For privacy, local control, or civil liberty advocates these times must be a lot like having permanent explosive diarrhea. And for the few of you left with functioning alimentary canals, the senate heard you and passed the so-called "Real ID act" as a rider to the sacred $82 billion "Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief." Time to head over to Colostomy Bags R Us.com.

If you don't understand why so many people are suddenly clutching their colons it's because of the enormous centralization of private information this act demands, including establishing a federal database of everyone's driving record as well as:

Yep, a digital photo and an electronic version of your signature. All of this must be available in a machine readable format and the database will be linked with similar ones in Mexico and Canada for "border security" (i.e., unrelegated marketing lists and massive identity theft).  In order to get one you have to provide them a birth certificate, social security card and possibly other documents which they will then scan in and store electronically for at least 10 years (or photocopies for 7 years). And unless you have one, you pretty much can't receive any government service, including walk into any federal building, collect your social security check, or board an airplane. Don't worry, that uncomfortable feeling is just your bowels shutting down. 

H.R.1268 was passed by the Senate 100-0, which means not even Feingold wanted to weigh in here. After Bush signs it, it must be implemented by 2008.

Chalk up another tremendous victory for freedom fellas!