This excellent paper on a subject that does not seem to interest Democrats at all this week. I am not sure why, as this seems very important, particularly given the way it was put in the bill in the Conference Report and will not be debated in the Senate.
I am curious to know if any Democratic Senator has already taken on position on this bill.
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/show_me_your_papers.phpShow Me Your Papers"
Robert Dreyfuss
May 09, 2005
Robert Dreyfuss is a freelance writer based in Alexandria, Va., who specializes in politics and national security issues. He is a contributing editor at The Nation, a contributing writer at Mother Jones, a senior correspondent for The American Prospect, and a frequent contributor to Rolling Stone.
In the wake of 9/11, a renewed push was launched for a bad, old idea: a national ID card. The Big Brother-style idea, scary to most Americans, was repeatedly rejected in the past, especially in the 1970s and 1980s, and polls show that it isn’t favored now. Led by Newt Gingrich and other authoritarian personalities, including Oracle’s Larry Ellison—who offered free software—there was an overt effort after 9/11 to enact it into law, but it died when it became clear that enthusiasm in Congress was lacking. Since then, backers reverted to a sly campaign to establish a “back door” national ID system, building on the idea of a single, national database of drivers licenses. In 2004, the chief sponsor of the latest effort, Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, R.-Wis., tried to include it in last year’s intelligence bill—but he failed then, too.
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