It has been speculated by those who have been researching the ongoing encroachment of the national security state that it would be fully implemented through a range of restrictions that would make it all but impossible to engage with modern society if one is “non-compliant.”

And So now we have Enhanced I.D. The first stepping stone to a National Identity card. The fact that you need to be “licensed” to drive or to have access to your own “private” transportation is a completely other subject altogether, and was one of the first encroachment on personal freedom.

New Yorkers looking to board a domestic flight or take a cruise next year could find themselves grounded unless they have driver’s licenses containing additional security data soon to be required by the federal government.

That’s because the state has failed to comply with the minimum standards of the federal Real ID system, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (Newsday)

The enhancements include essentially turning the driver’s license into a passport even for domestic travel and access to many domestic locations. Naturally, it also is replete with the latest tracking technology.

Enhanced I.D.Contains a machine-readable zone on the back.It also has a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, a requirement of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that can help expedite traffic and reduce the environmental effects of traffic at border crossings.

The insult added to injury is that it is going to cost significantly more than the standard licensing fees, which has thus far slowed any talk of mandatory adoption by the state of New York. And as an added bonus applicants must show up in person.

This announcement is troubling on more levels than just the enhanced tracking of one’s movements and potential restrictions on one’s innate right to travel freely. It all stems from the federal Real ID Act that was passed in 2005 in the ongoing opportunistic wake of September 11th. So far 800,000 New Yorkers have an enhanced ID, but this falls far short of the nearly 12 million active licenses, highlighting just how excited people seem to be about giving up more rights … and paying to do it.

One must wonder, then, what other restrictions will be imposed in the name of national security if this is not fully resisted while still in its early stages?

Via Activist Post