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By A Public Defender's Life in Alaska

So, I got a letter from the Canadian Embassy today. It turns out that I didn't complete all of Kadee's Canadian citizenship papers right. It is a priority. It always amazes me how you Americans are so content to piss away your rights. Hell, if you don't have anything to hide, why not let the Government do what it wants, right? I guess the Founding Fathers were criminals when they insisted on the Fourth and Fifth Amendments? The latest outrage for me is this Department of Homeland Security plan to require all Americans to get government permission to travel. Under proposed regulations, all would be passengers or international or domestic flights, "to, from, via or within" the US would have to have government issued ID and case by case permission by DHS to the airline to allow the passenger to board. Nice country. Screw the US Supreme Court cases that say the right to travel is almost absolute. Now, if the DHS doesn't say "yes" you can't travel. What if you are overseas and want to come home? What if the government doesn't like your political rantings on your blog? As if "extraordinary rendition" (i.e. where the US government sends people to be tortured) was not enough. I am not making this up. Go check it out. In our lifetimes, the American "birthright" of being able to travel where you wanted and to work where you wanted will be gone. I'm not sure Canada can resist the slide towards tyranny. But first thing Monday morning, I am going to correct my errors. I am fuming. Government permission to travel!! You people are insane! Your papers please.

Full post as published by A Public Defender's Life in Alaska on September 15, 2007 (boomark / email).