Posted on 02/09/2005 12:51:51 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Action Alert: Oppose H.R. 418 (national ID)
February 8, 2005
Are the terrorists winning? When al-Qaeda attacked the United States on September 11, 2001, they made it clear they hate America and want to terrorize us into changing America.
If they could, the terrorists would destroy the unique American way of life. But they can't. Only we can do that.
Tragically, too much of the legislation enacted by Congress in a knee-jerk reaction to 9/11 does al-Qaeda's job for them. The Patriot Act took the first, disastrous step toward fundamentally changing our way of life. Then came the homeland security bill, followed by the 9/11 intelligence reorganization bill. And now the Real ID Act of 2005 (H.R. 418) will be voted on Thursday, February 10th.
What's wrong with H.R. 418 -- a bill we are told will stem the flow of illegal aliens through our porous borders? For starters, it does NOTHING to stem the flow of illegal aliens. Instead, H.R. 418 will:
1. Establish a national ID card.
2. Establish a federally-coordinated database of personal information on American citizens with Canada and Mexico.
3. Use the new national ID to track American citizens when traveling outside the U.S. -- and within the U.S.
4. Re-define "terrorism" in broad new terms that could include members of firearms rights and pro-life groups or other such groups as determined by whoever is in power at the time.
5. Authorize the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to unilaterally expand the information included in driver's licenses, including such biometric information as retina scans and DNA information -- and even radio frequency identification (RFID) tracking technology. Carry a driver’s license with RFID and governmental officials will know your whereabouts 24/7.
Incredibly, H.R. 418 does nothing to solve the growing threat to national security posed by people who are already in the U.S. illegally. Instead, H.R. 418 states what we already know: that certain people here illegally are "deportable." But it does nothing to mandate deportation. H.R. 418 fails miserably on this most critical issue.
The Real ID Act or Real National ID Act will impose a Soviet-style internal passport on law-abiding American citizens. Proponents of H.R. 418 say we must "make sacrifices" like this to control our borders and fight illegal immigration. But H.R. 418 is a Trojan horse -- it pretends to offer desperately needed border control in order to stampede Americans into sacrificing what is uniquely American: more of our constitutionally protected liberty. H.R. 418 does what al-Qaeda could never do without our help.
H.R. 418 does what legislation restricting firearm ownership does. It punishes law-abiding citizens. Criminals will ignore it. H.R. 418 offers us a false sense of greater security at the cost of taking a gigantic step toward making America a police state. The terrorists will have won.
Urge your U.S. representative to vote "no" on H.R. 418. Go to http://capwiz.com/liberty/issues/alert/?alertid=6938731&type=CO
Kent Snyder
The Liberty Committee
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No, of course not. A government that is within the bounds of legitimacy is not evil.
Around the time of the New Deal, our government broke down the last limits. Most of what has been added since is illegitimate and EVIL.
There are depths of evil to which we have not yet sunk.
Yes, much evil is present.
You might want to take note of the fact that we remain the most free and just nation in the world in spite of the evil.
There may come a day when we need to take up arms to replace our government. But this is such a drastic measure, reform is much more desirable if there is any way possible. Just look at the carnage and devastation of our civil war.
And surely you would not advocate using terrorism as a means of reforming or replacing our government?
Quite honestly I wonder if there are enough civilized people who are willing to risk everything and fight if it does come down to that.
Not even in the top 10 for economic freedom.
We're not as bad as Mexico, but there are dozens of nations with less corruption than we have among police and public officials.
For reform, I advocate breaking the morale of our opressors. We are between the ballot box and the ammo box. Guns are a last resort for personal defense - they are not an effective tool for change. Community presure on public officials is the place to start.
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