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Seventy Percent of Americans Can't Leave the Country
Do you feel safer today? Let's hope so, since you're certainly less free to travel about the Northern Hemisphere. Beginning just after midnight, every American returning from Canada, Mexico, and various island paradises now have to flash a U.S. passport to get back in the country. For the 70 percent of citizens who don't have passports, that means a minimum four to six weeks waiting time (and probably more, given the new filing rush) to legally escape the national boundaries. Better hope you weren't birthed by a midwife and have a funny-sounding surname!
No one informed Betancourt that his American citizenship was in question before – not in all the presidential elections he's voted in, not when he served in the Marines and not when he first became an emergency medical technician a decade ago. His father, a U.S. citizen, also served in the Marines.
"It's like a slap in the face," Betancourt said. "It doesn't change the way I feel or act, but I'm trying to do something as American as apple pie and go on vacation, and it feels like I've got the rug pulled out from under me."
Well, at least our country's top political leaders are totally aware of this grimly important trade of liberty for security.
Bill Clinton and George W. Bush admitted yesterday they had no idea the U.S. was implementing a new rule Monday that would require Canadians and Americans to have passports to cross the border.
The former presidents were caught off guard during a 90-minute joint appearance in Toronto when moderator Frank McKenna, the former Canadian ambassador to the U.S., spoke about how Canadians feel slighted by the new rule.
"I'll be frank with you Frank, I don't know about the passport issue," Bush told the crowd of 6,000.
"I thought we were making good progress on using a driver's licence to cross the border. What happened to the E-Z card?"
Clinton said he'd only heard about the passport requirement a day earlier, adding that in all likelihood most Americans were completely unaware of it as well. [...]
"I promise you, you have got my attention with this, so I'm going back home I'll see if there is anything else I can do," he said to cheers from the audience.
Yet another indication that our previous two presidents would have been better off reading Reason.
Tomcat1066|6.1.09 @ 8:15AM|#
Next, we'll need a passport to go from one state to another,
then from one town to another, until we can't even pull up our
pants without someone wanting to see our passport or some other
stupid document.
Of course, what's really pathetic is that this won't even
accomplish it's stated goal. Terrorists will just find another way
in.
Abdul|6.1.09 @ 8:20AM|#
Did either Bush or Clinton ask the Canadians: "What's with this horseshit metric system? Don't you use miles and gallons like normal people?"
Tomcat1066|6.1.09 @ 8:29AM|#
Not necessarily, but since 70% of Americans don't have passports, we are stuck within these borders if we hope to ever come home.
|6.1.09 @ 8:38AM|#
The right to travel is one of the basic, fundamental rights in our panopoly of rights. It is an inalienable right not subject to judcially concocted anti-constitutional balancing tests where the right to travel is weighed against some anti-constitutional (read: communist) principle such as "the public interest" or "national security".
hmm|6.1.09 @ 8:44AM|#
Who wants to bet that 4-6 weeks becomes 6-10 months? Ah the joys of bureaucracy, stupid legislation, and unintended consequences.
hmm|6.1.09 @ 8:46AM|#
Who knows what this legislation is based on or in? Is it Drug
War, DHS terrorist BS, NAFTA (don't think it's NAFTA), or something
entirely off the fucking wall?
Where did this great idea originate?
Xeones|6.1.09 @ 8:54AM|#
Yet another indication that our previous two presidents
would have been better off reading Reason.
The country might have been a lot better off, that's for
sure.
Then again, Mike Gravel is a subscriber, right?
Matt Welch|6.1.09 @ 9:05AM|#
70% of Americans live in border counties?
No, 70% of Americans don't have passports, as indicated in the text
and the link. And as of today, there are no longer countries from
which Americans can return without showing a passport.
Jozef|6.1.09 @ 9:10AM|#
And remember, citizens: even if you travel abroad without a passport and then can't return, you will still be required to pay taxes to your motherland...
