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FAQ: How Real ID will affect you
May 6, 2005 -
California bill would ban tracking chips in IDs
April 28, 2005 -
National ID cards on the way?
February 14, 2005 -
House backs major shift to electronic IDs
February 10, 2005 -
States to test ID chips on foreign visitors
January 26, 2005 -
U.S. moves closer to e-passports
October 25, 2004
The so-called Real ID Act now heads to President Bush, who is expected to sign the bill into law this month. Its backers, including the Bush administration, say it's needed to stop illegal immigrants from obtaining drivers' licenses.
If the act's mandates take effect in May 2008, as expected, Americans will be required to obtain federally approved ID cards with "machine readable technology" that abides by Department of Homeland Security specifications. Anyone without such an ID card will be effectively prohibited from traveling by air or Amtrak, opening a bank account, or entering federal buildings.
After the Real ID Act's sponsors glued it to an Iraq military spending bill, final passage was all but guaranteed. Yet that didn't stop a dedicated cadre of privacy activists from trying to raise the alarm in the last few days.
UnRealID.com, which calls the legislation a "national ID card," says that more than 10,800 people filled out its online petition to senators.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation hastily created a "Stop The Real ID Act!" campaign last week, and the ACLU denounced the bill as a measure that would create "a system ripe for identity theft." Security guru Bruce Schneier offered his own negative critique.
If the Real ID Act had been a standalone piece of legislation--instead of being embedded in an unrelated military spending bill--its passage in the Senate might have been less certain.
The House approved it in February by a relatively narrow vote of 261-161, and some senators had condemned it. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., warned last month that the Real ID Act creates "de facto national ID cards" and the National Immigration Law Center said it will make it harder even for legal immigrants and citizens to get drivers' licenses.
Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, a Wisconsin Republican and Real ID Act sponsor, applauded the Senate vote on Tuesday. "The Real ID is vital to preventing foreign terrorists from hiding in plain sight while conducting their operations and planning attacks," Sensenbrenner said. "By targeting terrorist travel, the Real ID will assist in our war-on-terror efforts to disrupt terrorist operations and help secure our borders."
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Regards,
J
Also, our freedom is being taken away one legislation at a time. I am a conservative but Bush does not stand for traditional American values. He ignores the constitution in an effort to promote his agenda and to help his buddies the Saudie princes. This country is looking more and more like Germany just before WW2. I guess he will lead us into WW3 soon.
personally, i wrote my congressman last week to complain about this poorly thought out legislation. my major comment to him: i'm tired of our government giving the terrorist what they want by depriving Americans of their freedoms. i also told him that there were much more important things that the congress should look at, including problems in education, protection of the enviromnent, etc.
mark d.
n : the calculated use of violence (or threat of violence) against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimindation or coercion or instilling fear [syn: act of terrorism, terrorist act]
Source: WordNet ® 2.0, © 2003 Princeton University
I'm disgusted, and as soon as an opportunity arrises, I'll contribute to haulting this over the next 3 years.
That's ********! Try as we may, ennui always enters the fray. Which is not to say things must go that way. A little honesty usually wins the day. I thought that DNA charts was already underway?
Plan RR
I'd be willing to wager that those in America who believe the Real ID Act is necessary to prevent terrorism are also the same group convinced that foreign "terrorists" brought down the World Trade Center buildings in New York on 911.
Considering all the evidence compiled by independent 911 researchers, the "Official 911 Commission" report, which was nothing but a poorly written "Official 911 Omission & Cover up", it is acutely apparent that the tragic events of 911 were perpetrated against Americans by the US government and its executive branch.
Beyond mass murder of its own citizens, 911 and the illusion of terrorists has been used as a pretense for the Bush administration to wage war against innocent people in other countries, steal their natural resources, imprison, torture and murder tens of thousands, plus deprive American citizens of their constitutional rights further via the Patriot Act and now the National ID, er, Real ID Act.
Mass murder of its own citizens, lying to Congress, misleading the public and committing us to an immoral and illegal war(s), plunging the country into an abyss of debt, destroying the United States reputation in the world, reversing our environmental protections, mandatory ID's ...the list goes on and on and on.
Is anybody paying attention out there? Do people even have a clue that their country is burning down all around them? Can you not see how we are heading toward a dictatorship and a fascist government?
