I was coming back down from walking around a quiet town in Canada.
I had sunshine, rain and snow. I had it all for a day.
I drove down to the Canadian border and paid my toll to pass through the tunnel. The border agent was wearing a light jacket and his shirt was open.
Then I went across the border back to my homeland.
The United States of America.
There was a guard wearing heavy body armor. Across from me I saw another guard wearing a helmet and so much body armor that I had pushed him over in a snow pile he wouldn’t have been able to get up, let alone handle a weapon with ease and skill.
I produced my driver’s license but something went wrong.
The guard got on the phone and said, ‘I’ve got a bad number.’
The camera they used to take a picture of my license plate number malfunctioned.
It missed the zero at the end of my plate.
The guard immediately became animated and asked for the keys to my car.
He then asked me to pop my trunk and he searched it. Then he opened the rear door of my car and searched my car. Then he opened the canvas sack I had my clothes and toothpaste in and he searched that.
I had my birth certificate with me but these guys didn’t want to make sure I was an American - they just wanted to violate just about every freedom I have been guaranteed.
What if their equipment had malfunctioned and they tagged me, an American whose settler family ancestry in this nation dates back to 1621 and whose Native American ancestry dates back much farther than that, as a terrorist?
What if they had shot and killed me instead of searching my vehicle?
My wife would have gotten a phone call and they would tell you they did the right thing.
Would you question the motives of man dressed in combat gear and carrying heavy weapons at the border? If you don’t question it now they will end up on your street corners taunting your children and searching your wife.
I’ve had just about enough.
Well, how about you?

If I lived in a place where I thought there was a grave danger of being shot, my children being taunted and my wife being searched, I would get the heck out of there.

Not to do so for the sake of one's family would qualify as pathetic.

What if their equipment had malfunctioned and they tagged me, an American whose settler family ancestry in this nation dates back to 1621 and whose Native American ancestry dates back much farther than that, as a terrorist?
What if they had shot and killed me instead of searching my vehicle?

Well, in THAT case cranston, rest assured that some rightwing dick would find some way to excuse it and make light of it.

(if you doubt it, look one post above this one.....)

Well so much for the "If you're not a terrorist then you don't have to worry!"

(if you doubt it, look one post above this one.....)Free, either Cran truly believes this paranoid dream or he's a Drama Queen.

If he does believe it and stays here anyway, then he is pathetic.
If you believed this tripe would you want your wife and children to continue living in such a place?

... either Cran truly believes this paranoid dream or he's a Drama Queen.

There's already one drama queen, do you really think there's room for two?

My spidey senses also tell me that this didn't happen, or at least not to Cranston.

My spidey senses also tell me that this didn't happen, or at least not to Cranston.You have those too?

That's awesome. :cool:

:hitout:

Oh, for such a thing to become possible.
If only we hadn't been so mean to those harmless Arab fellows for so many years that they were forced to act out in such a frustrated and purely self-defensive manner for the past 25 years, most notably on 11 September of 2001.
Such a shame we angered them with our aggressions and our greedy ambitions toward world domination!
Then your dream could truly become a reality.

A world without borders or border guards.
Everyone living in harmony.
'Friendship Police' at the US lines of transition instead.
To greet you with a hug and welcome you home.
A small container of warm, freshly-baked cookies to sustain you for the rest of your journey.

That's beautiful, man.
Thanks for sharing, cranston36.

Mmmm, cookies... I wish the cops gave me cookies. :(

Mmmm, cookies... I wish the cops gave me cookies. :(
Well, they probably would if you gave up your candy.

My spidey senses also tell me that this didn't happen, or at least not to Cranston.
Exactly.

Well, they probably would if you gave up your candy.

Candy? Are you making a double entendre at me?! :D

Bullshit makes the flowers grow. I'll bet Cranston has one hell of a garden.

I believe the border patrol checked out his car and I have no problem with that. If Canada wants to be more lax in their vigilance that is Canada's concern. Canada didn't have the Twin Igloos brought down by hijacked planes.

I really doubt if what happened happened quite the way Cranston described it.

What if they had shot and killed me instead of searching my vehicle?
Some might say we'd be better off.

That aside, were you ever seriously afraid of being shot (while in possession of a birth certificate, of course - because we all know that's a much better form of identification than a passport)? What - are you kidding??? Oh, and how did you know their camera "malfunctioned"? Did a chummy guard let you in on that one, or did you have to guess?

Candy? Are you making a double entendre at me?! :D
I can't have this conversation with a 16 year old. :D

I think the reason you can't have the conversation is that I'm taken. Age ain't nothin' but a number, ya know.

Age ain't nothin' but a number, ya know.
Well, in my state, I'd be wearing a number if this went anywhere outside the confines of a conversation. Do you realize that I could almost be your father?

Hahaha... I've got only one comment on the old enough to be my father thing... Been there, done that, enjoyed it. :thumbs:

Prae's going to be making his very own "My mess" thread soon enough...

LOL!!! Very possibly! :D

:lolhit:

If only we hadn't been so mean to those harmless Arab fellows for so many years that they were forced to act out in such a frustrated and purely self-defensive manner for the past 25 years, most notably on 11 September of 2001.

