02/23/2008
from the Kennebec Journal
Sport of Kings
New Medicaid billing system inspires doubts among some
Christmas spirit
Guidance counselor: Dismiss complaint based on criticism of same-sex marriage
CHELSEA: 'Practice burn' provides thrill for 9-year-old
Trust eyes orchard purchase
GOLFER OF THE YEAR: Bonenfant rises up Cony ranks
YOUTH SOCCER: Local team gives 'care package' to children in Afghanistan
All of today's:
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from the Kennebec Journal
from the Morning Sentinel
YES ON 1 BACKER REBUTS CLAIM
New system for Medicaid payments worries providers
After petition drive, Clinton police force budget will go a third time before voters
A rock musician makes trip home via Black Taxi
MADISON: After revaluation, abatement requests reviewed
Parks to have facelift
GOLFER OF THE YEAR: Sweet does job for Madison
YOUTH SOCCER: Local team gives 'care package' to children in Afghanistan
All of today's:
News | Sports
from the Morning Sentinel
That will be the message of a panel discussion titled "Why Isn't Everyone Who's for Peace a War Tax Resistor?"
The discussion, which is being hosted by the Western Maine Peace Action, will be held at 6:30 p.m. Monday in Room 202 at the University of Maine at Farmington's Ricker Addition on High Street.
The U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that taxpayers cannot refuse to pay income taxes on religious or moral grounds by invoking the First Amendment.
Tax resistors protesting government policies date back to the American Revolution, said organizer Eileen Liddy. The Boston Tea Party was a tax protest, and Henry David Thoreau refused to pay his poll tax and went to jail to protest the nation's support of slavery and hostility towards Mexico. His 1849 essay, "On the Duty of Civil Disobedience," has been used as a reference by Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Nelson Mandela.
"Since Congress continues to fund the war despite all our letter writing, demonstrations, and protests, I am joining others to try to affect the war funding directly by not paying all of my taxes," Liddy said. "This is more than just symbolism. Legislators need to know that people are ready to engage in nonviolent civil disobedience in order to get them to do the job they are elected to do."
Other Maine residents will discuss their personal experiences. Monroe resident Larry Dansinger, a 25-year veteran of tax resistance, is one of an estimated 10,000 war tax resistors in the United States. He administers the Maine Tax Funds for Life, which donates part of its proceeds to a charitable organization and keeps the remainder in an escrow account.
He suggested checking the Brooklyn-based National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee's Web site for helpful tutorials and general information.
For more information about the Monday's presentation, contact Liddy at 645-4755.




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