Post by Watchman on Jun 29, 2005 17:22:26 GMT -5
Whenever you hear of a new law tucked deep inside of a bill labeled to support the troops, you have to wonder why the people in power don't want you to know much about it.
In a time when congressmen have been known to impale themselves on microphones in the rush to proclaim their accomplishments, you have to question their silence on the new national ID card; part of the Real ID act.
If it had not been for the voice of Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) I might not have heard of this at all. Our Congress quietly passed the mandate last month that will require each American to carry a new national ID card. On the surface, states may refuse to let the federal government tell them what information, or standards, they must use on the new cards. Any state that balks at pushing this new form of registration on its residents, will find that its citizens will no longer be able to interact with the federal government. That means if Texas tells the federal government they are not interested in this ID program, Texans will no longer be able to fly out of airports, board trains, apply for federal programs or participate in any other activity where this ID card will be mandated. In addition, the information on this card will vary at the whim of whomever is holding the position of director of homeland security. This data could include not only name, address, etc., but also retina scans, fingerprints, even radio frequency technology. Information regarding gun ownership could be incorporated into the card as well. By the way, this information will be held in a huge national database and can be shared with Canada and Mexico. Even if you're convinced that our highly ethical folks in Washington wouldn't dare do anything underhanded with your personal information, how much trust do you have in the people running Canada and Mexico? How secure are their networks?
Congressmen aren't known for their original thinking and I remembered the uproar that ensued when this idea was brought up in 1996 under President Clinton. There were cries from the Left and Right. Liberals screamed about government invasion of privacy, Conservatives howled about the government and "the mark of the beast" being placed on citizens. This time around, a quick scan of the religious media elite- The 700 Club, Family Research Council and Falwell Ministries yielded no mention of the ID card at all and the nearest mention of the beast or his mark seemed to involve something about Ted Kennedy or Hillary Clinton. The ACLU did manage to take time away from defending Rush Limbaugh's efforts to hide his drug records from the law and joined with over 80 organizations to protest this Act. Give credit to those members of the Southern Baptist Council and the National Association of Evangelicals, who also stood up in protest.
This law will take effect over the next 2-3 years, and while you're standing in long lines at the DMV, handing over your most sensitive information to the governments of several nations, illegal aliens and terrorists will be smiling and enjoying your tolerance of this intrusion. Interaction with the federal government is what they are hoping to avoid; terrorists aren't filing for Social Security and they will happily buy and forge these ID cards as they have with every other form of ID in the past. They know this is not about immigration or terrorist control; it's about control of law-abiding citizens.
**** The failiure of this system will cause the implementation of the imbedded microchip- Watchman Sean
In a time when congressmen have been known to impale themselves on microphones in the rush to proclaim their accomplishments, you have to question their silence on the new national ID card; part of the Real ID act.
If it had not been for the voice of Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) I might not have heard of this at all. Our Congress quietly passed the mandate last month that will require each American to carry a new national ID card. On the surface, states may refuse to let the federal government tell them what information, or standards, they must use on the new cards. Any state that balks at pushing this new form of registration on its residents, will find that its citizens will no longer be able to interact with the federal government. That means if Texas tells the federal government they are not interested in this ID program, Texans will no longer be able to fly out of airports, board trains, apply for federal programs or participate in any other activity where this ID card will be mandated. In addition, the information on this card will vary at the whim of whomever is holding the position of director of homeland security. This data could include not only name, address, etc., but also retina scans, fingerprints, even radio frequency technology. Information regarding gun ownership could be incorporated into the card as well. By the way, this information will be held in a huge national database and can be shared with Canada and Mexico. Even if you're convinced that our highly ethical folks in Washington wouldn't dare do anything underhanded with your personal information, how much trust do you have in the people running Canada and Mexico? How secure are their networks?
Congressmen aren't known for their original thinking and I remembered the uproar that ensued when this idea was brought up in 1996 under President Clinton. There were cries from the Left and Right. Liberals screamed about government invasion of privacy, Conservatives howled about the government and "the mark of the beast" being placed on citizens. This time around, a quick scan of the religious media elite- The 700 Club, Family Research Council and Falwell Ministries yielded no mention of the ID card at all and the nearest mention of the beast or his mark seemed to involve something about Ted Kennedy or Hillary Clinton. The ACLU did manage to take time away from defending Rush Limbaugh's efforts to hide his drug records from the law and joined with over 80 organizations to protest this Act. Give credit to those members of the Southern Baptist Council and the National Association of Evangelicals, who also stood up in protest.
This law will take effect over the next 2-3 years, and while you're standing in long lines at the DMV, handing over your most sensitive information to the governments of several nations, illegal aliens and terrorists will be smiling and enjoying your tolerance of this intrusion. Interaction with the federal government is what they are hoping to avoid; terrorists aren't filing for Social Security and they will happily buy and forge these ID cards as they have with every other form of ID in the past. They know this is not about immigration or terrorist control; it's about control of law-abiding citizens.
**** The failiure of this system will cause the implementation of the imbedded microchip- Watchman Sean