This is not a science fiction scenario!

Don Monkerud, at www.OpEdNews.com, has published a thoughtful review titled Get ready for the new America about how RealID was forced upon the states, and how they are just starting to come to terms with its stupendous unfunded costs. The article comes to some strong conclusions. Please read it in full. Some quotes:

This is not a science fiction scenario, but the result of President Bush signing the Real ID Act on May 11. To avoid congressional debate, the GOP slipped the provision into an $82 billion military spending bill ...

Passing Federal bills without debate is a dangerous practice because the full ramifications can't be assessed by those passing the bills or by voters. Groups such as the National Governors Association, the Council of State Governments, and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators object to unnecessary bureaucracy and retraining of staff and the National Council of State Legislatures estimates an administrative cost of $500 to $700 million. ...

The law affects the status of immigrants and represents a major rewriting of immigration law. How, for example, will a DMV clerk verify the birth certificate of someone from a village in Mexico, China, Africa or India?

Meanwhile, laws protecting our personal information remain very weak. A national database with information that can be scanned like a barcode will give businesses a new revenue stream from data collection and sale to information brokers such as ChoicePoint and LexisNexis. Currently some businesses obtain personal information but the practice is not widespread; the Real ID Act will augment this practice.