Earlier I brought you the story of a citizen who keeps getting harassed at border checkpoints because they keep confusing him with a terrorist. Well, here’s the other side of the story: The government may be issuing passports to terrorists and other criminals due to flaws in the State Department‘s passport application screening processes.

Insufficient oversight by the State Department allows criminals, illegal immigrants and suspected terrorists to fraudulently obtain a United States passport far too easily, according to a report on the test by the Government Accountability Office to be released Wednesday. — New York Times

Passport applications are not properly cross-checked against fugutive and terrorist watch list databases, nor does the State Department generally investigate leads on black market fake ID sellers, leading to the gaping holes in your security.

Hm, change your name to Osama bin Laden, and the government will never bother you again because their computers won’t be able to match you properly. Or change your name to John Gilmore and prepare to spend your time in jail.