Slashdot Mirror
Going to Yosemite? Get Your Passport Ready!
rev_media writes to tell us that CNN has a few updates to the Real ID act currently facing legislators. The Real ID acts mandates all states to begin issuing federal IDs to all citizens by 2008. Costs could be as much at $14 billion, but only 40 million are currently allocated. Several states have passed legislation expressly forbidding participation in the program, while others seem to be all for it. The IDs will be required for access to all federal areas including flights, state parks and federal buildings. People in states refusing to comply will need to show passports even for domestic flights.
$14 billion seems a little expensive, I'm glad I already have a passport.
Did America lose a war I didnt hear about?
Papers please!
The slow slide to fascism began some time ago, but has really accelerated over the past six years or so. We have fewer rights now than ever before in the USA and I fear for where we are going.
For instance:
1) We now torture as part of imprisonment along with imprison people without the protections that the Geneva Convention provides and appear to detain people without formally charging them or letting them know what they are being charged with.
2) We have a fear mongering national obsession with security that despite all the money and bureaucracy spent and created still leaves us wide open to security threats while taxing business and limiting travel. Threat levels are increased without justification to apparently further political goals.
3) We have politicized education and science for political gain while at the same time stifled scientists from telling the facts/truth/scientific findings.
4) We have completely conflated religion and government funneling money into religious groups with strong ties into the government.
5) Taxation is only low for corporate and the most wealthy, while at the same time we have suppressed labor power and limited funding for intellectual and artistic pursuits.
6) We have rampant government corruption and funneling of government "no-bid" contracts to companies with strong ties to government.
7...... How much more do we have to add to really start becoming scared?
Visit Jonesblog and say hello.
Americans are going to have to show their papers before they are allowed to travel ...
Deleted
Your genetic samples please.
Your thoughts please.
You have not been deemed a positive asset to our society. Please continue through the door on the left for genetic recycling.
Thank you for letting your government help you.
"To those who are overly cautious, everything is impossible. "
Sir, your papers are not in order, please come with us..... No, this is not happening in 'Soviet Russia' this is happening in the United States of America One of the things that the US goverment kept on about during the cold war was that in the United States you did not need 'internal travel documents and passports' because it, the United States, was a free country..
Undetectable Steganography? Yep, there's an app fo
Borodin: Do you think they will let me live in Montana?
Capt. Ramius: I would think they'll let you live wherever you want.
Borodin: Good. Then I will live in Montana. And I will marry a round American woman, and raise rabbits, and she will cook them for me. And I will have a pick-up truck, or umm... possibly even...a recreational vehicle, and drive from state to state. Do they let you do that?
Capt. Ramius: Oh yes.
Borodin: No papers?
Capt. Ramius: No papers. State-to-state.
It could be worse, it could be Monday.
Today one does not have to show any id to enter a national park. The Bush administration clearly wants to turn America into a police state. I can only hope the Democrats in Congress grow a spine and repeal this monstrosity..
It also requires all 245 million license and state ID holders to visit their local departments of motor vehicles and apply for a Real ID by 2013. Applicants must bring a photo ID, birth certificate, proof of Social Security number and proof of residence, and states must maintain and protect massive databases housing the information.
I don't think I've ever seen a target more tempting for hackers...
That should read national parks not state parks. What about travel on federal highways?
Passionately Indifferent
Wow more step closer to making this point reality. If/when this goes into effect the US will be the very thing they were getting away from all those many years. I guess the saying is true, "what comes around goes around." I guess no one wants to remember history.
GG
I don't agree with all of his politics, especially his stances on abortion and public health care, but he may be the least authoritarian out there. If you think that most Democrate will be better, they're just as bad.
If they require a passport to do some of those things like fly or enter public buildings, that will signifigantly impact poor people.
My passport cost me 97 dollars last time I got one, and not everyone has that kind of money lying around
Hopefully my new ID won't have to buffer for very long, or I might miss my flight!
Bite my shiny metal ass.
... his name basically means "Satan" in Russian, not to mention that he even looks like Old Scratch in the picture in TFA. *Sigh* - how do we get such people in government?
This line is telling:
Chertoff said there would be repercussions for states choosing not to comply.
Wow, that's an interesting threat.
It will be interesting what the next administration tries to do to undo this mess.
But, Walsh said, "any state that's refusing to implement this key recommendation by the 9/11 Commission, and whose state driver's licenses are as a result used in another terrorist attack, should be held responsible." What a fucking fear-mongerer!
So, if the next terrorists have one of these internal passports, what are the consequences for the people promoting the Real-ID program? Will they be held responsible? Another 9/11 and will the people running DHS be convicted of manslaughter? Can't have it both ways Cheeseoff!
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
The democrats are in full support of this and have done much to support the legislation that enabled and continues to enable this bullshit. Ignorance of the lack of real difference between the two parties in one of the reasons we're in this mess. Wake up. The democrats aren't the 'good guys' and the republicans aren't the 'bad guys'. They're ALL BAD. Every single one of them. Until more people realize this fact and begin to act accordingly, we will continue down our slide into a surveillance/police state.
Another move towards Snow Crash's Fedland. (Big)If there is a collapse/singularity/etc. the US Gov. seems ready to self-isolate into small paranoid parcels.
There's the US Gov. and rest of us, pick your side.
This worries me. As every student of history knows, the first requirement of a dictatorship is to create an enemy.
How sad that this should be Islam. I'm not Islamic, nor am I a Christian, I find all religion suspect. What saddens me is that the Islamic world, whilst currently in a depressed state, is nonetheless the initiator of the modern world we live in. We use their alphabet, utilise and expand their mathematics, and have them to thank for preserving the 'western' ideas of the Greeks.
They weren't always the way they are now. Its desperately sad that the Islamic world is in such a poor condition, with mysogenism an illiteracy so rampant, but we were in the same state not too many centuries ago. Its because of their effect on the western world (particularly their ruling Spain), that drew us out of that state.
If all we do is become as paranoid and militaristic as the more extreme members of their culture (and ours) wish, we risk destroying a hugely important part of our heritage. Better that we step back and start to think of the 'enemy' as people who have problems, and ask them, without using armies, how we can help.
"National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
I fly with no id when the lines are long. All that happens is you are a "selectee" never been a problem so how will this be any different?
A passport is a fallback document if you don't have one of these Federal ID's pretty much like today if you don't have a photo ID to get on a plane. Now I'm sure my state the Great State of Redneck-NorthCarolinastan will determine that getting one of these Federal ID's is even more expensive but I'm sure they'll accept a hunting license or a document from any Baptist Church in a pinch.
Ron Paul thinks that we do not need a national ID and that the REAL ID is a power grab.
"I AM ABSOLUTELY OPPOSED TO A NATIONAL ID CARD. this is a contradiction of what a free society is all about. The purpose of government is to protect the secrecy and privacy of all individuals, NOT the secrecy of government. WE DON'T NEED A NATIONAL ID CARD"
See this 1 minute video:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=HIYVXklvsQA
and
the 1 minute video:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=tGHCEbL4U7E
Libertas in infinitum
...letting Real run the ID card system? I mean, haven't they already fucked up enough with Real Player?
Tubal-Cain smokes the white owl.
Just look at the facts:
- in the US, on average, one in two households has a firearm ... because they feel threatened by other Americans
- the US has the highest murder rate in the developed world
The facts are clear ... let's face it: Americans constitute a security risk.
Mandating photo ID's to be worn by all of then is therefore a spot-on measure, and probably the least we can do. Right?
Isn't this basically the way things are right now? All they're doing is replacing the driver's license with the new national ID. You already can't enter federal govt areas or get on airplanes or even trains without identification, and every college campus is rife with examples of how not secure the driver's license system is. I recall reading somewhere that the DMV is not, and was never designed to be a bureau which handled the task of identification of individuals; it was simply supposed to be the department which said if you were qualified to operate a car.
ScuttleMonkey, you should have put this diatribe in the Politics section. You know, the one with the *AMERICAN* flag on the header graphics. I live in Nederland and don't give a shit about the United States, and I don't want to see this irrelevancy on my front page when I've already filtered out the Politics section.
There was a time when I couldn't imagine living in another country, not even as an exchange student. I've even turned down fantastic job offers from other countries because they simply weren't in America. But almost everyday now something happens, a law is passed, or another degree shaven off of what once made this country great is added to "Why isn't this the greatest country in the world anymore?" The next time a foreign job offer comes around, I'm probably going to take it, there's just not enough reasons not to these days. And even if one doesn't, Vancouver, BC is a very beautiful city. Get out while you still can.
The downside of being killed is the upside of being dead.
This is yet another example of the Republicrats and Democans taking control away from the states at gunpoint much like they are taking it away from the citizens at gunpoint. All of what they are doing is unconstitutional according to the tenth amendment. They are already starting to violate the other amendments as well.
Remember folks, nanny state + welfare state=police state. If you don't vote Libertarian in every election, then you are asking for the USA to become the United Police States of America.
_____________________________________
A vote against a Libertarian candidate is
a vote to abolish the Constitution itself.
I left America five years ago to live in a European country. Granted, things aren't perfect but I would NEVER fucking go back and live in America again. The country is increasingly deluded, lazy, fearful (Slashdot company excepted), and awash with shit food. Don't even bother to argue - the Stop and Shop has lots of food, but it is mostly crap.
I make roughly $70,000 per year - so I'm a member of the middle class. Why the hell would I leave this Western democracy where my taxes actually generate a tangible benefit for me and my children in the form of healthcare that isn't contingent on my current employer? The food is generally fresher and the markets more diverse, if I pay for primary and secondary education for my kids it is a HELL of a lot better and the university fees are negligible.
