REAL National ID Card ACT PASSES

Chrissy Cruiser wrote:
http://tinyurl.com/b62yk

Last-minute attempts by online activists to halt an electronic ID card
failed Tuesday when the U.S. Senate unanimously voted to impose a sweeping
set of identification requirements on Americans.

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.

Why is the west turning into a police state? Here's why:

http://tinyurl.com/ahr2x

On Wed, 25 May 2005 21:58:48 +0100, monster wrote:

Why is the west turning into a police state? Here's why:

http://tinyurl.com/ahr2x

I had read Vonnegut's article before, monster, and there is not much that
can be said except for one more thing.

We will fight more wars, drain every possible drop of oil-blood, rape every
last acreage to keep the inevitable fossil fuel calamity from happening as
quickly as it will. Putting off is all we have left at this point.

To all who think the original poster is paranoid, read the actual bill and
the following links.

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquer...:@@@L&summ2=m&

http://news.com.com/FAQ+How+Real+ID+...3-5697111.html

http://www.google.com/search?q=REAL+National+ID+Card

http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/co...5/cr020905.htm
http://www.epic.org/privacy/id_cards/




"Chrissy Cruiser" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 25 May 2005 21:58:48 +0100, monster wrote:

Why is the west turning into a police state? Here's why:

http://tinyurl.com/ahr2x

I had read Vonnegut's article before, monster, and there is not much that
can be said except for one more thing.

We will fight more wars, drain every possible drop of oil-blood, rape
every
last acreage to keep the inevitable fossil fuel calamity from happening as
quickly as it will. Putting off is all we have left at this point.

"Jamerical_Gyal" wrote in
:

http://news.com.com/FAQ+How+Real+ID+...1028_3-5697111.
html

According to this FAQ, the main thing this law does is ensure that a person
is who they say they are before they get a driver's licence. Plus it makes
the standards for identification uniform throughout the country.

The main negative is that, since the card will be uniform across the entire
country, it will be easier for stores/the government to keep track of what
you're doing. Since stores and the government already do that I'm not sure
how this will negatively affect people (beyond what is already happening).

However, if you are required to show your card, *even for cash purchases*,
then it will really suck. I might be okay with having to show your ID card
for cash purposes over 10,000 (US) but even then you've got a slippery
slope.

Most other western countries have national IDs don't they? France, Germany,
Canada (please correct me if I'm wrong). What kind of negative affect do
those ID cards have on their citizens?