Posted on 06/13/2013 5:19:19 AM PDT by markomalley
When the IRS is accused of “targeting”, don’t assume they’re speaking metaphorically. From Politico:
As chairman of the House Homeland Security oversight subcommittee, [Jeff] Duncan (R-S.C.) toured a federal law enforcement facility in late May and noticed agents training with the semi-automatic weapons at a firing range. They identified themselves as IRS, he said.
“When I left there, it’s been bugging me for weeks now, why IRS agents are training with a semi-automatic rifle AR-15, which has stand-off capability,” Duncan told POLITICO. “Are Americans that much of a target that you need that kind of capability..?
“I think Americans raise eyebrows when you tell them that IRS agents are training with a type of weapon that has stand-off capability. It’s not like they’re carrying a sidearm and they knock on someone’s door and say, ‘You’re evading your taxes,’” Duncan said.
A bureaucracy is bad. A politicized bureaucracy is worse. A paramilitary politicized bureaucracy is nuts. And, in fact, evil. There is no reason in a civilized society why the Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Paperwork should have his own Seal Team Six. As I wrote in the magazine last year:
By the way, I use the word “agents” rather than “officials” because, in the developed world, the paramilitarized bureaucracy is uniquely American. This is the only G7 government whose education minister has his own SWAT team — for policing student-loan compliance. The other day, the Gibson guitar company settled with the feds over an arcane infraction of a law on rare-wood importation — after their factories were twice raided by “agents” bearing automatic weapons. Like the man said, don’t bring a knife to a guitar fight. Do musical-instrument manufacturers have a particular reputation for violence?
The Gibson raid looks a little different in light of recent revelations. Oh, well. Could have been worse. Its chief executive – a Republican donor – might have been shot for “resisting arrest”, right?
Abolish the IRS. And no personal Delta Force for its successor.
Forgive a suspicious nature, but one would almost think that ALL federal employees are gearing up for a war on...
who, precisely?
Probably not China, probably not Russia, and probably not even Moslem terrorists, so that leaves.... us?
Those aren’t AR-15s. They’re machine guns.
IRS agents should be restricted to meeting us nekkid in the public mud pits, armed only with sharp pencils!
Only in Maryland and New York.
Something I’ve noticed as well. Obama’s got something in the hopper.
This is part of an ongoing trend to militarize the bureacracy. During the KKKlinton years they started arming EPA agents.
There was a time when FBI agents went toe to toe with the Nazi’s in South America in an undeclared war; when DEA Agents virtually invaded areas of Colombia and surrounding areas in the drug wars, and when some agents literally battled organizaed crime guys in the streets during prohibition. Today, we don’t see that as much with the civilian forces, frankly, we even arm our border police with bean bag guns and weaponize the border crossers. So, on one hand where the uses of weaponry is being diminished, we are now heavily arming more agents with a capability beyond their apparent needs? Makes no sense to me. I recall my early days as a street agent armed with nothing more than a 2” detective special later replaced with a Smith model 19. Seemed ok for our use as we were not battling an invading army of chicoms. We kept an office inventory of about 1000 rds for agents which covered use, qualification and practice. Today it seems agents are armed with semi auto and full auto shoulder weapons, semi auto pistols, and one agency has something like 1.6 billion rounds available for about 30,000 agents. What gives? We expecting an invasion of UFOs? Obvious to me, this is becoming more a land of the government verses the people then government by the people.
Those geeks can train all day, but I’ll bet they can’t reach out 300 yards.
> Something I’ve noticed as well. Obama’s got something in the hopper.
Or trying to give the impression that he us gearing up against citizens as a orm of intimidation.
600+ with M1A1 .308. Never know what hit them!
The first socialist in the White House nationalized gold.
This one wants our IRA’s.
There will be war.
It looks like the petty tyrant in our White House is fundamentally transforming America, providing the "change" he promised, and moving "forward", as promised. Who says that compulsive liars never tell the truth?
Tax collectors with assault weapons. I wonder if they’ll be carrying grenades too.
So, ALL of those 5 MILLION bullets that the government is buying is for the IRS to use on us!!! OMG!! We are in Deeper trouble than I thought!!
It does seem as if there's a pattern.
Generic government “workers” at all levels know that everyone else despises them. They know what may happen.
I’ll admit to being quite prejudiced, but when a guy who isn’t military wants to dream about “taking on the Bad Guys,” he gears up with a semi-auto with a fifteen round mag and two extra mags; an M-4, and maybe a 12 guage.
When a guy knows what it’s all about, and knows he can handle it, he gets himself a S&W Chief’s Special.
But, like I said, I’m wildly prejudiced.
The upshot being that it’s clear to me, at least, that there are countless imbeciles in the government who believe they’re very soon going up against Genghis Khan and his Golden Horde.
Or perhaps against the entire civilian population of the United States....?
Forgive a possibly stupid question from someone who grew up in a state which doesn’t respect the 2nd amendment:
What is “stand-off capability”?
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