# Is The Dictatorship Here?



## Packerjohn (Jun 23, 2022)

Here I sit in the library in Haines, Alaska.  I'm here for 3 nights but want to cross over to the main part of Alaska.  Unfortunately, I need to enter Canada for 1 day.  That's my country.  The one I was born in, lived all my life there, worked there and paid taxes and still do.  So, what is the problem?

Going home is no longer easy!  I spent over an hour in this library this morning working on "ArrivCAN.  I have to fill and very long and complex form to be permitted to go back to my country.  Never mind the easy stuff:  my name, address, home phone, cell phone.  Then comes the "fun" part.  What are the months and specific dates that I got my 1st and 2nd needle.  God help you if you don't remember.  More Canadian fun and games.  They want me to upload my proof of innoculation.  Very nice.  Am I supposed to carry around my printer as I travel?

The fun continues because when the form is finished I have to print it.  Good thing the local librarian was very helpful but it was not easy.

The crying shame is that I have to do this all over again when I drive the "Top of the World Highway" and want to reenter Canada in about 2.5 weeks.  I spoke to my American B&B lady and she told me the Americans have to put up with the same crap.

Our "noble" leader is working overtime to make travel difficult for Canadians.  He thinks he is winning but I think he is losing.  Why?  Yesterday in Skagway there were 4 huge cruise ships in the harbour.  I was told that smetimes there are 5.  People are traveling regardless of what the media may dish out to you.  Plenty of American citizen are still driving their motorhomes and dragging those cars and trucks behind them.  

No, not even a dictatorship can stop real travelers.  Enough of Covid, enough of mandates and enough of media inspired fear that we are all gonna die!


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## hollydolly (Jun 23, 2022)

That's enough to put many people  off from travelling...


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## Gaer (Jun 23, 2022)

When I drove into Canada on my way to Alaska, they asked if I had a firearm.
I tell the truth so I said "Yes".
They took it away from me and kept me at the border for 2 hours.
So, Traveling alone, I had no defense against grizzlies.
I finally got it back after two years.

I always thought the U.S. should take over that whole area between Alaska and the continental U.S. 
Go to war with Canada!       haha!   (joking)

You mentioned Skagway.  I swear, that's my favorite town in the whole world!
Wanted to move there!
When you drive into Skagway, it's like driving back to 1899!
Did you see Chilkoot Pass where they made the Klondike gold rush up the mountain?
I drank out of the mountain stream at the base of the pass.
Went placer mining.  Gosh, I had fun there!


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## Jules (Jun 23, 2022)

@Packerjohn   We’ve been told over and over to know the rules prior to travelling.


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## jujube (Jun 23, 2022)

The only time I ever had trouble at the Canadian border coming back to the U.S. was when we got caught with oranges in the RV.

That earned us a half hour on the Group W bench and then they forgot to confiscate the oranges.


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## john19485 (Jun 23, 2022)

Gaer said:


> When I drove into Canada on my way to Alaska, they asked if I had a firearm.
> I tell the truth so I said "Yes".
> They took it away from me and kept me at the border for 2 hours.
> So, Traveling alone, I had no defense against grizzlies.
> ...


We already went to war with them , ever heard of Canadian Bacon


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## Warrigal (Jun 23, 2022)

Downunder I only have to go online to a federal government website and I can obtain a printout of my medical history or I can just download my Covid immunisation status. Both can be downloaded to my mobile phone. Easy as.

Time the US went fully federal IMO.


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## Murrmurr (Jun 23, 2022)

Warrigal said:


> Time the US went fully federal IMO.


It was not the original intent for the US to have a central / federal gov't. The original intent was to have a place where state representatives could meet and discuss laws pertinent to each state. Needless to say, over time (and not a lot), a central gov't grew, and is still growing. Personally, I prefer the original intent. No two states are alike; not geographically, economically, or culturally; so each state's needs, industries, and goals are very different.


