America's New War? |
Model
State Emergency Health Powers Act
"Emergency health threats, including those
caused by bioterrorism and epidemics, require the exercise of extraordinary
government functions…"
States
Devising Plan for National Identification Cards
State motor vehicle authorities are working
on a plan to create a national identification system for individuals that
would link all driver databases and employ high-tech cards with a fingerprint,
computer chip or other unique identifier.
Driver's
Licenses Could Serve as National IDs
While lawmakers debate the wisdom of requiring
Americans to carry national identification documents, some states are already
taking steps to use the driver's license for that very purpose. Critics point
out that sophisticated terrorists will just forge their documents.
State
Officials See Chance for Increased Secrecy
In the worn-out name of battling terrorism,
state lawmakers and government officials across the country want to give
themselves the power to do some of their governmental work without the public
knowing about it. This marks a reversal in the trend of the past three
decades.
Panel to Call
for National ID Cards
A volunteer panel of current and former law
enforcement officials in New York offered 50 ideas for improving security
and fighting "terrorism." Among these, the panel recommended the requirement
for national identification cards, which would contain a computer chip with
digital fingerprints, photographs and retinal scans. Panel members acknowledged
that the cost of implementing the long list of suggestions would be "enormous,"
and some of the ideas would be controversial.
New
York City Now A Police State
With security precautions and civil liberty
restrictions at an all-time high, even one New York City law-enforcement
official admitted, "this is a police state now."
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