Ed and Elaine's press conference

Ed and Elaine Brown held a press conference in front of their house today and were joined by a high-profile supporter: Randy Weaver, whose wife and son were killed by federal troops at Ruby Ridge in 1992. I admit that these people are a lot braver than I am, and I admire their devotion to what they believe in. His gun by his side, Ed Brown told the media,

"We will defend it to the death. This is 1776 all over again. You cannot tax someone's labor because that is slavery."

Elaine said that if the feds try to capture them by force,

"We're dead. That's it....We will not volunteer to go into their prison for a non-crime. We have committed no crimes."

Randy Weaver said:

"I'd rather die on my feet right now with good American people than live on my knees under this de facto government. This is serious stuff. Bring it on."

Here are some good links on this standoff:

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/13519156/detail.html
http://mensnewsdaily.com/2007/06/16/free-ed-and-elaine-brown/
http://www.abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=3290003&page=1
http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070618/NEWS0201/70618074

In conclusion, here are some quick tax facts:

• Until the early 1800s the government relied only on internal sales taxes.
• Starting in 1817 the government functioned only on tariffs.
• Prior to the passage of the 16th Amendment in 1913, the Constitution did not give the federal government the right to tax income.
• The 9th and 10th Amendments state that the federal government does not have any rights unless they are specifically given to it in the Constitution.
• The immigration reform bill that Congress has been debating would not only allow illegal aliens to remain in the US, but would exempt them from paying any taxes they owe.