Punky McSquisherton Has A lot of Attitude

And quite frankly, so do I. In the face of a never ending cold - I find that my resolve to trudge through it all, up to and including the fact that my voice now sounds like Janice Joplin's on helium, has faded to pure annoyance. With that mental framework set up, here are a few rants for the day. Happy Friday everyone.

The first thing I got to read this morning was that the "Real ID" program was moving forward. Although the date has been pushed back to 2011, instead of 2008, the plan is still a go. I had thought that there was enough opposition to the Real ID program to stop it from progressing - but I was wrong. What a way to start the day off. From the AP:

Even with more time, more federal help and technical advances, REAL ID still faces stiff opposition from civil liberties groups.
To address some of those concerns, the government now plans to phase in a secure ID initiative that Congress passed into law in 2005. Now, DHS plans a key deadline in 2011 — when federal authorities hope all states will be in compliance — and then further measures to be enacted three years later, according to congressional staffers who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because an announcement had not yet been made. DHS officials briefed legislative aides on the details late Thursday.[...]In its written objection to the law, the ACLU claims REAL ID amounts to the "first-ever national identity card system," which "would irreparably damage the fabric of American life."[...]By 2014, anyone seeking to board an airplane or enter a federal building would have to present a REAL ID-compliant driver's license, with the notable exception of those more than 50 years old, Homeland Security officials said.
The over-50 exemption was created to give states more time to get everyone new licenses, and officials say the risk of someone in that age group being a terrorist, illegal immigrant or con artist is much less. By 2017, even those over 50 must have a REAL ID-compliant card to board a plane.
Among other details of the REAL ID plan:
_The traditional driver's license photograph would be taken at the beginning of the application instead of the end so that should someone be rejected for failure to prove identity and citizenship, the applicant's photo would be kept on file and checked in the future if that person attempted to con the system again.
_The cards will have three layers of security measures but will not contain microchips as some had expected. States will be able to choose from a menu which security measures they will put in their cards.
Over the next year, the government expects all states to begin checking both the Social Security numbers and immigration status of license applicants.{article continues}

National ID, Real ID, there is no difference. "Papers please."

The Iranian threat, it is now being reported, wasn't what we all knew it wasn't thought it was. From the Washington Post:

The Pentagon said yesterday that the apparent radio threat to bomb U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf last weekend may not have come from the five Iranian Revolutionary Guard speedboats that approached them -- and may not even have been intended against U.S. targets. [article continues]

Oops, we messed up! Sometimes however, I can't help but think that we, the bloggers, we, the public had something to do with how quickly the story was corrected. It was all over the blogosphere, all over the internet, and most of what was being said was that we don't believe a word of it. That perhaps, somehow, our government has finally learned that fabricated stories as preemption for war aint going to cut it anymore. This thinking may be part and parcel with a pipe dream, but at least it's my pipe dream.

In other news, It snowed in Baghdad (no, there's nothing going on with global ecology and meteorology)

And the icing on the cake for today:

US would regret Pakistan Operation. Whoops, it looks like America's "friend" and "ally" has stepped up, and on Bush's toes by stating US military would be seen as invaders if they went into Pakistan to hunt al-Quaida operatives. Looks like Pakistan has gone back to terrorist sympathetic support, instead of helping AMerica end the "Axis of Evil".

From the Associated Press

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- President Pervez Musharraf said in an interview published Friday that U.S. troops would be regarded as invaders if they crossed into Pakistan to hunt al-Qaida militants.

He also said he would resign if opposition parties tried to impeach him after next month's elections.[article continues]