States challenge national driver’s license

WHY ISN'T SOMEONE IN THE KANSAS LEGISLATURE PUSHING THIS?

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By LESLIE MILLER, Associated Press Writer

A revolt against a national driver’s license, begun in Maine last month, is quickly spreading to other states.

The Maine Legislature on Jan. 26 overwhelmingly passed a resolution objecting to the Real ID Act of 2005. The federal law sets a national standard for driver’s licenses and requires states to link their record-keeping systems to national databases.

Within a week of Maine’s action, lawmakers in Georgia, Wyoming, Montana, New Mexico, Vermont and Washington state also balked at Real ID. They are expected soon to pass laws or adopt resolutions declining to participate in the federal identification network.

“It’s the whole privacy thing,” said Matt Sundeen, a transportation analyst for the National Conference of State Legislatures. “A lot of legislators are concerned about privacy issues and the cost. It’s an estimated $11 billion implementation cost.”

The law’s supporters say it is needed to prevent terrorists and illegal immigrants from getting fake identification cards.

States will have to comply by May 2008. If they do not, driver’s licenses that fall short of Real ID’s standards cannot be used to board an airplane or enter a federal building or open some bank accounts.

About a dozen states have active legislation against Real ID, including Arizona, Georgia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming.

Missouri state Rep. James Guest, a Republican, formed a coalition of lawmakers from 34 states to file bills that oppose or protest Real ID.

Though most states oppose the law, some such as Indiana and Maryland are looking to comply with Real ID, Sundeen said.

The issue may be moot for states if Congress takes action.

A Two Party Quandary

A response to “Neither party offers us a way out of the wilderness”.

All the angst experienced by Johnson County voters over the local republican political shenanigans is very saddening. The yearning for a real choice at the polls has been building for years. Our collective common sense tells us that we have a serious problem with our current political system. We have been like a substance addict who denies the problem because admitting it and opening up to real change is tough. “Waking up” means shedding a lifetime of media and government school indoctrination that venerates the two-party system and ridicules alternatives. That paradigm is collapsing under the weight of its own falsity.

I am sorry it is taking you and many others so long to realize that the so-called two-party system is really one party with two names. We’ve become so accustomed to the “lesser of two evils” status quo that we have forgotten a lesser evil is still an evil. An American citizen—living in the world's freest, most advanced, most prosperous country—ought to have something positive to vote for when he or she steps into the voting booth. Holding your nose—election after election—and pulling the lever for the lesser evil is the very definition of a wasted vote.

Our government—the product of the lesser of two evils approach—continues to engage in eminent domain abuses, pursue senseless wars, intrude into our private lives & and impose taxes spiraling out of control.

Fortunately, you have a viable alternative to the Republicans and Democrats in both Kansas and Missouri – The Libertarian Party. The LP turned 35 in December and is the third largest political party in America. (larger than all the other third parties combined)

You are starting to see well-known, lifelong Republicans and Democrats switch to the Libertarian Party. Bob Barr, former Congressman recently made the switch. Many successful people—leaders in their fields—have identified themselves as libertarians. They include John Stossel, Clint Eastwood, Mary Ruwart, Neal Boortz, Milton Freidman, Mark Skousen, Toni Nathan (the first woman to receive an electoral vote), Dave Berry, Wendy McElroy, Mark Cuban, and many others.

We have seen exceptional libertarian growth and activity in 2006. The Kansas LP ran 13 candidates in the last election in the Johnson County area and received more positive press coverage than ever before. The political climate in Kansas is ripe for change. Is third party involvement and voting a waste? I think not.

Remember the line attributed to Mahatma Gandhi: "First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." We are working our way past the first two areas as a political party today and expect to see more R’s and D’s start to fight against us, as we were the vote difference in races in both Missouri and Kansas.

Your Two Party Quandary, your political dilemma has a positive solution – Take a serious look into the Libertarian party today!

Rob Hodgkinson
Chair - The Libertarian Party of Kansas
Individual Liberty -- Personal Responsibility
www.lpks.org