Author: Wil

Everyone who is upset about the REAL ID act I mentioned on Monday needs to immediately head over to ArsTechnica, and read this story, written by Hannibal:

The big news of the past two days is the impending passage of the Real ID act. I’m going to spare you any kind of detailed analysis of the ID and database aspects of this bill for two reasons a) they’re already covered very well in sources I’ll list below, and b) this bill contains a truly bizarre provision that caused a run on tinfoil hats in the blogosphere when it was first introduced, but has now dropped out of all coverage of this bill that I’ve read so far. (You’d think a clause that uses an obscure and never-before-invoked part of the Constitution to place the secretary of DHS above both the Supreme Court and the Constitution itself would get more coverage, but more on that in a moment.)

More on that, indeed.

Section 102 of H.R. 418 would amend the current provision to require the Secretary of Homeland Security to waive any law upon determining that a waiver is necessary for the expeditious construction of the border barriers. Additionally, it would prohibit judicial review of a waiver decision or action by the Secretary and bar judicially ordered compensation or injunction or other remedy for damages alleged to result from any such decision or action.
To understand what this business about prohibiting judicial review means, you have to know two things. First, you have to know a bit about the contested history of judicial review. Depending on who you talk to, the Federal judiciary’s power to overturn a law or to put a stop to an official act of government on the grounds that the law or act is unconstitutional and/or a violation of basic rights is either a core constitutional principle that ensures the rule of law and protects the rights of minorities from the “tyranny of the masses” (e.g. from Brown v. the Board of Education to Roe v. Wade) , or it’s an affront to democratic governance and the chief enabler of left-wing “judicial activism.”

Okay, prohibiting judicial review of anything is absolutely insane. Without judicial review of laws, how to we have a balanced government? How do we protect our constitutional rights when unconstitutional laws are passed? How do we prevent the tyranny of the majority? Does this mean that the United States ceases to be a nation of laws, and becomes a nation of men?
Let’s look back at what I wrote on Monday:

The US Congress, the lawmakers who derive their power from the consent of the governed, are about to take a huge step toward turning our country into a police state, and they’re doing it without any debate at all.

It’s bad enough that Congress passed legislation which fundamentally changes our right to privacy, and possibly violates the Fourth and Tenth Amendments to the Constitution, but they’ve also taken away our access to the courts (right now it’s just in cases related to this loosely-defined “expeditious construction of the border barriers”, but don’t think for a second that it will stop there) and they did it without a single word of debate. That these provisions — which are overwhelmingly opposed by the a vast majority of Americans — were snuck into a must-pass bill, and passed without debate is irresponsible at best, and criminal at worst. This is not democracy. This is fascism.
You should really read the whole story, where Hannibal sums it up for us:

Congress has crafted a completely unprecedented provision that guts the principle of judicial review by granting the DHS secretary complete and total immunity from the courts when it comes to the construction of “barriers and roads” in this one specific geographical region, and they’ve buried this provision inside a national ID card act which is itself attached to a large military appropriations bill that no Congressperson in their right mind would vote against (money for the troops and all that).
[. . .]
As a postscript, the icing on the cake of this whole thing has to be the way that the Republican sponsors of the bill actually voted down a proposed provision in the national ID card part of the law that would prevent the government from using the Real ID database as a national database of gun owners

Of course. Why am I not surprised? The Republicans in Congress don’t care at all about upholding the Constitution. They have abandoned their traditional belief in limited, non-intrusive government. They are the collective bitch of the Extreme Religious Right and groups like the NRA. They are tyrants, and Democrats who allowed this to pass without discussion or debate are cowards.
As I wrote on Monday, the leadership in this Congress is out of touch and out of control. If this doesn’t call for a general strike, I don’t know what does.

Nolan’s sick, so I’ve been too busy taking care of him to do much else this week. The good side is that we’ve gotten to watch a lot of Word Poker Tour DVDs together, but the bad side is I’ve lost almost all of the creative momentum that I created last week. Since my time and creative energy have suddenly become so limited, I probably won’t do much blogging this week.
If lack of content at WWdN creates some free time for you, I suggest spending that time outside. If you find yourself unable to go outside, because the Sun burns your skin and threatens to reveal to the world that you’re really a flesh-eating Zombie, stay indoors and visit . . .

