“A person with a gun and a government badge asked me to swear in writing that a lie was true today. And when I didn’t do what she wanted she simply took my boat and asked me to leave.”
“A person with a gun and a government badge asked me to swear in writing that a lie was true today. And when I didn’t do what she wanted she simply took my boat and asked me to leave.”
In much of the world she would have lost her life on the spot. Here she won’t even lose her job.
I see, government help is getting faster and more efficient.
Never mind, even pretending to obey the forms of law, they now just take whatever they want.
All are equal before the law, all citizens with property are now criminals in the eyes of law enforcement.
I am dying to try out that IPS drive system someday, but I’ll need to get more multimillionaire friends first.
DHS alone is 50% the size of Canada’s Public Service. It’s not the most sane of government agencies either. I know lots of LEO and military types down there that have nothing good to say about it.
As for the form issue, assuming the story is correctly written, the person has a point, you can not swear information is correct if it is not. The official should have realized that and made the correction. The fact that they didn’t and if they did indeed act the way as described, I would suggest they be removed from frontline service as they will cause significant issues down the line. Not that I expect DHS to be very attuned to such.
Canadian border guards seem bored. I don’t think I’ve actually seen one leave the booth. American border guards do a tag team with as many as 4, surround your car and look in your trunk and are often pure ar**holes, verbally.
Well he did get solid “D” marks at Yale.
Never, ever, EVER argue with US Customs. Ever.
Smile, answer yes or no, never lie, and never volunteer anything. They will do whatever the f- they want, and then you will either continue on your way or be sent back. You will never know why. That is how it is.
Never cross the border with something you aren’t willing to lose. Including your vehicle.
Also, don’t have your music collection on your phone/laptop/iPad or other widget. Because they will TAKE it and then possibly arrest you. You can be accused of music piracy and held for days.
Confiscations of vehicles and possessions are becoming increasingly common at US airports and border points, so I don’t fly with anything I can’t easily replace and I don’t make plans involving travel that I can’t afford to break. Makes my travel stress bearable.
Importing to Canada, use a broker. Otherwise Canada Customs will mess around with you for hours and hours. They’re at work, they have nothing better to do.
The Decline and Fall of the North American Empire is underway and will take many more years. This vignette exposes one symptom of the entitlement excersized by unionized bureaucrats. I predict nobody looses their job over this. Look at how entitled the commenter feels in his posting about the “rich” guy’s personal info.
You’d have to fight the union and the government.
A friend of mine just changes the forms — writes in the truth — and signs. After all, if you are signing a form it becomes a type of agreement. Change the terms to the truth and sign while you are telling them you are doing so. They usually think you are just complaining and rarely do they look at the form after it has been signed. It doesn’t get noticed until long after you are gone and then they have to do some work to change it back. In the meantime you have a document that reflects the truth.
what could go wrong?
I can testify to the stupidity of the Washington State DHS border guards. I arrived at the border with an aircraft on a trailer and all the paperwork and was immediately accused of trying to smuggle an aircraft into the USA (never mind the fact that I would have left the wings on it and flown across if that was my intent). They kicked wife and I and our three dogs out of the camper and searched it from end to end – then asked where I was going. I was heading for Windsor, to which their response was, “Don’t you have roads in Canada?”. Eventually were cleared with the admonishment that we were really breaking the rules but they’d overlook it this time, meaning they didn’t have a case. As we pulled out, I said to my wife, “Now we know how to smuggle pedigreed dogs across the border” as they never asked about them!
Civil Forfeiture laws are in every Province in Canada now, I believe and we are seeing the exact same thing here. Folks should wise up and push to have them recinded, no matter who you are before the state takes your property, you deserve your day in court.
“Shut up, slave! Get in line!”
Governments, which create and control these bureaucracies, are simply out of control in the free world.
I see very little hope as even well-meaning politicians(I’m told they exist)cannot function within a broken system. The parties, at least in this country, are absolutely out for themselves while they squander our security, freedom and future.
I don’t even see a hint of a solution on our horizon.
A friend of mine just changes the forms — writes in the truth — and signs.
Yup, that’s what I do in similar situations. It works every time with no hassle. Write in the correction, initial it, sign the form and hand it back with no comment unless specifically asked. I don’t enjoy hassling with government officials, my time is more valuable than any perverse satisfaction I might possibly gain.
Arguing with a government official, is like wrestling with a pig in mud. After a while, you realise the pig likes it.
Why give them the satisfaction?
I’ve run into a few dickheads alright, but most of them aren’t in that category – several of them have been downright helpful.
But it’s a lot easier to remember the arseholes than the decent ones.
A month ago I was coming across the US border, the guard told me to go inside customs where there was no one in line. So I lined up first in line.
There was 7 agents sitting down with one interviewing a single citizen and 6 starIng into their computer screens. I waited, and waited. And waited.
After 25 minutes of sheer amazement and frustration, I was finally called forward.