Excellent point.

Except that this country was doing FAR more than "being mean" to them; it was killing them by the hundreds of thousands. I realize that you think it should be perfectly permissible for the big, bad goddamned US of A to just kill any poor brown-skinned bastard who gets in the way of the relentless march of Amuuurican Empire......but the reality is that when an irresistible goddamned greed for control of foreign oil resources leads a rightwing government like the one in the U.S. to kill hundreds of thousands of people in foreign nations, it often tends -you may be surprised to learn- to anger some of the people in those nations.

Such a shame we angered them with our aggressions and our greedy ambitions toward world domination!

That is 100% correct. It WAS a shame. Philosophers have for thousands of years been telling people that "you reap what you sow".

That fact was brought home to the people in the WTC and the people of this country in no uncertain terms on 9/11.

____________________________________

An illuminating moment occurred when Bush, with several other religious phonies in three-piece suits in tow, traipsed down to the National Cathedral a few days after 9/11 and prayed the "Lord's Prayer"--including the line "forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us". The same hypocritical warmongers who forgave no one and who refused to acknowledge that the terrorist act might have had deep roots in poverty, despair, and in the radical pronouncements of religious zealots of a type all-too familiar to people here in the US of A. Instead, Bush unleashed our war machine on the Iraqi people in revenge for 9/11--ignoring the fact that the Irais had no connection to the 9/11 attacks.

Prae's going to be making his very own "My mess" thread soon enough...
As we speak Prae is feverishly typing with one hand.

Hah! I sure hope not Brooks.

1. That is 100% correct. It WAS a shame. Philosophers have for thousands of years been telling people that "you reap what you sow".
That fact was brought home to the people in the WTC and the people of this country in no uncertain terms on 9/11.
2. ...including the line "forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us". The same hypocritical warmongers who forgave no one Instead, Bush unleashed our war machine on the Iraqi people in revenge for 9/11--ignoring the fact that the Irais had no connection to the 9/11 attacks.1. If you think the people in the World Trade Center's "reaping" was justified because of how the terrorists felt about our government, then you have to also believe that innocent Iraqi civilians reaping is justified because of how we felt about Hussein.
Be consistent here.

2. A sin is missing church or coveting your neighbor's wife.
I don't think what happened on 9/11 would fit in the category of a "sin" anybody is required to forgive.
And I didn't agree the one or two other times you said the exact same thing.

1. If you think the people in the World Trade Center's "reaping" was justified because of how the terrorists felt about our government, then you have to also believe that innocent Iraqi civilians reaping is justified because of how we felt about Hussein.

Not true.

The people who were in the WTC were far more an implicit part of the USA, and its government and its goverment's policies, than any poor, powerless peon in Iraq EVER was. The people who've been killed in Iraq had virtually zero control at all over the policies of that country or its leaders......the upper eschelon people in the WTC were, in general, much moreso the sort of movers and shakers in this society that weilded a strong influence over the workings of America and the direction it took.

2. A sin is missing church or coveting your neighbor's wife.
I don't think what happened on 9/11 would fit in the category of a "sin" anybody is required to forgive.

What a pathetic attempt at a refutation. --"It didn't really fit the Biblical definition of a 'sin', so we should ignore what Bush and the other religious posers said".

If memory serves correctly, the same prayer that the phony assed Bush and his acolytes were reciting has something in there about --"forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us".

As we speak Prae is feverishly typing with one hand.
:eek: Doh!!!

Who told you???

Lets all move up to Canada there's plenty of space there, and by the way, let's help them get rid of those religion fundamentalist bastards that are popping up there too, before it is too late for the Canadians...

You first.

Well so much for the "If you're not a terrorist then you don't have to worry!"

If you weren't a terrorist how would you be able to prove it when they deny you due process??

The people who were in the WTC were far more an implicit part of the USA, and its government and its goverment's policies....Idiotic.

Heard this today on my favorite radio show, the Thom Hartman show, after he interviewed someone from the Ayn Rand institute, as he does every week:

"Libertarians are just Republicans who smoke pot."

"Libertarians are just Republicans who smoke pot."

I don't smoke pot, but that's probably not too far off.

That's a good quote.

Evakian: "Libertarians are just Republicans who smoke pot."
BorgHunter11: Ha.
BorgHunter11: No.
BorgHunter11: I don't smoke pot, and I'm not a Republican.
BorgHunter11: I resent being compared to them.
BorgHunter11: Libertarians are Democrats who hate poor people.

Originally Posted by Freethinker
The people who were in the WTC were far more an implicit part of the USA, and its government and its goverment's policies....

Idiotic.

?!?!?

If you can not readily perceive that the well-to-do citizen in the US has far more input into and influence over the workings of their government than the poor Iraqi peons EVER had over the policies of their dictator, Hussein, then you sir are the idiot.

Libertarians are Democrats who hate poor people.
Libertarians are just Republicans who smoke pot.

What about pot smoking Dems or Reps that hate poor people - can they be Libertarian as well?

Democrats already smoke pot, and Republicans already hate the poor.

Democrats already smoke pot, and Republicans already hate the poor.

