Thread: Sinister plot? No, it’s just for security, DMV says

Sinister plot? No, it’s just for security, DMV says

By Mark Binker
Staff Writer
Sunday, Sep. 23, 2007 3:00 am
RALEIGH — The small hologram patch that began showing up on North Carolina driver's licenses in December hardly looks like the first step down the road to perdition, or a multinational union that sacrifices national sovereignty.

But motor vehicle administrators say although North Carolina may be the first in the nation to use what they call a "common security element," the state isn't on the leading edge of anything other than a new way of telling whether a license is legitimate.

That hasn't stopped conservative Internet sites and talk radio from getting riled.

In 2002, the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, or AAMVA, started looking at ways to make driver's licenses more secure. One idea was to create a security feature that all 50 states could use.

That way, even though a North Carolina license is different from those issued in other parts of the country, there would be at least one element everyone from bartenders to airport security could look for all the time.

The result was a patch that a state could put on its license. It has a hologram with a picture that changes depending on how you look at it, much like ones used on credit cards. Its main picture is that of the western hemisphere. It's customized with a state's postal code, so North Carolina's has "NC" in all four corners.

"Any time you see those holograms, the reason they're there is to prevent counterfeiting," said Marge Howell, a spokeswoman for the N.C. DMV.

But there are those who see something much more sinister than a new security measure.

"For years, I have, along with many concerned citizens, been fighting like hell to do something about illegal immigrants coming to North Carolina, and now their nations are represented on my license," said William Gheen, a Raleigh resident who leads Americans for Legal Immigration.

Gheen said the new hologram sticker is actually the emblem of the North American Union, a label among some activists for what they say is a merging of Canadian, Mexican, U.S. and other national economies and interests.

Gheen also charged that the new sticker contains more than a hologram.

"We know that it contains some information about us," Gheen said, claiming that the sticker is also what's known as an RFID tag, a type of microchip that can be read by computers.

The idea, he said, is for governments to track people without their knowledge rather than curbing the flow of people across borders.

Motor vehicle officials said that there is no RFID technology in the hologram; still, Gheen said he's sending one out to be tested.

"It is the biggest bunch of hocus pocus I've ever heard in my life," said Jason King, a vice president with AAMVA who said the assertion the hologram patch contains an RFID tag or paves the way for some multinational union "couldn't be further from the truth."

The idea is apparently one put forward by Jerome Corsi, a conservative author who has published "The Late Great U.S.A.: The Coming Merger with Mexico and Canada." Corsi builds his case around government efforts to increase security and economic cooperation, although he draws conclusions that the government calls "myths."

Corsi is best known as the author of "Unfit for Command," a book aimed at discrediting 2004 presidential candidate John Kerry.

Gheen said he plans to publicly refuse to accept a new license as a form of protest and way of calling attention to his cause.

http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... F/70923003

To The Editors of the Greensboro News and Record:

I demand a full retraction and apology for the 'article' of Sep. 23 written by Mark Binker titled "Sinister plot? No, it’s just for security, DMV says"

This political hit piece contains several lies regarding my statements. I am quoted as saying

"For years, I have, along with many concerned citizens, been fighting like hell to do something about illegal immigrants coming to North Carolina, and now their nations are represented on my license," said William Gheen, a Raleigh resident who leads Americans for Legal Immigration.

This is not what I said. I said that for years, I have, along with many others been trying to stop the NC DMV from giving hundreds of thousands of licenses to illegal aliens that predominantly herald from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Panama. Now their nations are represented on the licenses.

Mr. Binker took my statement and changed it to mean something very different.

Also, I never stated that the holograms contained RFID technologies. I made it very clear to Mr. Binker that the holograms were OVD (Optical Variation Devices) that did contain information that could be scanned (line of sight) at a distance. I told him we were checking on the possibility they contained RFID since most of the companies that manufacture OVD's state that the technology is designed to be used with RFID. I told him I was concerned about the two confirmed tracking technologies in the license of the OVD and Facial Recognition and that we would check on the possibility of RFID inclusion. He chose to exclude the confirmed tracking technologies in the new NC licenses and focus on the unconfirmed RFID technology and use that to try and discredit me and my concerns and the point of my protest.

