Bobcast: Where the 1st and 16th Amendments meet

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Wednesday is tax day. Or it’s Tax Day if you take special note of the date when the IRS expects income tax filings.

Seems the 15th day of the fourth month has become more than a day to pay Uncle Sam his due.

Tax Day (uppercase, please) has morphed from just another dreaded day to one where various advocates trot out their favorite causes.

Peace-loving tax resisters opposed to spending on weapons of war step forward to proclaim their firm opposition to U.S. foreign policy.

Advocates for alternative taxation methods, such as the flat tax or a national sales tax, promote their ideas.

People claiming the IRS is an invalid arm of the federal government have a field day on April 15. We’d expect that’s less so for the income tax deniers currently serving in the federal pen.

Opponents of recently passed stimulus packages are gathering at so-called tea parties across the nation. The events, heavily promoted by Fox News and propped up by large, well-heeled conservative advocacy groups, will highlight opposition to government spending.

There’s word that anti-tea partiers will make their voices heard, presumably cheering on the Obama administration’s policies.

The U.S. income tax was created with the passage of the 16th Amendment. Even so it might be best to call this day 1st Amendment Day. (That’s the constitutional amendment guaranteeing, among other things, the right of free speech.)

You pay your dues, you get your say.