Pot smoking crosses all demographics, and the Rethugs don't actually "hate" the poor.....they just don't give a fuck about them and want to make sure that the lion's share of government largesse goes to the richest 10% instead of to the "lazy assed welfare bums" that they consider the poor to be.

Can you say over-analyzation? It was a light-hearted comment.

You must be no fun at parties.

Can you say over-analyzation? It was a light-hearted comment.

I'll be sure to remember that line.

?!?!?

If you can not readily perceive that the well-to-do citizen in the US has far more input into and influence over the workings of their government than the poor Iraqi peons EVER had over the policies of their dictator, Hussein, then you sir are the idiot.
He didn't call you an idiot; he said your statement was idiotic, and if you, sir, can't see what he's driving at, then that's your problem - not his.

That aside, what on EARTH makes a man who says that he has virtually NO IMPACT on our government's "reign of terror" think he can place the blame on your average "well-to-do" citizen here??? And what the fuck does that have to do with the pre-9/11 situation in which brought about (in your mind) the culpability of your average doctor, businessman, or lawyer who died ON 9/11?

Your statement was stupid at best, and we'll leave it at that.

Pot smoking crosses all demographics, and the Rethugs don't actually "hate" the poor.....they just don't give a fuck about them and want to make sure that the lion's share of government largesse goes to the richest 10% instead of to the "lazy assed welfare bums" that they consider the poor to be.
Now, this, OTOH, is pretty accurate.

If you can not readily perceive that the well-to-do citizen in the US has far more input into and influence over the workings of their government than the poor Iraqi peons EVER had over the policies of their dictator, Hussein, then you sir are the idiot.Let's get this right.
Since a fireman or a busboy can vote for president,
and that president carries out the policies that Al Qaeda doesn't like,
the fireman and busboy are "implicit" in those policies of the US government.

I'll agree with you that they have more say in the make-up of their government since they can vote, but that is a far cry from making them implicit in the policies. You sound like that idiotic college professor who called the WTC victims "Little Eichmanns".

When Michael Moore makes similar kernel-of-truth-but-ultimately-false statements, he makes millions of dollars so he doesn't seem quite so foolish.

FT,
You need to lighten up, brother.
Either that, or cash in your chips and move to Canada with Socialist.

The anti-American, "WTC occupants deserved what they got" rhetoric is tired, stale, and puny.
You still have some functioning brain cells, sir.
Please apply them to some credible arguments, reasonable solutions, and something resembling leadership rather than pathetic, whiny mewling.

You are better than this, surely.
Goddamn, man. Find some reasonably-suitable candidate for the Presidency in '08, back him or her, and campaign at least.
That is at least a forward-looking tactic.

This business of barking the anti-US, anti-war, anti-Bush party line is tiresome, and is frankly beneath you.

Or is it?

:slap: Frogger went a courtin' and he did ride
But then he started cursing like a sailor and his date dropped him like a hot potato

Ah now,Cranston and the rest of ypu wanna live here,up to about 10 years ago I was suspected of being a 'terrorist sympathiser' by British military Intel.Not just me,but about half a million others.Everytime I drove to a checkpoint samt thing.Out,searched,car searched,ID checked,were you coming from,were you going to,same old bullshit everytime,Its probably a new experience to Americans,but youll get used to it.

Ah now,Cranston and the rest of ypu wanna live here,up to about 10 years ago I was suspected of being a 'terrorist sympathiser' by British military Intel.Not just me,but about half a million others.Everytime I drove to a checkpoint samt thing.Out,searched,car searched,ID checked,were you coming from,were you going to,same old bullshit everytime,Its probably a new experience to Americans,but youll get used to it.

What part of Ireland do you live in, Paulc?

Im living up North at present.

You need to lighten up, brother.
Either that, or cash in your chips and move to Canada with Socialist.

I am saving up to do exactly that.

The anti-American, "WTC occupants deserved what they got" rhetoric is tired, stale, and puny.

I agree. Maybe that's why I have not said that and would not say it.

I said that the phrase --*you reap what you sow" -- was brought home to the people in the WTC and to all of America on 9/11. IOW, those who are die-hard supporters of a government that trods about the globe killing anyone who gets in the way of Corporate profits and the pursuance of the so-called "Amuurican Dream" will sometimes have that violence they direct toward others directed back at them. It's called *blowback*. No "deserved" to it; it is simply a fact of life.

This business of barking the anti-US, anti-war, anti-Bush party line is tiresome......

Not as tiresome as living under the rule of detestable, thoroughly dishonest, warmongering ConservaFascists.........and being forced to pay for their illegal, ill-advised foreign occupations.

...you reap what you sow" -- was brought home to the people in the WTC and to all of America on 9/11. IOW, those who are die-hard supporters of a government that trods about the globe......Actually Free, you never characterized the victims that way. All you said was "The people who were in the WTC were far more an implicit part of the USA, and its government and its goverment's policies...."

If you believe that every fireman, busboy, window washer, Muslim, liberal, democrat, catering supervisor, elevator operator and not for profit organization worker who died in the WTC was a die hard supporter of global killing you are truly making a fool of yourself.

Exactly.