MNG|6.1.09 @ 9:11AM|#
You can still go from county to county without a passport, so pretty much all Americans should be able to leave their county.
|6.1.09 @ 9:21AM|#
Score another one for the "papers, please"
society.
You know the government is fucking up royally when I have to say "I
agree with libertymike". This is all about control of the populace
and has not a goddamed thing to do with national security.
Fortunately the Democratss who are so much better on personal
liberty issues (or so I've heard) control the presidency, the house
and the senate. This should be overturned shortly.
Blue teamers, your thoughts?
|6.1.09 @ 9:29AM|#
So, what happens if you leave the country, and try to come back
without a passport? Do they deport you to wherever you just came
from?
I would like to see this litigated. I can find no authority in the
constitution for any state or the federal government to prevent a
citizen from entering the country, just because the bureaucracy
doesn't like his paperwork.
-jcr
|6.1.09 @ 9:31AM|#
I need a passport to to take the shortest route out of the
city.
Windsor, Ontario is closer to my apartment than any other other
city, county or state. As a youth, the schools took me on field
trips to sites in Ontario. When the family took a weekend jaunt to
Niagara Falls, the shortest route was through Ontario.
Matt Welch|6.1.09 @ 9:36AM|#
Oh, you fixed it. It said county instead of country at
firsst.
Sorry, MNG, my bad.
kinnath|6.1.09 @ 10:01AM|#
This has been coming for a year or two now, right?
I've had a passport for going on 20 years now and have made 50 or
so international trips. I don't exactly see the problem here. Do
people really expect to cross international boundaries without
identification?
|6.1.09 @ 10:04AM|#
J sub D, it pisses me off that you now are going to be hassled just to get around in your everyday life. Ditto, I am sure, for many others in your neck of the woods.
|6.1.09 @ 10:12AM|#
they've made me show a passport coming into the us for several years already.
Yes, But Canada, Mexico and the Bahamas have always been except
from that requirement. Even though proof of citizenship has always
been required, your verbal statement was usuallt considered
sufficient.
kinnath|6.1.09 @ 10:15AM|#
I have no problem with the national government requiring that US
citizens display indentification issued by the national government
when entering the country.
This is fundamentally different than the national government
imposing national standards on the states regarding the issuance of
driver's licenses.
|6.1.09 @ 10:19AM|#
Oh, there may be other places I missed above. But those are the
ones I could think of.
Do people really expect to cross international boundaries without identification?
They don't expect to have to have passports to visit the country
"next door".
As I said above, you always needed proof that you were a citizen. A
passport adds another level of needless bureaucratic
complication.
I'm really surprised this was passed with so little protest. I
would have thought that merchants in border towns and tourist
operators would have been screaming like stuck pigs.
|6.1.09 @ 10:20AM|#
"I'll be frank with you Frank, I don't know about the passport issue," Bush told the crowd of 6,000.
"I thought we were making good progress on using a driver's licence to cross the border. What happened to the E-Z card?"
This issue has been raised at every single meeting between the
Prime Minister and the US President since the DHS floated it in
2003. It has also repeatedly been raised at cabinet-level meetings.
Can someone tell me what the differnce is between GWB's level of
consciousness and that of an eggplant?
Colin|6.1.09 @ 10:22AM|#
I read that they'll still let you through without a passport, but it'll be much more difficult -- as they'll have to perform a background check.
Matt Welch|6.1.09 @ 10:24AM|#
Do people really expect to cross international boundaries
without identification?
If they live in Europe, yes.
|6.1.09 @ 10:25AM|#
GWB's level of consciousness and that of an
eggplant?
One makes for great Baba ghanoush and the other is just "meh" Baba
ghanoush.
Were the people coming back with just a driver's license being
noted in the giant identity database? Passports make a notice of
when you come and go, were DLs? Is this mostly a drug war move?
|6.1.09 @ 10:25AM|#
Ihre Papiere, bitte.
