NH: Feds arrest Free Stater at IRS office

[ArmedBear]

BTW I thought the point of the FSP was to gain enough political clout to set an example of libertarianism.

Silly acts of "protest", like passing out flyers and getting arrested on purpose, can be done without relocating.

 

[Phetro]

It might have escaped your notice but liberals don't protest taxes. They protest tax cuts and support tax increases so they can spend more money on various pie-in-the-sky social engineering boondoggles. Whatever he might be in the political spectrum, it ain't a liberal. Precise? Precisely wrong.

So, Camp David...want to tackle this one, that you conveniently uh...missed?

 

[Live Free Or Die]

BTW I thought the point of the FSP was to gain enough political clout to set an example of libertarianism.

From the FSP FAQ: "...the Free State Project's purpose is simply to get 20,000 classical liberals and libertarians into a single state of the U.S. What happens next is up to those 20,000."

Note the bold part. This man's actions were his own. His protest was not endorsed by the FSP.

Silly acts of "protest", like passing out flyers and getting arrested on purpose, can be done without relocating.

The FSP Statement of Intent: "I hereby state my solemn intent to move to the state of New Hampshire. Once there, I will exert the fullest practical effort toward the creation of a society in which the maximum role of civil government is the protection of life, liberty, and property."

A guy uproots and moves to NH, hoping to join others in an effort to reduce government to its constitutional scope. If nothing else that clearly demonstrates a commitment -- whether you think it's misguided or not -- above and beyond the vast majority of internet critics. Then he participates in several (there have been other such events) protests designed to raise awareness of issues he finds important: taxation, government regulation of business, etc. He knows -- or suspects -- that his "silly acts" will likely lead to his arrest or worse. Yet he does it because he cares passionately about liberty. And he is successful in raising awareness: his story ends up in local papers, and generates buzz in the blog/forum-sphere.

But all you offer is criticism of his actions, and the irrelevant point that he could have done such protests in his hometown/state.

Think about it: a man peacefully protests (and I'd wager many here would generally agree with his views on the IRS), gets thrown in jail, and goes right back to continue protesting. Even if you think his methods are silly, he has demonstrated courage and commitment against overwhelming odds. What more could you expect from him? That he limit his activities to protests that aren't quite so silly? I'm sure he's open to suggestions. Thing is, if you offer him a good one, he's liable to go out and DO it, whether he gets arrested or not. Would you?

I guess the Boston Tea Party seemed pretty "silly" at the time too.

 

[50 Freak]

I could be wrong but isn't paying your Federal income tax a voluntary thing???

Wasn't this in the framer's thought process that they had wanted a stronger state powers than federal powers and the way to do this was to allow the states to control the purse strings?

 

[Art Eatman]

This shoulda been on APS from the git-go.

Art