Welcome to Amerika. With its recent issuance of rules for implementing the “Real ID” law - the requirement that states issue driver’s licenses according to federal dictates and link the information to a nationwide database - the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has taken another page from the Soviets’ playbook. Stalin required Russian citizens to carry an internal passport ostensibly because “counterrevolutionaries” posed a threat. Amerikans will be required to show their papers to prove they aren’t terrorists or illegal immigrants.

Because an internal passport is the hallmark of totalitarianism, DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff is trying to play Americans for fools. He insists that Real ID, which must meet federal standards and be used for federal purposes, is not a federal identity card because the states will be the issuing agents. That‘s like your employer trying to convince you he has no control over your salary because the checks come through the payroll department.

Seventeen states have passed legislation or resolutions opposing Real ID, and 19 other states have such actions pending because they recognize what Congress did not: If this law is actually implemented, it will mean the end of privacy and freedom.

That is inevitable because the amount of information required to be imbedded on the card will increase, as will the places where its presentation is required. Congress originally suggested that the card would be necessary to enter federal buildings, board commercial aircraft, open a bank account, or access nuclear power plants - but allowed expansions “for any other purposes that the [DHS[ Secretary shall determine.” Secretary Michael Chertoff already has added entry to national parks to the list.

And don’t forget that Congress foolishly gave the Secret Service authority to control national events such as Super Bowls and presidential inaugurations. Merely to watch a football game, Amerikans will have to show their papers.

Privacy will be non-existent because the DHS dictates that identity cards must have bar codes readable by common technology. So not only will tens of thousands of government employees have access to your Social Security number, date of birth, residential address, etc., but every private facility that requires you to present ID will capture that information as well. Identify theft will be child’s play.

Perhaps the most alarming aspect of Real ID is that it transfers to the government ultimate control over citizens’ movements. The ID card of a citizen not in good standing could have a hold put on it, just like a credit card can. If your ID card is declined, you will be unable to travel, access your money, get a job, enter buildings, or go about the basic routines of life until you have restored favor with your government.

Think that’s hyperbole? Driver’s licenses already are used for such purposes. In Texas, a driver's license can be suspended for failure to provide requested medical information to the government. In Florida, a license can be revoked for "an immoral act in which a motor vehicle was used." Wisconsin residents can lose their driver's licenses for failure to pay library fines, shovel the snow off their sidewalk, or trim a tree overhanging a neighbor's property. Montana residents are not allowed to drive if they default on college loans. Many states punish those who fail to pay child support, taxes, court judgments, or parking fines by revoking their driver's licenses.

Effectively "grounding" adults is cheaper than sending them to jail, and a national ID card linked to a central database would allow the government to be all that more efficient. Want to board a plane in North Carolina? Not until you pay those library fines in Wisconsin.

The real travesty is that it is all for nothing because it won’t make anyone safer. Establishing someone’s identity does not reveal their intent. In a pathetically vapid defense of Real ID, Chertoff asks, “Should banks cash checks from people who cannot prove who they are? Should parents hire baby-sitters they know nothing about? Should airlines let passengers on board without validating their identity?”

Well, knowing that the babysitter is, in fact, Suzy Smith, says nothing about her skill with children. A bank needs to know whether a check is good, not the bearer’s immigration status. Knowing a traveler’s Social Security number doesn’t tell an airport screener whether the individual is carrying a bomb.

National identity cards don’t make anyone safer; they only make citizens less free. Real ID is a real bad law that Congress ought to repeal. Real soon.

Examiner Columnist Melanie Scarborough lives in Alexandria.

Comments from Examiner Readers

3:08 PM MST on Tue., Mar. 25, 2008 re: "Is the welcome mat really welcome?"

Examiner Reader said:
Hey to all reactionary idiots: how about you move NORTH of the mexican border? You know, the one that runs through 2 california, along n mexico and arizona, and down throu east texas? and lets not forget the hispanic carribean nation on florida. how is it puerto rico is "u.s." but other central americans are "illegals"?

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4:53 PM MST on Fri., Feb. 8, 2008 re: "Quin-essential Cases: Immunity Request Is No Phone-y Plea"

dan of steele said:
So in simple terms, the republican stance is that telecoms are to be allowed to break the law without consequence and that the government should be allowed to continue to spy on us without a warrant. all the crap about terrorists is just smoke....right?

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5:51 AM MST on Mon., Jan. 28, 2008 re: "Under Real ID, privacy will be nonexistent"

lorin mccann said:
Wonder what happends when the computer goes down???

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7:13 PM MST on Sun., Jan. 27, 2008 re: "Under Real ID, privacy will be nonexistent"

Examiner Reader said:
Anyone who understands how government operates can foresee how REAL ID will be used against law-abiding citizens instead of terrorists. Recall that the Social Security Number was never intended to be used as an all-purpose identifier. The Federal income tax was originally going to apply only to the super-rich, and take less than 10 percent. Give government an inch and they take a mile. Ms. Scarborough has it exactly right. The government scares people and claims it needs this new infringement on privacy to fight the trrists, but eventually the REAL ID will be used to, as she says, "ground" adults over child support or library fines. That sounds like Orwellian hell to me. Did we really fight a World War against the Nazis, and a Cold War against the Soviets, only to adopt the kind of police-state people control mechanism that made us hate and fear totalitarian societies? Frankly, that scares me a lot more than the slim possibility of terrorism.

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2:14 AM MST on Sat., Jan. 26, 2008 re: "Under Real ID, privacy will be nonexistent"

Examiner Reader said:
I totally agree with this article. History keeps repeating itself. Having to show papers or be tracked is against everything America stands for - individual rights and liberties.

