Maine rejects Real ID Act!

HEre's the happey C|Net news story. Maine rejects the Real ID Act. Maine overwhelmingly rejected federal requirements for national identification cards on Thursday, marking the first formal state opposition to controversial legislation scheduled to go in effect for Americans next year. Both chambers of the Maine legislature approved a resolution saying the state flatly "refuses" to force its citizens to use driver's licenses that comply with digital ID standards, which were established under the 2005 Real ID Act. It asks the U.S. Congress to repeal the law.

The Maine legislature is hoping that congress will repeal Real ID.

Eat your heart out New Hampshire, you can no longer be the first stae to do this, although you came awfully close last year.

HD Movies and TV; Too HD?

The New York Times must have really enjoyed putting together their article on High Definition movies in the porn industry today. The article features pictures of (fully clothed) stars, and goes into a bit of detail in explaining how HD has been a tribulation for the industry.

While some in this industry think that high def is exactly what porn customers want, others worry that high def is getting too detailed. For example, they quote the actress Stormy Daniels thus: “I’m not 100 percent sure why anyone would want to see their porn in HD.” Among the issues discussed are razor burn, now remarkably visible, and tiny pimples that can only be hidden by shifting to a different camera angle.

Now I’m not being salacious here, I just want to make a point. The porn business is echoing the controversy over HDTV in the respectable TV industry. (Is the TV business ever respectable?) It’s the federal government that is dragging the TV biz to HD, and the TV biz has been awful slow to get there. HDTV clearly produces exciting sports, but it’s generally known that old reruns will look terrible in HD. TV studio scenery and sets in the past were knocked together very simply, with just enough detail to fool the low-res camera. Now we’ll be able to see the sets are all plywood with nails. Etc.

Worse, the HDTV camera will favor different faces. (I suspect this is less of an issue for the porn business.) One of the great skills directors have is that they can find people whom the camera will love, who will look riveting and wonderful on TV and in movies. Many great stars look remarkably ordinary to us in everyday life. HD changes the rules, because it will make some “bankable” big name stars look awful.

The president of Canadian Broadcasting went to the natural extreme, saying that HDTV "has no business model." He claimed a complete lack of motivation for advertisers to pay more to have their plugs shown during an HD show verses an Standard Def show, although many advertisers disagree.

Lawmakers question cost and purpose of federal ID program:

I love this Vermont story, because it has a great quote, and it rqaises one of my favorite issues. VErmont is looking at spending millions to implement Real ID. Here's the A.P. story, at the boston.com website (for The Boston Globe). Here's the lovely quote:

Lawmakers questioned the value of the program, which is aimed at reducing terrorism.

"I don't think it is accomplishing anything," said Sen. Phil Scott, R-Washington. "Are we trying to shut people out or make them safer?"

And here's a quote about passports:

One way to cut costs might be to issue passports for every Vermonter.

The Tide is Turning?

The Tide may be Turning for Real ID. Criticims keep mounting, and we no longer have a do-nothing congress. Here's one indicator of change, from the last election. New York's new governor, Elliot Spitzer, thinks it's a really bad idea to deny driver's licenses (and therefore insurance) to illegal immigrants. He's thinking about NOT requiring a valid Soc Sec number obtain a driver's license, at least for now. Read about it here, in The New York Sun (Jan 19, 2007), in an article by Jacob Gershman.

That article also reports a protest by a group that disagrees. Before I show you that quote, I want to point out an obvious truth about security, which groups like this just don't understand. The terrorists who perpetrated 9/11 had driver's licenses because they were easy to obtain. If they were planning a 9/11-like attack today, they would either start by obtaining other ID that's easy to get, or they would pay through the nose to get fake, good quality driver's licenses anyway. Serious terrorists have enormous amounts of money available to them, so making an illegal driver's license cost $10,000 instead of $100 or nothing won't even slow them down. Here's the quote:

Now, one New York group, the Coalition for a Secure Driver's License, says the governor is poised to repeal Governor Pataki's order and is urging the governor to reconsider changing a policy that it says is helping to thwart terrorist attacks.

"The 9/11 Commission pointed out that the 19 terrorists had at least 35 licenses," a board member of the coalition who lost his 23-year-old son in the World Trade Center attack, Peter Gadiel, said. "These licenses were the keys that enabled them to rent cars and open bank accounts, get credits cards, and buy flight lessons. It gave them everything they needed to plan, rehearse, and carry out their attacks."

Mr. Gadiel, a Republican who has also advocated for stricter border laws, said it was "insane" that the governor is considering extending licenses to illegal immigrants.