They really are watching us (Mark Morford)

[shance]

They Really Are Watching You

Ready for your own all-new, sinister ID card, courtesy of Homeland Security? Shudder

by Mark Morford

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2005/05/18/notes051805.DTL&type=printable


Congress just passed it and Dubya has promised to sign it and the Homeland Security Department is giddier than Mel Gibson in a nail factory over it and marketers nationwide are salivating at the groin at the prospect of it, and the next big step toward America becoming an even more delightfully paranoid and draconian Big Brother wonderland has now officially been taken.

It's called Real ID. It is, in short, a new and genetically mutated type of driver's license for all Americans, replacing your current license and replacing your Social Security card and replacing your sense of well being and privacy and humanity and part of a new, uniform, deeply sinister, national uniform card system whereby every person living and breathing in these paranoid and tense times shall henceforth be much more traceable and watchable given how we will all soon be required by law to carry this super-deluxe computerized ID card with us at all times, packed as it will be with more personal, digitized info about you than even your mother knows.

The new law will, according to the Wired News story linked above, require everyone to hand over not one, not two, but fully four types of documentation to renew their driver's license, such as a photo ID, a birth certificate, proof that their Social Security number is legit and something that validates their home address, like a phone bill. DMV employees will then have to verify the documents against giant teeming federal databases and store the documents and a digital photo of you in a database. Isn't that fun?

Doesn't that sound gratifying?

[Ian David]

1. That's real Mark of the Beast stuff, isn't it?

The coming of The Great Saladshooter is here! Beware the grated cheese!

[AuntiBush]

2. Just thinking the same exact thing: Mark of the Beast (666)

The numbers. What a nightmare!

[swag]

9. Beast has lost 50 points (now at 616)

http://www.gnn.tv/headlines/2532/The_Beast_Gets_A_New_Number_In_Time_For_Karmageddon

[AuntiBush]

29. Thanks for the excellent link. Checking it out now.

[AuntiBush]

3. P.S. That "Barbara Boxer" for President is a Thumbsup for me!

If we make it to 2008...

[Tigress DEM]

4. What they said. Shudder.

Sorry if I seem to be running away from this post. I think when I quit screaming at the top of my lungs.... just kidding, but it seemed like such a great visual...

[Tigress DEM]

10. Shit. Rethugs hijacked www.democraticunderground.com to porn redirect

I sent him the url through AOL Instant Messenger - 1st mistake



<http://www.democraticundergound.com/landing.php>

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[Tigress DEM]

22. Sorry, had to go clean a little rethug crap off my machine.

Dumped the cache, cookies and all history pages and the search came up ok.

[alcuno]

5. So I can't fly with my passport?

That's what I use, not my license.

[Us vs Them]

6. Some states, Like Michigan, are already compliant with the Real ID act

And what a fucking hassle it is if you lose your ID and have to apply for a new one. Lucky I have a passport. I would suggest getting one before biometrics.

[tyedyeto]

7. "documents against giant teeming federal databases"...

Those same 'databases' that put someone named 'Richard Smith' (the names have been changed to protect the innocent but think....similar name) on the 'no-fly' list just because they have a common name?

As for proof of SS#, my social security card says right on it..." for social security and tax purposes-not for identification"

Where is this leading us? To a nazi-like country!

[FreedomAngel82]

12. I think

this whole ordeal is going to be pure hell. It's just a way to keep the sheep in line and to make sure one doesn't run away.

[bvar22]

8. Republican Party

Republican Party Operatives Defending America
by Checking REAL ID's






oops
wrong picture again
my bad

[NinetySix]

11. This is only for US residents, not ALL citizens.

I have a valid, up-to-date PEI driver's license. A Canadian provincial license, that is. Because I live in CANADA, the land of the free. So I won't be getting one of those sinister goddamn IDs.

Just thought I'd take this opportunity to gloat.

Sorry.

[tyedyeto]

14. Smart ass! ... Just kidding, of course

Here, you will not only have to carry the 'RealID' but all the others mentioned above.

