You have to submit an original birth certificate or naturalization papers. The post office gets a commission on every one they help authenticate. I believe the current rate is $110 per pop. New Mexico residents can think of it as just a small part of the price tag of subsidizing the invasion of illegal aliens. Like the package business, passports represent one of the few positive revenue streams to the post office. So passport fairs make as much sense for them as sidewalk sales do for your discount retailer.
As I said,
I think someone needs to check the wood pile.
Somehow, I suspect the USPS will be using New Mexico drivers license in lieu of a birth certificate. Or maybe they will have the applicant contact, “Jimmy down the hall” who created Comrade Barack’s birth certificate.
Something smell fishy and it ain’t fish.
Only those who live in New Mexico know that a good number of US citizens are geographically illiterate. For years, residents have been challenged when ordering goods by phone, communicating online, or in person at restaurants or stores out of state. When one identifies they are from New Mexico, the response often is “we do not ship international”, or “there will be an extra charge,” or simply “how far do you live from Mexico City?”
Now, unless the legislature changes it, that perception will be greatly magnified as the only identification to leave or travel by airline from the state will be a passport.
For a good laugh (or expression of disbelief), check out the stories at this website:
http://www.nmmagazine.com/one-of-our-50-is-missing/