Thread: Support H.R.220 - Common Sense About Identity Theft & RE

JBS Action Alert: Support H.R.220 - Common Sense About Identity Theft and REAL ID
By JBS Staff
Published: 2008-05-16 18:36 Email this page | printer friendly version

House bill H.R.220, short-titled the "Identity Theft Prevention Act of 2007," was introduced on January 4, 2007 by (2008 presidential candidate) Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX). See: [cosponsors], [bill text], [CRS summary]. The bill purportedly would:

* reduce identity theft by prohibiting the use of a Social Security number for any purpose other than for specified Social Security and tax purposes;
* prohibit the federal government from establishing a national ID or uniform identifier system; and
* prevent federal agencies from using federal grants, contracts, or funding (the carrot and stick strategy) to compel or blackmail states into accepting uniform ID standards that would create a de facto national ID system.

Read: Rep. Ron Paul's speech introducing H.R.220

The federalizing of state driver's licenses through title II of the REAL ID Act of 2005 has met strong opposition from state governments and activists. Several congressional bills have been introduced that relate to the national ID controversy:

* H.R.1117 and S.717 would merely negotiate about national ID standards and implement who-knows-what, with huge new federal grants. REAL ID was foisted on America and should be ended, not amended.
* H.R.5405 would transform the Social Security card into a de facto national ID card. The Social Security number is already abused as a uniform identifier, but H.R.5405 would facilitate expanding such use and have privacy and security risks similar to that of a federalized RFID drivers license.
* H.R.220 would repeal the federal law that established a driver's license/national ID card and clamp down on both governmental and private sector abuse of Social Security numbers. We favor this bill.

Rep. Paul introduced similar legislation with the same bill number in the 109th Congress*, the 107th Congress*, and the 106th Congress*. (*Check who the cosponsors were.) Those bills died in the committee stage, never to receive an up or down vote by the House. Help bring the latest version of H.R.220 out of committee and to the House floor for a vote. Ask your congressman to cosponsor H.R.220 if he or she has not already done so. [cosponsors] The likelihood that a bill will be voted on increases in proportion to the number of cosponsors a bill has. It is a bonus if your representative is the chairmann, the ranking member, or even just a regular member of any of the following committees to which H.R.220 was referred:

* House Ways and Means Committee (41 members)
* House Ways and Means, Subcommittee on Social Security (13 members)
* House Oversight and Government Reform Committee (41 members)

The establishing of a national ID card has far-reaching ramifications, with the draconian potential that someday every citizen might be required to use a trackable national ID card in order maintain a livelihood or function in society. Furthermore, the REAL ID rebellion among the states over federal requirements to make state driver's licenses serve as a national ID card demands the fullest possible debate by Congress on the entire range of legislative options, including the plan of H.R.220. This bill should not be swept under the rug by a committee.

http://www.jbs.org/node/8068

No REAL ID in South Carolina!

First, I want to say I support Gov. Mark Sanford's courageous decision to stand against REAL ID. In his letter to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff he said, "I am duty bound to comply with the laws of our state." As you may know, South Carolina passed a law last year saying they would not comply with REAL ID. What courage to take a stand when the pressure was turned on from all sides! God give us more people who will take a stand!

Second, I am responding to the April 8th editorial in this paper entitled, "Now let's get the feds to fund REAL ID." The unfunded mandate is really the least of my worries. You can get a copy of Gov. Sanford's letter to Secretary Chertoff from the governor's Web site. In that letter he clearly lays out the reasons why we cannot and should not comply with REAL ID. Did you know that Congress never debated REAL ID? Did you know that terrorists can get a passport from another country and REAL ID won't stop them from entering our country? Did you know illegal immigrants can still walk across the border and REAL ID won't stop them? Yes, it is clear that REAL ID won't make us safer, just more controlled and regulated by the feds. Does that not contrast limited federal government? No REAL ID in SC!
Titus Stracener
Pickens

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/apps/pb ... 004/NEWS01

Legislature bound for Sunday afternoon session

Published Sunday, May 18, 2008

ST. PAUL (AP) — The Legislature was bound for a Sunday afternoon session after negotiators failed to settle their differences Saturday night on an overall deal for ending the 2008 session.

