[00:00:00] Foreign. [00:00:05] You're listening to casual talk radio where common sense is still the norm whether you're a new or long time listener. We appreciate you joining us today. Visit [email protected] and now here's your host. Ler. [00:00:21] Do you travel? I don't, but you might. And I figured I would do what I could to share little bit information for those that are travelers or plan to travel or may have need to travel. Real ID is upon us. Do you know what real ID is? Do you understand better what it is? I'm going to help you. I'm going to do what I can to help you understand what real ID is all about. Because if you're older, as many who listen to the show, you're gonna find it stupid when I explain it to you if you're not older. To you this is nothing. And I got a story, I got a story to tell. So real id, apparently, I don't know for sure, but apparently some lawmakers are trying to put the brakes on this nonsense. This was passed, I believe over 20 years ago. It's been a while. And the thought was to try to standardize the driver's licenses and the IDs and everything that we use for purposes of entering federal buildings as well as boarding planes. This all comes from 9 11. [00:01:30] And the bottom line is that when you think of IDs, IDs take multiple forms. Your birth certificate is a form of id. You may not have known that, but it is. It simply does not have a photo since it doesn't have a photo. [00:01:46] States created this ID form for each one. Each state has their own form and function and everything else look and feel. And then the driver's license became a thing. When cars started to gain popularity, then Social Security number, which should not be a form of identification, but it became that. It wasn't intended to be, but it became it. Your date of birth is a form of id. All of these together create, at least in the illusion of the government's plural, the idea that you are identified by all of them collectively. [00:02:20] When you look at real id, there's a number of bits of information that they're asking for in order for you to obtain it. [00:02:27] In exchange, you get a. It's the same type of card except that it loses all color, it loses all visual appeal. It doesn't stand out in the crowd. It looks like garbage, frankly. It makes, it's like the Borg, you know, it makes you look like everybody else. States all used to have very unique designs for their driver's licenses. I remember California's was not all that spectacular. Oregon's looked amazing. Oregon's arguably had the nicest looking driver's license I had seen. And then I went to Nevada and Nevada's look pretty dang good. [00:03:02] So real ID dumbs it all down. It creates a very generic standard for the car that's issued. Now here's some of the beef with real id. [00:03:11] Here's where the story comes in. This will be a quick episode today. I'm simply divulging that real ID is potentially upon us and lawmakers are trying to get rid of it. And I'm going to tell you the backstory about why many of us are balking at the idea of real id. First of all, I don't fly. I don't plan to fly. It would take a. I don't want to say act of Congress, but it'd be very difficult to get me to fly because flying is garbage. I don't favor the idea of being groped. That's only happened one time. If I could recall and I swore I was never gonna let it happen again. I'm not gonna be detained. I'm not gonna be delayed. I'm not gonna have my stuff scanned. I'm not gonna be harassed when I'm trying to carry stuff onto the plane. I'm not going to be constrained into what my bag size can be. I'm not gonna be dictated to about what my carry on can be. I refuse. I refuse to be treated like a member of the military when I'm not. And that's what the flying experience is. Many people have kind of just accepted it. They've accepted the erosion of their rights. That's great. That's their prerogative. I will not. [00:04:14] Now my rant's over. [00:04:16] Let me tell you a story. So let's focus on driver's licenses because that's where the big beef comes in. [00:04:23] When back when I was 14. [00:04:26] This is California. Back when I was 14. [00:04:29] At the time, I don't know if it's changed. Like the law allowed you to get what was referred to as a learner's permit in school. So middle school you took or junior high at the time, you took a class, driver's ed. Driver's ed taught you all the rules. It basically taught you how to pass the test. That's what that did. [00:04:50] And it entitled you to take the test for the learner's permit. The learner's permit allowed you to drive even though you were only 14. So long as a Fully licensed person was along with you when you did. [00:05:03] The intent, again, was to make sure that you knew how to do it because they knew that it would be a very valuable experience for you. If you're a younger person and you're hearing me talk about this experience and you're surprised that your junior high did not teach you how to drive, don't be surprised. Our school system is failing. Our young kids, they're focused on the wrong garbage and not on the productive stuff. In any event, I was excited because I knew having access to a car was going to be. It's, it was a form of independence. But it's also, you know, when you get a job, it was down there, you're. You have to