"When a country can't protect its citizens, it suppresses them" Michael G. Leventhal Editor dojgov.net

Political Trollops and Has bins of the 911 Commission Decide that the best way to control terrorism is to strip all Americans of their personal liberty and privacy.  The indolence of our political and civil service bureaucracy goes mad in a Politically Correct attempt at fighting terrorism by making all Americans "subjects of the state."  Policies are lifted from the old Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.  Congressional Representative Ron Paul sums it up best below: 

National ID Threatens Liberty

by Rep. Ron Paul 7 Sep 2004

Washington politicians are once again seriously considering imposing a national identification card - and it may well become law before the end of the 108th Congress. The much-hailed 9/11 Commission report released in July recommends a federal identification card and, worse, a "larger network of screening points" inside the United States. Does this mean we are to have "screening points" inside our country where American citizens will be required to "show their papers" to government officials? It certainly sounds that way!

As I have written recently, the 9/11 Commission is nothing more than ex-government officials and lobbyists advising current government officials that we need more government for America to be safe. Yet it was that same government that failed so miserably on Sept. 11, 2001.

Congress has embraced the 9/11 Commission report uncritically since its release in July. Now Congress is rushing to write each 9/11 Commission recommendation into law before the November election. In the same way Congress rushed to pass the PATRIOT Act after the Sept. 11 attacks to be seen "doing something," it looks like Congress is about to make the same mistake again of rushing to pass liberty-destroying legislation without stopping to consider the consequences. Because it is so controversial, we may see legislation mandating a national identification card with biometric identifiers hidden in bills implementing 9/11 Commission recommendations. We have seen this technique used in the past on controversial measures.

A national identification card, in whatever form it may take, will allow the federal government to inappropriately monitor the movements and transactions of every American. History shows that governments inevitably use the power to monitor the actions of people in harmful ways. Claims that the government will protect the privacy of Americans when implementing a national identification card ring hollow. We would do well to remember what happened with the Social Security number. It was introduced with solemn restrictions on how it could be used, but it has become a de facto national identifier.

Those who are willing to allow the government to establish a Soviet-style internal passport system because they think it will make us safer are terribly mistaken. Subjecting every citizen to surveillance and "screening points" will actually make us less safe, not in the least because it will divert resources away from tracking and apprehending terrorists and deploy them against innocent Americans!

The federal government has no constitutional authority to require law-abiding Americans to present any form of identification before they engage in private transactions. Instead of forcing all Americans to prove to law enforcement that they are not terrorists, we should be focusing our resources on measures that really will make us safer. For starters, we should take a look at our dangerously porous and unguarded borders. We have seen already this summer how easy it is for individuals possibly seeking to do us harm to sneak across the border into our country. In July, Pakistani citizen Farida Goolam Mahomed Ahmed, who is on the federal watch list, reportedly crossed illegally into Texas from Mexico. She was later arrested when she tried to board a plane in New York, but she should have never been able to cross our border in the first place!

Real ID Act guarantees a National ID card is on the way
 

12 May 2005
DOJgov.net newswire

On May 10th, a small group of Senators stood up to criticize legislation that was carefully tucked into a military appropriations bill.  This is standard operating procedure for hiding "Pork Barrel" or in this case, controversial legislation for a uniform national standard driver's license, in unrelated but popular legislation. 

For all intent and purposes, it was an attempt at controlling illegal immigration while being "politically correct."  By curbing the privacy rights of all Americans, nobody could accuse the government of being anti illegal immigrant.  And it meant that to vote against this uniform and highly intrusive national driver's license standard would mark a Senator as voting against support for our troops.

This hidden legislation backed a Congressional call for standardizing driver's licenses by 2008 to comply with federal "antiterrorist" standards.  It allowed Federal employees to reject licenses or identity cards that didn't comply and deny American citizens access to everything from airplanes to national parks and even the court system.

In an almost empty Senate chamber, ten senators claimed that the Real ID Act was dangerous and poorly conceived.  They objected to the Conference Committees improperly adding the act to a military appropriations bill.  They objected to the fact that the Real ID Act was never open to debate.

Then, on May 11th and along with all other US Senators, they unanimously voted to create what many feel is a big step towards an electronically invasive National ID card and make the Real ID Act the law of the land.  Any state that opts out will automatically make non-persons out of its citizens.  They will probably not be able to fly or take a train.

In the future, you will need the following to obtain a driver's license:

1. You will have to provide four approved proofs of identity to renew your driver's license.

2. Your driver's license will include an increasing amount of private information, including a possible tracking device.  These global tracking devices are already planned for implantation in new passports.

3. You can expect your personal information placed in a central database clearinghouse, available to corrupt or intrusive government employees and creative hackers.

National ID Cards are not new in the world.  Failure to show one on demand results in arrest and possible imprisonment.

House approves a de facto National ID Card

dojgov.net newswire 11 Feb 2005

In apparent recognition that Federal agencies are incapable of targeting or tracking terrorists and illegal aliens, on Thursday 10 Feb 2005, The U.S. House of Representatives approved a sweeping set of rules aimed at forcing states to issue all adults federally approved electronic ID cards, including driver's licenses.

Federal employees would instructed to reject any licenses or identity cards that don't comply with government specifications.  In effect, this would give the Federal Government power to completely control Americans' access to airplanes, trains, national parks, federal courthouses and other areas controlled by the federal government.

The bill was approved by a 261-161 vote.

The measure, called the Real ID Act, says that driver's licenses and other ID cards must include a digital photograph, anti-counterfeiting features and undefined "machine-readable technology, with defined minimum data elements" that could include a magnetic strip or RFID tag.

The Department of Homeland Security would be charged with drafting the details of the regulation, placing unelected government officials in command of the actions and mobility of American Citizens.

Republican politicians argued that the new rules were necessary to thwart terrorists, saying that four of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers possessed valid state-issued driver's licenses. "When I get on an airplane and someone shows ID, I'd like to be sure they are who they say they are," said Rep. Tom Davis, a Virginia Republican, during a floor debate that started Wednesday. 

They made no mention of the fact that most of the September 11th terrorists should have had their visa applications rejected (see www.justice-denied.net).  They also neglected to mention that if Immigration Services (formerly a bureau of the US Department of Justice and now a part of Homeland Security) had done their job in the first place, the terrorism of September 11th would not have occurred.

States would be required to demand proof of the person's Social Security number and confirm that number with the Social Security Administration. They would also have to scan in documents showing the person's date of birth and immigration status, and create a massive store "so that the (scanned) images can be retained in electronic storage in a transferable format" permanently.

Another portion of the bill says that states would be required to link their DMV databases if they wished to receive federal funds. Among the information that must be shared: All data fields printed on drivers' licenses and identification cards, and complete drivers' histories, including motor vehicle violations, suspensions and points on licenses.

The Bush administration threw its weight behind the Real ID Act, which has been derided by some conservative and civil liberties groups as tantamount to a national ID card.

Civil libertarians and firearm rights groups condemned the bill before the vote. The American Civil Liberties Union likened the new rules to a "de facto national ID card."

Because an ID is required to purchase a firearm from a dealer, Gun Owners of America said the bill amounts to a "bureaucratic back door to implementation of a national ID card." The group warned that it would "empower the federal government to determine who can get a driver's license--and under what conditions."