Posted on 01/16/2008 8:24:07 PM PST by Clintonfatigued
Despite the announced delayed implementation, Maine politicians are speaking out against the REAL ID Act of 2005.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued regulations for the act last week, including giving states until 2017 to comply. Under the original language, states would have had to be in compliance by May.
The Department also announced that starting in 2017, old driver’s licenses won’t get people into federal buildings or onto airplanes – a slap in the face to Maine and a handful of other states that have passed resolutions barring their participation in a national identification program. Driver’s licenses would be replaced by a national, tamper-proof ID card.
Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap has continually spoken out against the act, calling it an unfunded mandate – therefore a financial burden for the state.
Dunlap was honored Friday by the Maine Civil Liberties Union for his work against the act. MCLU opposes REAL ID, fearing increased identity theft.
“Maine’s political and community leaders have recognized REAL ID for what it truly is- a poorly thought out policy that fails to achieve its’ supposed primary goal of improving national security, while at the same time creating enormous concerns about the privacy of all Americans,” Dunlap said in a release.
(Excerpt) Read more at politickerme.com ...
According to wikipedia, the Real ID Act “requires people entering federal buildings, boarding airplanes or opening bank accounts to present identification that has met certain security and authentification standards.”
The states would be required to essentially use unified standards for granting drivers liscences, which would be far more extensive than what is currently used. It bears a resemblance to a national I.D. law.
“Dunlap was honored Friday by the Maine Civil Liberties Union for his work against the act. MCLU opposes REAL ID, fearing increased identity theft.”
O.K., tha Civil Liberties Union opposes the ID, so I support it. I think the MCLU is REALLY concerned that this new ID may prevent illegals from sucking on our financial support systems and it might also prevent the Libs from carrying out the vote fraud they seem fond of.
Wether you agree with the Real ID Act or not, you gotta admit that gov't is pretty crappy when it takes 16 years to respond to 9/11/01.
And, BTW, I'm not opposed to having a national standard for drivers licenses and state ID's, but they're overcomplicating this and are taking the 1st steps toward a national ID.
“...a slap in the face to Maine...”
Sometimes a slap in the face is necessary to get a point across.
Anyone who thinks a national ID card is a good thing has rocks in their heads. This is the best way to give up your freedom, one step of many that the people of the USA have been taking over the last 60 years or so into slavery. The last thing we need is a national ID, or real ID which amounts to the same thing. Small government is best, tatoo that on your hands and don’t forget it. Keep the feds out of our lives as much as possible and we will be better off. I grew up during the 50s and we were a hell of a lot more free than we are now, I don’t even recognize this country now, the citizens cave into every thing. National ID my butt. Up the republic and keep it free.
I’ll tell you this much, I am not in favor of having to have an internal passport to move around this country. I am so sick of the whole “YOUR PAPERS PLEASE” and give me a smaple of yourself mentality the government has. Now I read a story today about the FBI and the UK working to set up a friggin global personal database for everyone in those countries.
Can’t get to a 1 world government, totally controlled population faster. It’s like Orwell is a God to these nutjobs.
“1984” is NOT a blueprint, you morons! It was a warning! These fruitcakes think it’s a damn utopia.
Maine, give us a break. Wasn’t it Mohamed Atta who boarded a plane in Maine, continued on to New York and flew it into the WTC? Real ID Act would have been nice then so I don’t see your point now.
Chertoff to Maine: take your state sovereignty and shove it!
Buncha crap.
BUMP to FRed, a Federalist who will work to stop this kind of nonsense.
Gov’t is here to protect your rights. Thats all. It is Your responsibility to take care of yourself. Turning to a Id card to protect yourself is the last thing we should do.
Being alert and standing your ground is the minimum thing you can do as a citizen of this Republic.
Wait for Gov’t and you die.
A REAL ID will only separate the wheat from the chaffe and prevent non-citizens from collecting benefits, boarding aircraft, entering federal buildings and blowing them up. If anyone thinks a ‘national’ ID is inferior to 50 ‘national’ ID’s, they haven’t considered the obvious...
So, having been Military (or if you’ve ever worked for local, state or federal government), go ahead and scan my retina - Big Deal - my ‘prints’ are already at the FBI compliments of the OSI or the NSA - it’s a given. After-which, no one else will be able to ‘pass’ for me. Give me a REAL ID and call me ‘citizen’ and tag non-citizens posing as me as non-citizens...
don’t get stuck in the ‘60’s unless you’re smokin’ RonPaul-TimothyLearydope. “They” already ‘know who you are’ and yes, I DO know how ineffecient and incompetent government beauracracies can be.
Interesting comments. I assume you do not have a United States Passport.
The point is that another Mohanned Atta can get a REAL ID, live silently, appear law-abiding and then when ordered, blow something up and kill mass amounts of Americans.
The REAL ID does not stop terrorism. It does allow the government to chase after people and harass them. For example, if New York alleges that a Floridian owes them state taxes (which they have absurdly done many times in the past), they can find such a person via REAL ID and freeze their bank accounts in Florida. And the problems will only grow worse as government is allowed to act without check.
We live in a Republic. The REAL ID moves us closer to living in a totalitarian state.
Create the problem that is very significant in the eyes of the public, and needs fixin'.
This generates the reaction that in all likelihood is predictable on a society-wide basis.
Stand ready to offer the solution to the problem, this time with the full support of the public, who has not thought it through well enough to see the long-term loss of freedoms. Appeal to the emotional content of their concerns. This solution was the ultimate goal to begin with.
Repeat as necessary.
world-wide currency...world wide public health concerns...world-wide security concerns...world-wide trade regulation...world-wide resource management...world-wide media ownership...world wide communication control...world-wide transportation access...world-wide identification...world-wide food distribution systems...
every one of which is established because the people thought it would be a good idea at the time to solve a short term problem.
Who does this? Anyone with some resources and a long term plan can use this technique.
I'll never live long enough to suffer for too terribly long, but my kids will.
Always remember that we, as humans, are fallible, and if we are ruled by a few, they will not always be benevolent, they will not always be intelligent, and they will not always be motivated to work for the benefit of all. However, I suspect they will always be rich. That is why democracy, though a lousy system of government, is still better than all of the other systems, IMHO.
Add getting a job to that list.
In Title 3 of the immigration bill that failed last summer, Real ID was linked to E-Verify so that beginning in 2013, Real ID would have been required in order to apply for a job.
Amen!
I’m surprised that this didn’t get more opposition when it was proposed.
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