biometric scanning

[mommax3plus2]

Originally Posted by forest beekeeper

I know the nature of how government agencies tend to work.

I once held a high security clearance and handled sensitive intelligence. The nature of the beast does not change.

I retired and I built a Faraday cage to live inside of.



There will be front marketing which convinces the public with really good sounding 'benefit's. Within that there will be financial 'benefit's which convince the administrators to play along. And then when you look closer there will be yet another longer term 'benefit' which only comes to light a decade later [but Federal agencies were making use of all along].

that would be what i meant by the unintended consequences- probably wasnt a good phrase as the consequences would have been intended from the feds side, but not foreseen on my end. the part about uploading them to the government at graduation concerns me. i'm still not convinced that two people couldnt have the same grid- but i suppose dna was a hard concept too.
i asked my daughter about it today when she got home from school. she said she had heard something about it- she remembers hearing the word biometric from some of the kids, but didnt know what it meant. she was rather shocked to hear from me that she would be 'fingerprinted'. i guess i will spend some time at the school tomorrow and find out more about what this is all about.

[island mermaid]

Originally Posted by broadbill

Obviously...but what I was asking is why you think the government would be collecting these fingerprints and putting them into a Fed. database in the first place. Sorry for the confusion.

Bill, IMO there is no confusion. That would be my inclination. Just say "no".
Data bases can be transferred. No matter what the pretense upon which it is presented upon, the answer is simple. Date bases can be bought. It's pretty simple in my mind.

Tax dollars, people. Federally funded or not.

The same rule applies to the previous poster, I also don't want my medical records from 1978 transferred to my current HMO.

MBM, I understand where you are coming from however both of my kids once received reduced school lunches. Never have they needed any couch time for that. They were the norm at the time. Why should my kids ever have to be judged upon or scrutinized based upon my circumstances at the time.

JMO.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by island mermaid

Bill, IMO there is no confusion. That would be my inclination. Just say "no".
Data bases can be transferred. No matter what the pretense upon which it is presented upon, the answer is simple. Date bases can be bought. It's pretty simple in my mind.

Tax dollars, people. Federally funded or not.

I agree

...
The same rule applies to the previous poster, I also don't want my medical records from 1978 transferred to my current HMO.

It is my understanding that such is within this 'stimulus bill', that Obama is trying to get passed.

[cebdark]

Originally Posted by forest beekeeper

For the greater 'security' of the community and since public-funded schools do receive Federal funding; I would wager that from now on, once a year, all biometrics from graduated classes will be up-loaded into a Federal database.

I am saying that they would likely do it after graduation each year, since by then we are no longer talking about minors.

I would think that so long as each student remains a minor, their identifying data will be slightly restricted.



Did you see the stuff stuffed into this 'stimulus' bill about healthcare? All medical records being converted to a Federal database, to track doctor performance and as a clearinghouse to pre-approve treatment protocols. On one hand a nation wide database means that any Er you walk into would have your entire medical history at hand. As would every insurance company.

This is one small step toward the Big-Brother or Nanny government, that is commonly discussed.
All states are going through this, not just Maine.

This is "Orwellian" at it's finest example. We haven't gotten to that extreme where we are - yet, but if we do, I'll consider it just as intrusive as iris scans for identification, and will refuse my children's participation in it.
For me, it's concerning enough that fingerprints are taken (in the sense that you are guilty until proven innocent - in the name of "safety") but it's more that there seems to be a dearth with regard to safeguarding that information. I've had to have my debit card reissued twice because of hackers. I use it now for emergencies only. Government laptops have been stolen out of employees cars, and sensitive data contained within has gone with it. Call me paranoid, but I'm not taking chances with my children's information.

You are also "spot on" about medical records. In addition to eliminating many more jobs (i.e. transcriptionists, etc.) medical records will run the risk of being hacked just like credit cards are now.

[cebdark]

Originally Posted by forest beekeeper

I know the nature of how government agencies tend to work.

I once held a high security clearance and handled sensitive intelligence. The nature of the beast does not change.

I retired and I built a Faraday cage to live inside of.



There will be front marketing which convinces the public with really good sounding 'benefit's. Within that there will be financial 'benefit's which convince the administrators to play along. And then when you look closer there will be yet another longer term 'benefit' which only comes to light a decade later [but Federal agencies were making use of all along].

Excellent post - well said.

[mommax3plus2]

i have taught my kids to guard their soc sec #'s -
i'm wondering if their fingerprints are the new soc sec #?

i'm also wondering about the technology because- a couple years back they came out with laptops with fingerprint readers as a lock system. there are a couple of kids at the school who have them. the kids have found that its very easy to break into these laptops- they joke that they must have the same fingerprints. now i am hoping this system has much better technology, but i worry it doesnt, or that the technology just isnt what its supposed to be and in fact you can have more than one person with the same grid.

then i wonder about some of the things people have said regarding the government. its probably easy to get something like this into a small school in the middle of nowhere- (we are the first to have this wonderful new technology mentality) like kind of going in the back door. my father was always such a conspiracy theorist, i had hoped i wouldnt turn into him.

my daughter has already informed me that she will not be allowing someone to fingerprint her anyway, regradless of what i say (she has aspergers- i dont think the fingerprinter will have a fun time of it anyway with her). i'll just have to think about it again next year when #3 goes there.

[AvidAZ]

Biometric Scanners are becoming the norm in a lot of schools and businesses. It will definitely see a large growth, it just depends on how well people, students, and employees like the technology. They might not have a choice.

[cebdark]

Originally Posted by AvidAZ

Biometric Scanners are becoming the norm in a lot of schools and businesses. It will definitely see a large growth, it just depends on how well people, students, and employees like the technology. They might not have a choice.

They'll have a choice if parents feel compelled enough to raise enough of a rukus about it. It's the ones that shrug their shoulders and say "Oh well" that will be required to follow through, and if it should ever become mandatory, we'll have no one to blame but those who simply accept it as "the way it goes."

As much as I love technology, that's what bothers me most about it: Everyone gets so complacent about what it's used for that it becomes "ho hum, whatever" when privacy issues come up IMHO.