Christian Leftist

There are probably a ton of people writing to the DHS concerning the enforcement of the so-called REAL ID Act, so I’m not going to pull out a bulletpoint presentation. All I’m going to say is that if for no other reason, placing all of one’s personal, private information like one’s social security number, bank statements, birth certificates, and passport information into a national database accessible by thousands of underpaid local employees is about as secure as posting that information on a billboard on a Nebraska highway. It only takes on unscrupulous passerby to notice and steal it.

If the government can’t even protect us from information brokers who selfishly expose our names and information to corporations and their own employees to turn a profit, why in the hell would I want any DMV Joe with a basic understanding of computer programming to have access to my birth certificate? People I’ve never even met would have an easier time accessing records that verify who I am as a person than I ever would.

Genealogists can’t even receive birth certificates from 200 years ago if they can’t prove a direct link to a family member. Information that is technically ‘free’ to the public, like census records, aren’t even available online unless through a paid subscription on a private site. Yet the US government wants to make information on the living that they need to work, accept payments, and receive medical care open to the Department of Motor Vehicle’s equivalent of an airport baggage handler.

What is wrong with this picture?

To write the DHS before 5pm EST on May 8th, go to http://www.realnightmare.org/actioncenter/109/