Mulling over LEE LOFASO to STEVE ASHER 12 Mar 2007

G'day Lee,

SA>US Congress Erupts In Debate Over Biblical Prophecy, The Mark Of
SA>The Beast, Echo New Book By Patrick Heron

SA>Added: Mar 11th, 2007 12:11 PM

SA>Biblical prophecy finds way to legislators in battle over ID plan

SA>By Jon Gambrell, Associated Press Writer | March 11, 2007

SA>"The ramifications are horrendous," said Sen. Ruth Whitaker, whose
SA>resolution opposing the Real ID Act of 2005 has passed the Arkansas
SA>Senate. "If there is anything akin to Nazi Germany, it is this act."

 LL> Several states have balked at putting Real ID into effect. And 
 LL> now the Congress is taking another look at it. There are very 
 LL> real concerns that Real ID could make identity theft easier for
 LL> criminals. It could also make it easier for terrorists to get 
 LL> into this country. 

The "mandatory" use of ID may make identity theft easier, and make
it easier for terrorists to enter. It may also lead to the emergence
of an "elite" who would either use "suppressed" IDs, or
fake ones.
If you were a Supreme Court judge, you might not want it known that
you were boarding a flight, or that your daughter had entered a bar
using her "ID" card, & could make a handy kidnap target (etc). It is
not unknown for popular nightspots to be owned or operated by crims.
There may well be so many exemptions as to make the whole thing
unworkable. A lot of people who don't might imposing it on others
might be reluctant to have it themselves, once they realise the
potential for monitoring, tracking, fraud and worse.

I wouldn't be too comfortable with a "global" credential that indicates
where I am - at the airport, in a Government building (or shopping mall
or bar) etc, as it also gives a clue to "evil-doers" that I am not home,
in my office, etc. Like the muslim arrested in the US recently, who
wanted to "smoke a judge", he wouldn't need to try to enter the court
building - just wait for a judge to show up at a massage parlour. :)

SA>Congress hopes to reduce identity theft and boost national security
SA>by requiring people to use Real IDs to board airplanes, enter federal
SA>buildings and open some bank accounts. Those who dabble in biblical
SA>prophecy say the new government-issued numbers mark the beginning of
SA>the end.

 LL> It seemed like a good idea at the time, but upon closer scrutiny
 LL> many holes have been uncovered.  All a criminal or terrorist would
 LL> have to do is steal somebody's drivers license (Real ID), replacing
 LL> it with a fake one.  By the time somebody learns his/her drivers
 LL> license has been lifted it will have been too late.  Or folks might
 LL> sell their Real ID to those who would do us harm.

The idea of a drivers licence is to show that a person is licenced to
operate a motor vehicle - nothing more, and crims here don't bother
with that when they steal cars / do ramraids / highspeed chases / deaths
and all the other mayhem, & the piss-weak "justice" system
says "that
was naughty, don't do that again", even though they have form as long 
as their arm, & are out on remand when they get caught. :)

SA>"People are very concerned if the federal government gives you a
SA>number, it will be the mark of the beast," said Missouri Rep. Jim
SA>Guest, the sponsor of a resolution similar to Whitaker's. "There
SA>are everyday people who get the connection to 666."

 LL> Everybody has a social security number.  But few people think of
 LL> having a social security number as having or being connected to the
 LL> number of the beast.

Mainly because there hasn't been a "beast" to connect it to, for now.
People are being conditioned to have an ID credential of some sort to
interact with Government & its agencies - without it, no pension, dole,
concessions, medicare etc. The number means very little - it is the use
in transactions that is significant. At the moment, we can use cash, but
it is a "suspicious transaction" to use more than a certain amount of
cash, & the transaction must be reported.

SA>Legislators in Georgia, Maine, Montana, New Mexico, Vermont,
SA>Washington state and Wyoming have also balked at Real ID and a bill
SA>filed in Congress by Rep. Thomas Allen, D-Maine, would repeal it.
SA>Many complain that states will have to pay billions of dollars to
SA>put the system in place by the end of 2009, as mandated by Congress.

SA>Resolutions in Arkansas, Georgia, Maine and Missouri were offered
SA>after legislators read materials, spoke to or had indirect contact
SA>with Endtime Ministries of Dallas, whose magazine, radio show and
SA>outreach examines current events through the prism of Christian
SA>apocalypse.

 LL> It is not just an article printed in a fringe magazine that has
 LL> people and legislators concerned.

The big concern will come when people find that without the credential
they cannot fly, open a bank account, buy a house, have a phone or utility
connected etc.

Cheers, Steve..

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