A venting from a citizen

Tom-D

Tom-D

Taxi to Parking
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Tom-D
I know this will end up in the spin zone but here goes anyway..I tried to clean it up.


Dear Mrs. Ms. or Sir:

I'm in the process of renewing my passport and still cannot believe this....

How is it that Radio Shack has my address and telephone number and knows that I bought a cable TV from them in 1987 (22 years ago), and yet, the Federal Government is still asking me where I was born and on what date?

For Christ sakes, do you guys do this by hand? Ever heard of computers?

My birth date you have in my social security file. It's on EVERY income tax form I've filed for the past 30 years. It's on my Medicare health insurance card and my driver's license, It's on the last eight damn passports I've had, It's on every stupid customs declaration form I've had to fill out before being allowed off the plane for the last 30 years. And it's on
all those census forms that we have to do at election times.

Would somebody please take note, once and for all, that my mother's name is Maryanne, my father's name is Robert and I'm reasonably confident that neither name is likely
to change between now and when I die.

Between you an' me, I've had enough of this bureaucratic bull****!

You send the application to my house, then you ask me for my address.

What is going on? You must have a gang of bureaucratic Neanderthal morons working there!

Look at my damn picture. Do I look like Bin Laden? And "No," I don't want to dig up Yasser Arafat, for **** sakes. I just want to go and park my ass on a sandy beach.

And would someone please tell me, why would you give a damn whether I plan on visiting a farm in the next 15 days? If I ever got the urge to do something weird to a chicken or a goat, believe you me, I'd sure as hell not want to tell anyone!

Well, I have to go now because I have to go to the other end of the city and get another copy of my birth certificate - to the tune of $100.

Would it be so difficult to have all the services in the same area so I could get a new passport the same day? Nooooo, that would require planning and organization. And it would be too logical for the government.

You'd rather have us running all over the place like chickens with our heads cut off. Then, we have to find some ******* to confirm that it's really me on the damn picture - you know, the one where we're not allowed to smile. Hey, you know why we can't smile? We're totally ****ed off!

Signed
- An Irate Citizen.

P.S. Remember what I wrote about getting someone to confirm that the picture is me?
Well, my family has been in the United States of America since 1776. I have served in the military for something over 35 years and have had security clearances up the yingyang. However, I have to get someone important to verify who I am - you know, someone like my doctor WHO WAS BORN AND RAISED IN INDIA !

And you ****oles want to run our health care system???
 
A person that supposedly has 35 years in the military has a such a hard time renewing a passport?

It's a 2 page form. And you don't need to send a birth certificate, either. So, I'll chalk this one up to "yet another rabble-rabble chain e-mail" and round-file it...
 
Trapper John said:
A person that supposedly has 35 years in the military has a such a hard time renewing a passport?

It's a 2 page form. And you don't need to send a birth certificate, either. So, I'll chalk this one up to "yet another rabble-rabble chain e-mail" and round-file it...
Click to expand...


You certainly do need an official seal birth certificate to apply for a passport.

I thought Tom-D wrote this. If it's one of those chain emails, grrrrr :mad:
 
dmccormack said:
You certainly do need an official seal birth certificate to apply for a passport.

I thought Tom-D wrote this. If it's one of those chain emails, grrrrr :mad:
Click to expand...

But the rant is about renewing a passport, which doesn't require a birth certificate copy (unless the passport is over 15 years old)...
 
To seriously address this... yes, the gov't has your information in a database. The usual reason for asking that information falls into the category of necessary precautions.

Here at the university we have this lovely thing called the FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It asks for the same things this email complains about. Why? Should the government just trust that you're who you say you are and disburse cash to this individual? Let's say we make it real easy and just have the name and social security number. Is that secure enough for you? We have a number of FAFSA applicants whose application is returned for having data that doesn't match gov't records, from birth dates to parents information.

Now consider that a US Passport is the golden ticket for passage into and out of the United States. Do you really find it that horrible that the government wants to make sure you are who you say you are before issuing such a document?
 
Someone mercifully free of the ravages of intelligence. Last passport I got took 20 minutes at the post office. Truly not a memorable ordeal.
 
wbarnhill said:
Now consider that a US Passport is the golden ticket for passage into and out of the United States. Do you really find it that horrible that the government wants to make sure you are who you say you are before issuing such a document?
Click to expand...


Yes the cross checking is a pain, would think there is a better way to do the process.. Does the need for the government to make sure you are who you say you are also apply to voting?. Seems there was much hue and cry over ID requirements in order to vote.

Gary
 
Trapper John said:
A person that supposedly has 35 years in the military has a such a hard time renewing a passport?

It's a 2 page form. And you don't need to send a birth certificate, either. So, I'll chalk this one up to "yet another rabble-rabble chain e-mail" and round-file it...
Click to expand...

