I’ve been working to not use this site for political postings, but to instead focus on nutrition and then other things that strike my fancy that aren’t political. But, I’ve got to post the below in its entirety. It’s not really political as much as it is common sense. I’m sure some members of both parties want to bring this about while other members of both parties don’t. I fervently don’t want to see it happen and will do whatever I can to prevent it.
Anyone who has read much WW II history knows what an important thing it was to have the ‘right’ papers and how everyone in authority (friend and enemy alike) demanded to see one’s papers. Here we have no papers other than a drivers license, and we don’t even have to have that unless we want the ‘privilege’ of being able to drive. I’m sure everyone reading this post has been stopped by the police at some point. They always ask for license and registration, and if you don’t have them, you’re in trouble. Imagine what it would be like to have that kind of hassle every time you tried to do anything. If you apply for a job, open a bank account, ask for credit, make a major purchase or do any of the other things we routinely do without ‘papers’ today. And don’t think for a minute that it won’t come to this. It’s all too easy. Right now you can’t even make a major purchase using cash in amounts greater than $10,000 because of Federal regs that have arisen out of the War on Drugs. It is assumed that anyone with that much cash has got to be a drug dealer until proven otherwise.
Read and heed:
DISCLAIMER: If you think the claims we make below are exaggerated or unfounded, you are free, as always, to sit this one out. But we hope you will remember our warnings. We won’t say “we told you so” when the things we predict below actually happen, but we do hope you will remember, when the time comes, that we did in fact warn you in advance.
Here’s what’s at stake . . .
The immigration controversy, and the legislation it has spawned, has become a Trojan Horse for imposing the REAL ID Act on all Americans, and entangling all of us in a bureaucratic nightmare of apocalyptic proportions.
Think for a moment about all the problems there have been with the terrorist watch list. Think about all the innocent Americans who have been placed on this list for no discernible reason, and the trouble people have had getting off this list. Now . . .
Imagine this same kind of bureaucratic nightmare expanding to entangle every job and business in America. This is what the REAL ID provisions of the new Senate Immigration Bill (S. 2611)(S.1348) will bring about.
The offending section is Title III which will require . . .
Every employer in America to pre-screen every worker for every job they’re ever offered for the rest of their lives, regardless of the size of the business, or the job.
The cost to the federal government ALONE is estimated by the feds themselves (so you know it’s low) at $11.7 billion per year.
The costs to businesses may be even higher. This will raise the cost of hiring new people and foster unemployment. But that’s only the beginning of the trouble.
Every American will have to produce a Real ID license to get a job—no exceptions. I think we can see where this is going . . .
Proving our identity, and proving that we are innocent, is about to become a requirement for living.
Taking this approach could certainly solve the problem of prison over-crowding, because under REAL ID deadbeat Moms and Dads, drunk drivers, jaywalkers, and anybody else who does anything wrong at any time, can all be punished simply and quickly, without prison, and perhaps without trial, simply by turning them into a non-person in terms of the required employment background check.
But let’s say you don’t ever do anything wrong, but you still end up with a black mark next to your name anyway, just like what has happened to people with the terrorist watch list? How long will it take, and how much will it cost, to get your name cleared?
And what if you can’t get your name cleared, simply because of bureaucratic inefficiency, like with the terrorist watch list?
Will you starve because you can’t get a job? And what about your family? Your kids?
Meanwhile, under these provisions, the black market gets a further government “price support” for fake IDs. Anything can be faked. If a thing can be made by government it can be forged by criminals. This includes birth certificates and other documents required to obtain a so-called REAL ID.
Politicians who talk about tamper proof ID cards are idiots babbling nonsense.
But it gets worse. The federal government is trying to box in the states that have rejected the REAL ID program by making all of the citizens of those states effectively illegal persons!
Plus, new federal funding for state programs will only be given to states that comply with REAL ID. The Feds are trying to both bribe and coerce the states into complying.
What’s worse, most of the Senate may not even realize these provisions are in the immigration bill, or what their impact would be. The bill is huge, and complicated. As of this writing it hasn’t even been printed yet, and it’s very unlikely the Senators will even read the bill before they pass it into law.
You’ve been warned. If you want to heed the warning please send a message to both the House and Senate telling them to strip out all REAL ID related provisions from any immigration bill they are considering.
Click here to be taken to the website where you can get instructions on registering your protest in an effort to prevent this from becoming a reality. You can protest through the website, but I’ve always found it to be better to write a letter or email in your own words to your senator in Washington. Their addresses can be found here. The bill is: Senate Immigration Bill (S. 2611) (S.1348)
I am pleased to say my state of Oklahoma has a week ago passed unanimously in both houses legislation requiring Oklahoma to refuse to participate in REAL ID. It’s waiting on the governor’s signature as far as I know.
Several other states have also passed such legislation. When you’re contacting your senators, don’t forget to contact your state representation as well and remind them that REAL ID, amongst its other flaws, represents an enormous financial burden on the states that the fed isn’t offering to pay for.
Random
Hi Random–
Thanks for the update. I may have to consider moving to Oklahoma.
