Back in the Summer of 1998, I spent a couple of days in a hostel in San Diego before driving up Highway No. 1 to San Francisco with my sister. One day, I crossed the local border to Tijuana with a couple of fellow backpackers. We ate too many great Burritos, bought too many 2-Dollar-Margaritas, and were harassed by too many strip club promoters. Later that day we walked back into the US without any problems. The next day, I saw Sammy Sosa attempt to beat Mark McGwire in the Qualcomm Arena.

That was then. This is now:

NY Times: German Tourists Detained for Weeks, Then Deported From U.S.

(And yes, I am very aware that compared to many people on this planet, I am lucky to be a national of a country whose passport makes most international borders a mere administrative annoyance.)