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## Lavinia (Jun 23, 2022)

Murrmurr said:


> It was not the original intent for the US to have a central / federal gov't. The original intent was to have a place where state representatives could meet and discuss laws pertinent to each state. Needless to say, over time (and not a lot), a central gov't grew, and is still growing. Personally, I prefer the original intent. No two states are alike; not geographically, economically, or culturally; so each state's needs, industries, and goals are very different.


That's very interesting. At the moment the country is split 50/50 politically, and there is talk of civil war. If each state became a separate, self-governing entity, it would  solve a lot of problems.


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## Murrmurr (Jun 23, 2022)

Lavinia said:


> That's very interesting. At the moment the country is split 50/50 politically, and there is talk of civil war. *If each state became a separate, self-governing entity, it would  solve a lot of problems.*


They're already self-governing. The president is only supposed to be an advisor and facilitator, it's just that the office has been given (and taken) more and more powerful over the centuries.


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## Warrigal (Jun 23, 2022)

It is the prerogative of US citizens to do things the way they wish but IMO there are some things that work better when a national approach is taken. I do understand that the US is not really a nation. It is a collection of 50 disparate states that are linked rather uncomfortably together by a foundational document.

Going back to proof of vaccination. I could have had my first two vaccinations in NSW and my boosters in two different states (say because I was travelling around Australia in a caravan) and I could still get the full record by accessing just one government website. This would be most useful if I were to be travelling overseas and needed proof of vaccination to enter a foreign country.


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## Lavinia (Jun 24, 2022)

Murrmurr said:


> They're already self-governing. The president is only supposed to be an advisor and facilitator, it's just that the office has been given (and taken) more and more powerful over the centuries.


I may be wrong because I can only judge by what the media report, but I get the impression that central government can overrule any law brought in by a state Governor.
It's the same in England. The Councils have a lot of power but they can also be overruled by Parliament. Most councils are refusing planning permission for new buildings on green land, but the government is determined to build as many houses as possible so step in and overrule the councils. At the same time, the government wants farmers to produce more food. Totally illogical!


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## Alligatorob (Jun 24, 2022)

I think the Canadians have hurt their economy with all of this border entry stuff.  Certainly the tourist business is down.  But hey, its your country, your decisions, not mine.  

I had a fishing trip to BC booked last summer and had to put it off to this summer.  Now I am starting to look at what it will take to get in, seems a lot of trouble, but I will do it.  Fishing is important...


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## oldman (Jun 24, 2022)

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could turn back the hands of time for maybe about 20 months? It was a different world then.


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## Murrmurr (Jun 24, 2022)

Lavinia said:


> I may be wrong because I can only judge by what the media report, but *I get the impression that central government can overrule any law brought in by a state Governor.*
> It's the same in England. The Councils have a lot of power but they can also be overruled by Parliament. Most councils are refusing planning permission for new buildings on green land, but the government is determined to build as many houses as possible so step in and overrule the councils. At the same time, the government wants farmers to produce more food. Totally illogical!


All state governors are required to uphold the US Constitution, but states can create their own laws within the parameters of the Constitution. If you live in a state that allows recreational use of marijuana, then travel to a state that allows only medical marijuana, you can be detained by police for lighting one up in public, and asked to show the Medical Marijuana Card required by that state. And although people like to say "ignorance [of the law] is no excuse", it is actually a valid legal defense, but travelers are always advised to check state laws before they explore America carrying stuff like pot, guns, produce, plants, etc.


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## Packerjohn (Jun 24, 2022)

Gaer said:


> When I drove into Canada on my way to Alaska, they asked if I had a firearm.
> I tell the truth so I said "Yes".
> They took it away from me and kept me at the border for 2 hours.
> So, Traveling alone, I had no defense against grizzlies.
> ...


Yes, since I have a car I drove the Dyea Road to Chikoot Trail outpost.  The weather has been lovely all the time here in Alaska.  I read that there are storms and hail in Southern parts of Canada.