The American middle class is getting totally fucked - and has been for years. What the fuck do your tax dollars buy you? What precisely does the current federal government do for the middle classes?
It comes to $50 for every single person in the U.S.
And that's just to start the program. The figures for continued operation aren't included. The Texas figures appear to reflect the fact that half of states will probably not participate.
If Texas has to charge $100 per, I sure hope mine doesn't accidentally fall into the microwave. That could really bollox up the wait line at DFW when I fly out.
Pass a law that makes it illegal for any legislator to receive profit from stock in any company contracted to supply goods or services for the program, and same for anyone associated in any way with them, and watch how fast it falls apart.
Actually, the Texas figure probably represent the legislation's attempt the scare Texans into demanding the state scrap the program, so the legislators can claim it was public pressure. And that's fine -- they work with us, we work with them. I'd say I'm surprised we haven't already voted the program down, but I've seen too many pro-Dubya stuff come out of here recently that's entirely contrary to traditional Texan independence.
"I may be synthetic, but I'm not stupid." -- Bishop 341-B
If I'm forced to choose between RealPlayer and RealID, I think I'd opt for RealID.
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
*** People in states refusing to comply will need to show passports even for domestic flights. ***
Good. Because people wearing tinfoil hats are tards.
i'm all for DNA samples being taken and stored at birth too - think on all of the crimes that would be easier to solve if you had DNA ot match to already in a database.
Anyways, I'm glad they require it for all federal stuff. Then they will piss off people in states that passed laws banning the RealID act, and those people will vote for change due to the inconvenience.
Can't wait for the govt to state that 'in order to renew or obtain a passport, you must have a Real ID issued'
Awesome.
Y'all are missing the real Catch-22 here. How could a passport substitute for Real ID? A passport is a federal document. Once Real ID is in effect, no doubt you will need one to obtain or renew a passport, no? So if you have no Real ID, you can't use your passport instead, because you will need the ID to get or renew the passport. Damned if you do and damned if you don't.
This battle isn't over yet by far, because in addition to the few states that have explicitly refused to participate, many others are discussing it in their legislatures, and some of those are leaning towards saying "drop dead" to the Feds as well. Sooner or later, we will reach a critical mass of states that represent a significant enough percentage of the U.S. population (and, hence, of voters) that would be classified as second-class citizens, and that will put the kibosh on the whole mess. I just hope those legislatures have some backbone....
You can keep up with the current status of Real ID legislation in the various states at the Real Nightmare website.
"Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket." -- Eric Hoffer
See this 1 minute video:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=HIYVXklvsQA [youtube.com]
and
the 1 minute video:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=tGHCEbL4U7E
Ron Paul: "I AM ABSOLUTELY OPPOSED TO A NATIONAL ID CARD. this is a contradiction of what a free society is all about. The purpose of government is to protect the secrecy and privacy of all individuals, NOT the secrecy of government. WE DON'T NEED A NATIONAL ID CARD"
Libertas in infinitum
Will the millions of illegals need one? What happened to the "If we lose our freedoms, then the terrorists have won"? Pastors are secretly being told by FEMA to preach on Romans 13 stressing obedience to the government.I am increasingly fearful that we will lose the constitutional rights that are still left.In our system, governmental power is supposed to flow from the consent of the governed. In our system, the government is subordinate to the citizens. The government, it seems, no longer believes this. If your representatives are unwilling to put the brakes on these sorts of abuses, it's time to elect ones that will. I used to laugh at the tinfoil hat crowd, now I wear one myself.
Look into the distribution of missile silos across our country, and reconsider whether it will be a good thing if each state is recognized as an independent country.
Ben Hocking
Need a professional organizer?
2) the tax on the wealthy is still higher than the tax on the poor.
3) government funding of intellectual and artistic pursuits is not a characteristic of freedom.
Ok. We get it. You like Ron Paul. Quit spamming the website.
It's the squirrels!
Ben Hocking
Need a professional organizer?
O Canada! Our home and native land! True patriot love in all thy sons command. With glowing hearts we see thee rise, The True North strong and free! From far and wide, O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. God keep our land glorious and free! O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
What about an American with an assault rifle? Someone was caught firing an SKS Assault Rifle in Ybor City just last night. Thankfully, no one was injured. I can't believe we let the ban on assault rifles elapse and still maintain that these violations of our liberties are an absolute necessity in order to protect ourselves. Why don't we start by keeping the actual weapons off the streets?
You just need to go get RealIDAlternative.
Why do they call that country the UNITED States of America?
So, wait, you're hoping the US will devolve at the same time the EU is transforming its member states into vassals?
Clear, Dark Skies
The only reason I am posting this is because it is absolutely relevant to the discussion.
Libertas in infinitum
Sorry to reply to my own post, but Obama has also come out against Real ID (seeking to strike provisions requiring checking a database in order to employ anyone in the US, among other things). Cool, there are choices :)
But posting it ten times?
That counts as spam my friend. One thing you are NOT doing is making me want to vote for Ron Paul.
"Hello!" "Hello". "Are you ready?" "Yes!" "Then let the fire fall!" They fire up the dozer and push the coals off Glacier Point. Those of you old enoungh have seen this, the reest of you really missed out.
Every Swiss home has an assault rifle, and it's expected to be operational. Also every man is expected to be proficient with those weapons.
Funny thing though: you don't hear much about Swiss terrorists and their crime rates are extremely low...
I am not spamming, nor am I trying to.
/. system. Since I want to reply to as many people as possible, that unfortunately means it gets listed as a separate post each and every time.
The problem is that if I posted it under a specific thread, the people who have made other posts elsewhere probably won't see it. It's an inherent issue with the
Libertas in infinitum
... but what are you FOR? You don't want a federal-approved ID, so what form of ID do you think is acceptable? Just anything a state feels like issuing? Should we even require a picture on it, or would that be too much of an imposition? If I'm an airport screener, can I reasonably be expected to recognize over 100 types of ID (driver's license or alternative ID from 50 states and every US territory/commonwealth) and be able to detect forgeries?
Personally, I think the feds should just say that any any place under their control where ID is required, present your passport. That way the states wouldn't have a bitch about the cost, since they could just keep issuing their existing licenses, and the feds would have only one form of ID to worry about.
Anyone have a better idea that would still accomplish the main goal of assuring that the person on the ID is who they say they are?
I have some sympathy for the difficulties faced by Border Agents. But not much for their management who cannot even issue passports to meet demands they instituted.
Requiring ID for Federal Courts becomes extremely problematic: Nevermind open courts, people are required to appear. If they try but are refused admission for lacking documents, how can they be punished for non-appearance?
(You are being sarcastic, right?)
Please don't randomly spew forth information (in this case, incorrect information) without at least citing a source.
c rime-murders-per-capita
Also, 24 is pretty far from 1. http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur_percap-
I'd consider a few of those nations in front of us on that list to be "developed".
Peace sells, but who's buying?
You can try to blame bush, but he is only part of it.
The United States Congress is the biggest bunch of spinless, cowardly, money grubbing, self serving, corporatation serving, non-people serving, most hypocritical, lamest, sickening, biggest backstabbing, most uninformed, ill-informed, careless, naive bunch of people I have ever observed as a group of individuals.
Furthermore their monkey like, submissive, non questioning, paid off, giving away all of our freedoms in the name of 'terror', giving away all of our freedoms the name of 'think of the children', enacting acts that allow highly technical survielence of domestic homes that can see through buildings, signing every single law that comes through with pork on it, managing my tax payer, and everyones tax payer money as if it were some kind of throw away toy, such as a dirty hooker on a friday, ill-reguarding the dollar as some 2nd rate currency and accepting it, not allowing special prosecutors to investigate anything in the last 7 years, and about 100 other things I can think of right now, enrages me as ann american.
They have the power to override anything in this country. Fact is, as Mike Gravel said recently, they could bring all the troops home tomorrow if they wanted to. They have done nothing less than a diarrhea job for the American people.
I think there is only 1 soulution at this point. 1 radical hope. A new form of representative government. Still American, and what the forefathers had in mind, but on a much more representative scale. We need to stop with the 100 kings, and the 400+ court jesters. We need to balance these senators powers out much less. There needs to be 20000 votes. Im talking about regular people. Samples of the population. You make it an american duty to comply with these elections when your called upon. You will vote on the issues at hand at the time. Now we can still have congress, but the peoeple will have a say as well. I am tired of these paid off politicians. We could be such a great country, we could i even dare say eliminate poverty on the earth. We cannot do it with the monarchy voting system we have now because it is not represenative of the american people whatsoever.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
If things such as national parks require US citizens to have passports or the Real ID to enter, then I assume that foreign travelers would need passports or similar paperwork to do the same in our national facilities. If the 'foreign terrorist' that our media and public seem to fear so much can occasionally come in to our country without our knowledge using their passports and paperwork (whether they are legit or fake is irrelevant to this), and then, they access access out national facilities (that we are 'protecting' with the Real ID) with the same paperwork, how are we protected. It seems we are limiting our privacy and not that of the foreign terrorist. True, this may do something to prevent domestic terrorism of sorts, but how, I don't see at the moment. A person does not need to enter a government facility to cause terror and damage to it. The Oklahoma city bombing is an example of this. As much as I wish there was, a simple way to prevent terrorism will not ever exist. We can do things to help prevent it, but I do not see how this does enough to justify 14 billion dollars and more invasion of privacy.
