Cindy Sheehan - Tax Protestor

[ashlynne39]

I saw this story online and thought I'd pass it along, though it's not nearly as interesting as it would be if she'd declared herself an attornatus privatus or started filing documents pro per.
Just on principal I still consider her to be a complete nut though.

Cindy Sheehan Announces to Crowd at Occupy Rose Bowl: ‘I Haven’t Paid My Income Taxes’ in Nearly Eight Years

Speaking at Occupy Rose Bowl, anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan announced before a crowd of protesters that she hasn’t paid her income taxes since her son, U.S. Army Specialist Casey Sheehan, was killed in Iraq in 2004. Sheehan went on to justify her tax evasion by stating that she would not fund “the crimes against humanity” she claims are perpetrated by the U.S. government and military.

[Pottapaug1938]

I saw this story online and thought I'd pass it along, though it's not nearly as interesting as it would be if she'd declared herself an attornatus privatus or started filing documents pro per.
Just on principal I still consider her to be a complete nut though.

Cindy Sheehan Announces to Crowd at Occupy Rose Bowl: ‘I Haven’t Paid My Income Taxes’ in Nearly Eight Years

Speaking at Occupy Rose Bowl, anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan announced before a crowd of protesters that she hasn’t paid her income taxes since her son, U.S. Army Specialist Casey Sheehan, was killed in Iraq in 2004. Sheehan went on to justify her tax evasion by stating that she would not fund “the crimes against humanity” she claims are perpetrated by the U.S. government and military.

I originally liked her; but it looks as if she has steadily gone off the rails. She reminds me of the tiresome, self-indulgent protestors who, years ago, refused to pay the "war tax" portion of their telephone bills.

[The Observer]

She reminds me of the tiresome, self-indulgent protestors who, years ago, refused to pay the "war tax" portion of their telephone bills.

We have discussed the "war tax" protestors before, and I think the overall conclusion is that they cannot be in any way compared with the usual idiots that appear in the court cases and the like.
Firstmost, the war tax protestors are not doing this out of a motivation of greed; neither do they harbor any sort of belief, frivolous or otherwise, that they cannot be held liable for taxes. They acknowledge that they are violating the law and can be punished for doing so. While I may not agree with their position or philosophy, I do acknowledge that they are pursuing a protest that is based on intellectual honesty and a moral belief.

At least Cindy Sheehan can be described as consistent in her beliefs and that generates a certain amount of admiration on my part - even though I believe her to be deadly wrong on her position.

[Demosthenes]

Speaking at Occupy Rose Bowl, anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan announced before a crowd of protesters that she hasn’t paid her income taxes since her son, U.S. Army Specialist Casey Sheehan, was killed in Iraq in 2004.

Not all that odd when you're living off of a tax-free life insurance death benefit and haven't had a job during that time.

[The Observer]

How large was that death benefit? I would think that even for a policy of $100,000, seven years of living would have exhausted it.

[Pottapaug1938]

She reminds me of the tiresome, self-indulgent protestors who, years ago, refused to pay the "war tax" portion of their telephone bills.

We have discussed the "war tax" protestors before, and I think the overall conclusion is that they cannot be in any way compared with the usual idiots that appear in the court cases and the like.

Firstmost, the war tax protestors are not doing this out of a motivation of greed; neither do they harbor any sort of belief, frivolous or otherwise, that they cannot be held liable for taxes. They acknowledge that they are violating the law and can be punished for doing so. While I may not agree with their position or philosophy, I do acknowledge that they are pursuing a protest that is based on intellectual honesty and a moral belief.

At least Cindy Sheehan can be described as consistent in her beliefs and that generates a certain amount of admiration on my part - even though I believe her to be deadly wrong on her position.

I couldn't have said that better.

[Olsenfin]

She reminds me of the tiresome, self-indulgent protestors who, years ago, refused to pay the "war tax" portion of their telephone bills.

