Chertoff Tells States To Get On Biometric ID Bandwagon

In a real show of defiance, more than half the nation’s states have passed or proposed legislation opposing the Real ID plan in some way or another. This plan requires issuing new federal driver’s licenses for all drivers by the year 2013, and would link state driver’s license databases in one huge federal database. In response to state opposition, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has issued a threat saying that the Real ID cards would be mandatory for all "federal purposes," when it comes to domestic traveling in order to coerce these rebellious states into complying. "Federal purposes" include boarding an airplane, walking into a federal building or nuclear facility, or picnicking at one’s favorite national park.