It's my God-given right to drive into Canada and back again without
all this nonsense. I understand the body cavity searches for people
coming back from Mexico somewhat, but Canada? It's practically a
giant Minnesota! Can I go to Minnesota without a passport?
kinnath|6.1.09 @ 10:30AM|#
If they live in Europe, yes.
Yes, Matt, but not relevant since we do not have the equivalent to
the EU in North America.
I was travelling to Europe before the EU dropped the passport
requirements for EU citizens. So I have gotten to watch the walls
come down over the last decade or so.
|6.1.09 @ 10:33AM|#
I understand the body cavity searches for people coming back
from Mexico somewhat, but Canada?
Codeine pain pills. Imagine the chaos if anyone in the US could
receive adequate pain relief.
|6.1.09 @ 10:37AM|#
Is this mostly a drug war move?
No it's part of the "War on Terror". Because Canada is a safe haven
for terrorists who want to kill Americans, you know.
(Last time I checked, the score was still 2-0 in favor of the
US.)
Rhywun|6.1.09 @ 10:38AM|#
Do people really expect to cross international boundaries
without identification?
They do if they live near the US/Canada border, as I did for 25
years. I knew people who lived in one country and worked in the
other. The economies are completely intertwined. To them, it might
as well be a "county"-level papers-please.
Imperialist|6.1.09 @ 10:44AM|#
They do if they live near the US/Canada border, as I did for
25 years. I knew people who lived in one country and worked in the
other. The economies are completely intertwined. To them, it might
as well be a "county"-level papers-please.
After we acquire Canada, the border will go away won't it ;-)
|6.1.09 @ 11:16AM|#
There are no steps backwards in the formation of the NAU. It's all part of the master plan.
|6.1.09 @ 11:27AM|#
If they live in Europe, yes.
Seeing as how there isn't a single overarching governmental body
over Canada, the US, and Mexico, this is irrelevant. On the other
hand...
I don't exactly see the problem here. Do people really expect
to cross international boundaries without
identification?
The problem I can see with this is that it's such a pain in the
neck to get a passport. This requirement essentially forces you to
plan your trip out of the country two months in advance.
One solution to make both sides happy would be to streamline the
passport process to make it go faster, but we all know that is not
negotiable.
|6.1.09 @ 11:28AM|#
My son got his passport 5 weeks ago for a Bahama trip. He paid 65 bucks for expedited service and he had it in hand in 9 days.
|6.1.09 @ 11:29AM|#
kwais,
This is actually an attempt to increase support for the NAU. Five
years hence, the Trilateral Commission will come out with an ad
campaign promising that you won't need a passport to go to Can or
Mex once the NAU is formed.
|6.1.09 @ 11:32AM|#
brotherben,
That's even worse. So the govt bureaucracy has the ability to
process passport apps quickly, but they want to shake you down for
more money for the privilege. Sickening. Almost as bad as the
flerking College Board with GRE scores. :(
Robert|6.1.09 @ 11:34AM|#
Are there a bunch of people stuck in Canada now because they
didn't know this new requirement would be slapped on while they
were away?
In 1970 when we were traveling together, it was a bit nervewracking
that Uncle Danny (foreign born) had to show a NJ driver's license
to get back into the US with the rest of our wagonful.
|6.1.09 @ 11:36AM|#
I drove from Seattle to Vancouver (BC) in 2001. All I needed was a driver's license, like George Washington and John A. Macdonald intended.
Jeff P|6.1.09 @ 11:43AM|#
Nothing will get between me and my yearly trip to our Northern
neighbor to buy the latest season of Trailer Park Boys on DVD and
shit in a great lake.
FYI The UPS store takes passport photos using those old duel-lens
polaroids. Retro.
|6.1.09 @ 11:54AM|#
I have to agree with Tulpa here, a government agency that
doesn't process stuff quickly unless you pay the extra "grease the
wheels" money.
