Monday, June 27, 2005

Our gallant British cousins strike a blow against Gov't -- your papers, please -- IDs

Scotsman.com News - Top Stories - Doubts over ID cards as cost soars to �18bn: "POLITICAL and public support for identity cards drained away yesterday as the Prime Minister faced the first potential rebellion of his third term in office.
Tomorrow, MPs will get their first chance to vote on the proposals since the election, when the Identity Card Bill gets its second reading in the Commons.
While the government is unlikely to lose the vote, the size of the rebellion by Labour back-benchers concerned at the erosion of civil liberties will be seen as a crucial test of how far the Prime Minister's writ runs. "

Eighteen billion pounds is over $27Billion; real money even for the federal beast. Further, I'm assuming the fed could bring this in with the same level of safety, privacy, and economy as the Brits. Har.

Take it to the bank, friends, if the bad guys steal an ID and a tragedy results, my fellow bureaucrats are much more likely to persecute the ID holder than they are to admit they did something dunderheaded.