Why America Must Not Take Part

By Rick Brinegar

The Biometric Surveillance State

Government-mandated biometric identification systems, employing fingerprints, iris scans and other unique physical traits, continue to be promoted with unrelenting fervor. However, such programs are often met with hostility and suspicion, and with good reason. The American Civil Liberties Union, among others, opposed a proposal in the United States to enhance social security cards with biometric identification. The ACLU asserted that it would “violate privacy by helping to consolidate data and facilitate tracking of individuals,” bringing “government into the very center of our lives.” One of the first acts of Britain’s new government in May, 2010 was the announcement of legislation to terminate a costly biometric passport and national biometric identification plan. According to Home Secretary Theresa May, the national biometric ID was scrapped “to reduce the control of the state over decent, law-abiding people.”

 

At best, national identification programs intrude on privacy and reduce individual liberties. At worst, they set up the mechanism that will soon be used to implement a prophesied global economic system, controlled by a brutal world dictator.

Multi-Use Russian eID Card

The eID program in Europe enables card holders to access many institutional services with only one eID card. For example, in Germany, an eID card can be used as an electronic signature for paying taxes. In Portugal, the eID card provides access to civil records, birth certificates and social security information. The European eID program employs a set of standards that will enable these cards to be adopted across multiple countries and regions.

 

The most complex eID project in Europe is Russia’s “Universal Electronic Card” (UEC) program. To be deployed in 2012, the UEC will enable Russian citizens to interact with about 1,000 national and regional services and around 10,000 commercial enterprises. The “Universal Electronic Card” will have a dual interface for both contact and contactless access.

 

The Russian UEC will function as an access, payment and digital signature card, but will also be used for retrieving medical insurance and pension information. In addition, Russians will use the card to pay for public transportation, as a credit card to pay utilities, tickets, fines etc., as a healthcare card for registrations and prescriptions, and also as an education card.

 

In return for this convenience, according to Frost & Sullivan Global Program Director Jean-Noel Georges, “…the government will be able to track every citizen’s physical movement and digital activity on an everyday basis.”

 

Until now, only India’s Unique ID (UID) project approached the complexity of Russia’s “Universal Electronic Card.”

India’s “Unique” National ID

With 1.2 Billion residents, a national ID program seemed a daunting task. Nevertheless, India has launched a monumental program to administer a Unique Identification Number (UID) to every resident. Required biometric data include fingerprints, iris scans, and a picture of the face, compliant with facial recognition standards. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) intends to slowly roll out the program in 2011 and to ID 600 million people over the next 4 years.

National IDs Across the Globe

Belgium, Sweden, Macao, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand are among the nations that have fully implemented national ID cards. And, in Mexico, the national ID process begins with the young and innocent.

Children Registered in Mexico, “Trusted Travelers”

On Jan. 19, 2011, President Felipe Calderon of Mexico signed an executive order requiring, within the next five years, all Mexicans 17 years old and younger to have a biometric national identity card. The database will allow Mexican children, as they grow up, to already possess the biometric information they will need to obtain North American Trusted Traveler border pass cards that the US Department of Homeland Security is preparing to issue to Mexican citizens. Under the program, Mexicans who have undergone background checks and are deemed low security risks will be able to fly into major US cities and breeze through customs without being questioned by US Customs agents. 

Iris Scanning Secures City in Mexico, Then the World

Leon, Mexico has introduced public iris scanning technology. These scanners don’t require people to stop and put their eyes in front of a camera. Devices installed in public places, like train and bus stations, and connected to a database, track people across the city, in real time, as they walk, at the rate of up to 50 people per minute. According to Jeff Carter, CDO of Global Rainmakers, the company that installed the system, everyone on the planet should be connected to the iris tracking system in 10 years.

Worker’s Biometric ID

In 2010, Democrats in the US Congress proposed an immigration bill which included an enhanced Social Security card called “Biometric Enrollment, Locally-stored Information, and Electronic Verification of Employment,” or “BELIEVE.” The card would have been required to verify permanent residence when starting a new job. Essentially, anyone desiring to participate in this economy would have had to have the card. The “BELIEVE” bill was promoted as a solution to the illegal immigration problem, overlooking the need to control the borders. Later, Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, a supporter of the BELIEVE bill, clashed with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano over whether the Senate should have moved forward on immigration reform. Graham said that he was betting “everything I own” that a comprehensive bill would not pass in 2010 unless the nation first secured its border with Mexico.

Real ID Rejected by 24 States, None Has Fully Complied

Real ID was enacted in the United States in 2005. The commission formed to investigate the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks recommended that the federal government issue minimum performance standards for all drivers’ licenses in America. The result was the Real ID Act, which originally had a compliance deadline of 2008. That date was pushed back to 2011. Now, the US Department of Homeland Security has extended the deadline to 2013, saying, “The inability of states to fully comply with the requirements of Real ID by May 11, 2011 is the result of a number of factors, including diminished state budgets caused by the economic downturn.”

