Observe please, that J.G. traveled all over the place recruiting. That is also activism. Just shrugging, i:e: dropping out on the scale that can be accomplished by individuals is fantasy if you think it will accomplish anything. Plus, you don't happen to have a universal motor, you know something like the one in Back To The Future Part 3 or in Atlas Shrugged. That would be a big help. I've dropped out (it's called retirement) and other than being a gadfly, and doing things I never had time for, I'm no longer productive, yet I still pay taxes. In the words of the Wicked Witch -- "What a world, what a world."

Very brave indeed. The established power structure wants to take her down.

No coincidence, Stargeezer. What you saw was Phase 2, after Cash for Clunkers being Phase 1. That took all the money and territory from the conservative GM and Chrysler car dealers and gave it to their liberal counterparts. "We will reward our friends and punish our enemies".

Perhaps you were too generous. I think we have already devolved into a full banana republic. Anyone remember Cash for Clunkers, for example?

The alternate is to shrug.

At least with the Beast in "Beauty and the Beast", there was some good to be reclaimed. Washington is beastly all the way to its roots.

This is a very brave individual. Most people don't understand the battle is not with an opposing individual, political party or even a government agency. The real battle is with the 'Leftist Ideology' (religion) that has taken hold in this country, and it's metastasizing like a cancerous growth. The antidote to this affliction is to vote a Conservative Ticket, top to bottom, on the next election cycle. However, I strongly suggest you vet the candidate thoroughly.

She looked a little nervous but I am not sure I could have done what she did. Too many in Washington think this is a game. They want to score political points while people have their lives turned upside down. I hope something changes soon.

It's a dangerous thing if the IRS has been politicized this bad. They are one of the most powerful institutions in the world and with Obamacare they will get larger. Hope it all turned out okay for you Star.

The funny thing is Rich, the time frames she lists are identical to the ones in which the IRS was giving us so much grief. Audits, requests for all sorts of info that included our charitable giving, our church and what our relationship to any political groups were apart from our claimed deductions.

I don't know there was any relation, but I've wondered for a very long, long time.

Wasn't there a poll a couple elections ago that questioned the political orientation of government employees and that revealed that federal employees were around 75% dems? With that sort of affiliation I'm not to surprised, not at all.

I'm going to go out on a long limb for a moment and say that I'm never surprised at the lengths Dems will go to in order to gain and keep power. Consider exactly where they stand on moral issues, on religious standards, and yes, even "values".

I'll say first that I'm not pointing any fingers and certainly the left is not comprised of only sinners and the right filled with the righteous and upright - there are heathen on both sides. However, it is the left that has made a livelihood of opposing what most people consider morality and living a clean life. Every liberal I've met tells me that lieing in campaign ads is ok because "everybody" does it. Most will tell me that situational ethics are just the way life is expected to be today. In college, surveys were done a few years ago that indicated that actions that might have been seen as cheating by their parents, were just fine for the kids - who almost all consider themselves to be liberals.

To people who believe that it's ok to do anything in order to win a political race, "slowing down a tax exemption process in order to harm political opponents supporters is not a big deal. To people who feel that murdering a unborn child is ok so the mother is not inconvenienced in her life, why not stop those Christians from putting a crèche on the courthouse lawn at Christmas, or for keeping the pastor of a church from being free to tell his congregation which candidates oppose abortion on demand.

Am I surprised that a political party would see the IRS as a tool or weapon of politics? Not at all.

2008 was the first time I got more involved in an election than just any "average" American. For the first time I gave directly to candidates instead of just the republican party, I gave to our local tea party group and got pretty active in state elections. I could not stand McCain, but with BO coming from Illinois, I knew what he was, we had seen him in action here and the only good thing about his election to the Senate was that it got him out of our state. I never dreamed he'd get elected as president.

Then two years latter our 2 years of nightmares started with the IRS, sucking money away from my donations to political causes. The really odd thing was that ALL of it ended when we closed our business. Just like the 55 years before the troubles started, after I closed my business and went on strike, the IRS has disappeared from my life.

At my age, I'm not certain I'd take the government on like this lady is (although I should be willing to) I just don't have the strength for that much of a battle today. Shrugging and dropping off the grid is about as far as I'm willing to go today. But you never know, there just might be one more bite left in this old dog.

It's crazy. A good person gets involved and immediately they try to destroy her.

Having volunteered for true the vote during the 2012 election, I know how much they have accomplished, and how honest they are. It is like living in an alternate world, the headlines we are now having inflicted on our common sense. Say no to voter ID, Benghazi is old news dude, fast and furious is a movie, not an event, the IRS never 'targeted' anybody (that mattered), nsa not spying on citizens, protestors demand $15 hour minimum wage at McDonalds, local residents denied the right to have backyard gardens, American citizens can be detained by feds without cause, illegals can practice law in California.....I could go on for pages. We are no longer a republic. We are no longer a democracy. We are living under soft tyranny, quickly devolving into a true banana republic. Hope you all have your getaway plans in place.

It would seem these decisions are being made by career people and not just appointees. The system is broke.

is it just the current administration that is solely responsible or are there others in the shadows that tell each administration what they are going to do?
I for one simply put do not trust the government in its entirety! I just do not think these activities are going to stop regardless of any laws that the congress enacts. those who perpetrate the actions will always have a reason for them. of the people by the people and for the people is no longer!

Good luck Terry. Hope they leave you alone.

After a successful business career, I wrote a book. In the book I explain the profound effect Atlas Shrugged had on my life. I also am very critical of big government and Obama in particular. The book, "In Purrsuit of Manufacturing Excellence, The Signicast Story" is on sale at Amazon and my web site. Www.terrylutz.net. The interesting part is the IRS Cincinnati office went to my web site 4 times and spent a lot of time on the site. I am waiting for them to audit me. If they do, they will have a battle on their hands.

Wish I had one Herb.

All the commented upon cures are just fine, but they won't happen by themselves through some flash of enlightenment by the populace. Activism is the key. Words without actions are just.....words. I know, it's easy for an old geezer like me to say these things to people busy with their lives, so -- tell me an alternative.

Great quote OA. I hate to see ordinary Americans suffering thru stuff like this. Lets hope good people step up and see to it that it stops.

"Beauty and the Beast" The grotesque face of tyranny is ensconced in DC. "When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty." Jefferson. Although the source is disputed by some... the premise is true.

Yes. It's called projection and Stephen Covey talks about it in length in his best-seller "Seven Habits of Highly-Effective People".

More evidence of Freudian projection.

Outside Elijah Cummings' district, I would agree.

Inside it...that's the mystery.