I mean it sounds a little innocuous at first, but then we go
getting into Egypt and Mexico territory. Both are countries that
are dirt poor because of such things IMHO.
Wealthy countries where the people are dirt poor because of the
govt.
Thats right MNG because of the govt.
alan|6.1.09 @ 12:01PM|#
Yet another indication that our previous two presidents
would have been better off reading Reason.
I've got about a thousand different complaints on the ready
concerning Clinton and his administration, but realistically, he is
as close to a Reasonoid a President we are ever going to get.
Adam Lindsay|6.1.09 @ 12:12PM|#
I agree and help promote many of the articles that appear on this site. But you guys must be kidding me with this one. This was announced months ago maybe even years ago. Heck I got my Passport in December in anticipation of it, so its at least been 6 months. Politics of it aside, anyone caught by this really should pay attention more. When traveling to any country, Canada, Mexico or any of the other 130+ ones that exist, it is a good practice to catch up on local events there. Is their maybe a civil war? Are they on the Evil Empire list? Is there a break out of the swine flu? Do I need a Passport?
|6.1.09 @ 12:13PM|#
"""Bill Clinton and George W. Bush admitted yesterday they had
no idea the U.S. was implementing a new rule Monday that would
require Canadians and Americans to have passports to cross the
border."""
Which Bush? It's Bush Jr.'s plan. Although it was scheduled to
happen in 2008, it was postponed until June 2009.
New
Rules.
Matt Welch|6.1.09 @ 12:16PM|#
But you guys must be kidding me with this one. This was
announced months ago maybe even years ago.
Tell it to the past two presidents!
|6.1.09 @ 12:51PM|#
I drove from Seattle to Vancouver (BC) in 2001. All I needed
was a driver's license, like George Washington and John A.
Macdonald intended.
ProL, was this pre-9/11? IIRC, they started hassling you if you
didn't also have a birth certificate or passport around this
time.
As a green card holder, I am especially confusing to the border
guys. Neither the Canadians nor the Americans seem to want to let
me in.
|6.1.09 @ 12:57PM|#
Our otherwise despicable Vermont senators have been complaining
about this for years. Perhaps Bush didn't listen to Leahy?
About 10 years ago I was crossing into Canada from Buffalo and had
a border guy grill me since I didn't have a passport - "What, you
don't know Canada is another country?" and "You wouldn't want
Canadians entering America without a passport would you?" He
finally did let me in but it sure was weird. Now I suppose distrust
is just going to be standard.
|6.1.09 @ 1:04PM|#
The problem I can see with this is that it's such a pain in
the neck to get a passport. This requirement essentially forces you
to plan your trip out of the country two months in
advance.
They're not a one time thing, the last for three years. It's always
good to have a valid passport.
My son got his passport 5 weeks ago for a Bahama trip. He paid
65 bucks for expedited service and he had it in hand in 9
days.
Your son got hosed. I didn't pay for expedited service and got it
in under 2 weeks. That included a records search because I lost my
prior passport and I don't have a US birth certificate.
I have to agree with Tulpa here, a government agency that
doesn't process stuff quickly unless you pay the extra "grease the
wheels" money.
I'd agree if it was at all comparable to Egypt, where the greasing
money is just to get it to happen. However, paying extra so you can
get it in 1 week instead of 2 seems reasonable. You pay other
services more to give you better faster service.
That said, this is a b.s. rule. Gone are the days of the TJ bender
at age 19.
Mike|6.1.09 @ 1:08PM|#
Oh No! Now to get in the US, you have to prove that you are legally entitled to enter! What a horrible intrusion of our liberty! Next thing you know, they'll be making us show an ID in order to vote!
|6.1.09 @ 1:39PM|#
I drove from Seattle to Vancouver (BC) in 2001. All I needed was a driver's license, like George Washington and John A. Macdonald intended.
