Read about everything that pisses me the hell off.

Friday, February 11, 2005

Welcome back to the USSA...

Well, considering my current battle with PenDot and the state of my drivers license I find this topic eerily close to home.

For those of you who are unaware, and from the looks of things that's an awful lot of you, the House just recently passed a bill called the Real ID Act. This act forces states to include federally mandated information electronically on State ID cards such as Drivers Licenses. This might also extend to a federal mandate that forces all adults to carry an Electronic ID card, or worse, an RIFD card or transmitter. Unfamiliar with RFID technology? Long story short they are very small imbedded transmitters that transmit tracking data. It's a scary prospect. They are already using them as Pet Licenses... In other words, trying out the technology on animals in order to see if it's practical to be used on humans.

Everyone brushing up on their newspeak?

Here's some speak for you.. A favorite quote of mine: "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety" It was said over two hundred years ago by Ben Franklin. It still amazes me that the men that drafted the constitution in this country saw all of this coming and attempted to make provisions for it, but somehow the stupidity of the average person has prevailed to thwart even their efforts. I will say this .. With a 191 Republican votes for this bill, I'm sorely regretting my vote for Mr. Bush and my support of his administration. Sure, it was the house voting and I voted libretarian for the house, but "The White House said in a statement this week that it "strongly supports House passage" of the bill. "* Thank you Mr. Bush. So what are the wise Republicans giving as a reason for this? Well.. 9/11 of course. In other words, they are doing this for "our safety." What's that Ben? We don't deserve liberty or safety? I couldn't agree more.

How is it that a party that stands for small federal government and broadening state powers is going to turn around and grant this kind of power to the federal government? Even more frightening, who is going to determine the data kept on these cards? Why the Department of Homeland Security of course. Who else? The new SS of the new millennium. Here are some details from the a Cnet article on the subject "States would be required to demand proof of the person's Social Security number and confirm that number with the Social Security Administration. They would also have to scan in documents showing the person's date of birth and immigration status, and create a massive store "so that the (scanned) images can be retained in electronic storage in a transferable format" permanently." Hey, George, Tom, ever heard of the 10th Amendment? You know, that thing that says it's up to STATES to control this sort of thing? Yeah... maybe you ought to listen to what the founding fathers said and heed it for once. Last I recalled, Social Security numbers were NOT to be used for identification purposes. Guess someone forgot that little detail. Cnet goes on to say "Another portion of the bill says that states would be required to link their DMV databases if they wished to receive federal funds. Among the information that must be shared: All data fields printed on drivers' licenses and identification cards, and complete drivers' histories, including motor vehicle violations, suspensions and points on licenses. " Why is it anyone's business but my own and the State who has issued my license what my driving record is eh? Or my eye color, weight, height etc. Am I being paranoid? Can't I still just choose not to carry an ID if I wish? Well, when I went to vote this year, I was required to show a Drvier's license. This is a violation of my rights. My Voter's registration card has printed RIGHT on it "Under the law you must present a form of identification to the election officals on Election Day the first time you vote in a new election district, division or precinct. This card -IS- an acceptable from of identification". Yet, when I presented it, I was required to show my Driver's license? What if I choose not to have one? Did I lose my right to not carry a state approved ID if I so choose? Seems I have considering that right on the voter signature form was a line for Drivers License number.

It seems Mr. Bush, who got reelected not on his wartime policies but on his religion and his belief that Chuck and Fred shouldn't be wearing rings, is now using that reelection to push a police state agenda for our own safety. This is all being done because "Republican politicians argued that the new rules were necessary to thwart terrorists, saying that four of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers possessed valid state-issued driver's licenses" Hmm.. Four out of 15. They all possessed legal Visas. This from the same government who wants to just let all the illegal immigrants from Mexico just stay here and enjoy. Give them a courtesy green card and a pat on the ass. Mr. Bush, excuse my French, but your priorities are FUCKED.

Tracking my movements, violating my right to privacy, and forcing me to carry your big brother ID card is not going to keep me safe. It's going to let you in on my life when you have no reason or right to be there. These are the same people that are saying it's OK for the police to place GPS trackers on my car to track my movements, because privacy doesn't extend to my car as it's driven on public roads. These are the same people who passed laws saying that I can be held in jail for 96 hours without having any charges files if they "suspect" I'm a terrorist. These are the SAME people who are against gun control, but, you need a State issued photo ID to PURCHASE a gun. These are the same people who MISSED the 9/11 attack warnings PRIOR to the attack because they had TOO MUCH DATA and NOT ENOUGH PERSONNEL!! So their solution? Track more data on honest law abiding citizens. Hey, how about tightening up the boarders? How about deporting these illegal immigrants instead of giving them carte blanche to take American jobs?

