My wife and I just renewed our expired passports.
We have no plans to travel outside of the US, but the wonderful State of Minnesota has stalled and stalled on complying with the Real ID law for its driver's licenses. They're finally working on implementing that, but they won't be available easily until after the deadline. You can get an "Enhanced DL" that is compliant for a fee, but there's a catch in that, too:
It seems that Minnesota's department that handles licenses and registrations decided to update the software that handles all of that. For the bargain price of $90 million, they got the new system, installed it, at which time it broke and still isn't working properly. Title transfers, license tab renewals and, of course, driver's licenses are on a very, very slow track these days. So, converting my non-compliant DL to a Real ID-compliant Enhanced DL would take months to complete, and the deadline for needing such a thing is fast approaching.
So, new passports for us. While that takes a bit of time, as well, this is the slow season and we'll have them well in advance of the time we'll need them to get on a plane at MSP or visit the Social Security Office or Federal Courts building, all of which will soon require a Real ID-compliant ID. A Passport will work just fine.
I write this for two reasons: If you live in MN and don't already have an Enhanced DL, check your passport. If you don't have one or it has expired or is about to expire, take care of that soon. You'll avoid the gnashing of teeth and tearing of hair that will soon ensue. Besides, having a current passport is always a good idea. You never know when some rich relative will invite you along on a round-the-world trip on short notice and it would be a shame if you had to decline because you didn't have a passport. Really.
Anyhow, passports now cost $110 with normal processing and 4-6 week delivery, or $170 for expedited processing. Check it out!
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for some reason. I don't know why, unless it's because we always reserve exit row seats. I don't mind carrying my passport, though, at least until I get my DL renewed when it expires. At that time, I'll opt for the Real ID version of the license.
Really, though, it's a good idea to have a valid passport. I mean, when we win the Powerball jackpot, we're going to travel all sorts of places, so I want to have my passport ready. 
Here's a funny story, though, about passports. When I started freelance writing as a career, my business card had a line on it that said, : "Valid passport; Will travel" I put that on there as a joke to myself. As if someone was going to give me an assignment that required international travel. As it turned out, though, one publication I sent a query letter to called me and asked if I was available to do a story that required travel to Brazil. "Sure," I told the editor, who had only seen samples of my work. Two days later, I was on a plane. The story didn't pay that well, but the trip was paid for, so it was all good. I wrote up the story about that company's excavating equipment being used at a mine in Brazil as soon as I got back. It was published along with the photos I took. I guess putting that line on my business card turned out to be a good idea.
You just never know when you'll need that passport, I guess.
renewed. I always travel wearing a sports coat or blazer, since the pockets are useful in the TSA line. It will actually be easier to show a passport than to dig my wallet out and extract my DL. It will fit in one of the inside pockets neatly.
But, still, Damn MN for not taking care of this already! I mean, really. It's not the only state, but the delay in implementation was a dick move on the legislature's part.
I really have no out-of-country travel plans right now, but when I win the Powerball lottery, that will change immediately!
The really bad thing about Real ID driver's licenses is the documentation you have to provide to get them the first time. In states with Voter ID laws, that is being used to suppress the votes of people who have trouble with documentation. I know people who have no idea what county they were born in, so getting a birth certificate is a real challenge, especially if they don't have a computer to look that information up and request a copy.
There are still many people in this country who actually never had a birth certificate. Most are old now, but it's an issue. In other cases, people have lost those documents and have no idea how to get replacements for BCs, naturalization papers and other required documents. In some states, getting a certified copy of a birth certificate is a trial of its own, as well. There are places where all birth records have even disappeared or have been lost. It's a mess.
That is one of the enormous flaws in Voter ID, and is one of the reasons so many states that want to suppress the votes of poor people, uneducated people, immigrants who are naturalized, etc. They believe that such people would vote for Democrats, so they try to keep them from voting.
sat for them yet. It's hilarious. The spaces for them are empty in federal buildings. Perhaps they know they won't be in office long enough for it to matter.
