the following from today's Cato Daily Dispatch, see www.cato.ordg

A

alan

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By the way, for anyone who might think that this fiasco won't effect their firearms rights, I respectfully suggest that you think again.



U.S. Readies Real ID

"U.S. officials said they would unveil on Friday reasonable and inexpensive national requirements to implement an identification-card program critics call a costly invasion of privacy," Reuters reports. "The program, called Real ID, has been rejected by 17 states based on draft regulations. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said he would announce on Friday revised rules that reflect state concerns. 'We have worked very closely with the states in terms of developing a plan that I think will be quite inexpensive, reasonable to implement and produce ... secure identification when drivers' licenses are presented,' Chertoff said on Thursday to a panel of outside advisers to his department. He gave no details, and the American Civil Liberties Union, which has sharply criticized the draft program, said it had no information on any revisions."

Jim Harper, Cato's director of information policy studies, comments: "The REAL ID Act regulations are dead on arrival. Several states have already committed not to implement this national ID law. Other states, which asked Congress to fully fund this $17 billion mandate, will reject the paltry $50 million Congress gave them to divide among themselves. This is all for the good. REAL ID does not add to our country's protections, it requires law-abiding citizens to carry a national ID, and it will promote identity fraud by putting millions of citizens' data into a network of databases. The deeply flawed REAL ID law was passed without a hearing in either the House or the Senate, and the Department of Homeland Security has failed to ‘fix it in the regs.’ Americans reject a national ID and they reject REAL ID."
 
REAL ID does not add to our country's protections, it requires law-abiding citizens to carry a national ID, and it will promote identity fraud by putting millions of citizens' data into a network of databases.
Click to expand...

Just about everyone has to have some form of government issued ID just to function in society today. The info from these ID's are already in networks of databases.

Not having read the legislation, what are the specific drawbacks in the bill? On its face, having a standardized type ID with biometric data making identity theft much more difficult seems like a reasonable idea. If the database connected with the card contained ALL information about you, I can see the civil liberties concerns. If, however, it merely is confirming your basic identity (name and date of birth perhaps) I don't see how it is any more intrusive than what we all use now.

There is the point that it is another case of the Federal government overstepping its authority and handing down un(der)funded mandates, which I agree is wrong. I guess I'm just ignorant about the main point of contention. Perhaps someone can enlighten me.
 
Government is already far too powerful, especially at the federal level. It has long passed the point where it is a serious danger to liberty. Biometric databases are a particularly insidious threat, since they can be used by Big Brother to track you.

We've already seen how the feds abuse their power by using surveillance on political leaders and keeping files on them. Why make it even easier for them?

The way to deal with illegal immigration is to SEAL THE BORDERS. The way to deal with the greatly exaggerated terrorist threat is to SEAL THE BORDERS (and stop aggressive meddling in the Middle East). And I'm far from convinced that the Real ID program will prevent identity theft.
 
Identity theft under the RealID act is merely a function of having a contact in some level of federal, state or local government with access to this database. Under the RealID scheme, a city clerk of Podunkville, AK can manufacture a "legitimate" ID card with nearly as much authority as a Passport. What if that city clerk decides to sell his services to an illegitimate user?

Under our current scheme, that city clerk would be hard pressed to even make a driver's license.

Putting all of that data in one basket is a horrible idea. It will be hacked, and not just to copy data. It will have updates ran against it; the biometric data can be removed and reloaded for a specific record_id, resulting in a change in fingerprint recognition for John Smith. It will have insertions run against it; who cares about identity theft when you create a back door to create false people who won't report instances of ID theft?

While distributed databases might be slower for law enforcement and customs purposes, they are considerably safer for ID theft and civil liberties.
 
RealID isn't about helping prevent crimes against individuals, it's about further enabling the state to control the population.

Here's how it will be enforced. Want any government service? You'll have to get your RealID card. Want your social security check, or have problems with it, well say, we see you haven't gotten your RealID card yet, so you'll have to do that first.

Don't think that can happen, revisit what happens when an 18 year old male applies for federal student loans and isn't registered for government military slavery, aka the draft. No registration, no loans no grants, no federal jobs until you're 26 years old.

I'm pleased to say that South Carolina passed a state law forbidding the use of RealID or for any state entity to cooperate in the program. I don't know how long we can hold out though.
 
OK, so the whole concept is a bad idea.

Is there any feasible way of insuring/securing one's identity without sacrificing civil liberties? Current government IDs are easily counterfeited. Personal information on various databases is vulnerable to hacking or loss (i.e. laptops being stolen from irresponsible employees). Various identity theft protection plans are much like computer virus protection, only as good as their ability to stay one step ahead of the latest scam.

Is the idea of privacy and protection of one's identity a fantasy in todays technological age?
 
Respecting those who chose to comment on my post, thanks for your attention, thoughts and time.

Having said that, the following comes to mind. I suspect, possibly incorrectly, that those who responded might also have contacted their state and federal "elected things" re the problems/downside of this Real ID Act.

People Pressure might serve to see this legislative abortion tossed out, then even that might not be sufficient. Doing nothing most certainly not fix the thing.

Thanks for reading/acting.
 
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