have a car. There is no other answer. Like you might live in a place right now listening to me, where you're saying, oh, yeah, just, you know, take the bus or something. We took the bus, but it was a pain. If you want to get around in at least California, Southern, you need a car, bottom line. [00:05:53] So I was excited to do it. I, you know, I, all the material was easy for me. I didn't have any problems. Now, the, the state had a law that said in order to get the learner's permit, both of your parents had to sign a form that essentially said, yes, we both agree with doing this. There's some, like, contractors, and they'll say, now, fast forwarding to the modern era, they'll say, yeah, we're not going to do this work unless the husband and the wife both sign off. Because what they're trying to get ahead of is this issue where, you know, mom doesn't agree and dad does. I first, I think it's crap because if you have a marital issue that has nothing to do with the contractor, if somebody signs a contract, the contract's contract. But I understand, regardless, with this business of the learner's permit, mother was fine signing it, father refused to do it. Said, quote, I'm not going to. I just won't. Not because I don't want to, just because I won't. That's what he said. He refused to do it. Never said really why, just refused to do it. So I was not able to get the learner's permit like I should have, which would have empowered me and positioned me for success. [00:07:00] Now, if you got your learner's permit, it expedited your path to get to the actual driver's license. Since I didn't get it, I had to go through the hoops, basically start over to get the driver's license. And the earliest you can do that is 16, at least at the time. I don't know if it's changed. [00:07:18] Well, again, they require you to sign this stupid form and both parents have to do it. Once again, he refuses to sign it. So I could not get the driver's license. [00:07:27] My brother, the one that passed in 2023, took me out on occasion to teach me how to drive because he knew it was valuable experience to know how to do it. [00:07:39] Fast forward, I get to 18 now all bets are off. Now I could do it myself. I don't need their permission now. This is how stupid the system overall is when you turn 18. At least that was the law back there. I'm pretty sure it's the same. [00:07:53] You could go and get your own driver's license and the parents can't say nothing about it. However, your parents could still claim your refund for your tax filing if you live in the home. [00:08:04] Our system overall of government is all screwed up. They there's certain things, yeah, you're 18, do whatever you want here you're 18 or you can't. They don't have the number is an arbitrary nothing standard. That's illogical, doesn't solve problems. [00:08:23] Point though is back then when I applied for the license, I'm 18, applied for the license, I had to show the birth certificate. I had to get a copy for it. We had to send back away for a copy for this thing. I and back then they didn't have the printed one yet. So it was the copy of the original birth certificate. [00:08:42] I had to give my Social Security number, photo, obviously proof of address. So I had to wait until I got some mail, which I finally did. The point is I had to show all of this information that now for the real ID they're asking to show again. So in order to do the real id, you have to go back and do the same thing other than the test, but you have to go and do the same thing again. And in what state was that? Was that Colorado or was that Oregon? I think it was Oregon. One of the states. Oregon. Oregon made you go back through the written test again. To get a license in that state, you have to do the written test again. It's a computer. But the point is you have to do the written, not the behind the wheel, but you have to go through the written test again. They're asking all sorts of crazy questions that I'm pretty sure were not on the original test I took. I almost didn't pass the damn thing. And I'm. I mean, come on. Point is, they're asking you to produce the same ID information that you already produced when you first got licensed in the state. So that's problem number one. That's beef number one. That's complaint number one. [00:09:52] Complaint number two that I had. [00:09:56] You're not born a second time. You're only born once. Your birth certificate name might change, but the person behind it has not changed. Your Social Security number has not changed, unless if you are a victim of identity theft to a significant degree. So all the information that you submitted when you first got licensed is already still valid is the point. And they could electronically verify it and refuse to do so. [00:10:20] So a lot of people are resisting, and this is what my point is. A lot of people are resisting because we already went through these hoops. And all they really have to do is say, okay, you're already licensed, which means you already went through these hoops. It's the same docs. We're just going to go and accept those same docs. We're not going to force you to do it again. We're just going to accept it as is and go ahead and reissue the card, update your mailing address and we're good to go. And they don't do that. That's what pisses us