National ID Card

Does the US really need a national identification card? The concept is that everyone would have a card, much like a driver's license, that you have to carry with you and that would identify you to any federal or state agent. Personally, I don't care for the idea, but the question is will it make us safer, and if so is the price worth it?

It's not that radical of idea, really. National ID cards are standard practice in much of continental Europe, and Tony Blair is trying to introduce them in the UK as well. In Germany and France everyone is required to carry their National ID card with them. It also allows them to travel within Europe without a passport, and it gives them the security of knowing that there is one form of identification that everyone must have, therefore nobody can hide.

My instincts rebel against the idea, because I'm one of those people that believes that absolute power corrupts absolutely, and that in fact its a sliding scale. The more power one has, the greater the temptation to abuse it, and the less anyone else can do about it. Thus, I naturally rebel against handing the government more information (knowledge is power) without good reason.

Of course, that being said, if there is a good reason, I'm willing to give up some of my civil liberties in order to protect the greater good. But so far no compelling case has been made. The only way that a National ID card would stop illegal immigrants or terrorists is if you had federal agents stopping people actively at all times in all places, checking their ID cards. That's a police state - which I guarantee you Americans will not settle for. However if you just want people to produce this card when they have to conduct business (like, for example, signing up for pilot lessons), then I don't see why it's any different from having a fake driver's license, or a passport for that matter. If you want a national identification number, use people's SS# instead, or their passport number.

To further these arguments, there is also (scary) prospect of what is behind these ID cards....which is a database with everyone's personal information on it, including biometric data and personal history. Having this information scattered is a form of protection, consolidating it would be very scary. Some citizens choose to assert that if you don't break the law, then you should not have to worry. These people are making a large assumption: that the government will not abuse this data illegaly or unethically for it's own ends. I simply don't believe that.

I know many countries have been doing this for a long time in order to control immigration, and kudos to them if it works. But in my mind it's more the intrasigence of different organizations when it comes to sharing data and communicating than the lack of national ID card that is hindering our ability to monitor that stuff accurately. This quick fix will not solve the problem.

I just don't see any reason to introduce a new card, with a new number, to add to the beaurocracy that already clouds and slows our government. Bottom line: there's no evidence that it will improve either immigration or counter-terrorism. If someone can show it to me, I'm keeping an open mind here.

Star Wars

I'm looking forward to it. It's been a long time coming, and this one is supposed to be good. That being said, no matter how good this one is, I don't think it'll be able to remove the bitter taste that the last two left in my mouth. I'm looking forward to seeing a good movie, but the prequel trilogy is beyond redemption at this point -- one blockbuster does not make up for two flops.

Bay to Breakers

(Note: This post heavily influenced by the writing style of Mr. Salinger.......i've been reading Catcher in the Rye again)

This past Sunday I witnessed, for the 4th time, that annual San Francisco spectacle known as Bay to Breakers. I woke up to my alarm at 7:30am on Sunday morning, since I had promised to meet my friends at their place on the other side of the city at 8:30. You see, my friend has a place on the Bay to Breakers route, and it's a great place to watch the city run, walk, and stumble by in various costumes and either pushing or pulling various forms of beer (bottles, cans, kegs, you get the picture). Of course, I did not really want to get up that early, so I hit snooze a few times. It's a pretty sad thing to do, I know, but I do it all the time. Even when I have to get up for work, I set my alarm earlier just so I can hit the snooze button a few times. I swear, it kills me.

Anyway, so I wasn't going to get up that early. I mean, come on. So I ended up rolling out of bed and catching the bus there later than intended. The bus was late too, so I ended up waiting for a while out there and eating a chocolate croissant from the cafe on the corner. I like eating chocolate things for breakfast. It just gets me going, you know, the sugar and all. So after I got off the bus, about 30 minutes later, I walked up the hill to my friend's place on Hayes. I could tell that I was late, but I just could not get myself out of bed earlier. I always regret that, but I always keep getting up late anyway. I even know that I'm going to regret it when I'm doing it, and I still do it. It just kills me.

Still I was able to watch most of the race go by, and my friends were nice enough to let me hang out on their front stairs with them and dance to the music which was okay but not great, and I saw many other friends who were running/walking/etc as they went by and chatted with them for a while. I know it sounds like I have a lot of friends, but I really don't. I'm a loner. I guess it depends on what you classify as friends, I mean I think I have a decent amount, but really I tend to spend a lot of time alone reading and writing and just thinking about silly stuff. I guess it's all relative is what I'm saying, and people say I'm a loner. That's all I'm saying, people say that. Sometimes people saying stuff is all it takes to make it true.

It was a spectacle, it really was. I mean it was a riot, all those costumes and the beer and the random naked guys. Not as good as previous years, for some reason as the years go by I get the feeling more people come out to watch the fun rather than be part of it, but hey I can't complain cuz that's what I was doing. That would be hypocritical. I tell you, if there's one thing I can't stand in this world it's a hypocrite. They're everywhere. The bastards. After that I hung out there for a while, eating grapes and shooting the shit, and then decided to head home and take a nap. I mean, I didn't want to impose or anything -there are a lot of people out there who do that. The bastards. I bet they're all hypocrites too.

Mostly posting on my politics blog of late. I'll keep cross-linking, unless people tell me it's annoying. Here's something on the Senate and Bolton.

More thoughts, this time on Tony Blair

Thoughts on Darfur, for those that are interested.