All is not well in the PP office, however. I recently renewed mine (to avoid the coming fee increases) and asked - in full accordance with and the manner described on the PP website instructions.

The renewed PP came back in a timely manner, but there were no extra pages included. So, in the end, it'll cost me as much as a new passport to get those pages added at a later date (under the new fee structure). Plus the expedite fees.
 
It may be a prank, but I find some sympathy for the poster. My passport renewal came back promptly. So did my husband's, with only the usual amount of foolish hassle. My young son's, though, required not only the money, the photo, the certified birth certificate, the notarized application, all months in advance, but also increasingly urgent follow-up letters and phone calls, all to no avail. Finally a panicked last minute phone call to our Congressman's office in Washington did the trick. It required a Friday afternoon taxi-ride across DC by his staffer, to pick it up in person at the passport office, so it could ride back to Ohio that weekend in the Congressman's pocket, so that we could pick it up on our way to the airport for our international flight on Monday morning. That was some years back-- maybe things have improved.

I was grateful that we had a competent Representative with a very capable staff. Where we live now, I don't believe we'd fare so well. Oddly enough, in this district, most people seem to bypass the Congressman and go straight to Senator Burr's office when they need help.
 
I remember needing a passport in 1983. My personal one had expired some time before and I had had an Official passport when I worked for the Navy. So I filled out the forms and enclosed the copy of my birth certificate that I had used to get my Official passport while a government employee. That bounced. Wasn't good enough. I had to get a new copy of the birth certificate with the embossed seal. The trip was coming up, so they sent me a passport marked that it was only good for 6 months. Raised some eyebrows at immigration in Zurich. I just told them I was having a "discussion" with our passport people about my existence. They smiled and I was in for my meetings. Sent it back with the new birth certificate copy when I back and the passport was updated. Bureaucracy. Gotta love it. NOT!

My next passport is going to have the extra pages from the git go. Had to have pages added to my current one after only 3 years.
 
Ghery said:
My next passport is going to have the extra pages from the git go. Had to have pages added to my current one after only 3 years.
Click to expand...

Good luck. I followed the instructions on their site to the letter and they still didn't give me extra pages or any explaination. That was 3 weeks ago.

Suggestion: while you're at it, get a passport card. Use it at TSA instead of your DL.
 
wsuffa said:
Good luck. I followed the instructions on their site to the letter and they still didn't give me extra pages or any explaination. That was 3 weeks ago.

Suggestion: while you're at it, get a passport card. Use it at TSA instead of your DL.
Click to expand...

If it had my picture I'd use my PP certificate. It's government issued. :D
 
When the Penobscot river flooded in 1986, my passport was in the safe deposit box, with my spouse's. She was allowed to resubmit by mail, but mine, which has somewhat lesser damage, was demanded to be renewed in person, in Boston, a 4 hour drive and a day away from work. I'm not anglo in appearance....

SHE never served. I had a pretty high security clearance. I'm the guy with the DD214. As we say, mo_ons at work.
 
And yet in the State of Colorado, the US Passport is NOT accepted as identification by any organization other than the airlines.

I tried to cash a check in NYC (just came back from Europe & didn't have a credit card) and no one, not a bank, would accept the passport as ID. Finally, some kind manager at Macy's took pity on me.
 
murphey said:
And yet in the State of Colorado, the US Passport is NOT accepted as identification by any organization other than the airlines.

I tried to cash a check in NYC (just came back from Europe & didn't have a credit card) and no one, not a bank, would accept the passport as ID. Finally, some kind manager at Macy's took pity on me.
Click to expand...
I've never had a problem getting my passport accepted for identification. Except when applying for a driver's license in New York. They required at least one additional piece of ID and accepted the passport plus a credit card.
 
I just renewed by mail. Piece of cake. No driving required. I don't understand what the idiot in the email is complaining about.
 
flyersfan31 said:
I just renewed by mail. Piece of cake. No driving required. I don't understand what the idiot in the email is complaining about.
Click to expand...

He also apparently lives in that mythical state where a birth certificate costs $100.
 
AuntPeggy said:
I've never had a problem getting my passport accepted for identification. Except when applying for a driver's license in New York. They required at least one additional piece of ID and accepted the passport plus a credit card.
Click to expand...


Pre 9-11, you could get a NY drivers license with a company ID, a credit card and a letter addressed to you (6 points).
 
Trapper John said:
A person that supposedly has 35 years in the military has a such a hard time renewing a passport?

It's a 2 page form. And you don't need to send a birth certificate, either. So, I'll chalk this one up to "yet another rabble-rabble chain e-mail" and round-file it...
Click to expand...