off. What's the point I'm getting at? I'm simply saying that the real id from older folks perspective is repeating what we already did for. Why they could just send us a new id, ask for an updated address and send us a new id, new driver's license, we're good to go. We don't have to do the hoops because you can't do it online. You got to go into the place. We all know what that is. Going to the DMV is not fun. [00:11:08] So that's what the whole hubbub is about. [00:11:13] And I don't know, frankly, again, younger folks probably don't care. They don't care. Many of them don't care about their rights being violated, I understand. But us older folks, I think that's something to hold at. That's where some of us are coming from, good or bad, you know, right or wrong. The only other thing I wanted to chat about today, which it's not directly related to the whole real id, it's kind of a side bit that came to mind and I thought I would just simply share my thoughts. [00:11:43] So a lot has been made of the tariffs impact on you financially and I'm not one to share Any financial advice whatsoever. I will tell you that the vast majority of you have not felt the impact of tariffs yet. The impact is being talked about, it's being discussed, it's being mentioned. It's not something you're feeling at this point. Anybody says you are is lying to you. That's just the truth of it. You haven't felt any impact of tariffs yet. [00:12:14] There's a theory that you will feel those impacts here soon, and I would be surprised if you didn't. So that's fair. [00:12:21] All I can say for sure, if you look at where we are now compared to where we were in 2021, it's not close. [00:12:31] Even with the, the chatter around tariffs, the, you know, people are constantly looking at their retirements and they're seeing it crap out and not understanding it's all temporary. It all goes away. [00:12:43] And mortgage rates have not dropped to a significant degree either. And that's the marker. If you see mortgage rates start to tank, that's when you should probably be concerned. Not as a buyer, but somebody who holds those assets. But it's, it's usually the marker where we start seeing damage to the overall economy is the mortgage rates. We saw it leading up to the bubble 2008. We haven't seen anything close. Right. We haven't seen crap out of the mortgage rates yet. [00:13:13] So in my opinion, although it may seem doom and gloom, you have not experienced anything negative as of yet. [00:13:21] And the long haul is going to play out and we have to see what that looks like. You have to make some choices. [00:13:27] Some of those may involve uprooting and moving. Some of those may involve changing jobs. Some of those may involve family situations, retirement planning. [00:13:37] I would say there's one constant for everybody. Everybody's going to have to deal with one constant truth, and that is this. [00:13:46] You have to make sure, regardless of what somebody's telling you, that you're taking into consideration your own situation and that of your family first, not what somebody tells you to focus on. [00:13:59] If you want more information about what I'm specifically referring to, look no further than the whole Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith fiasco. Will Smith goes on red table talk and basically admits the things he was doing was purposely designed to make Jada happy, but he was doing it for his own comfort and satisfaction. It wasn't like he asked her for any feedback as to what she specifically wanted. He just did what she, he thought was going to make her happy, and it didn't make her happy. The net effect is, although Will Smith is still up there in terms of an actor. They've fallen off as a couple. They're separated. They're not anywhere near as what they used to be. I would argue they're probably still friends, but they're nowhere near what they were before, even though they're still married. And there's a, you know, death do his part, means a lot to her, just like it did Whitney Houston and many others. So. So I think a lot of the inspiration from that story you can take and apply in your situation. [00:14:58] Make sure that the things you do are for your family. Make sure you're asking those questions. Don't assume. Don't assume anything. Ask the questions. Act appropriately. Don't go off what somebody tells you is the right answer, because it may not be the right answer for you or your situation. Regardless of what's going on around you. Maintain a level head. And I'll even recommend you a poem, His Name is if by Rudyard Kipling. I recommend you read it and try to understand. Stare at a white wall. When you do, try to understand what it's saying. I know some of you don't read anymore. I get it. But I'm going to recommend that you do try to stare at a white wall and read that poem. Try to absorb what it's saying to you. Because if you absorb what that says, that says in very few words, the most powerful messaging anybody can apply. I don't care what your religion, race, creed, color, him, nor her. [00:15:50] What's said in that poem is so powerful, and if you can learn to embrace it, you realize, geez, I've been doing it wrong this whole time. No, it's not that you're doing it wrong, simply that you can adjust what you do and how you do it to do it better.