Papers Please

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Well we have just returned from 6 weeks in Europe.

One of the things that we did there was, at all times, maintain identification on our persons including passports. On several occasions we were asked to produce them. For example we bought a cell phone and were required to show a passport.

Twice when we were being stopped for possible traffic violations (one warning, one fine) we had to show who we were. Papers Please! As Rachel Maddow would say in her imitation Nazi voice. Thank God the ACLU is working to prevent that kind of police state activity in Arizona.

Seriously, I did not feel at all put out that those countries felt that they had a right to expect me to stand and identify myself as a legal resident.

I agree with them and I think we should exercise the same right with respect to anyone seeking employment in this country. That would, of course, require everyone (including citizens) to demonstrate legal status when applying for work.
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a Paris

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The title is all of my French.

to email us use the mail.com address.

We are having a late cool spring here.

We walked down the Seine and drank wine and ate with Christian and Deanna today.

You can tell one at 200 yards.

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In the summer of 1983 I got a backpack and a Eurail pass and set out to roam around Europe. I spent several days in Istanbul and returned to Thessalonika, Greece from where I went (not on the pass) through Tito's Yugoslavia to Bregenz, Austria. (Tito was dead but the Yugoslavia that he created was still in existence.) While I was in Greece a tall, blond fellow came over to the table where I was drinking my beloved chocolate milk which had been unavailable in Turkey.

He looked at me and in a very friendly voice said, "Where are you from?"

I said, "The United States."

In congenial chastisement he exclaimed, "Well, I can TELL that, I mean where in the United States."
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Airline security thought experiment

Suppose you could offer people a choice. For each flight there would be two planes. One plane would use the new method of airline security and the other plane would use the old system.
Which airplane do you think would fill up first?

Or let us say which one we would choose.

New style or old style? I'll start.

New style.

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