How Not To Blog ?

Here's an idiot's guide to the Real ID Act.

What does that mean for me?
Starting three years from now, if you live or work in the United States, you'll need a federally approved ID card to travel on an airplane, open a bank account, collect Social Security payments, or take advantage of nearly any government service. Practically speaking, your driver's license likely will have to be reissued to meet federal standards.

The Real ID Act hands the Department of Homeland Security the power to set these standards and determine whether state drivers' licenses and other ID cards pass muster. Only ID cards approved by Homeland Security can be accepted "for any official purpose" by the feds.

It goes on to...

...you'll need to bring a "photo identity document," document your birth date and address, and show that your Social Security number is what you had claimed it to be. U.S. citizens will have to prove that status, and foreigners will have to show a valid visa.

State DMVs will have to verify that these identity documents are legitimate, digitize them and store them permanently. In addition, Social Security numbers must be verified with the Social Security Administration.

Sounds like a big mess.

Here's the saddest part:

Why did these ID requirements get attached to an "emergency" military spending bill?
Because it's difficult for politicians to vote against money that will go to the troops in Iraq and tsunami relief.

What a strange state of democracy we are in that anything can be attached to any bill (by non-lawmakers, even), and passed without being read.

Sounds like the beginnings of an official police state to me. A de-facto national identification card will most likely be a mandatory item to carry around. The more important issue is the creation of the massive, national tracking database that such a program dictates. So much for freedom and anonymity.

Leave while you still can.