Clearly customer service is nowhere on there list of duties. In my 59 years of crossing the US border I have never experienced this degree of arrogance.
It is now out of control.
It’s all so much easier when you accept the fact that “gov” ownes you.
“They’re at work, they have nothing better to do.”
Nice close to your post, Phantom. Pure contempt, delivered economically.
Touch wood and all that. The US is on a War Footing and I appreciate that the guns are loaded and they might just not have much of a sense of humour.I don’t have problems with either the Canadian or American customs folks. I suppose it’s only a matter of time until I do but after really a lot of crossings, I’m good to go with nothing bad to say.
I no longer have any reasons to cross the border into the United Snakes of Hysteria. Everything I need or want is in Canada, and there are direct flights to Mexico. The US is now redundantly irrelevant.
And then you get the other end of the spectrum: I passed through security at Newark airport on my wife’s passport. It wasn’t until I noticed she was having difficulty in another line and went to investigate that I discovered the passport switch. And let me assure you, my wife and I share absolutely NO physical characteristics. Sure gave me a secure feeling…
DHS = People’s Militia
Now if they deliberately put in the wrong currency and
one of her superior’s up the line has been hankerin’ for
just such a fine boat ……/.
Now, would this be solicitation to commit a felony?
“After 25 minutes of sheer amazement and frustration, I was finally called forward.”
The make-you-wait routine is becoming standard procedure. They ask you a bunch of questions at the booth, then make you go inside, wait about twenty minutes to half an hour, then ask you the same questions. Then they either take your car apart or not, and you leave.
Its a psy-ops trick. The purpose is to scare you, p1ss you off and make you freak out. I’m mystified as to why they would want that, but that’s why they do it.
I suggest a nap. If you don’t stay awake and get all nervy the trick is pretty much wasted. Small victories and all that. Also, don’t get to the border in a hurry. If they think you’re in a hurry to make a flight or something they will definitely make you wait a really long time. Because they can. I guess its a perk of the job.
I’m not sure I understand the disgust with the US customs front line officers. My interaction has always been fine. My wife cringes and seems to believe I am being a smart alec, but I just answer their questions in a straight forward manner:
SUCustoms: what are you bringing into the country that you won;t be bringing back?
Me: (after a couple of moments thought) Cash.
USC: (smirks) Go ahead, have a nice day.
USC: Purpose of your visit?
ME:To buy gas/
USC: You don;t look like you are dressed to buy gas.
Me: (travelling in a somewhat rare european sedan with wife and mother-in-law after dinner at an expensive restaurant) I didn’t know there was a dress code for buying gas?
Followed by an explanation for being over dressed for the occasion. All went well and we were on our way.
I know this is only anecdotal, but this is my usual manner of dealing with them. My rule is to be friendly, honest, straight forward even if a little off-beat and realize they do have the authority and they are people. But then again I’ve always had a knack for getting on a person’s good side. i inherited this from my father.
Remember, this person’s post was about Homeland Security. which is totally different. I believe they are a bureaucracy hastily put together and having a very loosely defined mandate. Not a very good idea for a well run outfit even by government standards.
Phantom, given how officious these jackholes are in keeping “dangerous” Canadians out of their homeland and thereby protecting their dwindling economy from those dreadful dollars, why do they have so many Islamists? You know, people they SHOULD be worried about?
Always puzzled me.
This guy, by insisting that the form was not completely and totally accurate is just a d**k (male anatomy). He put the agent in a totally untenetable place with no where to go but to seize the boat when all he had to do was to make the annotation on the form and sign it. I mean really, whose is responsible for the form, him or the government? No sympathy for this jackass at all.
Yeah, DHS people can be rude and authoritarian but this cannot serve as an excuse for this guy as he had the power to act and apparently, out of some perverse pride, failed to do so.
Osumashi, I’ve always considered the real danger of terrorism to be the US government response. Which has been to spend hundreds of billions on theater, basically.
Theater put on for the likes of David in Michigan, apparently. Hey David, when the DHS boys seize your $500 ipad at the airport because you have one, let me know and I’ll see if I can squeeze out a tear for you.
Bunch of fundamentalist hillbillies from Buttcrackistan are not a worry for a nation like Canada or the USA, an army of apparatchiks like the ones described here certainly are.
“…to spend hundreds of billions on theater…”
Yup. Pretty much.
But their anti-racial profiling policies pretty well forbid them from doing common-sense selective enforcement, so if you can’t do actual homeland security, giving the appearance of doing it might be the next best thing.
Wow, and I thought getting out of Louisi-Yana was bad.
,
Years ago, crossing the line to go with the army to Yakima Firing Center, driving a Deuce pulling a artillery gun, the border guard says; “Purpose of visit?” I look at him and respond: “Invasion” He got all pissed, but his supervisor was chuckling. Likely figuring his dumb subordinate walked into that one.
Why didn’t he just make the correction himself, initial the change and sign the document. That’s legal anywhere.