Wisconsin Govcrat Doyle Bends Over for the Feds on Real ID
March 12, 2006
8:55 a.m., MT

Gov. Doyle: Signs AB 69; Also Signs Assembly Bills 201, 456, 624; Senate Bills 112, 495, 496, 497, 511. Busy little butt-monkey, wasn't he? Here's what he said about Real ID:

Tightening the process to crack down on drivers' license fraud is an important goal, Governor Doyle said. However, the federal REAL ID Act is an enormous, under-funded mandate by Congress that is going to present massive implementation challenges for every state. The federal government doesn't seem to have thought through these challenges or offered the states the necessary help, guidance, or resources to implement this mandate. That being said, the state has to comply with federal law, and this bill will allow us to begin to take the necessary steps to do so.

No, the state doesn't. For those of you who haven't read And Then There Were None yet -- that's the story I was waxing so enthusiastic over the other day -- what F--I.W. stands for is Freedom--I Won't. If it isn't possible to say I won't then one isn't free. What would the feddiecrats do if statecrats began to show some spine? What could they do? Not much, truth be told. And if you want a clearer picture, I highly recommend The Third Revolution by Anthony Lewis, for one scenario.

(By the way, I spent most of Friday reading the novella to the snolfs, and they enjoyed it. Some of it was a bit over their heads, but they loved the idea of an entire planet without busybodies. It took a while for them to grok the weapon, but they did, and it allowed me to teach them some about the one who developed it according to the story [not wanting to give away anything for those who've not had the pleasure of reading it yet]. Amazingly, they've not yet tried to use it on me!)

Back to my rant here ... It sure would be nice to see a state stand up to this idiocy. Will Montana? They seemed to be heading that direction, but I've not kept track, and I've not seen any news on Real ID coming out of that beautiful place. I know a few Montanans drop by here now and again -- folks, I'd say this is one time when writing your legislators is a good idea. Remember, those leaders are that in name only -- most often they follow political opinion, so they need to know that there is strong resistance to Real ID.

Some of you may remember that I reported a while back that Wisconsin's DMV is having a teensy problem processing applications for their products (their word, not mine). Checking on their web site for current delays, it appears there hasn't been much improvement since I first was directed to that site.

So. The DMV already can't handle their normal workload, and they're now required to do more? It'll be interesting, and likely rather amusing since I won't be affected by it, to see how this shakes out. I suspect the Green Bay Free Radical will keep us posted; Warren's already covered this news.

And while I'm ragging on Doyle, that news report I linked to says that one of the other bills he signs allows lenders to impose penalties for prepayment of loans. WTF?! The story says, The bill has the potential to provide some consumers using state chartered financial institutions lower mortgage rates. Maybe, but keeping people in debt longer is not a good idea in a healthy economy (which ours is most definitely not). How very Mallcity 14 of them. (I gotta get my review of that book back online!)

[Oh, and for the rather rude individual who complained that my non-Real ID-related posts aren't worthwhile: My response to you remains the same, and will remain the same, until you show signs of grokking civility and individualism.]

Sunni

Comments: 3 people have contributed to the conversation

On Sunday, March 12th, at approximately 7:06 p.m. Mountain time, jeffrey smith said:

Living in a state where penalties for prepayment is a normal thing, I would have to say the only WTF is why this a WTF. Wisconsin is merely catching up to standard practice.

On Monday, March 13th, at approximately 6:31 a.m. Mountain time, Garry Reed said:

A while back when I wrote an article on SF (disguised as a book review) I mentioned that my very favorite childhood SF writer was Eric Frank Russell because he succeeded in melding humor with his SF as no one else could. A reader directed me to the online version of "And Then There Were None" which I remembered reading as a kid. Back then the F-IW just seemed normal. In re-reading it as an adult in today's climate, it seems revolutionary. And of course it would be if only we had some truly revolutionary leaders amongst our politicians. Glad you read it to the Kiddos. Maybe they'll be tomorrow's revolutionaries.

On Monday, March 13th, at approximately 10:45 a.m. Mountain time, Sunni said:

It is? Wow. I don't recall ever having a loan that included a penalty for prepayment as part of its terms. Guess that's one more check in the Official Old Fart Tally for yours truly ...

Garry, I vaguely remember that piece of yours. The slow erosion of F-IW is an excellent cautionary tale I hope future generations do not forget.

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