If I can't visit the ground hallowed by Ed Abbey and John Muir without a bullshit big brother seal of approval, I say, *fuck this*, I gotta emigrate. Robert Heinlein's Crazy Years. The problem is, this is where I can do the work I want to do. I'm doing very cool research at a very cool place, and no other country can touch what we're working on...... but is it worth it? What the fuck is happening to my country? We torture people, we shit on our own constitution..... and the vast mass of exurbian SUV-driving Fox-watching retards raise their hands and say "Hallelujah! Thank God for Dubyah! Let's nuke some towelheads!"
It's really starting to get to me.
I was reading with interest and then you threw in "because they feel threatened by other Americans". Which of course is completely untrue. A huge percentage are for hunting/sport. So your entire post is just flamebait. Too bad. you mighta had something to say. you extremists should try to be more subtle.
i'll stick with my microsoft passport thank you very much.
There ARE people running for public office in this country who are FOR protecting and individual's rights and privacy. Please remember this, and take the time to evaluate your choices BEFORE the next election!
VOTE!
Hey, could you post that one more time? I think I missed it the first ten times.
Could have picked a better title. At least 36.4 million residents of California wouldn't need this to visit Yosemite. Maybe Mt. Rushmore would have been more appropriate. For other reasons, too.
Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure everything I just said is completely wrong.
Every single 9/11 terrorists highjacker had a valid passport.
This is security theatre -- worse still, it removes freedoms from us non-terrorists.
--
Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
Well at least I won't have to do any federal jury duty since I don't have a passport and I live in Montana who refuses to adapt this policy so far.. Should be interesting to see how they can get a jury pool out of 900,000 people when I would bet most of those people don't have passports. How does this effect the ower wage people that don't have the money for a passport? Doesn't that mean only the wealthier will be able to do be on juries and therefore not get a varied jury?
Since when has anyone had to show any kind of id to go into a park? There are problems with RealID, but if you overhype the problems, it discredits the opposition to it.
It could easily be that passports will be needed to get on an airplane, or to do business with the feds, but they're already tracking you on airplanes, and it wouldn't be hard to (if they haven't already) built a drivers license database to track anything you do with them. But in fact, these are state databases, not federal, and states can control access to them.
The standardized format is actually the good part of Real ID, as it makes it easier for people that need to validate id to do so.
The bad part of Real ID is the coordinated database; if that were implemented in a way that the query to validate an ID were done anonymously, with phishing safeguards, it would actually be a decent system.
The real attack needs to be on pushing back on *when* id is required in the first place. You can't hardly look at someone without them wanting to know who you are, and if we don't get out of that mindset, it won't matter how hi or low-tech the id system is.
Costs could be as much at $14 billion, but only 40 million...
In other words, it isn't going to happen. While the article makes an excellent example of how to use "weasel words", it's not particularly useful otherwise.
Slashdot just got trolled.
Instead of the government (which you can hire new management for), Ron Paul wants corporations like Microsoft to handle identification documents and private armies to secure private property. Some things should not be privatized.
Federal law denies passports to many people based on (for example) whether they owe a state money for child support. This is going to get real interesting when those people become locked out of the legal system entirely because they can't get a passport and live in a state not participating in this grand new fascism. The fascism that has denied them their civil right to come and go becomes the fascism that denies them their civil rights entirely on a federal level... just because of financial obligations. So much for the fourteenth amendment.
Just a couple of years and we get a whole new class of people... legal, official, "dissidents."
But our Siberia will be a whole, whole lot warmer...
You just need to go get RealIDAlternative.
I think you mean "MediaSentry".
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
You'll be waiting in line at the airport, and the Real ID reader will say "Buffering..."
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
I love this comment from the article:
"But, Walsh said, 'any state that's refusing to implement this key recommendation by the 9/11 Commission, and whose state driver's licenses are as a result used in another terrorist attack, should be held responsible.'"
So, the terrorist was permitted entry into the US, but because he obtained a state driver's license in a non-participating state, the state is somehow responsible? Oh, that's rich!
These people are out of control. I fear for our republic.
I know this is probably a contrarian point of view here on Slashdot, but I guess I don't see the practical difference between mandatory, ubiquitous state-issued ID (driver's licenses) and mandatory, ubiquitous federal ID (passports, birth certificates, social security cards, and... dun dun DUN... Real ID). Already, you can't get on an airplane without a government-issued identification card, or open a bank account, or take out a loan, or begin employment, or enter the country, or buy a car. If you are like the overwhelming majority of Americans, you buy everything by credit card. Private companies track every purchase, collate them all, match them with your supermarket loyalty cards, and mine the data for all sorts of personal information. There is already nothing to stop the government from buying access to those databases. In fact, they probably already do.
I will continue to oppose government invasion into the personal sphere -- for example, wiretapping, secret search warrants, and gag orders -- but I think it's time we accept that our public actions -- purchases, travel, employment -- are already public. They are meticulously documented and combed by all sorts of actors, and by and large the world has not collapsed into an Orwellian nightmare. Certainly, there are Orwellian aspects to our society, particularly with the current group in the White House, but that seems like a phenomenon independent from the stuff this Real ID would be used for.
Dear Friends in the USA,
Please stop your government from continuing down this line. The culture of fear is an infectious disease, and my country is catching it too! In Britain, we also have an impending ID card, intrusive surveillance, detention without trial, and we are well advanced down the same path to losing the right to anonymity. Civil disobedience is becoming impossible, even in theory. We badly need leadership to show that Freedom is *more* important than Security.
Thank you,
A British Citizen
(who will be one of the ID card refuseniks, if it comes to it)
In summary, STFU. Please.
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
A number of African tribes of the Congo Basin use a genitalia-based identification scheme. A portion of their religious beliefs suggests that a human face can be altered by spirits to make one person appear as another. Thus they do not believe that you can tell individuals apart by their facial appearance alone. Because of this, they often identify one another by their genitals. Apparently they believe that the spirits cannot alter the appearance of a man's penis, or a woman's vulva.
Dr. Marc LaFrance, Dr. Sylvia Daiken and Dr. Peter Price have written a number of papers on this subject. LaFrance and Daiken are both professors of sociology, and Price is an economic historian. Price's work focuses on how this pervasive role of genitalia within their societies affects their productivity, and their ability to maintain a primitive economy within the tribe.
Maybe America should consider using a similar scheme. It would likely be a lot cheaper than the passports, and all that.
Didn't the USSR lose the cold war?
What?
you've posted the same message in the thread about 10x. All you're going to do is annoy people and make them NOT vote for Paul.
Clearly we don't have enough guns.
My apologies for pissing you off. It wasn't my intention.
Libertas in infinitum
For encouraging the spam-bot.
On that note, because I've been lazy about getting one (but feeling more and more than I need it, a trade skill, and a surefire job to get me out of here).
What *IS* currently required to get a passport? And the current ones are just the ones with the RFID chips, not all the biometric stuff, right?
The word algebra even has an Arabic root. Perhaps we should call algebra "Liberty Arithmetic" in the post-9/11 world.
-b.
I like Ron Paul. However, you do him no favors by posting the same video link many times in one discussion. You would do him no favors if you posted the same video link one time in many discussions, but you can only manage to annoy people by posting this many times. Now, I'm going to go and repost this response many times in hopes of drawing moderator attention. Despite the fact that we support the same candidate, I would like to see you modded into oblivion so I don't have to see any more of your posts, and that is a shame.
I like Ron Paul. However, you do him no favors by posting the same video link many times in one discussion. You would do him no favors if you posted the same video link one time in many discussions, but you can only manage to annoy people by posting this many times. Now, I'm going to go and repost this response many times in hopes of drawing moderator attention. Despite the fact that we support the same candidate, I would like to see you modded into oblivion so I don't have to see any more of your posts, and that is a shame.
And, I'll slightly change my wording every time I post this response, so that I can avoid the duplicate comment block, just like you did the many times you posted your video link.
I like Ron Paul. However, you do him no favors by posting the same video link many times in one discussion. You would do him no favors if you posted the same video link one time in many discussions, but you can only manage to annoy people by posting this many times. Now, I'm going to go and repost this response many times in hopes of drawing moderator attention. Despite the fact that we support the same candidate, I would like to see you modded into oblivion so I don't have to see any more of your posts, and that is a shame.
Of course, in responding to your many video links, I'll need to change my wording slightly, because duplicate comments are forbidden.
I like Ron Paul. However, you do him no favors by posting the same video link many times in one discussion. You would do him no favors if you posted the same video link one time in many discussions, but you can only manage to annoy people by posting this many times. Now, I'm going to go and repost this response many times in hopes of drawing moderator attention. Despite the fact that we support the same candidate, I would like to see you modded into oblivion so I don't have to see any more of your posts, and that is a shame.
I have to wonder how patient you are to have spent so much time posting these videos. I mean, slashdot will only allow you to post so quickly, and you have managed almost 20 posts in this discussion so far...
I like Ron Paul. However, you do him no favors by posting the same video link many times in one discussion. You would do him no favors if you posted the same video link one time in many discussions, but you can only manage to annoy people by posting this many times. Now, I'm going to go and repost this response many times in hopes of drawing moderator attention. Despite the fact that we support the same candidate, I would like to see you modded into oblivion so I don't have to see any more of your posts, and that is a shame.
Man, the "slow down cowboy" message is starting to get really annoying as I try to respond to all of your video posts.
One more time, sorry, I am not trying to "spam the thread".
