What is Digg?1099 Comments
- badbadman2, on 08/18/2008, -62/+1135Why does this surprise people? This is what America voted for.
- hnsez, on 08/18/2008, -45/+791as an american, most of my fellow citizens disgust me
- roymckenzie, on 08/18/2008, -20/+572it reads like fiction, but this treatment is complete fact. thanks W! removing american freedoms, just another service your administration provides.
- mattamand, on 08/18/2008, -7/+494I'm a Canadian who has undergone this kind of treatment when trying to enter the States to do some shopping (albeit, I wasn't held up for more than two hours). The brainless monkeys manning these Home Security posts are proof positive that there is no threat. Because if there was an actual threat to the United States, you wouldn't have these rent-a-cop dullards on the frontline like this. I've witnessed the unprofessional, loutish behavior of these power-tripping DHS guards; desk-ragers who talk to everyone like a guy in a bar trying to pick a fight. The author of this article was very brave. I guess if America wants its War Without End, making enemies has got to be a full-time job.
- brador, on 08/18/2008, -10/+495I am disgusted by the actions described in this story. I understand that Homeland Security has a job to do but they need to always, always, always treat others as fellow human beings not animals.
- MavRevMatt, on 08/18/2008, -14/+389This almost reads like something out of 1984...
Hmmh. - shadowspawn, on 08/18/2008, -5/+351It's sad to see what has become of the country my family fought and died for in 3 wars. If I recall as a child, my grandfather said that he was so proud that we could walk the streets safely without hearing "Papers Please!" then being detained for days.
He said it would never happen.
I am so disillusioned with this country now. Not angry, but sad... and there's not a damn thing we can do about it.
My poor kids. - philwalsh, on 08/18/2008, -8/+264It has gone totally out of control and the scary thing is that it's just going to get worse.
I've always wanted to travel to the US to visit but of late I've kind of lost the desire. How can you enjoy anything when there is a good chance of you being treated like this? - Taedirk, on 08/18/2008, -7/+251As a human being, most of the members of my species disgust me.
- anklesnap, on 08/18/2008, -33/+229wow!
- BaseballGuyCAA, on 08/18/2008, -7/+188Congratulations, America. Though it has failed to capture Osama bin Laden, you can sleep soundly knowing that with the War of Terror, you no longer need to fear those pesky individual rights and privacies you once prized.
- gonzo1773, on 08/18/2008, -34/+201America didn't vote for this. Our leaders (a very few compare to the number of the general population) voted for this without giving the public a change to voice their opinion. Homeland security was established regardless of what the public said and their policies were written by scared, incompetent men.
If we are to change this, we have to fill out those stupid forms, write our leaders, get the truth to the public. Otherwise, things will continue in this fashion. And nobody wants that now. - nblsavage, on 08/18/2008, -4/+141What happened to "Land of the Free, Home of the Brave"? We've turned in to a nation of pussies. All sides are to blame either through action or inaction. You've got more of a chance of being struck by lightning than being killed by a terrorist. Do you run screaming from a thunderstorm?
- digdug23, on 08/18/2008, -59/+196Congratulations Americans, you have officially become a racist police state. First, you allow your borders to be manned by the modern equivalent of the Gestapo. Now, they're already doing the same in your cities, with your civilian political "informers" stopping anyone non-white from voting or being registered. They don't need jackboots, they have better armour than you do.
There is luckily nothing in the USA that can't be had elsewhere in better quality. Damn glad that I don't have to travel there. With their ability to detain you at will for any length of time, to confiscate anything you're carrying for any reason (or none), I'd rather travel somewhere else. ANYWHERE else. - WriterSD, on 08/18/2008, -25/+154This is disgusting. But the issue isn't that people are "losing rights" because of additional airport security or that Americans "voted for this." National security is vital. The real issue here is arrogant jerks who get a little bit of power (in this example, Homeland Security officials) and use it to make other people's lives as miserable as possible. Unfortunately, there are people like this everywhere, in all sectors, jobs, and arenas. And in many places, they are not watched closely enough to ensure they don't use their tiny bit of power to mess with other people. It's unacceptable.
- Waiting2awake, on 08/18/2008, -0/+122It was always told to me as a child - that if I was to lose freedom, it wouldn't be because of an army marching over the hills. They were easy to see and fight against. Nope, my freedom would be lost, small step by small step, each by a stroke of a pen.
I guess because of that I have always been political, but not party orientated. My allegiance is to Canada and Canadians. The politicians, whom make our laws, extort our cash and send our boys and girls to kill for corporations.. I have no loyalty to them at all. Never ever understood why anyone would. - lsloany, on 08/18/2008, -1/+110You sir just realized the flaw in our representative democracy, welcome to reality. Soon enough after writing our leaders you will realize they don't have the time to actually read your concern and you will receive a response declaring how they are grateful you care about ::insert issue:: but to otherwise ***** off and have a nice day.
