Just because you do not take an interest in politics…

By Paul Henry on July 24, 2014 in Liberty Blog, Lobbying

 

“Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn’t mean politics won’t take an interest in you.”
― Pericles

 In the photo above, the description of it on Wikipedia reads in part: “The Dachau camp was created for holding political opponents."

The camp opened in Germany in 1933 and operated until liberated in April 1945. Students of history will recall the first camps opened immediately after Hitler became chancellor of Germany in 1933. One prisoner in the camps was Pastor Martin Niemöller, who is famous for writing about German citizen inaction in politics:

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

 

WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOUR DRIVERS LICENSE PHOTO

July 9, 2014 by Hilary Hudson


  An expired driver’s license typically demands a routine trip to the tag agency and the accompanying annoyances – waiting in line, paying renewal fees, and posing awkwardly for a picture. Most Oklahomans, however, do not know just how much personal information they are sharing when they smile for the digital camera. The high-resolution photographs taken for Oklahoma driver’s licenses and identification cards actually contain biometric data: unique information that can be used to identify you based on your facial features. The information gathered includes physical signatures like iris recognition data containing color or texture patterns, and a digital image that is compatible with facial recognition programs used by law enforcement.

In response, a Cleveland County resident filed a lawsuit against the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety objecting to the collection and storage of this biometric data as a condition to drive a car in Oklahoma. According to the petition, a DPS agent denied the plaintiff’s application for a driver’s license renewal when the plaintiff refused, on religious grounds, to allow a high-resolution biometric facial photograph to be taken of her. The plaintiff now asserts a violation of the Oklahoma Religious Freedom Act, which forbids government entities from substantially burdening a person’s free exercise of religion, unless that burden is essential to a compelling governmental interest. The reasons the State of Oklahoma has produced to justify the mandatory collection of biometric data fall considerably short of this standard.

What is the REAL ID Act?

The REAL ID Act is a law passed by Congress in 2005. It makes the States change the way they issue ID cards and driver licenses. It imposes numerous requirements on the states, and more importantly the citizens of those states. Here in Florida, what this means is when you go to renew your driver license or change your name (such as due to divorce, marriage, etc.) you have to provide a laundry list of documents. These include but are not limited to certified copies of your birth certificate or passport, your Social Security card, proof of address such as your power/utility bill, your mortgage coupon book, etc. All of the details have been laid out by the State of Florida on a website called  Gather Go Get. Once you have provided this information, which is seized in violation of the 4^th Amendment, it is then scanned into a database and retained by the state. By Federal law (the REAL ID Act), this information is to be shared with other states.