Fake I.D.

Will driver's licenses packed with biometric data really make the country a safer place? Some national security figures think so, and the industry, seeing billions of dollars worth of opportunities, is pushing it hard.

But it's a phony solution to a real problem. Government-issued personal ID cards with the most private of information - fingerprints, retina scans and other unique bodily data - are just a fig leaf to make the public look like those in charge are actually keeping the country safe.

They are almost worthless as long as the federal government continues to let millions of illegal aliens enter the country without any documents.

They are almost worthless as long as federal and state governments accept foreign ID cards for illegal aliens to substitute for legal documents.

They are almost worthless as long as our leaders allow millions of illegal aliens to remain in the country, even when many if not most have been using counterfeit IDs or other false information.

They are almost worthless as long as the government turns a blind eye toward crooked federal employees in the Social Security Administration and elsewhere who routinely issue fake Social Security numbers and real Social Security Cards for illegal aliens.

Biometric cards are almost worthless as long as the government continues to appoint known Islamist sympathizers to key intelligence and security posts in government agencies (including the Department of Homeland Security.

To say nothing of criminal negligence throughout government agencies where personal information on millions of citizens is stored on laptops and other portable devices that can be - and have been - easily lost or stolen.

Et cetera.