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1. Dear Mr. Dale R. Eastman or User at IP address 4.158.201.8: Regarding your questions to me personally at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Tax_Honesty_Movement, thank you for your comments.
2. Yes, speaking of your being busy with other things, I am pretty much in the same position right now. Because I do lots of tax stuff, this is the busiest time of year for me, until Monday, April 17th (because April 15th falls on a Saturday this year). I can’t promise you that I will be able to get to your tax commentary in any meaningful way.
3. Also, if we ever do have time for this, I would say that rather than posting material on your web site, a much more efficient method of communication – one that I suspect would result in a lot more people reading what we have to say -- would be to talk about it here at Talk:Tax protester.
4. Regarding your comments, yes, I guess I am a big city lawyer. For what it’s worth, I did drive a truck in my first job many years ago (it was only a delivery van, not a big truck, but whatever).
5. I can tell you at this point, that you are the umpteenth tax protester or "tax honesty movement" member to review these statutes, regs, and court decisions. Both your analysis and your conclusions are incorrect as a matter of law. That’s nothing against you personally. Part of it is that you’re not trained to do legal analysis and part of it is your overall approach.
6. I have briefly reviewed the material at your web site. Many of the cases you cite, especially Eisner v. Macomber, Flint v. Stone Tracy Co., and the Merchants' Bank case, have been exhaustively covered by other tax protesters over the years. Unfortunately, the so-called "analysis" that tax protesters apply in studying these cases is not a correct formal legal analysis.
7. In your web site you instead apply an "idiosyncratic interpretation" to what are essentially very technical legal texts. To analyze law properly, you must instead use principles of formal legal analysis used to study not only tax law but contract law, property law, criminal law, tort law, and all other areas of American law. Formal legal analysis cannot be “learned” merely by studying the texts of one, or five, or even a hundred court decisions.
8. You cannot learn formal legal analysis merely by studying the statutes and regulations you discuss on your web site. Learning to do formal legal analysis cannot be done in the way you have tried to do it. You learn to perform legal analysis by becoming a lawyer.
9. The process of just getting into law school in the first place is a rigorous winnowing that few people can withstand. You first have to graduate from an accredited college or university with at least a bachelor’s degree. Then, you have to apply to a law school and sit for the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). Many college graduates simply do not have the college grades or the LSAT scores to be accepted by a law school.
10. Once you are accepted and enter law school, you gradually learn to perform correct legal analysis not by having a professor "lecture" as a professor would in high school or college, and not primarily by reading a "textbook." Instead you go through a rigorous, formal process using two methods: the Socratic method and the case method. Law school in the United States is akin to a military boot camp -- for the mind. However, instead of lasting about six weeks, law school lasts three years.
11. Further, many law schools are very competitive. Many law schools have what is called "grade deflation." That is, if you were an A student in college, you will usually end up being a C or a B minus student in law school. Even if you graduated from college in the top of your class, law school can be a rude awakening. If there are three hundred people in your first year class, you are essentially competing with nearly three hundred clones of yourself, in terms of ability to perform. Your competition is not merely college students, not merely college graduates, but instead college graduates who have been accepted into law school. Most people simply cannot make the cut.
12. A further hurdle is that some law schools deliberately "flunk out" a large number of law students after the end of the first year. So some people don’t make it – even after having gone this far.
13. The law students who do make it gradually learn to perform correct legal analysis in part by studying literally thousands of court decisions (and statutes and other legal materials) of all kinds – not just tax law decisions – in a very intense, rigorous academic atmosphere. They start with old English cases (our law originally comes from something called English common law) with archaic and very technical language. They study contracts, property, torts, criminal law, constitutional law, legal research and writing, civil procedure, evidence, principal and agent, corporations and partnerships, trusts and wills, marital property rights, employment law, secured transactions, and on and on. A doctor of jurisprudence degree requires about 88 to 97 semester hours of law, depending on the law school – and this is AFTER four years of college, AFTER graduating from college, AFTER having taken the LSAT, and AFTER having been accepted for admission to law school.