Lawmakers had been hoping to head home for the year before sunrise on Sunday.

Senate Tax Committee Chairman Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, said the main hang-up was over how many years limits on local property tax increases would stay in place. Republicans said they wouldn't go below three years.

House Majority Leader Tony Sertich, DFL-Chisholm, wouldn't talk about the items that still divided legislators and Gov. Tim Pawlenty, but he said a Sunday afternoon session was unavoidable.

"I'm still hopeful and optimistic about a successful and orderly end to the session," Sertich said, then walked away from reporters who tried to press him for details on the negotiations.

None of the major bills lawmakers had been expecting to pass had made it to the House or Senate floors before midnight, and House Minority Leader Marty Seifert said it would be 2 a.m. at the earliest before they could even print or distribute copies of a health plan completed late Saturday.

Seifert, R-Marshall, said a bill to rid the state of a nearly $1 billion deficit was all but agreed on, but it would take at least six hours to get it into voting shape.

He also said it was his understanding the Legislature wouldn't begin its final run until Sunday afternoon so lawmakers could attend church services.

"I haven't missed church in 11 years," Seifert said. "I'm not starting now."

Legislative leaders had been hoping the completion of a health care plan Saturday would cause all the other dominos to fall.

Sen. Linda Berglin said the package of medical payment reforms and expanded health care coverage would result in coverage for 12,000 more Minnesotans, including 7,000 on public programs. She said the deal also included a one-time $50 million transfer from a dedicated health care account that had been the subject of much disagreement between Democrats and Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

As top legislators and Pawlenty were still talking behind closed doors, Pawlenty spokesman Brian McClung said final approval of the health care proposal hung on an overall deal coming together.

McClung said the health care package would put Minnesota ahead of the rest of the country on giving consumers information about medical care.

GOP Rep. Laura Brod, R-New Prague, said she liked that it included tax credits and other measures to make private health insurance more affordable.

Berglin, the top Senate Democrat on health care, said the changes to allow more single adults and children into state programs were a step in the right direction.

"It's better to get 12,000 people covered today than to wait another year," she said.

Major unresolved issues also included tight school budgets and finance plans for the Mall of America and urban mass-transit users. Midnight late Sunday is the last chance to pass bills or override vetoes, with Monday's session reserved for ceremony and internal business.

Earlier Saturday, leading lawmakers and Pawlenty stepped out of their budget talks and onto the Capitol steps, breaking to mark Minnesota's 150th birthday. Lawmakers in suits mingled with casually dressed visitors as vintage airplanes buzzed overhead. Pawlenty and top Democrats posed together for a picture, smiling broadly for the cameras before heading back into the closed-door negotiations.

The Senate narrowly approved a bill that would hold off foreclosures for homeowners struggling to make their mortgage payments. The vote was 34-33. The House approved it late Friday after adding amendments to restrict the protection to those earning less than $250,000 a year and forbidding illegal immigrants from taking advantage of the help.

There were some wild cards remaining. Sponsors of a proposal to raise the minimum wage, a bill Gov. Tim Pawlenty vetoed this week, hoped a scaled-back plan would prevail. And a veto override was possible on a bill prohibiting Minnesota from complying with federal-imposed driver's license overhaul many Republicans and Democrats view as heavy-handed and underfunded.

Pawlenty issued an executive order Saturday preventing state government from implementing the federal Real ID regulations before June 2009, saying he shared some of the concerns. It was unclear whether that order would head off an override attempt.

The sides agreed in concept to a property tax relief plan that would prevent local levies from rising more than 3.9 percent a year. It would be combined with $60 million and would go to cities, counties and townships to cushion the effect of a levy limit. More money would also be plowed into programs that provide direct, income-based relief for homeowners. But how long the cap would stay in place remained a sticking point. There was also an expectation that cities would be permitted to raise taxes above the cap if the money generated went toward hiring new police officers and firefighters.

