Thread: CITIZENS - REAL ID Least of Your Worries

http://www.federalobserver.com/archive.php?aid=9785


CITIZENS - REAL ID Least of Your Worries

By Dean Stier


I am going to tread where many fear to tread and if I am wrong, I will take my lumps. First of all, let me make this perfectly clear, like so many American Citizens I am repulsed by the infringement of the Federal Government in almost every aspect of our daily lives and resent every intrusion. However, I do not share the same concerns as many of you regarding Sensenbrenner’s REAL ID Act and here is why.

I am far from being naive when it comes to Government interference in our lives (ESPECIALLY WITH THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION!) but I do not share your fears on this subject. I do not believe that Sensenbrenner hatched some insidious “Government Plot� to enslave American Citizens. Some alarmists have said, “Once the people accept the national drivers’ license; it will be a cinch to sell the sheep the biochip implant, guaranteed.� I say “Not in this lifetime!� I admit that many of our freedoms have been undermined by the Judicial Branch of Government but when it comes to forced implantation of bio-chips, Americans will say: That did it- Screw you! However, a uniform standard for Drivers Licenses should not be distasteful to the majority of American Citizens as long as it identifies who is entitled to the benefits of citizenship.

Here is my take on REAL ID Act.

When Sensenbrenner first proposed his approach to making it harder for people in this country “illegally� to obtain drivers licenses, which is an accepted form of identification for most American Citizens, I did an internet information search on his proposed law and lo-and-behold a lot of alarmists popped up. Almost all of them are worried about a “National ID� card and hold the fear that the “government“ will know who they are, do horrible things to them, take their guns away and in some manner further control their lives, etc. etc. Believe me, I understand their concerns, as we remember Ruby Ridge and Waco. However, let’s be realistic. In this day and age, that will never happen in the United States - IF we the people stay “united�! For example, look at Iraq, their government or our coalition will never get the weapons out of the hands of the civilian population. It’s impossible! That pales by comparison as to what would happen if they (our government) tried to confiscate American Citizens weapons. I really don’t think our military or civil police would even support that endeavor either. There would be a major revolt! Civil war would surely be the consequence of such an action by American government. Our “government� would be quickly replaced.

Before we all run off like “Chicken Little� about REAL ID, think about this. Most people, speaking of those like myself that have been around for a while, have birth records, education records, military records, marriage records, work records, medical records, social security records, driver licenses, gun registration records (for legal handguns), bank records, investment records, property ownership records, credit cards, bank cards, loan records, phone records, state tax records, federal tax records and auto registration records, just to name a few--and I’m going to worry about the “government “ knowing about me or where to find me? Or for that matter, a standardized driver license? Believe this, a standardized driver license is the least of our worries.

I read the bill and even though we can point fingers of blame at the last few administrations for allowing the illegal invasion by foreign nationals, we voters/citizens must share the blame. Year after year we voted the do-nothings back in office. Our complacency at election time brought us to this sad point in our history! Though we strongly resent that the ID section of this Act was even considered necessary and approved, we voters and our “elected?� representatives, let the illegal alien invasion happen! In the mean time, we must identify those, residing in our midst, who are not entitled to the benefits of American citizenship.

Millions of unidentified foreign nationals reside within our borders. They are here and this is a fact of life! At this point, identifying who is legal and who is not is absolutely essential to this Nation.

Sensenbrenner did a good job on this and this is only one of many steps needed to address not only the security concerns of our open borders but the illegal alien problem in general. The states must now get their heads out of their backsides and for those that are presently or planning to issue drivers licenses to illegal aliens, stop bellyaching about it and comply with the requirements of the REAL ID Act. Concurrent with implementation of REAL ID, start tightening the noose further by passing state (and federal, if necessary) laws that deny any taxpayer paid for benefits to illegal aliens. Of course, the huge problems of securing the borders and PROSECUTING CRIMINAL AMERICAN EMPLOYERS FIRST AND FORMOST must be addressed right along with this. At least, this is a good start and if used and implemented as intended, will make it harder for any criminal illegal alien to obtain American identification to continue their criminal activities within our country. Bush should be impeached for aiding and abetting criminal activities i.e.: allowing open borders, proposing amnesty for criminal invaders, and allowing criminal activities by illegal alien employers- specifically, violations of federal immigration laws and tax evasion. Shouldn’t be too hard to prove!