14. And AFTER having gone through all this for three years after college and AFTER HAVING earned a doctor of jurisprudence degree, you are still not finished. You still have to sit for the bar examination – often a two or three day affair, administered under the supervision of the highest court in your state (usually called the state Supreme Court). If you pass the bar examination, you are finally licensed by the state Supreme Court as an attorney – and THEN you can start legally advising other people about what the law is and how it applies. Only then are you legally qualified to advise other people about what the constitution, the statutes, the regs, the treaties, the court decisions and other legal materials really mean and how they should be interpreted.
15. With all due respect, the method of "analysis" you use on your web site – this idiosyncratic interpretation -- does not conform to the rules of legal analysis. This means that not only are your conclusions incorrect as a matter of law, your method of "reasoning" is also incorrect as a matter of law. Using your method of interpretation, you would fail the first semester of law school. The rules cannot be learned in a day or a month or a year of reading actual statutes, regs, and court decisions in the way you obviously have been reading them.
16. However, that is not to say that you would actually use your method of reasoning if you actually were in law school. If you actually were in law school, you would quickly learn to spot the errors in the "analytical" method you use on your web site -- and you would I suspect learn to do it right.
17. Some of these court decisions you talk about on your web site are what legal scholars call "leading cases" in the world of tax law. In particular, most tax lawyers can remember some leading cases after studying them in law school. You lose credibility right off the bat by analyzing these leading cases incorrectly on your web site, and by rendering incorrect conclusions about what the cases stand for. Because you lose credibility when you post an incorrect conclusion about a leading case, you immediately lose credibility on the internet.
18. You will notice that I have not addressed any of the material on your web site specifically. Hopefully in the next few weeks I will have time after tax season dies down a bit to provide an example for you of how to correctly interpret one of the cases you discuss on your web site.
19. Regarding the article on the Tax Honesty Movement, the article needs some clean up from a Wikipedia standpoint. My personal vote was to delete the article because I argue that whatever parts of the article can comply with Wikipedia’s rules can be presented more cogently in the article on tax protesters. It’s not necessarily a big deal whether the article stays or is deleted. My personal vote was for deletion, not a vote for suppressing basic information to the effect that so-called tax honesty movement exists. However, if anyone tries to mislead people into thinking that the tax honesty movement is not a continuation of and part of the tax protester movement, they violate Wikipedia rules. If anyone tries to use a Wikipedia article to try to persuade people that that the tax laws are being "misapplied," etc., etc. (and it matters not what specific words they use to try to hide what they are doing), then they are violating Wikipedia policies, rules, guidelines, etc. Wikipedia is not a cyberspace soapbox. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia.
20. If the Wikipedia community decides that the article stays, the article’s content is like the content of any other article: it’s subject to the Wikipedia rules including Neutral Point of View and Verifiability. If the article is deleted, the information on the tax honesty movement is already covered at Tax protester. Either way, proponents of the tax honesty movement who contribute text to a Wikipedia article will be subject to having their material edited or deleted the same as anyone else. This is an encyclopedia.
21. Well, it's 12:50 am on a Monday morning where I am. I have to go to work in the morning! Thanks for your interest. Famspear 05:51, 3 April 2006 (UTC)
22. Mr./Ms.? Famspear. Thank you for the reply. I thank you ahead of time on behalf of the Tax Honesty Movement, and on behalf of those that call us Tax Protestors, for the time you will be putting into this as your schedule will permit (after the 17th.) Both sides of the issue will learn from our dialog, And I hope to make the case that the Tax Honesty Movement is real, and valid.
23. I've taken the liberty of numbering our paragraphs for easier reference.
24. I'm going to start this even though we both won't have time to deal with this. I will be duplicating this on the page I set up. On that page I can use color to enhance discernment as to whose words are whose. [1]
25. Well then, on to it: In your paragraphs 5,6,& 7, you basically repeat the same mantra. What you attempt to say with that mantra, as paraphrased by me, is: "Dumb trucker don't know how to read the law".
26. You state in paragraph 5: Both your analysis and your conclusions are incorrect as a matter of law. You state in paragraph 6: Unfortunately, the so-called "analysis" that tax protesters apply in studying these cases is not a correct formal legal analysis. As frustrating as I imagine this is going to be for you, I'm going to call those statements for what they are: NAKED ASSERTIONS.
27. In your paragraphs 8 through 14 you wave the flag of the rigors of lawyer school. (Rhetorical: So what. Half of you graduated at the bottom of your class.) In your paragraphs 5 through 18 you essentially wrote a hit piece in an attempt to attack my credibility by expounding upon your "formal" education.
