Heavy Hand of Government Poised to Strike Again

Diogenes Middle Finger ^ | 9/22/2015 | Diogenes

[Mad Marc]

To comply with the 2005 Real ID Act, citizens in a number of U.S. states will now be forced to obtain a passport if they want to board an airplane....Even for domestic flights.

Starting in 2016, travelers from five U.S. states - Louisiana, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, and Wisconsin will not be able to use their driver’s licenses as ID to board domestic flights.

The website of Department of Homeland Security explains fives states are “noncompliant jurisdictions” meaning that to board an aircraft, you will need a passport.  That's a pretty major development considering a majority of Americans don’t have passports.

"Secure driver’s licenses and identification documents are a vital component of our national security framework. The REAL ID Act, passed by Congress in 2005, enacted the 9/11 Commission’s recommendation that the Federal Government ‘set standards for the issuance of sources of identification, such as driver’s licenses. The purposes covered by the Act are: accessing Federal facilities, entering nuclear power plants, and, no sooner than 2016, boarding federally regulated commercial aircraft." 

The Real ID act has been controversial since its initial proposal over ten years ago and is seen by many as a massive violation of privacy. One of the primary reasons it has taken the government so long to roll this program out is that the program is wildly unpopular and creates heavy backlash every time it appears in the news.

Let's put this in perspective: take a hypothetical traveler from Louisiana who is 78 and has difficulty getting around (let's call him Mr. Boudreau ). Let’s suppose that Mr. Boudreau wants to fly to South Carolina to visit relatives. The government has no compunction what so ever about requiring him first to make a trip to a federal facility that accepts passport applications and, to add insult to injury cough up the $110 processing fee to obtain a U.S. passport.

And I might remind you these same government types object strenuously to the law in Louisiana that requires Mr. Boudreau to have a photo ID to vote, which the state is more than happy to provide at no charge.

h/t  AntiMedia

[Bon mots]

Just like the old Soviet Union.
They needed passports to travel inside their own country.

Now, they don’t and we do.

[old curmudgeon]

Eventually you will hall have a chip planted in your neck, just like a dog.

And running wands over you is so yesterday.

Instead there will be chip readers in every doorway in every public building and your whereabouts will be transmitted to your loving uncle.

[notaliberal]

Only if you are an American,illegals no need——it would be racist

[dadfly]

what about this “law” doesn’t violate the Constitution, which states in Article I, Section 9:

“No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one state over those of another;...”

[catnipman]

Sigh. This is the second post about this BS conspiracy theory crap.

Here’s the truth of the matter:

http://mashable.com/2015/09/18/airport-id/#AZwhtS3BFako

(BTW, the first post about this was zotted in its entirely yesterday.)

[Ciexyz]

I haven’t been to Canada since 9-11 when somebody changed it so you have to show your passport to cross the border.

[nevermorelenore]

Might someone need that type of ID to vote ?

[sport]

Little by little. Still the sheep comply. Some gripe and complain while doing so, but they still comply.

[tumblindice]

Citizen, state your business in this non-compliant part of the Homeland.

[MeshugeMikey]

is there anything one can do besides buying groceries and Posting on F,R, that doesnt require a SS Card...at some point?.......

[cherry]

illegals just walk across and apply for SS bennies and such but American citizens must carry expensive passports....sounds fair...

[lastchance]

Will they need a passport to vote? Thought not.

[tumblindice]

I’m pretty sure you can get into the Garthok narfling competitions without a SS card, if you are a contestant.

[Louis Foxwell]

The end of the article states:

But here's the other thing: It is possible to fly without an ID. No, really, I swear.
Travelers will get to know a TSA agent or two real well, but they won't automatically be barred from getting on a plane.
"You’ll be able to fly as long as you provide us with some information that will help us determine you are who you say you are," wrote Bob Burns on the TSA Blog.
So if you're looking for something to complain about in terms of air travel, focus on the extra fees, and not the ID requirements.

[bluejean]

You’re already on surveillance cameras everywhere you go and your phone is tracking you as well. We’ve already fallen down the Orwellian rabbit hole. This passport crap is just harassment because they can. Oppress and put the boot on your neck. Control, intimidation and submission.

Funny how the invaders swarming the borders are protected and hidden but the US citizen must be crushed in spirit. What could that be about? /s

[CurlyDave]

But what does that mean for travelers from those fives states, which include New York, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Hampshire and American Samoa?

Is American Samoa the 56th or 57th state?

[Mad Marc]

Democrats on the Select Committee on Intelligence wrote the law. The constitution didn’t mean anything as usual.

[Mad Marc]

Then why, as a travel agent, was I contacted by State and Federal agencies in the past week to give heads up for implantation for later next year, possibly for summer??????

Can you answer that?

[catnipman]

“Then why, as a travel agent, was I contacted by State and Federal agencies in the past week to give heads up for implantation for later next year, possibly for summer??????

Can you answer that?”

I’m thinking maybe they finally spotted you because some of your brain waves leaked out of your tin-foil hat because it had a little hole in it you didn’t know about?