Real ID Act mostly helps identity thieves.

The following editorial appeared in the San Jose Mercury News on Wednesday, May 18:

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Something as important to America's security and way of life as a national identification card ought to be thoroughly and thoughtfully debated. At a minimum, lawmakers would hear expert testimony and consider the costs and the impact on states, on privacy and on civil liberties.

Instead, a bill that creates a de facto national ID was rammed through Congress without debate, attached to a spending measure for the missions in Afghanistan and Iraq. It's called the Real ID Act, for real identification _ but real idiotic is more like it.

President Bush is …