I draw, some, though not much comfort from the fact that there is no real news for me to write about. Sure, things are happening: car accidents, plane crash, the murdered marine, kidnappings. But... perhaps it's the plight of the hyper connected 20-something these days. Nothing is really shocking anymore.

Perhaps the only thing looming is STILL Real ID. Now, while the government keeps pushing back the effective date, one of them is still in place: On May 11, 2008, you cannot use your state driver's license for "official business." This means travel as well as anything involving the government. Passports will basically be required for all states that are non compliant, and at this point, I don't know that there are any states that have been able to turn over their entire databases so that every driver's license is compliant. This means that all those people who are traveling for graduation HAVE TO have their passport. The exception to this rule is the rather sizeable population born before 1964.

I haven't been able to read more then the first few pages of the final report (it's 300 pages long and available here.) but it's worrisome. More then that, the NY Times has an article about it in which Chertoff recognizes that states cannot meet the May deadline, but that they're pushing ahead with it anyone. If anyone thinks that this isn't something they have to worry about because they're in one of the already non compliant states, think again. As of May 11, you cannot board a plane or train without a passport (oh for the days when you only needed that OUTSIDE the country). As of May 11, you cannot enter a federal building or federal land (including, to my understanding, any national park) without a passport or compliant ID. I imagine this will be a particular issue for those who live in areas that are technically overseen by the National Park Service, like the Freedom Trail in Boston.

I hope I've made myself clear: this is an incredibly important and fairly detrimental piece of legislation that was passed almost three years ago to no fan fare. It is about to affect millions of lives, and no one is paying attention. The attention is starting to gather, I grant you: most of the major papers in big Western cities have picked up the story, as well as the NY times. I only hope that people will open their eyes and start recognizing the massive headache that is coming there way.