Sirotablog
David Sirota is a political journalist and nationally syndicated newspaper columnist at Creators Syndicate. David writes about political corruption, globalization and working-class economic issues often ignored by both of America's political parties.
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September 17, 2007 8:07 AM
EVENT: Town Hall Meeting on Real ID Act and Privacy
On October 3rd, I will be moderating a Town Hall-style event here in Denver on the Real ID Act and the federal government's assault on our privacy. The event is sponsored by the Colorado ACLU, and will feature representatives from the Independence Institute, the Cato Institute and the security industry. You can find all the details about the event here.
As some background, the debate over privacy is a very serious state issue. When I lived up in Montana and worked with the legislators up there through my work with the Progressive States Network, the legislature passed a bill rejecting the federal government's Real ID mandates. As you can see from the makeup of the panel and the vote up in Montana, this is really a nonpartisan issue - one that forges left-right coalitions. So if you are in the Denver area on 10/3, I hope to see you at the event.
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About David Sirota
David Sirota is a political journalist and nationally syndicated newspaper columnist at Creators Syndicate. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Hostile Takeover. He lives in Denver, Colorado. His daily blog can be found at CREDO Action. He contributes regularly to the Denver Post's Web site, is a senior editor at In These Times magazine and is working on his second book. He has been profiled in Newsweek and the Rocky Mountain News and is widely known for his reporting on political corruption, globalization and working-class economic issues often ignored by both of America's political parties. Sirota serves as co-chair of the Progressive States Network, a 501(c)3 organization that supports state legislators and that is a partner of CREDO.
You can subscribe to Sirota's e-mail newsletter by going to davidsirota.com and signing up in the lefthand corner. To find out more about Sirota, download his official biography or see his recent media appearances. You can e-mail him at sirota@credoaction.com.
The views expressed on this blog are his own, and do not necessarily represent the views of Working Assets (publisher of CREDO Action) or the institutions Sirota works for.
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Discussion
Whereas the Real ID bill itself is terribly flawed (had hoped the Senate would clean it up), there remains a need for nationally recognized means of proving who each of us are.
The bass-ackwards, and defeated, '07 immigration reform bill required tamper-proof ID for legal aliens ONLY !? In other words, chuck the friggin ID altogether to pass for a fully naturalized citizen.
Am disappointed to see ACLU et al (with whom I normally agree), in defense of "privacy rights", obstruct efforts towards a dependable ID system.
Fuzzy ID is a proven and ancient tool to degrade/commoditize/cheapen people and their labor.
Meanwhile, drug testing in the public and private sectors ('cept for CEO's, congressman, etc) is at epidemic proportions. If our own body chemistry doesn't enjoy 6th amendment protection, what the hell DOES?!
We trust you, Dave, to assert some rational and more genuine populism.
We do need a national form of ID, something is a better than a drivers license than you can get from a back alley in los Angeles or any other major city.
Not to mention harsh penalities for anyone caught with phoney ID. Right now there are no real penalties for either makers of false ID or those who use them.
BTW its odd that Democrats have been so silent on the ID theft and those make and use phoney ID. One gets the impression that Democrats are on the side of criminals on this issue.
"One gets the impression that Democrats are on the side of criminals on this issue." - waltc
As I see it, all a criminal has to do is say BOO! to the Democrats just like Bush always does and the Democrats will cave in.
P.S.: Too bad that trick won't work for most voters.
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