Here is the original fable according to Aesop:
Once upon a time a Wolf was lapping at a spring on a hillside, when, looking up, what should he see but a Lamb just beginning to drink a little lower down. “There’s my supper,” thought he, “if only I can find some excuse to seize it.” Then he called out to the Lamb, “How dare you muddle the water from which I am drinking?”
“Nay, master, nay,” said Lambikin; “if the water be muddy up there, I cannot be the cause of it, for it runs down from you to me.”
“Well, then,” said the Wolf, “why did you call me bad names this time last year?”
“That cannot be,” said the Lamb; “I am only six months old.”
“I don’t care,” snarled the Wolf; “if it was not you it was your father;” and with that he rushed upon the poor little Lamb and ate her all up. But before she died she gasped out:
“Any excuse will serve a tyrant.”
Now, the contemporary version:
In our own times, the IRS Agent fretting about the homelander budget deficit looked upon the Expat and said, “I will eat some yummy expat tonight, if only I can find some excuse to seize his assets.”
The Agent said to the Expat, “You have cheated on your taxes.”
The Expat responded, “But ma’am, I pay my taxes here in the land of the Maple Leaf.”
The Wolf said, “You have hidden money in secret bank accounts in foreign lands.”
Expatikin answered, “Nay, I am a citizen of Mapleland and my accounts are not foreign nor are they hidden from our own Maple Leaf Revenue Agency.”
The lupine Agent retorted, “You are a traitor because you have left the homeland to live in foreign parts.”
Then, the Expat said, “I am no traitor, for both my parents are children of the Maple Leaf.”
“I don’t care,” snarled the Wolf, “You belong to me until I say you don’t belong anymore!”, and with that she rushed upon the poor little Expat and forced FATCA down the throats of all the banks in Maple Leaf territory. As the Expat was paying all of his remaining pennies to cross border accountants and lawyers, he cried out:
“Any excuse will serve a tyrant.”
But the Wolf protested, “We are not unreasonable. We are not unsympathetic. We are not irresponsible.“
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The Parable of the Prodigal Uncle
Ah, you are so baaaaaaaahd, Petros. Good writing though. 🙂
I am baaaaahd, this coming from Em, the naughty poetess:
As I pile on the years and perhaps become dotty
It’s likely my mouth will become a wee potty
And I’ll label the States as the “axis of rotty”
Then I’ll hope some Brockers will not get all haughty
And berate me for being politically naughty
Oops that was naughty (not naught) [fixed], Petros.
Super, Petros!
@Petros
I guess if the lamb in its terror jumps into the wolf’s mouth, they call that an “inter-animal agreement” (IAA).
@Jim, if the lamb jumps int the wolf’s mouth offshore, it is an OVDP: Offshore Voluntary Devouring Program
@petros
and I will try my best to cause at least a little indigestion.
http://thegodthatfailed.org/2012/11/14/ron-paul-farewell-to-congress/
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/ron-paul-urges-colleagues-to-pursue-the-cause-of-liberty-in-farewell-address-to-congress/
Ron Paul farewell to Congress. Explains why it is how it is for those of us outside the razorwire.