The bank account was closed yesterday and I made the final entries in the journal yesterday evening. The records were done in Quickbooks.
I will do my best to answer any questions you have. I ask your understanding in knowing that I cannot disclose anything that could in any way, reflect on the identity of any donors, etc.
If you have a question of a confidential nature, kindly contact me privately at nobledreamer16 at gmail dot com.
Thanks,
Tricia
These records will also be posted at MapleSandbox and the CCCF website.
WhiteKat ~ ” You might be surprised what you can accomplish all by yourself by pushing a little rock here or there!”
Do you mind it too terribly much if I say that we need to throw some rocks at Obama (the thrice-damned architect of these financial follies).
Wondering and Mr. A.
Thanks for the inspiration passed along! Words of wisdom when the going gets tough.
You inspire, George. Take good care of yourself. Glad you’re around to impart lots of wisdom here.
I can’t imagine ever relating this story to my physician either. I did the other day to the dental hygienist in the dentist’s office — and she quickly stuffed my mouth full of cotton batting and other things to make communication rather difficult. I told her that she did that on purpose — she laughed but didn’t disagree.
Congratulations, Disgusted. Radical – yes! Senior? – NO. Topless – let us know the day in May.
Linda Duncan MP Edmonton-Strathcona discusses “The FATCA” during Omnibus Bill Debate
My comment to @George and others is this:
1. Don’t let this ruin your life. The worst that can happen is that you might, eventually, have to strike the US off the list of places you might visit or go to on vacation. Their loss. Really – it IS their loss.
2. Nobody should lose ANY sleep over.this. I am sad about this because the US has an important role to play in keeping this sorry world from imploding. A world without the US is a more dangerous world. A world with an irresponsible and rudderless US is pretty dangerous too. I can’t do much to change the outcome, but it doesn’t mean that I like it either.
3. The US is dead wrong on this CBT stuff. Alison is dead right. None of us are likely ever going to see any change in the US from our actions outside the US We are the victims of domestic policy which we are powerless to influence. A John Birch society web site is, unfortunately, preaching to the choir. We need an WSJ and NYT article to the same effect to have any chance of denting their indifference. Then there might be some change. However, those of us on the outside can’t spend our life force wishing the world was other than what it is. It is rotten for anyone living outside the US unfortunate enough to be born there. I am saddened to be ashamed of my birthplace, but I am proud of my country (Canada). Take a deep breath. It ain’t likely to change. Turn the page – you have families, friends and communities worth building on. The US is adaptive – some day they may change. Don’t hold your breath and don’t beat your head against the wall. You can’t do much to influence the debate. Feed people who might make a difference with your views. Don’t live and die on the outcome. Be Johnny Appleseed – plant a seed. One day it may yield fruit!
3. To the extent we can make a difference (and it is minor) be tactical. WE know this stuff, THEY don’t. We can’t do a Vulcan mind meld. Work on brevity and sound bites. Make it simple and understandable for Homelanders and you have some chance of making a difference.
4. Don’t over-react. Few of us have any accounts that are actually on the radar screen. I have known for 30 years not to hold myself out as an American and am highly confident I never have. If you think you may have, change accounts. You still have two months. Canada has no intention of helping the US. The government is giving us every possible tool to defeat our enemies. Stop blaming them – we don’t need to praise them, just get on with it!. In 12 months time, if more than 1000 accounts have been turned over to the IRS, I’ll eat my words, but I doubt it.
5. This site is valuable and we CAN make a difference where it may matter: in Canada. Our making a difference with a court challenge and with information can help our colleagues in Europe and, eventually, possibly, help awaken a once free people in the United States. I haven’t given up, I’m just realistic!
Good night all. I, for one, am feeling pretty good about what we have accomplished. A lot of education (for me too!) and a lot of mutual support. This too shall pass.
Republicans threaten to arrest IRS Bitch Lois Lerner for contempt of congress.
House Republicans won’t rule out arresting Lois Lerner if Justice Department doesn’t
http://washingtonexaminer.com/house-republicans-wont-rule-out-arresting-lois-lerner-if-justice-department-doesnt/article/2547015
House Ways and Means Committee Republicans aren’t ruling out the use of the chamber’s “inherent contempt” authority if Attorney General Eric Holder refuses to act on the panel’s accusations against former IRS official Lois Lerner…………….
Among those tools is the House’s “inherent contempt” authority under the Constitution, which was initially exercised in 1795 during the First Congress and on multiple occasions thereafter. Lerner could be held until January 2015 when a new Congress is seated, which could issue another subpoena and throw her in the clink again if she still balks at testifying.
I know we are not supposed to support censorship. However, when one particular poster, CBE, is out of control it affects the credibility of IBS. It will drive sensible people away. He needs help but he won’t get it here.
