"I know illegal things going on in the school district where my wife works and write the local paper. Some clerk can now trace who I am."
At the risk of sounding harsh, so what?
If you report a crime, and want something done about it, aren't you willing to be recognized? If you press charges, or someone comes to trial, you have to be willing to testify, and go on public record. Would you rather that you be able to make anonymous charges against the school? Where's the protection for the school in that?
And if you write to the school without a printed document, that same clerk, if motivated to do so, could identify where you bought your paper, the type of pen you used, the return address, the postmark, your DNA from the back of the stamp you licked, your fingerprints from the paper, etc, etc.
I say again: this is not that big a deal. There have been technologies available for a very long time which could be misused if someone desires. We avoid misuse by being vigilant, and enforcing the constitution.
Unbelievable, that a conservative believes that the government should be able to track your every move.
Check out the history of the then-anonymous Federalist Papers.