But I am replying to posts with a relevant response to the topic.
Libertas in infinitum
I like Ron Paul. However, you do him no favors by posting the same video link many times in one discussion. You would do him no favors if you posted the same video link one time in many discussions, but you can only manage to annoy people by posting this many times. Now, I'm going to go and repost this response many times in hopes of drawing moderator attention. Despite the fact that we support the same candidate, I would like to see you modded into oblivion so I don't have to see any more of your posts, and that is a shame.
This is taking far more time than I had hoped. Of course, when I started, I hadn't realised just how many times you had posted the damned video links.
Take heart. I applied for a passport renewal a week and a half ago, paid the extra $60 for expedited service, was told that it will take 6-12 wks. This past Thursday, I got an e-mail from the passport office that the passport was mailed and I should expect it within 5 business days.
-b.
It would be a VAST improvement in the sense that Tallahassee/Sacramento/Albany would be balanced against the District of Columbia.
"This balance between the National and State governments ought to be dwelt on with peculiar attention, as it is of the utmost importance. It forms a double security to the people. If one encroaches on their rights they will find a powerful protection in the other. Indeed, they will both be prevented from overpassing their constitutional limits by a certain rivalship, which will ever subsist between them."
-- Alexander Hamilton (speech to the New York Ratifying Convention, 17 June 1788)
Reference: The Works of Alexander Hamilton, Henry Cabot Lodge, ed., vol. 2 (28)
No Inflation Taxation without Representation
first of all, 'state parks' are not federal land, so you could probably still go to 'the lake', or whatever other park that is maintained by the state government.
federal parks, though, are supposed to be open to all people. that is the entire theory behind the federal government taking over the land, and charging people tax money to pay for guides and rangers and staff, these places are so valuable that everyone should be albe to visit them. considering the number of international visitors, they would also have to all get some kind of idiotic ID card.
the forest service land, is supposed to be evn more open. hell, they even let ranchers graze cattle during the dry spells on the forest service land... because they are not trying to 'preserve' it as much as balance the competing users of the land and make sure everyone gets a fair share.
and considering the vast, huge number of miles that actually surround federal parks, it is just impossible. you would have to hire double or triple the number of current rangers to sit around patrolling fences all day and checking ID cards for this to even begin to work, not to mention all the bullshit technology youd have to install and maintain.
For those curious, here are the current positions of various states:
Either oppose or explicitly prohibit state-level implementation, at least without changes: Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, and Washington.
Support the act and/or have already begun implementing it: Alabama, California, North Carolina, and North Dakota
It looks like this is a regional rather than partisan difference. In the states that have passed anti-Real-ID acts, the vote totals have been hugely lopsided, sometimes even unanimous. And in the pro-real-ID states, the support and implementation is bipartisan as well. Opposition does seem to be somewhat more common in "red states", despite it being a Republican Congress and President who passed the bill: 12 of the 31 states who voted for GWB in '04 have come out against the act (39%), while only 5 of the 19 who voted for Kerry have (26%).
10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
You know. You're giving your life for Allah tomorrow so you wanna relax by taking in the falls and scenery at Yosemite. You drive up to the Big Oak Flat entrance and the ranger asks for your ID and boom, you're immediately arrested for being on the watch list. Boo-yah! Score one for DHS!
Yeah. Sounds plausible to me.
One thing you are NOT doing is making me want to vote for Ron Paul.
That is exactly what he is trying to do.
"The IDs will be required for access to all federal areas including flights, state parks "
State parks are not federal areas. I guess you meant national parks?
"Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
Well, we're already working on it.
The way you can tell that you're interacting with a government agency is the distinct feeling that you're being fucked.
"Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
you have to have an internal passport.
expandfairuse.org
The government terrorizes YOU.
What is going on with this country. Our founding fathers are rolling in their graves. Last night I was stopped by police officers for literally nothing. They stopped everyone on the road for a "safety inspection". They were asking for license and insurance and registration, What that has to do with safety is beyond me. I'm expecting the phrase "papers please" to become more common. Something needs to be done.
Oh Crap, I'm an optimist.....
you have to have an internal passport. hey wait, that's not funny....
expandfairuse.org
Please do, I use that address to test my anti-spam system.
I can go to the store and buy a beer on Sunday today. You may have been conditioned by others to THINK that we have fewer rights today than at any time in the last 50 years, but it just doesn't hold water... it's more of a demagogic point than a factual one.
None of them had valid passports did they? What, they all did?
They had the special passports that can survive temperatures that can melt steel. If the people at airport security were really interested in finding terrorists then they would just use an oxygen-acetylene torch on every passenger's passport. The passengers carrying passports that could not be destroyed could be easily be identified as terrorists and carted off to the nearest Gulag. Then all the good, God fearing Americans could go back to their huge quantities of freedom and liberty and Fox news. It makes me happy to think of them being tortured for years without legal council. It also fills me with that Warm American Glow to know that if they ever do make it into one of the legal systems that people are actually familiar with then they will be thrown into pound-me-in-the-ass prison for the rest of their lives. They don't even need evidence! Gawd Bwess Amyrika!
Every male Swiss citizen has mandatory military service and the assault rifle is there because after active duty, all male Swiss citizens below a certain age are part of the military reserves. It's disingenuous or ignorant to compare Switzerland with US gun ownership since any untrained idiot can buy a firearm in the US.
It's not surprising Swiss crime rates are low. They are a regimented society that value order among all else. Swiss citizens do not have civil liberties. Crime is usually low in police states.
etc etc etc
Busses are the new airplane
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
> The IDs will be required for access to all federal areas including flights, state parks
Its not a bad solution.... we are going to save the environment by keeping people out of it.
I've heard a lot of dumb ideas, but that's one of the dumbest. If this Ron Paul joker seriously believes that, then I hope that he never gets elected as a village counselor, let alone president.
What about the domestic terrorists who are elected (sic) US officials?
Since we never had our votes counted on those fucked up electronic voting machines, the courts put people in office, who in turn put people all over DOG + WORLD and none of these fuckers will uphold their fucking OATH OF OFFICE.
So fuck all that.
Doesn't this violate the freedom of travel clause in the US Constitution? I mean, seriously, what are we going to here?
"Your papers, please, comrade."
Damn it He will stop that bullshit next Fall. He's the only presidential candidate that is against( I mean honestly against) stupid things like this. He said we don't need it, and He's right! Go search him on youtube or google videos. learn about his voting record and belief system. Google candidate interviews with him is about an hour long, but he addresses that issue among all the others while being grilled by the google folks.
The 9/11 commission was such bullshit - Democrats and Republicans getting together to blame the CIA for everything.
For example, it was Clinton's Justice Department that made it literally impossible for the CIA and FBI to cooperate - I'm talking to YOU, Jamie Gorelick! And you have to remember that was done while Republicans controlled the Senate.
(Because of timing, most of the fuckups that lead directly to 9/11 happened while Clinton was President. But I doubt anyone with an "R" after their name would have done any better. Despite the image he projected, even Ronald Reagan ran from Lebanon after one truck bomb...)
When Lenin came over and took a walk with our president near some corn fields, He proclaimed that all these fields will be communist soon. Yup, He was right.
Didn't Han shoot first?
Undetectable Steganography? Yep, there's an app fo
I thought we were against communism. This does not sound like the land of the free to me. In the last 10 years this country has gone severely down hill. Mostly from bad politics and the lack of democratic action. The whole country cannot be as liberal as the direction it is taking. The American people do not want to have federal IDs and passports to travel in THEIR OWN COUNTRY!!! This severe inconvenience and breach of all the flag stands for should not be tolerated by any citizen. Sure, blame it on terrorism. Just like Massachusetts forcing citizens to have health insurance regardless of income or status. Where has all the freedom gone?
But only a nation's own leaders and citizens can change its way of life.
You are completely neglecting or underestimating the media and entertainment industries.
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
Here and elsewhere. geeze.
.... Fuck you George ....
Maybe I'm missing something here, but given the Full Faith and Credit clause, and the Ninth Amendment which clearly gives States the upper hand on ambiguous powers, how could the Federal government possibly refuse to accept an ID issued by a state?
It could probably withhold all highways funds for not issuing acceptable IDs, but I still think it would have to accept that state's IDs.
Both parties are solidly in favor of all this nonsense. What are our options? Is there some way to stop this type of thing, or are Americans in general so strongly in favor that this is unstoppable, and we (who care about freedom) should all just move?
If you think that most Democrate will be better, they're just as bad.
Sorry, but Nader was a complete fucking idiot for saying that back in 2000, before Bush's incompetence blew a hole in the budget and cost the lives of 10,000 Americans.
Ditto. I'm a huge fan of Ron Paul, but I swear some of his supporters are trying to deliberate annoy people away from the campaign. It's the "geek syndrome", well known here on Slashdot. Like a Debian advocate at a Redhat shareholder's meeting. You would rather make a point than to make friends.
Don't blame me, I didn't vote for either of them!
LOL! Switzerland - the land of the opressed ....
... which just so happens to be rated the 4th most free country in the world, on combined political and economic scales!
Dude, did they have maps with white areas labelled "There be Dragons" surrounding the navel-of-the-world USofA on all your maps in that shack where you were "schooled"?
We have fewer rights now than ever before in the USA and I fear for where we are going.
You're right. Oddly coincidental that there's been a sudden spike in violent crime. Not active resistance, just a natural response to people feeling hemmed in. They strike out reflexively. That's my theory anyway.
The harder you try to control a population, the more random their behavior becomes.