28. You have no "authority"; no credibility, to make such statements about my analysis as you did in paragraphs 5 & 6. You have no authority; no credibility whatsoever, except that which you create in your dialog with me. Unfortunately, Dear learn-ed person, That beautiful sheepskin hanging on the wall behind you is presently meaningless. I can not see it, the lurkers who will read this can not see it. A posted scan will be called a forgery and dismissed as meaningless. I do not worship at the alter of the bar. I do not pay attention to credentials, I pay attention to whether the credentialed person says things that make sense. Remember, on the internet, nobody knows if you are a dog. Your paragraphs 8 through 14 have been neutralized. With 8 through 14 neutralized, support for your naked assertions in paragraphs 5,6,7,15,16,& 17 is also neutralized. The playing field is now level.
29. In paragraph 10, you state: Law school in the United States is akin to a military boot camp -- for the mind. EXCELLENT! Good, Good. You can use that well disciplined mind of yours to PROVE my analysis results are wrong (or not).
30. I'll admit that the point brought forth in paragraphs 5, & 6, is a possibility, and ONLY a possibility, because otherwise you and I would have nothing to discuss. We have a collision of analysis "results". However, as pointed out in the paragraph 28, because you say so on the (alleged) authority of your education is no different than: "Because I'm the Mommy, that's why."
31. You can tell me how you think. You can give me reasons for why you think the way you do. You can give me information to think about. What you can not do is tell me WHAT to think. That just doesn't cut it in a society that is supposed to be based upon personal Liberty.
32. You are familiar with the "Void For Vagueness Doctrine"? That the terms of a penal statute creating a new offense must be sufficiently explicit to inform those who are subject to it what conduct on their part will render them liable to its penalties is a well- recognized requirement, consonant alike with ordinary notions of fair play and the settled rules of law; and a statute which either forbids or requires the doing of an act in terms so vague that men of common intelligence must necessarily guess at its meaning and differ as to its application violates the first essential of due process of law. International Harvester Co. v. Kentucky, 234 U.S. 216, 221 , 34 S. Ct. 853; Collins v. Kentucky, 234 U.S. 634, 638 , 34 S. Ct. 924 CONNALLY v. GENERAL CONST. CO., 269 U.S. 385 (1926)
33. Connally continues: The dividing line between what is lawful and unlawful cannot be left to conjecture. The citizen cannot be held to answer charges based upon penal statutes whose mandates are so uncertain that they will reasonably admit of different constructions. A criminal statute cannot rest upon an uncertain foundation. The crime, and the elements constituting it, must be so clearly expressed that the ordinary person can intelligently choose, in advance, what course it is lawful for him to pursue. Penal statutes prohibiting the doing of certain things, and providing a punishment for their violation, should not admit of such a double meaning that the citizen may act upon the one conception of its requirements and the courts upon another.'
34. In paragraph 7, you state: In your web site you instead apply an "idiosyncratic interpretation" to what are essentially very technical legal texts. On March 18th my wife and I viewed the free screening of Aaron Russo's new movie: America From Freedom To Fascism. [2] I was with approximately 750 other people of common intelligence that have the same "idiosyncratic interpretation" of the law that I do. We "differ as to its application" with you. Admitted by the We the People organization [3] these showings are presently, mostly, "preaching to the choir". Every showing has been in packed houses. It's a small, but not insignificant, and growing choir, that "differ[s] as to its application" with you.
35. The "Void For Vagueness Doctrine" is espoused specifically in regard to tax law in the Gould v. Gould case. The concept presented stands on the merits of its self-evident, logical truth: In the interpretation of statutes levying taxes it is the established rule not to extend their provisions, by implication, beyond the clear import of the language used, or to enlarge their operations so as to embrace matters not specifically pointed out. In case of doubt they are construed most strongly against the government, and in favor of the citizen. United States v. Wigglesworth, 2 Story, 369, Fed. Cas. No. 16,690; American Net & Twine Co. v. Worthington, 141 U.S. 468, 474 , 12 S. Sup. Ct. 55; Benziger v. United States, 192 U.S. 38, 55 , 24 S. Sup. Ct. 189. GOULD v. GOULD , 245 U.S. 151 (1917)
36. Now, tell us all again, why do we need you (lawyers) to interpret laws for us?
37. In paragraph 18 you state: You will notice that I have not addressed any of the material on your web site specifically. Yes, I have noticed. We can get on with this after about the 21st.
