The American taxpayers have been found guilty.

[ColbertWatcher]

Without a trial, without an investigation and without a lawyer.

We have been found guilty of a crime committed by someone else and our punishment is a fine. A $700 billion fine.

Or more.

Who can we talk to to get an appeal?

[whistle]

1. Taxation without due process

[ColbertWatcher]

4. Hell, this is the first use of the now judicial system without habeas corpus ...

... against Americans.

Looks like we're all guilty by association.

In fact it's more of a kangaroo court, or one of those military tribunals the GOP is holding for detainees at Gitmo.

[whistle]

6. Actually goes back to the Norman conquest of Britain and Prince John

...and the taxation practices against the Anglo Saxons

<snip>
Prince John (also known as the "Phony King of England") ruled as the King of England from 1199 to 1216. What makes Prince John fascinating is that his name implies that he was a Prince and not a king. However, this inaccuracy arises from the fact that before he became king he actually was a prince, and didn't want to change his name when he became King. The people of England, however, continued insisting that he be called King John. This angered the King so much that he taxed anyone who wouldn't at least call him "King Prince John". Such are the most well-known facts about Prince John.

<snip>
Prince John loved taxes. He is one of the few kings of England who saw that taxes were not only a way to make lots of money, but also a way to piss people off. His use of taxes to buy stacks of gold is legendary. Some say that he must have been a very savvy economist to have gotten so much out of taxes. This argument, however, is accurately countered by the fact that Prince John was a moron. He wasn't savvy, just stupid and blunt. He was so dumb, in fact that the littleness of his intelligence and initiative had to be made up for by untrustworthy, evil Sheriffs. The most famous of these sheriffs is the Sheriff of Nottingham.

The Sheriff of Nottingham was so evil in his dealings that he made the king look like a date with Mother Teresa. Though some have tried to argue the fact that Prince John could be likened to a date with Mother Teresa, their opinions don't really matter.

Prince John, when questioned about his famous "Taxation the hell out of -ing Nottingham" argued to have only asked the sheriff to, "Tell those guys to stop making fun of me," and the sheriff, being super evil, decided that this meant he should raise the tax level to everything you own (the second highest tax level), throw everyone in jail, and steal from the church's poor box. Though not outside of the sheriff's character to have blown something that much out of proportion, everyone knows now (since footage of his reign was released in 1973) that the king was lying. What he actually said to the sheriff was, "Double... NO, no-Triple the taxes!" and the sheriff, not knowing the words 'double' and 'triple', thought he heard, "Don't... No, no-TRIP over the taxes!". Trying to make sense out of it, the sheriff concluded that you could only trip over taxes if they were ridiculously high.

<MORE>

http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Prince_John

[ColbertWatcher]

7. against Americans. But, you get a point for citing un. n/t

[Winterblues]

2. Are you forgetting the several hundred billion already spent?

By my reckoning more than three hundred billion have already been given out to AIG and Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. I believe Bear Sterns got a pile of moolah as well.

[ColbertWatcher]

3. No, I am not forgetting.

I was just talking about this latest fine. (But, thank you for adding it.)

Hell, didn't Exxon get their fine lowered?

[Cartaphelius]

5. Financial Terrorist Win Again!

Terrorists, that is all these folks are, who, according to the Patriot Act, should be subject to the same treatment imposed upon the "terrorist" previously identified as our enemies. If the Bush administration wasn't neck-deep in this current fleecing of America, President Bush would be demanding the same response.

Many too many of us have lived though and been saddled with the cost of bailout of; The Savings and Loan Banks (Neil Bush & John Keating), WorldCom, Enron and now Wall Street, all of which occurred during and with the consent, tacit or otherwise, of Republican Administrations.

Demand that the criminals be held accountable. Throw the net as wide as necessary to include former Senator Phil Graham, the sponsor
of the deregulating legislation that created our current debacle.

[ColbertWatcher]

8. Nicely put and welcome to DU! n/t

[Catshrink]

9. I'd email my senator but it's John McCain

so what's the point?

[ColbertWatcher]

11. I'm so sorry. When is he up for reelection? n/t

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

10. And, we'll get tossed in the slammer if we don't cough up the protection money.

[ColbertWatcher]

12. I heard the GOP was building detention centers in the desert somewhere.

I guess we know what they're for.