Mr. Binker falsely claims that I and others have made the claim that RFID is contained within the new licenses and then goes to have others respond to that claim when it was not made.

Yet Mr. Binker states "Gheen....claiming that the sticker is also what's known as an RFID tag, a type of microchip that can be read by computers."

Mr. Binker made this article about disproving a claim that I never made. He completely omitted the OVD and Facial Recognition components that we know the new licenses contain for a fact!

News articles should be factual and people that are interviewed should be quoted accurately and the points they make should be honestly portrayed.

I hope that the Greensboro News and Record will apologize and correct this false information circulated by Mr. Binker and print a full retraction and correction to prevent me from having to take steps to inform your readers, en mass, about this situation and betrayal of their trust.

William Gheen
President, Americans for Legal Immigration PAC
www.alipac.us
Post Office Box 30966, Raleigh, NC 27622-0966
Tel: (919) 787-6009 Toll Free: (866) 329-3999
FEC ID: C00405878

If it's just a hologram, why does the hologram include an identification number?

Dixie

Mr. Binker:

I am requesting that your editors investigate, apologize and retract the false information you published today. I am very disappointed that you decided to lie about, and distort, what I said to you during the interview.

I deal with the media on a daily basis and find your disregard for the truth to be exceptional in my experiences.

I will never speak with you again about any news story. I will be taking steps to clear my name, provide the public with accurate information, and to forewarn readers about what you have attempted to do here.

False information, like that which you published today, defies the ethics of journalism and has no place in the public debate over important issues.

William Gheen

I can think of several people accused of...hocus pocus...Crazy...etc,,,etc,,,etc....When talking about... Example...The NAU...,or the SPP, or the Trans Texas corridor...We that did talk about our concerns were considered...Conspiracy Nuts....Just like the colonization of the US by other Countries is not really happening right?...This is clearly happening and the agendas...just like RFID...are all happening...all one needs to do is read The SPP documents...Many folks are very concerned...

Mr. Binker:

Good, a review of your notes should tell you that I never said that RFID was, for a fact, included in the new NC Licenses. I did extensively point out that RFID may be included or be added in the future as the manufacturers advertise. I also explained that the two existing tracking technologies of Facial Recognition and OVD scanning are indeed present in the new licenses and were my primary concerns.

Your exclusion of my statements about these two confirmed tracking technologies and false assertion that I stated that RFID was certainly included is both deceptive and improper for professional news.

I deal with the media on a regular basis and I find your behavior on this matter to be exceptionally offensive and unethical compared to most of my interactions with the press.

Anyone that reads your article would be led to believe that my primary concern was RFID technology and that I believed RFID was already in the licenses and both of these statements, manufactured by you, are false.

You do not the power to manufacture reality Mr. Binker. Just because you have a printing press and ink at your disposal does not give you the right to mislead readers, misquote me, and print statements of fact I never made.

I hope that your editors have more value for the ethics of journalism and providing accurate information for their readers than you do. We will see.

In the event that this false information you have put out stands without correction, we have the ability to communicate the accurate information, your efforts to mislead readers of the Greensboro News and Record, and the critical information you excluded out to larger national and local audiences than your article will reach today.

You have no right to print comments that are not reflective of what I said. Your statements stand in contrast to my earlier statements about these license covered by other writers and future coverage of my comments will also contradict your false assertions.

Your editors probably had no idea that what you put into print did not reflect what I actually said to you during the interview.

I have friends, family members, and supporters in your readership area that are being misled today about what I say, why I said it, and what is really going on with these licenses.

I extend an offer to meet with your editors and to provide my own documentation of your inaccurate portrayals if that is necessary. I sincerely hope that they will rectify this situation so that I can focus on my efforts to accurately inform the public instead of putting out a public advisory of my own regarding the misinformation you created in this 'article'.

