Fred and Chuck

Larken Rose

"I have proof that you've been robbed."

September 17, 2008 - Once upon a time there was a guy named Fred.  One night Fred was having trouble sleeping, and went to the kitchen for a snack. Before turning on the light, he happened to glance out the window, and see some movement in his neighbor's garage.  As he watched, Chuck, another of his neighbors  --  not the owner of that house  --  walked out carrying some garden tools.  Fred glanced at the clock, which said 2:15 a.m. Fred grabbed his camcorder, which happened to have night vision, and kept watching and filming as Chuck crept from one house to another, sneaking into any open garages, and carrying off various items.

Though he couldn't imagine an innocent explanation, the next day Fred decided to confront Chuck, as politely as possible, about what he had seen, before mentioning it to the neighbors.  So he strolled over to Chuck's house and knocked on his door.  Chuck opened the door, wearing his usual friendly smile.  "Um, I don't quite know how to say this," began Fred awkwardly, "but I saw you last night, taking stuff out of other peoples houses.  I didn't want to say anything before talking to you about ...." His words were cut short by a rather vigorous punch in the nose.

"You'd better shut up if you know what's good for you," said Chuck, and slammed the door, leaving Fred standing there, dazed and with a bloody nose.

Several hours later, after his nose had stopped bleeding, and had returned more or less to its normal size, Fred decided he had to speak to his neighbors about what had happened.

The first neighbor Fred went to just responded with, "That's impossible.  Chuck is a great guy.  He would never do that.  And if he were doing something like that, someone would have noticed by now. I don't believe you.  Go away." The neighbor shut the door in Fred's face, before Fred could even mention the videotape.

As soon as the second neighbor opened the door, he said "Chuck warned us that you're telling lies about him.  He says the accusation is ridiculous, absurd! So go away." Again the door slammed before Fred could mention the videotape of Chuck's dirty deeds.

The third neighbor also started talking as soon as he opened the door.  "Chuck says you're the crook, Fred, that you steal stuff, and that you gossip about all of us.  I want nothing to do with you." The door was again slammed in Fred's face.

The fourth neighbor, though seeming suspicious and less than friendly, let Fred say a bit, just enough to mention the videotape. Somewhat begrudgingly, the neighbor watched the video.  At the end, however, all he would say was, "Well, when you brought it up, you got a punch in your nose.  So who cares whether what you say is true or not?"

Fred almost went home then, but decided to try the last house he had seen Chuck take stuff from.  The fifth neighbor answered the door, and Fred quickly summarized the situation, hoping to get it all out before being punched or having the door slammed in his face.  This time, however, the neighbor listened quietly and intently, and then asked to see the videotape, which he watched quietly and intently.  After a few more moments of silence, the neighbor said, "Thank you for letting me know.  I'll have to think about what to do about it, if anything, but I appreciate you letting me know."

Walking home, Fred felt content.  The problem hadn't been solved, and most of his neighbors had been thick-headed dunces, but at least one person wanted the truth and got it.  And, for the moment at least, that was good enough for Fred.

The End.

--------------------------

The above story may seem unrealistic.  After all, people wouldn't be so dense that they wouldn't want to know if someone's taking their stuff, right? Well, it depends upon who the accused thief is.

My Taxable Income report, in all its manifestations since 1998, my Theft By Deception video, my web sites, etc., all boil down to a simple message: "I have proof that you've been robbed, by Uncle Sam no less." Now you might think, whether they believed that accusation or not, that people would at least wonder whether it was true.  Oddly, most of them DON'T.  In fact, most of the people in the "tax honesty movement" also DON'T.  Consider the most common responses to the "861 evidence" (which correspond to the various neighbors in the above story):

1) "That can't be true.  Our government would never do that, and if it did, someone would have noticed." Of course, this says nothing about the evidence, since people who think like that never LOOK at the evidence.  But what makes that common response especially looney is the claim  --  and I've heard people say this on many occasions  --  that if that were true, someone would have discovered it, and told them about it.  Um, someone did, and someone did.  I guess what they mean is that someone ELSE would have known about it, and would have told them SOONER.  Well, others tried, and they didn't listen then, either.

2) "The courts say that's frivolous." So people appointed by the accused crooks, and paid by the accused crooks, assert that the accused crooks aren't crooks.  And apparently that's good enough for a LOT of people.  What about the evidence? Do the courts have an explanation for it? No, but apparently they don't need one, as far as most people are concerned.  The mere ASSERTION (called a "ruling" when a "judge" does it) that the issue is bogus is enough to dissuade most people from ever considering the evidence.

3) "The government says that this is a tax fraud scheme, and you were convicted, so you're the criminal." Demonizing an accuser is nothing new, and the reason it's been around so long is because it often works quite well.

4) "Well, all it got you was trouble, so I don't want to hear about it." This response comes not only from the general public, but from a lot of people in the "tax honesty" movement.  In short, if they aren't spoon-fed a sure-fire, risk-free means of resisting the IRS, they don't CARE what's true and what's not.

Thankfully, there are some people who want to know the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, even if it's unpleasant, and even if they don't know what to DO about it.  It amazes me how few of such people there are, even in the "movement." Maybe it's because they really DON'T believe it could be true, and so they don't want to examine the evidence too closely.  Well, for those who want to look closely, my new book Kicking the Dragon  --  which shows one way to stand up for the truth and get hurt for doing so  --  gives all the evidence you'll ever need.  So far, however, less than one person in ten on this e-mail list has ordered the book.  It makes me wonder, how many people REALLY want to know the truth, and how many are just playing the wishful thinking game?  The number of weird, baseless arguments in the "movement," and the number of people who blindly accept them as the gospel truth, is an indication to me that lots of people WANT a snake oil cure, not the often bitter truth.  Bummer.  Well, for the few weirdos like me who value the truth simply because it is the truth, I wrote Kicking the Dragon.

STUMBLE IT!

More Good Stuff:

Articles by Larken Rose — Political philosophy of a man passionately interested in the freedom of his fellow man, moving intellectually from conservatism through libertarianism to anarchism.  Read the latest indictments against our tyrannical ruling elites.

How To Be A Successful Tyrant — Eradicate the self-determination and self-ownership of others and replace their free will with your will.  If you have an innate “love of dominion” and believe you can run other's lives better than they can, this book will show you how.

Kicking The Dragon — A chronicle of a modern-day witch-hunt.  The disturbing facts of the case pull back the façade of “due process” and the “rule of law” to reveal the United States government for what it has become:  a gang of lawless criminals interested only in preserving their own power.

ONLINE STORE — Interesting stuff you can download.  No need to sniff all over the web  -  the best stuff is right here.

Theft By Deception — This is a startling revelation for income tax professionals, income tax enforcers and administrators, and the average American who expects nothing less than truthfulness in taxation.

Would You Have Signed the Declaration of Independence? — Provide your causes that impel you to a repudiation of 'business as usual' and clearly state your demand that we reinstate and enforce government of law and liberty under the Constitution.