Re: Internal Passports

At 10:02 AM 8/1/96 -0700, tcmay@got.net (Timothy C. May) wrote:

>Question (a la "Wired"): "When will the United States introduce an internal
>passport?"
>May: "2005, but they won't call it that."

Stewart: "Last week, but they didn't call it that."

According to Alaska Airlines, the FAA's policy as of last week
has switched to a mandatory policy that if you don't produce
government-issued photo-id, you can't get on the plane;
the previous policy had been more flexible.  

The folks stamped my ticket "Documents Verified" - looks
suspiciously similar to "Papers In Order".

       (Which they actually weren't, on my return trip;
        I handed her my work ID in the same plastic carrier
        as my train pass, and handed her the credit card
        I'd bought the tickets with explaining that I wasn't
        on government business and asking when had
        the policy changed and commenting.  And the nice
        Rent-A-Xray-Technician who asked if I minded if
        he searched my computer bag was totally confused
        when I said "Yes, of course I mind.")

You can still travel in a car if someone else is driving,
and you can still get on a train without identification,
but without papers you can't fly or drive, and you can't
ride a horse on the freeway except in the back of a horse trailer.
Driver's licenses were the beginning of a long downhill trend.

I wonder if they'll still accept an American passport; the country
has obviously been taken over by Pod People while we weren't looking....
#			Thanks;  Bill
# Bill Stewart, +1-415-442-2215 stewarts@ix.netcom.com
# <A HREF="http://idiom.com/~wcs"> 	Defuse Authority!

On Sun, 4 Aug 1996, Bill Stewart wrote:

[...]

> You can still travel in a car if someone else is driving,
> and you can still get on a train without identification,
> but without papers you can't fly or drive, and you can't
> ride a horse on the freeway except in the back of a horse trailer.
> Driver's licenses were the beginning of a long downhill trend.
> 
> I wonder if they'll still accept an American passport; the country
> has obviously been taken over by Pod People while we weren't looking....

I often have trouble with foreign passports and one of my associates often
has extensive problems trying to use an american passport for anything in
the United States.

Comments uttered in my presence on the subject have included:

"We don't accept THOSE."

"Sorry, we need to see OFFICIAL identification."

"Don't you have something state issued?"

"Uh, we need a driver's license number."


> #			Thanks;  Bill
> # Bill Stewart, +1-415-442-2215 stewarts@ix.netcom.com
> # <A HREF="http://idiom.com/~wcs"> 	Defuse Authority!
> 
> 

--
I hate lightning - finger for public key - Vote Monarchist
unicorn@schloss.li

I've been using by british passport as photo-id for years, and I haven't 
had any major problems- you can get your checks printed with your 
passport number on them instead of a drivers licence, which will makes 
things much easier.

Simon

---
Cause maybe  (maybe)		      | In my mind I'm going to Carolina
you're gonna be the one that saves me | - back in Chapel Hill May 16th.
And after all			      | Email address remains unchanged
You're my firewall -    	      | ........First in Usenet.........

In message <Pine.SUN.3.91.960805162736.4762C-100000@tipper.oit.unc.edu>, Simon 
Spero writes:
:I've been using by british passport as photo-id for years, and I haven't 
:had any major problems- you can get your checks printed with your 
:passport number on them instead of a drivers licence, which will makes 
:things much easier.
:

There are a lot of retail stores that will complain if you don't use a 
driver's license when paying with checks.  Most check collection agencys 
track people by that number.

--Chris

:Simon
:
:---
:Cause maybe  (maybe)		      | In my mind I'm going to Carolina
:you're gonna be the one that saves me | - back in Chapel Hill May 16th.
:And after all			      | Email address remains unchanged
:You're my firewall -    	      | ........First in Usenet.........
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If you want to pay _with a check_, you play by their rules.  In fact, the 
word "pay" might not completely appropriate in that transaction.

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In article <199608042250.PAA13719@toad.com>,
Bill Stewart  <stewarts@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>According to Alaska Airlines, the FAA's policy as of last week
>has switched to a mandatory policy that if you don't produce
>government-issued photo-id, you can't get on the plane;
>the previous policy had been more flexible.  

So does anyone have any sort of "official" list as to what constitutes
"government-issued photo-id"?  I'll be flying within California soon
(see you at Crypto...), as as a "furriner", I have no US ID.  I do have
photo-id issued by _another_ government, though (a health card; I wonder
if they'll have heard of that...).

   - Ian "I'd try to be sure to get to the airport early, but the plane
            leaves at some ridiculous time like 7:30am"

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