May I make a request please?
Could commenters please try to remain on topic?
This thread is about the financials of the Charter Challenge Fund.
I would really appreciate it.
Thanks,
Tricia
@ Tricia
The financials are great. It’s amazing that the fund slipped $5000 over the goal and so quickly. That’s just over an average of $200 per person. My only question is, knowing you just wanted enough for the opinion, was it difficult to put the brakes on with donations coming in from different formats and at different speeds? Must have felt like stopping a speeding freight train. 🙂
Having the opportunity to do something other than type e-mails to MPs was therapeutic for me. It was that special “something” that WhiteKat referred to earlier. Thank you for the huge part you played in this.
@Em
We tried to “put the brakes on” the minute we hit the mark. Posts were made here and Sandbox and the CCCF site and we closed off PayPal but donors had already put cheques in the mail for example so we just waited it out!
I understand exactly what you mean. I can’t read all the posts and comment on articles and all of that anymore. But shifting to the info sessions and doing this, was my “something special.” And now the ACA meeting and the strong possibility of the Charter Challenge. I could never have anticpated this, even as recently as this past December. I had my life all planned out to do something completely separate and different from all this. LOL! Thanks for your kind thoughts and, it is my pleasure – you’re very welcome!
Trisha, thank you for all the work you’ve done. And many thinks to all the others who made this happen. I too am pleased with Mr. Arvay’s involvement.
@Anne Frank, crossing the U.S. off my list entirely would mean never seeing certain members of my family again, not just not going there on vacation. Thankfully I am sure that isn’t going to happen. I do appreciate your wise take on this though. Yesterday at the docs my blood pressure was sky high and it is usually low. I will heed your advice.
I’m really happy with how this Charter Challenge moved along so quickly for a first step everyone is doing a great job. Thanks again to all of you!
@All Brockers, I am not one to complain about health issues but even a person like me can just get overwhelmed. In regards to that, not that I want to hear about anyone else having health issues over this, there is a calming nature when you hear that others are in the same boat!!
@Tricia, thinking of how to make the closing of the fund a newsworthy item. Could you put together some generic like statistics and report on same? I know you have posted a pdf with some. Maybe the following.
1.) How long did it take to raise 18,500?
2.) How many total donors?
3.) Average donation size?
4.) How many countries did you receive donations from? I posted from the USA but do not count me as a US donor, I was happy to get out of there!!
5.) If there were any generic non-identifying notes, could you post some comments that you got with the funds.
I think the above would be of interest to some reporters that all of you had been developing relations with.
@Atticus. ” I too am pleased with Mr. Arvay’s involvement. ”
Let me second that and explain a little more.
I do not know Mr. Arvay from a hole in the wall but from some of the comments here I looked around the net.
I am not Canadian (other than at heart) so as with any other country on earth I am always hesitant to comment in internal affairs. If I was Canadian I might not like Joe based on the types of cases he has handled, but thats beside the point.
But this guy is a heavy hitter and frankly I want the people of Canada to win on this because it will help my Country win.
Joe has won some pretty heavy Supreme Court cases and that has to be respected. If he says there is a case and litigates, he is going to litigate to WIN. Thats the kind of guy this is.
I do not want a nice lawyer, I do not want a young lawyer, I do not want the lawyer I sit with in Church who really wanted to be a priest.
I/we want the best “hired gun” who hopefully has an ego to match his skill. We want a guy who has gone up against the Government, that has the respect of the Court, to go at this. This guy has tasted “political blood” and savors going up against the Government, he is not fearful as he has already done it on unpopular causes.
The fact that Joe may be taking the case will cause the Government to take pause and notice. It will cause the media to take cause and notice. It will generate headlines because of his name alone.
He is going to make money but for him at the point he is in with his life, he is going to get another notch on his belt if he defeats the Canadian Government and by default the elephant in the room, the USA.
To be blunt, if he says we have a strong case the battle has been won. With him, the fee is secondary to WINNING. A VICTORY in Court is what this guy wants above all else.
@George, yes you make excellent points concerning Mr. Arvay’s involvement. We’re lucky to have him!
I believe that Joe Arvay is absolutely the best choice of counsel for this matter. He is highly experienced, has a track record of success, a reputation for dogged brilliance, and most importantly he embraces controversy.
This is also an excellent case for him – it has the potential to be a big win in already brilliant career. And one of the key advantages is the large pool of highly sympathetic plaintiffs who would have standing in the case.
ANYONE who is in a position to be harmed by the FATCA IGA can have standing as a plaintiff. Any US-born Canadian (especially border babies like “Canadian Cop”), any spouse or partner of a US-born Canadian, children born to so-called US persons, Canadians who held US Green Cards or just worked there for a few years, Canadian small businesses, etc.
