Cindy Sheehan: Pre-IRS Hearing Statement – OpEd
On April 04, 2004, my oldest son, Casey Sheehan, was killed in Iraq and my heart and life were shattered.
We always disagreed with George Bush and opposed the US’s entries into Afghanistan and then Iraq, but on May 1, 2005, the Downing Street Minutes were discovered about a meeting held at Number 10 Downing Street on July 23, 2002 between Tony Blair and a member of the Foreign Service who had met in Washington DC with then National Security Advisor Condileeza Rice.
The minutes explicitly stated that there was no intelligence indicating an immediate need to invade Iraq, but the invasion, at that point was, “a foregone conclusion.”
In todays fast food, instant message culture, all of this may seem like ancient history, but to the one-million plus people who have been slaughtered for lies, imperial conquest and this government’s lust for and devotion to war, and all the ones that their unnecessary death left behind, the pain will always be fresh.
The US government took something invaluable precious and priceless from me and the murder has not abated with a new administration and not one person who is responsible for the mayhem has been prosecuted.
I will refuse to pay my income taxes until the time, and I hope it’s soon, that our money is used to fully fund a national health care system; free and fully funded education; housing for all; and a more equitable distribution of wealth—and not used for these unending wars.
Some people ask me if I pay my state taxes, and the answer is: not while my state sends billions of dollars to the federal government for its war OF terror while slashing education and other essential social services.
Although my protest is not against, nor is my beef with the IRS, I know for sure that the IRS is used to prosecute political enemies of the state and as I am one of the most outspoken critics of US foreign policy, I believe this is happening to me as this nation is now embarking on further oppressive measures against dissent and I will not cooperate with my own persecution.
Thank you.
