[TheForge] Re: Criminal Background Check

[Mike Spencer]

Bruce wrote:

> Damned if I'll turn over my signature to govt. records.
>
> Wrote to my state senator and asked about privacy vs these digitized
> signatures and got a reply from some panjandrum in the DMV, rambling
> on about this and that and ultimately telling me they could do
> anything they damned well pleased with my digitized signature.

The nasty principle here isn't that someone's out to get you.  It's
that once data is collected, it will be used, saved forever and used
in whatever manner looks good at the time, legal or illegal, ethical
or not, private or public good, profit or not.  There will always be a
justification available along the same lines as the recently
shitcanned DC cabal justifying torture because, well, you know, we really
*really* needed to do it.

I have a NS driver's license with no digital photo or digital
signature.  It took a bit of correspondence and the final attitude
seems to be, "You silly twit, just wait until you need photo ID (which
will be every time you turn around in your stall, of course).  Then
you'll come running back to us."

As it happens, in the several years since then, I haven't had a road
stop (so don't yet know it will be received by the Mounties) and I've
only had one request for photo ID.  To get inside the gates of a
blueberry processing plant, the receptionist asked for photo ID and I
asked if a DL was okay.  Yes, she says, so I give her my DL.  Boggle.
First one she's ever seen. After a bit of chat, she agreed with me
completely about excess data collection, personal data leakage and
misuse etc.  Then my Guy showed up and I didn't have to get inside the
fence after all because the 250# Murray hammer [1] was at another,
unsecured location.

OTOH, I have to have a license with a photo (but no fingerprints) to
own long guns.  At least it was a physical photo, not an automated
digital database photo.  (Not that it makes a lot of difference in the
long run.)


FWIW,
- Mike

[1] YADATROT: (Yet another desperate attempt to remain on topic)
    The Maritime Blacksmiths now have the hammer, donated by John
    Bragg, owner of, among other things, the blueberry plant.