With the tide of war receding right into Boston Harbor (sadly, with no Boston Tea Party to blame), we are worried about border security (well, northern border security and not southern border security). But if the Obama administration gets is way, Americans won't have time to worry about inflation, jobs, and our dwindling savings accounts. We will finally (tip to Real Clear World) strike back at the Canadians:
Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano is musing about imposing a “land border crossing fee” on people arriving from Canada and Mexico. Perfect. We get to pay for the pleasure of being aggravated. Muchas gracias, amiga.
Is this the “greater convergence” of Canada/U.S. security and trade that President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Stephen Harper like to talk about when they get together? Or is it a bureaucratic pile-on that threatens to further depress the nearly $700 billion in trade our two countries do, on which 10 million jobs ride? What’s next? A saliva test? For you, just $20 (U.S.)?
While cash-strapped Washington may be tempted to dip into Canuck pockets to help pay for an endless, paranoid “thickening” of the border, officials should think again. Granted, the U.S. government has the right to squeeze whomever it chooses at the border. But inevitably, a fee on top of every other hassle will only encourage more Canadians to stay home, as we’re already doing in droves.
Why on Earth would we punish innocent Canadians to stop actual terrorists? Justin Beiber may be annoying, but he's no underwear bomber. If we wanted to make the potential pool of actual terrorists pay for our border security, we'd add an entry security fee to those traveling from Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Egypt, and Chechnya, no?
We're free to pay for more security. And maybe if we weren't spending obscene amounts of our own money by borrowing we wouldn't have to think about extending our tax powers abroad.
But this is the way of our administration: Punish the law abiding to appear to fight the bad guys who just violate whatever rules we put in place. Polite Canadians are the perfect target, this administration thought. Just whisper the charge of "racism" if they protest and they'll put down their loonies at the border rather than appear to be loony clingers bitter over the lack of respect for Canadian football, or something.
Just think, just as we have to suffer under defense sequestration while facing opponents abroad from Iran to North Korea, Canada has massed their military power within striking distance of our vulnerable northern border by withdrawing their forces from Afghanistan and Europe. Coincidence? Napolitano thinks not!
What's really funny is that Michael Moore's vision of bully America is taking place under the administration of hope and change. That's gotta hurt.
