Dasvidanya Comrade

__________

Michael Chertoff, Czar of the Department of Homeland Security, is peddling his product -- fear -- again. He insists upon implementing the Real ID license program, presumably to protect you from people who do not look as scary as Mr. Chertoff but nonetheless harbor malevolent intentions.

However, if Islamic extremism is the threat to America, why are we aiming security measures at the American taxpaying citizenry? This i.d. measure is a distraction from the real issues of our safety and security. The Real ID is a Real fraud.

Islamic extremists bent on death and destruction need not obtain the Real ID to fly on our airliners or to navigate American streets. All they need are their indigenous passports and credit cards. So why do we need to add secure driver's licenses to the layers of bureaucracy in our society? Security measures should address the threat; piling on peripheral issues does not equal adequacy.

He begins his argument irrationally enough, "Should parents hire baby-sitters they know nothing about? Should airlines let passengers on board without validating their identity? (Real ID is All About Safety.)"

How does Real ID equate to safer babysitting? Senator Craig and Congressman Foley have valid i.d.'s, but they're both perverts that aren't fit to babysit, save for AB/DLs ( paraphilic infantilists.) Real ID doesn't prevent sexual predation. Chertoff knows this.

The Real ID is purely symbolic. Its power is all implied, namely, the destructive potentiality of the bearer.

With Real ID, the administration again focuses on appearances rather than realities. It will require "individuals seeking driver's licenses [to] provide their state Department of of Public Safety office with documents proving who they are and that they're here legally." How does this keep you safe from a sexual predator or a potential bomb threat? I guess such people would have to take public transportation or bicycle to the intended site of their crime, rather than borrow or rent a car.

Chertoff's article is a bunch of mumbo-jumbo, confusing the issues.

"All but one of the 9/11 hijackers carried government IDs that helped them board planes and remain in the country illegally." Their having IDs did not facilitate nor deter these facts. The hijackers would have been allowed to board plane even if they showed their indigenous passports and ID. Foreign passports are legal for ID purposes.

It was the incompetence of the FBI, CIA, DoJ and INS that allowed the largely Saudi flight contingent to carry out the 9-11 mission. IDs -- real or phonied -- did not contribute to this colossal cock-up.

In a non sequitur, he says, "Last year, our immigration and customs agents charged hundreds of illegal workers with crimes relating to state and federal document fraud." The fact of document fraud does not pertain to the supposed safety from threat supposedly provided by the Real ID. This is simply circular reasoning.

Chertoff goes on to cite costs of $64 billion in identity fraud in 2005, and "28 percent of these incidents likely required a driver's license to perpetrate." "Likely"?

Since a large portion of ID theft is cybercrime, this initiative is even dubious as a crime preventive crime. It is simply a subversive way to further catalog our driving population.

He claims Real ID is "something that the American people overwhelmingly support." If this is so, then Ranger inhabits the dark side of the moon. This issue is so far removed from our daily realities that most people don't have any opinion on the topic.

While Congress passed the REAL ID Act in 2005, the "Department of Homeland Security unveiled uniform standards [last week] to help the states advance this vital imperative." Congress is sidestepping its responsibility by allowing the DHS to determine policy.

Chertoff says "the states must verify that the documents presented are legitimate." Years ago the same thing happened with the Brady Bill and the courts supported the position that Federal law cannot force state and local governments to do background checks on prospective gun purchasers. Obviously the Fed can control federal documents such as passports, but intruding on driver's licenses is overstepping federal authority. The Real ID seems like a similar federal intrusion on State's Rights.

He promises that they will not be "national identity cards," and will cost only $8 more than a regular driver's license. "That's just $1.60 per year," sounding every bit an NPR fund-drive pitchman.

"We are making $360 million available to help defray the costs of implementation." Accepting $1.60 per year as the cost of this initiative per person, and assuming 200 million licensed drivers, that is a cost of approximately one-quarter of a billion dollars per year. Small change to a bloated government behemoth, but where is the money coming from? Our taxes or our pocketbooks.

Chertoff declares, "[I]n my view, it's the opponents of secure identification who pose the greatest risk." Again, if one opposes anything the Fed proposes, one becomes the threat. He alleges, "Without REAL ID, you are far more likely to endure one of the worst privacy violations — having your identity stolen."

We counter: having the Federal government involved in every detail of our personal lives and data is actually the worst violation imaginable.

This is an unwanted and unnecessary expenditure.