The Washington Post reports a bill to increase the standardization of drivers licenses to allow easy data transfer between states. Right.

...Anticipating objections by civil-liberties and consumer groups who oppose a national ID system on privacy grounds, Durbin emphasized that his measure would leave the authority to issue and revoke licenses solely with the states.



"This [measure] is about state-issued driver's licenses, not a national ID," Durbin said at a hearing yesterday in which he invited testimony by government and trade groups. "Since September 11, we have come to realize that this is going to become the coin of the realm in this country. You are going to have to produce a photo ID. The question is, is it reliable and is it accurate?"



Not a national ID. Right. So what would a national ID have that this wouldn't?

As far as the "optional" feature hinted at in the first paragraph above, how many people have tried to go through day-to-day life without a drivers license? Not only are you asked to show it just to write a check, some places even swipe the damn thing through a scanner. What exactly IS on that magnetic stripe anyway?

You can't get anywhere without a Social Security number any more either. Everyone uses it for ID. Someone who gets your number can steal your identity, and it's everywhere. People without a SS number would be in trouble doing anything in our modern society. I guess we're lucky that we are forced into the government retirement program under threat of imprisonment, fines, and worse.

BTW, does anyone still have their old Social Security Card? The one that says: "For Social Security Purposes - Not for Identification"? That sure lasted, didn't it? Totalitarianism is acheived one small step at a time.

Again, I think a case can be made that a certain level of crime and terrorism is an inescapable dark side to a free society. Not tolerated, but inescapable.