Wake up people and smell the New World Odor ...it stinks.
In the name of "freedom", we must give up all our freedoms!!
The Real ID Act, combined with the ironically named Patriot Act,
have set our freedoms back more than 240 years. We are just a
step or two away from becoming the "United Fascist State of
America".
I wonder if people put up a similar stink when states started requiring a license to drive, or own a handgun, or travel internationally.
Now, this places all this information, including 'personal' info all into 1 card, with an 'easy to read' feature, and a singular database.
Even worse, this database is not just government held, but accessible (including the reading equipment) by numerous companies that may claim a need for this security (anyone in transportation), or any other business who wants an easy way to 'track' customers.
Needless to say, it is a frightening concept.
:)
by this Congress:
Patriot Act - Supposed to protect our freedom. The Results --
Federal Government more easily spying on its citizens without
any real oversight, ie. citizens lose their freedoms
CAN Spam Act - Supposed to "can" or contain Spam -- the
Result: zero reduction in SPAM, in fact SPAM problem is worse
than ever.
Real ID Act - Supposed to guarantee the authenticity of identity
-- This bill will likely make it easier than ever for criminals to
create forgeries -- technology has never solved this problem,
meanwhile -- the law abiding citizen loses more rights.
As a general rule -- if a bill has a name, it seems safe to assume
that the opposite of its name will most likely be the result.
said that they were NOT TO BE USED AS IDENTIFICATION to
avoid the very state we are in -- a federal government that can
track each and every move you make.
<http://aclu.org/pizza> makes a great example of where we
will likely be in 5 years time.
To quote Ben Franklin:
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little
temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
Since it's going to be signed into law, let's look at how it can be improved. I wouldn't mind having my medical history on this card into to aide doctors treating me in event of an accident or whatever. Please don't lease the technology to various private companies. Keep this strictly to goverment agencies, a few transportation companies, and hospitals. IMO this will keep our information and location safer. Just my .02.
Privatized companies certainly should not have access to this information without expressed written consent of the individual. And don't bury it in a long document written in legalese like an EULA.
my 2 cents,
Legal Alien.
Doug
It will not stop terrorists hell-bent on their target.
It will however make us less free.
The terrorists seem to have won. They have scared congress and much of the american people into giving up what our country was founded on: personal freedom.
Giving up freedoms paid for by the blood of millions is an extremely cowardly act.
As it is, every time someone makes a noise about stopping the illegals from crossing our boarders, the politico's hem 'n' haw around and basically ignore the whole thing leading to a lack of action, thereby forcing citizens to take matters in hand and stop the illegals themselves.
if you think I'm kidding read "Mexifornia".
2: "I do not support Bush's domestic policies usually. He is basically a front man for the wealthy players" ummmmmmmmm......... REMINDER! John Kerry is married to one of the WEALTHIEST WOMEN IN AMERICA! Let us not forget that those who make up the loudest section of the "liberals' are ... DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUN! WEALTHY ACTORS AND ACTRESSES! (who, I might add, have no idea what the REST of America is about nor are they in touch with those like me and mine)
so the next time you want to slam bush for "supporting the wealthy" try to remember WHO THE WEALTHY ARE!
And for the record ... BOTH parties are full of scumbags.
Think I'm lying? consider they fact that those in the senate voted themselves and a raise and DO NOT pay into social security but can draw from it.
Your rights, subsequent bills, laws, freedoms, privacy, etc. are all being decided for you ...in the dead of night without any consideration from, or for you.
Got the picture?
So, DONT DISSENT. Or, Else...
flag. - Sen. Huey Long
That says it all.
I will admit the fact that the bill was piggybacked onto a war funds bill is nothing less than morally reprehensible, but politicians do that sort of thing all the time. Yet I maintain that all the noise and complaining is empty and anti-progressive.
Look around the world. There are several FREE countries in Europe that use a system like this and you don't see them comparing their leaders to the single most evil figure of the 20th century.
Check your emotions at the door and think about this rationally. It's not all bad. It needs some work, but the idea's still in it's infancy.
- id cards
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by morris7353
May 13, 2005 1:12 AM PDT
- 1939 germans had id cards only they called them papers. 2005 who's going to the camps ?
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