We have discussed the "war tax" protestors before, and I think the overall conclusion is that they cannot be in any way compared with the usual idiots that appear in the court cases and the like.
Firstmost, the war tax protestors are not doing this out of a motivation of greed; neither do they harbor any sort of belief, frivolous or otherwise, that they cannot be held liable for taxes. They acknowledge that they are violating the law and can be punished for doing so. While I may not agree with their position or philosophy, I do acknowledge that they are pursuing a protest that is based on intellectual honesty and a moral belief.

At least Cindy Sheehan can be described as consistent in her beliefs and that generates a certain amount of admiration on my part - even though I believe her to be deadly wrong on her position.

Well said, sir!

[Kestrel]

How large was that death benefit? I would think that even for a policy of $100,000, seven years of living would have exhausted it.

Serviceman's Group Life Insurance (SGLI) death benefit is $400,000, unless the member specifically elects a lower amount. It's fairly cheap ($27/month) so most don't.

[The Observer]

How large was that death benefit? I would think that even for a policy of $100,000, seven years of living would have exhausted it.

Serviceman's Group Life Insurance (SGLI) death benefit is $400,000, unless the member specifically elects a lower amount. It's fairly cheap ($27/month) so most don't.

So if Cindy was thrifty, there could be monies left.

[ashlynne39]

She reminds me of the tiresome, self-indulgent protestors who, years ago, refused to pay the "war tax" portion of their telephone bills.

We have discussed the "war tax" protestors before, and I think the overall conclusion is that they cannot be in any way compared with the usual idiots that appear in the court cases and the like.
Firstmost, the war tax protestors are not doing this out of a motivation of greed; neither do they harbor any sort of belief, frivolous or otherwise, that they cannot be held liable for taxes. They acknowledge that they are violating the law and can be punished for doing so. While I may not agree with their position or philosophy, I do acknowledge that they are pursuing a protest that is based on intellectual honesty and a moral belief.

At least Cindy Sheehan can be described as consistent in her beliefs and that generates a certain amount of admiration on my part - even though I believe her to be deadly wrong on her position.

After some thought, I'm not sure it is that different. Maybe the motivation of greed isn't there for a war tax protestor but having interacted with some "normal" (for lack of a better word) tax protestors on the internet, I'm not sure greed would be the right word for all of them as well. Some of them, nutty as their beliefs are, are true believers in this alternate US history, alternate Constitution that they've gotten mixed up in. They're just as consistent and fervent in their beliefs as someone like Sheehan is. Just as misguided too. I wonder if it makes it more palatable that Sheehan's rationale for evading taxes is one that people can identify with politically - heck, I don't like the idea that my tax dollars go certain places - as opposed to a belief that comes out of sheer stupidity and gullibility. Either way, the end result is just about the same whether the individual knows they are evading taxes and can be punished or whether they truly believe they are following the law. Actually, I hate to say it but if one had to edge out the other, as dumb as the regular tax protestor is, people like Sheehan may be just a bit worse as they knowingly and with full intent break the law as opposed to just being nut who gets there by happenstance and idiocy.

[Doktor Avalanche]

How large was that death benefit? I would think that even for a policy of $100,000, seven years of living would have exhausted it.

Serviceman's Group Life Insurance (SGLI) death benefit is $400,000, unless the member specifically elects a lower amount. It's fairly cheap ($27/month) so most don't.

I remember when I signed up for mine in 2003. I thought I had just taken a bounty out on myself.

[.]

ashlynne39 nailed it.

Further, never mind tax-free insurance benefits, she had a very lucrative speaking gig going for a while, not to mention a book deal. She decided somewhere along the line that she was entitled to make up her own rules about taxes and didn't pay them, apparently rationalizing it based on the loss of her son: "... I am going to send them a notice that they owe me infinity dollars for killing my son.” Her son, of course, was a volunteer and her ex-husband (and her son's father) totally disowned her views.

The supremely ignorant and misguided Sheehan was a willing media pawn. Her usefulness ceased immediately upon Bush leaving office, whereupon virtually nothing further was heard from or about her. Now that she's back to being a nobody and the money is gone, she's acting like a typical TP:

She compared her tax situation to that of General Electric and other large multinational corporations and noted that she was being asked to pay more in taxes than GE.

