I read a lot about the IRS today, in fact, it was so boring that I watched some Ice loves Coco just to bring me back down a little. The current scandal involves the newly-discovered fact that the IRS has been singling out Tea Party groups for audits, further fueling the anti-government conspiracy erections that Romney voters pitch everyday. Reading up on this, a couple things really stood out to me, and I know that I may get called an Obama-sheep or a blind liberal for saying this, but it's what I really feel. Should we really have a law in place that doesn't allow the IRS to defend itself in court?
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| J Russell George (left), the inspector general for tax, seen here with US deputy Treasury secretary Neal Wolin (right), will give evidence on Monday. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters |
This is the law I'm speaking of, (click the link), good old article 45-2-1603, that states the Internal Revenue Service may not, even under circumstance of Federal trial, disclose any information on a specific taxpayer or specific individual group, even in an attempt to defend the IRS's actions. Hey, we all hate the IRS, seriously, fuck em, but this is a matter of persecution, right? Singling out republicans, this is big Obama government doing exactly what Glenn Beck has been warning us about right?
Well, I would love to know the truth, but we won't ever get it. You see, when you don't allow the accused party to explain itself, or defend it's actions against the accusations against it, then you are basing your decision on what the plaintiff is saying. Exclusively. Yes, it has been proven that the reason these groups were being denied tax exempt status and being submitted for audits was because they are on a specific political side, but there could be a more reasonable explanation than corruption.
Is the IRS really targeting right-wing political groups to further President Obama's agenda? Maybe, but we can't ask that.
Did the IRS have legitimate reason to audit these people, but couldn't prosecute without some sort of bullshit technicality, like say, tax exempt status? Maybe, but we can't ask that.
You can go in front of the Senate and say whatever you want about the IRS, you can accuse them of raping and eating your cat, and THEY CANNOT CONFIRM OR DENY YOUR ACCUSATION. I hate them too, but if we are going to nail these fuckers for their corruption and extreme liberal bias (even though I benefit, it's wrong to have a political preference as a federal institution) then we have to let them explain themselves. If we don't, then we all just look like a bunch of crazy witch-hunting monkeys. Just a thought.
I did not know what Ice Loves Coco was, so I googled it. And now I know, and I can't un-know. Otherwise, I liked this piece. Good food for thought. Have you found a counter argument?
ReplyDeleteWell, in terms of the scandal itself, it was just discovered that the IRS was not singling out republican groups, but liberal groups as well, any organization filing for tax exempt status with a political motivation. So, the scandal isn't really one after all. Also, don't make fun of Ice-T and Coco's relationship, trashy as they may be, they are very much in love.
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