URGENT: Stop National ID in TN this TUESDAY-May 3rd 2011

This definitely needs to be stopped……

Attention all Freedom and Liberty Loving Tennesseans-

The REAL ID ACT is up for vote on Tuesday 5/3/11 at 3pm. This would force Tennesseans to carry a National ID card with Biometric Technology and an RFID chip with your private information. CONTACT THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS BELOW AND TELL THEM TO VOTE YES ON HB1874 TO NULLIFY THE FEDERAL REAL-ID ACT.

See this video from TN Representative Frank Niceley about the evils of the REAL-ID act:

This would be a severe blow to the 1st, 4th, and 10th Amendment, not to mention another example of a Tyrannical Federal Govt. dictating how the States issue Driver’s Licenses.

Without this new National ID you could not enter a Federal Building, drive a car, or board an airplane.

For those unfamiliar with the REAL ID ACT, please see the link below for an interview and various videos detailing the insidious REAL ID ACT:
http://www.tennesseesonsofliberty.com/2011/04/stop-real-id-act-in-t…

You can prevent this from happening in Tennessee.. I spoke with State Representative Frank Niceley who assured me that the Committee will cave if they receive enough emails and phone calls opposing the REAL ID ACT.

Please call and email all members of the Transportation Committee… In the email title clearly state that you are against the REAL ID.

 Rep. Phillip Johnson

Phone (615) 741-7477
Fax (615) 253-0346
rep.phillip.johnson@capitol.tn.gov

Rep. Vince Dean

Phone (615) 741-1934

Fax (615) 253-0271
rep.vince.dean@capitol.tn.gov

Rep. Terri Lynn Weaver

Phone: (615) 741-2192
Fax: (615) 253-0378

rep.terri.lynn.weaver@capitol.tn.gov

Rep. Karen D. Camper

Phone: (615) 741-1898

Fax (615) 253-0211
rep.karen.camper@capitol.tn.gov

Rep. Barbara Ward Cooper

Phone (615) 741-4295
Fax (615) 253-0327
rep.barbara.cooper@capitol.tn.gov

Rep. Richard Floyd

Phone (615) 741-2746
Fax (615) 253-0304
rep.richard.floyd@capitol.tn.gov

Rep. Dale Ford

Phone (615) 741-1717

Fax (615) 253-0301

rep.dale.ford@capitol.tn.gov

Rep. Bill Harmon

Phone (615) 741-6849

Fax (615) 253-0264
rep.bill.harmon@capitol.tn.gov

Rep. Matthew Hill

Phone: 615-741-2251
Fax: 615-253-0299
rep.matthew.hill@capitol.tn.gov

Rep. Julia Hurley

Phone (615) 741-7658
Fax (615) 253-0163

rep.julia.hurley@capitol.tn.gov

Rep. Kelly Keisling

Phone (615) 741-6852

Fax (615) 253-0234
rep.kelly.keisling@capitol.tn.gov

Rep. Michael Ray “Mike” McDonald

Phone (615) 741-1980

Fax (615) 253-0336
rep.michael.mcdonald@capitol.tn.gov

Rep. Don Miller

Phone (615) 741-6877

Fax (615) 253-0323
rep.don.miller@capitol.tn.gov

Rep. Bill Sanderson

Phone: (615) 741-0718

Fax (615) 253-0214
rep.bill.sanderson@capitol.tn.gov

Rep. Tony Shipley

Phone: (615) 741-2886
Fax (615) 253-0247
rep.tony.shipley@capitol.tn.gov

Rep. Mike Sparks

Phone (615) 741-6829

Fax (615) 253-0332
rep.mike.sparks@capitol.tn.gov

Rep. Mike Stewart

Phone: (615) 741-2184

Fax (615) 253-0181
rep.mike.stewart@capitol.tn.gov

Rep. John C. Tidwell

Phone (615) 741-7098

Fax (615) 253-0315
rep.john.tidwell@capitol.tn.gov

http://www.capitol.tn.gov/house/committees/transportation.html

The vote for the REAL ID ACT will take place on Tues May 3 2011 at 3pm… Here is a link to the bill proposed by State Representative Frank Niceley to prevent Tennesseans from being forced to have a National Identification Card.

