by David Simmonds 

For the past 6 years we’ve been repeatedly told how it’s “hard work” trying to maintain a level of competency at the highest levels of government, but now it seems that the lower levels are struggling, as well.  You see, they passed a new law in January that requires that all travelers to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean have a passport to re-enter the U.S. (if you’re driving you’re good until the end of the year). Sounds innocuous enough in these days of “fighting terror”, although I’m pretty sure that a real terrorist could just walk across undetected along with the esimated 2,000 daily workers looking for a hard-earned paycheck. So you’d think that the feds would anticipate a boatload of applications and ramp-up the production line to process all of the new business. But, surprise, June kind of snuck up on them with a three-month turn-around time. Hard work, I guess.

Anyway, they have just announced “never mind”, you don’t need the passport as long as you have proof that you have applied for one. This is the rule until the end of September, unless, of course, it’s not. Hey, that’s about the same time that they will announce if the troop surge is working in Iraq…should be an intertaining month, so stock up your tequila cabinet. Click on this link for all of the details: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html. On the bright side, if you couldn’t re-enter the U.S. I guess you’d have to stay in Mexico…sometimes unintended consequences work out to be pretty cool.