SAY NO TO NATIONAL I.D. CARDS!

[Kat Kanning]

No.  We wont put up with it.

[Kat Kanning]

Protest photos:

http://www.soulawakenings.com/underground/tikiwiki/tiki-browse_gallery.php?galleryId=18

[Lloyd Danforth]

I love the 'fraud resistant I.D. system' part.

[Blefuscu]

Cool pics, neat idea for a protest.  Did many people see you?  Did anyone ask you what you were protesting about? 

I asked several people today at work what they thought of it.  None of them had actually heard of the Real ID act before.      

One statist co-worker said he thought it was a great idea to have Federally mandated standardardized driver's licenses, and he agreed that anyone without one shouldn't be allowed to fly.  He thought radio ankle bracelets for tracking immigrants was a good thing too.  I got mixed reactions from everyone else, with most expressing reservations, but with several saying that they trusted their congressional representatives to do the "best thing for the country" or some similar type of "too much to bother my pretty little head with" sentiment.  Overall, I was saddened.  I only got strong disapproval of the idea from a couple of folks, one of whom is a libertarian who voted for Bush  ???. 

So you see, you and your fellow rabble rousers may not stand for it, Kat.  But I think the law could pass and be enacted, and most Americans would never even take particular notice of it.  They might grumble about having to supply positive id like a birth certificate and an SS when getting a driver's license, but they'll quickly forget about it when they go home to watch American Idol, and it'll never cross their mind again until they have to renew their license again in 4 to 6 years.   

We are sliding into totalitarianism, and most people are oblivious.   

[Pat K]

Yep it could pass and people won't bat an eye.

When I tell the younger guys at work that I used to get on planes by paying cash at the ticket counter and not showing ID
unless I was asking for a military dicount . They are shocked.

[Russell Kanning]

We are sliding into totalitarianism, and most people are oblivious.? ?

So why not burn your ID cards and lets start a revolution?
I haven't burned mine yet but maybe next week

[Kat Kanning]

They're about to approve the Real ID...it's hidden in a war spending bill:


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=14&u=/ap/20050504/ap_on_go_co/us_iraq_spending


Congress Nears Vote on War Spending Bill

By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 51 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - The death benefit to survivors of troops killed in combat zones would jump nearly tenfold ? from $12,000 to $100,000 ? under an $82 billion spending package for
Iraq and
Afghanistan that is headed for final votes in the House and Senate.

President Bush gets most of what he asked for in final legislation that House and Senate negotiators agreed on Tuesday. The measure reflects a desire by lawmakers to give the
Pentagon what it needs while holding the line on State Department spending.

The House is to vote on the measure Thursday. The Senate is expected to take up the measure next week when it returns from a weeklong recess.

Overall, the legislation is the fifth such emergency spending package Congress has taken up since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. It pushes the costs of the two conflicts and other efforts to fight terrorism worldwide over four years beyond $300 billion.

Congress had promised to pay only for urgent items in the spending package, but the final legislation ended up with the same overall price tag as the president's proposal.

Most of the money ? $75.9 billion ? is slated for military operations, nearly $1 billion more than what the president wanted. About $4.2 billion will be spent on foreign aid and other international relations programs, roughly $1.5 billion below Bush's proposal.

The legislation also includes immigration provisions, including one that would make states verify that driver's license applicants are U.S. citizens or legal immigrants.

Since the president asked for the money for Afghanistan and Iraq in February, the House and Senate had differed slightly over what portion of the spending package should go to military operations and how much should go to foreign aid.

In the end, lawmakers added more money to protect troops at war, including funding to put more armor on vehicles used in combat zones.

Congress also included the death-benefits provisions but restricted the one-time payment to survivors of those who die in combat zones. Some lawmakers had wanted families of all troops who are killed ? no matter where they died ? to be eligible.

The increase would apply retroactively to families of troops killed in combat zones, as defined by the U.S. statute and including in Iraq and Afghanistan, beginning on Oct. 7, 2001, when U.S. military operations commenced in Afghanistan.

The measure also increases life insurance benefits for all troops to $400,000 from $250,000 and creates a new insurance benefit of up to $100,000 for those who have suffered traumatic injuries such as losing a limb or eyesight.

The bill also includes a provision meant to protect the C-130J cargo plane from being scaled back by the Pentagon and language that would prohibit the Pentagon from reducing its fleet of 12 aircraft carriers until it does a long-term review of defense needs.

On the foreign affairs side, Congress sliced several of Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice's requests.

