Actually a useful idea. In the US, except for some government installations, you can take pictures in outdoor public spaces. Occasionally there are officious bozos that think you can't. However, the Homeland Security one probably is illegal and could get you charged with impersonating an officer.
Instead of having a fake license, it's much better to know your rights and be able to defend them to those who accuse you.<p>I'd recommend reading these:
<a href="http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/andrewkantor/2006-08-11-photography-rights_x.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/andrewkantor/2006-08-...</a><p><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/andrewkantor/2005-12-29-camera-laws_x.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/andrewkantor/2005-12-...</a>
To me, even as a joke or means to counter idiotic guard patrols, it is very disturbing to even think about such a concept as "photography license". As if it was an omen of what's there to come in the future.<p>(And I'm talking Western governments here; undoubtedly there already are some heavily regulated countries somewhere that ban public photography partially or completely.)<p>The idea of someone having the power to license another party to take photographs (in public) is just PLAIN WRONG. It contradicts free flow of information, artistic freedom, freedom to document evidence, and free speech in general.
Carying any false ID would be a very very bad idea. They give prison sentences for stuff like that. Fake id on a kid looking to buy beer is one thing, that's probably just going to get taken away, but up against the wrong judge could be a significant issue.
This is an interesting idea. But I think it is important for the card not to contain any false information. In the two cases shown, the cards indicate they were issued, respectively, by the U.S. DHS and the San Francisco MTA. And of course they were not.<p>I think a good solution to this, for the U.S., would be for the card to say "United States of America". Then, assuming the person is correctly named and pictured, there are no falsehoods. The card DOES come from the USA, the individual IS authorized to photograph, etc.<p>OTOH, I also agree with user callmeed:<p>> Instead of having a fake license, it's much better to know your rights and be able to defend them to those who accuse you.