Real ID

Well, it happened. The Real-ID act passed through Congress and will be signed into law by Fearless Leader, which means by around 2008, everyone can be legally stopped and asked for "their papers". Actually, it doesn't sound all that bad. I've watched a few movies that had places like that, and it didn't seem too terrible. I had no idea what was going on in the movies, though, because the narration was in german.

Alright, I'll get past the hyperbole for now. Will the Real ID single-handedly turn our (decreasingly) free country into a totalitarian state? No, it's highly unlikely, but it's just another step down this oh-so-slippery slope. Next thing we know, biometerical data will be involved, and then all hell is going to break loose. As it stands right now, the government, in order to issue you your Real ID, will need a form of picture ID (don't they usually handle that?), your birth certificate, proof of your social-security number (what happened to the days when you weren't suppoused to use this for identification purposes?) and all that rot. Then, they scan it and keep it INDEFINETLY. Oh, yeah, just what I want. All of my personal information, and as far as the faceless government is concerned, who I am, in a governmental computer system. Pardon me while I jump at the chance. It already makes me wince when people ask for my SSN. I got into a rather heated debate with one of the admissions ladies at McHenry County College about my SSN and whether they should really be using it in an identifying manner, blah blah blah. Whatever.

Another big problem that the Real-ID is that it is a standard form of ID that is federally mandated to be machine readable. The Department of Homeland Services has expressed great interest in RFID (Radio Frequency ID), which means that the cards will be readable from a distance. Without your knowledge. Fan-fucking-tastick.