Much has been made about the Democrats finally passing a reconciliation bill, something made possible by the folding of Sen. Joe Manchin. And while it’s about a year late and a tiny fraction of its original size, the bill is still stuffed with some very objectionable things.

One of the more contentious provisions involves doubling the budget of the IRS so they can hire 87,000 new agents. That includes an expansion of the IRS CID (Criminal Investigation Division) that was revealed after a job posting went viral that called for applicants to “carry a firearm and be willing to use deadly force.”

You might be asking yourself in what context IRS agents need to use deadly force and you wouldn’t be alone. While I understand the agency has long had its own police force, I’ve never quite seen the need for it, much less the need to make it larger.

But maybe there’s nothing to be concerned about? Photos of an IRS CID recruitment event have gone viral, and they aren’t going to strike fear into the heart of anyone.

😆😆😂😂 pic.twitter.com/rix0MjzOGj

— kingbean (@kingbean556) August 16, 2022

Now, before the “fact-checkers” drop the hammer on me, the full disclosure here is that these photos, despite currently blowing up the internet, are actually old. An article from 2017 describes the event as taking place at Stockton University, billed as a way to lure students to a “career path they might not have thought of.”

IRS Special Agent Robert Glantz said the day gives students a glimpse of a career path they might not have thought of. Several Stockton graduates who are working in the field participated in the simulation.

IRS Special Agent Scott Smith, ’92, said students did a good job interrogating him, even though he gave them a hard time during questioning.

“They paid attention,” he said.

The pictures may be old, but I’m not sure that makes them totally irrelevant. Given the current IRS expansion courtesy of your tax dollars, they still seem like something worthy of laughing at.

One fun game is to look at the pictures and try to name all the firearms safety violations going on. Guns are being pointed at people, fingers are on triggers, and the grips, oh my, the grips. Extra points for the guy in a wheelchair smiling while pointing a gun at a guy’s back (yes, I know the guns are fake). The fact that almost everyone shown is either out of shape or has arms the size of toothpicks only adds to the fun.

Look, I’m sure the actual IRS CID has some more capable members, but if we aren’t free to make fun of our overbearing, bloated, corrupt government then are we truly free? So laugh it up my friends because these pictures might be the best thing I’ve seen in a while.

UPDATE:

Someone pointed out that one picture shows people wearing masks. While the others are from 2017 and can be seen in the article I linked, it does appear that at least one of the pictures is more recent.