Posted on 09/20/2005 4:55:33 AM PDT by billorites
IF THE REAL ID Act were such a great idea, why did Congress attach it to a military spending bill and pass it without public hearings?
The answer, of course, is that it is not a great idea.
Supporters of REAL ID, including Reps. Charlie Bass and Jeb Bradley and Sen. Judd Gregg, say people should not be able to get driver’s licenses without proving they are who they say they are.
Very true. But REAL ID goes further. If the bill simply set a few minimum standards for the issuance of state identification cards such as drivers’ licenses, it would raise few eyebrows. Some states had dangerously lax standards before 9/11. For instance, seven of the 9/11 hijackers got Virginia drivers’ licenses because that state gave licenses to undocumented immigrants.
REAL ID, however, nationalizes the driver’s license, turning it into an electronic national ID card, and creates a de facto nationwide database for personal information. It is a hacker’s dream come true. Personal data on virtually every adult in the United States will become highly vulnerable when this law is fully implemented.
The law requires “common machine-readable technology” for verifying the identity of each license holder. The Department of Homeland Security is reportedly leaning toward Radio Frequency Identifier tags to accomplish this goal. Small tags in the cards would transmit data via radio signals.
This past May the Government Accountability Office wrote of RFID, “Without effective security controls, data on the tag can be read by any compliant reader; data transmitted through the air can be intercepted and read by unauthorized devices; and data stored in the databases can be accessed by unauthorized users.”
RFID tags also can be used to track people’s movements without their knowledge, according to experts.
All of this is superfluous to ensuring that people are who they say they are. That could be done at the DMV simply by requiring proof of ID.
Kudos to Sen. John Sununu for having the guts to oppose this overreaching law under pressure from the administration and his own party. The act goes too far, and he has been one of the few Republicans to say so.
Did I say I was dreaming? I use the internet to search info on people everyday.
Its just the "all in one place" I don't like.
Sure, there are lots of types out there. Point is, the type they're talking about using is pretty much the same as what my agency is using. Effective range is about 3 inches. It's specifically designed for weak output.
These RFID chips are old news. Hell, my apartment complex uses RFID cards ("passcards") to get into the laundry room and the pool. Any security system with a card that you have to hold up to a reader - as opposed to a swipe-card - is an RFID card. Lots of folks use these already without any worries.
I'm a Christian, Esther. I've heard the same thing about debit cards, credit cards, bar codes, any number of things. When the mark does appear, it's going to be obvious that you cannot be a Christian and get the mark of the beast, whatever form that mark takes.
I don't agree. It will take time to work out the kinks, and it will NEVER be perfect, just like any human endeavor.
A national database will work wonders, especially if penalties for all fraud are split with the informers. Will bring informers out of the woodwork.
The problem is not difficulty "working out the kinks". The problem is that the people making the relevant decisions DO NOT WANT TO enforce the immigration laws or stop fraudulent voting. They want the option of rigging the next election if they might lose. They want to make sure they and their friends can hire cheap labor who can't complain about wages and conditions (on pain of deportation if they get too annoying).
That being the case, why do they want to issue law-abiding citizens a set of "yahr pehpahs"?
Regardless, national ID is our only hope IMO
Then add that part about the plagues.
Amish oppose animal ID
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1485362/posts?page=53#53
I hope you're right, for everyone's sake... I'm imagining something like the microchips they place in pets rather than a barcode on the forehead.
Not to hijack the thread, but the verse that Esther quoted, Revelation 14:11, is the key: If any man worship the beast and his image {emphasis mine}, and receive [his] mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
That indicates that receiving the mark, whatever form it takes, will be something that you cannot do without openly denying Christ.
If you go back through history, you can find any number of things that were heralded as being the "mark of the beast." Do a dogpile search of "social security number mark of the beast" and you'll find a half-dozen fringe group websites on the first page alone.
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