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Sunday, July 5th
By JJ MacNab | July 5, 2009
I was checking out antique stores in southern New Hampshire this morning and ran into something fun: It was the very first tax bill signed into law by President Washington on July 13, 1789. The sales price was $85,000 and it’s located in a small, glass-enclosed booth at the New Hampshire Antique Co-op in Milford.
I didn’t buy it.
I spent the three-day weekend driving all over the lovely state of New Hampshire and found the scenery beautiful and the locals ever-so-friendly. (Hat tip to the biker guys who gave good directions back to civilization…)
No matter where I went – from the Shaker Village in Canterbury to the Barley House Tavern in Concord – everyone I spoke to was familiar with the Brown standoff. The typical conversation with sales clerks, waitresses, and tour guides went something like this:
Local: Where are you guys from?
Me: The Washington, DC area.
Local: Are you here for business or pleasure?
Me: Mostly business – I’m in town for a criminal trial.
Local: That must be the Brown trial?
Me: Yes, indeed.
Local: For those of us who lived here, what the Browns did was awful. The Marshals did a fine job being so patient and arresting them without it turning into a big violent mess.
It’s now the end of a three-day weekend, and the jury has had all this time to stew and chew on Thursday’s bombshell testimony.
Some questions the jury might have at this point:
- The descriptions of what a 50 cal round will do to a human body and armored vehicle were graphic and startling. What would the explosives like pipe bombs and Tannerite do if set off when Marshals were in close range?
- What were the actual threats made against the Judges, the prosecutors, the Plainfield Chief of Police and the US Marshals?
- How many guns were in the house and how did Ed and Elaine get them?
- Is Elaine really just a mild-mannered dentist who got spooked by Dogwalker Day (June 7th) or did her decision to make a stand backed by force actually start much earlier?
- For that matter, is the timing of Dogwalker Day even relevant to this case at all?
- Ed’s been acting like a petulant and angry jerk in the courtroom. Does he abuse Elaine?
- What are zip guns and what do they do?
- What were Ed and Elaine planning to do? What was their plan to get themselves out of this impossible situation?
- Will Ed and Elaine take the stand and explain themselves?
- What really happened to Zoe the Dog?
Topics: Ed Brown, Elaine Brown, Tax Deniers | 1 Comment »
July 6th, 2009 at 12:01 am
The best part is that it’s on sale in a state with no sales tax.