They're Driving Us Crazy (or, A Couple More Reasons Why I Love France)

First, it was Voter ID: The idea of issuing official identity cards that would be required in order to vote.

Now, it's officially-certified driving licenses, in order to board a domestic flight.

What next? Why not tatoo a number on every legal citizen, beginning at birth, so we know who belongs here and who doesn't.

(Of course, you would have to use a specially formulated ink, so that it couldn't be forged by your local tatoo parlor.)

There are plenty of reasons to object to Voter ID cards. Besides the basic question of constitutionality, there is the huge expense of setting up such a system in every state, and there are real difficulties and hurdles (and expense) for everyone trying to obtain the necessary proof' of citizenship -- even for something as seemingly straighforward as a birth certificate.

And there are even more reasons to object to the plan for new ID driving licenses. The scheme would automatically exclude young people who cannot yet drive; elderly and infirm people who can no longer drive; and people who simply have no need to drive, or don't want to. Will they be forced to pass a driving test anyway? Or simply be denied a valid ID?

How about the once-almighty U. S. passport? Shouldn't that be a valid proof of identity? Well, most Americans don't have one, and will never need one. So why expect them to pay $60 (and more) to get one?

There is another solution, and I shall bravely propose it: A national identity card. Americans on the whole are appalled at the idea of such a document, saying it's an infringement on one's life and liberty. But most Europeans have carried identity cards for decades, and they are neither dead nor enslaved. I've often argued with friends about the benefits of such a system which, living in France, I find totally practical and inoffensive. The card is renewable every ten years, and is updated whenever you move. It serves as your passport when you travel through the European Community. It is your proof of residence when you apply for a job, for a bank account, for a marriage license, for medical care, for university entrance, or for social security. It is simple, comprehensive, and discreet.

But before I forget, here's another reason why I love France: Nicolas Sarkozy. He is arrogant, impatient, self-serving, intolerant, and vindictive. He botched two marriages, and is said to be an incorrigible womanizer and a bad father. But he has fallen in love -- again! -- with a dead-ringer for his second ex, and he is shamelessly flaunting his romance. His compatriots -- even those who voted for him -- and the members of his government are stunned and outraged.

Nicolas and Carla will probably be married next month, and there are rumors already that she is pregnant. And they only met seven weeks ago!

So why do I like this man? Because I prefer, by far, a president who makes love....not war.

Comments

[townsurrl]

Playboys for presidents! What a good idea. The world would be one happy place.

[nomorebombs]

courtesy of rayethon bechtel and the rest of those who produce this crap with support of your so called leaders..insanity reigns supreme..so sad to see the disfigured bloodied faces of the worlds children...insanity just pure insanity,

[nomorebombs]

mandatory voting

no diebold machines


must be a dream with the deaths in gaza

what is peace as bombs drop on there heads

insanity reigns ..........

[nomorebombs]

food water shelter

[Garvagh]

Another reason to love France: the latest poll by the International Herald-Tribune has a favorable rating for Bush, from the French, of 3% (three percent)! Most Europeans, including the French, see the US as the country posing the greatest threat to world peace. Bush truly is an idiot!

[yooper2]

AMEN!!!

[Robster]

Oh the French make war, they just get their allies to do the dying.

[TLV]

Oh, dear. Imagine Bush having an affair! At this point, it may take something like that to make him popular again with the "I love Hollywood-style scandals" crowd or "Womb Watch" as one newspaper calls them.

Let's hope he still doesn't read the newspapers or he may get ideas from his new-found friend, Sarkozy!

[nicho]

National ID cards are a great idea. Then, when the police want you to cease to exist, they simply confiscate your card. The office simply puts the card in his pocket and sends you on your way. From that minute on, you are in hell. What will it take to get a new card -- probably about two weeks out of your life, assuming you can do it at all.

Meanwhile, you no longer officially exist -- you can't vote, can't travel, can't fly on airplanes, can't get your government check, can't do a lot of things.

Don't laugh. I had it happen to me. A cop stopped the person I was riding with for going through a red light. He arrested the driver, took my license, put it in his pocket, and then told me to get out of there or he would arrest me.

When you go to get a new license, they want two forms of picture ID -- fortunately, I had them. But if I hadn't, it would have been a nightmare.

[Bad actor]

Hollywood cranked out films during WWII depicting France and other countries under Nazi control. The same line was used over and over to illustrate the oppression--"SHOW ME YOUR PAPERS !"

[Stevelagain]

Joan,

If you want to support Illegal immigration of low wage labor to undermine the US workers in support of greedy corporate America....just say so. That's your real agenda so support it openly!

[TomR]

The only way I'd be in support of voter ID cards is if the government wants to set up appointments with each citizen and go house to house, like Comcast does when trying to get people to buy a new service. Also, the government could at the same time register these voters.

If the government wants to make voting a hassle, then the onus should be on the government to carry the burden.

- Tom

[rlc41]

So....any idea how many people are on the no fly list or has some flag next to their names meaning they might have to take off more than their shoes and probably miss their flight? How many are on their by mistake? Oh yeah, thst's all classified so we have no way of knowing. Will these same people now be on a no drive list by mistake adding to the harrasment they already go through? I'm not against the ID, I just want to see some reliable and accountable over sight though.

[Ides]

"I don't want people keeping track of my life history!"

Too late, Social Security Number.

Everyone has their personal boogeyman, the National ID is just one in a long line of fears that can be abused right now but only freak people out when you call it what it is.

[Doofus]

'Your papers, pliz!'

Europeans have 'a thing' about identity papers,
passports, personal documentation, etc. that to
an untravelled American seems suspicious, to
say the least. Obviously, it comes from all
those little countries being packed so close
together, where daily life almost always involves
(exciting!) international travel.

Just imagine if we needed state-issued (not US-issued) passports to travel from NY to NJ, at
the border crossing in the middle of the Geo. Washington Bridge. That would work well!
We have a *lot* of states, all packed together, after all.

That we DON'T is perhaps a *peculiarity* of
the American psyche, that for some reason the
solitary American 'rugged individual' that each of us is, always 'living free', just cannot bear to be required to 'carry I.D'.

Well, that's how it happens that we have 12 million (or is it 22 million - who knows?)
Unauthorized Persons among us. We are ALL essentially
undocumented, after all. What would you expect?

There are choices. Get used to random I.D. checks. OR, get used to Unauthorized Persons
all around US. OR, put mine fields along ALL our
borders (because fences are for p*ssies!) to
'secure our borders'. (I'm talking to YOU, Lou Dobbs!)