Actually, no. A DL is not proof of citizenship. As I
pointed out before, while it used to rarely be requested, proof of
citizenship has always been a theoretical requirement.
A birth certificate used to be sufficient, even the Ontario short
form (a wallet sized version of the BC - I don't know if they
issued them anywhere else). Even in the 60s it was suggest you
carry your BC when you crossed the border.
In all the times I have crossed the border, the only time I have
ever been asked for proof of citizenship was by a Canadian
Immigration guy at Toronto International. I showed him my Florida
Voter Registration Card. That and my DL (to prove I was who I said
I was - since the voter card has no photo) was good enough.
My daughter is a dual national. She flashes her US passport
entering the US and her Canadian passport going to Canada.
The last time I drove up and the entry (at the Peace Bridge) went
something like this:
"Where were you born?" - "Honolulu, Hawaii"
"Purpose of visit?" - "Visiting family"
"How long you staying?" - "About a week."
"Anything to declare?" - "I've got a couple of six packs of beer in
the back of the truck"
"OK, nothing to declare, Have a nice stay."
And he waved me through. Probably 80% (WAG) of all crossings were
like that or shorter. Most people just don't raise that much
suspicion. When they do Customs and Immigration can be toal pricks.
Both sides.
|6.1.09 @ 1:45PM|#
Just in case I haven't been clear.
While in the past, they rarely requested ID and proof of
citizenship the laws of both gave immigration officials the right
to demand them.
With the thousands of crossings every day it was generally though
that excessive regulation would gum up the works.
We wil soon, I believe, find that out. Good and hard.
|6.1.09 @ 1:46PM|#
Isaac,
Well, that's all they asked me for. Maybe it's a Florida thing,
since we allow their citizens to visit.
john lichtenstein|6.1.09 @ 1:50PM|#
It's not like Betancourt is that strange a name. Good thing I have a passport.
JB|6.1.09 @ 2:32PM|#
I swear beating politicians in the head with a shovel a few thousand times would make them smarter.
|6.1.09 @ 2:44PM|#
Well, that's all they asked me for. Maybe it's a Florida thing, since we allow their citizens to visit.
Well the road ports of entry have always been the most lax. Got to
keep the traffic moving.
This passport thing is going to be hell for crossings.
Probably in the end you'll flash the passport and as long as it
looks kosher they won't question it.
Crossing by train used to get you pretty thorough scrutiny,
especially if it was really uncrowded. They'd get on at the station
before the town at the crossing and then work through the train and
get off and the one past.
|6.1.09 @ 2:48PM|#
I remember crossing at one between North Dakota and Saskatchewan
with my Dad, late at night in the middle of winter. Thw guy
wouldn't even come out of his shack. Dad had to go in, he was
pretty sure the guy was drunk.
I think we probably could have gone through without him even
noticing.
|6.1.09 @ 3:12PM|#
Can't you just waltz across the border in some of the more remote locations? It's over 3,500 miles, right?
|6.1.09 @ 3:22PM|#
Do people really expect to cross international boundaries
without identification?
Before around 1914, people used to do it routinely.
|6.1.09 @ 3:24PM|#
Can't you just waltz across the border in some of the more
remote locations? It's over 3,500 miles, right?
Sitting Bull did it, IIRC. I don't know what kind of ID he had to
show when he returned the U.S., however.
|6.1.09 @ 5:24PM|#
Before around 1914, people used to do it
routinely.
Yeah, before there were automatic transmission cars and nuclear
bombs and stuff.
|6.1.09 @ 8:02PM|#
Will the U.S. build a wall between Stanstead, Canada and Derby Line, VT? Place guards between the sections of the common library? How about a minefield and guard towers across the International Golf Course at Portal, ND-Saskatchewan?
deja moo|6.1.09 @ 11:04PM|#
In 1980 I crossed the Great Lakes to Canada and back. At both
ends I had to track down a customs officer. As near as I
could tell, nobody would have noticed if I hadn't insisted on being
noticed. All the ID I had with me was my USN(Retired) card, which
isn't really proof of citizenship.
