Growing up we were always told that the US and Canada shared the longest free border in the world. We could cross the bridge with a wave at the guard.
Those days are over. The Dept of Homeland Security - which, six years on, still sounds like something Mussolini or Stalin would have dreamt of - is moving forward with the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. From the State Department:
They chip away at our freedoms, bit by bit. I'll miss it when it's gone.
Those days are over. The Dept of Homeland Security - which, six years on, still sounds like something Mussolini or Stalin would have dreamt of - is moving forward with the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. From the State Department:
SUMMER 2008I don't believe that the world is any more dangerous than it was during most of the 20th Century. In most ways I think it's safer - fascism, Nazism, and communism offered a far darker vision of the world than Islamism does.
At a later date, to be determined, the departments will implement the full requirements of the land and sea phase of WHTI. The proposed rules require most U.S. citizens entering the United States at sea or land ports of entry to have either a U.S. passport; a U.S. passport card; a trusted traveler card such as NEXUS, FAST, or SENTRI; a valid Merchant Mariner Document (MMD) when traveling in conjunction with official maritime business; or a valid U.S. Military identification card when traveling on official orders.
The implementation date will be determined based on a number of factors, including the progress of actions undertaken by the Department of Homeland Security to implement the WHTI requirements and the availability of WHTI compliant documents on both sides of the border. DHS and DOS expect the date of full WHTI implementation to be in the summer of 2008. The precise implementation date will be formally announced with at least 60 days notice.
They chip away at our freedoms, bit by bit. I'll miss it when it's gone.
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