That's our life, the big wheel of shit. - The Fat Man, Blue Tango Salvage
This reminds me of an exchange about travelling around America from the movie...
--------------
Do they let you do that?
Yes.
No papers?
No papers.
State to state.
--------
[All Your Fish Are Belong To Us]
Most likely the next time an act of terrorism occurs inside US borders it will be carried out by people who have applied for and received all the proper paperwork to identify themselves as legitimate residents and/or travelers within the country. REAL ID is just a means of tracking the American populace better. In no way does this apply to terrorism in anyway.
Think of it this way...
Either someone gets a REALID and commits an act of terrorism in which case whatever checks and security the application process entails for a REALID don't provide adequate protection (think poor police work).
OR, more likely, someone commits an act of terrorism using a forged REALID to gain access to their target. In this case the REALID actually makes the situation worse because having the proper identification which registers in the database gives security forces a false sense of, well, security.
Perhaps someone just sneaks into the US under the rader, sneaks into their target and commits said act of terrorism. Once again, REALID provides no help because AGAIN it is poor police work that would have provided a terrorist with an opening to attack a target. Poor police work that is only exacerbated by the false sense of infallibility some desk jockey feels in being able to troll through a big database of fingerprints 24-style.
Ok... now what would a national database be good for?
Susie gets on an airplane in Reno and flys to NYC, Uncle Sam knows what seat she's in and what hotel she's checking into because she made a credit card reservation. REALID provides big brother with the relative surety that the Susie who boarded flight 6767 is the Susie in said national database because Susie homemaker doesn't have the motivation or wherewithall to actually forge or circumvent the REALID system. REALID is only useful for tracking people who are committing no real crimes and who the government has point blank no business monitoring. This is like wiretapping all conversations and internet traffic for the purpose of datamining minus any real legitimate reason for doing so. One could at least suggest that illegally wiretapping all communications in the country would serve the purpose of uncovering at least some criminal or terrorist activity, there's bound to be something in there. REALID on the other hand is just a net thrown over all the people who the government is supposed to be protecting. By it's very nature it is most likely to fail it's supposed purpose when exactly that scenario comes about. Knowing that, I think you have to be suspicious about the program. Why would the government want license to spy without warrant on a constant basis on all their citizens? Nothing very wholesome comes to mind.
IN CONGRESS, August 18th, 2007
The unanimous Declaration of the 50 united States of America
When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. -- That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, -- That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. -- Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present President of the United States is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavored to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in time
Hey KID! Yeah you, get the fuck off my lawn!
I am a citizen of the once great United States. It seems we havd been annexed by a German or Soviet nation. Our citizens have no means or training to fight off this invasion due to the erosion of our rights. Please come and reclaim your territory. I would much rather live under the slightly less oppresive rule of Great Britain and perhaps be able to at least fight for our rights again. Meanwhile, we have been conquered and you will soon face a new fascist rule that will attempt to smote you at the soonest possible opportunity. Come now, before we end up in camps.
auf wiedersehen
My mom lived in Memphis before I was born. One day, just a while after she had moved there, she was out with a group of ladies. In the course of the conversation, she was asked by one of the ladies:
"So which Baptist church do you belong to?"
Not "What religion are you?", not "Which church do you belong to", but "Which Baptist do you belong to?". What's more, the woman asked this very naturally and no one besides my mother found the question odd.The Swiss are but one simple refutation of the simplistic numbers of weapon argument.
Canada is another, btter example. See Bowling for Columbine.
As for the ease of buying a firearm, it depends. In MA you must take an approved gun
safety course and buy a lock to obtain a license.
Regarding crime rates and gun ownership trends (and capital punishment) you might
want to read up on Ulster Scots emmigrant history.
Were that I say, pancakes?
Secular liberal socialists everywhere, cameras everywhere, political correctness everywhere, moral decline, a national ID system, high taxes, more government control over our lives, and runaway government. George Orwell was right. The Bible was right. The mark of the beast is coming. God help us all.
I'm so glad the greatest generation that fought in World War II to liberate Europe will get to see everything they sacrificed for pissed down the toilet before they all die. Welcome to the Police State. Where do we sign up to spy on our neighbors and inform the authorities on seditious acts?
Hitler, Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot must be so pleased from their special place in Hell.
I would like to have seen Montana.
To quote Ben Franklin, "Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." This seems more applicable now than ever. People need to see this. We're just creating a false sense of security. = /
You might not be trying to spam, but you sure are doing one hell of a job of it.
But, why would I want to go to a Heathen shareholder's meeting?
Seriously, I think I know what you mean about "geek syndrome." A lot of us do have a tendency to see some issues as "my way is 100% correct, and any other way is 100% wrong." Whether it is Linux vs. all other kernels, or vi vs. all other editors, or PPC vs. all other architectures, we tend to think that our own choice is perfect, and that any reasonable person will agree with us if only we bash them over the head with enough facts to support our perspective. Lord knows I've done it often enough.
The great thing about the fellow posting all the video links is that, since he is at least enough of a geek to spend time posting to slashdot, he probably won't hold a grudge against me for being a dick and replying to a bunch of his posts. He's much more likely to take it as a data point, and will now try to keep conscious track of how many times he brings up Ron Paul in any given context so that he can try to avoid annoying people as badly. If he was a mundane instead of a geek, he'd just get pissy and defensive and start trolling me relentlessly without learning anything.
In Soviet America, the terrorists govern YOU.
>> The terrorists won; we have lost our freedoms. They have changed our way of life.
> The only way this statement could possibly be true is if the terrorists you mention are actually elected U.S. officials.
While many seem to think that a terrorist is "someone who blows themselves up" the actual definition is more along the lines of "one who achieves a political objective through fear or intimidation" and violence, while effective, is not strictly necessary. With that in mind, I can't think of a more apt way to describe those in power (and I have no need to single anyone out; too many currently in power are guilty of this so I don't mean to excuse anyone by omission).
However, I prefer not to use that term because it has been watered down to the point where it is devoid of almost all meaning. But yes, we have elected them. They have changed our way of life. I don't think anything more needs to be said.
I think it's "trusting people" vs "trusting systems."
This is obviously going to be making a lot of broad generalizations, but I think that conservatives tend to be suspicious of systems (e.g. "the Government" as an entity, or its bureaucracy) but trust individual people that they agree with or find agreeable, ignoring that even a seemingly decent person might be warped by power.
Many liberals seem to take the opposite view; they distrust individuals and emphasize the inherent corrupting nature of power, but seem to trust (sometimes a little more blindly than I find comfortable) complex systems that lack a particular face or human qualities.
I think you see the same dichotomy in the liberal and conservative readings of history: conservatives seem to favor "great man" theories that emphasize individual leadership and the influence of small numbers of people on historical outcomes, while many liberal scholars seem to downplay the role of the individual and instead look at the progression of abstract systems (the progress of 'society', etc.).
"Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
Actually it works like that in real life, too. There are paths to citizenship in the U.S. that involve military service. I've met people who have done, or were in the process of doing, it. You have to meet all the other regular qualifications (High school education or GED, basically no criminal or drug history, speak/read English, no visible tattoos on hands or face, etc.). It's a pretty good program -- all the guys I ever met who taken advantage of that path were totally solid.
I don't know if they actually let you serve in combat before your citizenship goes through, though -- it's not like the French Foreign Legion or anything. (I suspect they do not; I think it's a case of, we'll make you a citizen, but if you do, you owe us x years in the Army, and we'll pull your citizenship if you renege on it.)
"Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
I don't know what kind of politicians you've got around in your area, but I've never known the Libertarian Party to be very good at sticking to the libertarian philosophy. They may be a lesser evil than the Democrats or the Republicans, but no political party is going to be the silver bullet that saves America.
Is it that easy? What about towns like this one?
too soon!
It is my stated intention, here for the public record, to remove myself from the boundaries of the United States before this 2013 deadline comes about. I would rather die in a terrorist attack than give up my liberties for government monitoring and surveillance, and I am willing to move myself to a location where such a choice is meaningful.
schnell mein herr... ja alles gud. willkommen zum Yosemite Nationalpark.
Sound, hard-to-forge identity cards are a good thing for privacy: they make it harder for other people to impersonate you.
What is bad is centralized databases.
It's odd that the two are so often linked, because a good system of identity cards actually greatly reduces the need for centralized databases: if important information about you is on your id card, then showing the id card is sufficient--there is no need to go to a centralized database to verify that information or retrieve additional information. Furthermore, with an id card, you control who sees the information, whereas with a centralized database, you don't.
"We aren't very good at picking up on subtle clues for behavior, but us geeks usually manage to take clear advice gracefully!"
;-)
HA! You nailed it. Story of my life... I've been told many times (even by my mom) that I'm "dense". And no I don't live in her basement
Libertas in infinitum
...that all of the states established post-1845 were themselves a gigantic "fuck you."
Israel has a right to exist and defend itself.
Jordan and Egypt have no issues with Israel at all and have had peace for years. Why? They recongize their right to exist and after crazy crap like this spewed on hamas TV it only makes the situation worse as children are brainwashed by Islamic terrorists.
http://saveie6.com/
You may not be a spammer, true...but you are wearing a spammer's uniform, so you can see how we might become confused.
Apologies to Dave Chappelle.
http://xkcd.com/386/
I think voting libertarian is a good first step, or any third party for that matter. The more important second step is to vote out the incumbent every time. Look where we are today. We're going on 30 years with Clintons and Bushes holding top offices. Last I checked that was called a monarchy.