William Gheen
www.alipac.us

Mark Binker wrote:
>
> Mr. Gheen:
>
> I have no intention of apologizing or initiating a correction based on that story. I have just reviewed my notes from our two conversations. The quotes and other information attributed to you accurately reflect what you told me during those conversations.
>
> I am copying this e-mail to my direct supervisors, the editor who oversaw the story and our top newsroom editor, John Robinson.
>
> - mark binker
> News & Record
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: William Gheen
> To: Mark Binker
> Sent: 9/23/2007 12:19 PM
> Subject: Demand for retraction and apology
>
> Mr. Binker:
>
> I am requesting that your editors investigate, apologize and retract the
>
> false information you published today. I am very disappointed that you
> decided to lie about, and distort, what I said to you during the
> interview.
>
> I deal with the media on a daily basis and find your disregard for the
> truth to be exceptional in my experiences.
>
> I will never speak with you again about any news story. I will be taking
>
> steps to clear my name, provide the public with accurate information,
> and to forewarn readers about what you have attempted to do here.
>
> False information, like that which you published today, defies the
> ethics of journalism and has no place in the public debate over
> important issues.
>
> William Gheen
>
> ----
>
> To The Editors of the Greensboro News and Record:
>
> I demand a full retraction and apology for the 'article' of Sep. 23
> written by Mark Binker titled "Sinister plot? No, it’s just for
> security, DMV says"
>
> This political hit piece contains several lies regarding my statements.
> I am quoted as saying
>
> "For years, I have, along with many concerned citizens, been fighting
> like hell to do something about illegal immigrants coming to North
> Carolina, and now their nations are represented on my license," said
> William Gheen, a Raleigh resident who leads Americans for Legal
> Immigration.
>
> This is not what I said. I said that for years, I have, along with many
> others been trying to stop the NC DMV from giving hundreds of thousands
> of licenses to illegal aliens that predominantly herald from Mexico,
> Guatemala, El Salvador, and Panama. Now their nations are represented on
>
> the licenses.
>
> Mr. Binker took my statement and changed it to mean something very
> different.
>
> Also, I never stated that the holograms contained RFID technologies. I
> made it very clear to Mr. Binker that the holograms were OVD (Optical
> Variation Devices) that did contain information that could be scanned
> (line of sight) at a distance. I told him we were checking on the
> possibility they contained RFID since most of the companies that
> manufacture OVD's state that the technology is designed to be used with
> RFID. I told him I was concerned about the two confirmed tracking
> technologies in the license of the OVD and Facial Recognition and that
> we would check on the possibility of RFID inclusion. He chose to exclude
>
> the confirmed tracking technologies in the new NC licenses and focus on
> the unconfirmed RFID technology and use that to try and discredit me and
>
> my concerns and the point of my protest.
>
> Mr. Binker falsely claims that I and others have made the claim that
> RFID is contained within the new licenses and then goes to have others
> respond to that claim when it was not made.
>
> Yet Mr. Binker states "Gheen....claiming that the sticker is also what's
>
> known as an RFID tag, a type of microchip that can be read by
> computers."
>
> Mr. Binker made this article about disproving a claim that I never made.
>
> He completely omitted the OVD and Facial Recognition components that we
> know the new licenses contain for a fact!
>
> News articles should be factual and people that are interviewed should
> be quoted accurately and the points they make should be honestly
> portrayed.
>
> I hope that the Greensboro News and Record will apologize and correct
> this false information circulated by Mr. Binker and print a full
> retraction and correction to prevent me from having to take steps to
> inform your readers, en mass, about this situation and betrayal of their
>
> trust.
>
> William Gheen
> President, Americans for Legal Immigration PAC
> www.alipac.us <http://www.alipac.us>
> Post Office Box 30966, Raleigh, NC 27622-0966
> Tel: (919) 787-6009 Toll Free: (866) 329-3999
> FEC ID: C00405878

I smell a lawsuit. William, I have discussed this with you enough to know that you would not say such things.

Originally Posted by jp_48504

I smell a lawsuit. William, I have discussed this with you enough to know that you would not say such things.

Why would I suddenly contradict myself with this one reporter?

W

The public is already upset about the news that is hidden from us. Now we have to be aware of unscrupulous reporters who juggle facts with fiction in order to have what they think is a better article. I hope Mr. Binker gets nailed.

Originally Posted by ALIPAC

Originally Posted by jp_48504

I smell a lawsuit. William, I have discussed this with you enough to know that you would not say such things.

Why would I suddenly contradict myself with this one reporter?

W

Knowing the liberty that writers take, I would protect myself by recording all interviews. Just a thought.