McReal ID
By Amit Singh | Tuesday, January 6th, 2009 | Policy
How much do you trust the government to properly protect your personal information? The same government which is unable to implement electronic voting booths or protect top secret nuclear information at Los Alamos. During the upcoming VA legislative session, Bob Marshall will enter a bill to reject compliance with the REAL ID Act.
If REAL ID was implemented then a person would not be able to board a plane or enter a federal building including to meet their own Congressman without it. Additionally, carrying the REAL ID will become de facto as basic transactions such as credit card purchases will require it. Once it is assumed all citizens are carrying the REAL ID, the law enforcement will target those they believe do not have it. But how will they do that? Should they target anyone who doesn’t look “American“?
On the surface many citizens who are unaware of their civil liberties seem non-chalant and sometimes are even in favor of REAL ID. But what they fail to understand is that with all the states and federal agencies sharing biometric and personal information in real-time, there is absolutely no way to prevent hackers from accessing the information. The overall affect is that while the public is lulled into a false sense of security, the actuality is that we would be even more vulnerable to identity theft and loss of privacy.
“People willing to trade their freedom for temporary security deserve neither and will lose both.” – Ben Franklin
For those inclined there is a Stop Dangerous ID Rally
When: Jan 21 – 1:00 PM-3:00 PM
Where: Virginia State Capital Bell Tower / 910 Capital Street / Richmond, VA
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4 Responses to "McReal ID"
Amit,
I agree with you on this one. I am for national security and against illegal immigration. I even agree with the Patriot Act. However, this REAL ID is a step too far. Good for Bob Marshall for opposing it.
The federal government can’t manage the visa program. How can they manage this?
Absolutely right!
I agree. Good for Marshall.
What can the Republicans learn about the government having access to all “your papers”? If distant history isn’t good enough, how about the Clintons getting access to the FBI files for all the GOP congressmen? When that happend, that wasn’t warning enough? Did we think the White House would be Republican post-911 forever?
Do they want a DEM in the CIA, NSA, FBI, and the White House having access and the ability to track potential political opponents? You never know, they may just “out” opponents with whatever scandal. They might even steal your biometric data and CREATE a scandal and prove it true with records of your supposed Real ID use.
Now if you wanted to hire somebody to waste your money……….THAT is something the government does VERY well. Securing the border, securing your ID, War on Drugs, stopping White Collar Crime, keeping our top secrets from running off to China?………Not so much!
The Center for Democracy and Technology does a great job of summing up REAL ID:
“It is one thing to make driver’s license and ID card issuance, as well as the cards themselves, more secure. It is quite another to create an infrastructure that amounts to a national identification system – yet that is exactly what the Act, as implemented by the regulations, would
do. The end result of the REAL ID Act and regulations would be to make our nation less secure while facilitating the widespread governmental and commercial tracking of virtually all U.S. residents.”
REAL ID is solely centered on retaining and providing access to personal information. Just like the bailout, there are no “REAL” limits, specifically pertaining to exactly what can be collected, retained and who will allowed to access the data. REAL ID would increase identity theft, and I personally don’t want the terrorists to steal my personal information. Some would say that US Visit and REAL ID are attempts at policy laundering, in an attempt to cause foreign governments to reciprocate, possibly resulting in the required collection and storage of personal data of US citizens traveling abroad. You’re doing it to me, so why don’t I do it to you? If that happens, a global framework for sharing personal data in the name of global security won’t be far behind.
Great REAL ID articles from the CDT:
http://www.cdt.org/security/identity/
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