By Andrew Somers

http://civilliberty.about.com/?once=true&

One of the scarier ideas to come out of the 9/11 commission is that of "National ID Cards" - and that's coupled with a proposed "network of screening points", which would be something like the "internal passports" of the Soviet Union, or the national ID required of citizens in Nazi Germany.

Can this be happening in America? Unfortunately, yes. Congress is rushing to write new legislation to require national ID cards as well as many other 9/11 commission recommendations into law.

The thing is, a national ID system, and a system of checkpoints ("your papers please!") are not going to make us safer from terrorism. It's just another example of government bureaucrats working overtime in their march to remove our freedoms and instill new totalitarian controls on our society.

A free nation has no need for a system of checkpoints and papers.

A free nation is just that - free, meaning that you are free to live your life without governmental intervention.

The same government that failed to prevent 9/11 now wants to take greater control of your life, but none of this will make us safer or more secure. It will only destroy our freedom, engender fear, and ultimately make us less secure.

There's no reason to think that a national ID card would have prevented 9/11. Just as there's no reason to think that federalizing airport security would have prevented it. Pilots used to be allowed to carry guns, but government intervention took pilots guns away in 1987, leaving pilots unarmed to deal with attackers like those on 9/11. Our government has always had the authority to close our borders to any foreign national, yet our government's mismanagement let plenty of Al Queda operatives into our nation.

The same inept government that allowed 9/11 to happen is now seeking take away our freedoms as a result. From the Drug War to the Patriot Act, and now National ID and checkpoints - our government is out of control.

By Andrew Somers