Quote:It is clear they knew it was wrong, even in 1776. The fact remains that they were unwilling to dissolve the fragile union newly forged, which inevitably resulted in a civil war.And this is a perfectly fair interpretation. But don't try and sell me a line about the US having been more free two hundred years ago.
Quote:The Mormons never pursued their rights via the court system, so we'll never know. They were ostracized, and treated poorly by their neighbors, until they finally carved out their own niche in SLC. No one chased them, or exiled them.That's not entirely accurate. There was military force involved. Whether that constitutes "exile" or being "chased" or not is a matter of interpretation.
Quote:It was the 16th amendment that was the largest fraud ever practiced upon any nation that doomed the citizens of the US into perpetual servitude. See the ruling of the US Supreme Court in the case of Pollock v. Farmer's Loan and Trust Co., 157 US 429 (1895).In addition to being stupendously exaggerated (The largest fraud? On any nation? Ever? Really? Perpetual servitude?), I'm really starting to wonder if you actually believe in the idea of democracy, or simply equate liberty directly with low taxes. This amendment, and every other, was passed by an *elected* congress, using authority explicitly granted to them under the Constitution of the United States. If any other *elected* congress chose to repeal that amendment, at any time since its passing, that would have been within their rights as well, and yet they have not.
I am also tickled by the dissent from Brown on that case:
Quote:The decision involves nothing less than the surrender of the taxing power to the moneyed class...Even the spectre of socialism is conjured up to frighten Congress from laying taxes upon the people in proportion to their ability to pay them.
-Jester