To address a $935 million budget shortfall, lawmakers were primed to sign off on about $355 million in spending cuts, a corporate tax change worth $100 million in new revenue and a $500 million withdrawal from the state's rainy day fund. The final package was also likely to contain one-time aid to schools totaling $51 per student.

Other items under consideration on the final day included: a $70 million borrowing request viewed as vital to a planned Minneapolis-to-St. Paul light rail line, an appropriation to buy land for a new state park in northeastern Minnesota and a subsidy package toward a massive Mall of America expansion.

http://www.fergusfallsjournal.com/news/ ... n-session/

Governor, legislative leaders agree on health care reform, budget deal may be in sight
Sunday, May 18, 2008; Posted: 05:39 AM
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May 18, 2008 (Pioneer Press - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- -- After a day of laborious negotiations at the Capitol, Gov. Tim Pawlenty and legislative leaders began making headway toward a budget-balancing deal late this afternoon when they reached agreement on the health-care portion of the package.

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The breakthrough was seen as a critical step toward crafting a larger deal to erase a projected $935 million budget deficit and to allow the Legislature to end as early as tomorrow morning, a day before the constitutionally mandated deadline.

For weeks, lawmakers worked to reach agreement on a deal to not only clear up the projected deficit, but also to keep a lid on property tax increases and to give Minnesota homeowners some property tax relief.

Shortly after 5 p.m., Sen. Linda Berglin, DFL-Minneapolis, said negotiators and Pawlenty had signed off on health-reform provisions to provide coverage for about 12,000 uninsured people.

She said other details in fixing the deficit could now fall into place.

"It's a good step in the right direction," Berglin, a health care expert, said about the health-reform agreement. "I think there is much more work that will need to be done in future sessions."

DFL lawmakers had hoped to expand coverage to about 40,000 uninsured Minnesotans.

Of the 12,000 persons who will qualify for new coverage, about 5,000 will get tax credits to enable them to buy insurance on the private market, Pawlenty spokesman Brian McClung said. The other 7,000, all low-income single adults, would

become eligible for MinnesotaCare, the state-subsidized insurance program for the working poor.

While the DFLers were pushing for greater access to health coverage, McClung said Pawlenty demanded cost containment and better quality.

Under the agreement, the state will collect and disseminate more health information to the public "so that people are going to be able to make better decisions about their own health care," McClung said. "This package would make Minnesota, we believe, the leading state in the nation when it comes to health care transparency."

It also would require physicians to write and send prescriptions to pharmacies electronically by 2011, reducing errors caused by illegible scribbling, he said.

In addition, the legislation would provide new incentives to encourage healthier behavior, he said.

Late tonight, legislative negotiators said they had worked out an agreement on a new K-12 funding package, another key ingredient in the overall deal. No details were immediately available.

Meanwhile, Pawlenty and legislative leaders were reported to be bargaining over the final details of property tax relief.

Earlier in the day, the governor vetoed a bill preventing the state from complying with the federal Real ID program and later signed an executive order saying the state won't implement it before June 1 next year unless authorized by the Legislature. The order appeared to be an attempt to persuade the Legislature not to attempt a veto override.

The Real ID act is aimed at hindering terrorists and illegal immigrants from getting state driver's licenses.

"This will give us an opportunity to work with our federal partners and state legislators to resolve the valid concerns regarding this program," Pawlenty said in a statement.

The Legislature, meanwhile, spent most of the day in recess or passing a string of low-profile bills.

An exception was the Senate's 34-33 vote to pass a bill holding off foreclosures for homeowners having trouble making mortgage payments. The House approved it late Friday after adding a $250,000 income cap and barring illegal immigrants from getting the help.

The final budget package, while still unclear, is expected to include:

--A 3.9 percent limit on how much cities and counties can increase property taxes.

--$60 million in state aid for local governments.

--$30 million in direct property tax refunds for strapped homeowners.

It should also include $355 million in spending cuts and about $129 million in tax revenues and use about $500 million from the state's $653 million in reserve funds.