Read enjoy, or not, and do as you like, but remember, It's not what you read that makes it SZ material, it's the responses.

I thought it was rather humorous, so I posted it.

If you didn't, Oh Well....
 
I applied for a replacement passport for Tommy (much more complicated for a minor), was missing the signed form from his mom (because I might be trying to spirit him from these shores), so the kind-hearted lady at the passport office said she'd hold the papers and allow me to bring the missing element later in the day. She also said that standard renewals were running "about six weeks," so I should not need to do an expedited application.

I had a courier (my file clerk) bring the missing form that afternoon, and it was readily accepted (the lady somehow knew, invited her to bypass the waiting line).

And the passport was back, I kid you not, within ten days.
 
Its humor!
I've seen various versions over the last several years.

Here is a Canajan version:

Warning: Vulgarity


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Actual letter to the Canadian Passport office

Dear Mr. Minister,

I'm in the process of renewing my passport, and still cannot believe this. How is it that Radio Shack has my address and telephone number and knows that I Bought a t.v. cable from them back in 1997, and yet, the Federal Government is still asking me where I was born and on what date. For Christ sakes, do you Guys do this by hand? My birth date you have on my social insurance card, and it is on all the income tax forms I've filed for the past 30 years.

It is on My health insurance card, my driver's license, on the last eight ******n passports I've had, on all those stupid customs declaration forms I've had to fill Out before being allowed off the planes over the last 30 years, and all those insufferable census forms that are done at election times. Would somebody please Take note, once and for all, that my mother's name is Maryanne, my father's name is Robert and I'd be absolutely astounded if that ever changed between now and When I die!!!!!!

****!

I apologize, Mr. Minister. I'm really ****ed off this morning. Between you an' me, I've had enough of this bull****! You send the application to my house,Then you ask me for my ****in' address. What is going on? You have a gang of Neanderthal *******s workin' there! Look at my damn picture. Do I look like Bin Laden?

I don't want to dig up Yasser Arafat, for **** sakes. I just want to go and park my ass on a sandy beach. And would someone please tell me, why would you give A **** whether I plan on visiting a farm in the next 15 days? If I ever got the urge to do something weird to a chicken or a goat, believe you me, I'd sure as hell not Want to tell anyone!

Well, I have to go now, 'cause I have to go to the other end of the city and get another ****in' copy of my birth certificate, to the tune of $60!!! Would it be So complicated to have all the services in the same spot to assist in the issuance of a new passport the same day?? Nooooo, that'd be too damn easy and maybe make sense.

You'd rather have us running all over the ****in' place like chickens with our heads cut off, then find some ******* to confirm that it's really me on the ******n Picture - you know, the one where we're not allowed to smile?! (****in' morons). Hey, you know why we can't smile? We're totally ****ed off!

Signed - An Irate ****ing Canadian Citizen.

P.S. Remember what I said above about the picture and getting someone to confirm that it's me? Well, my family has been in this country since 1776 when one of my Forefathers took up arms against the Americans. I have served in the military for something over 30 years and have had security clearances up the yingyang. I was aide de camp to the lieutenant governor of our province for ten years and I have been doing volunteer work for the RCMP for about five years.

However, I have to get someone important' to verify who I am - you know, someone like my doctor WHO WAS BORN AND RAISED IN COMMUNIST ****ing CHINA
 
SCCutler said:
I applied for a replacement passport for Tommy (much more complicated for a minor), was missing the signed form from his mom (because I might be trying to spirit him from these shores),
Click to expand...
I know this can be a big problem when divorced parents aren't getting along or if one of the parties has disappeared from the scene.
 
Everskyward said:
I know this can be a big problem when divorced parents aren't getting along or if one of the parties has disappeared from the scene.
Click to expand...

Do they still require both signatures if you have a custody determination from the court ?

I was out of town when my wife got the kids passports. Gave her a limited notarized power of attorney to sign on the form and the postmaster was ok with that.
 
dmccormack said:
You certainly do need an official seal birth certificate to apply for a passport.

I thought Tom-D wrote this. If it's one of those chain emails, grrrrr :mad:
Click to expand...

But not to renew... the old passport works acceptably for that if its less than 15 years old.
 
weilke said:
Do they still require both signatures if you have a custody determination from the court ?
Click to expand...
I don't know the exact legal details but I know someone who had trouble getting a passport for his daughter because he hadn't seen or heard from the mother in years.
 
Sometimes I wonder if folks realize how important/valuable a U.S. passport is. The passport is the one document that the government MUST get right. They need to make every effort to assure that the person who is applying for that passport is qualified to hold it.

