Feds cite hassles if ID law not followed

[Newsjock]

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- Homeland Security officials are pushing recalcitrant states to adopt stricter driver's license standards to end a standoff that could disrupt domestic air travel.

States have less than a month to send a letter to the Homeland Security Department seeking an extension to comply with the Real ID law passed following the 2001 terror attacks. Some states have resisted, saying it is costly, impractical and an invasion of privacy.

Four states - Maine, Montana, New Hampshire and South Carolina - have yet to seek an extension.

... To bring the states in line, Chertoff warned that any state that does not seek an extension by the end of March will find that, come May, their residents will not be able to use their licenses to board domestic flights.


Read more: http://www.thenewstribune.com/tacoma/24hour/politics/story/299610.html

[truthisfreedom]

1. Mexican standoff?

I'm make popcorn.

[PSPS]

2. That's fine with me. I'll just stop flying.

I'm sure the airlines will be just thrilled that Chertoff's intrusive and unconstitutional national ID card is costing them business. I have no problem at all telling my distant clients that they have to find someone else because of this.

This is all just posturing. Chertoff is going to lose this one.

[MaryCeleste]

3. I don't think so...

The turned away passengers will blame their local elected officials...taking bets on that one...the sheeple always support the power

[Michigan-Arizona]

4. Okay by me, I hate flying anyway's

Will this just be a starting point saying you can't board a plane without the ID? I would tend to think that many people won't get it so then they'll say you can't drive, can't use the bank, etc, etc.

[MaryCeleste]

5. I do expect residents of those states will forece them to cave it

if they don't break under Federal pressure.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

6. "But it's not a national I.D. card..."

Remember that one? That mantra was repeated by the administration again and again when the people who don't lie for a living told the truth.

The Repugs had tried to force a national identification card down our throats forever. When they found they couldn't sell it even after 9-11, they stuck it in as a minor amendment to a larger appropriations bill. The Real I.D. Act was "supposedly" only to standardize the information used by the states when they issued their drivers licenses; in reality it has become a security checkpoint. Getting a driver's license no longer involves passing a written and driving test -- now you've got to prove you are who you say you are -- which involves a background check similar to that to obtain a passport. That's an incredible burden to add to DMV departments.

Among the stupid things about this law is that you can use your birth certificate to prove your identity. The second stupid thing is that even if this law had been in force at the time, it would have done nothing -- zero, zilch, zippo -- to prevent the attacks!

I don't even recognize my country anymore. It sure isn't the one I whose Constitution I swore an oath to defend when I joined the military. What's sad is that for those who are being born now, this will be considered "the way things have always been." You can be sure that the social history of the 50s thru 80s will be erased from the textbooks.

[Indy Lurker]

7. the Idea of using a Drivers License as ID is dumb.

the Idea of using a Drivers License to board a plane is dumb.


Can I use my fishing license to board a bus?

Real ID is wrong in so many ways.

[roseBudd]

8. me thinks the airlines will not be happy with the loss of revenue

[pitohui]

10. there won't be any loss of revenue, folks will just use their passports

people who don't travel anywhere anyway won't represent any loss of revenue to their airlines and the folks who do will use their passports for flying

the passport is better anyway for several reasons, most notably because it doesn't have your address on it, so random TSA agents and other people who don't have a need to know don't see your street address and know the location that is empty and ready to be robbed while you're on the road

using the driver's license to fly was never ideal

[Q3JR4]

9. Bring it on...

1.) I never drive anywhere...let alone fly.
2.) I took the time and effort, a few years back, to get a passport so am well covered with their "real id act" thingy.

[damntexdem]

11. At least 4 states have stood their ground so far.

Let's check back in a month and see whether Hoaxland Security will back off a bit.