6 ms·

Every time an article like this pops up (seems like a couple times a month now), I'm validated in my decision to donate monthly to the ACLU. They're always ment

by _bxg1 8y ago

Every time an article like this pops up (seems like a couple times a month now), I'm validated in my decision to donate monthly to the ACLU. They're always mentioned as fighting this stuff on the front lines.

jacquesm 8y ago
Every time an article like this pops up I am validated in my decision to no longer travel to the United States.
- _bxg1 8y ago
  Touche
- 14 8y ago
  This is the part I don't get. Surely they realize there are a large portion of people that will avoid that county just on principle that they may be hassled at the border. I can imagine that these policies have cost them millions of dollars. Imagine going to a county and being turned around all because you had an employers laptop you promised not to unlock for anyone. Or how about a personal laptop with naked pictures of your wife and kids bathing. Especially when we know it is all security theater. So I am with you. I will avoid the USA for now until the climate changes.
  - _bxg1 8y ago
    These power-tripping thugs don't think that far ahead. They only care about exercising authority in their tiny little hundred-foot-long kingdom.
    - jacobush 8y ago
      Thugs will be thugs but the problem is with those who put them there
  - smoe 8y ago
    Pretty much all Europeans I know working in Latin America that travel home 1-2 a year, avoid flights that go trough US airports even tough it would often be the cheapest options by quite some margin. For me not having to deal with US borders is worth the up to 300 USD difference in flight price. I did it once back in 2008 for a flight from Costa Rica to Switzerland via Miami and was caught completely by surprise that, unlike every other airport in the world I have been prior, Miami (US in general?) did not have a separate transit area, and that I had to go trough the whole customs and migration circus for a 3 hour layover.
    - eswat 8y ago
      I just went through this circus for a 1.5-hour layover. Salt in the wound was CBP having just 1 agent serving Non-US travellers for a 737 that just came from Japan…
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - noir_lord 8y ago
    My partner wants to do more travelling and I said sure, anywhere you want in the world except the US. Which is a shame there parts of the US I'd love to see but not at the price of entry.
  - robben1234 8y ago
    >you had an employers laptop you promised not to unlock for anyone Government laws always will overturn any agreement you had with an employers or some other person or organization. Security theater or not, if a country is being an asshole in foreign affairs, or at least is at war with someone, be sure your rights most probably will be violated if you decide to have an interaction with such government employees.
- jamiepenney 8y ago
  Me too. We've considered holidays that would take us close to the states (Canada and the Caribbean) but there are very few flights direct from New Zealand and they're crazy expensive.
mikeash 8y ago
I donated to the ACLU on Trump’s first weekend in office when he made such a cock-up of his travel ban. Then the letters started coming begging for more money. I like their ostensible mission but I don’t want more junk mail. At this point I’m pretty sure they’ve spent more money mailing me shit than I donated, and destroyed all my motivation to give them anything more. It’s too bad, because we do need organizations like this, but why do they have to piss off the people who want to support them?
- _bxg1 8y ago
  They can get annoying with the junk mail. Still, that's a small price to pay for the work they do.
  - mikeash 8y ago
    It’s not just the annoyance, but a bad use of resources.
    - rtkwe 8y ago
      Bulk mail is significantly cheaper than retail rates. They're paying about 40% or more less than you do for each letter so it doesn't take many donations to pay for all the letters that don't net donations. For 200+ pieces of 'marketing mail' they're only paying ~19c per letter. [0] [0] https://www.themailshark.com/resources/blog/bulk-mail-postage-rates/ https://www.themailshark.com/resources/blog/bulk-mail-postag...

by _bxg1 8y ago

jacquesm 8y ago

Every time an article like this pops up I am validated in my decision to no longer travel to the United States.

_bxg1 8y ago
Touche
14 8y ago
This is the part I don't get. Surely they realize there are a large portion of people that will avoid that county just on principle that they may be hassled at the border. I can imagine that these policies have cost them millions of dollars. Imagine going to a county and being turned around all because you had an employers laptop you promised not to unlock for anyone. Or how about a personal laptop with naked pictures of your wife and kids bathing. Especially when we know it is all security theater. So I am with you. I will avoid the USA for now until the climate changes.
- _bxg1 8y ago
  These power-tripping thugs don't think that far ahead. They only care about exercising authority in their tiny little hundred-foot-long kingdom.
  - jacobush 8y ago
    Thugs will be thugs but the problem is with those who put them there
- smoe 8y ago
  Pretty much all Europeans I know working in Latin America that travel home 1-2 a year, avoid flights that go trough US airports even tough it would often be the cheapest options by quite some margin. For me not having to deal with US borders is worth the up to 300 USD difference in flight price. I did it once back in 2008 for a flight from Costa Rica to Switzerland via Miami and was caught completely by surprise that, unlike every other airport in the world I have been prior, Miami (US in general?) did not have a separate transit area, and that I had to go trough the whole customs and migration circus for a 3 hour layover.
  - eswat 8y ago
    I just went through this circus for a 1.5-hour layover. Salt in the wound was CBP having just 1 agent serving Non-US travellers for a 737 that just came from Japan…
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- noir_lord 8y ago
  My partner wants to do more travelling and I said sure, anywhere you want in the world except the US. Which is a shame there parts of the US I'd love to see but not at the price of entry.
- robben1234 8y ago
  >you had an employers laptop you promised not to unlock for anyone Government laws always will overturn any agreement you had with an employers or some other person or organization. Security theater or not, if a country is being an asshole in foreign affairs, or at least is at war with someone, be sure your rights most probably will be violated if you decide to have an interaction with such government employees.
jamiepenney 8y ago
Me too. We've considered holidays that would take us close to the states (Canada and the Caribbean) but there are very few flights direct from New Zealand and they're crazy expensive.

mikeash 8y ago

I donated to the ACLU on Trump’s first weekend in office when he made such a cock-up of his travel ban. Then the letters started coming begging for more money. I like their ostensible mission but I don’t want more junk mail. At this point I’m pretty sure they’ve spent more money mailing me shit than I donated, and destroyed all my motivation to give them anything more. It’s too bad, because we do need organizations like this, but why do they have to piss off the people who want to support them?

_bxg1 8y ago
They can get annoying with the junk mail. Still, that's a small price to pay for the work they do.
- mikeash 8y ago
  It’s not just the annoyance, but a bad use of resources.
  - rtkwe 8y ago
    Bulk mail is significantly cheaper than retail rates. They're paying about 40% or more less than you do for each letter so it doesn't take many donations to pay for all the letters that don't net donations. For 200+ pieces of 'marketing mail' they're only paying ~19c per letter. [0] [0] https://www.themailshark.com/resources/blog/bulk-mail-postage-rates/ https://www.themailshark.com/resources/blog/bulk-mail-postag...