House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, DFL-Minneapolis, and other leaders have said that if there's a deal, state funding for the Central Corridor light-rail line linking Minneapolis and St. Paul could pass this session. Pawlenty vetoed $70 million in funding for the light-rail line last month.

http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/new ... s/1576043/

Nichols: Sensenbrenner's outburst on Real ID sours GOP lovefest

John Nichols — 5/18/2008 8:32 pm

The Republican Party of Wisconsin's attempt to make its 2008 convention in Stevens Point a show of unity on the eve of a difficult election campaign fell apart when U.S. Rep. James Sensenbrenner used his speech to trash Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch.

The state's senior Republican at the federal level was furious with the top state Republican's moves to block implementation of the Real ID Act.

And he suggested that Huebsch had abandoned Republican principles during the recent debate over the state budget repair bill. "We need to act like Republicans and vote like Republicans," the Menomonee Falls Republican declared, in a pointed jab at Huebsch, a West Salem legislator who leads an Assembly chamber that has a narrow Republican majority.

Sensenbrenner has led the push for Real ID, a federal law that demands states implement strict security, authentication and issuance procedures standards to limit access to state driver's licenses and state ID cards. Ostensibly, the program is designed to make state identification documents acceptable by the federal government for what the Department of Homeland Security describes as "official purposes."

But civil libertarians and strict-constructionist readers of the Constitution have objected to what they see as a "big-brother" initiative. And they have sought to stall development of the program.

In Wisconsin, last week, Huebsch and other Republicans joined Democrats in backing a budget repair bill that strips Real ID of funding necessary for its implementation.

A total of $22 million that had been earmarked for Real ID was instead directed to the general fund. Democratic Governor Jim Doyle vetoed the move, earning high praise from the state's senior Republican.

Sensenbrenner had no such kind words for Huebsch on Saturday.

"Unfortunately Speaker Huebsch decided to push it through the Assembly, and he did so in a manner that does not fix the problem of over-taxing and replaces transportation fees with more state borrowing. Exactly the same move that helped destroy the Republican brand nationally," griped Sensenbrenner. "Everyone sees this as a political shell game that simply postpones hard decisions."

Huebsch did not respond directly but instead told delegates that, "We as Republicans do not place our faith in government but in each other."

In a straw poll of delegates regarding their pick as a candidate for governor, Huebsch tied for sixth with former Congressman Mark Neumann, who has been sidelined since he lost a U.S. Senate race to Russ Feingold a decade ago.

The survey, conducted by the WisPolitics crew, asked: "If a 2010 primary for governor were being held today, which Republican would you choose to be the party's nominee?"

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker was the big winner, with 157 votes. Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen got 24. Former Secretary of Commerce Bill McCoshen had 9, Senate Minority Leader Scott Fitzgerald got 8 and former Governor Tommy Thompson took 5.

Huebsch had four supporters.

http://www.madison.com/tct/top5/286978

N.C. lawmakers target ID law
By Mark Binker
Staff Writer
Monday, May. 19, 2008 3:00 am




RALEIGH — North Carolina would become the latest state to rebel against the federal REAL ID driver's license standards if an atypical mix of lawmakers gets its way.

Do you also oppose it? Join the discussion at the Debatables blog.

Both fiscal conservatives worried about the law's impact on state spending and more liberal members, who express concerns about the potential for invasion of privacy, signed on to a bill this past week that demands, "No State agency shall comply with the requirements of the REAL ID ACT." That 2005 federal law created uniform standards for state driver's licenses in an effort to make identification harder to fake or obtain for those here illegally.

Should the North Carolina proposal pass and the federal government not change the current law, North Carolinians would be unable to use their driver's licenses for boarding airplanes or entering U.S. government buildings.

"The cost is going to equate to what it costs us to pave 20 miles of new road, and we just can't afford to do that," said Rep. Nelson Cole, a Rockingham County Democrat who is chairman of a pair of key committees on transportation. He estimated that compliance with the law this year would cost at least $20 million, largely for computer upgrades.