Does every fishing boat coming into those lake ports have to prove
that they didn't come from the other side of the lake? Must be
thousands of them. And hundreds of creeks and bays.
|6.2.09 @ 2:57AM|#
My great-uncle, in the 1950's and 60's, used to fish Lake St. Clair, between the U.S. & Canada. The most that ever happened to him was having a lake patrol boat come up to him and ask him for his fishing license. Occasionally a Canadian boat would tell him he was on the wrong side and shush him back to the U.S. side.
|6.2.09 @ 4:19AM|#
"Of course, what's really pathetic is that this won't even
accomplish it's stated goal. Terrorists will just find another way
in."
I'm not afraid of terrorists. The real threat will come from the
Repo Men, whom our foreign creditors will send to protect their
investments. It won't be political. It won't be ideological. It
won't be religious. It'll just be business.
In the meantime, the passport, "papers please" thing is purest
crap. Locking down the borders and looking at everyone's papers
keeps us too distracted and busy to pursue effective border
security against the real scofflaws and threats. We would be wiser
to allow peaceful people, citizens or not, to pass back and forth,
more or less as they please. Save our attention, effort, and
resources for the real bad guys who mean and/or can actually cause
us harm.
|6.2.09 @ 8:11AM|#
But officer, nobody told me that murder was illegal! when did
that happen?
What is this? A slow news day? Not enough sympathetic ignorant hick
news to report? Is the John Birch Society still around?
nhindy|6.2.09 @ 8:44AM|#
Can't you just waltz across the border in some of the more
remote locations? It's over 3,500 miles, right?
yah, but it's a bitch carrying the orchestra.
|6.2.09 @ 8:51AM|#
More of the "inconvenience = security" nonsense.
I have a passport because I travel outside the US at least once a
year, but why do we even have a border patrol with Canada? If
France and Poland can have open borders with Germany, why can't the
US have open borders with Canada?
|6.2.09 @ 8:53AM|#
I guess you've never heard of the European Union.
Seamus | June 1, 2009, 3:22pm | #
Do people really expect to cross international boundaries without
identification?
Before around 1914, people used to do it routinely.
David Dashifen Kees|6.2.09 @ 9:20AM|#
If you're a male who takes his partner's name in marriage, make sure you add some time to the suggested passport waiting period. Getting mine to go on my honeymoon was a chore, to say the least.
|6.2.09 @ 9:51AM|#
Given the world view of much of the US right now, we've got to work on getting that other 30% to stay home, too...
|6.2.09 @ 9:55AM|#
Folks,
This has been in the works for several years. I crossed the border
to Mexico 2 years ago and there were huge signs stating that as of
June 1, 2009, Passports would be required. It was part of the Bush
Administration's homeland security policy. Sorry but you can't
blame this on Nancy or Barack.
zbird|6.2.09 @ 10:31AM|#
I can't believe the level of whining I'm seeing in the article and comments here. Every citizen in every country in the world understands that you need a passport to travel internationally. If 70% of Americans don't have passports, that's because most Americans are overly provincial and could use a little more exposure to the world outside the US's borders. In other words, quit whining and get a passport.
|6.2.09 @ 10:47AM|#
Just another example of "security theatre" in which we are all made (falsely) to believe that we are being taken care of by the strong men of the American republic. I *must* be safe if they are confiscating my toothpaste!
|6.2.09 @ 11:12AM|#
The irony of course is that within the EU - you know that place afflicted with the "papers please" syndrome - they no longer have to show a passport when crossing borders.
|6.2.09 @ 11:26AM|#
God, what a bunch of whining self-important dweebs comment here! Libertarians are the most juvenile people alive.
