FAMED FILMMAKER TALKS TO AFP

RUSSO BELIEVES THIS MOVIE MIGHT JUST SAVE AMERICA

By Mark Anderson

CHICAGO, Illinois—Aaron Russo’s documentary movie, America: Freedom to Fascism, is a testament to his unwavering determination to inform the American people about who really runs the economic and political structure in this country.

On Sept. 26, AFP caught up with Russo for an exclusive interview to discuss the vast array of social ills and evils that the power elites have foisted on us over many decades.

Neither of Chicago’s major daily newspapers gave Russo any attention, despite his distinguished background in the Chicago music scene and his subsequent success in making popular movies such as Trading Places and The Rose.

“My conscience made me make the movie,” Russo said. “I have political knowledge, and no one else was doing it. I feel this is my duty as an American. . . . It had to be done; the media won’t tell the truth.”

Russo said there is 15 years of research behind the movie, and it took two years to put together. “I want to do a series of movies to wake up the people,” he said. “This is volume 1.”

He plans to soon make the movie available on DVD and viewable on the Internet for a modest fee that would help finance more movies.

Russo provided AFP with a private screening of the film, which clocks in at one hour, 47 minutes. In that time frame, Russo gets down to some disturbing fundamentals on what ails America. Weaving several big topics into a cohesive presentation, Russo, who narrates his own film, closely examines the Federal Reserve System, the legitimacy of the income tax, plans for a National ID for all Americans, details on tracking chips that can be placed under human skin and other compelling issues.

The film starts with the dark year of 1913, when the Money Trust, as it was sometimes called, took hold. To this day, it has Americans by the jugular.

That year, the secretive planning of foreign banker Paul Warburg, American banker J.P. Morgan and others to create an all-powerful, privately owned and controlled central bank with control of issuing and valuing money and manipulating interest rates was codified into law with the
passage of the Federal Reserve Act. As Russo narrates, this was quietly done in late December of that year when many legislators were already home for the holidays.

The income tax comes next in the film. Also created in 1913 via the 16th Amendment, the tax was established to enable the federal government to collect vast sums of money to service the loans the central bankers would make to the government. This explains the growth of government over the years due to constant borrowing, which, of course, requires more and more taxes to offset the borrowing, combined with constant spending hikes to create and expand government departments and employ more government workers. The cycle never ends.

Russo notes that then-president Woodrow Wilson regretted the success of the banking oligarchy in putting this vast borrowing and collection engine into place.

He also addresses the legitimacy of the income tax, which is included in the Communist Manifesto but was conceptually declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1894. As recently as 2003, Russo says, U.S. District Judge James C. Fox declared that the 16th Amendment was not ratified. Of course, this runs contrary to a statement made by the secretary of state at the time the amendment was voted on by Congress that it was ratified by the states.

Russo does an admirable job of establishing that there is no law on the books to provide the legal basis for an unapportioned tax on the labor of the American people. He interviewed several former IRS agents, some of whom say they do not file 1040s anymore, to back that up. He also
shows that the Internal Revenue Code does not define income.

“Government get its power from us, not the other way around,” Russo told AFP.

He then posed the question: Have so many American soldiers died in wars just so U.S. citizens can be “[micro-]chipped like a dog.”

He adds: “Stop being good Republicans. Stop being good Democrats. Start being good Americans.” The system itself must be used to legally abolish the Fed. The film is said to be resonating among people from many walks of life—liberals and conservatives, rich and poor, blacks and whites.

However, raising awareness about the documentary is not easy. Russo said he received a last-minute cancellation for a planned satellite-feed interview from the CNBC “Power Lunch” show with Bill Griffith when the show’s New York producers saw an advance copy. Too hot to handle, they concluded.

Russo said that interested persons can go to the web site, FreedomToFascism.com, and track the latest showings, including dates, times and addresses, and inquire about bringing the film to a city or town near you.

(Issue #41, October 9, 2006)