This weekend there was more great news out of New Hampshire. It appears that they are the first state to reject the Real ID Act and to not have anything to do with it. Other states have vowed to follow suit, but the proof is in the pudding. While I try to post all the latest news on my site here, I can’t always keep up. For the latest developments of the resistance movement to Real ID, add Real ID Watch to your Blog bookmarks or RSS Reader.

Proponents of this new legislation will be quick to remind privacy advocates and the other “paranoid” that this is strictly voluntary. The question must be asked though, for how long will this remain voluntary? Especially when DHS is strongly supporting this and even offering a bonus to the state for it’s early adoption of the REAL ID program.

From the article:

“The agreement allows state residents to apply for the $40 voluntary driver’s license, which will be loaded with proof of citizenship and other information, beginning January 2008. “

Other information? I don’t like the sound of that. I hope anyone who is signing up for this new license will find just exactly what “other” information the state is putting out there for everyone to see. My main concern with RFID is the obvious inherent security weaknesses of this technology. For logistics and inventory management at retail chains like Wal-Mart, it may be a great solution. However, from a privacy perspective, it’s a nightmare. And Chertoff is just plain wrong when he says that the REAL ID program will deter identity theft and proliferates privacy protection.

For an even better writeup, as usual, check out Homeland Stupidity’s posting about Washington’s new licenses.

DHS: REAL ID protects your privacy, we promise

The FBI improperly and, in some cases, illegally used the USA Patriot Act to secretly obtain personal information about people in the United States, a Justice Department audit concluded Friday.

And for three years the FBI underreported to Congress how often it forced businesses to turn over the customer data, the audit found.

Wow, so it really is an Orwellian society we live in. And I bet that NSA wiretapping program was NEVER performed on civilians of the United States, right? Just terrorist threats overseas as the Bush administration has claimed. Awareness of this type of behavior must be increased dramatically or things will never change and we will never again have civil liberties. We live in a society where the government and politicians rule the constituency’s out of fear, uncertainty and doubt (also known as FUD). The Patriot Act was passed as a knee-jerk reaction to 9/11 and was renewed because no one wanted to stand up and be the one Senator or Representative that did not want to stop the “War on Terror”.

While the majority of subpoena’s issued were indeed for legitimate counterterror cases, over 8,800 of the 143,074 issues were not even recorded or documented in FBI database. The FBI also failed to report accurate numbers to Congress as to the actual number of national security letters delivered to companies requesting personal data. In these letters the FBI used it’s standard issue bully tactics to get the information it needed.

The audit by Justice Department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine found that FBI agents sometimes demanded personal data on individuals without proper authorization. The 126-page audit also found the FBI improperly obtained telephone records in non-emergency circumstances.

As many privacy experts have been stressing for quite a while, the Patriot Act is not preventing terror, just like the Real ID Act will not prevent terror. While some proponents of the two acts will claim that while there is not 100% prevention, the reduction in potential terrorist threats far outweigh the negative repercussions. I disagree. How many civil liberties and personal freedoms do Americans have to give up before someone finally notices and takes a stand. I for one am not going to sit around and wait for that day. It’s time to take a stand now.

I read this article on news.com the other day and I’m just now getting around to writing up a few comments. Basically, the highlights are as follows and are taken directly from the article:

• The Real ID cards must include all drivers’ home addresses and other personal information printed on the front and in a two-dimensional barcode on the back. The barcode will not be encrypted because of “operational complexity,” which means that businesses like bars and banks that require ID would be capable of scanning and recording customers’ home addresses.
• Homeland Security is considering standardizing a “unique design or color for Real ID licenses,” which would effectively create a uniform national ID card. (But we have been assured from the beginning the REAL ID is NOT a national identification program)
• States must submit a plan of how they’ll comply with the Real ID Act by October 7, 2007. If they don’t, their residents will not be able to use IDs to board planes or enter federal buildings starting on May 11, 2008. Which the states will have to figure out exactly how they are going to fund this program.
• A radio frequency identification (RFID) tag is under consideration. Homeland Security is asking for input on how the licenses could incorporate “RFID-enabled vicinity chip technology, in addition to” the two-dimensional barcode requirement.

I plan on taking each of the bulleted highlights above and dissecting the exact verbiage as it is written in the proposed draft over the next few days. Check back as I dive deeper into this Real ID Nightmare. For more reading until then, check out these links:

• http://www.unrealid.com/
• http://www.realnightmare.org/