" And they don't seem to be swayed by the anecdotes of all
the people who say, "Yeah, I did that, and got robbed blind and
prosecuted."

So how can this be a good thing? Looking for an easy solution was a
huge obstacle to people understanding the truth. As long as people
sought a quick fix, their attention would go to anyone pretending
to have such a fix, instead of towards actually studying evidence.
"Hey, did you hear that [fill in the blank] got a huge refund using
his method?" Every time someone said that, throngs of followers
would stampede in that direction, only to find, sooner or later,
that tyrants are still tyrants, thieves are still thieves, and
people in power won't give it up willingly.

In fact, when people were getting hefty refunds based on the 861
evidence, I was warning people NOT to cite that as proof of
anything. But some did, as have lots of others with lots of other
arguments. "This is true, because I got a check from the IRS!" I
hate to break it to such people, but the "slavery reparations" scam-
- -despite being made up out of thin air--resulted in far more
refunds than ANY "tax honesty movement" issue ever has. Does that
prove that the tax code really does provide for slavery
reparations? No. It proves what most refunds issued based on
unorthodox claims prove: that most returns get processed without
close scrutiny, no matter what they say.

Mind you, I'm not suggesting that people make the opposite mistake
either, thinking that if something DOESN'T "work," it must not be
true. When Irwin Schiff was convicted, I didn't say, "See, that
proves he was wrong!" It proved no such thing. When injunctions
were issued again lots of other people with other claims, I didn't
wave that as around as proof of anything. Again, the only thing it
is proof of is that people who have power will go to great lengths
to hang onto it.

Now that just about every unorthodox claim about the federal income
tax has had a proponent enjoined, robbed, and/or imprisoned, maybe
people will slow down, and instead of thinking, "What can save me
from the IRS?," people will start to think "Which of these, if any,
is actually true?" Ironically, if you DON'T dare to resist the IRS,
I believe that is the BEST time to start objectively,
systematically, carefully examining the evidence. It is a huge
advantage to NOT have your study be clouded by wishful thinking or
monetary interests. Probably the person most able to objectively
determine the truth at this point is the guy who says, "I'll be
filing and paying anyway, but let's see if there's anything to
this."

So, in a twisted way, maybe in the long run the feds' large-scale
attack on "tax heretics" of every sort will have a positive effect.
If people stop believing in a silver bullet, maybe they'll put a
little more effort into determining what is TRUE. The question is,
would you want to know the truth, if it wouldn't save you a dime?
If not, then you aren't much of a truth-seeker, so I don't mind
losing you. But if the truth matters to you all by itself, then
this is no time to stop seeking it.

Sincerely,

Larken Rose
http:///www.861.info

P.S. A few people have accused me of continuing to talk about the
861 evidence just to make a buck. For the record, it's been almost
three years since I made any profit from my "Theft By Deception"
video (and everything I made prior to that has since been stolen by
the IRS). Since then, all proceeds from TBD sales have been paying
back a large interest-free loan I gave to the non-profit "861
Evidence" mini-CD program. And, since that loan is now almost paid
off (not quite, but close enough), all proceeds from TBD sales from
now on will be collected to pay back Dr. Tom when he is done with
his stay as a political prisoner. He donated a LOT of money to
spreading the truth, and never asked to be paid back a dime. But
we'll see if we can get him a dime or two before he is released.

Take Your Money Back

(originally launched into cyberspace on 04/14/2008)

Dear Subscriber,

As you know, my focus regarding the federal income tax has never
been a "tax protest," but a look at what the law actually says,
which shows that most of us never legally owed a dime in "income
taxes." Unfortunately, as you also know, it takes a significant
amount of time and effort to make any sense of the tax code, and
most people--even most pro-freedom people--don't really want to put
in all that effort, especially when the conclusion sounds so
unlikely to begin with.

Well, today I want to tell you about an actual form of "tax
protest": a principled objection to what income taxation (which is
a nice term for slavery) is doing to all of us individually, and to
the nation and the economy as a whole. What I like the most about
the presentation is that it presents such a basic, fundamental
principle that should resonate with anyone who has ever balanced a
checkbook, and that it does so in a very professional-looking, very
mainstream-compatible presentation. (I didn't make the thing, so
don't compliment me on how good it looks.)

I think this message should be spread far and wide, especially to
people who are NOT already in the various pieces of the "freedom
movement." I think this is one of those very rare opportunities
when we can actually stir up a little righteous indignation among
the general public, instead of just "preaching to the choir" about
how obnoxious the government is.

The first thing to do is go watch the video for yourself. Then get
everyone you know to watch it. Then get everyone you DON'T know to
watch it, too. (There are lots of other ways to spread the word,
too, which the web site can tell you about.) But first, go watch
the video:

http://www.takeyourmoneyback.com/

Sincerely,

Larken Rose
http://www.861.info

Life in a Cage

(originally launched into cyberspace on 04/01/2008)

Dear Subscriber,

I'm sure most of you have heard the following saying: "God, grant
me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage
to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."
I have often found myself with a shortage of that first thing.
Injustice boils my blood, whether I can do anything about it or
not. I'm getting a bit better at "being at one" with an imperfect
world, but I have quite a ways to go. For some reason, if the
misfortune and suffering were the result of something
uncontrollable--earthquakes or plagues or something--I could handle
it better. But when ongoing massive injustice and pain come instead
from people being STUPID (unthinkingly doing the bidding of
"authority"), I have a lot of trouble serenely accepting it.

Right now a very brave, very principled, honest man is in a cage.
Of course, that is nothing new, but in this case it's someone I
know personally. In fact, half a dozen people I know personally, to
varying degrees, are currently living in cages for telling the
truth. But the one I'm speaking about at the moment is Dr. Tom
Clayton (whom you may know as "Dr. Tom"). Every morning, I wake up
at home, with my family. And every morning, he wakes up in federal
prison. Having done that for a year, I can tell you that it's easy
to feel forgotten. It's also easy to BE forgotten, because it's
usually depressing for those of us on the outside to have to think
about an injustice that we cannot fix.

I don't intend to remind you of the suffering of others too often,
but right now I'm going to ask you to DO something about it, and
it's something pretty darn simple. Those of you familiar with Dr.
Tom's courageous efforts towards exposing and ending the federal
income tax deception, take ten minutes out of your day, sit down
and write him a note--it doesn't have to be long--letting him know
that he is NOT forgotten, and that his efforts are still
appreciated. Here is his mailing address:

Tom Clayton, #06269-078
P.O. Box 1010
FCI Bastrop
Bastrop, TX 78602

(Other than letters and books, you can't send him anything else, so
don't bother trying.)

Then, if you're feeling generous, you can make a donation to help
out his family while he's doing his stay as a political prisoner,
by clicking on the "Donate Now, Click & Pledge" link in the bottom
right corner of the following web page:

http://www.theft-by-deception.com/

(Though we haven't yet made the web site say so, all donations made
there go to Dr. Tom's family.)

Tom will survive. I have no doubt about that. But I can tell you,
it's more than a little discouraging to spend day after day away
from your friends and family, as time slowly crawls by, all because
you told the truth. But that's how it is in this "land of the free"
these days. I wouldn't WANT you all to dwell on it every minute of
every day (which I have to try hard NOT to do), because it would
only depress you and make you feel helpless and frustrated. But
just for today, remember those who have fallen in the "battle" for
truth, and let them know they're not forgotten.

Sincerely,

Larken Rose
http://www.861.info