I'm very disappointed that less than a month into the new term, this is the turn our government is taking. Between this, and the attorney General appointee talking about how he wants to limit my freedom of speech, I'm really starting to regret casting my vote in the Bush Administration's direction. I didn't put him in office to remove my freedoms, I put him in office to protect them.



* All quotes were taken from the Cnet artilce that can be found below:
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-5571898.html
Comments:
While I agree that some of Bush's priorities are whacked, I don't think Kerry would have been any better, and in fact would have been much worse.
 
Weither or not Kerry would have done any better is no reason NOT to call Mr. Bush to task on his failings. He's not doing what I put him in office to do, and that's win a war. He's mucking with my rights and using a tragedy as an excuse and that's just wrong. People need to call him on it.
 
Bush is God. He is always right. Bow to Bush. Hail Bush! (Note - this message was intercepted and read by countless FBI agents using the Patriot Act as an excuse to do so). Soon people who post blogs will be considered terrorists and in which case, Salut! I'm heading to Canada.....

I dedicate this post to Osama Bin Yeti. :)
 
I'm not saying not to call him to task. We absolutely should do so every single time he starts acting like a totalitarian. I was just refering to your statement about being sorry you voted for him. In this election, I definately saw him as the lesser of multiple evils.

And anon, I somehow think that perhaps the FBI has better things to do.
 
It is a proven fact (ever watch or read the news?) that the FBI monitors ALL electronic communication for either suspected individuals or communication carrying keywords that concern them. I don't define that list; they do. Anything from "bomb making", anti-Bush rhetoric, and countless others are flagged. But if you add the human element into the equation, there most certainly has been some abuse involved. Ever since 9/11, the Patriot Act and even long before with the Carnivore system, electronic communication has been "opened" wider than ever before.

People + power does not sum up to anything within reason and anything that has boundaries. Especially when it involves another persons privacy, or lack of rights thereof. So if you don't think that some random blog entry has ever been read for an inappropriate reason, you are far more naive than I.
 
The "system" has been dismantled. Absolutely EVERYTHING is now fair game. The desire to find someone who is THINKING of doing something wrong before they have actually DONE it carries consequences (kind of makes the entire "Minority Report" concept not so farfetched after all).

This whole "Valentine's Day Suicide" scandal, although a bad example, shows that they are actually using their new powers to catch someone in doing something before it was ever actually done. Who's to say if it would have ever happened at all? If I took to task every single thing I have ever seen typed in an internet chat room, half of the free world would need incarcerated. I'm not saying that the end result in this case is completely wrong. But the idea behind it is just flat out scary.

I respect the governments dedication in trying to protect the country from evil-doers. But who is going to protect us from our own government?

It amazes me that people born in the US can have such problems with their own drivers license, yet Bush himself supported a plan to just hand over a drivers license to illegal immigrants. Doesn't natural citizenship carry any benefits anymore?

I am sure that somewhere in an undisclosed drug rehabilitation center that George Carlin is having an absolute field day using all of this crap for his next HBO performance.
 
I just picture those last two anon posters sitting there in a bunker wearing a tin foil hat to defend themselves from orbital mind control lasers.
 
Yeti-

I hear what you're saying. It certainly is a very dangerous situation where to defend our freedom, they must remove our freedom.

I don't know how much of it is on Bush, though. The system was already collapsing long before Bush took office. But I do acknowledge that Bush brought a bulldozer in to accelerate the process.

Bush's credibilty was suspect at best going into the last election. I think it's a shame that he was elected merely out of our fears of being attacked. Although I don't think that Bush won the election as much as Kerry lost it, I have a hard time respecting any logic whatsoever from a man who rewards a big dollar company for moving jobs overseas with a tax break.

And lastly, all credibility Bush had with me went out the window with his new budget plan. His original plan called for federal money to assist in retraining displaced workers whose jobs were shipped overseas. But in his newly proposed budget, he's cutting the money he was allocating for such programs. Talking about beating someone around with their hands being tied.

I see someone else here mentioned Carlin on here, so I'll go with that. The people we put in office reflect the current state of society. I think his comment was "Where are all of these perfect people and why aren't they running for office?".

I concur that Bush is doing a hell of a job defending the country. He's certainly well equipped as a loaded gun. It's just a crying shame that someone with so much ammunition in his gun has so little upstairs.

There is something to be said about someone so powerful and being in charge by waving a gun, yet completely unable to spell it.

Andy
 
I'll get back to replying on these comments soon (I've had very little time the last few days), but here is something which I consider far worse than a magnetic strip on a drivers licence:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/02/14/eveningnews/main674120.shtml

Some west-coast states want to put manditory global positioning sensors in cars so as to track the milage used, then tax it. And I'll bet you they will be able to sopena it in court to see where drivers have been for little or no reason.
 
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