Cheers–
MRE
I’m a bit confused – my Google searches indicate the REAL ID act was already passed into law in 2005, and that in March they simply extended the current deadline for states to comply to December 2009. I don’t see how any protests on current legislation would help…
Hi Mary–
The REAL ID act was passed in 2005, but a number of states are refusing to comply. A portion of the huge new immigration bill (S.1348) will make – among other things – employers responsible for doing background investigations on anyone they hire to make sure these people aren’t illegally in the US, which, in my view, is a job for the government, not private employers. What I’m worried about is the slippery slope effect of this bill. It demands that people show a governmentally affirmed piece of ID before they can be hired. One doesn’t have to do that today. I’ve never had to she a driver’s license to get hired at any of the many jobs I’ve held in my life. It’s a short step from this to having to have the right paper’s to do anything. Right now the only way you can get your driver’s license jerked is if you grossly abuse your driving privileges. If the point is reached at which the ID must be used for everything, then it could be jerked for any number of offenses. When Social Security numbers came into being there was a hue and cry that they would be used to track citizens and be an invasion of privacy. The government assured us that that would not be the case, that the numbers were private, and that they wouldn’t need to be given to anyone other than the Social Security department. Now you can’t open a bank account, get a credit card, get insurance, get a loan, get a mortgage, in fact, you can’t do much of anything without giving your SS # to someone. It’s your national ID#, not just a # used to track your Social Security account as promised. And since it is a national ID# attached to everything, it is a target for identity thieves. And, although, the new bill expressly states that in no way should this be construed as a national identity card, I see the same thing happening as with the social security numbers that we were assured would never become national identity numbers.
MRE
You can make a cash purchase for over $10,000 all you want to. There is no kind restriction on using a certain amount of cash to purchase something. But if you deposit more than 10 K in a bank, the bank is obligated to report it to the government. Not quite the same thing.
Hi Mary–
You can indeed make a purchase for over $10,000 in cash if you want to as long as the other party agrees. But many other parties don’t agree because of the IRS filings that will take place if that party decides to deposit the money in a bank.
Here is a part of the law:
I’m not so sure I would want this type of reporting done on me. Another part of this same law prevents you from taking out or bringing in over $10,000 cash without notifying the government. All in the name of the War on Drugs.
MRE
Dr. Mike:
Your readers may be interested to know that it’s not just American citizens who will get to enjoy the “benefits” of the Real ID Act, Canadians will too! Much like the Patriot Act, the Canadian government will likely be coerced into participating. Evidence? Imagine my surprise finding this on the recruiting website of a prestigious Canadian university:
Please note: Information collected by the iRecruiter application and used by ————- is protected in accordance with the Ontario Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Furthermore, the information submitted by the applicant will be stored and processed on IT systems housed and operated within the United States and is therefore subject to the US Patriot Act which permits US authorities to access the personal information submitted by job applicants. By applying for this position online, you are acknowledging your acceptance.
Hi Mike–
Governments just seem to rumble on destroying privacy and independence along the way. The only people inconvenienced by all this stupidity are the people the governments don’t really need to worry about.
MRE
So not to beat on a dead horse here or to hijack the original content – but one wonders – can a CHECK in excess of $10K be deposited into one’s account without all this – uh – HELP from the government? I.e., my aunt wishes to gift me $12K – in the form of a one-time payment by check. If I were to deposit this into my account – will I be scrutinized by the govvies??
Nope, checks are fine. The problem is only with cash, which is strange since it is lawful currency from the good ol’ US of A.
I’ll be happy to take a small portion of the $12K to be your consultant on this situation.
Cheers–
MRE
Scary stuff. Unfortunately in my home state of Virginia they’re running with this, since some of the guys who ran those big planes into those big buildings a few years back were able to get Virginia driver licenses. All this and other idiotic War On Terror/Drugs/Brown Non-Christians acts like it do is force the bad guys to get more creative.
Hi Patricia–
How true. The best commentary I’ve read on the bad guys improving their skills to compensate for out idiotic measures to outwit them was written in 1853 by A. C. Hobbs, a locksmith who wrote The Book on locks and safes, titled, logically enough, Locks and Safes:
Cheers–
MRE
Thanks for posting this. The erosion of our right is really scarey and this is just another example of the gov’t “helping” us.
The idea of a national ID like this is bad enough. The idea that all that data is going to be stored somewhere is even scarier. That data will be analized and collected and shared. Look at how your “private” medical information is handled….the pharmacies routinely and legally shares names and addresses along with prescription information.
In looking for more information, I found something on the NC DMV site. Apparently we’re in full swing, all new IDs and licences will comply with the federal rules. This I found interesting: “(4) There must be no dark shadows in the eye-sockets due to the brow. The iris and pupil of the eyes shall be clearly visible.”
There is also a requirement for your “Address of principal residence”.
Oh no….we want to know who you are, where you live, what you buy, where you go and we’re planning on using high tech equipment (eye ID technology) to make sure you are who you say you are…now why would anyone think that this should be considered a national ID.
It’s scary indeed!
Well, perhaps I am the only one, but last I knew, you had to prove you were a US citizen anyway in order to get a job. And backround checks along with credit checks are the norm in larger companies.
So… to me this is either a bunch of rhetoric or facts poorly presented as I fail to see much difference.
M
Hi Michelle–
You need to take the time to read the bill.
Cheers–
MRE
Oh and with regards to the check question, as it stands now, your bank will likely split the money into 2 deposits to avoid reporting the funds to the FBI. (It’s a long standing rule that deposits more than $10k must be reported/investigated by the FBI).
I’ve done two large deposits within the last six months (for medical expenses) and my bank has handled it this way both times.
M
Hi Michelle–
One can deposit a check for any amount without hassle. It’s only when cash is involved. And the law clearly states that the banks would be in major violation subject to criminal penalties if it divided the deposits into two days. In fact, the law states that if a person brings in multiple cash deposits over a short period of time, these deposits must be aggregated and if found to be in excess of $10,000 must be reported to the feds.
MRE
Carleton University human resources department in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada has recently started to use the IRecruiter system and it’s true, Canadian job applicants have to accept this Patriot Act provision to apply for a job, which is an outrage. It’s my understanding that the administrative staff have filed a grievance over this.
I hope the grievance bears fruit.