In a press release speech given this month by Michael Chertoff, Dept of Homeland Security, he said:
“Another important 9/11 Commission recommendation was the need to make sure that driver’s licenses do not become weapons in the hands of terrorists as they were on September 11th. As you know, this past fiscal year 2008, there has been $360 million available in funding, potentially, for states that want to have support for their REAL ID efforts. This fiscal year 2009 we’re requesting $50 million to facilitate State compliance, and there will be another $150 million in grants that will potentially be available to states for this purpose in fiscal year 2009.
I want to emphasize, though, the most important contribution we have made to allow REAL ID to be implemented in a way that is efficient and not overly burdensome for the states, is our cutting of the cost of the program by three quarters through rules, changes, that we recently announced in the last few weeks. This now means that the basic cost for a REAL ID-compliant license is about $8 per license over the life of that license, and that is an amount of money that certainly is well within what we should be prepared to pay protect not only against the possibility of terrorism being facilitated with illegal licenses, but to make it harder for illegal immigrants to get licenses, and also to manage to reduce identity theft, which, of course, is a very real problem across the country.”
Making enemies of Americans, by forcing them to have REAL ID, is the fourth step in turning a weakened democracy into a fascist state. Among the many, very expensive, things that are outlined in this horrendous press release, is the plan and the strawman arguments for forcing this unwanted and expensive tracking device on we, the citizens.
As Ron Paul has plainly told us, the government has too much, and is far too easy with releasing, our personal information. The ‘secret’ social security numbers, that were NEVER to be used for any other purpose, are now in the hands, and easily accessible to anyone that can claim an employer ID number, through another program called e-verify.
He explains, “We’re requesting for fiscal year 2009 $100 million for E-Verify, an increase in $40 million. As you know, this program allows employers to use an automated system to run employment authorization checks against DHS and Social Security Administration databases. Currently, more than 50,000 companies are enrolled, and we expect that number to more than double this year. This is a proven tool that attacks one of the most common ways in which illegal aliens fraudulently obtain work in the workplace, by using phony Social Security numbers or mismatched Social Security numbers.”
Soon, no one will be able to be employed without this RFID technology.
Furthermore, the money being provided to states to cover this UNFUNDED MANDATE is only 10% of the total. In this time of decreasing tax revenues for states, because of the increasing financial difficulties of the citizens, taxpayers, and homeowners, the costs of this corporate welfare program will be foisted off on an already struggling populace.
There are so many false assumptions in this very long winded statement from Mr. Chertoff.
He also said, “Let me talk about some of our progress to date. First, we’re requesting $140 million this fiscal year to support the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.”
One terrorist incident is NOT sufficient reason to require RFID identification corresponding among THREE OR MORE COUNTRIES of Mexico, Canada and the United States, and perhaps ALL OF SOUTH AMERICA. This is a springboard for the North American Union and will be the database that will be shared among all three countries, and readily expanded to include the entire American hemisphere- both north and south.
Since when are we, as American Citizens, required to give such personal and private information to OTHER nations, especially when it is the ‘illegal use’ of such information that seems to be the ‘get around’ for illegal immigrants?
The rapid and unquestion progression of this very dangerous program is accepted by all of our representatives as a matter of course. Only Ron Paul is speaking out against this horrendous violation of our rights, and the danger of lost sovereignty that this promotes. Fascism is on the way, and is NOT being curtailed, let alone stopped, by our elected so-called ‘representatives.’
It is time for this to END. NOW.
Margaret Schaut 
The ironic thing is that Obama, Clinton, and McCain each have recently had their personal information stolen/accessed illegally. Real ID just puts everyone’s info into a central database that will make it much easier to access, hack into, or unlawfully steal. Yet they all support the Real ID. We truly live in an idiocracy.