The United States Senate passed a law yesterday that, for all intents and purposes, mandates a national ID card. If nothing else changes, you'll have a new driver's license in three years, and, as noted cryptography and security expert Bruce Schneier explains, this new card will make you less safe. (If you're not familiar with the issues he raises, his links are helpful.) The new cards will also, of course, cost your cash-strapped state a fortune.

This legislation was rammed through the Senate as an attachment to the latest military spending bill, which Senators just can't bring themselves to vote against, no matter what is attached. In fact, there wasn't even any debate held over the national ID card provisions. And the press? So far, they're turning this into the most underreported story of the year thus far. (And they wonder why people are quitting newspapers and the evening news...)