With a U.S. passport you can not only enter the United States with relative ease, but you can do the same with most of the rest of the world.
The agreements we have with other countries allow our citizens to enter these countries at our lesiure. We can hop on a plan tommorow and head to Japan, or Europe, or a host of other countries, with no concern of having to go to a local embassy to apply for a travel visa.

In many cases, countries grant us this privilage even though we refuse to reciprocate the privilage to that countries citizens. If I want to go to Costa Rica tommorow to see one of my best friends, I just buy a ticket, grab my passport and head to the airport. If my best friend (who is a Costa Rican citizen) wants to visit me, first he has to go to the local U.S. embassy and apply for a travel visa. He will likely have to bring items such as proof of employement in Costa Rica, bank statements, and tons of other documentation just to prove to the embassy official that he is planning on returning to Costa Rica when his trip ends. There is a significant application fee (more than I pay to enter and leave his country). It can easily take months for him to find out if the travel visa is granted. Usually, they just say no.

That U.S. passport allows us to go virtually anywhere in the world we want. It is worth its weight in gold to someone who wants to enter the U.S. Canada, Europe, and the rest of the developed world, but cannot enter with his own passport/identity. It is one of the reason why terrorist organizations are agressively searching for recruits with U.S., Canadian, or European passports/citizenship.
 
Your Costa Rican friend would have an easier time of it if we negotiated a travel treaty with them that dropped the visa requirements.

The US is very unfriendly to visitors from foreign countries. "Welcome to America - smile for the camera and give us your finger for fingerprinting."
 
Let me give you one that just happened to me - but not about a passport...
I have just become 'employed' for the first time in over 40 years - yes, some of us are real slackers...
The nice people in HR said I needed three documents to prove I was in the USA legally (born in Detroit)...
So I whipped out a Michigan DL with photo, state issued physicians license, Federal Drug license, Federal Employers certificate, Pilots certificate, CCW permit, and a police department badge with photo ID... Somewhere over the years my SS card has wandered away, but I just happened to have a check from the U.S. Treasury in my pocket which has my SS number clearly printed next to my name...

You guessed it - not good enough without the SS card... I had to provide a Birth Certificate from 1939 from a hospital that no longer exists - and that was 'good enough'... OTOH, had I purchased a forged green card off the internet, they would have taken that without even a raised eyebrow... It has become a strange world out there, that I no longer recognize...

denny-o
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
Its humor!
I've seen various versions over the last several years.

Here is a Canajan version:

**SNIP**
However, I have to get someone important' to verify who I am - you know, someone like my doctor WHO WAS BORN AND RAISED IN COMMUNIST ****ing CHINA
Click to expand...

Canadians have more reason to complain...they have to do it twice as often, although I think soon they might just start issuing 10 year passports...what a PITA to have to renew ever 5 )($^*09-* years.
 
Dr. O said:
Let me give you one that just happened to me - but not about a passport...
I have just become 'employed' for the first time in over 40 years - yes, some of us are real slackers...
The nice people in HR said I needed three documents to prove I was in the USA legally (born in Detroit)...
So I whipped out a Michigan DL with photo, state issued physicians license, Federal Drug license, Federal Employers certificate, Pilots certificate, CCW permit, and a police department badge with photo ID... Somewhere over the years my SS card has wandered away, but I just happened to have a check from the U.S. Treasury in my pocket which has my SS number clearly printed next to my name...

You guessed it - not good enough without the SS card... I had to provide a Birth Certificate from 1939 from a hospital that no longer exists - and that was 'good enough'... OTOH, had I purchased a forged green card off the internet, they would have taken that without even a raised eyebrow... It has become a strange world out there, that I no longer recognize...

denny-o
Click to expand...

I can tell you the reason they wanted the SS card...

Yours won't have the phrase "VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION" printed thereon like mine does. Only a card without that printed on it can be used to fill out an I-9 form. Whenever I get through the process to become a Permanent Resident, I can get a new SS card without that printed on it, but while I work on a temporary visa, I am restricted as to employer. So, a SS Number does not prove that you can legally work for a new employer, just that, at some time, you had the right to work for someone.
 
Dr. O said:
So I whipped out a Michigan DL with photo, state issued physicians license, Federal Drug license, Federal Employers certificate, Pilots certificate, CCW permit, and a police department badge with photo ID...
Click to expand...

Neither of which establishes your citizenship or authorization to work. Thank the Reagan administration for the mess that pre-employment checks have become.

OTOH, had I purchased a forged green card off the internet, they would have taken that without even a raised eyebrow...
Click to expand...

The reason they would have accepted the fake greencard without question is that the DOJ civil rights division could slap them with a 100k fine if they doubt the veracity of it and you happen to be a DOJ mole. Hiring illegally is only a 10k fine and if they can show that they thought the documents are legit they are protected from that fine.

Federal goverment at work.
 
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