Cole calls the law an "unfunded mandate," a criticism of federal policies that require costly actions by the states but do not provide money to pay for the actions.

Slowing tax revenues and rising costs equate to little room for new programs in the budget that takes effect July 1. At the same time, road construction and other transportation needs are becoming more pressing.

"There's also a lot of questions from a civil liberties perspective," said Rep. Paul Luebke, a Durham Democrat and the Finance Committee chairman.

The law would assemble a mammoth database of personal information. That has been a major sticking point for those concerned about government keeping too close a watch on its citizens or about security failures that could put individuals at risk for identity theft.

In recent years, North Carolina has been criticized for having licenses that are too easy to obtain, making it a draw for those in the country illegally. Legislators say most of those issues have been taken care of and that the REAL ID requirements do little to increase the security of the state's driver's licenses.

Maine became the first state to formally reject REAL ID requirements last year; now at least seven states have passed laws similar to North Carolina's. Several other states are in the process of passing laws, including Minnesota, where the legislature voted to reject the federal law over the threat of the governor's veto.

In fact, so many legislatures and governors have said they could not or would not comply with REAL ID, that the Department of Homeland Security granted all 50 states an extension for complying with the new rules from May 11 of this year until Dec. 31, 2009.

Congress passed REAL ID in 2005, part of a response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.

Amy Kudwa, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, said the law was aimed at making sure all states had similar and strict regulations in place for issuing identification.

And she cautioned that extensions for compliance eventually will expire, saying that if states don't bring their licenses in line by 2010, "there will be very practical consequences" for residents of those states.

Residents from states that don't comply with REAL ID would need to obtain passports or other documentation that complies with the standards to fly or enter federal buildings, she said.

And opponents are worried about language that says REAL ID-compliant identification could be needed for any "federal purpose," said Matt Sundeen, a transportation analyst with the National Conference of State Legislatures.

"That's the real hammer here," he said. "People have talked about accessing any federal benefits being a concern."

The conference is among a number of groups pushing the federal government to rewrite the REAL ID rules or, failing that, to repeal the law altogether.

"The need for secure documentation was one of the main recommendations of the 9/11 Commission," said U.S. Rep. Howard Coble, a Greensboro Republican.

Coble said it surprises him that the state legislature would consider such a move because he had been told North Carolina was making good progress in complying with the law.

"I'm disappointed because I think there's far more good than bad in complying with it," Coble said.

A spokeswoman for the state Division of Motor Vehicles declined to comment on the pending legislation.

Contact Mark Binker at (919) 832-5549 or mark.binker @news-record.com

http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... /841994059
_________________

Real ID ominous, like papers communists used

Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel 05/20/2008

This Real ID stuff is really ominous.

Are you sure that you can prove that you are who you are? Do you have all of your documents in order? If not, well, who knows?

You may not be able to board a plane, you may not be able to get a driver's license or passport. You may not be able to leave the country. If you discover that Real ID is a bad idea, you may not be able to undo it, because you may not be able to vote!

I have a friend who grew up in a communist country. He told me that the Nazis instituted ID requirements when they took over his country. The communists loved it and kept it on.

Abby Shahn

Solon
http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/v ... 63138.html

ACTE Presents U.S. Senator Daniel Kahikina Akaka With Association's Highest Award
"ACTE leadership sees S. 717 as a major turning point for the travelling public ..."

(EMAILWIRE.COM, May 20, 2008 ) Washington, D.C. – For the first time in its 20-year history, the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) has honored an elected official with its highest award. United States. Senator Daniel Kahikina Akaka (D-Hawaii), was named the recipient of ACTE's President's Award, during the opening session of the association's Global Educational Conference in Washington, D.C. yesterday. Senator Akaka, a member of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, was cited for his work on the Identification Security Enhancement Act (S. 717), which is recognized as the best alternative to REAL ID.

