By Jon Dougherty

© 2002 WorldNetDaily.com

A liberty-minded organization most noted for its tax activism says a public event being staged to force the government to respond to a number of petitions is right on schedule.

The event, known as "Freedom Drive 2002" â which is being sponsored by the We The People Foundation for Constitutional Education â www.givemeliberty.org/ kicked off Oct. 7 "with the posting of four petitions for redress" on the group's website, said a statement.

In a statement, the group says it will serve the petitions on all 535 members of Congress Nov. 7. The next day, supporters of the effort "will begin a caravan from the West Coast to the nation's capital," the group said, predicting that caravan "will grow in numbers" as it approaches Washington, D.C.

The caravan is scheduled to arrive on or before Nov. 14. At that point, supporters "will â ¦ assemble at the Washington Monument to await the government's responses."

The group does not say how it expects the government to respond or what it feels would be an adequate response. But it does claim that date "will be the watershed moment in this nation's history where the right to petition will be exercised â and enforced."

The petitions deal with opposition or questions about the income tax, Federal Reserve, the War Powers Act and the USA Patriot Act www.givemeliberty.org/FreedomDrive/Redress/SignPetitions.htm. Visitors to the group's website can follow links to the petitions and electronically sign them online.

The event is the brainchild of Robert Schulz, who earlier this year hosted a so-called "tax honesty" forum in Washington
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The purpose of the forum was to discuss whether the federal government has a legal right to tax the income of its citizens.

Initially, Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., pledged to attend the forum, as did the Justice Department, but both backed out before the February congressional hearing-style forum.

If the event is not successful, it won't be due to a lack of publicity. According to officials, the group has already purchased full-page ads in the Washington Times newspaper and, depending on donations, USA Today as well. Also, ads are scheduled to appear in Full Throttle â a magazine for motorcycle enthusiasts â as well as other publications.

In addition, the group has contacted dozens of "liberty rights advocates" and independent businessmen and women about the event.

And, Schulz has hired a professional documentary film crew to chronicle the Freedom Drive and related events. The group hopes to get the film shown on MTV, HBO and at the Sundance Film Festival.

Finally, Schulz himself is making personal speaking appearances around the country to drum up support.

On Oct. 27, he will be in Jackson, Miss.; the next day in Albuquerque, N.M., at the University of New Mexico's Continuing Education Conference Center. And on Nov. 2-3, he'll join Judicial Watch's www.judicialwatch.org/ founder and chief counsel Larry Klayman at an event in Irvine, Calif.

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