Just when you think Cooper can't slither any lower, he surprises you. That's what he's done in attempting to smear Jabari Zakiya, Pacifica's interim treasurer.
Now I didn't know much about Mr. Zakiya, so I checked into Marc's *charges*.
Turns out Zakiya was a very serious tax resistor, a protestor. Not unlike Thoureau (and thousands of others since) Zakiya practiced civil disobedience trough refusal to pay taxes.
Does that sound like a *disqualification* from Pacifica leadership to you? (More like a recommendation, you say?)
Funny how Cooper, who implies Zakiya was a mere lumpen criminal, was never moved to attack previous Pacifica treasurer Wendall Johns, who was an officer at the Fannie Mae mortgage corporation.
I don't have all the facts, but just on the face of it, who sounds more like a candidate for Pacifica leadership to you?
Cheers, Steve Rendall
P.S. Here's that article:
The Sun (Baltimore) February 20, 1994
HEADLINE: Tax protester gets 16-month sentence and must pay fine
BODY:
A Prince George's County man who hasn't paid federal income taxes in a decade and has urged others not to pay was sentenced Friday to 16 months in prison, the maximum allowed under sentencing guidelines, prosecutors said.
Jabari Zakiya, an engineer at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Center, also was ordered by U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz to pay a $ 25,000 fine. He is free pending an appeal, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa M. Griffin.
Zakiya, 38, of Largo was convicted in November of one count of tax evasion and three counts of failure to file tax returns from 1987 to 1989.
Authorities estimate that he owes $ 117,000 in taxes, not including interest and penalties.
He is a member of Save-A-Patriot and a co-founder of the Progressive African Liberation Movement, organizations that advocate nonpayment of taxes for political reasons.
Zakiya said the Constitution allows the government to tax only corporate profits, not employee wages.