Subject: A Good Cause -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 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.) -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Note: This signature can be verified at https://www.hushtools.com/verify Version: Hush 2.5 wpwEAQECAAYFAkXXnOEACgkQGmVFo/iGj32FsAQAqT43UOGoz4fSnrmuhK5OpaKHLT1B 3PIMUAjdDNvDPzupOQRrgkZpz9WImQ4RTZe1JUbECR8q5mixa7x7axQ1KCr8ypp/TrQU 1l8QCd9csJZ3P4/9Dvvzsp22buovYAcvJ64G4qRqEMim2pMxooCUY8YCezfeYU4iHac7 hdyXLSA= =ATG2 -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -- Want more money in your pocket? Click to consolidate student loans http://tagline.hushmail.com/fc/CAaCXv1QKFk3j98Y4MiXOLxTlgT6Cs3G/ -------------------------------------------------------------------- To subscribe, send a blank message to 861-on@mail-list.com