The measure provides $230 million for funds controlled by Rice for U.S. allies in the war on terror for economic and military aid. She had requested $400 million. The State Department also gets $592 million to build a sprawling embassy in Baghdad, although that too is about $70 million below Rice's request.

The State Department also will get $680 million for international peacekeeping efforts in countries including Sudan and Haiti and $1.7 billion for anti-drug efforts and development projects in Afghanistan. The bill also provides:

_ $200 million in economic and infrastructure assistance to the
Palestinian Authority.

_ $635 million for increased U.S. border security, including money to hire another 500 border patrol agents.

_ Roughly $900 million for tsunami disaster relief.

[Lloyd Danforth]

I'm wondering how the feds will force states to comply.  If they hold back Highway Funds, than, that will not effect NH, if, we could get our reps to resist it.

[Kat Kanning]

You wont be able to get on a plane or a train, for one, if your state rejects it.  It's a bigger fist than highway funds.

[Kat Kanning]

Here's a petitition to sign if you don't want national ID:
http://action.downsizedc.org/wyc.php?cid=23


D o w n s i z e r - D i s p a t c h

|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|

The Real ID Act is about to become law. I want to
urge you to act right now!

A NATIONAL ID CARD

We're about to take first step down a slippery path
to a National ID Card. As a reminder, here's what
Real ID means to you and me...

* It links all state driver's license databases...
   creates a colossal database with the private
   details of every U.S. citizen - including you. 

* It mandates that your driver's licenses share a
   common machine-readable technology, including a
   digital photo of you - all the better to track
   your every movement.

* It hands the federal government un-funded mandate
   power to dictate what data states collect for
   license holders. This could include virtually
   anything, including fingerprints and/or retina
   scans.

* Of course, much more intrusive information will
   likely be required in the near future!

No matter how you slice it, REAL ID is a national ID
scheme. Ignore the spin. It's NOT a border security
bill. In fact, the bill permits illegal aliens to
acquire driver's licenses!

SENATOR SQUISHY AND FRIENDS

At DownsizeDC.org, we opposed the Real ID proposal
when it showed up in the Intelligence Reorganization
Act last Fall. The U.S. Senate agreed with you, and
so it was dropped.

We opposed the Real ID Act when the House passed it
as a stand alone bill this year. The Senate was
listening to you again. They refused to take it up.

We opposed Real ID when the House Republican
leadership "log-rolled" into the pork-filled
Emergency Appropriations Bill. And the Senate heard
you again. They voted 99-0 to approve the budget-
busting Emergency Appropriations Bill, but they
struck the Real ID language out.

But now, they've double-crossed you! Apparently, when
it comes to asking the Senate, the fourth time is the
charm.

A CIVICS LESSON

When a bill passes both the House and the Senate, and
there are differences between their respective
versions, they go to a Conference Committee. The
Conference is composed of members from both the House
and the Senate. There, differences are ironed out.

The White House weighed in and suggested that they
wanted Real ID to pass. Republican Senatorial
conferees caved. And now, the bill that goes back to
both sides of the Capitol includes Real ID!

WHAT CAN WE DO?

I'm frustrated. The Senate could vote on the
Emergency Appropriations bill as soon as Monday.

But we can still do two things.

  1) You can go to DownsizeDC.org and tell your
   Senators that you're strongly opposed to the
   inclusion of The Real ID Act and you're
   watching. Tell them you're not satisfied with
   the compromise and they should reject the bill
   - start over again if they must, but vote
   against the Conference Committee version of the
   Emergency Appropriations Act. "Stop back-door
   passage of the National ID card." To do so,
   click here:     
http://action.downsizedc.org/wyc.php?cid=23

Fight back, we must. And this is how we can do it! 

  2) And here's the most important part. Tell
   others. Share this message, or use our Tell-a-
   Friend function over at the website. I hope
   you're as furious as I am. Let's channel that
   fury into something productive. Let's identify
   others who agree with us and get them to join
   us as DC Downsizers. The bigger we are, the
   more magnified and powerful our voice becomes.
   Send friends, family, and others you know to
   go to:     
http://action.downsizedc.org/wyc.php?cid=23

Thank you for taking action.

Jim Babka
President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

P.S. The Senate reconvenes Monday and is expected to
take action early next week. Each moment you wait to
tell others is an opportunity lost. Please, act now.
Please, tell others immediately.


|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|


D o w n s i z e r - D i s p a t c h
is the official email list of
http://www.downsizedc.org.

