Posted on 05/10/2005 6:52:32 AM PDT by softengine
The US House of Representatives passed a spending bill last week that contains provisions establishing a national ID card, and the Senate is poised to approve the measure in the next few days. This week marks the American public’s last chance to convince their Senators they don’t want to live in a nation that demands papers from its citizens as they go about their lives.
Absent a political miracle in the Senate, within two years every American will need a conforming national ID card to participate in ordinary activities. This REAL ID Act establishes a massive, centrally-coordinated database of highly personal information about American citizens: at a minimum their name, date of birth, place of residence, Social Security number, and physical characteristics. The legislation also grants open-ended authority to the Secretary of Homeland Security to require biometric information on IDs in the future. This means your harmless looking driver’s license could contain a retina scan, fingerprints, DNA information, or radio frequency technology.
Think this sounds farfetched? Read the REAL ID Act, HR 418, for yourself. Its text is available on the Library of Congress website. A careful reading also reveals that states will be required to participate in the “Drivers License Agreement,” which was crafted by DMV lobbyists years ago. This agreement creates a massive database of sensitive information on American citizens that can be shared with Canada and Mexico!
Terrorism is the excuse given for virtually every new power grab by the federal government, and the national ID is no exception. But federal agencies have tried to create a national ID for years, long before the 9-11 attacks. In fact, a 1996 bill sought to do exactly what the REAL ID Act does: transform state drivers’ licenses into de facto national ID cards. At the time, Congress was flooded with calls by angry constituents and the bill ultimately died.
Proponents of the REAL ID Act continue to make the preposterous claim that the bill does not establish a national ID card. This is dangerous and insulting nonsense. Let’s get the facts straight: The REAL ID Act transforms state motor vehicle departments into agents of the federal government. Nationalizing standards for driver's licenses and birth certificates in a federal bill creates a national ID system, pure and simple. Having the name of your particular state on the ID is meaningless window dressing.
Federally imposed standards for drivers' license and birth certificates make a mockery of federalism and the 10th amendment. While states technically are not forced to accept the federal standards, any refusal to comply would mean their residents could not get a job, receive Social Security, or travel by plane. So rather than imposing a direct mandate on the states, the federal government is blackmailing them into complying with federal dictates.
One overriding point has been forgotten: Criminals don’t obey laws! As with gun control, national ID cards will only affect law-abiding citizens. Do we really believe a terrorist bent on murder is going to dutifully obtain a federal ID card? Do we believe that people who openly flout our immigration laws will nonetheless respect our ID requirements? Any ID card can be forged; any federal agency or state DMV is susceptible to corruption. Criminals can and will obtain national ID cards, or operate without them. National ID cards will be used to track the law-abiding masses, not criminals.
I'm saddened to say it, but the GOP has finally lost me. I will not only take my vote elsewhere next time, but I will actively pursue making it harder for any GOPers to get elected.
Who was it that said Ron Paul was the lone of voice of reason in DC? A truer statement I haven't heard.
And great minds think alike - from Vox Day's latest:
"Then I considered the following description of the RealID plan:
Starting three years from now, if you live or work in the United States, you'll need a federally approved ID card to travel on an airplane, open a bank account, collect Social Security payments, or take advantage of nearly any government service.
This sounds more than a little remniscent of words written on the isle of Patmos almost 2,000 years ago: "He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark ...' "
---I'm saddened to say it, but the GOP has finally lost me. I will not only take my vote elsewhere next time, but I will actively pursue making it harder for any GOPers to get elected.---
Say hello to President Hillary...
When do you think Civil War II will kick off?
Ron Paul must live in another reality. He needs to wake up and look around. You already need a government ID (a valid drivers license and SS card) to travel on an airplane, open a bank account, collect Social Security payments, or take advantage of nearly any government service. His is, as usual, a day late and a dollar short. The only people who this will hurt are the dishonest, those who would steal identities, and illegal aliens.
Interesting question - and one I have asked myself numerous times.
Hey I like you flag,
like my tag.
Well that's a disgusting thought. Having said that however, can you think of anything she would do on the domestic front that would be any worse than what Bush and the MINOs are doing. Maybe it takes a democrat president for republican congresscrittrs to start acting moderate instead of the current liberal.
