Here's a comment I once came across on that subject:

"Grotius observes that the Greek words here used, answer to the *tributum* and *vectigal* of the Romans; the former was the money paid for the soil and poll; the latter, the duties laid upon some sorts of merchandize."

–Jonathan Mayhew, *A Discourse Concerning Unlimited Submission and Non-resistance to the Higher Powers* (1750), p. 9.

"Then their whole assembly rose up and brought Him [#Jesus] before Pilate. They began to accuse Him, saying,

'We found this man misleading our nation [❌ false],

opposing payment of taxes to Caesar [🤔 true?],

and saying that he himself is the Messiah, a king [✅ true].'"

–The #Bible, Luke 23:1–2 (CSB)

No, I think I've resolved that one in my mind, although if you're using the government's fiat currency with Washington's face on it then you have to render to Washington what is Washington's. All the more reason to transact in Bitcoin.

I'm referring to other passages like Romans 13:7 - "Pay your obligations to everyone: taxes to those you owe taxes, tolls to those you owe tolls, respect to those you owe respect, and honor to those you owe honor."

And there's an example in the Gospel where Jesus paid a tax even though He made the point that He didn't have to, just to avoid offending people, presumably thereby setting an example.

When the Jews indicted Jesus in front of the Roman governor they accused Him of opposing payment of taxes to Caesar (Luke 23:2), among other things. The question is, did they misunderstand what Jesus had said about "render unto Caesar...", or did they have it right in this case?

And I know, people can cite scriptures that say Christians should pay taxes. That does conflict with my philosophically anarchist views and my desire not to participate in and fund evil. I still wrestle with it. Perhaps just paying taxes to keep the peace in your life is all we're asked to do. But I think the American in me also wants to resist unjust government!

I hear what you're saying, but I also think that as long as we continue to pay taxes, we remain part of the problem, and perpetuate it. People can make the choice to resist, but it comes at a cost. Just like with the COVID injections, almost no one was physically forced to get the shot. Some people were coerced and had a hard choice to make, but they could have declined it and took whatever the consequences were (loss of job, income, etc.) So long as there is mass compliance and obedience, things will continue as they do and get worse.

> "I do not ask that you place hands upon the tyrant to topple him over, but simply that you **support him no longer**; then you will behold him, like a great Colossus whose pedestal has been pulled away, fall of his own weight and break in pieces."

>

> –Étienne de La Boétie, *Discourse on Voluntary Servitude* (1548)

I want the scam of voting to be eroded as well, but I think if we stopped funding the scam of government it would erode more quickly. When you fund it, you prop it up and support and continue it. And become a participant in it's evils:

nostr:nevent1qqs262uxmavsa6h894mhdk48jsqkqkw0254gk587aq8male3w72xlsspr3mhxue69uhkx6rjd9ehgurfd3kzumn0wd68yvfwvdhk6tczyrrqe7zvwcrrv3chxgyv9h5kpsfpnczvmg7mx27mayec38p3dx7msqcyqqqqqqg3hrgyl

I do agree that funding the violence has more of an impact than voting for it, since our individual votes matter very little, if at all.

So we're choosing to fund violence toward others to avoid violence to ourselves? 🤔

Which is worse, voting for evil, even if it is the lesser, or funding it?

https://taxpayersforpeace.org/

Genius: I think nostr:npub1melv683fw6n2mvhl5h6dhqd8mqfv3wmxnz4qph83ua4dk4006ezsrt5c24 was working on something like tha...

Reminds me of what I read about the French Revolution, how that people's heads who were guillotined could still react to things for a bit. I forget if they could still speak, but someone was asked to wink a few times if they could still hear, and they did.

"There is pleasure in meeting the eyes of those to whom we have done good."

–Jean de La Bruyère

Couldn't the Commies take down Flare.pub (like the URL or DNS or whatever)? If so, wouldn't that mean there should be several of this kind of site so that the content can still be accessed even if one or more of them are taken down? nostr:npub1zach44xjpc4yyhx6pgse2cj2pf98838kja03dv2e8ly8lfr094vqvm5dy5

nostr:nevent1qqs9na7sq2js29ew3xd0aa0w0czd9q9ul2qf76faf7drn70ff75e3cgppemhxue69uhkummn9ekx7mp0qgszktrhnkm47cmrlwkh2e77cfex6d4t5pvf8dc5qq0q2c72hmuy74srqsqqqqqpq6uhc3

Isn't an S3 bucket still controlled/owned by Amazon, AWS? They could rug you if they want to.

I called it! Awesomesauce!

nostr:nevent1qqsp9h22j5wr9sln08u78rjdxtl58p9s9mv6egkl33y9drm2a5swd7gpremhxue69uhkummnw3ez6ur4vgh8wetvd3hhyer9wghxuet59upzpkkwvwcqcshxuqtaqrw3jz5n9quxqqhlt9acg844a7gauncuapy3qvzqqqqqqy7v94ku

nostr:nevent1qqs9tsvza8x5t93jtyh3ktmwsdkxpwarcwstadlr0fc0rcxfvn5umzqpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumn0wd68ytnzvupzq9m30t2dyr32gfwd5z3pj43y5zj2w0z0d96lz6c4j07g07jx7t2cqvzqqqqqqyy6q82q

Is this Nostr's decentralized answer to YouTube or Rumble?

Actually, this money goes to lots of other Americans (and perhaps foreign investors), who probably do spend it on overseas vacations:

"The NDAA [National Defense Authorization Act] also contained a $600 million gift to the corrupt government of Ukraine. As opposition to further spending on Ukraine’s failed war with #Russia increases in the House, Republican leadership decided to add what may be the last parting gift to the military-industrial complex. As with most foreign assistance, however, #Ukraine will likely see very little of this money. Most of it will be laundered through the military contractors and lobbyists who line every corner of the Beltway."

https://ronpaulinstitute.org/congress-gift-to-america-this-christmas/

nostr:nevent1qqswwnj0ps0nx6mvdugfllpv62f86rwu4enpdd2vgvkszxtsht7ep5gpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfdupzqs8v7kd4vqycz04ycvypkxwe65jlwmdly5d95qufkjl2ylp6dwv0qvzqqqqqqyzxlgks

"Bottom line: The strategic objectives of the Israeli operation in Gaza are entirely different than the stated goal of defeating Hamas. All of the land west of the Jordan River is now being cleared of its native occupants so it can be incorporated into Greater #Israel while maintaining a sizable Jewish majority. The demonizing of the Palestinian people –which casts the victims of this onslaught as the perpetrators– is intended to conceal the underlying policy that is based on racial discrimination. There is no doubt that if the Arabs in Gaza were of Jewish descent, they would be spared the genocide they face today."

https://www.unz.com/mwhitney/the-war-in-gaza-its-not-about-hamas-its-about-demographics/

When I went to Bethlehem some years back, yes, it was in the Palestinian-controlled territory. However, in Jesus' day it was in the Roman-controlled province of Judaea. And in the days of Jesus' ancestor Jacob, who buried his wife Rachel there, it was Canaanite-controlled territory.