re: Disclosure
As you say, I was just pointing out that the Left has made a Cause out of Ashcroft's privacy issues, and have yet to squawk about other privacy issues that are a lot more all-encompassing. How many people would the Patriot Act affect if they were actually using it on somebody? Almost EVERYBODY has their entire life on file in the IRS offices.
The SEC is another issue all by itself.
I wouldn't take on the IRS for ten thousand dollars. The cells are full of libertarians who thought they had found the loopholes in the tax process. I remember the old "paperwork act" notice from the IRS forms. It was much shorter and to the point.
It basically boiled down to: "We need this information, and we're taking it because we can."