Joke About The IRS, Get a Visit From the FBI ?

And to remember, once, that one of the freedoms we held dear was the ability to mock our leaders, and our government.

Not any more:

IRS watchdogs are investigating more than 70 reported instances of inappropriate comments made to agency workers by taxpayers, National Treasury Employees Union President Colleen M. Kelley said Wednesday. Workers have received a mix of inappropriate verbal comments -- including jokes or statements of support for pilot A. Joseph Stack -- and more serious threats, she said.

Investigating physical threats to its employees is an obvious responsibility of the federal government, of course. But "jokes" and "inappropriate comments"? Are they serious? As we used to say when we were younger, "What is this, Russia?"

Maybe it's just an overzealous union boss trying to protect her employees. But being an IRS agent has been an unpopular job since day one, and if you can't take some jokes about it, find another line of work. Don't send federal agents out to threaten amateur comedians taking aim at one of the oldest targets in the book.

That's not just un-American, it's fascist, plain and simple. Can you imagine having to tell your kids "Shhh! Don't make a joke about that man! You can go to jail!"

You can't? Well, welcome to Barack Obama's America, where the Change is here and the Hope is gone forever...
And speaking of The King, maybe the IRS's thin-skinned peevishness here is due to the fact that Barack sees the Agency as his own personal army, a Stasi with ledgers, if you will - from last May:

At his Arizona State University commencement speech last Wednesday, Mr. Obama noted that ASU had refused to grant him an honorary degree, citing his lack of experience, and the controversy this had caused. He then demonstrated ASU's point by remarking, "I really thought this was much ado about nothing, but I do think we all learned an important lesson. I learned never again to pick another team over the Sun Devils in my NCAA brackets. . . . President [Michael] Crowe and the Board of Regents will soon learn all about being audited by the IRS."

Was that a joke? Apparently. But interesting to see how the president perceives the IRS. Unfortunately, by painting them as his own political vengeance squad, he ultimately puts the individual agents at greater risk than any wanna-be wiseguy ever could...