National ID

Montana governor Brian Schweitzer declared victory Friday after the Department of Homeland Security sent his state an extension to the Real ID act, despite his insistence Montana will never comply with a mandate he describes as a "boondoggle."

At least two of the states have dug in their heels, determined not to comply. Democratic Govs. Brian Schweitzer of Montana and John Baldacci of Maine have vowed to resist implementation of REAL ID, which they argue violates the privacy rights of US citizens by enabling federal monitoring of ID use through the uniform security standards required by the act.

it is a "UK-wide, non-partisan campaign opposing the government's planned ID card and national identity register". It works with MPs and peers from all the mainstream parties, and is currently encouraging members of the public to put their names to a pledge, whereby they promise that they will not register for an ID card, supply their

Time and again since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, our political leaders in Washington have promised us that in fighting against our enemies, we must not allow our own cherished freedoms and liberty to be compromised.

A systematic analysis of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) final regulations for the Real ID Act reveals that the regulations still address only 11 percent of the problems with the act that have been identified, the American Civil Liberties Union said today. 

Voter ID laws also take us one step closer to a “show your papers” society. In this regard, they are part of a far-reaching agenda to ensure the adoption of a de facto national identification card, which has repeatedly met with opposition—and for good reasons.

State Sen. Karen Johnson, R-Mesa, said she is “livid’’ that Napolitano promised to have Arizona comply with the Real ID Act and promised to fight the plan despite its voluntary nature.

“The federal government’s going to get all this information,’’ Johnson said.

In fact, it's unlikely that a single state will comply with this national ID law — a whopping unfunded surveillance mandate passed hastily by Congress in May 2005. The Department of Homeland Security asked states to commit to REAL ID or ask for an extension by October 1st, so now is a good time to review where things are with REAL ID, and perhaps see where they're going.