.. card — would let the government track and restrict all our movements. And that’s un-American.
BY RICHARD SOBEL
TODAY, TRAVELING by T or bus is a simple cash or pass transaction. But that may not be the case much longer, if a "Real ID Card" proposal in the US Senate becomes law. Cast as a security measure that would create a national driver’s license by moving the power to issue licenses from the states to the federal government, the bill is really a major step on the path to a national ID card. If it passes, it will mark a profound change in American society — and a drastic restriction of our civil liberties.
Ostensibly, the law would create a national driver’s license (NDL) by imposing federal "standards" on the states, which traditionally have set and enforced their own criteria for licensing motorists as part of their "police powers." The "Real ID" bill would change all that by giving the Department of Homeland Security power to mandate a nationally computer-linkable federal license. The measure provides for minimal "consultation" with the states on regulations and no real privacy protections. Under the Real ID, state driver’s licenses and ID cards would become federal documents. By converting state licenses and ID cards, which just about everyone has, the government could make the change to national IDs seem less obtrusive and objectionable than making everyone apply for a new document.
The NDL would play a dual role as part of a national ID system: it would function as both a federal travel license and a government-benefits-authorization card. It could be required for most travel — not just for driving or car rental, but to board planes at Logan Airport, to travel by Amtrak from South Station, or to take the T, MBTA buses, or the commuter rail. Indeed, the T-pass system, soon to be upgraded into the T’s "CharlieCard," could be reworked to deny travel to people without an NDL. In that case, even people with cash couldn’t travel without a license.
The NDL could also be required to receive federal benefits like Social Security, to get a passport, or to enter a government building. (Unlike current Social Security cards, an NDL would require a photo and probably a biometric identifier, such as a fingerprint; it would also be electronically checkable in a national databank.) The demand for your NDL could become as common as requests for a Social Security number or credit cards. <snip>
http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/news_features/other_stories/documents/04621988.aspWe should be screaming about this: it's as bad as the most dangerous provisions of the "PATRIOT" Act ...
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