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February 10, 2012
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David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
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The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
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Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
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Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
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January 30, 2012
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Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
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Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
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Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
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Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
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January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
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January 13, 2012
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Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
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Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
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January 11, 2012
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Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
Oct. 17, 2005
/ 14 Tishrei, 5766
It's time the U.S. grows up and gets an ID card
By
Robert Robb
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
There is a flurry of activity about making identification documents more
reliable and secure:
All the major immigration reform proposals include a new, less forgeable
Social Security card.
Congress recently passed new requirements for state driver's licenses,
including verifying the legal status of recipients.
An election reform commission headed by former President Jimmy Carter and
former Secretary of State James Baker recommends using the new state
driver's licenses for voter identification, including tracking Social
Security numbers on a nationwide basis to avoid duplicate registrations.
Those without a driver's license would be given a voter ID card subject to
the same verifications.
All of these proposals dance around the central issue: It's time for a
grownup discussion about a national ID card in the United States.
In the modern era, there is a continuous need to establish that we are who
we say we are. There is also a need to guard against others making false
claims to be us.
After 9/11, there is also a security imperative to making sure that those
who are here have a legal right to be here and are doing what they are
legally entitled to do while here. If our immigration laws had been
enforced, most of the hijackers either never would have gotten into the
country or would have already left.
The United States already has the practical equivalent of a national ID
card. Americans frequently have to show their driver's license or reveal
their Social Security number to do a variety of things. But these documents
were never intended to be a secure way of establishing one's identity and
are, at present, easily forged or falsified. Hence the various proposals to
make them more secure and informative.
But if it is important and necessary to be able to establish one's identity
frequently, why not have a single document designed to do precisely that,
and to do it well?
There are two primary objections to a national ID card. The first is that
it leads inevitably to a police state.
But the existence of such a card does not a police state make, any more
than requiring a Social Security number to work or a driver's license to
use the roads have created a police state. There is nothing about a
national ID card that dilutes the 4th Amendment, which protects "the right
of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects"
and against "unreasonable searches and seizures."
Whether to have such a document is a separable issue from when and under
what circumstances government can compel its production or track its use.
The more serious objection is that a national ID card may further invade
privacy. But government already has the information that would likely be
part of a national ID card.
Various technological approaches are possible to make identification
documents more reliable and less forgeable a digital picture or a
biometric identifier, such as a fingerprint or retinal scan. That's
certainly yielding some privacy to government. But they are already being
proposed for Social Security cards, driver's licenses, passports and visas.
Why not make them part of a more reliable and universal ID card?
To protect privacy, some suggest that national ID cards be limited to
government purposes. But that makes no sense. We have a more frequent need
to establish who we are outside of government. If there is a reliable
document that does that, why limit its use?
The way to truly protect privacy is to give people an enforceable property
right to personal information about themselves, including financial
transactions and consumption patterns. Others would not be permitted to
sell or exchange such information without permission.
The Blair government in Britain is pushing for a national ID card. The
discussion is underway in Australia, France and Canada as well.
Yet, in the United States, we continue to nibble around the edges, trying
to make a combination of other documents suffice.
It's time to get to the central issue. In the modern age, there's a
continuous need to establish that we are who we say we are. There should be
a reliable and secure document that does that.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Robert Robb is a columnist for The Arizona Republic. Comment by clicking here.
Robert Robb Archives
© 2005, The Arizona Republic
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