Unfortunately, long time politicians gain more power and bring home more money from the federal piggy bank. The same crooks get voted in time and time again because they can build a huge tunnel or a bridge to nowhere. We're being destroyed by our own greed.
Just to clarify my original post - which perhaps seethed with a bit too much anger.
I was born and raised in America of middle-class parents in a pretty nice rural part of the country and am very proud of where I'm from. I certainly believe in the basic ideals of the country as expressed in my high school civics classes - freedom to live as I choose and pursue whatever it is I want, the sense that government is run by people like you or me and that truly the only limits (within reason) are self-imposed. Work hard, be responsible and fairly clever and your life will be ok.
I really don't understand the modern American attitude toward provision of health care. Well, I understand the historical context for it, but I don't understand the continued tolerance of insurance company abuse of their customers, the rationing of care under HMOs, the insanely high cost of private (non-employer based insurance). This isn't freedom to be, it is indentured servitude to a particular way of life. Want to be self-employed? Sure, but fork out $500 per month in insurance fees. Lose your nice office job, can't get another one with quite such a nice health plan? Fuck you. I've known far too many people with decent insurance plans that get screwed around by their insurance companies - my parents, a friend with a really serious problem with depression, a relative that needed physical therapy for her back, the mother of a girlfriend who is a school teacher and needs a lot of meds for her rheumatoid arthritis. The system is mad and inhumane and unworthy of a modern, wealthy nation. America didn't get wealthy by repeatedly saying "fuck you, work harder, conform" to its people.
When all is said and done, what does American society support that France, Britain or Germany doesn't for a member of the middle class? Nominally lower taxes (but with no health care) ... um ...
And I suppose that's my point - America is a great country with a brilliant set of political ideals, but it certainly isn't exceptional and is failing itself and the world for not living up to its own rhetoric. We're no longer living in the post-war world - for the middle classes living standards are pretty much the same throughout Europe (similar consumer goods, retail cultures, etc) - and those standards are higher than those in America - quality food, quality goods along with the cheap(ish) computer/electrical goods. Sorry, but Americans do NOT live in "the best of all possible worlds" anymore.
Contribute more - and demand more - of your government.
Tom Clancy didn't write that it would be either Larry Ferguson or Donald Stewart. I don't believe that interchange occurred in the book, only in the movie.
I personally think it's going a bit too far to systematically demand passports from people's from states that don't support the REAL-ID act.
I'm no security expert, but I might agree that under the current circumstances a legal requirement that you must be able to show an ID to a police officer when asked isn't totally stupid. On the other hand ... how hard is it for dedicated terrorists (or criminals} to get hold of a legitimate ID? Seriously ... what terrorist worth his salt would try to enter the US with a phony ID? Border checks may be mechanical and conducted by less-than-totally-bright underpaid people, but they *can* spot fake IDs. And home-grown terrorists? Why shouldn't they have perfectly good IDs up to and until they strike?
The only thing you might do better with those databases is what the Germans called "Rasterfahndung". Which basically is database mining for any criterion that might let you select a set of people with higher probability of being a terrorist than those outside. It's like mining gold from seawater. It can be done, but it's much more costly and less effective than conventional methods of policing. So I'm still a bit hazy on the benefits of REAL-ID.
The downside is of course that central government's knowledge of, and hold on, those 250-odd million of us who are no security risk at all increases substantially. Not to mention all those massive juicy databases with personal information that will have to be built. Nobody's going to try and target them for identity theft, there will be no un-authorised access by private investigators, nor will there be any accidental leakages at all ... honest.
To my chagrin, and to my substantial amazement, I find my previous post being taken seriously. Did I inadvertently say something that makes sense in my first post? Ordinary Americans so much of a security risk that you really have to keep an eye on them and trace their movements? I should hope not.
It's ok, the reverse is also true - people from outside the USA turn down jobs in the USA because they are in the USA.
> And let me note that in France, ID is nationally issued and you're required to carry it
> everywhere.
Uh, no.
There is such a thing as a national ID card, but having one is optional since 1955 (and free since 1998). As far as I can tell, you are only to carry a driving license to your name when at the wheel, and you have to be able to prove you're not an illegal immigrant -- hence your working visa.
Mind, I could write whole BOOKS on the ways in which France sucks, so don't take the above wrong; I just thought I'd point out some factually wrong element in your otherwise interesting comment.
-- B.
This sig does in fact not have the property it claims not to have.
Which is why, of course, the PP didn't suggest Switzerland was a huge security risk. It's not the what, it's the why. Americans, he said, have guns because they're scared of other Americans. The Swiss have guns because that's their unique security measure.
Look out!
...Kein Papieren? Kommen Sie mit, Schwein!
For those that don't know it, those "police state tactics" have been around in some countries for ages. In some countries in good ol' Europe, the police has the right to ask you, out on the street, out of the blue, for your ID. If you're unable to produce one, they have the right to arrest you until your ID can be determined, either by finding out in the database or by having someone coming to you (who has a real ID) who can identify you.
... I don't know if in the current climate in the USA, there would also be a difference between theory and reality...
Fortunately there's a slight difference between theory and reality. So far, nobody ever bothered to ask me whether I'm really me. Including demonstrations (even including one against the visit of prez Bush) and other expressions of free speech that I was part of.
But, let's get to the cost part: What the hell is so expensive? Let's even just assume that it downscales to 25 bucks a person neatly, without any additional overhead independent of people observed, even that would be beyond anything but sensible.
Not to mention that it's basically pointless. And
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
All these events, this one, and all those leading here, seem just so weird. It's like since the US didn't go through all those "nice" things that happened in the 2/3 of the last century in large parts of Europe, they seem to think they need to make their citizens experience those times. I'm not taking sides now, all this being good or bad, but it's weird nevertheless. For me, well, no surprises, I got used to such things, since I was born, but I have no idea how I'd take this if I would've been born and living in the US for a lfietime.
I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I can think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do.
It'll be a lot more funny if/when the police aren't allowed to bring criminal defendants (esp. "John Doe's") into court for arraignment due to lack of "proper" ID.
And if the courts do allow a "John Doe" to be arraigned (which they'll pretty much have to) it seems like some lawyer will claim its a violation of the "equal protection" clause the next time they refuse entry to a civil defendant unless he/she's paid the tithe for a Passport.
When people revolt against this real id thing or any other of the patriot acts, weather they are American citizens with all the rights or legal immigrants with green cards, they are going to be considered terrorist. That is the next step and its already into law . At this point, anything can be considered to be "threatening" the security or integrity of Irak, as this law is so open an vague, this is the first real fascist way to "control" people. People will be subject to arrest with no legal recourse, no charges, no limit of jail time, no trial. Their assets and property will be taken away, and they will end up in a gitmo type of place. Be a politician, legislator, mechanic, news person, secretary, CEO, or anything.
For those people who denied that the government would go to these links to track it's citizens, what do they now say? When I was in the military, I visited East Berlin during the cold war in 1985. The soldiers were required to attend classes that discussed the communist governments evils. Some of which included monitoring of the citizens by cameras and microphones on buildings, military on the streets, multiple layers of citizen watch groups that reported directly to the communist leadership (and not local law enforcement), government permission required to move around the country, and the constant fear induced by the communist government in order to control the citizens. I was proud to be an American and free from this tyranny we had been taught was so evil. Now, just over twenty years later, I see the same tyranny manifesting itself in our own government, at all levels. I see a government not about serving its people, but controlling them. And I am concerned.
It's no longer a conspiracy theory, unless this trend is halted, I foresee a day when the "evils" of the cold war East Germany, as taught to me by the US Government back in 1985, are common place here in America. However, this tyranny will be on a much grander scale; assisted by current and future technologies, and the virtues of a free America will only be memories or read about in the history books, until they too are rewritten.
Methinks the poster goofed up and the editors are still asleep at the wheel. State Parks are just that, run by the state, not the Federal Gubermint.
What I love is the GPS tracking device planted on these things, and how its already on the newer passports. They can track people wherever they go. Sound like the beginning of Tyranny to me. Its bad enough they tag books and have taken away habeas corpus. Now they are out to tag the whole nation like cattle by methods of fear. Bull malarkey. If the government wanted to stop immigration problems. All they have to do is enforce it with the companies hiring them. Lay a big fine like 100,000 for each illegal immigrant. I'm sure businesses would think twice before doing so. But will it happen... no. Because the the businessmen in government are involved in it. Check out this video Zeitgeist and start your journey to the truth behind the governments scheme of control. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4972518193 35380093
These sorts of things start small, and morph big. Consider Homeland Security Presidentatial Directive 12. Pretty simple.. if you're a gov't employee or need access to gov facilities, you need a ID that follows some straightforward technical measures promulgated by NIST.
BUT, Office of Personnel Management has decided that the implementation of this will include full background checks, including making sure that you are "suitable" in the context of Executive Order 10450 (you know.. the one from 1953 during the McCarthy era making sure that all gov't employees are "reliable"). All in the name of "why don't we have everyone just fill out the same form".
google HSPD12 and you'll find plenty of side effects..
Yikes.
Hmm. Pointless to complain about the erosion of freedoms when many don't use them anyway.
I am very small, utmostly microscopic.
Oh of course you did. You of course were not part of the teeming apathetic masses who only complain when ththeir agenda is trodden upon, but fail to exercise the control that democracy has given them. Control that is slowly eroding mainly because many folks simply will not take the time to vote certain a-shole out of office. No... this of course does not describe you.
A/C. Interesting.
I am very small, utmostly microscopic.
