Identity Theft & Privacy: , Opinion: , Patterns in the White Noise:

Can I see your papers?

When I was young, I remember watching movies about World War II and not understanding the meaning in scenes set in Germany when some official said, "Papers, please," in a smug voice.

It is no longer paper, so they now will ask "ID, please," and it is no longer in fascist Germany:

FAQ: How Real ID will affect you

Published: May 6, 2005, 4:00 AM PDT By Declan McCullagh Staff Writer, CNET News.com

What's all the fuss with the Real ID Act about?
President Bush is expected to sign an $82 billion military spending bill soon that will, in part, create electronically readable federal ID cards for Americans. The House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved the package--which includes the Real ID Act--on Thursday.

What does that mean for me?
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 starting three years from now. 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.

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Who were the three Republicans who voted against it?
Reps. Howard Coble of North Carolina, John Duncan of Tennessee, and Ron Paul of Texas.

Paul has warned that the Real ID Act "establishes a national ID card" and "gives authority to the Secretary of Homeland Security to unilaterally add requirements as he sees fit."

Is this a national ID card?
It depends on whom you ask. Barry Steinhardt, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's technology and liberty program, says: "It's going to result in everyone, from the 7-Eleven store to the bank and airlines, demanding to see the ID card. They're going to scan it in. They're going to have all the data on it from the front of the card...It's going to be not just a national ID card but a national database."

At the moment, state driver's licenses aren't easy for bars, banks, airlines and so on to swipe through card readers because they're not uniform; some may have barcodes but no magnetic stripes, for instance, and some may lack both. Steinhardt predicts the federalized IDs will be a gold mine for government agencies and marketers. Also, he notes that the Supreme Court ruled last year that police can demand to see ID from law-abiding U.S. citizens.

"Papers, please."

I'm not really comfortable with 7-Eleven having access to the kind of information about me that will be embedded in the ID, either.

If the ID includes an embedded RFID chip, I'll also be buying a wallet with metal fabric so that it cannot be read remotely without my knowledge and permission.

People, this is serious.

From an earlier article at CNet News.com on the Real ID Act:

National ID cards on the way?
Published: February 14, 2005, 4:00 AM PST By Declan McCullagh Staff Writer, CNET News.com

A recent vote in Congress endorsing standardized, electronically readable driver's licenses has raised fears about whether the proposal would usher in what amounts to a national ID card.

In a vote that largely divided along party lines, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a Republican-backed measure that would compel states to design their driver's licenses by 2008 to comply with federal antiterrorist standards. Federal employees would reject licenses or identity cards that don't comply, which could curb Americans' access to everything from airplanes to national parks and some courthouses.

The congressional maneuvering takes place as governments are growing more interested in implanting technology in ID cards to make them smarter and more secure. The U.S. State Department soon will begin issuing passports with radio frequency identification, or RFID, chips embedded in them, and Virginia may become the first state to glue RFID tags into all its driver's licenses.

"Supporters claim it is not a national ID because it is voluntary," Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, one of the eight Republicans to object to the measure, said during the floor debate this week. "However, any state that opts out will automatically make nonpersons out of its citizens. They will not be able to fly or to take a train."

Paul warned that the legislation, called the Real ID Act, gives unfettered authority to the Department of Homeland Security to design state ID cards and driver's licenses. Among the possibilities: biometric information such as retinal scans, fingerprints, DNA data and RFID tracking technology.

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"In reality, this bill is a Trojan horse," said Paul, the Republican congressman. "It pretends to offer desperately needed border control in order to stampede Americans into sacrificing what is uniquely American: our constitutionally protected liberty."

Unlike last year's measure, the Real ID Act "doesn't even mention the word 'privacy,'" said Marv Johnson, a lobbyist for the American Civil Liberties Union.

"What I think the House is planning on doing is attaching this bill to tsunami relief or money to the troops," Johnson says. "When they send it to the Senate, the Senate will have to either fish or cut bait. They can approve it or ask for a conference committee, at which point the House can say 'they're playing games with national security.'"

I can still recall how during the height of the Cold War the right-wing decried the control that the government of the Soviet Union had over its citizens.

Many will say, "What's the problem? If it helps stop terrorism and illegal immigration, I'm all for it!"

The best response is one that was made two centuries ago, and is quoted in the sidebar of this site:

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
   -Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759

Then, consider how much we are already tracked and how little privacy we have now.

Finally, consider how easy it will become with a government mandated ID system to track us all.

Do we want government to have yet another tool to easily track us (not even discussing how corporations track us, another ChoicePoint fiasco, anyone?).

Government has enough power over us all as it is.

The IRS still has the power to seize all assets if they claim we are behind on our taxes.

We can be arrested and held as "material witnesses" for indefinite times, and if we are declared an "enemy combatant" (which only requires an executive order, no hearing or other process), then we can be held completely incommunicado with no habeas corpus allowed.

Is that liberty?

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