Blog date was set to 9/14/10 to place this below the above, main post, though this was actually posted after. Reverse chronological order hack doesnt seem to work, see here
This fellow refused to answer questions from customs officials when returning to the US:
http://knifetricks.blogspot.com/2010/09/10-brief-responses-to-700-comments.html
Picking my battles, personally, I would just answer the questions, but his heart's in the right place.
It would be more appropriate to refuse to answer questions when returning to the US (immigration), rather than after immigration, and at customs. The customs people at least, are responsible for finding out if you owe customs duties, or if you're bringing in contraband. So, it's natural that they may ask questions. Certainly you can refuse to answer, but the concept of them asking questions about your stuff doesnt bother me so much.
On the other hand, at immigration, after you've proven you're a US citizen, that's pretty much it. By law they have to let you in, Americans have an absolute right to enter the US. If you're a fleeing felon, you may wind up entering and then getting put in jail right away, but at least, you have an absolute right to enter the US. The questions they ask about how long you've been gone, whether you were gone on business or pleasure, etc., are the more intrusive in my opinion.
But anyway, I cheer and applaud this fellow for standing up for his civil dignity as a US citizen, even if I would have picked a diferent battle.
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