Yes, Virginia, America did lose a war.
r icolor_replaces_ediso.html/ . IMHO Verizon has a moral obligation to require IDDD (complete with CCITT5/R1 MF dialling in the background to demonstrate how foreign it has become) to call Edison, NJ: +91 732 NXX XXXX. Perhaps passports should be presented when entering and exiting there as well.
In 1965, the immigration laws were liberalized (Hart-Celler Act). In 1969, the US government went into deficit spending. In 1981, the federal debt accelerated beyond control. Today, there exist political infrastructures that have successfully defeated border control. Potentially hostile nations now hold significant fractions of the federal debt. Hate crime laws passed by nearly all the 50 US states have been shown to protect terrorist supporting communities. Never forget the loophole that lets the H1B visa holders jump the track to the citizenship process.
The US military is currently comprised of those of european, african, and latino origin. These are the defenders of American opportunities. With no thanks to unchecked meritocracy especially in relation to college scholarships and a curious quirk in civil rights jurisprudence, those who are benefiting therefrom are Asian. These are woefully underrepresented in our military. These see America as nothing more or other than a money machine. They see themselves as 'too educated to get their hands dirty' i.e. top caste of the system. Their conduct states "Let the big-nosed barbarians defend our properties, enterprises and investments, for it is the recompense for centuries of colonial abuses."
Why should they assimilate? It is unlawful to compel their assimilation, for it has been demonstrated to be a violation of their 'civil rights'. Millions have already been naturalized, their children alreadly having been born here. They are raised to have political savvy to vote as if their minds were still overseas, thanks to 'community centers' that negate the assimilation process in the public schools and the media.
Check this out: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2007/08/indian_t
Economic sovereignty, political sovereignty, and cultural sovereignty are in a rock-scissors-paper relationship and the civil rights movement disrupted cultural sovereignty.
Submission as evidence constitutes plaintiff and/or prosecutorial misconduct.
Not showing for jury duty results in you being charged with contempt of court (or something of that nature), around here.
Checking in with the clerk of courts means you have to get inside the building. No Real ID, no access, proceed directly to jail.
How appropriate, the captcha is "anarchic".
*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*... muffled voices... vague sounds of a struggle... the slamming of a van door, and the van driving off.
Karmatic, I'm really not sure that want I agree with a hell of a lot that you say. To some extent, I see it as symptomatic of that whole "Don't trust any government under any circumstances, and you've gotta own guns so the King of England can't take you back, and elected corrupt judges and officials and sherrifs are better than appointed professionals who may or may not have a high degree of integrity" mindset that, from my point of view, is half the problem with the United States. Your founding fathers wanted out from under the thumb of an oppressive foreign power and its appointed corrupt officials. Things have moved on the last 200 years though, and in some ways Canada and Ausstralia are far better off with their unelected police and judges and garbage collection officials than you are.
The problem is, though, given *how* things are in the United States right now, and the direction things seem to be moving in, I can see how the kind of armed dissent you're advocating can be seen as the only alternative. Thoroughly ingrained in your history and your culture is the idea that the American Revolutionary War was a right and just struggle, and that tyranny should be opposed by the people... you've even got things like bits of your constitution at least paying lip-service to that idea. Your government has to realise that too, and must see any group which would take that seriously enough to want to try to arm and protect themselves as a threat to be stamped out... not so much because they presently pose a direct threat to the government, but because they set a precedent or example for others who *might* pose a real threat to those in power. That little incident in Waco may have been not so much about them directly posing a threat as it was about providing a disincentive for any other group that might want to water the tree of liberty with the blood of tyrants and patriots.
So, I don't know... are you delusional and paranoid and dangerous, or the inevitable - and desirable - product of 200+ years of American history? I find both options disquieting and depressing, but I thank you for making this foreigner uncomfortable and only hope you can make enough of your countrymen uncomfortable enough for them to think seriously about ways toward a better life without a need for bloodshed - and without the need for you to hope the shout of "Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms" at your door is just a delivery.
Thanks, you made my day.
Stick Men
Most the military takes what it does very seriously. Then there are the political officers. In the months before 9/11, the Cheney administration changed the procedure so that NORAD had to get permission from the Secretary of Defense before they could intercept an off-course airplane. Before the civilian air traffic controllers & NORAD did the intercept thing on a regular basis.
But wait, we don't believe in conspiracies here. Hmm.
Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
www.teslabox.com
The IDs will be required for access to all federal areas including flights, state parks and
federal buildings.
I am assuming this is a misprint, since when did state parks get gobbled up by the fed.
... and in fact I cast an absentee ballots for the 2004 Presidential election. You're right, the vote is the primary means of our collective expression of political will - we really do need to exercise the right to vote no matter in which country we live. I vote here, too and am deeply involved in politics at the local (council) level.
Actually according to some researchers (mainly Sudhir Venkatesh, who's heavily quoted in Freakonomics ), most drug-gang members make far sub-minimum wage -- they'd make more money working at McDonalds, if that was the goal. And your chances of getting killed while dealing much higher than they are in Iraq (1 in 2000 as opposed to allegedly 1 in 4 if you're dealing crack, although the latter sounds a little high). The best explanation I've heard for gang activity is psychological; it's a prestige job, one you do for respect and a lack of attractive alternatives, not one you do for money.
While an Army private doesn't get paid hugely well, they don't do horribly either, particularly when you consider that their salary is almost entirely "take-home pay" (they're not paying for food/rent/healthcare). Plus, it's just not that easy to spend money when you're deployed, which is also when you make the most bonus pay (and get some decent tax breaks -- in an unusual show of decency by the government, combat pay is tax free). Although the pay-per-hour isn't great, it's not unusual to come back from deployment with a sizable amount of savings.
Is soldiering as profitable a career as borrowing money to get a business degree and working for a corporation? Not nearly. But it's not as bad as it's sometimes made out to be, if that's what you really want to do. The problem with the military right now is that they've basically tapped out the supply of 'risk junkies' who actually want to do the job, and have started to deploy people who are only in the service because they thought it was an easy way to get a college education (and who had no real interest in being in the military outside of that). IMO, this is why there are far worse morale problems in the Army than in the Marines -- the Marines were always fairly clear in their recruiting what you were signing up to do, and drew people who actually want to do 'crazy Marine shit;' the Army (until recently) was billing itself as a disaster-relief and college scholarship program, leading to accusations of a bait-and-switch.
"Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
See subject. It's just one more nail in the coffin. The next step is you'll need a passport just to *drive* across State lines.
I've had roughly the same thought on this, although I didn't know that passports could be denied to people who allegedly owe money to a state for child support. The thought I had specifically was what happens when a person without a passport (perhaps for the reason you mention), and who lives in a problematic state, is sued in a Federal court? Is he to be utterly denied the ability to respond, because he can't even enter the courtroom? Is it Constitutional to, for example, require him to retain counsel to represent him remotely because he can't enter the courtroom grounds himself? What about compelled or even voluntary witnesses in Federal criminal cases? This entire affair is opening up a real can of worms, as you (implicitly) pointed out.
A truly excellent pizza parlor is a delight unto the heavens. Treasure the sauce and the toppings!
My main source of news is from the BBC and the Guardian, along with CNN and other various outlets. Because I know that I can't trust either side to be completely unbiased on any topic ever. So I read both sides on most subjects I'm interested, even when I don't agree with one side. I know I'm a stupid biased American. And as such, I can recognize your biased opinions as well.
And just because I don't know what's going on in Chile, Barbados, or Germany, that doesn't mean I don't care. It means that I don't have the time to read every piece of news that comes out of every single source. I have a life, a girlfriend, and a job. I'll take ignorance of 3/4 of the world over no life, no girlfriend, and no job.
Also, so this isn't a total reply. Look at it this way, from a tweaked Slashdot Post Score standpoint:
When you are born, the country you were born to gets a rating of 100. As your life progresses, when good things happens (relating to life in that country) the country gets +1, when bad things happen -1. Every other country will have a similar rating but which starts at 0. Whatever country has the highest rating for you would be the "greatest country in the world" or whatever title your personality chooses for top prize. Currently, my rating for America is pretty low right now.
The downside of being killed is the upside of being dead.
"So tell me right now what's going in Papua New Guinea and why you care."
I'm not making outrageous statements about living in the greatest country in the world, and such nonsense, so I don't see why you think you got me in any way because I don't know anything about Papua New Guinea. I'm just tired of the stupid claims that Americans have made and are still making all the time about their country being superior to every other place.
Anyway, you don't seem like the type of person that claims America is supreme to every other nation, but I interpreted your previous post like that which is why I got into aggressive mode. Sorry about that.
For those of you who have never applied for a passport before, here's a comparison:
I moved to Japan in Sept 2004. Before leaving, I had to get a passport. IIRC, the form said "please allow six weeks for delivery."
In three years, we've gone from a six week to three months waiting period.
People have had to show their internal passports every time they buy a plane ticket, or an inter-state rail ticket, for decades now. What's this latest palaver about?
Oh, hang on - you're talking about Uh-Meri-Kah? I thought that you were talking about Russia. (Which reminds me to sort out the daughter's Russian internal passport before her international passport expires.) Just think of the possibilities for bureaucratic incompetence and trouble-causing that will exist when you've got your state ID cards, federal ID cards, drivers licenses and international passports which you've got to keep up to date and synchronised. Better start getting those new jails built - you're going to be needing them.
Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
..but cannot fly a commercial airline without a federal passport unless in a state that mandates Real-ID?
Uhhh, no...
