I went to the MVA in a dubious part of town when I first moved here & had to get new plates and a license. It was pretty painless. Others bitched and moaned about the offices out in suburbia, and yet were horrified I'd go to That One. Whatever. They have a few license/id renewal only places batting about as well, and I went to one for the renewal on my lunch. Didn't take too long.

When I had a NM license, I'd go to the Mesilla (a small town on the edge of LC) office to get it done. It was a best kept secret. 2 person office, you'd waltz in and out with the only delay being the time it took to see if you were a ___ of the Somesuch ___s? No? Do you know the ___s?

Does anyone ever answer "yes" to these? And if so, why isn't there a "If yes, please explain" box?

Y'know, I think I'd find a 'please explain' box even more disturbing. "Yeah, I was plotting terrorist activity while in the US, but it's not what you think. I was only going to hit Iowa. You'll hardly notice."

I am trying to convince my dad to write a book about his dealings with the INS over the last 3+ years. Short version: don't lose your naturalization papers.

I am still perpetuating the myth that I will be able to make it to some leg of the Nillyfest, but even if I can't i'm just so happy that it's happening! Hurray for movement through the bureaucratic machine!

Are you a member or representative of a terrorist organization as currently designated by the U.S. Secretary of State?

I wonder if anyone ever goes up to the counter to ask if their group qualifies.

Exactly. Why is this stuff on the forms? If you're going to answer "yes", your eligibility to enter the United States isn't what's in question: it's whether or not you have enough grey matter to walk and chew gum at the same time.

Well, if you lie on the form they can boot you out for that even if you haven't actually blown anything up. I'm sure it comes in handy sometimes.

Trudy, in the current environment of terrorist-terror fueled paranoia, they'd arrest you for even thinking about it. Hello, Gitmo.

Those questions, at this moment in American history, seem completely pointless. It's like asking whether someone's grandmother's Great Dane was ever a contributor to the Communist Party, or something.

But how do they find out you were lying without you being guilty of something worth tossing you out for anyway? They can turf you for conspiracy, can't they?

But how do they find out you were lying without you being guilty of something worth tossing you out for anyway? They can turf you for conspiracy, can't the?

Say they come across a membership list with your name on it. They can just boot you for lying on the form and not have any picky-ass "trial". Hell, they can clear out half a dozen other dudes with the same name.

Or, you know, ship you to Gitmo.

Yeah, I'm thinking if they recognize your name/picture as someone on the State Department's "Evil: Do not give visa to" list, charging you with filling out a form wrong isn't going to be necessary.