What a large pool of highly sympathetic plaintiffs this is! And these plaintiffs are mostly long-standing Canadian citizens, who are law-abiding and productive members of their communities. Many have professional credentials: doctors, accountants, lawyers, law enforcement officers, educators, etc. Others operate successful businesses. Some are farmers. Many are retired people who’s limited financial means and retirement plans are threatened. Some are disabled, or living near the poverty line.
The fact that the IGA was negotiated under coercive threat (as per much of the government’s bleating) is especially suspicious.
As for the current surplus, I’d suggest using some of it:
– register a useful URL
– look into Google Word advertising (which makes it prominent in any Google search for certain topics).
Set aside something for a newspaper ad in the Globe & Mail reaching out to potential plaintiffs.
This could be 1/4 page letter-style advocacy ad. Costly, but G&M is Canada’s newspaper of record.
Consider engaging a PR professional (Arvay’s firm probably already has a PR firm they deal with, or Mr Arvay himself may.) Arvay’s firm may set up a separate mini-web site devoted to the action. A short video of Mr Arvay explaining the action could be part of this as well.
@George,
As Tricia mentioned in her accounting there were 110 individual donors and the the range of donations was $10.00 – $1000.00. We put the brakes on the fund moments after I visited the post office and found cheques that put us over the top — but cheques that had been mailed kept coming in.
There were notes accompanying many donations, but I am uncomfortable in disclosing any of the text because we did not receive permission to do this.
Donations were made by people who could not afford to make any donation. You can appreciate the responsibility that we have to make this legal challenge work.
@Atticus. My country rolled over and the EU is rolling over. But I do know that what happens in Canada can change things here.
The first step was what Brockers did in raising attention. Done and still ongoing.
Second step was the challenge fund. Done awaiting legal opinion.
Third step is Court. As this winds it way through the Canadian Court system there will come a point when my countrymen in Europe will need to start another front here. We will need your help just as we are trying to help you from afar.
All we need is for the water to find a crack in the dam and then it will bring down the concrete.
Not being a betting person, the only party that might not be left standing are US Citizens who are only permanent residents in their respective countries. But it is clear in my mind that in the end there can not be classes of Canadian, Irish, French, Italian….Citizens.
One thing we may need to do on multi-fronts is to lobby our governments to codify into law the Master Nationality Act and formally state that for all public and private purposes a Canadian Citizen in Canada will only be recognized as Canadian. That would kill FATCA by the backdoor.
@IRS, I was just thinking of some kind of press release to circulate amongst sympathetic reporters. There is a story to be told and its a grass roots story. It would also show that we are not a bunch of champagne swilling fatcats!! Wait, I take that back, I occasionally go to France and do purchase sparkling white wine (Faux Champagne) at a hypermarket for less than Two Euro a bottle, not sure what that makes me. 😉
Will the 1995 USA Canada tax treaty also be included in challenge as it allows US taxation of Canadian resident. This is a lot worse than FATCA.
“I felt once more how simple and frugal a thing is happiness: a glass of wine, a roast chestnut, a wretched little brazier, the sound of the sea. Nothing else.”
― Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek
“You have your brush, you have your colors, you paint the paradise, then in you go.”
― Nikos Kazantzakis
@GeorgeIII, I’m not sure what you mean regarding the tax treaty allowing US taxation of a Canadian resident. Are you referring to US sourced income earned by a Canadian resident as opposed to FATCA which is a way of enforcing US taxation of Canadian sourced income earned by a Canadian living in Canada – this is worse, NO?
Wondering, thanks for your thoughtful comment, highlighting the ordinary persons caught up in the immorality of FATCA law coming into other countries (when the more obvious and better answer to most of us here would be for the US to move to a more fair RBT and go after the residents in their own country who purposely move their untaxed monies offshore), the many who can and will be plaintiffs in such a Charter Challenge we want to see. And, for your suggestions!
The collage of Canadians and other country persons in all walks of life (a snapshot you’ve given) this so adversely affects is mind-boggling. We need others to see they could be next for their loss of human rights!
@George,
The press I spoke to in Canada is already sympathetic and knows what we are up to, but was not interested in initiating a story on CCCF funding our first step of a legal challenge. Assuming the legal opinion from Mr. Arvay is positive, the story will become a lot more newsworthy (I think worldwide) as the legal challenge moves forward.
When the time comes for donation requests, there will be no discrimination and donations will be happily accepted from both minnows and fatcats. In fact, if anyone knows a “high income person” who might want to donate, let us know…
@George
With regard to:
1) The timeframe was 28Feb – 06Mar. So, 7 days.
5) One donor requested a letter be published on Brock and Sandbox. You can read it here:
http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/2014/03/22/a-thank-you-to-all-brockers/