Now she's scared?
What former Internal Revenue Services unit head Lois Lerner did was so egregious, according to her attorneys, it would prompt death threats if it were learned.
That is why, they argued last week, her federal court testimony should be sealed forever.
Lerner, of course, was atop the IRS Exempt Organization Unit under President Barack Obama when it intentionally targeted tea party groups simply because they were conservative. Indeed, at one point, she expressed interest in working with the Department of Justice to criminally prosecute one of the conservative targets in order to send a message to the rest.
However, she pleaded the Fifth Amendment (which prevents her from being forced to be a witness against herself) when called to testify in front of Congress but later was compelled to testify in federal court.
The Obama administration graciously allowed her to retire early with a fully taxpayer-funded pension, and she has never been prosecuted.
We hope they'll unseal that testimony at some point, sooner rather than later. She - and all of those in the administration involved in the coordinated operation - should face the music for such a shameful operation.
Sorry, no hugs
Thanksgiving may have passed, but the Girls Scouts of America has a warning for all those family gatherings coming up: Shield your children from forced holiday hugs.
If you don't, according to a blog post by the increasingly liberal organization in an article titled "Reminder: She Doesn't Owe Anyone a Hug. Not Even at the Holidays," the waters might be muddy for them if another person has "bought her dinner or done something else seemingly nice for her later in life." Such hugs, it is said, could give a young girl "the wrong idea about consent and physical affection."
While no one should force children to hug someone they're violently against hugging, encouraging hugs and affection with family members and close friends is not throwing them into the arms of molesters or indoctrinating them into the rape culture.
Actress Amber Tamblyn agreed with the organization, saying "our daughters owe no one hugs, smiles or kisses and we should start teaching them this young."
But in a Washington Post article about the Girls Scouts' advice, a New York-based psychiatrist said "a conversation about good touch and bad touch" is appropriate, but parents shouldn't create "a mass hysteria about physical contact with loved ones."
"[W]e don't want to overstep our boundaries so our children are not afraid of who they should not be afraid of," the psychiatrist, Janet Taylor, said.
We had been afraid the recent multitude of sexual harassment and sexual assault claims against politicians, pundits and Hollywood types would take a wrong turn, but with this suggestion it appears to have left the road.
America's future?
If people are looking for evidence that California is less and less like a part of the United States, they need look no farther than a recent man-on-the-street interview with University of California, Berkeley, students by filmmaker Ami Horowitz.
The filmmaker stood in several prominent spots on campus and waved a large American flag and praised the United States as students and others passed by.
The flag and statements such as "Greatest country in the world, right?" drew reactions such as "The opposite. The complete opposite," "The one imperial power in the world," "Uh, Canada's pretty great," "[The flag] signifies military rule," and "God is not proud of us."
Other reactions included "God -- this country," "-- America" and "Your flag sucks, fool."
But when Horowitz began to wave the Islamic State flag and uttered terrorist talking points, the pride swelled.
"Good for you, man. Good for you" and "I love that you're saying that" were some of the responses.
In several hours of doing that, Horowitz said only one person had a negative reaction to the ISIS flag.
Scary, isn't it?
'Non-white' lives matter
In another of a continuing string of hate crime hoaxes since Donald Trump became president in January, a student identified only as "non-white" recently was caught after writing a racial slur and the phrase "White Lives Matter" on a bathroom mirror at Parkway Central High School in Chesterfield, Mo.
Principal Timothy McCarthy had said such actions and speech "which degrade an individual's human dignity have no place in school," but once the perpetrator was found to be "non-white" he nevertheless maintained the fact "does not diminish the hurt it caused or the negative impact it has had on our community."
In a letter to the "PCH Community," he said the guilty party was a student at the high school, that the incident was a violation of the school's disciplinary code, that the student had confessed to the writing and that the student would be punished. School officials did not disclose the student's motive for the graffiti.
"As we move forward," McCarthy wrote, "our efforts will be focused on repairing the harm we have experienced while deepening our sense of community. Understanding, respect and love will continue to be our guideposts."