Reply #26: National ID Red Alert! - a libertarian article

[steve2470]

http://www.lewrockwell.com/yates/yates99.html

by Steven Yates


"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

~ Benjamin Franklin

The year 2005 is now less than two weeks away. It might be the year what is left of Constitutional government in America faces its greatest test yet.

The specific day most likely to live in infamy in 2004 was December 7. That was the day our ex-Trotskyite controlled Congress passed the so-called National Intelligence Reform Act of 2004 (S.2845) – also called the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 – another of those multi-thousand page tomes all but unread by the vast majority of those who signed it. The Intelligence Reform bill was put together ostensibly in response to recommendations by the 9/11 Commission. Its official title as introduced: "A bill to reform the intelligence community and the intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the United States Government, and for other purposes." Inquiring minds want to know: what other purposes? One thing we can be sure of: this horrid bill contains things those in power have wanted for years, the things Claire Wolfe once called "land mine legislation," some of which were beaten back by public outrage in the pre-9/11 world.

A de facto national ID card, for example.

That’s right. The National Intelligence Reform Act orders the Department of Homeland Security to begin issuing "uniformity regulations" requiring that all driver’s licenses and birth certificates meet certain federalized standards, along with biometrics for "security" purposes. The provisions can be found in subsections 7212 and 7211 of the bill respectively. States will be ordered to include personal information about every individual, and this information will be used to build a huge federal database – giving unelected federal bureaucrats access to your information. In other words, your privacy – already severely eroded by the federal behemoth – will become a thing of the past in 2005. Control over the issuing of social security numbers (subsection 7213) will also be federalized. Also, the bill directs the Department of Homeland Security to establish separate standards for national ID used to board airplanes (subsection 7220). The ramifications here go well beyond the transformation of airports into fortresses we have seen since 9/11. It is just possible that as a result of this legislation, the feds will see themselves as having a green light to begin setting up road block check points. Below we will encounter reason to believe an "internal passport" to travel freely in this country is in the works. This could be one of those unstated "other purposes." If this runaway train is not stopped, be prepared to have to "show your papers," just like the cannon fodder that populated the former Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.

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