Ok so I lied about the Car area networks being next..I'll get to them soon..

 Following on from a recent entry by Bruce Schnier  on the implications of the stunningly names "RealId" act  where the state tries to impose a level of definition on reality  that  would annoy philosophers , you are annoyed aren't you?  Anyway  over to Schnier,

The first problem is the card itself. No matter how unforgivable we make it, it will be forged. We can raise the price of forgery, but we can’t make it impossible. Real IDs will be forged.

Even worse, people will get legitimate cards in fraudulent names. Two of the 9/11 terrorists had valid Virginia driver’s licenses in fake names. And even if we could guarantee that everyone who issued national ID cards couldn’t be bribed, cards are issued based on other identity documents -- ­all of which are easier to forge.

And we can’t assume that everyone will always have a Real ID. Currently about 20% of all identity documents are lost per year. An entirely separate security system would have to be developed for people who lost their card, a system that itself would be susceptible to abuse.

So here's what DHS had to say at  a hastily arranged and SOLO  public meeting on the impact of a program that will cost the States, oh that's funny the state has no money... that will cost YOU  collectively  20 Billion dollars. 

We are trying to make sure no state is the weakest link in letting people do things they shouldn't do, whether that is boarding an airplane, or any other activity we want to prevent," he said. "This is not a national ID card."

The sparsely attended meeting, which was the only public forum on Real ID planned by DHS, was announced only eight days ago.

Members of the Coalition for a Secure Driver's License, an advocacy group founded after 9/11, provided almost all of the citizen support for the rules.

Yeah it's not an id card in the same way that the Hollerith Machines were just  for genealogical purposes. K that's at the extreme of the argument though it's provable by a quick look at the last few  buearocratic dictatorships.

 So here's my  objections which apart from the obvious on that it won't work and all you gain from claiming something is "secure" is the  happy feeling  of feeling secure.Like your door locks that most of you have  faith as a device to keep the bad guys out I can circumvent in  10  -20 seconds cleanly , those with a pick resistance ones have them in frames that can't withstand  a good foot,  or a screwdriver to the plug / hammer  are noisier and messier but not that much of a barrier.  When people think something is secure they stop thinking about it, and it becomes defacto pass. The people at Fry's don't know that my DL is real, Harkin's employees other than looking like they need fake id to get a drink   I'm sure are no subject matter expert on them anyway , nor my immigration card or passport. All the dmv clerks are going to be?  HA we just got a Birth Cert for Erin without all the checks being made  BUT our legally born  kid  was a total nightmare to register  based on a chicken and egg situation.

We don't have SSN, they said   yes you do we sent it,  replacement only with a copy of the birth cert.

Birth people:  Sorry we can't do that without an SSN

Think about what your DL is  and how it's a defacto national internal passport  / ID and the problems of suddenly not having one due to being  caught in a three way tie between several state agencies ( not in your own state makes it more fun)   Do you even want to guess at how much lost productivity  this will cause?   Is it more believable that  low level state functionaries will stop the next atrocity  or would you prefer 20 billion to go to something  that may have an effect?

Source: DHS Sweats Out National ID Town Hall Meeting -