Maybe the terrorists won?

I always thought the way to fight terrorism was to refuse to be terrified.  And that the point of terrorism was to disrupt commerce and ordinary life enough to let a repressive regime take control. Forget Osama bin Ladin (apparently the Bush administration did)… even those who define liberty and justice and freedom in purely economic terms are being cowed into accepting a isolation and repression. And it seems almost no one is willing to do a damn thing about it.

I’m pessimistic that any regime change in Washington is going to resolve the destruction done to U.S. foreign relations and commerce by the Bush Administration (with the connivance of both Democrats and Republicans).  Free trade my ass… if you don’t think a police state is here, you haven’t traveled lately…

Every few months, we travel to McAllen…

Arriving at the usual Reynosa/Pharr crossing … I was handing my passport to the border guard and answering the usual “Where are you going?” type questions. As always, I was directed to park in one of the Customs inspections bays and to go to the Immigration office for an I-94 entry permit. Traveling on a British passport (and under the Visa Waiver program) I was unconcerned, as everything, so far, was quite ordinary.

…

I was motioned forward and I gave the officer my passport and the orange form given to me by the border guard outside. The form had scrawled upon it ‘OTM – RQ.I-94’ that is, I was ‘Other Than Mexican’ and that I required and I-94 Entry Permit.

The officer was a greasy-haired, doughy-faced Chicana with gimlet eyes, bad skin and a very visible chip on her shoulder. She leafed through my passport to the last page.
“I need to see proof of solvency and residency”, she growled, in a curiously squeaky way.
Uh-oh, this was new. The only way to genuinely prove one’s economic condition is by bank statements. Not only do I not have a bank account but why would I be carrying statements with me?
…
“The requirement has always been in place for those who fail to present the correct visa!”.

…
“We are NOT IN MEXICO!” shouted the CBP officer, visibly reddening.

Needless to say, the U.S. has probably lost another “free trader”.