Ridiculous

Now I have heard of some darned ridiculous crud in my life but I have come across with one that wins the award, hands down.

Some background: the TSA (Transportation Safety Administration) have a new regulation that is going into effect on October 1, 2020. Now I am not going to rail on the TSA in this post as they disserve their own posting so as we do not lose focus on their idiocy. This new regulation calls for a Real-ID identification to be implemented in United States airports. This is based upon laws passed in 2005 and to quote:

“The Act established minimum security standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards and prohibits Federal agencies from accepting for official purposes licenses and identification cards from states that do not meet these standards.  These purposes are:

• Accessing Federal facilities
• Boarding federally regulated commercial aircraft
• Entering nuclear power plants”

In short, everyone knew it was coming.

The problem? Some states are not up to speed on the Real-ID stuff. Many states are not yet ready. Take my state, Oregon, for example. The promise that they will have Real-ID compliant identifications/driver’s license available by July 6, 2020.

First off, the State of Oregon have promised to have stuff ready in the past and failed to be ready so I am not that confident that they will be ready this time on July 6, 2020. Heck, I would not be surprised that they would screw up and not be ready by October 1, 2020. And what would happen? The state would issue a “my bad” and the citizens would be left holding the bag – again.

But here is the kicker; even if the hit their stride, the majority of citizens will not be able to get the new compliant identification in time. Thus they will not be able to travel in any U.S. airport using their State Identification. Think about it. We are not talking about International travel, we are talking about Domestic travel. If you want to fly to see grandma, no go. If you want to take a commuter flight to catch a ballgame, no go.

The State of Oregon’s suggestion: get your passport. My God! What a ridiculous cop out! Talk about swatting flies with sledge hammers! The State of Oregon, and for that matter other non-compliant states, are forcing their citizens to get a passport to catch a flight to watch a ballgame, take a weekend shopping trip, or go to grandmas for Christmas!

If it were not real, it would be a joke! And guess what? It is someone else’s fault – right?