I'm with you on this Tom,
The truckdrivers were required to get a CDL a few years back. (for those that don't know, this is a Federal drivers lic. administered by the individual states) and it is used for tracking drivers, The fed can put their thumb on any driver in a matter of minutes if they want.
I now have one customer here in the states that require a passport/birth certificate before entry is allowed in several of their facilities.
and as for the comment about having a "bar code"... just what do you think is the real reason that the feds want every child to get a 'puter chip implanted?
the fed says that it will help them locate lost/kidnapped children........and in a few years later when those kids grow up.....bingo!.... instant bar coding for all..it's just not quite as obvious as having your SS number tatoo'd on your left arm...
getting time to move to That Island nation named Tonga in the so. pacific me thinks.

 

 

Don't complain about rights being taken away and the oppressive government? Excuse me, but that's exactly why the framers put the "Free Speech" clause in the Constitution. We are not supposed to just sit back and let any branch of the government prison rape the country till their hearts are content. We are supposed to stand up and speak out, that is what make America great.

 

A true American would not sit by while the government tramples freedoms that the Constitution gives in the name of patriotism.

 

Um, yes, of course.
What I'm talking about is people that live here, benefit from being here, and *itch about how the US sucks.

I'm all for free speech - don't mistake that - but give me the same right too.

Sorry, may be old-school, but if you live here and come from somewhere else - either help change for the better, or go.

Would you move to Italy and tell them how much their country sucks or try to improve things?

 

Sure. When the next 9/11 happens, tell me how you feel - especially if someone you love is killed.
It's all talk until the *hit hits YOUR fan.

 

By this premise, are we suppose to just take whatever regulations, taxation, laws, or hardship the government throws our way in the name of 9/11 and terrorists? Or do we stop just short of microchiping and jackboots?

BTW, Iraq and Sadaam had nothing to do with 9/11 and the Taliban is reforming in Afghanastan.....but yet, we are still in Iraq.....

 

So, what DO we do to protect the US?
Nothing?

I'm not talking about Iraq or Afghanastan, I'm talking about the US.

What freedoms have YOU given up?
How has your life been negatively impacted?

I know I personally think we haven't done *hit to protect the US/borders, and it's having a negative impact - forget the attacks, which will happen in time...

 

Actually, I alread had loved ones killed in NY on 9/11.

Yet I still press my government for answers to which they refuse to provide. I have a lot of strong thoughts regarding that day, but to play along, our current occupation has NOTHING to do with 9/11.

 

And why do you think nothing has been done to secure the borders? Do you think the goverment forgot about them?

I dont. Big business has a huge impact on what gets done in this country, and big business wants cheap labor.

 

You contradict yourself.
They haven't done anything but talking points.
Look around, listen, they're as open as could be.
They let convicted drug traffickers off and two border patrol agents are locked up.

You're right - there's a cheap labor agenda, and the gov't is as guilty as can be and it grows stronger daily.
From Bush on down.

 

I wish we'd get out of Iraq and use the soldiers to guard our borders.
I'm not in support of us propping up this civil war either.

 

Wheres my contradiction? I never took the side that the borders were ever secure.

 

We wont get out of Iraq because there is too much money invested in it. If we are planning to leave then why build up to 14 permanent bases in Iraq— a country that is only twice the size of the state of Idaho. The New York Times reported that "the U.S. is planning a long-term military relationship with the emerging government of Iraq, one that would grant the Pentagon access to military bases and project American influence into the heart of the unsettled region."According to the Chicago Tribune, U.S. engineers are focusing on constructing 14 "enduring bases," to serve as long-term encampments for thousands of American troops.

The next 9/11, like the previous one, will be state sponsored.

 

I'm not the expert, I don't pretend to be the expert, but I can assure you that what we've been doing for the past 5 years has been wrong. How do I know this? Because the latest reports (by the folks that do that sort of thing) indicate that we are in more danger because of Iraq than we were in pre-9/11.

Also, apointing Tom Ridge (lost an election to a dead guy) to DHS was not the best idea. How do I know know this? Because Tom Ridge is an idiot. I've seen his speeches, and the only the guy can do is inspire fear. Maybe that's his job description, I don't know, but he's definitely an idiot.

There were a thousand different directions we could have gone, and I'm certain that 95% of them are all wrong. However, I'm not the one getting 500g's a year to figure it out. We've got plenty of Braniacs in Washington (despite what you hear in the news every day), and they should be apointed to figure it out.

Oh, and spending less than 1/10 the money on the 911 investigation/cover up that we spent on a fricking blue dress and felatio in the oval office was a bad idea as well. Figuring out what wrong would be the first step. The next step would be to correct those wrongs (we still have no idea).

Well that's just it. How do we spend a billion a day over there, have 3/5 of our fighting force over there, and then still think we can protect our borders?

Well apparently I can't go into a Federal buidling until I get one of these internal passports. Getting a Florida's driver's license is a giant pain in the but too. Because Texas (my current license) is a border state, Florida will no longer take just that as a form of ID to get my new license. I now need a certified birth certificate.....hopefully it wasn't destroyed during Katrina, as my BC was in New Orleans.

And that's just the beginning. Where does it end? At some point enough becomes enough. More regulations about wire tapping, and reading email isn't the answer. Like I said, I'm not an international security expert, so I don't have the answers. Part of what I'd do (if it were up to me) would be to gather the experts (not the politicians) and start creating a framework that will work and not intrude on the freedoms of the USA. If we give up our freedoms, what's the point?

We're going the wrong direction. As stated before, focusing our attention on where the terrorists are (as opposed to the oil) would be a good first step.

 

OK, folks, this is (was) about the new national ID card and the regulations for such which do not in any way make the ID more secure, more accurate, nor more difficult to fake.

This is not about the "security" at airports which does nothing to protect us, the "communications security" which does nothing to protect us, nor the "security" at the US-Canada border crossings which also do nothing to protect us. (And yes, each one of those has made it more difficult for legitimate, law-abiding folks while not significantly hindering terrorists.)

All I will say, as a military veteran, is if you wanna talk the talk, you'd better walk the walk.

This is locked - too far off topic to recover.

Tom