In a Foreign Land
I have just finished a vacation in Alaska and Canada that was part land adventure and part cruise. It is amazing how a relaxing vacation can be screwed up by Federal bureaucrats even in a Foreign Land.
First, about Alaska – this state is beautiful. However, it has one very major flaw: it is practically owned by the National Park Service. Brown-Shirted eco-nazis paid a salary from your federal taxes are everywhere. The time spent would have been all the more pleasant if I didn’t have to see them. They were, for the most part, tolerable. However, for an organization charged with the management of the National Forests in Alaska, they showed virtually no aptitude for science.
As an example, a Park Ranger boarded our ship to spend the day helping the Liberals on the cruise to assuage their guilt; if they were learning eco-crap from this official of the US Government it was easier for them to forget that their personal share of the carbon dioxide belched out of the ship for the duration of the cruise was about 6,000 pounds! In any event, the Ranger showed a series of maps with the historic locations of glaciers. We were supposed to be shocked at how far they had ALL receded. That is, until one of the passengers pointed out a glacier that had grown considerably over the past 50 years. The Ranger replied, “That’s just an anomoly” in the casual manner that all eco-whores dismiss FACTS that do not mesh with their Official Party Line.
The strangest part was the return home. The cruise ended in Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada. We cleared US Customs while still in Canada! An entire terminal of the Vancouver airport is dedicated to flights to the US and our friends from Homeland Security are there to dig through your luggage and examine your passport before you even get home to the US. I wonder if there is a similar Canadian facility at the Seattle airport. I think not – the US seems to be the most difficult western country to enter. How happy was I to be harassed by the US Government before I even arrived on US soil. They seem to be everywhere!
Who concocted this scam? How much does the US pay Canada for all this space at the Vancouver airport. Are the customs inspectors even US citizens and if so, do they live in Canada?