WASHINGTON, May 8 — The Homeland Security Department said Tuesday that it would plow ahead with national standards for driver’s licenses, despite a highly unusual level of activity by state legislatures opposed to the idea, and substantial second thoughts in Congress.Matthew Wald writes in the New York Times. I'm kind of curious what time Knocke gave that estimate; most of the article is a discussion of the Leahy hearing yesterday, which started at 10 a.m. EST ... and I'm sure comments are continuing to trickle in after the deadline. Still, it's a first stake in the ground.The department said it had received about 12,000 public responses to its draft rules, in a 60-day comment period that ended Tuesday. Russ Knocke, a spokesman, said the comments were mixed.
As for "mixed" ... I've been spot-checking comments all week long and they seem to be running at least 80% anti-Real ID both at the individual and the organizational level -- and the chatter in the blogosphere near the deadline was overwhelmingly anti, 95% or more. So we'll see just how "mixed" it really is.
No word in the article about timeframe for posting or responding to comments.
jon
9 comments:
My first reaction is that 12,000 seems like a lot of comments, especially given the combination of the lack of media attention and the risks that many people see of speaking out in this "chilling effects" time.
Also, the commenting process was really complex until the very end and then we had next to no time to get the word out. We could have done a much better job; but if we had even a week to react, I'm sure the total would have been a factor of 10 higher.
So like I say, given the circumstances, my first reaction is that this is pretty impressive.
jon
I wonder if every state (and WHO in the states) submitted comments? This article talks of Michigan's comments, for example. All these should appear in the public record at some point. Might be interesting to see how the "partnership with the states" idea holds up....
Does the web site "view public comments" currently only include comments submitted directly through the .gov site? What if people submitted through EFF's site or another portal? I tried to check the .gov site and don't see my name, so I'm wondering what is actually available on that site.
Don't know if you've seen this already, but I just posted it over on Pogo:
Comments to DHS on Real ID by the National Governors Association, the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators [pdf]
dissent,
> Does the web site "view public comments" currently only include comments submitted directly through the .gov site?
DHS is backed up getting comments up on their site; most of the faxed-in comments (via EFF and elsewhere) still aren't up there, and for that matter the comment I submitted via the .gov site yesterday isn't up there either. Not clear what their timeframe is for getting everything posted.
jon
Jon,
May I link to the following post?
Biometrics Still an Issue: Luddites vs. Lemmings
I can only hope that REAL ID dies a quick and sudden death.
JR
Thanks for the article, I read it and the post and I have to say that this all gets more confusing when you are new to all this,just when I think I understand it all, someone throws in something new.
I guess I will all click in to place at some stage!
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