- prleet, on 08/18/2008, -4/+112As a martian, Earth looks like a good laser target
- rprouse, on 08/18/2008, -2/+105Skip it. I'm white, English and Canadian. I have traveled all over the world, to Western countries, to third world countries, to oppressive states, but I have never been treated as badly as I have entering the United States.
- shadowspawn, on 08/18/2008, -8/+104It's sad to see what has become of the country my family fought and died for in 3 wars.
- DryMaltExtract, on 08/18/2008, -1/+96You are no more secure now then you were pre 9/11.
- Wiini, on 08/18/2008, -3/+93"Security is paramount"... WRONG.
Freedom is paramount, and is more important than any amount of security. Security of today undermines my freedoms as a United States citizen.
It's YOUR View, that security is "priority 1", that has caused our nation to fall into confusion and repression.
If you'd wake up and realize you're more likely to be killed by a drunk driver (49,000 deaths in 2001) than by anything related to any 'security breach' incident, maybe you wouldn't piss away my freedoms for the sake of your 'security'. - rficwizard, on 08/18/2008, -0/+89I am a US citizen, and I have had to pretend to be Canadian to feel safe in some countries. It really annoys me that my country is so hated that I have to lie about where I am from.
- w0lfh0und, on 08/18/2008, -32/+120I find this incredible. Security is, of course, paramount but this treatment is not warranted. The circumstances describe a situation where nobody has been charged with anything or given any reason to suggest they have done anything wrong. Therefore, they are all either national citizens or guests and should be treated with ADDED courtesy for the inconvenience they are incurring, until such point that it can be demonstrated there is good reason to consider them a threat.
- whatthefu, on 08/18/2008, -3/+88This kind of reminds me of a quote from Catch-22: "Morale was deteriorating and it was all Yossarian's fault. The country was in peril; he was jeopardizing his traditional rights of freedom and independence by daring to exercise them."
- AzureRise, on 08/18/2008, -11/+93Don't come, ever, it's not worth it. Us living here want to get out.
- turini1, on 08/18/2008, -3/+83Recently drove up to the Canadian border and pulled into this place to turn around because we didn't actually want to go there. Little did we know it was the homeland security office. They felt the need to take me and my three friends into the building while searching every inch of my vehicle. They asked me who my father was, not like he would even have a remote idea. The main thing is we did not even want to go into Canada, we were just 4 teenagers driving around and happened to pull into the wrong place to turn around. Sure its precautionary but its also ridiculous to treat people this way when they have not posed a threat at all.
- RansomHoldiay, on 08/18/2008, -20/+98granted both the 2000* and 2004** elections were stolen.
* - see Florida
** - see Ohio - liljay2k, on 08/18/2008, -7/+83"The United States is good at naming enemies, but apparently we are even better at making them, especially of individuals."
- artfiend77, on 08/18/2008, -2/+76I was going to the States about a year and a half ago, and I got stopped at the border. I was leaving from Toronto, about three months after I had moved here from Montreal. I got stopped, detained on the American side. I got pictures taken of me,finger printed ( heck, I even fixed their finger printing machine for them, I just wanted to get the hell out of there.) No one could ever tell me why I was being detained. After about three hours, they let me go, put me on a bus and sent me straight to a police station on the Canadian side (Windsor) Again, no one could tell me for about an hour and a half why I was being detained. They finally got in touch with police in my home town in Quebec, who, for some reason, were just speaking French ( or at least really broken English) So the Windsor police came back, and not fully understanding why there was supposedly a warrant out for my arrest asked me, have I ever been arrested? Nope. Have I ever been arrested for Illegal Assembly? I asked the cop, what do you mean by that? Have I ever been part of an illegal protest? I answer no. Then he asks me, have you ever been arrested for unlawful confinement? I ask him, you mean like kidnapping? Of course not!
Then he advises me to get in contact with the police in my old hometown, ask them what the warrant out for my arrest was for. Then, they let me go. Free as a bird. I was travelling to the States by Greyhound, and when I went back to the station to get a ticket home, I told the lady my story, and, this White woman, tells me: It happens all the time. They're ***** racists. You know how many non Whites they detain? The American border patrol did the same thing to her husband (they were going across the border to have dinner with friends, he was Black) and she says they are a bunch of pricks over there.
I got home later that day and called my hometown police station. The reason for my "warrant": An unpaid 42$ parking ticket two years ago.
Like my dad told me afterwards, it's a good thing I didn't get let into the country, those ***** probably would've stopped me on the other side as I was trying to come back home, and I'd probably be detained at Guantanamo. - DangerCollie, on 08/18/2008, -17/+91Excuse me, but bull-*****. America did vote for these louts and they did so because they were scared. I heard Americans stand up in public meetings right after 9/11 and, one after another, offer to sacrifice their privacy and civil rights in the name of security. One lady was even bawling, asking who was going to protect her. Disgusting.
