i wrote my congressmen today

i wrote about REAL ID, passed in 2005. i consider it an assault on liberty and the groundwork for terrible abuses of power.

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We know Congress rejected REAL ID twice before it was passed, lumped into the "Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief, 2005." i understand that it would be extremely difficult to vote against a measure with such a name, and have a measure of sympathy for such a vote.

Now, however, is the time to repeal REAL ID, which is an affront to the liberty and privacy of citizens, and gravely inflates the powers of unelected officials in the Executive Branch.

When i look at the Constitution, i think Hitler himself could be President and the people would be protected if the Congress and Courts played their Constitutional roles. i believe that principle should be applied when considering legislation. The Founders didn't count on the benevolence of this nation's leaders, rather they built measures to restrict the powers of government in order to prevent abuses of power.

REAL ID flies in the face of that wisdom and creates a mechanism that could be used for terrible ends at some point in the future.

Let me also remind you of my support for the "One Subject at a Time Act (OSTA)", that would have prevented REAL ID from being injected into that bill. Please support the OSTA by introducing it in Congress. More information on the bill is available here:

http://www.downsizedc.org/osta-legislation.shtml