1. Tony Pierce. Tony’s one of the few bloggers who is consistently interesting, thought-provoking, and entertaining . . . often in the same post. Recently, Tony offered his review of the latest Weezer album, Make Believe:
   

   other than the cheesy single beverly hills, many of the tracks in the new record sound like typical post-pinkerton weezer: rivers singing little timid love songs of longing to girls who would probably do him if he just shut his damn mouth.

   He also writes beautifully weird little stories like

   balloon boy came from another town entirely. one where fences were made of crackers, trees were made a wood, and beer came right out of sky. the nerds had invented zero gravity luncheon meats but since the town was riddled with vegans the only way to sell any was to throw in a puppy and or a child.

2. Gawker has a new site called Sploid, co-edited by Ken Layne, that’s earned a spot in my news reader
   

   Sploid is a news site with a tabloid mentality — top stories up top, played big, as fast as they break. If there’s a political line, it’s anarcho-capitalist: sniffing out hypocrisy and absurdity, whether from salon left or religious right.

3. The Moderate Voice is a fantastic political blog, that is objective and intellectually honest. Unlike some of the so-called pundits out there who carry water for Dear Leader while they pretend to be something they’re not, you won’t find anyone, liberal or conservative, carrying water for anyone at TMV.
4. Jessica Stover, blogging.la, and Nickerblog fill out Wil’s List Of Must-Read Blogs.

Anne and I packed about 1/3 of the Geek orders over the weekend. I’m teaching myself Scribus so I can build a cool little Chapbook out of Let Go. As soon as that’s done and printed, I’ll begin shipping.

Hooray! From LA Observed, via blogging.la:

It’s official

Whether it’s a play, an improv show, a sketch comedy show, a sitcom, or even a multi-million dollar movie, there is always one moment when it comes together: all the self-consciousness, all the mental note-taking that is a vital part of the rehearsal process, and all the uncertainty about the quality of the show seems to magically evaporate. The actors settle into their roles, and the material flows through them and into the audience. We trade the work of rehearsing for the fun of performing.
Saturday night, we had that moment. ACME: A Day in the Life came together for the first time, and it was awesome. With rehearsals, previews, and the opening of our run a few weeks ago, I’ve done the show several times, and I’ve always felt happy with my performance . . . but this last show was the first performance where I had fun the whole time. I wasn’t watching myself, or gauging the audience, or wondering if one beat worked or missed. I just enjoyed the company of my friends, and had fun performing playing with them.
I noticed this feeling somewhere near the middle of the second act, and I told my friend Laura House, “I’m proud of the show, and I love the cast —”
“Yeah, we know,” she said. “We all read your blog, Wil.”
That sort of stopped me.
“Oh.” I couldn’t figure out if that was good or not, so I just continued. “Well, I love the cast, and I feel like we’ve been doing a good show, but tonight is the first time I’ve actually felt the same level of pure fun that I felt in Love Machine.”
Just then, Laura P. walked into the dressing room and announced that she was having all kinds of fun. “Does anyone else feel like that?” She said.
“You know, I was just telling House that —” The audience erupted into applause. I looked up at the monitor we use to see what’s happening on the stage, and realized that the sketch was over, and I was due on for “Roadtrip,” in about 5 seconds.
“Oh shit, I’m in this sketch!” I said, as I ran out of the dressing room. I made it onstage in 4.9 seconds, and nobody will ever know. Sweet.
After the show, a bunch of us went out for drinks, and we talked about how much fun we’re having. It was awesome, until Annie pointed out that there are only six performances left in this run. There is always the chance that we may extend, but it’s pretty unlikely for this show, because many people in the cast (including me) have other commitments that start as soon as the show closes.
I believe that this show is just as funny as Love Machine, and I know a lot of WWdN readers saw that show. So if you can take me at my word, come and see us if you can.

