From: VEAL@utkvm1.utk.edu (David Veal)
Subject: Re: Clinton wants National ID card, aka USSR-style "Internal Passport"
Lines: 40
Organization: University of Tennessee Division of Continuing Education

In article <1993Apr15.201756.29141@CSD-NewsHost.Stanford.EDU> andy@SAIL.Stanford.EDU (Andy Freeman) writes:

>In article <1993Apr14.175931.66210@cc.usu.edu> slp9k@cc.usu.edu writes:
>>> (BTW - Which parts should be secure?  Criminal
>>> records, ie convictions, are typically considered public information,
>>> so should that info be secure?  Remember, the population includes
>>> parents checking prospective childcare worker.)
>
>>	Parent's checking a babysitter shouldn't need access to the information
>>stored in the card.
>
>Sure they do.  The prospective sitter may have a nasty habit of molesting
>kids three or four months into the job.  The references may not have
>known him long enough or may not have picked up on this yet.
>
>Remember, criminal conviction info is public, so if you're going to
>argue for an ID card, other people are going to have a strong argument
>that it disclose public info.

       As perhaps some insight into how this sort of thing works, the
local college newspaper had a big crusade to have the U.T. police
release crime stats.  (The school claimed that to do so would violate
federal education records privacy laws).  They swore up and down they
weren't interested in student discipline records, only for stats so people
could make an evaluation of how safe the campus was.

       It was barely a week after crime stats were released before the
Daily Beacon had an editorial calling for student disciplinary stats
to be released, because they complained certain segments of the campus
population were treated administratively rather than turned over to the
police and therefore the criminal states weren't accurate.

       What people say they want public today may not be what they
say tomorrow.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
David Veal Univ. of Tenn. Div. of Cont. Education Info. Services Group
PA146008@utkvm1.utk.edu - "I still remember the way you laughed, the day
your pushed me down the elevator shaft;  I'm beginning to think you don't
love me anymore." - "Weird Al"
