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One of the things I enjoy doing in the morning is relaxing with a cup of coffee and the daily
paper. Gives me time to check up on what is going on in the world and to reflect on the day
ahead. I usually read the local news, sports section, classifieds, but mainly I read the world
news sections. Lately, as everyone is aware, there has been a lot of news from the Middle
East. I am especially interested in events occurring in Israel. Occasionally I travel on business.
To keep up on events while traveling, I take some time in the morning to read the USA Today.
On Thursday, February 28, 2002, USA Today published a piece written by Don Campbell
entitled "No Secrets: Just a fantasy, right?" While reading this piece a cold chill ran up and
down my spine. Let me share this article with you and let us see if you feel the same chills.

No secrets: Just a fantasy, right?

USA Today; Arlington, Va.; Feb 28, 2002; Don Campbell;

Abstract:

The really neat feature about the No Secrets card would be that most of the information going
forward would accumulate automatically. The authorities would keep a rolling record of all
purchases you've made in the past five years. All cash registers, vending machines and other
points of sale would be fitted with a device to record your every transaction, and no product or
service could be legally sold, rented or leased without the card. Do you get it? If the 21-year-
old second cousin, once removed, of Osama bin Laden applied for a U.S. visa, he could get a
No Secrets card as long as all of his papers were in order. But the streaming electronic paper
trail he'd leave in this country would let the authorities have a pretty good idea of where he
was. If he purchased a fingernail clipper at 10 a.m. and an airline ticket at noon, he'd be placed
under 24/7 surveillance. And if he were brazen enough to try to rent a crop-duster or buy two
tons of fertilizer and diesel fuel -- bingo.

The No Secrets card would also stimulate the economy, because we'd need to create a new
federal agency, called the Personal Identification and Safety Administration (PISA), to facilitate
the introduction of the card and to manage the No Secrets database. Logically, it would fall
under the jurisdiction of Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge. To staff up PISA, we'd hire --
ballpark -- 500,000 more federal employees to track down and input widely dispersed
information about you, capture and codify DNA samples and monitor the database.

Full Text:

The Forum

The federal government has decided to test a "trusted traveler" card at America's airports as a
means of speeding up lines at security checkpoints. The first candidates for the trusted-
traveler cards -- don't laugh, apparently this is no joke -- will be members of Congress.

In exchange for giving up certain biometric information, such as fingerprints or retina scans,
plus a lot of other as-yet-undefined personal information, trusted travelers would enjoy express
check-in service rather than having to line up and wait with the riffraff. The airlines also have
been contemplating a similar card, according to news accounts.

When I read these stories about the competing obsessions with personal safety and personal
convenience, I keep saying to myself, "This is so 20th century. When are the true visionaries
going to step up?" That is, if we know where this country is headed -- and it is pretty clear --
why don't we stop all of this silly incrementalism and just get there?

The answer in the endless search for both safety and convenience in the post-9/11 era is to
stop worrying so much and recognize the potential of a benevolent, protective federal
government using the latest technology.

Once you're comfortable with trusting the authorities, there are numerous solutions, if you've
got a little imagination. Two that I've considered and rejected as rather extreme are a personal
bar code that could be disguised as a designer tattoo on your cheek or forehead, and a
microchip implanted in your belly button. They conjure images of branded cattle being led to
slaughter. A more reasonable solution is a "No Secrets" card. An embedded chip in the card
would hold key information about you and link to a federal database containing virtually every
other scrap of information about you ever recorded in any form. The logic is impeccable: The
more the authorities know about each and every one of us, the easier it will be for them to
decide which of us are the bad guys.

With the No Secrets card, you could get rid of your credit cards, your driver's license, your
voter-registration, Social Security and club-membership cards and all other forms of
identification. If you hung the card around your neck on a chain -- highly advisable, because
you'd use it dozens of times a day -- you could darn near get rid of your wallet. And you'd still
be able to take it off at night in the privacy of your bedroom.

The categories of information needed for the card and the supporting database would be
exhaustive, beginning with your full name, date and place of birth, a 22-digit, computer-
generated Human Identification Number, or HIN, and -- most important -- your DNA code.
Then we'd need your legal history, such as speeding tickets, incarceration records, overdue-
library-book fines, parking tickets, civil judgments, etc. We'd need your complete medical files
and all of your financial records, including your credit history and income- tax returns for the
past seven years. We'd need your work, educational and travel history and, finally, your
genealogy, specifically a complete family tree descending from your great- grandparents. The
card would be required at all security checkpoints, anywhere, any time.

The manufacture and sale of millions of No Secrets card-access machines to the wholesale,
retail and service industries as well as law-enforcement agencies would further stimulate the
economy, and you would probably want to buy a card read-only machine at home. (No, you
would not be allowed to edit your data. But, for your convenience, PISA would station several
employees across the country to address complaints in the unlikely event you discovered
erroneous information in your file.)

Some initial opposition to the card could be expected because it would be mandatory for all
U.S. citizens, green-card holders and foreign visitors. The biggest ruckus, predictably, would
be raised by civil libertarians and privacy zealots. The only way I know to deal with these
throwbacks is to grab them by their lapels, shake them until their teeth rattle and scream: "If
nobody has any secrets, your precious little privacy gig is out of date, don't you think? Duh!"

Either that or ignore them, which I intend to do. Because we need to get where we're going.
Time's wasting. In fact, I'm going to apply today for a registered trademark for the No Secrets
card and wait for Tom Ridge to call.

Eat your heart out, George Orwell, wherever you are.

Don Campbell, a member of USA TODAY's board of contributors, lives in Atlanta.

To complete the piece there was a picture of a business traveler in the center of the page. He
was carrying two pieces of luggage and had a bar code tattooed on his forehead.

As you read this article what came to mind? Did you find it interesting? Did you think it was a
good idea? Now take out your Bible and turn to The Book of Revelations chapter 13 verses 16
through 18.

" And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in
their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the
mark, or the name of the beast, or the name of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath
understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is
six hundred threescore and six.

In this piece Don Campbell laughs this off and makes remarks about cattle to slaughter as a
vain attempt at humor. However, I have one simple question to ponder. How close are we to
this reality?

The Book of Revelations is John's account of what our Father reveled to him of future events.
What did John actually witness? Was it perhaps the events in this story unfolding? This
piece identifies the use of microchips imbedded into cards that would carry the complete
identity and history of the owner. The next logical step is to actually implant this microchip
directly into a person thus eliminating the necessity of actually having to carry a card. Now
pick up your daily paper and take a closer look at what is happening in the Middle East
especially in Israel. Pick up your Bible and read The Book of Revelation in its entirety and tell
me if the similarities are not astounding! Are all the pieces of God's plan falling in place? Only
our Father knows for sure. Take some time, do some research on your own. Are you truly
ready for the Lord's return?

I will leave you with one thought. As you read and research these events and the prophecy,
which our Father has given us, do not be afraid. Christ truly loves us and if you believe in Him
you will be with Him in eternity. Take these signs as Christ is finally coming to take away His
children. That is going to be a wonderful day indeed. Cherish that day; win souls for Christ so
that they too may join us in paradise. The Lord has promised these things to us and he will
always keep His promises. You will always be safe in His Light, in His Love, and in His
Forgiveness, FOREVER !