On 2005-05-09T12:22:22-0700, cypherpunk wrote:

We already have de facto national ID in the form of our state driver's licenses. They are accepted at face value at all 50 states as well as by the federal government. Real ID would rationalize the issuing procedures and require a certain minimum of verification. Without it we have security that is only as strong as the weakest state's policies.

States should be free to regulate DRIVERS however they want. The DL was not meant to be an ID card, and if it was that intent was unconstitutional. The entire DL scheme may be unconstitutional anyway, but oh well. What do we need "security" for? We need security because a lot of people hate the U.S., and because we won't close our borders, and because society has become too diverse. There is a significant correlation between cultural diversity/proximity and social unrest. That does not require people of different races; put white klansmen next to white members of the Black Panthers and you have the same thing. None of those three core problems will be solved by RealID. Therefore, while RealID may make some difference at the margins, it cannot be very effective.