It appears that the implementation of the Real ID, or the National Identification Card, is being pushed forward by the Department of Homeland Security after progress on the National ID stalled several times.
Homeland Security to press ahead with Real ID
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Friday plans to take the next step in getting its controversial Real ID plan off the ground, despite opposition from numerous states and privacy groups.
Secretary Michael Chertoff says progress is being made to reduce the costs to the states which are being forced to implement the expensive changes, originally estimated at $14 billion.
"We've worked very closely with the states, in terms of developing a plan that I think will be quite inexpensive, reasonable to implement, and produce the results that...are a part of the core recommendation of the 9/11 commission, which is secure identification when driver's licenses are presented," Chertoff said Thursday
Despite a troubling resemblance to He-Man's arch nemesis Skeletor,
I trust this man, don't you?
The National Identity card should trouble any American who's invested in the concept of a citizenry free to move about the coutry as it sees fit. As it stands right now, the Real ID card must be issued by all states by 2014. Without the card, citizens will not be able to enter Federal buildings or board airplanes.
Of course anyone with a rudimentary understanding of human nature will realize that the use of the National ID card, once implemented, will certainly expand. Is it so hard to imagine local, state, and federal law enforcement using the ID card as a means to track individuals? Or that the National ID card will be required to take public transportation, access state buildings, or take out a library book?
As someone who has encountered a "checkpoint" manned by armed federal border patrol agents while driving from Burlington VT back down to Boston, our right to free movement throughout the interior of the US is in jeopardy if the National ID card becomes a reality. Police already stop drivers at checkpoints to catch drunk drivers, is it so hard to imagine checkpoints designed to catch those without "their papers"?
This prospect is even more apparent when we factor in the possibility that these cards could have either short or long range radio frequency tags used to monitor the movement of every individual with a National ID card on their person. This is a requirement that could be implemented in the next generation of National IDs, after the public has become sufficiently acclimatized to the idea.
It's unclear how the department plans to assuage security and privacy concerns about the cards, including whether data encoded on their two-dimensional bar codes will be encrypted to guard against misuse. The AP reported that states will have a "menu" of security options from which to choose but will not be required to embed "microchips"--ostensibly a reference to radio-frequency identification technology which, depending on the type, could be read either from a distance or close-up.
So radio frequency tracking chips will not be required, but the option remains. How reassuring. End times aficionados willl be relieved that the mark of the beast may in fact be placed in your wallet, not necessarily tattooed on your face.
Of course I'm being snarky. Sort of.
The good news is that there is ample time to stop the implementation of the National ID Card.
Action Items:
Contact your Senators and Representatives and let them know how you feel about a National ID Card (Link to the usa.gov website with contact info of state a national officials).
Send money to the ACLU, which is, as always, spearheading the fight against this noxious proposal.
Ask your preferred Presidential candidate if they support a National ID Card.
[Update form the comments from gsbadj]:
Fortunately, plenty of Presidential candidates are against it, i.e. Huckabee, Paul, Obama, Edwards and Clinton. Only McCain GWB-Lite is for it.
Hey, what's another $20+ billion expense foisted off onto the states?