One more thing. The gun lobby always gets nervous when something like this comes up. I was a NRA member for many years and I still support their efforts. Sometimes they are too alarmist and need to step back and not read too much into good laws. This will work for us not against us. Like I said before, the “government� knows who American Citizens are and can always find them. They just can’t find ILLEGAL ALIENS!

In years gone by, I have purchased many guns. Some were “long� guns, not requiring registration and some handguns. I purchased some handguns a few years ago and had to show, WOW! - MY DRIVERS LICENSE! Can you imagine that, a law-abiding citizen actually showing ID? I also had to suffer the insult of either showing a certificate of training or military service, WOW! I had to show the Federal/State/County/City licensed dealer my honorable Military discharge DD-214. Besides, my guns are WOW! - REGISTERED!

The gun lobby must continue their efforts to allow American Citizens to retain their rights to bear arms and I fully support that. (Even Condoleeza agrees with that!) However, they are barking up the wrong tree on this one! NO ILLEGAL ALIEN WILL BE BUYING GUNS TO DO THEIR CRIMES USING AN AMERICAN DRIVERS LICENSE. Criminals will always obtain guns. At least, if they steal mine, they are registered and traceable. I worry more about them getting my guns than our “government�.

Look on the bright side. After it all settles down, we can have the REAL ID Act repealed! We are the government!

Dean Stier was born and raised in Michigan. Dean is a retired Staff Engineer from the California aerospace industry and presently resides in Southern California with his lovely wife, a native Californian. Dean and his wife have two grown children and two wonderful granddaughters, all residing in the southwest. Dean is an honorably discharged United States Air Force veteran who received his college education in California.

Dean welcomes your comments at: DeanStier@Hotmail.com

OK, let's straighten this out.

It's not just the LICENSE........IT'S THE SHARED DATA BASE WITH OTHER COUNTRIES!!! PERIOD!

It's the fine print that many people are NOT reading &/or comprehending. ILLEGALS will NOT be "cornered" by this act. AMERICANS will.

NO SHARED DATA BASE.........got that?

Wouldn't it have been beneficial if each state had a mandatory law that no one received a license without proof of residency etc.? Gee, we wouldn't need anything more than a one page piece of legislation instead of this piece of crap. I, for one, am not biting.

I thought about it long and hard and I have to agree with him.

What other way is there to prove who is legally in this country and who is not.

If CAFTA is not passed, and I am hoping Congress does not pass it, then there will be no shared data base.

What about all of our banking and medical records being processed in India.

What about all of the identity theft? These SS#'s being used belong to someone out there that is going to have a real mess on their hands trying to straighten it out.

I am more frightened about identity theft than the Real ID.

I am more frightened about CAFTA and FTAA and losing our sovereignty than I am about the Real ID.

Actually there are a lot more things about this government that scare me than the Real ID.

I hope he enjoys the email I snet him. He obviously hasnt done his homework.

We can already prove Legal Presence with documents that are verified and the SAVE program.

This author is one of many that has not heard about the Facial Recognition Tech FRT biometric system they are putting together.

Im not even sure Rep Sens knows what they (DARPA, DHS) are up to.

W

Right you are William!

Please folks, stop giving in to ridiculous tripe they throw your way.

OK, what if CAFTA IS STOPPED NOW? Do you really, REALLY THINK IT WON'T COME AROUND AGAIN???

STOP GIVING UP YOUR FREEDOM! They count on us to give in just like this. It's how all the USELESS LAWS have been put in place to date. People throw up their hands because they see no other solution.

Dig, you'll find other solutions!

How to tell who belongs here? Well, if he cannot speak the language and cannot produce a valid birth certificate and social security card, it might be a clue.

Why is it that people are so ready to accept a program that will do nothing to stem illegal immigration, and does tread on the rights of citizens BEFORE we even try to do the things which will work, and would not tread on citizens rights whatsoever?

I support no new laws so long as the government refuses to enforce the existing ones. How can people be so blind as to not see how the government is not enforcing laws ON PURPOSE... because this leads to problems such as we are facing now... and gives them excuse to pass more laws. When they fail to enforce the laws we have... we REWARD them by expanding their powers further. Those who fall for this are sheep.

I GUARANTEE you, RealID will result in a thousand Citizens in jail, before it results in ONE illegal immigrant being caught. Caught? Hell we catch them everyday.. we just do not get rid of them. How will RealID fix THAT?