[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Seems the jackboots are out in all their goose-stepping glory...

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

PING!

Anyone planning on buying a boat?

[cripplecreek]

They need to tell us what's going on when they do that sort of thing.

[Mount Athos]

Oh yeah, to avoid offending anyone lets make sure our coast guard is completely unarmed when they confront drug runners and terrorists, and hey let's stop enforcing our laws and trying to stop illegal activity and security threats. How about disarming our police too.

Isn't it more than a little insane to compare this to death squads in argentina? Such whining!

[freeeee]

Now sing along...

"..O'er the Land of the Free, and the Home of the Brave..."

Kind of leaves a lump in one's throat and a tear in the eye!

[konaice]

Coasties seem friendly enough, but anyone fishing for Salmon in Alaska out of thier little boat can attest to the nasty way these supposidly "safety inspections" are carried out. It goes way beyond the need of safety and way beyond what you would tolerate for your home. The catch: Often a Boat is your home.

Your wonderfull Supreme Court has held these gun-point searches are legal.

[Cagey]

10:30 PM Safety Inspections? What a crock. They were fighting the War on Terror, often known by the acronym, WOD.

[andyk]

Coast Guard officials say they are authorized by maritime law to board and search vessels on U.S. waters, including waters that lead to U.S. waters, to enforce federal laws.

I certainly wasn't aware of that. Does that mean that they can search boats docked in Chicago any time they please? Does it also include land-locked bodies of water?

[Rodney King]

The water nazi's don't have to obey the same rules that normal police do. They pretty much do whatever they want.

[tet68]

Coast Guard officials say they are authorized by maritime law to board and search vessels on U.S. waters, including waters that lead to U.S. waters, to enforce federal laws.

Including navigatible waters, this means the Mississippi,
the Tennessee, and other large rivers, if you cruise on
them THEY have jurisdiction and THEY are the law.
You must be prepared for a safety inspection, this is not
your average lake.

Still sounds odd though, more like a drug tip, etc.

[freeeee]

"And I'm proud to be an American,
where at least I know I'm free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
' Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA!"

Sniff... sniff... I'm getting all choked up....
< blows nose in hanky >

[43north]

Typical. Go after those most likely to be law abiding because they are easy and least likely to cause problems.

Most of those young coasties wouldn't know what to do if they had to use those weapons. THAT is what makes me nervous. Soldiers are forced to patrol live fire zones like NOLA w/o mags but these guys roam around marinas and boats where there are LOTS of tripping hazards. Were their weapons loaded? This is a disaster waiting to happen.

My boat was once boarded by a USCG search party for a "Safety Inspection" while I was cruising along in Valdez, AK. The poor lad who had to climb from the inflatable into my boat had on a Sam Browne with a .45 auto, two spare mags, flashlight, handcuffs, radio, etc. and was wearing a PFD. He'd have still sunk pretty fast had he fallen in.

[Rodney King]

When Jones showed them the bilge, the officers repeatedly, and with increasing forcefulness, demanded to know if there were other accesses to the bilge.

What they were looking for is drugs. If they find them, they just take your boat.

[MarineBrat]

"To me it reeks of Nazi Germany and the death squads in Argentina," he said. "I don't want my name on their list."

Holy flying balls of dung beetle dung! Another melodramatic wuss gets his sword polished by the MSM!

[surely_you_jest]

The Founding Fathers would be appalled. Why aren't we?

[GodBlessUSA]

I'm only hearing the one side to this story in this article. I wonder how cooperative these people really were. Coast Guard does Board Vessels. They also have to deal with smart alec people who drink/partying and are not cooperative on holiday weekends. If they were out of line, they should be reprimanded but this news story alone, does not have proof enough to make that conclusion.</p>

[veracious]

Admirality law may be allowable on the seas. Can someone speak about this? Seems like inland lakes aren't open for non-civil (admirality law).

I suspect this may be pretty legal, since it was coastal water. It would only be lawful elsewhere under War Powers Act, which is my current believe/hope the current Patriot Act and current police state behavior stems from.

My legal understanding is that even War Powers are constitutional (since they are stated in the US Constitution), but must be limited to two years...

[R. Scott]

A “safety inspection” conducted at 10:30 PM is a bit out of line – in fact, way out of line.

[Jack Black]

Moss landing? Monterey Bay? You'd have to have been there to know what a joke this really is. There is NO commercial shipping anywhere in Moneterey Bay. Moss Landing is the ultimate little dinky nothing of a harbor. There is probably not anything worthy of national security concerns anywhere in Monterey. Clint Eastwood's private golf course? The old cannery now a gallery filled mall?

Unfortunately while you might demand a warrent if it were your house the JBTs want to search you won't get far on a boat with that request, as the one guy found out.

[Publius6961]

No search warrant required?
Probable cause?

Anything?

[Translates]

ping