Dan|6.2.09 @ 1:05PM|#
What's so hard about getting a passport? You can speed up the process by paying extra to expedite it if you're in a huge rush to get out of the country.
|6.2.09 @ 1:11PM|#
Q: "Do people really expect to cross international boundaries
without identification?"
A: "Before around 1914, people used to do it routinely."
--------
That was before two world wars, nuclear weapons, and 9-11.
|6.2.09 @ 1:30PM|#
1. On an extended stay in Europe back in the 60s and 70s I
regularly crossed borders without ever showing a passport. Usually
when I pulled it out they just waved me on through.
2. I live in VT on the Canadian border. Wife and I have passports.
We frequently used to visit Canada for lunch or just for a drive.
Canadian border guards were ALWAYS friendly and helpful even though
they were careful about security. The problem was returning to the
USA. American border guards all seem to have the nasties and
usually treated us as if we are smuggling drugs or or Bin Laden's
cousins. Courtesy is an unknown word. After one especially nasty
border guard caused a bad experience for my wife, I complained to
the Border Patrol HQ and was told, "We are concerned about
security, not about making nice with you." We don't go to Canada
much anymore.
|6.2.09 @ 2:03PM|#
You need passports to get to other countries. You've needed them for a while to go to Canada. This is old news. So what you need them to get back now? As long as you don't lose yours while in another country then you're fine.
|6.2.09 @ 2:05PM|#
With that said, however, the American guards are always nasty.
They searched my van, and told me they were upset they didn't find
anything, after I told them ten times there was nothing to
find.
I did tell them there was a rotten burrito in the mini-fridge, and
said not to open it. Which they did. And gagged. Which was at least
funny.
|6.2.09 @ 2:09PM|#
Rather frightening being reminded of how completely clueless and
uninvolved our former president was. He not only did not know what
his own DHS was implementing (or didn't remember), he now professes
lack of knowledge about a policy he openly criticized almost four
years ago:
U.S. Mulls Border Passport Requirement
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Under the Bush proposal, the other 240 million would have to obtain
one if they wanted to get back home after visiting Canada, Mexico,
Bermuda, Panama or the Caribbean.....Shortly after the
announcement, however, President Bush himself criticized the plan,
saying it could "disrupt the honest flow of traffic."
|6.2.09 @ 3:39PM|#
Can't you just waltz across the border in some of the more remote locations? It's over 3,500 miles, right?
Probably. But legally you're only supposed to cross at recognized
Ports of Entry. If you check the map at the border between ND and
SK you'll find that only one of the four or five is open 24 hours a
day.
It was part of the Bush Administration's homeland security policy. Sorry but you can't blame this on Nancy or Barack.
I don't believe I saw anyone blaming this on Nancy or Barack. And I
recall discussing this before back when it was proposed and then
again when it was postponed.
I don't blame Obama at all, except to the extent that he could
postpone it again or even just cancel it. But he hasn't seen fit to
be so hopey and changey.
|6.8.09 @ 3:28PM|#
What about people living here?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_Roberts,_Washington
You can't travel between Point Roberts and anyplace else in the US
without passing through Canada; it's topologically disconnected
from the rest of the Union (think Alaska or Hawaii on a much
smaller scale).
What do they do if they don't have a passport?
Is there even a place in Point Roberts where you can apply for a
passport? (Sets up kind of a chicken-or-egg problem, doesn't
it?)
|6.8.09 @ 7:55PM|#
Amerika upgeffukht ist, und outshtraighten needs to
bekomm!
Und iff zey vill not ze necessary papers produce, proof of der high
treason
zat should be taken as!
Seig Health!
Vanessa|6.9.09 @ 10:43AM|#
Has anyone mentioned that passports aren't cheap?
Also, trouble with the IRS can get you denied a passport. For
example, my sister was denied a passport because her ex-husband
owed income taxes from some of the years during which they were
married. He was in prison, so the IRS knew they weren't getting
those taxes from him.
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