Someone crosses the border looking like that, carrying (among other things) a blood-dripping chainsaw, and they detain him for two hours and then let him go because his papers are in order and he doesn't appear to have broken any border-crossing laws? Guh?

have they never heard of probable cause? I mean, the one time where they actually HAVE it, and they don't use it. I hate to say it, but if he had been a person of color, you can bet your ass that they would have actuall done something.

My understanding is that NOTHING CAN STOP THE WARMING.

OK - a little late, but this is a meme that is spreading I want to answer; it is technically true, but in a way that is not nearly as bad as it sounds.

Some global warming has already occured. Some additional amounts are already irreverisble locked in. But the amount of global warming that is "locked in" is not the amount in the doomsday scenarios. If humanity chooses, we can turn it around well short of civilization ending disaster. Global warming is not an on-off switch; it is a continuoum of effects. It is not too late to preserve our ability do agriculture outdoors, and you know some of the basic things we need for survival.

Okay, let's not.

Yeah, just think of the craxy e-mail feedback we'd get.

I hate to say it, but if he had been a person of color, you can bet your ass that they would have actuall done something.

Fuck yeah. I have an acquaintance who's Japanese-American, born in Wisconsin, raised in Hawaii, came back to the mainland and went to Harvard. One weekend he and some friends went up to Canada for a day; nobody brought their passports, all the white guys got waved through both ways, but he very nearly didn't make it back into the US at all (this was back in the early 80s, very pre-9/11).

My friend did have his driver's license and Harvard ID, which proved that he was enrolled at an accredited US university that won't enroll you or give you an ID unless you're either a citizen or a resident alien with all your paperwork in order; he was accompanied by a carful of white people with identical IDs, all okayed and waved through by the US Border Patrol and all promising to sign notarized statements and swear on Bibles that he was who he said he was. And still. Three or four hours of wanting to know how he could be at Harvard and how could he think of crossing the border without a green card, and who did he think he was fooling claiming to be a citizen (n.b. - he has very faint traces of a Wisconsin accent).

[link]

Who are the next 2?

Timelies all!

Yay! New thread! Although I'm too late to get a double digit post, I can still take comfort that the thread title was my suggestion, originally.

Also, I'll add to the awwwws for Jon's wedding FAQ.

At a time when the United States is tightening its borders, how could a man toting what appeared to be a bloody chain saw be allowed into the country?

Uh... is it just me, or does this seem to be a specious question? They should have called in the police if they believed a crime had occurred (and I'm all on top of why the hell didn't they call the police?). But "let him in"... what, all US-born criminals become effectively Canadian when they commit a crime? They were right to "let him in". It very much seems as though they were wrong to let him go and not inform anyone.

Global warming is not an on-off switch; it is a continuoum of effects. It is not too late to preserve our ability do agriculture outdoors, and you know some of the basic things we need for survival.

Right, yes. I was using the semi-ironic asscaps. Yes, it is entirely feasible to head off doomsday. But it would require the American government and the energy industry to profoundly change the way they do business. Honestly? I don't see it happening. I know that's awful and fatalistic, but I just don't.

ETA: The American government is not the only one that would have to change things, but it is a necessary one, and it's the one I have any kind of familiarity with.

They were right to "let him in".

If his name was Mohammed and he was carrying a spork, they would have just sent him to Saudi Arabia for torture.

US Citizen with bloody chainsaw? No problem!!!

Hey! Stop stealing, and then embellishing, my schtick.

The spork is what makes it funny.