Leahy, Others Speak Out Against New ID Standards - washingtonpost.com

Originally published at Twixel.net. You can comment here or there.

Leahy, Others Speak Out Against New ID Standards - washingtonpost.com
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), citing concerns about Americans’ privacy, signaled yesterday that he will push to repeal a provision of a 2005 law aimed at creating new government standards for driver’s licenses.Leahy, who has co-sponsored bipartisan legislation to repeal the provision, spoke out as the debate intensified over the Real ID Act, which requires states to create new tamper-proof driver’s licenses in line with rules recently issued by the Department of Homeland Security. States must begin to comply by May 2008 but can request more time. After 2013, people whose IDs do not meet those standards will not be allowed to board planes or enter federal buildings.
A similar Democrat-backed bill to repeal the provision is pending in the House. At least seven states have passed laws or resolutions opposing implementation of Real ID. Fourteen states have legislation pending. By yesterday, the DHS had received more than 12,000 public comments in response to the rules.

Real ID legislation was tacked onto a 2005 emergency spending bill by House Republicans, without Senate debate, and signed by President Bush. The bill’s passage cut short negotiations between states and the federal government to improve driver’s license security. Advocates of a repeal want to restart the negotiations.
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Let’s hope we can get this repealed. Very bad legislation.

iF Magazine - Battlestar Galactica Season 4 is its last

Originally published at Twixel.net. You can comment here or there.

iF Magazine
iF MAGAZINE: What’s coming up for season four?

EDWARD JAMES OLMOS: It’s fantastic. I think they’re going to discover some very important issues about what the fan base really, really wants to see and what’s to understand about this show. We’re heading into the final season. This is the final season as we speak. All of us are very saddened by that, but we always knew there was going to be a conclusion and we would find Earth, so we will be finding Earth this season. I wish it would [keep going]. I could do 10 years like this season. I think that this is some of finest usages of television that I have been a part of in my life. Bar none. I’ve been doing this for 42 years. I’ve done some really good work in television and motion pictures but there really is nothing like this show. I can honestly tell you that this is one of the finest dramatic pieces work on humanity I’ve ever seen in my life.

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Aw man I adore this show. What in the world am I going to watch to replace it? Reruns of it and Farscape and Firefly I guess.