Yep the only people it will hurt are the lawbreakers. Let's see. They're willing to break the law in any number of way, but an internal passport is a law that they will obey. Yeah right.
This will work just like gun control works to prevent crime - Oh I forgot it's only in liberals' "minds" that gun control prevents crime. Go get a clue card.
I fail to understand the blind worship of the Bush administration; I have said repeatedly that the Bush administration is NOT conservative.
Again, watch what politicians do; don't listen to what they say.
The Bush people, while I voted for Bush, are big spenders, grow government, welfare advocates.
Tell me what's conservative about that?
The truth is that the "neo-cons" have complete control of the Bush presidency. The neo-cons are anything BUT conservative.
Most republican, sadly, simply revert to..."well Bush is better than the alternative". I say that is a distinction without much of a difference.
So anyone who values privacy is a criminal in your world?
"Starting three years from now, if you live or work in the United States, you'll need a federally approved ID card to travel on an airplane, open a bank account, collect Social Security payments, or take advantage of nearly any government service."
I just don't get all the hyperventilating about this from the libertarian types. It seems to me that these things are all to the good. If this slows down the flood of illegal immigrants by hassling their movement, prevents them from getting our SS money, keeps the mad Moslems off the planes (like the killers who used phony state IDs to blow up the World Trade Center), or keeps our own people from "taking advantage of nearly any government service", then those people who truly value their freedom will finally be weaned off the government teat by looking for alternatives, like private financial resources and under-the-table, below-the-radar means of transacting business.
And regarding casting a GOP vote to keep Shrillery out, or if anyone here would like to reguritate the mantra "Any vote NOT for us, is a vote for them.." - I give you this excerp from Vox on voting :
"Since Soup appears to have missed last October's math lesson, we'll repeat it.
Candidate D has 99 votes.
Candidate R has 99 votes.
The next voter votes for candidate Z. How many votes does Candidate D have?
If you answered (a), you are correct. If you answered (b), you are likely a National Democrat. If you answered (c), you are likely a Democrat. If you answered d), you are probably a rabbit.
The only thing certifiable about Soup's statement is that it is mathematically crazy. And there is no error more obvious than assuming that present trends will continue indefinitely. The only thing that is certain is that one day, the next president will not be a Republican or Democrat."
I ask you and everyone here, if our RINO reps are going to continue to refuse to remain true to strict constitutionalism, and continue to refuse to vote on legislation according to the wishes of their constituents, then isn't it time we removed them ...also?
See my tagline.
We live in a welfare state. Our government takes our money in taxes and redistributes it to people in the form of entitlements. In order to avoid fraud in those entitlement programs, the government needs to be able to possitively identify people receiving benefits. Another option is to get rid of the entitlements.
I don't forsee our society being willing to get rid of the entitlements, so there is a genuine need for a reliable means of identification for those programs. However, this Real Id crap goes beyond that. I do not want my personal information in the hands of the corrupt Mexican government.
I don't like showing identification to travel within the United States. I'm skeptical that requiring identification for air travel really makes us safer.
If this bill passes, I sincerely hope Ohio doesn't participate. If I need to do so I can use the same form of identification for domestic air travel that I use for international travel, my passport.
For instances where the federal government needs to identify me, I have appropriate federally issued identification.
My driver's license does not need to be federally approved identification.
Well, I don't know about anyone else, but when I moved to Minnesota and got my DL here, I had to provide my SS# (which is not on the license), a fingerprint and my local address.
According to that department, they did a records search on me to make sure I was who I said I was. Now I have the license. I fail to see any difference between those requirements and the ones being proposed.
They were the same in California.
Now, maybe some states don't have these requirements. I don't know. But, other than a central database, I can't see how this changes a darned thing.
Maybe someone can fill me in.
I went to the site. Man, is THAT guy paranoid!!!! I was waiting for pictures of green government UFO's to go flying across the screen!
"From the Conspiracy Planet website??? Wow! It MUST be true!!!!"
Yup! No doubt. Conspiracy Theorists Unite! Everything is a conspiracy. Everything.
But of course, we can trust the Govt. not to take advantage of this huge hole in the legislation....They'd never take advantage /sarcasm
When there is only one standard to fake, it will be easier on the criminals to steal identities. I prefer state competition.
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