BENSON & JACKSON: IT'S OUR FIGHT TOO
PART 2 of 2
© 2007 - NewsWithViews.com
"I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." Nathan Hale, Captain in the Continental Army, American Revolution, hung by the British at age 21
I had the privilege, although I wish it had been under different circumstances, to watch Jeff Dickstein in a federal courtroom. This man, along with veterans like Larry Becraft, Donald MacPherson, Bob Bernhoft and others, have given huge chunks of their lives in defending those who would stand up for the truth. Most of the time these lawyers never get paid their full billing amount. They do what they do because they must. In Part I at the bottom, I gave you the links to the background and facts regarding Bill Benson's critically important case. Here is Jeff's latest update and request, June 11, 2007:
"We are currently seeking individuals to join in as cross-complainants in the government's law suit against Bill Benson.
"Over the past couple of years the government has stepped up its efforts to silence the protest over the income tax. Not only have they criminally prosecuted the most vocal of the protesters, such as Irwin Schiff, Larkin Rose, Joe Bannister, etc., they have sought civil injunctions to stop the dissemination of information using the abusive tax shelter law found at 26 U.S.C. Sections 6700 and 7402.
"The government has sued Bill Benson alleging he is selling abusive tax shelters in the form of his reliance defense package and is falsely telling people that the 16th Amendment has not been ratified. They are seeking an injunction against him as well as the names of everybody that purchased from Bill a reliance defense package.
"The government moved for summary judgment. Bill responded by showing the facts he relied upon to show that he is telling the truth, i.e., the facts that demonstrate that less than 3/4 of the states then in the union voted to ratify the 16th amendment as it was proposed. The government moved to strike these facts as irrelevant on the grounds that the courts have held whether the 16th amendment was or was not ratified is a political question beyond the review of the courts.
"Also in response to the government's motion for summary judgment, Bill raised 1st amendment issues. Obviously if the question of the ratification of the 16th amendment is a political question, Bill talking about it is pure political speech that should not fall within the commercial speech exception to the First Amendment. The Court has not ruled on the government's motion for summary judgment for well over 18 months now. We have no idea why the Court has not yet ruled.
"As part of the injunctive relief requested by the government, they asked for the names and addresses of Bill's "customers." Because of the delay in the Court granting the injunction, and Bill's poor health, the government has asked to take Bill's deposition and to request documents from him in order to obtain this information. We responded by stating Bill would exercise his right to remain silent. The government responded by requesting, and obtaining, immunity for Bill.
"Our next move, as soon as the government files its formal discovery requests, is to seek a protective order on first amendment grounds, necessary because the court has not yet ruled on our first amendment defenses as part of the motion for summary judgment. Under the first amendment, not only is there a right for Bill to speak on political issues, but there are reciprocal rights of the listeners. These include the right to hear (or read) what Bill has to say, the right to petition the government for redress of grievances, and the right to freely associate and not be put on a list merely for purchasing Bill's material.
"Bill cannot raise these rights because he does not have "standing" to raise the constitutional rights of others. Hence, we are looking for people to file motions to intervene into the lawsuit. That intervention will consist of cross-complaints seeking declaratory relief and injunctive relief to prohibit the government from violating their first amendment rights.
"We are looking for three categories of people:
"1) People who purchased a reliance package from Bill but who still file tax returns and pay tax. These are people who will complain about being put on a list merely for purchasing and reading what Bill has to say.
"2) People who want to purchase a reliance package from Bill. These people will contact Bill and ask to purchase a package. They will be turned down because of the government's law suit. They will then complain they are being prevented from reading what Bill has to say about the ratification of the 16th Amendment.
"3) People who purchased a reliance package from Bill and wrote to the IRS stating they don't owe taxes because the 16th amendment wasn't ratified. These people will complain about being put on a list for exercising their right to petition for redress.
"We will have a very short time in which to file the motion for protective order to prevent the discovery. We need to be ready to file the motions to intervene immediately after the government's discovery requests come out if we are to have a chance at preventing the first amendment violations. To the best of my knowledge, no one has yet raised any of these issues or adopted any of these strategies in an abusive tax shelter case. I believe this strategy offers the best opportunity to bring Bill, his research, and the tyrannical nature of government to the attention of the people and the legal community.
"Not since the Star Chamber and Galileo and the seditious libel trial of Peter Zinger has the government decided the truth, and facts of the truth, just don't matter. As a nation of people we need to act before things get even more out of hand. This case represents the best opportunity to litigate the 16th amendment issue, an issue that affects millions and millions of people. Its one thing to go after tax cheats; its something altogether different to make criminal or subject to civil penalty the people's right to debate government conduct in fraudulently ratifying the 16th amendment and the court's cover up of the fraud.
"Many of the pleadings already filed in Bill's case can be read on his web site. The complete list can be obtained off of the governments electronic case filing system. The case is United States v. William J. Benson, Case No. 04 C 7403, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.
"This case has been carefully orchestrated from the beginning. It is the only case in which the actual facts of the non-ratification of the 16th amendment has been briefed in full and a showing has been made why prior case law is wrong. It also raises the constitutionality of the enrolled bill rule as authorizing ratification of an amendment contrary to constitutional mandate. The district court and the 7th Circuit state they are bound by Supreme Court precedent. This opens the door for bypassing the 7th Circuit and appealing directly to the Supreme Court.
