REAL ID Act

[Ladywriter 7,783]

Subject: 21st state rejects the REAL ID Act

The number of states that have rejected the REAL ID Act now stands at

21. The latest to do so is Louisiana. On July 8th Governor Bobby

Jindal signed into law HB 715.

<http://www.privacylives.com/louisiana-becomes-21st-state-to-reject-real-id/2008/07/14/>

It's strong legislation. It directs the state Department of Public

Safety and Corrections to NOT implement the REAL ID Act.

It's been a while since we've asked Congress to repeal the REAL ID

Act. We've been focused on other things. Now is the time to hit them

again. Let Congress know that you won't forget about this issue. Tell

them you're aware that Louisiana just became the 21st state to rebel

against the REAL ID Act. Tell Congress it's long past time to bow to

the will of the people, who do not want a centralized national

identification system. You can send your message here.

<http://www.downsizedc.org/etp/campaigns/30>

We have many new members. If you don't know what the REAL ID Act is

all about, we have introductory information on our Real ID campaign

page where you can also send your message to Congress.

<http://www.downsizedc.org/etp/campaigns/30>

[Kite 3,263]

to me the idea of everyone having an ID would be great, but like communism, it cant work in reality, only theory.

in most european countries, they use national id cards, they contain minimal personal data, but also allow passage into any EU country without a passport. and it fits into your wallet, ive never heard a complaint about the system, nothing but praises

i couldnt wait to get one, so i used my gibratarian nationality to get me one, as briton considers it bad to use national ids for the general public, so in the uk, porbably the only major EU country not to use national id.

[Ladywriter 7,783]

The problems here are

1. We like our national sovereignty. We don't want a North American Union.

and 2 our govt would use the id against us.

[Ladywriter 7,783]

Quote of the Day:

"Do you want our government to have the ability to track where you

went, how you went, how you got there and when you got home? It would

be naïve for someone to think this information will not be abused in

the future. Virtually every decade these kinds of files have been

used to violate people's privacy."

-- Brian Schweitzer, Governor of Montana

<http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/4213>

Subject: Chertoff threatens governor, governor threatens Chertoff

We knew that the state of Montana was resisting the REAL ID Act, but

we just learned some of the details of that resistance. The story is

so good we had to share it, in case you hadn't heard . . .

Brian Schweitzer, the governor of Montana, wrote a letter to Homeland

Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. The letter informed Chertoff

that Montana would not be complying with the REAL ID Act. Our quote

of the day supplies one of the reasons for Governor Schweitzer's

rebellion. In response to the letter . . .

Secretary Chertoff called Governor Schweitzer and threatened him.

Chertoff told Schweitzer that Montana residents would be banned from

airplanes, or subjected to severe, time-consuming inspections at

airports.

The Governor countered with his own threat, "How about we both go on

60 Minutes a few days after the DHS starts patting down Montana

driver's license-holders who are trying to get on the planes and both

of us can tell our side of the story."

Chertoff didn't like that suggestion. He said, "I see the problem. We

need to get this fixed."

So far, the "fix" involves granting Montana and all other rebellious

states an extension of the deadline for complying with the REAL ID

Act. But the real fix is to repeal REAL ID.

Have you protested to your elected representatives that the Secretary

of Homeland Security has been threatening the citizens of states that

don't comply with REAL ID? If not, please do so. You can mention the

Chertoff-Schweitzer exchange in your personal comments. Ask Congress

to repeal the REAL ID Act. You can send your message here.

<http://www.downsizedc.org/etp/campaigns/30>

If you've sent a REAL ID Act message recently, consider sending

another "I am not afraid" message. We have a lot of new people who

probably aren't familiar with our "I am not afraid" campaign. You can

check it out here. <http://www.downsizedc.org/etp/campaigns/77>