38. Again, thanks for the time you have/are going to put in to this discussion. I hope that the removal of the Tax Honesty Movement article will wait until after we can pick this up.
I'll throw in my two cents. Famspear was certainly trying to be helpful but I must strongly disagree with his comments above: "a much more efficient method of communication... would be to talk about it here at Talk:Tax protester". The talk page is not for working out legal issues, in fact, that's not what Wikipedia is for at all. Nearly all of this discussion is completely frivolous and should be carried out anywhere but here. Wikipedia is here to report facts from published reliable sources, and this talk page is reserved for how to improve this article. The only discussion should be about what evidence there is for various positions and what are the prominent viewpoints. We can't have any original research, we must comply with the verifiability policy, and then balance it with the neutral point of view. Again, anything beyond that needs to stay elsewhere. So unless evidence can be presented for the existence and prominence of this Tax Honesty movement being separate from the general tax protestors, then it doesn't get covered. And if it is covered, it only gets covered in relation to it's importance. Grand claims require greater evidence. So given that it is obvious the courts have upheld taxes repeatedly, any views against that must be presented as alternate views and not stated as facts. As much as we may not agree with the level of taxation (I don't) that doesn't matter at all. What we are tasked with here is producing a balanced article that characterizes significant viewpoints, not establishing truth. - Taxman Talk 22:16, 3 April 2006 (UTC)
Regarding Mr. Eastman's response to Taxman's commentary above:
Mr. Eastman, in response to Taxman's statement that grand claims require greater evidence, states: "No Sir, they don't. They only require the same evidence any other claim requires... And you don't get to set that bar for the evidence required." Sorry, but under the rules of Wikipedia, grand claims do require greater evidence. Specifically:
When a claim is out of the mainstream, Wikipedia editors properly demand stronger sourcing than is otherwise demanded. This applies regardless of the truth or falsity of the claim. And, yes, Taxman and all the other editors of Wikipedia, in concert, essentially do get to set the bar for the evidence required. Sorry, but that's how Wikipedia works. Yours, Famspear 21:34, 21 April 2006 (UTC)
In this regard, please also review the following:
Yours, Famspear 21:41, 21 April 2006 (UTC)
Mr. Famspear, as a tax lawyer, is expected to engage the topic of the U.S. income tax after the 17th. of March. If the TAX HONESTY MOVEMENT is so wrong, he should be able to prove it.
Mr. Abramson is invited to join in that discussion. If Mr. Famspear refuses to engage, or fails to prove the TAX HONESTY MOVEMENT is wrong, By default, Mr. Abramson will be known as an IRS COLLABORATOR attempting to cover up the truth.
Please have your yes / no answers to the first 74 questions ready for posting by the 21st. Posted by Dale Eastman. Web site:[7]
p.s. After the 17th. you can post those answers on any current comment line of the Trial Logs Blog Spot. [8] That forum will not have any problem with us discussing these issues over there.
Dear Mr. Eastman: First of all, I'll decide what the "choice of forums" is. The forum might be something other than what you listed. Second, I'll decide what we're going to do in that forum. Third, if I were you I wouldn't be so eager to get to whatever it is you want to get to. You are not going to be a happy camper. For now, if you want, you can watch my talk page here in Wikipedia -- it'll probably be a while, but I'll try to get a message to you there in the next few weeks. Regards, Famspear 18:33, 21 April 2006 (UTC)
This article is rather lengthy, and should actually be broken down some. I propose having a single "overview" article on tax protesters with links to two sub-articles, one on tax protester history (covering the famous tax protesters, the adoption of the "Tax Honesty Movement" sobriquet, and the cons and scams) and one on tax protester arguments. Thoughts? bd2412 T 14:32, 11 April 2006 (UTC)
It'd be nice if someone could find some information on similar issues in other countries, or generalise the introduction better - the article is really only about Tax Protesters in the States as it stands. I'm sure similar behaviour has occured elsewhere (Australia, for instance)WilyD 13:30, 23 April 2006 (UTC)