Finally secured the renewal for my MA drivers license and (unwanted) upgrade to Real ID.
On the second appointment, following the debacle of the first, I returned with the requested original birth certificate. Seventy-three years old and survived a fire but in good shape. As you might remember on the first visit my valid, unexpired US Passport was rejected because the Registry computer couldn’t ‘read’ the enclosed chip.
In-between the 1st and 2nd visits I went by the Passport Office. They attested that my passport was fine, that the problem is with the State of Massachusetts computer systems.
So when they called me up I handed in my birth certificate. The clerk looked at it and shook his head. “We don’t take this format”, he said, “The embossed seal and the birth certificate are two separate pieces of paper attached to each other, we don’t like that” He continued, “We want the long form with the seal on the same document.”
A short discussion ensued regarding the fact that 73 years ago that was how they issued the BC’s. But it was useless, you can’t argue with the dictates of The Authority.
“Just get a new Birth Certificate issued and bring that back, we have everything else scanned so it will be simple”. But I still had to get a new appointment, two weeks more, and my expired licenses extension was running out.
So next Monday I drove into Boston, to the Dept of Vital Records. I hate driving into Boston and Boston Traffic hates me back. A left lane accident was arranged so that the trip was a long, slow crawl taking up most of the morning. But I finally arrived at my destination and went inside, filled out a request form and waited. No chairs or benches BTW. Have I mentioned my spinal stenosis?
Finally a clerk took my form, read it and asked me if I had a drivers license for identification. So I gave him my (now expired) drivers license, he glanced at it for a second, then said “Fine, wait there”. And five minutes later I had a brand new copy of my birth certificate. I left and succeeded in getting out of Boston, more or less, trouble free.
A couple of weeks later I arrived at my third appointment. I gave the clerk the new copy of my BC. He then asked me for the rest of the documentation. I remarked to him that I was told last time that all I needed to bring this time was the BC, that they had scanned in everything else. “No, I have to see it all”, he replied to that.
Well that’s where I fooled them, I had stuck the new BC into the manila envelope with all of the other documents, so I had everything with me! Finally I was finished, just pay the $50 (the price for the old renewal pre-‘Real ID’ was $20) and I got a temporary license while the new one was being created and mailed. That arrived two weeks later.
So to sum up. A little over one month of time elapsed. Three round trips plus one round trip to Boston; 7 hours. Three hours waiting to be called up to the window and for the transaction. Over two hundred miles of driving, and roughly $29 in gas. Plus $40 for the AAA membership, $20 for the new birth certificate. And $50 for the ‘Real-ID’ drivers license. Or $139.00 total.
Interaction with the minions of the State. Priceless.
So Thursday was my appointment with Triple A for my license renewal in Massachusetts.
My license expires on Sunday and I’ve been waiting for two weeks for the appointment.
This appointment thing is something that the RMV started during the Shamdemic and now (Surprise!) it’s been made permanent. No more picking a date during the month of your birthday and heading over to the RMV office and getting in line with everyone else. Often you’d arrive and check out the lines and think, ” Think I’ll try again on Monday”.
A little surprised to notice while I waited that of the four people in front of me, three apparently were denied renewal. Now in Massachusetts as in the rest of the country, Real ID is being rolled in by Federal Decree. So after over sixty years a licensed driver it’s not a simple renewal any more. But WTF?
I overheard enough of one conversation to understand the woman’s problem was that her legal documentation didn’t match her married name, i.e. her birth certificate. This suggests that women should bring their marriage license with them to explain the name discrepancy. No, the form that the RMV sends you on the month before your birthday will not warn you about this.
When my turn came I handed over all my documents, including what I thought was the Gold Standard; my US Passport.
So after a moment the lady asked me if I had my birth certificate with me.
“No, but the passport is supposed to be an acceptable proof of natural born citizenship?”, I answered.
“Well, the passport office issued defective passports during the time that you got yours and it can’t be ‘read’ by our machine. So you can’t get a renewal today. But I can get you an extension on your old licenses expiration and give you a new appointment at the end of the month and you bring a new passport or your valid birth certificate with you”.
Joy. Another two hours travel and waiting, and twelve bucks in gas.
What bothers me about the Passport thing is that the physical passport is pristine, unmarred and has a document number and watermarks and has my birthdate printed on it clearly. But that’s not acceptable? The hidden electronics inside trump the visible and readable attestments upon it’s pages. But they would accept my (now) 73 year old (Birth Certificate) faded, folded and yellowing piece of paper that has printed on it… the same information. I know, stop making sense.
At least it was the AAA, the state RMV offices are staffed with the most degenerate and despicable creatures on the face of the Earth.
Screenshot
Nonprofit founded in 2022, never raised nor spent a dime
The National Institutes of Health will look into an $89 billion, 25-year grant awarded to the Alliance for Advancing Biomedical Research in the last days of President Joe Biden’s administration….
…
The Washington Free Beacon reported the “seemingly dormant” Alliance for Advancing Biomedical Research now faces an investigation, after Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley raised questions about the massive grant.
“It’s outrageous Biden’s NIH shoved a nearly $90 billion contract out the door just days before President Trump returned to office,” Grassley told the news outlet
From the comments: Find a small city of 90,000 people and give each one a million dollars. That’s $90 billion.
EYE-WATERING MOMENT: Trump’s cabinet erupts in applause for Elon Musk—thanking him for the personal sacrifices he’s made to help save the country. It wasn’t scripted. It wasn’t expected. But it was real—and it said everything that needed to be said.
Elon Musk sat quietly at the table. For months, he’s taken hit after hit: media smears, political attacks, even firebombings at Tesla—all for standing up for the American people and helping the Trump administration deliver on its promises. And in this moment, he finally heard what millions have been wanting to say. President Trump looked him in the eye. “You have been treated unfairly,” he said. “But the vast majority of people in this country really respect and appreciate you.” Heads around the room nodded. “You’ve really been a tremendous help,” Trump added. “You opened up a lot of eyes as to what could be done.” Then came the applause. The room ignited. It wasn’t for a billionaire. It was for an American fighter—someone who’s risked everything not to stay safe, but stand up for his country. Musk sat there humbled by it all. He then said a few words: “It’s also an honor to work with your incredible cabinet,” he said. “Thank you everyone. It’s great to work with you.”
The DC plane crash with the Blackhawk helicopter has now been investigated and the results are horrifying Even the NYT is reporting that the DEI-era pilot was told multiple times to shift altitude and course and she refused
Now 70+ innocent people are dead
Quote
The @nytimes story on the January DC plane crash hides its takeaway until the last sentences: the lady helicopter pilot ignored multiple warnings from her right seat about altitude (and his directly telling her to turn away) and flew straight into a passenger jet.
Stories like the following are becoming so common that it is clear that there is no safe way to store used lithium batteries:
Marine Beaches in Massachusetts
“The energy needed to refute BS is of an order of magnitude greater than the effort needed to produce the BS in the first place. ”
Brandolini’s law
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