"We are not looking for people to join the lawsuit pro se and screw things up with frivolous arguments and non-artfully drawn pleadings. We are looking for people to be represented by me or other attorneys willing to take my lead. I've represented Bill in his original criminal case almost 20 years ago. I represented Joe Bannister together with Attorney Robert Bernhoft and engineered his acquittal. I have more criminal wins against the IRS than any other attorney in the United States. This is serious litigation of extremely important issues and must be done properly.
"We are looking for a few people to intervene who have funds to support the litigation with an initial retainer of $20,000. That retainer will include the preparation and filing of the motion to intervene, the proposed cross-complaint, defense of any government motion in opposition of the motion to intervene or motion to strike the cross-complaint, including court appearances, the drafting and filing of an amended complaint, if necessary, and joining in the motion for a protective order.
"This is the opportunity to support Bill, support the litigation, and to stand tall and make a difference. Its an opportunity of a lifetime at a time in life when action to protect your freedom is mandated by a government gone wild. Once it is established that the government can accuse anyone of wrongdoing and absolutely prevent facts of non-wrongdoing from being heard, the Constitution, freedom and liberty is dead.
"I can be reached at the contact points below. In the event you don't want to join the lawsuit, we still need funding. Donations are necessary. Bill is quite ill and all other sources of financing his litigation have dried up. Please, do not let the government get away with this. Do not let the past 30 years of Bill's life and dedication to your well being be for naught. He needs your emotional, philosophical, moral and financial support. Show him you appreciate his efforts, his work, and his dedication. He is one of the finest people to stand up and be counted. He is a true patriot." Sincerely, Jeffrey A. Dickstein, Attorney at Law, 500 W. Bradley Rd., C-208, Fox Point, WI 53217, firstname.lastname@example.org
I love Bill Benson, who is now 80; this decades long ordeal has taken a terrible toll on his health and his wonderful wife, Lorraine. Those who have followed Bill's saga over the past three decades know the degree to which the federal government has gone to destroy his life. Bill Benson and his legal team need our help because what he's done in exposing the fraudulent ratification of the Sixteenth and Seventeen Amendments, well, it's his destiny and this nation should be grateful. Just like Joseph Banister and Sherry Jackson and so many others. And yes, you can bet the fear is there for their futures, but courage and a burning need for the truth and justice over comes that fear and true patriots act.
I know about fear. A long time ago I should have died on the operating table and didn't. Back in May 1973, I kept having this pain in my right side. On May 23, 1973, I woke up and knew I was going to die. I knew it, I could taste it in my mouth and my body was telling me this was going to happen. An ambulance was called and later that night I woke up in the hospital. I woke up looking at a Catholic priest giving me my last rites. I woke up with tubes in every part of my body; I could say nothing because I had a tracheal tube down my throat.
Despite the stupor of morphine, I will always remember those minutes. I heard the doctor say that I had to fight if I wanted to live; if I could make it through the next 72 hours, well, it was iffy. I will always remember saying to myself, "I'm not going die. I won't." A little while later, the man in the ICU unit next to me flat lined. The fear in my belly and my mind was overwhelming. I was only 24 years old and I didn't want to die. What happened? I had acute abdominal aneurysm. The big aorta that goes down the side of your body and supplies blood to your legs - mine broke and was pumping blood into my stomach and ruptured my appendix.
The longest of the several scars on the front of my body required 117 stitches. Back then they didn't have all the fancy surgical methods they do now. I was gutted like a fish to save my life. Because of the extent of this horrendous, intrusive surgery, I had nightmares for years. I could feel the scalpel cutting into my body and it would wake me from a deep sleep, because I could still feel it in my dreams. My subconscious mind recorded all of it even though I was out during those hours the doctors frantically worked to save my life.
I survived the aneurysm and yes, I was very afraid. There is no medical reason why I lived, but I believe I was supposed to. I believe that my journey from that day to this, was one I had to take to eventually get where I am today. This is my destiny, a path I undertook almost 18 years ago because I had no choice. When I found out the treachery underway to destroy my country, I could not close my eyes to the painful truth. It is the same with Joseph, Bill and Sherry. It is their destiny not to sit on the sidelines, but to lead and inspire, to sacrifice no matter the cost to them personally because they love this country and all she has stood for and all America will stand for in the future. Fort part one click below,
Click here for part -----> 1,
- NewsWithViews.com - All Rights Reserved
E-Mails are used strictly for NWVs alerts, not for sale
Devvy Kidd authored the booklets, Why A Bankrupt America and Blind Loyalty; 2 million copies sold. Devvy appears on radio shows all over the country, ran for Congress and is a highly sought after public speaker. Devvy belongs to no organization.
She left the Republican Party in 1996 and has been an independent voter ever since. Devvy isn't left, right or in the middle; she is a constitutionalist who believes in the supreme law of the land, not some political party. Her web site (www.devvy.com) contains a tremendous amount of information, solutions and a vast Reading Room.
Devvy's website: www.devvy.com
Before you send Devvy e-mail, please take the time to check the FAQ section on her web site. It is filled with answers to frequently asked questions and links to reliable research sources.
E-mail is: email@example.com
Sherry, like Joseph Banister, former Criminal Investigator (CID) for the IRS, spent a couple of years investigating the Internal Revenue Code and came to the conclusion that the IRS was deliberately misapplying the code against the majority of unsuspecting Americans.