So is the US about to grab all the guns, seal the borders, make foreign trade a crime, and change the color of the money? Some posters here seem to think that we are moments away from a full Nazi/Commie style totalitarian state. Is this likely? Even in the more coventional areas of political discourse, there seem to be people who think that we can -- for example -- "seal the borders." Do any of these people happen to know how many people cross US borders each year? Would you believe 40,000,000! It seems unlikely that we can go from 40 million to zero without some problems. This is travel in both directions of course. Most of the crossings are of the US-Canada and US-Mexico borders. Mexican, US, and Canadian citizens have equal rights to cross each other's borders with minimal documentation. The New York Times is doing a series this week on how hopelss the INS is at any part of its job. How it is totally demoralized, unable to deport more than a few of even the felonious aliens living in the US, and unable to even answer its phones when its boss (the Butcher of Waco) calls. "Nobody wants to do his case because he is believed to carry a weapon and be dangerous." -- Deportation agent speaking of a felon they deported so that the New York Times could watch. This was a guy they picked up at his employer whose name they got from his INS file. He was shipped off to Nicaragua and promised to be back in a week. Each Deportation Officer has 4,000 cases assigned and is allowed to deport about one alien a month. You do the math. Note that the DDR was better than most countries at sealing its border but it still failed. It is no longer with us. The fgailure of border sealing shows the general inability of modern governments to cope with there enforcement problems. 1984 is no where in sight. DCF ************************************************************************* ATMs, Contracting Out, Digital Switching, Downsizing, EDI, Fax, Fedex, Home Workers, Internet, Just In Time, Leasing, Mail Receiving, Phone Cards, Quants, Securitization, Temping, Voice Mail.