[excon]

Hello wingers of all persuasions:

YOUR Homeland Security Department is stepping up their roadblocks INSIDE the US. They claim to have jurisdiction within 100 miles of any international border. Two thirds of our citizens live within those 100 miles.

Here in Washington, they've set up roadblocks, stopped intercity busses and demanded to see peoples "papers".

How do you feel about this latest assault on your freedoms??

I'm outraged, of course. Last I checked, the Constitution says the government needs to have probable cause to stop and search you ANYWHERE inside the US. Living near a border ISN'T probable cause!

Of course, I'm sure I'll hear from you loyal Bushies who'll tell me that if I have nothing to hide, I should put up with it. That sentiment is soooo anti American that it needs no rebuttal.. Plus, even you'll have to admit, it's a rather fascist thing to do. No?

excon

[N0help4u]

I have been saying this for over a year. That the average citizen is going to be stopped and ticketed against the way the laws are set up now.
Everybody tells me that that is just the way it is (in other words get over it). They say that the police can consider suspicious looking person as 'probable cause' for stop, search (without warning) & seizure. I say fine BUT it is going to be the upright citizen like them that are eventually stopped for no reason! Right now they are slowing crossing the lines (as they do when they are trying to invade privacy). Within a couple of years they are going to be stopping the most law abiding citizens out of the blue for NO reason and giving them tickets for made up reasons as well.
Nobody wants to see it now, so I most probably will say ''It's about time" when they get treated the same unconstitutional way.
The nothing to hide will no longer cut it with them when they have a $300. fine and didn't even do whatever the ticket claimed! AND their lawyer tells them "you can't fight city hall cause the Judge will take the cops word over yours!

[tomder55]

I'll take complaints from residents of sanctuary cities/states with the prescribed grain of salt.

When I was a kid we travelled to California by car. Everyone crossing into Arizona was stopped and checked . It wasn't random .It was everyone. Mobile and random check points are much more effective than static crossing point checks .

And by the way ;this 100 mile jurisdiction ( as long as it's an area that is a connection route for illegal immigrants. )by the border patrol precedes the Bush administration by many years .
SCOTUS U.S. v. Martinez-Fuerte (1976)allows for suspicionless but minimally invasive roadblock searches of motorists for the purpose of checking for illegal aliens. This was a 7-2 ruling during a time when libs were the majority on the court. The court felt that any intrusion to motorists was a minimal one and that the public interest outweighed the constitutional rights of the individual.

Where you have a point is the use of drug sniffing dogs during the checks . That in my view exceeds their mandate . But the Border Patrol can only act as local law enforcement agents if the State permits it.

[tomder55]

By the way don't sweat it . When Janet Napolitano takes over Homeland Security border security will all but disappear.

[excon]

I'll take complaints from residents of sanctuary cities/states with the prescribed grain of salt.

Hello again, tom:

If you're saying I deserve LESS rights than you because I live in BLUE Seattle, I guess I shouldn't be surprised...

I'm not saying that they didn't slip one in on us. They do that regularly. I'm just saying that it probably didn't dawn on THOSE particularly dumb legislators and those particularly dumb Supreme Court Justices, that they were violating the Constitution...

I don't know how they missed it. Maybe the same way Bush fooled us with his WMD crap.

But, missed it they DID. It's time to rectify it, along with all the other Constitutional abuses foisted upon us by the outgoing wrongwinger.

excon

[tomder55]

Yeah all begins and ends with Bush . Lol

They have done them in Southern States for years... long before the Bush adm. But it only became an outrage now. Hmmmmm

[excon]

They have done them in Southern States for years ....long before the Bush adm. But it only became an outrage now. hmmmmm

Hello again, tom:

As your fearless vice leader would say, SO?

Look. You and I both know the southern states and their leaders care LESS about civil rights than do the rest of America. To use your logic, we should just leave well enough alone... Even if "alone" means that your rights are trampled upon...

Again, I shouldn't be surprised...

Besides, even if they HAD the authority before Bush, HE'S the dufus who putting it to work TODAY!!

excon

[N0help4u]

It is happening everywhere. It is the next step to taking our rights away just as all the other laws that impose on our rights.

Like the stories of tazering citizens to death Alex Jones' Infowars: There's a war on for your mind!
Gun laws
And all the other laws they are pushing through
This is simply just another one

[tomder55]

If I lived in Washington I'd be more concerned that local officials have not discovered the miracle of salt in snow removal and winter road maintanence .

[speechlesstx]

Didn't we just discuss this sort of thing? I'm sorry, ex, I find it hard to get worked up too much about this. The constitution only forbids "unreasonable searches and seizures." Is it unreasonable to have minimally invasive roadblocks on public streets?

Btw, I don't get that Seattle wanting to create hard pack surfaces to drive on thing instead of clearing the snow either. Everyone else seems to think the sand causes much more harm than salt and chemicals... and is much safer for the motorist.

[TexasParent]

Well thank goodness I'm a WASP who drives a late model vehicle. I would hate to be a Hispanic-American (who's ancestry dates back to when Texas became part of the USA) here in southern Texas. All Hispanic's will be targeted based on racial profiling.

Do I mind if I am stopped? No, because partly I don't think I would be stopped that often, but I wonder how much patience I would have if I am stopped on average once a week because I somehow 'look' suspicious? How many things would I now be late for; appointments, work, etc..

Furthermore, how about stopping all the drugs that come into this country before you get all bent out of shape about illegal immigrants (who are arguably hard working) and terrorists who likely number in the hundreds at most.

We are a free society; with open borders. If people with illegal intent want to get into this country, they can; as drugs enter into this country through couriers of one sort or another everyday in the thousands. It just means that law abiding citizens are going to be inconvenienced once again for political gain; because our politicians cannot admit that they are as powerless against illegal immigrants and terrorists coming to America as they are against stopping drugs from coming into America.

Can we ever stop the BS and get real about the problems that face every society?

[tomder55]

I would argue that illegal immigration ;open borders and unfettered illegal drug traffic are major problems that our society faces .

[TexasParent]

International Visitors Boost U.S. Economy

An unprecedented 50.9 million international travelers visited the United States in 2000, exceeding last year's record by 5 percent, says a report issued today by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Tourism Industries Office.

Top Ten Countries with which the U.S. Trades
For the month of October 2008

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The values given are for Imports and Exports added together.
These Countries represent 66.01% of U.S. Imports, and 60.31% of U.S. Exports in goods.

Year To Date
Total in Total in
Billions Billions
Country Name of U.S. $ of U.S. $

Canada 49.98 518.10
China 40.10 345.45
Mexico 34.52 315.59
Japan 16.82 176.30
Federal Republic of Germany 12.90 129.73
United Kingdom 9.56 97.22
Korea, South 7.39 71.70
France 6.62 62.03
Saudi Arabia 6.57 59.32
Brazil 6.18 54.14

Now consider that 50 million people visit the US yearly, and more than half of them are not from Canada or Mexico. As for trade, Canada and Mexico are #1 and #3 as trading partners and most of the goods flow back and forth over the borders with hundreds of thousands of trips made back and forth in the name of commerce.

How do you propose to monitor all this activity without it severely impacting our economy?

Furthermore, think of all the coastline and the unmonitored part of the 4000 mile Canadian border.

My point is, anyone with the will and the means can enter this country undetected and that will never change. Everything the government tells you is smoke and mirrors to make you feel better.

The only way to stop illegal activity is through intelligence gathering, not stopping people at random and inconvienencing law abiding citizens. It's like asking law abiding citizen's to register their guns; while the criminal's don't.