The Founding Fathers are rolling in their graves of what has become of a great nation that they founded.

Sounds like it's not working for you either. Good luck with your Driver's License issue.

What driving license issue? I legally have various US state-issued IDs and am legally licensed to drive in the US nearly always since about well before I turned 18 years of age. :D The situation I mentioned may have had something to do with the state and federal government getting to close to one another in imperfect ways, but even that isn't always clear.

I was just providing myself as an example of a US citizen who is still in the working years and yet had past ID issues due to the changing "security" requirements at the time -- issues such that it could have messed up with my right to travel and my right to vote in US federal and state elections. I'm not sure a national ID would have been the magic solution to that past situation, as having just national ID as an American is not sufficient for being able to vote in elections for state and federal offices.

Correction. You said "I had trouble getting US-state and US-federal-government issued ID".

Are you sure your passport wasn't revoked for owing back taxes of more than $50,000? I read something about that on the interweb.

And I'm still waiting to hear who issued your permit to carry.

Past vs present. Reading is fundamental, as is reading the difference. ;)

I am sure passport revocation for $50,000+ of IRS "back taxes" has never hit me -- it hasn't hit anybody yet. That approach has never been legally enforceable in the US during my lifetime, and it still isn't legally enforceable yet.

You seem to be waiting on a lot of things. Just don't hold your breath waiting. ;)

Like what?

MN was denied an extension but told that there would be a 120 day grace period.

I'll call Al Franken and get this sorted out.

To be followed by another grace period. For as long as Franken and Klobuchar want it.

And a voter ID requirement will do exactly what about this??

ID? I recall no ID request from either Social Security nor Medicare when my wife got benefits, although we had to provide was her naturalization certificate as she was still on their records as a resident alien (as she had been when her social security number had originally been issued.)

I think the issue is about weeding out the voters that don't care as much as the tea party types like the radicals rather than the moderates.

I even had one campaign admit it--it was a polling call but of course they're interested in whether you're going to vote before they find out how you plan to vote. Only it was about the primary--and here we have a caucus rather than a primary. When asked if I was going to participate I told him I don't do caucuses, when are they going to have a proper primary? Apparently it's written into state law and that's how the radicals like it so they block reform efforts.

I never thought of it that way before but that makes sense.

Because nothing ever goes wrong when citizens of a country have to carry around documentation of their status as citizens. Right.

Some elderly also put others in charge of their affairs (legally or unofficially). If a DL or passport lapses because the elder is no longer driving or travelling, there's not necessarily a reason to get it renewed - and given the tighter requirements, it can be very difficult and time-consuming.

There was a time, not that long ago, when US school children were taught that the most chilling words you could hear were "papers, please" and the most un-American thing you could imagine was a land where you were not free to roam as you wished - you had to have your papers and a reason that would satisfy any government thug at any time.

Welcome to the USA, 2016.

Those who bleat about a national ID have forgotten their history. A national ID will be used for all the wrong reasons and will do nothing to simplify things or address the issues it claims it will solve.

To steal an argument from the 2nd Amendment folks: a national ID will just place a burden on honest folks, enrich corrupt government contractors at the expense of the taxpayers, and do nothing to keep fake IDs out of the hands of criminals. It will further government harassment and monitoring of innocent civilians while doing little or nothing about bad guys.