Unaware of or ignoring the fact that the only reason GE paid no federal corporate income tax in 2010 was 1) the fact that they had already paid billions in foreign income taxes on foreign income which were credited against US tax due, 2) the fact that GE is the beneficiary of numerous US "green" tax credits (crony capitalism, anyone?) and, 3) large losses at GE Capital Services, a consolidated subsidiary for tax purposes.

GE shareholder equity declined by about a billion dollars in 2010. GE as an industrial outfit made money, their financing operations (GECS) killed them.

Read the gory details in "NOTE 14. INCOME TAXES" starting at page 147 at:
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/ ... 9/d10k.htm

Turns out that GE files over 6,400 income tax returns in over 250 global taxing jurisdictions, but Sheehan can't manage to pay the tax due on just one, her own, assuming she's filed one recently.

Her quoted statement is at least as ignorant as anything any TP has ever said, and her rationalizations, starting with her son and continuing on to include GE are at least as delusional as anything any TP has ever come up with.

Having spent all of her unreported income, she mocks the government claiming she has less than $150 and no property. Come and get me, coppers!

She's just a TP with a different flavor of delusion. She belongs in prison with the rest of them.

[JamesVincent]

All of which makes her different from every other family who have lost loved ones in conflicts in only one way. They, for the most part, have dealt with their loss and remained true to themselves. She, however, exploited her son's patriotism into a mission to make herself money and when the money ran out, made herself into a media whore. Not being content with just that, she then made herself into a knowing criminal and used it as an excuse to evade her responsibility as a taxpayer. Yeah. Winning!

[Pottapaug1938]

How large was that death benefit? I would think that even for a policy of $100,000, seven years of living would have exhausted it.

Serviceman's Group Life Insurance (SGLI) death benefit is $400,000, unless the member specifically elects a lower amount. It's fairly cheap ($27/month) so most don't.

I remember when I signed up for mine in 2003. I thought I had just taken a bounty out on myself.

As MAD Magazine put it in an article on gambling, when you buy life insurance you are "betting" that you are going to die. The insurance company gives you odds that you won't. Then, if you win, you lose; and vice versa.

[Max Headroom]

What is a “tax protester”?

The phrase “tax protester” is commonly applied to two different types of people:

*

People who refuse to pay taxes in order to protest policies of the federal government that are supported by those taxes, or who refuse to support those policies, such as people who refused to pay taxes that pay for wars (see, for example, United States v. Malinowski, 347 F. Supp. 347, 73-1 U.S. Tax Cas. (CCH) ¶9355 (E.D. Pa. 1972), aff’d, 472 F.2d 850, 73-1 U.S. Tax Cas. (CCH) ¶9199 (3d Cir. 1973), cert. denied, 411 U.S. 970 (1973)); and
*

People who refuse to pay taxes or file tax returns out of a mistaken belief that the federal income tax is unconstitutional, invalid, voluntary, or otherwise does not apply to them under one of a number of bizarre arguments, most of which are described in this FAQ

http://evans-legal.com/dan/tpfaq.html

[LPC]

Further, never mind tax-free insurance benefits, she had a very lucrative speaking gig going for a while, not to mention a book deal. She decided somewhere along the line that she was entitled to make up her own rules about taxes and didn't pay them, apparently rationalizing it based on the loss of her son: "... I am going to send them a notice that they owe me infinity dollars for killing my son.” Her son, of course, was a volunteer and her ex-husband (and her son's father) totally disowned her views.

Why do we need to demonize people whose opinions we disagree with?

Yes, I know that I conjure up a variety of psychological or emotional disorders to explain the behavior of tax deniers, but I think that's justified by the irrationality of their beliefs.

But why conjure up moral failings to be used against a woman whose major sin has been to criticize a war that is largely indefensible?

There were no "weapons of mass destruction." Saddam Hussein was not responsible for the attacks on 9/11/2001. Saddam Hussein was not a threat to the United States.

