This article by George Will leapt at me for its revelation into the rapidly bananifying condition of the former free republic known as America.
The IRS used “civil forfeiture,” the power to seize property suspected of being produced by, or involved with, crime. The IRS could have dispelled its suspicions of Terry and Sandy, if it actually had any, by simply asking them about the reasons — prudence, and the insurance limit — for their banking practices. It had, however, a reason not to ask obvious questions before proceeding.
The civil forfeiture law — if something so devoid of due process can be dignified as law — is an incentive for perverse behavior: Predatory government agencies get to pocket the proceeds from property they seize from Americans without even charging them with, let alone convicting them of, crimes. Criminals are treated better than this because they lose the fruits of their criminality only after being convicted.
Executive summary: IRS agents jackbooted into a grocery, stole all the money available on flimsy grounds, and refused to give any of it back to the store owners after it was determined no crime had been committed.
What the F-in F has this country come to? Liberia?
We’ve got saucy private conversations being recorded to burn citizens at the metaphorical stake, guys getting fired for expressing opinions at odds with the discourse guidelines set by the Attorney General of Goodspeak, and IRS goons pilfering cash from innocent victims on the pretense of thin air.
Again, I ask, what the F-in F has happened to this country? (Answer: Diversity/ennui/materialism/fear/scale.)
I’d like to take a moment to address the military brahs, particularly the white male contingent, in the reading audience. A suggestion: Put down your weapons. You fight for a country and a ruling elite that hates your guts. Hates you to the bone. If you need an outlet for your martial spirit, set up a local militia. I believe that’s still legal. Whatever country you think you serve long ago fell from grace. It’s not a nation any more. It’s a corrupt bazaar.