Two stories: At an airport, they pulled me aside. Don't know why.
They search everything, feeling linings for lumps, checking my body for metal, patting me down, and then targeting my brief case and wiping it with a special cloth that would show if I had even a hint of "banned chemicals to make on-board explosives with." The cloths showed positively that my brief case had something "wrongobongo." So they called in their superior, cuz, well, I'm a very nice guy with gray hair with a woman whose luggage showed no signs of residues and I'm laughing aloud cuz I know I'm clean as clean can be. So, you know, I'm not fitting the terrorist profile. They're wiping repeatedly. Maybe 10 wiping-events, and the machine-reader called each one of them positive for banned something-or-other. Finally the supervisor makes a call, and whomever he talks to doesn't know what to do either. Finally, they just "call it," and tell me I'm okay to fly. "Sometimes a deodorant or shaving cream will have an ingredient that triggers these machines," he said. But everyone knew, it was their intuition overriding their testing devices. If I had had a beard or accent or turban, I'd probably still be being strip searched. See? You don't? Okay, next story: I get audited by the IRS, and they pull me into their office and go over my receipts -- one by one by one. I'm living in the upper bedroom of the center and using the rest of the house "for business," but the tax guy says that if the center isn't open 24/7 then the house is for my personal use only during non-business hours and my deductions should be discounted downwards. I tell them, well, if that's the case, then this and that and this and that will have to be re-figured to make all the math come out correctly. The tax guy says, "Well, how about you just pay $300 more in taxes....deal?" See? Laws, schmaws, authorities are human and make up their own minds right there on the spot. Some days, ya just gotta love the lowest rung on bureacracy's ladder; some other days, not so much, eh? The laws are about spiritual intent -- not the letter of the law, but almost any intent can be projected into almost any law, and beware the minions who are dealing out the taro cards when they decide your fate. "Hey, Boss, pick a card so I can process this passenger." "Oops, sorry, Buddy, but the only kind of boarding you're going to get is waterboarding." Edg --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > I think he is asking if you have American citizenship which in that case > it would be very outrageous to deny you entry back into the country. > But even detaining a foreigner for 5 hours is rather outrageous. But > then the Homeland Security people I've seen probably couldn't even get a > job flipping burgers otherwise. > > Angela Mailander wrote: > > what does my nationality or citizenship have to do with the price of tea in China? Just curious. a > > > > Rick Archer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > From: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Angela Mailander > > Sent: Tuesday, October 30, 2007 9:50 AM > > To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com > > Subject: Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: hate America? > > > > > > > > If you have no interest in me, why make assumptions about who I am and what I love or hate? I told you the truth. Circumstances are always complex, and I assure you there is no conspiracy against me. When I arrived at the L.A. airport from China, I had a return ticket in my pocket. Homeland Security said, "You can go back to China if you want, but if you do, you're never coming back here." When I got to Ff, I asked Congressman Leach if this was legal, and he said that it was, that they could have denied me entry > > > > > > > > What nationality are you, German? > > > > > > No virus found in this outgoing message. > > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > > Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.15.12/1098 - Release Date: 10/29/2007 9:28 AM > > > > > > > > > > > > Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com > > >
