Papers, Please!

The Identity Project

Author Archives: admin

May 17 2007

The Identity Project’s Comments Against Real ID

Real ID requires states to act as Federal agents in the unwise policy of turning our transportation systems into a dragnet for law enforcement. Americans must increasingly prove they are not on secret government lists in order to travel or generally function in their own country. This is wrong. Contrary to DHS’ mantra that “we must do everything to prevent terrorism,” we must not surrender our hard won liberty and then falsely believe ourselves safer or patriotic in doing so.

Other have addressed the financial cost and inconvenience this program imposes upon the states and their citizens, the violation of state sovereignty and the commandeering of their resources by the federal government, and the privacy and security concerns surrounding the gathering, maintaining, and sharing this huge amount of data. Briefly addressed here is whether the intended use of Real ID achieves its goals, and a warning that the path we are on is a dangerous one.

Click here to read our comments in full.

Dec 13 2006

Targeting the Automated Targeting System

The DHS has been illegally operating a scheme for at least four years that assigns a terrorist risk assessment score to any American who crosses the border by air; and retains all the data used to generate the score for 40 years. The “Automated Targeting System”, which DHS Chertoff has described as “righteous”, has been operating illegally for several years, despite a specific ban by Congress on any and all risk assessment scoring on US citizens.

The time to speak out against this illegal, un-American program is now. DHS is trying to paper-up it’s illegal scheme by publishing a notice in the Federal Register.

We’ve set up an easy way for you to submit your comments without having to navigate the Byzantine labyrinth that is the Federal Register. Simply click here to be taken to a user-friendly submission form.

The comment period closes December 29th, so now is the time to have your say.

Nov 14 2006

Gilmore v. Gonzales: Amici Weigh In, the Feds Respond

In John Gilmore’s request to the Supreme Court to hear his secret law case, yesterday afternoon was a busy time on the east coast. Three Friends of the Court (amicus) briefs were filed on Gilmore’s behalf by the Reporter’s Committee for Freedom of the Press, the Electronic Freedom Foundation, and the Electronic Privacy Information Center. Good reads, all.

Also yesterday, the Feds filed their opposition brief in the case.

May 09 2006

Alaska Says ‘No’ To REAL ID

Alaska struck the first legal blow in the fight against a national ID card by refusing to pass legislation to bring the state in line with REAL ID requirements.

The bill, SB-189, breezed through the state’s rubber stamp Senate before being killed by a duo of freedom-loving legislators in the House of Representatives.

Who are these heroes of the Bill of Rights? Front and center is Rep. Paul Seaton of Homer, a commercial fisherman and Chairman of the House State Affairs Committee. Through his leadership and by voting against fellow Republicans, Rep. Seaton killed SB-189 and beat back a last minute attempt to resurrect the bill by his party. The party paid him back by killing most, if not all of his own bills.

Assisting him in fighting-off REAL ID was Rep. Max Gruenberg of Anchorage, the former House majority leader when it was under Democratic control. Rep. Gruenberg worked across party lines to make sure that this piece of un-American legislation died on the vine.

The Identity Project is proud to have been involved in testifying before the State Affairs Committee and providing the information needed to make sure that the oppression of a national ID card never hits the shores of the Last Frontier.

Alaska has said ‘no’ to a national ID card: which other state will love freedom enough to follow in their footsteps?

Mar 23 2006

Denver RTD routes its passengers around Federal ID checks

The Denver Post reports that the RTD bus system is proposing to reroute three bus lines which currently go through the Denver Federal Center. These buses will be routed around the Federal Center so that their passengers will not be harassed by Federal marshals and rent-a-cops to cough up an ID card or be arrested.

Two other routes that terminate in the Federal Center will continue.

“RTD attempted to resolve the dispute in a way that would allow buses to continue passing through the federal campus, but inconsistent enforcement of the ID requirement made the bus service unpredictable for commuters, agency spokesman Scott Reed said.”

Passengers and employees who wanted to ride buses to the Federal Center will have a long walk or an extra transfer to make.

The federal government has never offered a rationale for demanding that people show their papers in order to visit federal property. People who enter are not checked against any kind of list, nor are their names or identities recorded. A mere show of submissiveness, e.g. flashing any plastic card of the right color, usually suffices. There is also no law that requires people to show their papers to enter federal property; in fact, the law states that federal property is open to the public during business hours. This hasn’t stopped the Gestapo from imposing their own made-up rules.

Mar 07 2006

New Jersey pol legislates ‘legal name’ demand, to find and punish commenters about him

A New Jersey politician is legislating to outlaw anonymous speech on the Internet, because an online forum for his home district contains a slew of pseudonymous posts that tend to be unkind to local politicians. We suggest getting on that forum and telling him, anonymously or otherwise, that he’s a censor, a bully, and a traitor to his oath to support the Constitution. Anonymous speech and publication is fully protected by the First Amendment.