Maryland is doing this because they are Illegal friendly toward local businesses.

Makeover 101; Wash mud off pig, add lipstick.

I've said it before, I'll say it again. "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss."

Simple truisms of life in Bizarro world; Pols are smarter than the rest of us. RFIDs are secure and can't be cloned. The Nanny State knows best. Big Brother will take care of you.

Only the last one is also true in reality but the meaning changes somewhat.

It's already happening. A machine readable driver's license is already a requirement to venture beyond the lobby of my step-kid's schools. Don't have one? "You'll have to fill in this lengthy form then, sir." They're moving towards the card being mandatory in the future. All down to "will somebody PLEASE think of the CHILDREN!", of course.

On the one hand, REAL ID requires one to have an approved drivers license in an ever increasing variety of circumstances but on the other, it makes it harder to get one. There are several categories of [legal] immigrants, K-1 fiancé's in particular, who can find it damn near impossible to get a driver's license until about 9-12 months of entry due to another REAL ID 'improvement' which requires non-citizens to have a federal issued ID (e.g. a greencard or work permit) to get a drivers license in most states.

"Enhanced driver's licenses give confidence that the person holding the card is the person who is supposed to be holding the card, and it's less elaborate than Real ID,"

Hmm... does she really understand english?

The only way i see for a card to warranty that would be for the card to have built in biometric sensors that would ascertain the identity of the personne handling the card.

Otherwise, the only alternative is with what? Telekinesis? MindReading?

Gosh... it's appalling to see this...

Proper Nannies are trained child care specialists who nurture and support their charges with the *aim* of producing socialised well balenced memebers of society

This nanny is more like some boozed up old slattern who'll take 20 or 30 bucks off you and park "The brats" in front of the TV while she works her way through a pint or two of the hard stuff.

Call it a Stalker state. Call it a police state. Don't call it a Nanny state.

You'd think by now they would have caught him. All they have to do is make more laws like this and then follow the trail of laughter all the way back to his cave.

The most powerful country in the world is still in a paranoid panic because of some assholes with box cutters eight years ago.

Oh, F-Jim makes me sad some people in Wisconsin elect guys like him to Congress. Sensenbrenner has been there for decades, and rarely veered from his right-wing stance on most anything, except maybe to go further to the right, as with the Real ID act he introduced. it got shot down time and time again until it was finally attached to an Iraq War spending bill -- and who'd vote against the troops? It's a lesser known legacy of the Bush regime that deserves to get thrown on the heap.

Let's see. To get your Real-ID drivers license you need (1) a birth ceritificate (any one can get a copy of one any time, any where) and some "official" piece of paper, like say, a phone bill which came to your home (that is you and your address on that bill, isn't it?). Well, that just proved a lot didn't it....you could show up with two pieces of paper that say you're joe shmoe and now you have "official" id....even if your real name is Osama and you shaved off your beard and gave up your head covering. . MORONS

It's all a house of cards...a sham.... (not to mention another criminally stupid waste of taxpayer dollars.

... if my state has a non-complying license, and I'm summoned to appear at a federal court or IRS office and the thug ^d^d^d^d guard at the door can't let me in by federal law.

Kafka anyone?