I'm an early bird.  Up at 5 am and by 6 am I was taking photos of Broadway in Skagway.  There were 4 big cruise ships in the harbour but they are a bunch of "sleepyheads" so no one came out until 8 am and then it gets crowded.


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## Jeni (Jun 24, 2022)

Murrmurr said:


> It was not the original intent for the US to have a central / federal gov't. The original intent was to have a place where state representatives could meet and discuss laws pertinent to each state. Needless to say, over time (and not a lot), a central gov't grew, and is still growing. Personally, I prefer the original intent. No two states are alike; not geographically, economically, or culturally; so each state's needs, industries, and goals are very different.


exactly......


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## Packerjohn (Jun 24, 2022)

Jules said:


> @Packerjohn   We’ve been told over and over to know the rules prior to travelling."


Oh yes but the rules are getting harder and harder.  Used to be you could cross the border with a driver's license.  Then they came up with the "enhanced" driver's license so you didn't need a passport.  Then the passport came in.  Then Trudeau would not allow anyone to cross the border, due to Covid, except truck drivers (essential service) and the rich folks who flew with airplanes.  Those with RVs who wanted to winter down in the US during Covid simply paid low bed trucks to take their RVs over the border and they themselves flew over, picked up their RVs and spent the winters down in the south anyway.  You just gotta love our 2 class system:  the poor stay home and bite the bullet while the rich can enjoy their special priveleges.  It sort of England!

Now to cross the border you have to do a form called "ArrivCAN" where you give all sorts of information, including the specific dates of your vaccine, upload copies of proof and then print out a copy of proof that you did this ArrivCAN.  Let me tell you that if you are a senior and have never used the computer and don't have a smartphone it's living hell to get over the border.

All this reminds me of traveling behind the iron curtain before the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Just like the "good ole" communist days you could travel too.  However, you spent days going around getting forms stamped and you had to slip a few roubles often to get the stamp.  Yes, we Canadians can go to the US but coming home is not fun.


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## Packerjohn (Jun 24, 2022)

If you live in Europe, you can take a train from Paris and go to Athens, Greece across several countries and never show a passport.  The Canada-US border has become some sort of "Banana Republic."  You can cross but brother, be prepared to sweat.


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## ohioboy (Jun 25, 2022)

Lavinia said:
			
		

> I may be wrong because I can only judge by what the media report, but I get the impression that central government can overrule any law brought in by a state Governor.



By brought in, you mean a law signed by a Governor, and by Central government you mean the United States Congress, then that is not correct.


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## Capt Lightning (Jun 25, 2022)

Packerjohn said:


> If you live in Europe, you can take a train from Paris and go to Athens, Greece across several countries and never show a passport.  The Canada-US border has become some sort of "Banana Republic."  You can cross but brother, be prepared to sweat.


*Schengen* *Area* signifies a zone where 26 European countries, abolished their internal borders, for the free and unrestricted movement of people, in harmony with common rules for controlling external borders and fighting criminality by strengthening the common judicial system and police cooperation.

Since Brexit, the UK is no longer included, but you can enter it, travel freely  and for remain up to 90 days in 180 without a visa.


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## Knight (Jun 25, 2022)

You think that's bad. Try sneaking into America Illegally, the chances of you succeeding are almost zero to none.


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## Pepper (Jun 25, 2022)

Stand back and stand by.


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## Been There (Jun 26, 2022)

Gaer said:


> When I drove into Canada on my way to Alaska, they asked if I had a firearm.
> I tell the truth so I said "Yes".
> They took it away from me and kept me at the border for 2 hours.
> So, Traveling alone, I had no defense against grizzlies.
> ...


When I flew out of Elmendorf, I would pass over Skagway. You know how long it took to fly from point to point? About a half hour and that's not even at top speed. We used to do maneuvers in that area for training exercises. Beautiful country up in the Yukon.


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