The push towards a national identification card is marching forward.  Last week, the Dept. of Homeland Security released the new requirements that states will have to follow as part of Jim Sensenbrenner's boondoggle known as Real ID:

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who unveiled final details of the REAL ID Act's rules on Friday, said that if states want their licenses to remain valid for air travel after May 2008, those states must seek a waiver indicating they want more time to comply with the legislation.
...
Chertoff spoke as he discussed the details of the administration's plan to improve security for driver's licenses in all 50 states -- an effort delayed due to opposition from states worried about the cost and civil libertarians upset about what they believe are invasions of privacy.

Under the rules announced Friday, Americans born after Dec. 1, 1964, will have to get more secure driver's licenses in the next six years.
...
To make the plan more appealing to cost-conscious states, federal authorities drastically reduced the expected cost from $14.6 billion to $3.9 billion, a 73 percent decline, said Homeland Security officials familiar with the plan.

I've discussed Real ID many times before, and this is just another attempt to push it down the throats of states.  So far, 17 states have outright refused to comply.  In fact, in most of those 17 states, the legislatures have passed laws forbidding their DMV's from complying.  The implications here are important.  First of all, this is an unfunded mandate.  To date, only a fraction of that amount has been allocated by Congress to pay for this sytem.  The requirements are incredibly steep.  Most people concentrate on the actual card requirements.  But Real ID also requires a national database to be created that will essentially create a national identifcation card.  All for what?  It will cost more than predicted (guaranteed), it will remove all aspects of privacy (they can't even protect our social security numbers), and it won't improve our security one iota.

But in an effort to force this down our throats, the Dept. of Homeland Security is not just doubling, but tripling down on it's bet.  They've announced that they want to introduce requirements so that you can't buy cough medicine without a Real ID.  No... really:

Could a Real ID-compliant license be required in the future to buy certain over-the-counter medicines at your local drugstore?

A top Homeland Security official indicated Wednesday that the answer may be yes.

In a presentation aimed at promoting the final identification requirements released Friday, Stewart Baker, the Homeland Security Department's assistant secretary for policy, suggested the controversial system could help federal agents combat methamphetamine production and abuse in the United States.

Baker cited a 2005 federal law, which requires pharmacies to keep tabs on how often people buy certain drugs, such as cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine, that can be used to concoct the drug. The key to that process, naturally, is verifying the customer's identity through some sort of document.

And if that's not too much for you... do you trust other countries with this information?  Because it looks like they'll be getting it too:

Senior British police officials are talking to the FBI about an international database to hunt for major criminals and terrorists.

The US-initiated programme, "Server in the Sky", would take cooperation between the police forces way beyond the current faxing of fingerprints across the Atlantic. Allies in the "war against terror" - the US, UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand - have formed a working group, the International Information Consortium, to plan their strategy.

Biometric measurements, irises or palm prints as well as fingerprints, and other personal information are likely to be exchanged across the network. One section will feature the world's most wanted suspects. The database could hold details of millions of criminals and suspects.

And to think that all this started just because Jim Sensenbrenner didn't want a few people to have a driver's license.