Read the bill to kill / nullify the REAL-ID act:
http://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/default.aspx?BillNumber=HB…

Smartgirl Politics

Did the Republicans Get the Tea Party Message? Reviving the Real ID Act?

Just what do the Republicans think they’re doing trying to revive the REAL ID Act? States have balked and citizens have balked. We don’t need or want an National ID card, yet the Republicans want to revive this issue? They need to remember they can be voted out of office as well next time if they aren’t careful. Tennessee rejected the Real ID Act in 2007…..good move.

A few years ago state legislatures across the nation were in an uproar over this law.  The Department of Homeland Security was forced to delay implementation of it several times.  But now it is back.  You see, this is what the federal government often does. They will try to push something very unpopular through, and if they meet resistance they will “play dead” until the uproar has died down and then they will come right back and implement it anyway.  This is what is happening with the Real ID Act.

House Republicans attempt to revive Real ID

If you’re a resident of one of at least 24 states including Arizona, Georgia, and Washington, your driver’s license may no longer be valid for boarding an airplane or entering federal buildings as of May 11, 2011.

That’s the deadline that senior House Republicans are calling on the Obama administration to impose, saying states must be required to comply with so-called Real ID rules creating a standardized digital identity card that critics have likened to a national ID.

The political problem for the GOP committee chairmen is that the 2005 Real ID Act has proven to be anything but popular: legislatures of two dozen states have voted to reject its requirements, and in the Michigan and Pennsylvania legislatures one chamber has done so.

That didn’t stop the House Republicans from saying in a letter this week to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano that “any further extension of Real ID threatens the security of the United States.” Unless Homeland Security grants an extension, the law’s requirements take effect on May 11.

“If they don’t, people won’t be able to use their driver’s licenses to get on airplanes,” says Molly Ramsdell, who oversees state-federal affairs for the National Conference of State Legislatures. “They can use a military ID. They can use some other federal ID. But they won’t be able to use a driver’s license.” (See CNET’s FAQ.)

The situation represents a setback to Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.), who championed Real ID as a way to identify terrorists and criminals. But instead of what supporters hoped would be a seamless shift to a nationalized ID card, the requirements have created a confusing patchwork of state responses–with some legislatures forbidding their motor vehicle administration from participating–and could herald chaos at airports unrivaled by any other recent change to federal law.

Sensenbrenner and two colleagues, House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and Homeland Security Chairman Peter King (R-N.Y.), said in their letter that “until Real ID is fully implemented, terrorists will continue to exploit this vulnerability to accomplish heinous purposes. The “importance of the immediate implementation of Real ID” is paramount, they said, and warned Napolitano not to extend the May 11 deadline. 

ACLU’s chart shows status of the Real ID rebellion among individual states as of 2009……..(Credit: ACLU) 

If Napolitano does not, air travelers from non-Real ID states would at least be subjected to what Homeland Security delicately calls “delays” and “enhanced security screening,” (which is unconstitutional….4th amendment) or perhaps even be denied boarding. In addition, driver’s licenses from non-Real ID states could no longer be used to access “federal facilities,” including military academies, the Pentagon, Treasury Department, the U.S. Capitol, Veterans Affairs hospitals, and some federal courthouses.

“Individuals with a driver’s license from a state that is not materially compliant with Real ID would need to go through a secondary screening”(unconstitutional….4th amendment) at airports, Wendy Riemann, Sensenbrenner’s communications director, told CNET yesterday. “I’m told this is what happens now if you were on vacation and lost your wallet and had to board a plane.” Riemann declined to answer what would happen inside federal buildings and courthouses, saying “I’m not about to get into hypotheticals.”

From the House Republicans’ perspective, the rules are clear: Real ID was signed on May 11, 2005, by President Bush, and federal agencies have had nearly six years to comply. The vote in Congress was overwhelmingly in favor of the law, part of a broader “war on terror” spending and tsunami relief bill that was approved unanimously by the Senate and by a vote of 368 to 58 in the House of Representatives. (Real ID cleared the House by a 261 to 161 vote as a standalone bill without hearings or debate.)

Since its enactment, its backers have been aggressively defending Real ID, noting that many of the hijackers on September 11, 2001, were able to fraudulently obtain U.S. driver’s licenses. Because Real ID links state DMV databases, establishes a standard bar code that can be digitally scanned, and mandates that original documents such as birth certificates be verified, backers claim the benefits extend beyond antiterror and ID fraud cases. (Extending it to firearm and prescription drug sales has not been ruled out.)