The House of Representatives just passed an appropriations bill that provided more funding for the war in Iraq. Though I’ve never believed the war in Iraq was necessary or justified, and I saw through the lies the Bush administration told Congress, the American people, and the world, I’ve always felt that the soldiers in the field should have the absolute best weapons, armor, and support available.
Like George W. Bush, I’ve never seen combat. Unlike George W. Bush, I think supplying our military with the best armor and weapons, and taking care of our veterans and their families are two of the most important things a nation should do during a war ever. Period. Even more important than repealing the estate tax. Most Americans and some Congressmen agree with me, so appropriations bills like these are almost always quickly passed. Cynical, Evil, Totalitarian Congressmen like Jim Sensenbrenner know this, so they sneak things into these bills that have failed when they were brought up on their own.
Herr Sensenbrenner’s addition to this particular appropriations bill is a terrifying invasion of privacy: a national ID card.
If you’re even moderately concerned about privacy and security, you’re probably a regular reader of anything Bruce Schneier writes. If you’re not concerned with privacy and security, you should be, and you should read Bruce’s books, or at least his blog.
Today, Bruce breaks down the REAL ID act, and points out all the reasons it’s such a bad idea. But the thing that got my blood boiling is this:

[The REAL ID Act] was voted down last fall, but has been reintroduced and attached to legislation that funds military actions in Iraq. This is a “must-pass” piece of legislation, which means that there has been no debate on REAL ID. No hearings, no debates in committees, no debates on the floor. Nothing. [Emphasis mine]

I believe that this is national ID card is incredibly stupid, expensive, invasive, and unnecessary. But whether you think it’s a swell idea or not, ask yourself, “Do I want Congress passing laws that fundamentally change something as valuable as my right to privacy, without any discussion or debate at all?” If Congress is willing to force us all to submit to this invasion of privacy, without even allowing us to weigh in on it, how are they effectively representing us?
Does everyone understand what this means? The US Congress, the lawmakers who derive their power from the consent of the governed, are about to take a huge step toward turning our country into a police state, and they’re doing it without any debate at all. Democrats urged Nuclear Bill Frist to allow some debate on REAL ID, but he refused, it was cynically attached to the appropriations bill, and it easily passed the House. Why are Republicans in Congress shutting the American people out of the legislative process? Could it be because Americans overwhelmingly reject the idea of a national ID card?

When the Social Security Number (SSN) was created in 1936, it was meant to be used only as an account number associated with the administration of the Social Security system. Though use of the SSN has expanded considerably, it is not a universal identifier and efforts to make it one have been consistently rejected. In 1971, the Social Security Administration task force on the SSN rejected the extension of the Social Security Number to the status of an ID card. In 1973, the Health, Education and Welfare Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Automated Personal Data Systems concluded that a national identifier was not desirable. In 1976, the Federal Advisory Committee on False Identification rejected the idea of an identifier.
In 1977, the Carter Administration reiterated that the SSN was not to become an identifier, and in 1981 the Reagan Administration stated that it was “explicitly opposed” to the creation of a national ID card. The Clinton administration advocated a “Health Security Card” in 1993 and assured the public that the card, issued to every American, would have “full protection for privacy and confidentiality.” Still, the idea was rejected and the health security card was never created. In 1999 Congress repealed a controversial provision in the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 which gave authorization to include Social Security Numbers on driver’s licenses.
In response to the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, there has been renewed interest in the creation of national ID cards. Soon after the attacks, Larry Ellison, head of California-based software company Oracle Corporation, called for the development of a national identification system and offered to donate the technology to make this possible. He proposed ID cards with embedded digitized thumbprints and photographs of all legal residents in the U.S. There was much public debate about the issue, and Congressional hearings were held. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich testified that he “would not institute a national ID card because you do get into civil liberties issues.”

The leadership in this Congress is out of touch and out of control. They are beholden to an extremist minority, and they’re trying to force an extremist agenda on America.
Silencing the voice of the people on such an important issue sure doesn’t sound like a Democracy, or a Representative Republc. This sounds an awful lot like fascism.