Detroit News – January 31, 2006:
Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Immigration officers will focus on bogus NFL memorabilia this week.
At last year’s game in Jacksonville, Fla., agents seized some 21,000 pieces of counterfeit NFL merchandise worth $5 million.
On Monday, customs agents arrested a 42-year-old U.S. citizen as he tried to enter Detroit from Windsor, said Capt. Ron Smith, spokesman for the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. The driver said he was from New York, and his car was loaded with boxes containing 432 phony Super Bowl shirts valued at $1,200, Smith said.
Homeland Security is sure busy. Being involved in serious breaches of security such as trademark disputes, copyright disputes, and arresting peaceful protesters. It’s too bad they don’t have time to stop the Mexican Military from entering our country.
21000 pieces of merchandise valued at $5M is over $200/per. They must be nice pieces of merchandise. ON the other hand, the 400 shirts at $1200 value would be sold for
What will it take to stop this bogus sham of a department?
Disband Homeland Security Now!
Part of the Border Patrol is the Customs function. Here, the shirts were coming into the country. The agents were fully justified, as part of their mandate, in seizing the counterfeit goods.
“Homeland Security is sure busy.”
Bogus, bogus, and worse, intellectually lazy, point.
1. Homeland Security includes a bunch of departments and functions that were once under other departments, including Customs. Yes, there are “bigger” responsibilities the dept. takes care of (such as anti-terror stuff, and illegal immigration) but that in no means that it’s other responsibilities should be cast aside. Keeping out illegal goods (whether for trademark reasons, or otherwise) is a valuable function that needs to continue. We all have multiple responsibilities in our work and personal lives, and one of the keys to success is taking care of the less “urgent/important” tasks as they come up, to avoid letting them become the new “urgent” tasks.
2. Living in New York City, I have come to believe in the “get them for jumping the subway turnstile” theory of crime prevention. The idea is that their should be “zero” toleration to the petty crimes, which leads to a number of benefits:
– keeping people from feeling an everyday sense of lawlessness, making their normal expectations be that of “crime-free”
– realization that major crimes may be proceeded by petty crimes (a violent mugging might result from drinking in the streets).
– getting the petty criminals into the “system”, so that if they graduate to more major crimes, there is a paper and “fingerprint” trail to help find them, and keep them away longer
So, in summary, I’m glad they’re checking.
Lou
While the story is lazy, it should be noted that Bush proposed nothing to combat any border security issues during the SotU.
Steve said:
“Keeping out illegal goods (whether for trademark reasons, or otherwise) is a valuable function that needs to continue.
“And that’s why we have customs. Explain why we need both Customs and Homeland Security.”
Um–Steve, Customs is now part of Homeland Security, as is the related Border Patrol. Got it?
Steve
I understand where you’re coming from on this. Importing counterfeit T-Shirts, however, is fraud for certain and possibly smuggling. Both are felonies. If the guy hadn’t taken a short-cut through Canada, then it would be solely a Police matter and Customs would not be in the picture.
Should they be putting more effort into protecting the Southern Border? Yup! Should they be deporting more illegal (AKA Undocumented) aliens? Yup! Should they be inspecting more water borne freight? Yup! If they took all their personnel from customs though and moved them to Arizona then it would only be shifting one priority for another.
BTW. NFL authorized T-Shirts and memorabilia are way over priced.
Who’da thunk that da boys at Homeland Security would have the time to track down those nasty ticket thugs…
Kinda explains why they haven’t contributed anything that’s be verified to the on-going “Battle for Freedom”.
Unless of course, you count the dribble that Bush and Rummy keep trying to get recorded as fact. “We’ve stopped countless threats and terrorist attempts since we started spying on our own people and torturing confessions from Iraq goat farmers.”
What a proud legacy indeed.