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Congress Considers Forcing Travel Registration
macduffman writes "Congress and the Department of Homeland Security are considering several new visa restrictions, including forcing some foreign travelers to register their travel plans online 48 hours in advance. Business advocacy groups are worried about both foreign relations and the economic impact of such legislation, while privacy concerns see this as another possible 'in' for identity thieves. From the article: 'Along with online registration, the updated program would require new and existing member countries to improve data-sharing; more rigorously report lost and stolen passports (not just blank passports); and guarantee they will repatriate nationals if those people are ordered out of the United States. "It's really a 21st-century model," said James Carafano, a Heritage Foundation analyst who specializes in homeland security. "It'll all be done electronically and biometrically. And it really doesn't compromise your privacy."'"
Be sure they note when citizens travel to unfriendly places and seek to return. Declaration of someone as an "enemy combatant" is effectively the same as revoking someone's citizenship, even a natural-born citizen.
Yakov Smirnov should update his act: "American Express: Don't Leave Home."
Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
Oh! Foreigners! Well, that's all right, then!
I guess we won't be needing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, then. Silly thing says all humans are created equal. And Article 13, the part about freedom of movement, is clearly a quaint antique, a relic of a bygone era when Americans actually cared about others.
Crumb's Corollary: Never bring a knife to a bun fight.
You realize that people from countries other than the United States generally are ordinary citizens right? Just not of the U.S.
Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
*sigh* that's an AIRPORT TAX. Other places have them too. Even the locals/citizens have to pay it. It has nothing to do with your visa, your travelplans, you being a foreigner (or a citizen) or your privacy.
Now if you want something identical here, why not attack the "gaijin card" ID they make all longterm foreigners get, now with mandatory fingerprinting. Even then, you weren't required to tell the government that you wanted to go visit Kyoto over the weekend... Sheesh.
Better check your math....
9/11 official death toll: 2,793
vs.
Pearl Harbor death toll: 2,403
OKC death toll: 168
Iraq death toll to date: 3,466 (US military), 276 (other coalition military), 917 (contractors), 102 (journalists), 39 (media support workers), 88 (aid workers)
Even without counting Iraqi deaths (estimates run from 68,000 up to 655,000), you are off by more than half.
Momentarily, the need for the construction of new light will no longer exist.
Stasi != Gestapo.
Stasi; short for Ministerium fuer Staatssicherheit; translated: Department of State/Homeland Security. Existed in the former communist East Germany and encouraged spying on all the individuals by individuals.
Gestapo = acronymn for 'GEheime STAats POlizei' - Secret State Police. This was under the Third Reich.
"so what branch of government is DHS again"
It's part of the Executive branch.
"and when did they get to create/codify law?"
DHS has extensive rule-making authority. These rules have the force of law. You seem to be implying that these rules won't become legal requirements without action by Congress. In this, you are incorrect.
As far as who deserves to have their rights protected, everyone vs. just citizens, I think Jefferson addressed that better than I could.