Internal Passports

["Timothy C. May" <tcmay@got.net>]

At 2:12 PM -0800 12/29/96, David Wagner wrote:
>In article <199612241223.HAA14556@homeport.org>,
>Adam Shostack  <adam@homeport.org> wrote:
>> 	(Speaking of which, is a state
>> university student ID considered 'government issued?'  How about a
>> faculty or staff ID card?)
>
>Well, when I fly they ask for 'government issued' picture ID, and
>I present my UC Berkeley student ID for inspection.  They usually
>grumble at me, but I grumble back, and in the end they've always
>accepted it.  Try it sometime.  (And yes, my student ID is probably
>eminently forgable -- it looks very ragged and unprofessional.)
>
>P.S.  At JFK I had a guy tell me that they preferred to see my
>social security card!  I was completely surprised, since it has no
>picture, and (I think) says 'this card not to be used for identification
>purposes' at the bottom.  Anyone know anything about this?

My SS card, issued in 1969 (and which I still have, surprisingly enough),
says this. Someone said recently here on the list that this line was
dropped in more recent years.

I've never once, in 29 years, been asked to show my little ragged card, and
I only have it because I kept it stored with my passport. (No employer ever
asked to see it; I haven't been employed for more than 10 years, so I can't
say anything about recent policies in the wake of the "immigration crisis.")

The current hysteria about "identification" probably does nothing to stop
real terrorists...if there's one thing they can easily afford, it's
realistic-looking ID cards, in any flavor and in any number.

What I think this means is a move toward a national ID card, replacing the
confusing (to airlines, to government agents, etc.) mishmash of state
driver's licenses, student ID cards, etc. After all, if someone doesn't
drive, and has no passport, just what _is_ there "government issued"
picture ID supposed to be, if not a national ID card? Or, as we like to
say, an "internal passport."

Or as the Christian Right likes to say, "the mark of the Beast." Big
Brother's SS number: 666-42-0000.

--Tim May



Just say "No" to "Big Brother Inside"
We got computers, we're tapping phone lines, I know that that ain't allowed.
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Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
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