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.