Speaking before a record crowd of 1,200 travel management executives, ACTE President Richard Crum said, "By proposing the Identification Security Enhancement Act, Senator Akaka has attempted to safeguard traveller privacy, provide the states with a realistic program to achieve increased drivers license security, and eliminate the potential for fraudulent ID to be issued through one compromised federal database. At the same time, Senator Akaka's efforts will reverse the divisive and unworkable aspects of REAL ID."

Receiving the award for Senator Akaka was Jennifer Tyree, Chief Counsel for the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

ACTE officially endorsed the Identification Security Enhancement Act in submitted written testimony on 29 April 2008, and has recently launched a state-by-state awareness campaign, educating state legislators and travellers to the shortcomings of REAL ID, and the benefits of S. 717. REAL ID calls for creating yet another federal database in which to store sensitive data. This data may be shared by other governments or even third parties for identity verification. There is a risk that forged REAL ID documents would give criminals access to a vast domestic transportation network without ever undergoing a secondary check.

The Identification Security Enhancement Act allows for more secure licensing procedures without compromising traveller/driver privacy laws in each state and affords greater protection of the data. The bill has six other co-sponsors: Sen. Lamar Alexander (R, TN), Sen. Max Baucus (D, MT), Sen. John Kerry (D, MA), Sen. Patrick Leahy (D, VT), Sen. John Sununu (R, NH), and Sen. Jon Tester (D, MT).

A recent ACTE poll indicated that the majority of members wanted the association to investigate alternatives to the REAL ID Act, or support its repeal. According to association Executive Director Susan Gurley, S. 717 accommodates both.

"ACTE leadership sees S. 717 as a major turning point for the travelling public," said Gurley. "For the last six years, travellers have been confronted by one new regulation after another. Many of our members have provided commentary and input to government authorities without acknowledgment or satisfaction. The growing support for S. 717 indicates that major stakeholders in transportation expect to be heard."

ABOUT ACTE:
The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) represents the global business travel industry through its international advocacy efforts, executive level educational programs, and independent industry research. ACTE's membership consists of senior travel industry executives from 82 countries representing the €200 billion business travel industry. With the support of sponsors from every major segment of the business travel industry, ACTE develops and delivers educational programs in key business centers throughout the world. ACTE has offices in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Canada, Europe, Latin America, Middle East and the United States. For more information on ACTE, please go to www.acte.org.


# # #

For more information, contact:
Jack Riepe
ACTE National Communications Director
t: 610-719-8396
c: 610-256-0124
e: riepeacte@aol.com


###

This press release was issued through GroupWeb EmailWire.Com. For more information on unlimited press release distribution service, go to http://www.emailwire.com

Contact Information:
ACTE Inc
Jack Riepe
Tel: 610-719-8396
Email us

http://www.emailwire.com/release/13562- ... Award.html

Published - Tuesday, May 20, 2008

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Huebsch defends budget bill
By REID MAGNEY / La Crosse Tribune

.
Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch defended himself Monday in the wake of criticism from Wisconsin’s senior Republican congressman at the state GOP convention this weekend. Speaking about the budget repair bill, U.S. Rep. James Sensenbrenner said:

“Unfortunately Speaker Huebsch decided to push it through the Assembly, and he did so in a manner that does not fix the problem of over-taxing and replaces transportation fees with more state borrowing. Exactly the same move that helped destroy the Republican brand nationally. Everyone sees this as a political shell game that simply postpones hard decisions.â€

Published: May 20, 2008 05:03 am ShareThisShareThis PrintThis

My View column: Is Gloucester's police 'presence' going too far?
By Inge Berge
Special to the Times

Is it just me, or are things changing around here?

I'm sitting at this local bar a week ago Friday night — just me and a friend, having a martini, shooting the breeze, enjoying life.

There were probably 10 other patrons in the room, plus the restaurant-owner and the barkeep; it is a class joint, by all standards — not the kind of place where any kind of trouble goes down. Just good food, good drinks, civilized company.

I guess it must have been around 10-ish. We'd been half-noticing a police cruiser parked out front the previous hour or so – effectively blocking the entrance to the parking area, so that no more cars could enter. Come to think of it, no new patrons entered the establishment on foot either, the whole time the cruiser sat out front.