CONTRIBUTE to this project at
http://www.downsizedc.org/contribute.shtml

http://www.downsizedc.org is sponsored by
DownsizeDC.org, Inc. -- a non-profit
educational organization promoting the ideas of
individual liberty, personal responsibility,
free markets, and small government.

VISIT the Foundation's web site at
http://www.downsizedc.org

UNSUBSCRIBE from this list by sending a text only (no HTML)
email to distribution-request@DownsizeDC.org with the word
   unsubscribe
on the first line of the body of the message.
Please leave the rest of the message blank.

SUBSCRIBE to this list by sending a text only (no HTML)
email to distribution-request@DownsizeDC.org with the word
   subscribe
on the first line of the body of the message.
Please leave the rest of the message blank.

CHANGE your subscription address by subscribing your
new address and unsubscribing your old address.

You are encouraged to forward this message to
friends and business associates, and permission is
hereby granted to reproduce any items herein as
long as attribution is provided for articles and
the subscription instructions above are included.

[Kat Kanning]

http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul248.html

National ID Cards Won't Stop Terrorism or Illegal Immigration

by Rep. Ron Paul, MD
by Rep. Ron Paul, MD

Save a link to this article and return to it at www.savethis.comSave a link to this article and return to it at www.savethis.com  Email a link to this articleEmail a link to this article  Printer-friendly version of this articlePrinter-friendly version of this article  View a list of the most popular articles on our siteView a list of the most popular articles on our site 

The US House of Representatives passed a spending bill last week that contains provisions establishing a national ID card, and the Senate is poised to approve the measure in the next few days. This week marks the American public?s last chance to convince their Senators they don?t want to live in a nation that demands papers from its citizens as they go about their lives.

Absent a political miracle in the Senate, within two years every American will need a conforming national ID card to participate in ordinary activities. This REAL ID Act establishes a massive, centrally-coordinated database of highly personal information about American citizens: at a minimum their name, date of birth, place of residence, Social Security number, and physical characteristics. The legislation also grants open-ended authority to the Secretary of Homeland Security to require biometric information on IDs in the future. This means your harmless looking driver?s license could contain a retina scan, fingerprints, DNA information, or radio frequency technology.

Think this sounds farfetched? Read the REAL ID Act, HR 418, for yourself. Its text is available on the Library of Congress website. A careful reading also reveals that states will be required to participate in the ?Drivers License Agreement,? which was crafted by DMV lobbyists years ago. This agreement creates a massive database of sensitive information on American citizens that can be shared with Canada and Mexico!

Terrorism is the excuse given for virtually every new power grab by the federal government, and the national ID is no exception. But federal agencies have tried to create a national ID for years, long before the 9-11 attacks. In fact, a 1996 bill sought to do exactly what the REAL ID Act does: transform state drivers? licenses into de facto national ID cards. At the time, Congress was flooded with calls by angry constituents and the bill ultimately died.

Proponents of the REAL ID Act continue to make the preposterous claim that the bill does not establish a national ID card. This is dangerous and insulting nonsense. Let?s get the facts straight: The REAL ID Act transforms state motor vehicle departments into agents of the federal government. Nationalizing standards for driver's licenses and birth certificates in a federal bill creates a national ID system, pure and simple. Having the name of your particular state on the ID is meaningless window dressing.

Federally imposed standards for drivers' license and birth certificates make a mockery of federalism and the 10th amendment. While states technically are not forced to accept the federal standards, any refusal to comply would mean their residents could not get a job, receive Social Security, or travel by plane. So rather than imposing a direct mandate on the states, the federal government is blackmailing them into complying with federal dictates.

One overriding point has been forgotten: Criminals don?t obey laws! As with gun control, national ID cards will only affect law-abiding citizens. Do we really believe a terrorist bent on murder is going to dutifully obtain a federal ID card? Do we believe that people who openly flout our immigration laws will nonetheless respect our ID requirements? Any ID card can be forged; any federal agency or state DMV is susceptible to corruption. Criminals can and will obtain national ID cards, or operate without them. National ID cards will be used to track the law-abiding masses, not criminals.

May 10, 2005

Dr. Ron Paul is a Republican member of Congress from Texas.

[Russell Kanning]

Maybe I should try to go somewhere or do something without ID. That is a good simple issue ....."Your Papers Please!"

[LiveFreeOrDie]

Be sure to carry the ID around in a handy little cardboard wallet. Maybe something like this.

[Russell Kanning]

That's a good one.....it would be funny to hand them one of those or point to the concentration camp tatoo on the forearm.

[Kat Kanning]

Ooooh that would make a great protest.  We could draw on concentration camp tattoo numbers and carry those cards.