As I've stated before in columns and editorialized in stories, I perfectly understand the U.S.'s sovereign right to defend itself. After 9-11, I could live with being pulled out of line once in a while and scanned arms-wide open in front of everybody; and while a hassle, I reasoned that even taking my shoes and belt off at the airport wasn't going to take many minutes off of my life.

Quite honestly, I got perturbed with the number of Canadians who seemed to forget that the U.S. is a sovereign country. Compared to other relationships between countries throughout the rest of the world, we had it too good for a long time.

Now, let me declare that I've moved firmly into the 'okay-that's-freakin'-enough-now' camp. If you haven't read NewsFirst today, click here to see what I'm talking about. Apparently, US border cops now have the power to confiscate your laptop, cell phone, flash drives, novels -- just about anything -- and keep it for as long as they want.

Business travelers might want to save any important work on another CPU before taking your laptop stateside.

For cross-border truckers, the vagueness of the policy in regards to printed material raises some bright red flags. It's pure speculation on our part, but technically couldn't this extend to logbooks, trip records, and bills of lading -- whether paper or electronic -- that might provide evidence of "interstating" by a Canadian carrier.

And we thought getting your lunch taken away was overzealousness?

Edited: 08/07/2008 at 12:17 PM by MarcoBeghetto

Well, lifting my laptop even if I have no intention of using it for some evil purpose-- does seem to be taking national security a bit far.

But remember Ontario is playing a similar game by insisting that U.S trucks have and use speed limiters while they're here, whether they have any intention of going over the speed limit or not.

Both are trade barriers and while I'm sure they're not linked, the coincidence is too uncanny to not point it out.

Really makes me want to go and head to the border with a truck. What joke this is turning out to be with all the propaganda issues they seem to lpush these days. On one hand they preach the idea we are all equal and then pull this out of the hat to show they have this power trip, from call me Sir to answer the question the way I want it done. I have in the past crossed many different border crossing and they are all using their own play book with the odd officer pushing his/hers own idea of the rules. Now yes they have their country to look after but come on I've crossed several times a week, and they have my picture ID. The paper trail is all lined up but then some stupid question trips the whole thing up because it's the end of my day and I just want to get this part of it over with. To question a question of the officer with the slang of some redneck can and has caused me to stumble in answering, this in their view is something to worry about. If I had something to hide my story would be perfect and I would have an answer to anything they could come up with. so the only people who will suffer from this latest drill of theirs is going to be the driver who has means of getting in touch with the world just like these CBP officers do at their own homes.

And this just in from the "you get more flies with honey than poop" department, three years back i found myself in the incredibly awkward position of having to travel into the states without any acceptable ID. I showed up at the ticket desk at pearson and realized the only thing I had on me was a health card.
Butt being white, male, reasonably articulate and smiley, I explained my position--"I was travelling on business, only going to stay a few days, I would be fired if I couldn't make the trip and how would a dolt like me ever get another job?? " -- I managed to be diplomatic enough to board the U.S. airliner and clear immigration in the U.S. both coming and going. I was only given a real hassle by the young (ish) canadian immigration officer whose parents clearly had come here from another country but who took it upon herself to who tear me a new one for trying to travel without a passport.
I still can't believe I pulled that off but the lesson is : No matter how p-o'd you are with those border guys, keep on smilin. The alternative? You could be stuck in Pearson Int'l for the rest of your life. And you know what the food there's like..

I'm with you. The US officers are notoriously grumpy, but it's the canuck border guards that are more likely to give me a hassle. And of course, more often than not I'm coming in at 11:35 pm, and we're both exhausted and edgy, which is a recipe for disaster..

One more reason to keep my local job and NEVER go back to cross border hauling. I am home every night, weekends off and heck i even get paid sick days. I make the same as I did doing longhaul to places like Arizona and California. Im doing good, so the border bums can do whatever they want because the only time I will see them is if I feel the need to vacation there.

One more reason to keep my local job and NEVER go back to cross border hauling. I am home every night, weekends off and heck i even get paid sick days. I make the same as I did doing longhaul to places like Arizona and California. Im doing good, so the border bums can do whatever they want because the only time I will see them is if I feel the need to vacation there.

Just remember that, no matter where you are coming from, when you are crossing into the United States, since you haven't officially arrived in the USA, you are not protected by the U.S. Constitution, and furthermore, if you are coming from Canada, ... you have left the protection of the Canadian Charter of Rights. There is no more powerful government police force, for lack of a better description, than the United States Department of Homeland Security which now runs Customs and Border Protection. Just be thankful they haven't adopted a "shoot first and ask questions later policy" ... yet!

NYC keeping track of vehicles:The attack on the world trade center both times was the result of people using vehicles to achieve their goals. The first one was someone parking a rental truck in the parking levels, and the second was the planes. So the detection of radioactive matter is redundant, because any attack will use everyday items to scare the people of the US. The groups doing this are getting what they want by the scared actions of the US Govt and peoples. The actions of Govt to profile this is more for the funds they are spending on over kill when it comes to protection. So just how far will the US go to sell and stop things that offend them, one has got wonder about the idea of selling idea's like this and not watching other things that will hurt their economy.

There are worse places in the world to live. I'm sure the government is just looking out for the best interest of the citizens.

So did the KGB and look how that turned out, one has to wonder about things like that. Second world war over and all the science people were granted what ever to come over to North America or Russia, to create their idea's in a friendly platform. Now the US has HLS ( Home Land Security ), this whole profile of the way they do things is the same character of the old KGB style of protecting their way of life. With the young life of this new controlling body they have closed more doors to good things than protecting their way of life. Ask an American about how they like living under the idea of KGB style of rules regulating their way of life, most deny the notion but start to think and that the hard part getting them to think. Once they come to grips with the idea they hare controlled more than they thought, they don't like the idea. People who thought for themselves back in the fifties were black balled and were rounded up and questioned by Govt, now the idea's are far reaching with the internet so the idea of taking and showing the public these questionable persons is so out dated the Govt's of today's world can't stop free thinkers. So this is the best they can do to stop people from doing ?????

I seem to get searched on the days I forget to make the bed and tidy up.