Around 10, two uniformed, armed policemen enter the bar. Mind you, there's nothing going on, nobody has called them; nobody would have any reason to. Nevertheless, these two Gloucester officers show up — and more or less start to interrogate the bar owner right in front of us — his patrons, his bread and butter.

"You the owner, sir? Any problems with underage drinking in your place? Ever have any trouble? Fights, excessive drunkenness?" I'm paraphrasing, but you get the idea.

It seems they were doing random spot-checks on several area bars and restaurants — just sort of letting their presence be known, letting the bar owner know they're there, always ... right near by.

Now, most folks probably think this is a good thing. Many would likely say this is an example of "good community policing" or some such phrase. I happen to see things in a different light.

The whole song-and-dance looked more like posturing to me — if not quite intimidation, then uncouth at least. There's a very fine line between "protect and serve" and "intimidate and harass."

Maybe it's my upbringing. I grew up in Norway in the 1980s — a very different time and place than post-9/11 America, to be sure. No terror threats, real nor imagined, no rampant crime. It seemed very free — and very free of police, too.

As kids, we partied, hung out, did our thing. In the woods, at our friends' houses, at the local lake. In discos and clubs. Nobody ever had occasion for any contact with law enforcement. The police were there; you could call the local constabulary and they would surely send a man to assist, should there ever be trouble. But there never was. To the kids, "The Police" meant a British new-wave band.

Now it's 2008, and I live in Gloucester, Mass., USA. Allegedly, I'm a resident of the freest country in the world. I see, on average, 15 to 20 patrol vehicles a day. If I walk my dog around the block, all probability indicates I'll see an armed officer in a marked cruiser. If I drive anywhere, even just across town, I'm likely to spot at least two or three. In short, police presence is high, folks.

We have highly paid, deadly-force-equipped cops guarding every manhole cover being opened, every tree-branch being sawed, every pothole being filled, every peaceful gathering of anything more than a small handful of citizens.

The United States has the highest rate of incarceration in the history of the world. We have in effect done away with habeas corpus, and our federal government is in the process of demanding that all states comply with the Real ID Act, requiring all citizens to be ready to "show their papers" at any and all prompting. Panopticon society is fast becoming a reality, and we simply don't care, as long as there are still cheap flat-screens at Best Buy and juicy gossip about Britney and Paris in the tabloids.

Police are needed in any community, and I applaud and support the fine work of police departments and officers everywhere who fight crime while always keeping in mind what it is they're helping to safeguard: a free and open society.

This little cop-show at the bar, however, made me wonder just how long it will be until it's decreed to be OK for officers to enter people's homes to conduct spot-checks. "Just checking in, ma'am. Just keeping you safe from yourself and making sure everything is up to specs. Not to worry. Anything suspicious to report about your neighbors? We're watching ya."

Now, notice I am not accusing any officer of any kind of wrongdoing under current laws and guidelines. This police visit was in perfect keeping with the present American Zeitgeist; perfectly aligned with our current paradigm of inviting the ever-stronger arm of the law into all forms of social interaction. To me, it was a fitting piece of evidence of a society grown accustomed to forfeiting its civil liberties, piece by piece, in exchange for a perceived increase in order and security.

But there's a postscript: The following Wednesday, after a long day at work, I was heading back home; the last train from Boston.

As I groggily stepped out onto the platform in Gloucester at 1:15 a.m., I and the other passengers are greeted by two policemen — their bright flashlights in our faces, accompanied by a brusque demand for ID. When I asked one of the officers what the story is, he replied "Oh yeah, you wanna get involved, do you? You could be a terrorist, that's what the story is. Let's see some ID ..."

I quickly complied, asking no more questions.

There's a saying: "All those in favor of living in a police state, say nothing."

World history indicates you're very likely to get your wish granted.

Inge Berge is a musician and writer living in Gloucester.

http://www.gloucestertimes.com/puopinio ... 24823.html