Schneier vs. Brin

[Julia Thompson]

On Sun, 9 Mar 2008, lud at tpg.com.au wrote:

>
>
> jon louis mann said the following on 3/8/2008 5:33 PM:
> I found myself disturbed that I'm attracted to the idea of carrying an
> MP3 recording device at all times, just in case I get stopped by law
> enforcement and want my own recording of the event.
>
> Ray writes:
> I felt the same myself the other day when we were stopped by the Border
> Patrol near White Sands NM. We were rudely treated and harassed by an
> officious officer because we did not have our passports with us. It had
> never been mentioned to us that this was "a US Govt requirement". I
> "insulted" him by proffering my new South Dakota driving license! "A
> note has been made on your record that you have been informed that next
> time you are liable to be arrested". Left a real sour taste in the
> mouth. This is the first person we have come across in our first four
> weeks traveling through the US who has been unfriendly. In general,
> people have been fantastically helpful and friendly.
>
> A question just comes to mind.Do US citizens need to carry ID?

In Texas, if you're an adult, you cannot be outside your residence without 
an ID.

If you're white and female, you can probably get away with it for decades 
as long as you're not actually driving without having your license on you. 
If you're black and male, you're going to find yourself in a world of hurt 
pretty darn quickly if you go out without your ID one day, especially in 
certain parts of the state.  (These statements are based on the 
experiences of people I know.)

 	Julia

(who has accidentally left the house without a license once in the past 5 
years, and went back for it in a hurry as soon as she realized - not that 
she's ever gotten pulled over for anything other than expired stickers, 
but that's not a risk anyone really wants to take, right?)