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3:44 PM MST on Thu., Jan. 24, 2008 re: "Under Real ID, privacy will be nonexistent"

Examiner Reader said:
With IHS (Intelligent Highway System) your current RFID drivers license and RFID inspection stickers are read as you drive down the highways. Watch for two hexagons cut into each line like at stop lights and a metal box usually on a pole at the side of the road. They have fiber, telephone and radio relay of data.

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12:49 PM MST on Thu., Jan. 24, 2008 re: "Under Real ID, privacy will be nonexistent"

Examiner Reader said:
I totally agree with this article...I'm glad to see this info. being disseminated in mainstream venues. As for "tired's" rant, this law should be examined in a historical context and to minimize the similarities that exist between the beginnings of Nazi Germany and what is going on now is naive at best, fascist propaganda at worst.

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3:22 PM MST on Tue., Jan. 22, 2008 re: "Under Real ID, privacy will be nonexistent"

USN said:
Welcome to Amerika?? That's about as far as I got with your article. It�s childish and it�s usually leftists who do this.

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2:17 PM MST on Tue., Jan. 22, 2008 re: "Under Real ID, privacy will be nonexistent"

TERRY AGHEE said:
And tell us Melanie, just how are you going to keep our children and our grandkids safe? What exactly is your plan? You see to think that there is absolutely no difficulty with terrorists anymore - does that mean that you will just forget about illegal aliens and armed therrorists? Will you sleep well now?

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4:30 PM MST on Mon., Jan. 21, 2008 re: "Under Real ID, privacy will be nonexistent"

Tired of all the ACLU lies about REAL ID said:
Your columnist either hasn't done her homework (read the final Rule or the Driver Privacy Protection Act--fed. law) or she's bought into that bunch of lies being circulated by the ACLU. REAL ID will require background checks on all DMV employees-getting rid of the bad apples up front will increase privacy protections, not decrease them.And as for the info. encoded on the mag stripe/barcode--check your facts,MD and a lot of other states do that already.The info is the same as on the face of the DL-its a security feature against tampering.It's no diff. than copying the info off the front of a DL-same info. Anyone who has a commercial DL knows the DMV already checks to see if you have a CDL in any other state. It's a pointer system--what REAL ID will have--not an open database. REAL ID is far from perfect but it's not the privacy monster the ACLU wants us to believe.Oh, & fed. law lets states suspend DLs of deadbeats who don't pay child support. Do you have a problem w/that too, Mel

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12:06 PM MST on Mon., Jan. 21, 2008 re: "Under Real ID, privacy will be nonexistent"

David of NM said:
What a great article. It is somewhat encouraging to me that more people seem to be getting wise to the dangerous REAL ID Act. The writer wrote mostly about privacy,security and expansion concerns and not so much about cost concerns. The real problems with REAL ID are not cost related. I keep writing my representatives, asking for repeal, but I get a canned Republican National Committee instead. The Republicans are largely the drivers of REAL ID. Rep. Sensenbrenner R-WI seized on the 9/11 Commission report that called for more secure licenses. He authored the abomination called the REAL ID Act of 2005 so he could come out of obscurity and be a legislative superstar. Today, Sensenbrenner refers to REAL ID as "his baby". DIGIMARC Corp. of Oregon has contributed much money to be used for grants to States for the purpose of softening opposition to REAL ID. DIGIMARC, a worldwide company selling National ID card making equipment and related services stands to make millions off REAL ID

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2:19 PM MST on Tue., Nov. 13, 2007 re: "Is the welcome mat really welcome?"

an irate citizen because of an irate citizen said:
Yeah this country was founded by immigrants, and the only reason why there is such an outcry to stop it, is because now we're getting the kind we don't want. The kind with brown skin. Stolen social security benefits? I don't think so. If an immigrant used a stolen social security number to get a job, they're paying taxes too and rarely if ever redeem benefits for fear of getting caught. Cockroaches (usually a racial slur),shoot to kill? Wow,let me know how the next klan meeting goes.

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5:53 PM MST on Sun., Nov. 4, 2007 re: "Is the welcome mat really welcome?"

reader said:
"even the best national policies won't work if local governments undermine them. And for years, some governments have been doing all they could to thwart federal immigration policy." - No duh...

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7:51 AM MST on Sat., Nov. 3, 2007 re: "Is the welcome mat really welcome?"

An Irate Citizen said:
This Country was started by immigrants from the United Kingdom and Europe and has subsequently always welcomed legal immigration. However, in our recent history we have been beseiged by people who simply crawl over our borders like cockroaches. These borders should be patrolled by soldiers who have the authority to shoot to kill anyone who tries to enter the country illegally. Also those who are here and who are not here legally should be rounded up and immediately deported. No "ifs, ands or buts" about it. Amongst other things, the illegals are stealing our social security benefits and ruining our health care system. It can not continue. I plead with all of you to contact your representatives in Congress and any presidential candidate you're supporting and tell them you want action and that you want action now. Please do this today if you love your family and you love your country.

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8:46 PM MST on Fri., Aug. 10, 2007 re: "Is it "pay for play" time in Spitzer's New York?"

Examiner Reader said:
When Spitzer was AG of New York he carefully target his prosecutions of Wall Street and the Insurance industry. Those not targeted soon got the message that they were to pay up campaign contributions or else. Spitzer ran the New York AG's office like a gangster and it seems he runs the governor's office like a gangster too.

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2:44 PM MST on Fri., Aug. 10, 2007 re: "Is it "pay for play" time in Spitzer's New York?"

Examiner Reader said:
FWIW, the Neighborhood Preservation PAF is the rent stabilized apartment owners PAC many of whom *hate* Spitzer.

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