I think it's getting high time for armed insurrection, although we should discriminate and insure the targets are the ones high on the food chain that are pushing this bullshit.
Bah passports.. I'll just show my military ID. If they question it, I'll just say I'm bringing democracy to Yosemite.
https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
You don't get out much, do you? Check out http://www.westegg.com/inflation/, and try the US from 1800-1850, and 1850-1900. Looking at the latter case first, what cost $100 US in 1850 cost $100.10 in 1900 - virtual price stability over half a century! In the former case, what cost $100 in 1800 cost less than $49 in 1850. Now read that last sentence over slowly for maximum comprehension - prices actually fell by half in the years 1800-1850.
From 1900-1950, prices roughly tripled. From 1950-2000, prices roughly went up by a factor of 7. So if you're trying to say that recent inflation has been less than it was in, say, the 1970's, I'll agree with you, but your original statement is pure nonsense.
Now maybe you mean cost of living. Yes that has gone up, but not so much do to increase costs, those have been steadily dropping as well in terms of real dollars, but in terms of people's expectations.
Now, this is truly hilarious. What is the substantive difference between "cost of living" and "inflation"? Here's the Statistics Canada definition of cost of living:
A cost-of-living adjustment is used to offset a change (usually a decrease) in the purchasing power of income. Cost-of-living adjustments modify future benefits, typically on an annual basis, to keep pace with inflation. These adjustments are usually linked to changes as measured by an index of movements in prices; the most widely used is the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
I'll be the first to admit that there are many different ways to measure inflation, although the CPI is often the most common. The "GDP deflator" is another popular measure; it is usually very close to the CPI figure.
Now, since you're clearly economically illiterate, let me fill you in a couple of not so widely hidden secrets. 1) Since both the US and Canadian governments are on the hook for huge entitlement programs, such as welfare, pensions, etc., all of which are subject to annual COLA changes, both governments have a vested interest in the keeping that COLA number as low as possible. Now, in 2003-2004, the average US household spent 34% of its net income on housing, 18% on transportation, and 13% on food; that's 65% of total disposable income. Doesn't leave a whole lot for those "wants" you rant on about, especially when you consider that health care and insurance/pensions eat up another 15% of income. (http://www.bls.gov/ro6/fax/cex_hou.htm) However, whenever you see "core CPI", it's usually accompanied by the phrase "not including volatile food and energy components". Meanwhile, housing expenses have been adjusted down to reflect the low rates people are paying on "teaser" mortgages that offered low initial rates, no down payment, no principal repayment, "overmortgaging" (i.e. providing a mortgage worth $130,000 on a $100,000 house - sweet, you've got $30k to buy a new car!), etc. Now, when those mortgages get reset this year and next (you have been reading about the sub-prime crisis, haven't you?), what do you want to bet that "volatile housing costs" will also be excluded from the government stats?
And that's not even discussing the "hedonic" adjustments, where beauraucrats attempt to divine how much recent improvements in processor speeds, lower RAM and disk costs, etc. have lowered the "real" cost of computing resources. (I'll be the first to admit that the 512k RAM, 10MB disk Mac that I bought for $3,000 Cdn in 1985 was far more expensive in real terms than the Dell Pentium4 running at 2.8 Ghz with 512 MB RAM, and an 80 GB hard disk for $800 Cdn paid two years ago.) However, how do you compute the decrease in the cost of living from having 4 blades on your razor instead of 2? From having 4 or 6 airbags in your car instead of 2? In short, the official statistics are giggered to produce a consistently
What was once true, is no longer so
Got police state?
---- Put Sig here:
The 9/11 commission report recommended real id
It's only as long as they are federal.
Confiscation should at least solve that problem...
i must say that i have lived overseas now for 5 years serving in the military and i have no drive to return to the U.S.
*your personal freedoms have been stiped away
*the government is just as inefective as anywhere else
*the media runs the political scene
*no one wants to punish criminals
*no on wants to spend money on making america better just "safer"
oh well, i hope i can remain overseas for the rest of my active duty time and hopefully retire here in korea.
I am so sick of additions to and expansions of the National Security Act. This was supposed to be temporary (like Social Security was). What do we expect to have to show for it? To be more like the countries whose regimes we oppose?
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
We had to destroy the USA in order to 'liberate' it.......
I think you and I are the only persons to realize this.
A ha ha ha ha ha ha! Oh, Slashdot, you do amuse.
Get over yourself, you utter dumb ass!
Yeah, Electric "Fuck Me In The Ass, Daddy!" Rook and some other geek twat are the only two who know THE TROOTH!
Just fucking die. People like you are the real problem in this world. Know it alls who actually know NOTHING.
...I'm glad to be such a complete misanthrope. I love anything that fucks with the population. :-) I totally want to be appointed the National I.D. Czar. I'd wear my Evil Overlord cape to work, and come up with the most degrading things for people to do to get their IDs. Oh, and eventually you'd need the ID card to use a public toilet or buy a pack of gum. Mwah ha ha ha ha!
And your Slashdot number would be replaced by your ID number. No ID? No Slashdot. Oh the irony!
You should at least mention that this was due to the industrial revolution, which was basically Moore's law applied to manufacturing and distribution. The overall production and transportation base in the US grew like crazy during this period, so manufacturers coulds sell things for 1/2 as much and still make a profit.
We are the 198 proof..
Talk about shooting themselves in the foot.
That's just because we don't hear about Switzerland in general. They also have a high incidence of handgun violence.
Your kidding right? Yor vote means exactly D!CK in the US anymore. I've been voting for 23 years straight and still haven't seen my vote do a damn bit of good. And I refuse to vote Democrat or Republican there is NO difference between those two Nazi /Communist parties. Yes as a matter of fact I do write my congressmen but the general reply is "thank you for your letter and I'll take your comments under consideration." They only thing they listen to is how big a check they get. If your not sending them a big fat check your words are not listend to. You can't get enough people in this country p!$$ed off enough to en-mass vote out EVERY SINGLE one of the Jerk offs in office. I'm talking about wiping the board and starting with a clean slate. That is the ONLY way you will get any kind of chnage. Quit letting Corporations and the mafia keep the same jokers in office. As long as we -still- have teh 2nd amendment we at least have ONE way to take our government and country back. Oh wait your average American is to FAT and LAZY to get off they DEAD @$$ to care! They like being a sheep and/or lemming. I think the only ones that may be up to the job are the Militia's and Rednecks (no offense). How many of the Slashdot crowd in the US own their own firearms and would have the b@ll$ to use them if need be? There is one here, my family fought in every war this country has fought to include the Revolutionary and Civil war so I have no problem stepping up. Do you?????
The Truth is a Virus!!!
From TFA:
But, Walsh said, "any state that's refusing to implement this key recommendation by the 9/11 Commission, and whose state driver's licenses are as a result used in another terrorist attack, should be held responsible."
I've heard of people hijacking planes with guns, knives, even box-cutters. I don't think I'd ever be able to sharpen my driver's license down sharp enough to be in line with a prison shank.
How hard do you think it would be for a "terrorist" already living in this country to get one of these IDs at the DMV? From my own experience those workers probably aren't the best and the brightest.
And they said zombies weren't real!
I believe that this was a temporary surge because of the new (January 07) requirement to have a passport to visit Canada and Mexico. Things appear to have returned to normal. For those of you who are considering applying, here's a current comparison: I submitted my passport application on June 22 this year. I did not pay an expedite fee. I had the document in my hands on August 1 (two days short of six weeks).
Not to be a jerk, but...
If you make more than 300K/yr, your not going to be paying that much in taxes, because you are probably smart, know how to read, claim exemptions, and sock your $$ away for retirement in tax shelters like realestate, 401k's, and IRA's and gambling losses.
I don't know many people who pay taxes on a flat rate of their gross income. There are many ways to make 300k / year look like 100,000.
I don't even gross xx, but my taxable income is 1/2.
How much is your data worth? Back it up now.
You are perfectly correct. I didn't feel the need to point out the reasons *why* prices fell in response to the OP; just to point out that his assertion that current inflation levels are lower than at any time in US history was pure nonsense.
However, I would also note that from 1900-2000, we saw the introduction of the production line, the tremendous growth of both electricity and telephone networks, significantly more dependable and less expensive shipping, and, of course, the entire computer/internet/software revolution, yet the average price level increased by a factor of twenty during that period. (I don't say this to be snotty, just to say that increasing industrial productivity is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for price stability. Some irresponsible wags might suggest that the price increases of the 20th century were due to the complete abandonment of metal-backed money for fiat currency, but such thought is counter-revolutionary, and must be surpressed.)
What was once true, is no longer so
Well, I guess all there is left to do is huddle in the corner of my room with all my guns, surrounded by my Bad Religion and Rise Against CD's...waiting for them to take both away.
Then all I'll have is my copy of 1984. Well, its entertainment...and I could use it as a weapon if I throw it hard enough.
As someone who pays way more than $75k/yr in federal taxes, I do not object to paying taxes. I do, however, object to the government wasting my money.
I work hard for what I earn and I do not waste money. When my government takes my money under threat of sending large men with guns to my home to collect it, I'd appreciate it if they'd at least take a little care with how they spend it.
They don't grade fathers, but if your daughter's a stripper, you fucked up. --Chris Rock
is that this once /. joke is modded as insightful and not funny.
Honestly.
I mod everyone down who says "I'll get modded down for this." I hate to disappoint.
Hell, you even see it with the geek's entertainment, whether it be arguing about Star Wars or failing to realize that Monty Python and the Holy Grail isn't funny when the geek retells it.