Oh, to be in Canada in the summer. Not in winter tho.... too colld there for me! hehe

[NinetySix]

16. You might be surprised.

I imagine November through March this past year would have been more intemperate down there, politically speaking.

Come on up when you're ready, though; just be sure to try and find yourself closer to the front of that line than to the back when the time comes.

[tyedyeto]

18. I wish I could *dreaming* n/t

[atommom]

13. In addition to all the terrifying privacy issues here, how the hell

is this going to be paid for? It sounds like a bureaucratic, Orwellian nightmare.

[Singular73]

15. I would be more upset about this...

Except they *could* already do this with Driver's Liscenses.

They are just trying to unify it on a federal level...does this really impact anyone? I'm really not sure.

Think about it -- Passports are already a national ID. Americans don't really use them all too often, but if the majority of Americans had Passports, this wouldnt be an issue.

[followthemoney]

17. RFID in your Drivers License

For a few pennys more the government can put a Radio Frequency ID chip in your drivers license. Think of the convenience. No one would have to show their ID to the police because they could read it without you knowing it.

The only people who should have secrets is the government anyway. What have you got to hide from the certifide good people from the gumint.

[tavalon]

23. Will aluminum foil

um, foil that? Seriously, I'm wondering if that shiny stuff might be useful for more than deflecting those alien mind probes.

[followthemoney]

25. I was thinking about a little time in the microwave oven.

This may destroy the chip. But will the overlords become suspicious when there is no response to their failed attempt to read it. Tin foil might work. Cans for RF isolation usually have to be grounded.

A little aside:
Vendors to Wal-Mart are not complying with their demands for RFID on their products. RFID is cheap, but not cheap enough, to the Wal-Mart penny pinchers

[Virginian]

19. and Fox is the station playing in the background

in the movie version of 1984.

[autorank]

20. And all because CIA and FBI wouldn't talk with each other...fuck them.

[libnnc]

21. I'm screwed

I haven't had a SS card for 25 years (my Mom's purse was stolen when I was a kid...the card was in it). I've just used my number all this time. I've got the application for a new card sitting in front of me. My drivers license is up for renewal this fall. Christ what a pain in the ass.

[Oreo]

24. You thought driver's license lines were long before

I can GUARANTEE you that this will be an unfunded mandate. States will have to pay for extra employyes for all this BS.

[lala_rawraw]

26. I HAVE BEEN SCREAMING, REPORTING, BEGGING

PEOPLE TO STOP THIS FOR 6 MONTHS NOW... SO WHEN I SEE A POST LIKE THIS, IT IRKS ME THAT IT TOOK THIS LONG:( :(

No disrespect intended.

[Shoeempress]

27. Not much different from NH now. Moved here couple years ago

had to get my Birth certificate, (never saw it before) my Marriage certificate, (Been married over 20 years) they would NOT accept my passport. (Can't trust the feds) Had to prove from scratch who I was all over again. Stupid waste of time. Like Marriage certificate and birth certificates can't be forged. Oh freak, me and my big mouth, now it will only get harder.

[Mojorabbit]

28. I heard back from Martinez today on this

and was pleasantly surprised.
"Recently, I joined my colleagues to unanimously pass the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2005 for Defense, the Global War on Terrorism, and Tsunami Relief (H.R. 1268). The REAL ID Act was added as an amendment to H.R. 1268 by the House of Representatives and was included in the conference report passed by the Senate on May 10, 2005. While I agree that we need to look at ways to strengthen our borders, I do not believe that the Emergency Supplemental was the appropriate vehicle for that debate.

Our immigration policies need to show a balance between securing our borders and being open to individuals who come to this country seeking freedom and a better way of life. I am hopeful that in the future we will have a more comprehensive debate on immigration reform. However, it was imperative to get funding to our troops as quickly as possible, and I therefore voted with my colleagues to unanuimously pass the Emergency Supplemental."

It was still a copout to vote for it without demanding it be removed from the bill but there is a glimmer of hope....