And yet, after 4,xxx of American soldiers killed, and xx,xxx of American soldiers maimed or crippled, and $X trillion spent on the war in Iraq, which indisputably undermined American security and weakened American power, it is somehow irrational to continue to be fervent in opposition to that war and those who promoted it.

I think that what bothers you most about Cindy Sheehan is her rationality.

What bothered people most about Clinton is that he might have improved America. What bothers people most about Obama is that he might be a good President. What bothers people most about Cindy Sheehan and other Iraq war protesters is that she might have been right.

[LPC]

The phrase “tax protester” is commonly applied to two different types of people:

I agree. Couldn't have said it better myself.

[JamesVincent]

Further, never mind tax-free insurance benefits, she had a very lucrative speaking gig going for a while, not to mention a book deal. She decided somewhere along the line that she was entitled to make up her own rules about taxes and didn't pay them, apparently rationalizing it based on the loss of her son: "... I am going to send them a notice that they owe me infinity dollars for killing my son.” Her son, of course, was a volunteer and her ex-husband (and her son's father) totally disowned her views.

Why do we need to demonize people whose opinions we disagree with?

Yes, I know that I conjure up a variety of psychological or emotional disorders to explain the behavior of tax deniers, but I think that's justified by the irrationality of their beliefs.
Didnt you just ask why we need to do that?
But why conjure up moral failings to be used against a woman whose major sin has been to criticize a war that is largely indefensible?
Dont think thats her major sin. Her major sin appears to be using her protests as an excuse to not pay her taxes
There were no "weapons of mass destruction." Saddam Hussein was not responsible for the attacks on 9/11/2001. Saddam Hussein was not a threat to the United States.
No one ever said he was. And Congress voted to go to war with Iraq, 'member? Weve gone through this before
And yet, after 4,xxx of American soldiers killed, and xx,xxx of American soldiers maimed or crippled, and $X trillion spent on the war in Iraq, which indisputably undermined American security and weakened American power, it is somehow irrational to continue to be fervent in opposition to that war and those who promoted it.
Say what?
I think that what bothers you most about Cindy Sheehan is her rationality.
Where is she rational? She used her son's death as an excuse to not pay taxes. Thats rational?
What bothered people most about Clinton is that he might have improved America. What bothers people most about Obama is that he might be a good President. What bothers people most about Cindy Sheehan and other Iraq war protesters is that she might have been right.
I personally think Billy was a great politician. I also think his administration had a relatively decent track record as far as fiscal spending. I also think he was a lying sack of excrement and deserved to be impeached. I also think that the Iraq war protestors are protesting the wrong thing and blaming the wrong people, just like they always have. More at the bottom.

I was pretty damn positive we went through this before. When we went to war in Iraq both times the question was put to congress and both times it was overwhelmingly voted to go to war. It was not a single person who sent us to war like the majority of morons who hate W seem to think. It was an overwhelming majority vote. Democrats, Republicans, Independents, hell, even the rats in the trash cans voted to go to war in Iraq. Hilary Rodham Clinton herself gave a speech at the time of how Saddam Hussein represented a clear and present danger to our allies in the Middle East and a danger to the security of the Middle East. Just about every one of both sides of the aisle voted aye to send our boys and girls to a foreign land. Until it became unpopular to be there. And then all of the sudden, nobody voted for it. Every single spineless little bastard there said, well I didnt vote for it. Bet me jackass, your name is right there. I remember seeing John Kerry? saying how he was pressured into voting for it years later. Yeah, right after he got caught slipping and sliding with some 22 year old while his wife was diagnosed with what, cancer? Yeah, theres a trustworthy one.

And regardless of whether you support the war or whether your against the war, you of all people should not be trying to rationalize some one not paying their taxes, dont you think?

[grixit]

Can we agree that her position has deteriorated over time from whatever respectability it might have had originally and move on?

[Pottapaug1938]

Without going into detail about the Prelutsky rant, I wonder what Dubya Bush's frequent vacations cost us all....