February 11, 2005

Line up...

Line up...we're just cattle anyway:

The U.S. House of Representatives approved on Thursday a sweeping set of rules aimed at forcing states to issue all adults federally approved electronic ID cards, including driver's licenses.

Under the rules, federal employees would reject licenses or identity cards that don't comply, which could curb 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, anticounterfeiting 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.
...
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. The White House said in a statement this week that it "strongly supports House passage" of the bill.

Et tu, GOP? Wasn't I just writing about the GOP no longer standing for small government? Just remember...a big government is a nosey government.

And why can I never get this quote out of my head?

"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.” –Benjamin Franklin

More - 9:04 AM: While this ID bill would keep illegals from getting drivers' licenses (a good thing), it goes too far in that it essentially creates a national ID card. This would cross-reference all kinds of private information that the government wasn't able to pull together at one time on ordinary citizens. It's overkill. It's trying to accomplish something that can be done in other ways.

Once you start down this path, there is no turning back. You start with a national ID card, someone figures out a way around that...then they put RFID in the cards (if they don't start out with that), and someone gets around that. Next thing you know, it will be required that all citizens who want to fly, access certain areas of the "Federal" government, or buy firearms have a chip implanted so that we definitely know who they are.

But wait...wouldn't that be the perfect way to stop identity theft? Yeah...then let's require that all citizens who want to buy and sell goods on the open market to have this chip implanted.

You see where I'm going with this? It's only the beginning. It all sounds good up front, but the near term benefits don't come close to easing the long term loss of privacy and liberty.

Comments:

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This is nothing more than inventory control if you ask me.
http://docb-t5.blogspot.com/2005/02/inventory-control_11.html

On the surface, it looks like a good thing in keeping illegal immigrants out, but as you and I have now mentioned - the downside of this is extremely unsettling.

Posted by: DocB at February 11, 2005 09:30 AM

RFID's are not ready for prime time. The data that is stored will need to be heavlily encrypted.

I think there is a use for those but do not think that it is for tracking people. I think that they can be useful

Posted by: cube at February 11, 2005 09:30 AM

I'm with you, darlin'. And that quote is always banging around in my skull, too.

Posted by: Miss O'Hara at February 11, 2005 10:12 AM

Just another example of how the GOP caves every chance it has a chance to stand up for individual liberty. They love to bleat on about liberty as long as it's a pie-in-the-sky abstraction, then they join in with the Donks to further restrict our liberties. That's why the GOP is no longer worth a crap.

Posted by: Preston Taylor Holmes at February 11, 2005 09:40 PM