Posted on 05/10/2005 6:44:52 AM PDT by holymoly
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.
Dr. Ron Paul is a Republican member of Congress from Texas.
Criminals don’t obey laws! As with gun control, national ID cards will only affect law-abiding citizens.
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Again, Washington shows its agenda, to do anything BUT FIX THE PROBLEM. Even trampling on states rights and the Tenth Amendment. Uh, is anyone watching Washington, DC. ???
Of course not. However, we're not talking about National ID cards here, we're talking about setting state requirements because certain states are acting in a completely reckless manner when they issue drivers licenses. Having tighter guidelines won't stop terrorism or illegal immigration - that will take a lot of additional investigative or enforcement work - but allowing driver's licenses to be issued to illegals makes that work a lot more difficult.
Indeed, it doesn't demand papers from illegals, now does it?
Wonder how this will fit in with the matricular cards. Will we now be one big happy family?
Now, if the feds are going to pass this act, they in turn need to get serious about enforcing border security and cracking down on internal movement and employment of illegals.
Agreed.
Yeah, but it may help curb illegal voters, among other things. Keep your eye on the target, not the decoy.
The sad truth is that true privacy is an illusion and has been for decades.
These days, it is possible for nearly anyone to find out nearly anything they want to know about anybody at all. Increase this posibility nearly exponentially when the somebody looking is a government agency. If the goobermint wants to track citizens, it is already easy enough to do, and the RealID act won't make any difference - except the one badly needed reason: stopping illegals from getting legitimate ID.
The cries of "Big Brother" in this matter, are drastically overblown.
That isn't their purpose.
Don't bother with the arguments of privacy, I assume you have already entered your data into google and saw what is available on-line about you for free, much less what can be found with a $20 fee. Privacy is a thing of the past.
No ID card, No Papers, No nothing. Screw those socialist bastards in Washington.
So he should name something that WOULD stop terrorism.
Activists such as Ron Paul have played a role in blocking implementation of a National ID card - which I think at the end of the day is a good thing. However, that in turn requires that we depend upon state-issued identification for security purposes. And we also have federal-level reciprocity with that ID - if one state issues ID, it is valid in all states.
So, IMO, it is a properl role for the fedgov to set standards for issuance of state identification. And what do we hear from Ron Paul? More cries of NO! NO! NO!
OK, Ron, then what is YOUR solution to this problem? Instead of always being against things, how are you going to solve this?
You're against illegal immigration - if states can issue drivers licenses to illegals, what impact does that have in trying to prevent illegals from working once they are here? I can hear the employers now: "We'd love to only hire legal workers, but how can we possibly be held accountable when our state issues valid driver's licenses to illegal aliens?"
I like Ron Paul, generally speaking, but he is given to hysteria on this issue.
The fact is, you would have to be born at home without any attending Doctor/Licensed midwife, never applied for a SS Card, never went to a public school, never had a drivers license, always worked "off the books" for cash, never applied for credit,etc. etc. all your life to NOT be in a multitude of databases.
Impossible, in this day and age in the USA - IMHO, of course.
I agree. The last thing we need is the Dept of ID's. Can you imagine the beaucracy required to run this?
You understand wrong. It also will require all documentation you use to prove your citizenship be copied and/or scanned into electronically transmissible format. This information will be stored in a national database for 7-10 years, and may be shared with Canada and Mexico.
The Dept. of Homeland security may add further requirements in the future, including such things as finger prints.
And if someone doesn't like the program, they don't have to apply for a driver's license. Hire a driver, call a cab, take the bus and/or ride your bicycle! LOL
That's very funny.
My father had suffered a series of strokes. We did not allow him to drive, though he did have a state ID (required for his SS beneifits). He then had a massive stroke, which left him totally disabled and bedridden for the last three years of his life.
I guess, if he were still alive, and "Real ID" was in place, it would be tough sh*t if that old Iwo Jima vet couldn't drag himself to the Secretary of States' office with reams of documents, to "prove" his citizenship, right?
"Real ID" is a can of worms. We haven't even begun to consider all the repercussions of this legislation.
Kill the bill!
We know where illegal aliens live. We knew where all the 9-11 hijackers lived.
When California won’t turn in illegal aliens who send their kids to public schools, who get drivers licenses then it’s complete non-sense to state that we need more information or a national ID.
When the 9-11 bombers legally lived among us, with our knowledge and approval, how would an ID have helped us? They would have gotten this ID as well.
The crooks out there won’t care (Just like with gun-control), and the only one affected is “us”. The stupid dumb ass like me who tries to follow the rules and ends up paying more, standing in lines, and getting in trouble because I forgot some paperwork which serves no purpose anyway.
Our government needs to ask themselves, “Who do we represent?” and “Where are we going with this?”.
This move is in general a bad idea even for our republic! Centralized information like this is “Extremely” dangerous. To a layman this may seem like no big deal, but reality is, this information can be misused very easily. It is a move in the wrong direction where we just as the Europeans lay our “faith” in that some bureaucrat will do the right thing.
Half of the people pushing for this ID are probably from states like CA and NY! Enforce the laws on hand and don’t try to cover up failure or justifying a job by making up more dumb laws.
Red6
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