Login.gov is a thing (and over 300 federal agencies use it as their idp as of this comment). USPS provided identity proofing in person for it. All federal gov agencies are moving towards it. The "right" way would be a national smart card ID system like Estonia has (built on cryptographic primitives), but you have a cohort of crazies who think it's the "mark of the beast" and other wild tales. So, we walk when we could run. This problem is at the people/policy OSI layer.
The Defense Dept already does this: CAC/common access cards [1]. Create a civilian root and do it already. A PIV/CAC can also be used as an auth factor with Login.gov [2].
[2] https://www.login.gov/help/get-started/authentication-method... (Physical PIV (personal identity verification) cards or CACs (common access cards) are secure options for federal government employees and military personnel. These cards, with encrypted chip technology, are resistant to phishing and difficult to hack if stolen.)
what bothers me the most about unfalsifiable predictions is that their predictive quality can only be retroactively applied, undermining its ability to be predictive at all
it relies on total ignorance of everything prior that fit, and other catastrophes that also looked like the “end times”
how was world war I not? everyone dying of mustard gas followed by famine, plague.
world war II?
the year 536?
other maladies in other countries? for many people it was the end time because their entire family and culture were killed and wiped out
I wonder if America will shake its Evangelical death cult. People are becoming unaffiliated with religion here but I feel like the mysticism is ingrained into the culture either way for another generation or two
Talking about it being the "mark of the beast" is a strawman. What you should talk about instead to win support among those same groups of people is to explain how it isn't/wouldn't be a means of government abuse. They're worried about it backdooring personal financial freedom the same way you would worry about the government backdooring encryption.
I love me some ID.me and think every bank and financial institution should be required to use it. It goes so far beyond to do good multi-factor auth and even accounts for the un-homed and un-phoned in their multifactor. Thousands of people can't bank or use many services because they can't get a phone number, but they can use id.me at a library or other public computer with few issues just having an old offline phone running an authenticator
ID.me is a for profit private provider of identity proofing services. Login.gov is provided by the US General Services Administration. All federal agencies are moving to Login.gov. IRS is one of the last digital services that will move. There were some congressional hearings on ID.me, due to distorting the truth.
This is a tired argument. If you want better governance, it's a political problem, not a tech problem. "Papers Please" exists today due to a lack of law enforcement oversight and current statute [1]. A properly functioning national ID system and infrastructure doesn't change that.
The databases already exist [2] [3] [4] [5]; because you do not have the physical card does not mean you don't live this reality today. On the contrary, you already don't have the privacy you think you have, without any of the quality of life improvements a national ID card would provide.
> CBP has successfully implemented facial biometrics into the entry processes at all international airports, known as Simplified Arrival, and into the exit processes at 49 airport locations. CBP also expanded facial biometrics at 39 seaports and all pedestrian lanes at both Southwest Border and the Northern Border ports of entry.
> To date, CBP has processed more than 490 million travelers using biometric facial comparison technology and prevented more than 1,900 impostors from entry to the U.S.
Unfortunately that was literally true from the beginning. Much of the US Constitution is devoted to separation of powers. But the powers are so separated that it's practically impossible to do anything. Our checks and balances are badly overbalanced.
The government persists because the executive branch takes a lot on itself. The Supreme Court is currently deciding that this may be too much overreach, and the government will grind completely to a halt.
The Defense Dept already does this: CAC/common access cards [1]. Create a civilian root and do it already. A PIV/CAC can also be used as an auth factor with Login.gov [2].
[1] https://www.cac.mil/common-access-card/
[2] https://www.login.gov/help/get-started/authentication-method... (Physical PIV (personal identity verification) cards or CACs (common access cards) are secure options for federal government employees and military personnel. These cards, with encrypted chip technology, are resistant to phishing and difficult to hack if stolen.)