Many state governments have seen it differently and have responded by flatly refusing to abide by the federal requirements on privacy, federalism, and funding grounds. What started in early 2006 with a revolt in New Hampshire morphed into a full-scale rebellion, with dozens of states adoption opting out.

Read more at News @ C Net

Can Congress force Americans to do Anything

The Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power to “regulate commerce . . . among the several States,” and for more than 100 years federal lawmakers invoked it for a very narrow purpose—to prevent states from imposing trade barriers on each other. But today members of Congress act as if it gives them the authority to do just about anything—including forcing you to eat your vegetables.

During her Supreme Court confirmation hearings, Elena Kagan seemed to accept that the Commerce Clause could, in theory, give Congress the power to dictate what Americans eat. And what about ObamaCare’s “individual mandate,” which forces Americans to purchase health insurance? ObamaCare opponents are lining up to challenge its constitutionality, but supporters say it’s justified—you guessed it—under the Commerce Clause.

How did a clause intended as a restriction on states wind up giving Congress a green light to regulate noncommercial, local, and purely private behavior?  How will ObamaCare stand up against the legal challenges brought by the states? Legal titans John Eastman (Chapman University Law Professor) and Erwin Chemerinsky (Founding Dean, University of California, Irvine School of Law) slug it out to to determine whether or not Congress has been abusing the commerce clause.

Real ID Laws Are a National Catastrophe

Pennsylvania is poised to join 11 other states that have passed laws rejecting the federal Real ID Act. Many more have objected to it.

Passed by Congress in 2005 – without any debate – Real ID is nothing more than an attempt by Congress to strong-arm the states into accepting and funding a national ID scheme. It requires states to produce new, standardized driver’s licenses with machine-readable technology, and to create databases that hold copies of American citizens’ sensitive identity documents. The tab for all of this is expected to be nearly $17 billion, with the state governments forced to shoulder the majority of the financial burden.

Earlier this year, the Pennsylvania House unanimously passed legislation barring the implementation of Real ID. The Senate is expected to consider similar legislation this fall.

In this tight economy, it is necessary for everybody, including members of Congress and state officials, to tighten their belts and make budgetary decisions based on priorities. States should not be forced to change their priorities or raise taxes and fees because of an unfunded federal mandate – especially not one that offers false security at the expense of our privacy and civil liberties.

Gov. Edward Rendell knows Pennsylvania’s priorities better than Congress and federal bureaucrats in the Department of Homeland Security. He has made it a priority to improve the state’s infrastructure. The governor has committed significant financial resources to rebuilding 411 of the state’s 6,034 structurally deficient bridges. At least when money goes to infrastructure like bridges, taxpayers get something they can use in return.

Gov. Rendell recently began his tenure as chairman of the National Governor’s Association. His “Chair’s Initiative” will focus on similar policies: Strengthening infrastructure investment across the country. After last year’s bridge collapse in Minneapolis, which claimed 13 lives, this is a clearer way to protect citizens and save lives than implementing the Real ID boondoggle.

The states’ revolt against Real ID is unprecedented in modern American history and it demonstrates the breadth of the opposition. In states across the country, political leaders from both the left and the right have rejected this dangerous and unworkable program.

Real ID suffers from serious flaws that will affect the rights of every American. It mandates that every state’s database – containing Social Security cards, copies of birth certificates, etc. – be linked and accessible to tens of thousands of DMV employees.

By making our personal information accessible to countless individuals across the country, Real ID exposes everyone to misuse and identity theft. In addition, the new driver’s licenses created by Real ID will contain a machine-readable component, allowing the government to track and monitor law-abiding citizens like we are criminals on parole. Any way you look at it, the Real ID national ID scheme is a bad law that needs to be scrapped. It is enormously expensive, offers little to no benefits, and places our personal information at risk for use in identify theft.

The Pennsylvania Senate should follow the lead of the House and send a strong and clear message to Congress that Pennsylvanians will not be bullied into accepting an unfunded surveillance mandate like Real ID.

Gov. Rendell should join in by focusing on his priorities for Pennsylvania while rejecting the federal government’s plan to increase tracking and surveillance of all Americans.

Read at Cato Institute.org