Tax Protesters Sentenced To Prison

Two tax protestors have been sentenced to prison because they opposed military spending. The Vineland, New Jersey residents didn't want their tax dollars going to fund the war effort so they refused to pay. Though this is a pretty extreme sentence for non-violent crime it does send a message. There have been tax protesters in our country as long as there have been taxes. The country was even formed by a tax revolt after all.

I wonder if this same sentence will be delivered to those wing nuts who refuse to pay taxes because they're under the delusion they're illegal. Or the ones who hide behind their non profit status while openly advocating for candidates like Rick Santorum, Joe Pitts, Melissa Hart and others. Those very political ministers who are telling their parishioners who to vote for are just as guilty because they're also cheating the system. If they want to advocate politically they should pay their taxes. Otherwise shut up and obey the law.

A lot of people object to some government programs. No one approves of everything done with tax dollars. That's the nature of our republican form of government however. We elect representatives to make these decisions for us. That's the difference between a direct democracy and a republic: instead of having every matter voted on by all the voters (and daily elections?) we entrust our legislators to do that work. Then we let them know if we approve or not every two years when they stand for re-election. That's republicanism (small r).

We don't have the right as individuals to pick and choose what programs our dollars support. They all go into the same large pot. If our legislators aren't making the correct decisions the time to protest is campaign season. Go out and work for candidates who support your beliefs. Of course that's getting difficult as more and more candidates refuse to inform the electorate of their beliefs.

What is it with this new trend of refusing to take stands on the issues? Is this insane or what? If you don't stand for anything don't stand for office. I want to know what the candidates offer and where they stand on the issues, especially those issues of most concern to me. If you refuse to take a strong stand on issues like Iraq, universal health care, the deficit, civil rights, wiretapping, separation of church and state, don't expect my vote on November 7th. I don't vote for ghosts. I don't vote for people who are such wimps and have so little character they don't stand for anything.

There's an old saying: if you don't stand for something you'll fall for anything. I don't want a Governor, Senator, Congressperson or state representative who doesn't stand for anything. I fear they'll fall for anything. Please people, find some backbone and tell us where you stand.