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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Read eno's replies. Per eno the government is gonna get us on this one!
I have not personally experienced ANY abuse of government records.
How about library cards? There's an example of government records not being abused.
It is just common sense that to conduct ordinary business it is necessary to know who you are dealing with.
By your standards, the government should not even take a census.
btt
You and I agree. eno must be a libertarian
The government is explicitly constitutionally authorized to COUNT people.
The government is not constitutionally authorized to gather and keep other data.
What do YOU call government activity that isn't constitutionally authorized?
The word is "illegitimate."
By the way, I am all for expelling illegals. There is a simple way to do it:
Post a reward for information leading to an expulsion. require a bond against "junk" tips. Require the government to issue rewards promptly or they triple.
Every skip tracer would instantly add this as a line of business and the nation would be cleared of illegals in a jiffy.
If the states are currently not requiring voters to display a drivers license that does not possess the attributes outlined in this bill, why would they require voters to show the newer IDs?
Simply requiring voters to show a drivers license or some other state-issued ID card would reduce voter fraud much more than adding more secure information to existing IDs that they don't ask for.
They could add DNA info and retina scans to an ID and it won't do anything to curtail voter fraud if no one is required to show it at the polls.
I cannot. I think it is a good idea.
I have not now, nor have I ever felt that proving who you are to any authority that asks for good cause.
That would include any institution where I write a check, LEO or any place that provides a service on credit.
National ID's are much better than a drivers license that carries with it very little accountability due to the fact that virtually anyone can get one in some states.
I have no qualms about finger prints, biometrics of any other methods except for a tracking chip or some other intrusive method without my voluntary consent..
Without my cooperation, I would expect to be denied any of the services I mentioned above and many more.
The old NAZI over abused quote about "your papers please" just does not relate to what we deal with today.
People, in general, cannot be trusted anymore.
why don't they do this for the 20 million illegals and convicted felons ? give them the supersized IDs complete with everything.
Thanks, just signed that petition to stop it.
This is why I could grow to like it. If it's not used that way by all states, it's DOA.
That's my opinion as well.
Your post is not self explanatory. If you are suggesting that I am a sheeple, you really don't know me very well. The original post has a list of fears stated by the author as facts. They are not facts. If you are a chicken little libertarian, I feel sorry for the paranoid life you must lead. Fight the real battles not the imaginary ones.
If I misread your post please accept my apologies.
Looks like I hit a nerve on your little libertarian head.
The sky is falling the sky is falling.
Sounds like unconstitutional expansion of federal government to me. Where is that cake you just ate?
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