Yes, America, even after three years of incompetent management, you had a chance to choose between a genuine war hero and a drunken frat boy from Connecticut pretending to be a religious fighter pilot from Texas, and you picked the fraud because you thought they were tougher on terrorism. Decisions motivated by a combination of fear and bad judgment.
I have a hard time deciding what's more disgusting: Trading freedom for security, or not admitting you made a mistake voting Republican. At least have the nads to admit you made a mistake. And don't give me any of that cry baby crap about not liking the Democrats any better. The Democrats could not possibly have made things worse than they are now and at least you could say you tried even if they did. Gutless hypocrites and intellectual frauds all of you right wings buttheads. - mandarin, on 08/18/2008, -6/+74I saw an asian guy in homeland security yell at an elderly asian grandma while waiting to get processed just because she doesnt speak english. Did they just pick these guys off the street?
- GBowski, on 08/18/2008, -4/+72Long lines of people, waiting for hours on end, in front of a few understaffed desks manned by condescending *****, who refuse to help you in any way, or give you forms you want, overseen by a jerkoff supervisor...
Reminds me of the DMV...
:/ - ilikedthecore, on 08/18/2008, -3/+71When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out. - Gunnerholic, on 08/18/2008, -5/+72yeah, and I thought having to wait in a queue a mile long queue to have my passport examined, questioned, fingerprinted and then photo taken was bad enough! I'll never go to America again, not whilst innocent tourists are treated like criminals.
- plarp, on 08/18/2008, -8/+74Many democrats helped pass these laws into passage.. the ruling class of democrats, and republicans have placed us here. They both use fear to control us.. Democrats tell you to fear republicans. Republicans tell you to fear democrats.. they both tell you to fear any third party.
- BigManOnCampus, on 08/18/2008, -14/+76All this and we still don't have a decent fence on our southern border, sheer stupidity. Any terrorist with 1/4 of a brain will just go buy a backpack-bladder and walk across the friggin border at night.
- Aurabolt, on 08/18/2008, -17/+78After reading a couple paragraphs, I double-checked the URL and was sad it wasn't the Onion.
- BigManOnCampus, on 08/18/2008, -3/+64This is precisly why creating new law enforcement agencies with vague standards and few goals is a horrible idea, and why gun control laws are stupid (you always want your law abiding citizens to on equal footing with the police).
- Mardala, on 08/18/2008, -8/+66Welcome to the New America. Read Naomi Wolfe's books, at least one of them. She has been clearly pointing out how we are so close to a complete "change" in this country. I recently traveled out of country and going into Canada, versus coming back to the US was like day and night. I used to travel a lot across the US / Canadian border, both by car and plane. Its been a few years since I passed thru customs, but the change and attitude was so much different than what I remembered it used to be like.
Welcome to the Neocons vision of modern America. - inactive, on 08/18/2008, -3/+57With the amount of travel I do - I see this -- more than I would like too...
- str1fe, on 08/18/2008, -0/+53Agreed. We stopped being the Land of the Free a while ago, especially since the passing of the Patriot Act and lots of other bills. We can't be the Land of the Free anymore until we start being the Home of the Brave again.
And to all the people who think waving an American flag is the primary display of patriotism: ***** you, and ***** your little plastic flag pin that says "MADE IN CHINA" on the back. Actually open up to the problems this country does have. Yes, we're a great country that's accomplished a lot and what ever else you want to think about our history, but we aren't perfect and the ***** you elected and might vote for are driving your country into the ground, and you're so blinded by your flag-waving "patriotism" that you don't even see it happening. - Jareth86, on 08/18/2008, -4/+56This is just surreal. What the hell is happening to my country?
- inactive, on 08/18/2008, -2/+54J.F.K looks like something out of 1984....
- Shaman760, on 08/18/2008, -8/+57That's what happens when you hire a bunch of flunkies from ***** USA....put them in a position of "authoritah" and watch their heads swell.
- AzureRise, on 08/18/2008, -2/+49The real problem is this kind of behavior is endorsed by the Government and many American's condone this out of hatred, racism, and idiotic fear.
- EarlOfLade, on 08/18/2008, -8/+55And America said "Thank you, now I go shopping at WalMart!"
What was the second amendment meant for again? How many of you gun supporters have said that you need guns to overthrow the government? Well, what ARE you waiting for? - JekJob, on 08/18/2008, -2/+48Cops DO pull over people for no reason. They have a quota to meet.
- nblsavage, on 08/18/2008, -5/+51I disagree. I don't think people are nearly riled up enough about this crap. There should be zero tolerance for it.
- Waiting2awake, on 08/18/2008, -1/+46True - it is almost like the terror threat is just a cover story or something huh?
-
Show 51 - 100 of 1107 discussions
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is