Citizen Rights while traveling

[Seilerbird]

In Florida we have many "checkpoints" we must pass through while traveling. And in each one we have to give the attendant a dollar or two. I like the ag checkpoints a lot better.

 

[Oscar Mike]

Personally I don't mind the AG Inspections Stations that everyone gets to slow down for. As a lifelong resident of California and Nevada I have traveled to and from CA hundreds of times, and each time I get to slow down or stop depending on the inspector. I don't see the big problem, it is a minor inconvenience, and who knows maybe some inspector at sometime has stopped the next fruit fly invasion.

 

[Hfx_Cdn]

    I have no oar in this race, but as normal, I do have an opinion. 
    We always felt that the real purpose of those check points were to check for illegal aliens, as they seemed to profile the occupants, and just let us pass with minimal questions.  That being said, having seen the devastation that "invasive species" can do when they get a foothold in an area where there are no natural predators leads me to believe that they serve a useful purpose, and they are not dissimilar to checkpoints or other similar facilities around the world.
    The question really begs to be answered, "When does any legislation overrule common sense?" After all legislation, including your Amendments, were passed in the imperfect position of not having the ability to see the future, hence it can never cover every circumstance that may later come up.  So there may well be a conflict, but when those occur you need to look and see what is the greater good for the greater majority.
    The OP references "NAZIs", but any student of history would quickly show you that it was their strict adherence to previous legislation and customs that brought and kept them in power until the "common sense " world Allies had to go in and defeat them. 
 

Ed

 

[PancakeBill]

Checking for illegals at a state border in CA, now that is funny! 

First time I came upon one I thought I turned the wrong way and had arrived at the US/Mex border. 

 

[Tom]

LOL Bill. One time when we drove north from Yuma, AZ we stopped at the border patrol checkpoint and my other half, who was driving, slid open the window. One of the BP agents, who looked like he might have originally been from south of the border, said in a Spanish accent: "Welcome to Mexico Senora, have a nice day". It took Chris a second or two to realize it was a tease, and she laughed. I could see the other agents turning away and cracking up. We obviously didn't fit the profile of illegals or drug smugglers  ;D

 

[John From Detroit]

To the O/P, though I was born in CA, I grew up in Michigan on a dairy farm and franklly I have never read a bigger load of what I used to shovel in my life.

The check points are concrete buildings, Clearly labeled and well signed, They are known to exist and have been there a long time.

The reason for the inspection is not protection of the farmers but of the crops.. There have been cases of folks bringing in contaminated fruit and this can easily ruin the crop and even the industry if the resulting infection / infestation can not be controlled.

Myself, I never had a problem with them.. But I knew they were there.  Thus I did not stock up in NV before crossing the border.

 

[Wendy]

To the OP,

Thank you for your service. I also served in the Army helping protect your right to your opinion. And while I defend your right to that opinion, I couldn't disagree with it more and feel the rant has no place on this forum. Many of us have discussed the ag inspection stations but never with a political tirade.

Regards
Wendy
Sgt, US Army, 1975-1978

 

[Blue-JAY]

This is what scares me the most. People who wave the Constitution around like a weapon, mis interpreting it fit there own agenda. First, any state has the right to pass a law prohibiting  produce from entering the state. The California law does not violate any Constitutional statement or amendment that I can think of. Your home/RV was not invaded; they asked and whether intentionally or by default you gave them permission. Confiscation of illegal property is not stealing. I am fairly confident that you could have said that you would turn around and go back to NV with your $30.00 worth of fruit and that would have been the end of it.
Just because we are a citizen of the best country the world has ever seen does not mean we have the right to do what ever an individual darn well pleases. We have a responsibility to the whole so that our nation can continue to be that "best" country.

 

[Seilerbird]

Bravo Selah. ;D

 

[Bill Weatherby]

Truly a lively debate! As Carl points out, the US Congress is the supreme law making body in this country. Article 1 Sec. 10 forbids States imposing tax's or duties without Congressional approval. It doesn't allow states to stop private citizens, without probable cause, within our boarders and confiscate legally owned property.

As Tom rightly points out, there are toll booths all over our country but they don't send people into our homes to steel our food. The states had the right to stop and inspect commercial traffic. They don't have the right to stop private citizens without probable cause and steel they're property. They just don't.

I agree with Ed that there should be commone sense but we all know commone sense is not that commone. Giving people with no commone sense the power to enter and steel form private citizens is wrong. I respectfully disagree with the notion that a strict adherence to our "Bill of Rights" would lead to a **** Germany of WWII, a Communist Russia, China or North Korea for that matter.

When I was stopped in Truckee, the well meaning inspector took my apples, tomato's, grapes, bananas, lettuce and even my asparagus (which we were panning to enjoy that night in Lake Tahoe). He even took a sandwhich because it had lettuce on it! There was an upside however. When I stopped at the Saveway in Tahoe to repace my stolen food, I ran into a friend I hadn't see in years! It was truly serendipitous!

I appreciate Wendy opinion but I feel it may be uninformed. Not all people in the Army had to do the dirty work but I did. My fist and longest job was hostage rescue with the 1/75th. It's a very rough business i assure you! It becomes necessary because most countries to not have a "Writ of Habeas Corpus" as we do and none of them have a "Bill of Rights". We tried to get people out of Iran, where, at the time, a woman could have her head cut off if it wasn't covered properly. We did manage to rescued US Citizens from Granada where the "Government" was throwing people off cliffs for not doing as they were told. We pulled an American out of a Panamaian prison where he had been held for God knows what? At the time in Panama you could give up your fruit and still go to jail for not doing it fast enough. We also managed to grab some Americans back who were being held by "rebel groups". The rest of my time was in M.I. were once I got a chance to watch "in real time" via a multi million dollar satelite feed, a farmer in Africa get chopped up by his fellow farmers. We found out later it was because he was from the wrong tribe? Did he have a right to life, liberty and the persuit of happiness? Of course he did but his local government did not recognize it so, he lost his live and his wife and kids had to flee for theirs.

I believe Tom the Administrator is right when he says these things dissolve into something ugly but, I truly hope you all understand (weather you agree with me or not)  and appreciate that I refuse to give up my rights (even a little)  because I know they're not just my right's they're our rights. If anyone can prove to me that having my RV (i.e. my home) searched and my private property take will ultimately save lives, I'm all ears. But, there is no evidence that suspending individual rights within our boards has ever stopped a pest invasion.

I have traveled to most of the major continents of our planet. I believe some people may not be able to fully appreciate what we have in this country until they have been in a place like Pakistan where I saw a man, pulled from his car by Police and shot in the leg (with a 308 caliber rifle) for almost nothing! Or a friend in Panama being thrown into jail and left to rot while his property was divided (i.e. stolen) by the Police. If you refuse to give up your fruit in Italy, your encounter will begin with a beating and go down hill from there! There is no place like the US because our Founding Fathers chose to officially place our rights into law. Like the song says, you don't know what you got till its gone!

Respectfully
Bill

 

[Wendy]

The opinion I expressed was not 'uninformed '. You know nothing of my time in service or my duties or anything else about my life and education. I said you had a right to your opinion but that I disagreed with it. There is nothing 'uninformed' about that.

Regards
Wendy

 

[Oscar Mike]

I say this as a Combat Veteran who has endured the "dirty" work with the battle scars to prove it, I would like to unleash on this thread, but my good sense dictates otherwise. I will say this, it is just WRONG to cast dispersions on anyone's military service...wrong, wrong, wrong.

 

[Ned]

This is headed nowhere good so I'm locking it.

 

[Tom]

Sad, but inevitable.