Another Important Step in Turning the US into a POLICE STATE: Real ID

[...]
REAL ID sets tough document security and information-sharing standards for state licensing authorities and bans the issuance of licenses except to those who can prove they are U.S. citizens or are in the country legally. States are not required to comply, but licenses that do not meet the act's standards will not be valid for federal purposes, including boarding airplanes and entering federal courts and other buildings.

The act comes into force in May and will apply to states that have not filed for an extension, giving them until December 2009 to meet its standards. Air travelers and visitors to federal buildings trying to use licenses from hold-out states as identification after the deadline will be turned away, said Homeland Security spokeswoman Laura Keehner.

Only a handful of states filed for an extension before the publication of regulations governing the new standards last month. More than a dozen state legislatures passed legislation or resolutions opposing the act last year. In several states, including Washington, lawmakers tried to make the laws binding, in some cases by banning state governments from spending any money to implement the act.

[...]