Canadian asks U.S. border guard to say “please,” Canadian gets faceful of pepper spray.  It’s a fairly simple equation. I think this is in the USA PATRIOT Act, actually.

The man conceded he had made the request for politeness “repeatedly,” but opined that being pepper-sprayed, dragged from his vehicle, handcuffed, waterboarded, and detained for three hours for asking someone to say “please” was something of an overreaction.

A spokesman for the Customs and Border Control agency (or whatever it’s called now) said that travelers must obey all lawful orders by inspectors (the inspector had asked him to turn off his car), but also said that the use of force in the incident is under review.