National ID?

[Ron Lambert]

Rosie, my point was not that SDAs should sit on their hands until the Sunday Law is passed. That is jumping to a conclusion pretty far remote from anything I said. My point, rather, was that SDAs should avoid crying wolf and saying that everything that comes down the pike is a sure sign of national apostasy. Such things as a national ID card could be used to serve national apostasy, but so could social security numbers, credit cards, the movement to unify various police and government databases, etc. Let's look for real signs of national apostasy, not at things like a national ID card or social security numbers that are innocuous in themselves, and can be used just as well for good as for evil.

[Rosie]

Quote:

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My point, rather, was that SDAs should avoid crying wolf and saying that everything that comes down the pike is a sure sign of national apostasy. Such things as a national ID card could be used to serve national apostasy, but so could social security numbers, credit cards, the movement to unify various police and government databases, etc. Let's look for real signs of national apostasy, not at things like a national ID card or social security numbers that are innocuous in themselves, and can be used just as well for good as for evil.

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I do look for real signs, Ron. And I guess we'll have to wait and see if I am "crying wolf" by bringing this issue to the attention of others.

For those interested in actually doing something about the current abuse of the Social Security number, I suggest you read this mans solutions closely and support his suggestions, as you see fit:

http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2005/cr010605.htm

"Mr. Speaker, today I introduce the Identity Theft Prevention Act. This act protects the American people from government-mandated uniform identifiers that facilitate private crime as well as the abuse of liberty. The major provision of the Identity Theft Prevention Act halts the practice of using the Social Security number as an identifier by requiring the Social Security Administration to issue all Americans new Social Security numbers within five years after the enactment of the bill.

These new numbers will be the sole legal property of the recipient, and the Social Security administration shall be forbidden to divulge the numbers for any purposes not related to Social Security administration. Social Security numbers issued before implementation of this bill shall no longer be considered valid federal identifiers. Of course, the Social Security Administration shall be able to use an individual's original Social Security number to ensure efficient administration of the Social Security system.

Mr. Speaker, Congress has a moral responsibility to address this problem because it was Congress that transformed the Social Security number into a national identifier. Thanks to Congress, today no American can get a job, open a bank account, get a professional license, or even get a driver's license without presenting his Social Security number. So widespread has the use of the Social Security number become that a member of my staff had to produce a Social Security number in order to get a fishing license!

One of the most disturbing abuses of the Social Security number is the congressionally-authorized rule forcing parents to get a Social Security number for their newborn children in order to claim the children as dependents. Forcing parents to register their children with the state is more like something out of the nightmares of George Orwell than the dreams of a free republic that inspired this nation's founders.

Congressionally-mandated use of the Social Security number as an identifier facilitates the horrendous crime of identity theft. Thanks to Congress, an unscrupulous person may simply obtain someone's Social Security number in order to access that person's bank accounts, credit cards, and other financial assets. Many Americans have lost their life savings and had their credit destroyed as a result of identity theft. Yet the federal government continues to encourage such crimes by mandating use of the Social Security number as a uniform ID!

This act also forbids the federal government from creating national ID cards or establishing any identifiers for the purpose of investigating, monitoring, overseeing, or regulating private transactions among American citizens. At the very end of the 108th Congress, this body established a de facto national ID card with a provisions buried in the “intelligence” reform bill mandating federal standards for drivers’ licenses, and mandating that federal agents only accept a license that conforms to these standards as a valid ID."

Click on the link above for the full article.