 

The National Conference of State Legislatures has recently updated a chart showing 16 states with laws forbidding any compliance with Real ID, and 8 states that have passed resolutions boycotting it.

 

Molly Ramsdell, of the National Conference of State Legislatures believes, however, that those numbers are a low estimate. Today, 11 states are considered to be “materially compliant” with 18 of the REAL ID “material compliance benchmarks.” However, when asked how many states the Department of Homeland security considers being in full compliance, Ramsdell said, “At this point the answer is none.”

 

Originally, one the states most vehemently opposed to Real ID was Montana. The Montana legislature unanimously passed a bill in 2008 that prohibited the governor and the attorney general from implementing any provisions of the Real ID Act. “This is the federal government telling a state [you] must do something and you must pay for it,” said Montana governor Brian Schweitzer, “Well, thanks for playing. Montana’s not in.”

 

Some states, on the other hand, had moved, early on, to upgrade their IDs to federal standards, such as North Carolina and Michigan. California, Alabama and North Dakota were cited by Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff as examples of states that had made progress in complying with Real ID.

Real ID Won’t Stay Dead

At one point, with so many states refusing to comply, and DHS continuing to issue deadline extensions, Real ID was considered “dead in the water.” Real ID was buried, but it did not stay dead.

Real ID Will Get a Makeover

Secretary Napolitano said in March, 2011 that her Department of Homeland Security is working with the National Governors Association to propose revisions to the Real ID Act. The NGA has claimed that Real ID forces unneeded and expensive burdens on states and fails to achieve the security goals it establishes. The National Governors Association says that implementing the program could cost close to $11 billion over five years. Many states cannot afford this, and the federal government will not fund it.

The Real ID Controversy

Supporters of Real ID say that the government must tighten identification standards. It is still too easy, they say, for a terrorist to get a license. Actually, Real ID does little to prevent a dishonest person from obtaining a license. REAL ID does not require people to submit anything with a photo on it, so if you use someone else’s paperwork, you can obtain a Real ID compliant license.

 

Real ID forces states to issue licenses or ID cards a certain way. States must issue federally compliant licenses or IDs, or produce non-compliant cards of a different design or color than compliant cards or IDs. Either way, the state must change the way these documents are issued, and pay for the change.

 

Under Real ID, a single interlinked database, as well as the requirement that each DMV store copies of every birth certificate and other documents presented to it, will actually increase the risk of security breaches and ID theft. In other words, Real ID provides one stop shopping for identity thieves.

Is the Surveillance Society Inevitable?

The Federal government is subservient to the states, according to the United States Constitution. Congress has enumerated powers in Article 1, Section 8. Forcing states to issue licenses and ID cards is not one of these powers. The 10th Amendment pronounces that the powers not specifically reserved to the federal government are reserved to the states, or to the people. States can and must nullify unconstitutional federal laws through their state legislatures.

 

National IDs are promoted as a way to protect us from future terrorism.

 

However, critics believe that programs such as Real ID do nothing to prevent terrorism, and actually reduce personal security. Every interaction with the federal government would require the Real ID compliant card. Our government would be able to track every move we make, especially with the implementation of RFID technology. But hackers can easily steal personal information using inexpensive remote RFID scanners. Also, victims have no way of knowing when ID theft has occurred.

 

Some church people point out that Jesus’ message was not one of fighting for sovereignty under pagan rule. They say Christians should choose their battles carefully. Real ID, some claim, is merely a distraction. It is wiser, they say, to not provoke the government into making trouble over a relatively minor issue. Far from being a minor issue, however, history has shown that, when governments are afforded the opportunity to use their power to identify and monitor the activities of their people, it always leads to repression and enslavement. 

Global ID Needed to Buy or Sell

According to Revelation 13:15-18, every person on earth will be forced to have a number. Without that number, they will be unable to buy or sell. If you want to have a job, you must have a valid, government-recognized ID, and be in the global database. No job? No buying or selling. When this system is activated worldwide, the mechanism will be in place for implementation of the mark of the beast that was prophesied 2,000 years ago.

America Must Opt Out of National/Global ID

The ultimate fate of the United States is not set in stone in Bible prophecy. We should be politically active, work to build awareness of the coming global ID system, and pray for our president and nation. Prayer changes things.

 

In Daniel 7:1-8, the United States is represented as eagle’s wings coming out of the lion, Great Britain. Then, the eagle’s wings are not present in the beast of Revelation 13. Why is the United States not represented in this end time one-world beast? The United States could be included under the symbol of the lion, Great Britain, since the eagle’s wings were originally attached to the lion. Or, perhaps the United States opts out, and refuses to continue on its present path of enslavement and absorption into the end time world government. Yet another possibility is America’s complete annihilation in World War III.

 

So, will America be a part of the endtime New World Order? Or will America be destroyed in World War III? Or will we choose to opt out of the centralized economy of the final human government on earth and become a beacon of light in the midst of the descending darkness of the Antichrist? Since the outcome is not specifically prophesied is scripture, apparently the end result can be determined by people turning their hearts to God in sincere prayer.

 

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

 

2 Chronicles 7:14