Americans are known for the vehemence for which they hold dear their right to privacy. This should only become more acute in the age of identity theft. It would do the country some good then to follow closely what's happening to our Guardian readers across the pond when we allow government to collect and store our sensitive information.
Two computer discs holding the personal details of all families in the UK with a child under 16 have gone missing.The Child Benefit data on them includes name, address, date of birth, National Insurance number and, where relevant, bank details of 25m people.Chancellor Alistair Darling said there was no evidence the data had gone to criminals - but urged people to monitor bank accounts "for unusual activity".
This stunning bit of government incompetence has led British conservatives to ultimately pronounce dead any attempt by Labour to create a national ID database.
Good.
Now it's time for old-time American conservatives - Ron Paul and his netizens - in this presidential election to stand up for their more traditional concerns about state intervention into citizens' private lives and Real ID should be the first thing they take aim at.
What happened in Britain could very well happen here, and if the department of homeland security's track record proves anything, it will.
