Mark Lerner began by reminding us that the present generation has a responsibility to the next to restore, preserve and protect what generations prior to ours won for us. He also reminded us that we often need to make coalitions with people and groups we normally wouldn’t deal with.

As recently as mid-July 2009 lawsuits in federal courts brought by citizens having to do with electronic surveillance without warrant are being dismissed on the basis of “national security.” It has become widely known, especially this year, that all communications are subject to monitoring by federal security agencies. It is also becoming widely known that faces are being entered into a digitized database (biometrics) and that privacy laws have giant loopholes involving “national security.” Dept. Homeland Sec. officials are beginning to admit that personal data is being shared without warrant with international authorities to create an international “security database.” Both ACLU and ACLJ oppose Real ID and believe that it should be eliminated.

Be prepared to document claims on either side of the biometrics discussion. If the person refuses to document then ignore them. There is a single agency to share driver’s license data in the US, Mexico and Canada. This came into existence under the Clinton administration. The US taxpayer has been forced to pay for this international effort through the NHTSA. Officials deny this but the proof is irrefutable.

Mexico has created a “citizen’s ID card.” US corporations specializing in identity systems want to do the same in the US and put things like political party affiliation on it.

There have already been abuses of electronic surveillance available to agencies, though there have been no consequences for those abuses.