- Original Message -
From: John Gilmore [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Thursday, June 17, 2004 10:31 AM
Subject: Re: A National ID: AAMVA's Unique ID
The solution then is obvious, don't have a big central database. Instead
use
a distributed database.
Our favorite civil servants, the Departments of Motor Vehicles, are about
to do exactly this to us.
They call it Unique ID and their credo is: One person, one license,
one record. They swear that it isn't national ID, because national
ID is disfavored by the public. But it's the same thing in
distributed-computing clothes.
I think you misunderstood my point. My point was that it is actually
_easier_, _cheaper_, and more _secure_ to eliminate all the silos. There is
no reason for the various silos, and there is less reason to tie them
together. My entire point was to put my entire record on my card, this
allows faster look-up (O(1) time versus O(lg(n))), greater security (I
control access to my record), it's cheaper (the cards have to be bought
anyway), it's easier (I've already done most of the work on defining them),
and administration is easier (no one has to care about duplication).
This sure smells to me like national ID.
I think they are drawing the line a bit finer than either of us would like.
They don't call it a national ID because it being a national ID means that
it would be run by the federal government, being instead run by state
governments, it is a state ID, linked nationally.
As I said in the prior one, I disagree with any efforts to create forced ID.
This, like the MATRIX program, is the brainchild of the federal
Department of inJustice. But those wolves are in the sheepskins of
state DMV administrators, who are doing the grassroots politics and
the actual administration. It is all coordinated in periodic meetings
by AAMVA, the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators
(http://aamva.org/). Draft bills to join the Unique ID Compact, the
legally binding agreement among the states to do this, are already
being circulated in the state legislatures by the heads of state DMVs.
The idea is to sneak them past the public, and past the state
legislators, before there's any serious public debate on the topic.
They have lots of documents about exactly what they're up to. See
http://aamva.org/IDSecurity/. Unfortunately for us, the real
documents are only available to AAMVA members; the affected public is
not invited.
Robyn Wagner and I have tried to join AAMVA numerous times, as
freetotravel.org. We think that we have something to say about the
imposition of Unique ID on an unsuspecting public. They have rejected
our application every time -- does this remind you of the Hollywood
copy-prevention standards committees? Here is their recent
rejection letter:
Thank you for submitting an application for associate membership in
AAMVA.
Unfortunately, the application was denied again. The Board is not clear
as
to how FreeToTravel will further enhance AAMVA's mission and service to
our
membership. We will be crediting your American Express for the full
amount
charged.
Please feel free to contact Linda Lewis at (703) 522-4200 if you would
like
to discuss this further.
Dianne
Dianne E. Graham
Director, Member and Conference Services
AAMVA
4301 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 400
Arlington, VA 22203
T: (703) 522-4200 | F: (703) 908-5868
www.aamva.org http://www.aamva.org/
At the same time, they let in a bunch of vendors of high security ID
cards as associate members.
Well then create a High-Security ID card company, build it on the technology
I've talked about. It's fairly simple, file the paperwork to create an LLC
with you and Robyn, the LLC acquires a website, it can be co-located at your
current office location, the website talks about my technology, how it
allows the unique and secure identification of every individual, blah, blah,
blah, get a credit card issued in the correct name. They'll almost certainly
let you in, you'll look and smell like a valid alternative (without lying
because you could certainly offer the technology), if you really want to
make it look really good I'm even willing to work with you on filing a
patent, something that they'd almost certainly appreciate.
AAMVA, the 'guardians' of our right to travel and of our identity
records, doesn't see how listening to citizens concerned with the
erosion of exactly those rights and records would enhance their
mission and service.
Of course it won't, their mission and service is to offer the strongest
identity link possible in the ID cards issued nation-wide, as such the
citizen's course of action has to be to govern the states issuing these
identication papers. However, if you offer them technology to actually make
their mission and service cheaper, more effective, and as a side-benefit
better for their voters. Besides, if you can't beat them (you
