https://pjmedia.com/rogerlsimon/2008/03/21/the-big-passport-flap-what-id-like-to-know/feed/PJ Media is a leading news site covering culture, politics, faith, homeland security, and more. Our reporters and columnists provide original, in-depth analysis from a variety of perspectives.en-usWed, 10 Jun 2026 06:43:02 -0400<![CDATA[At first glance, the current passport flap based on the revelation that all three major candidates&#8217; passport files have broken into by some &#8220;imprudently curious&#8221; folks caused me to ask the obvious: What&#8217;s in a passport file anyway? As someone whose had a passport for over fifty years, I&#8217;m embarrassed to say I&#8217;m not sure, beyond the obvious, that is: normal identification and proof of citizenship (basically public information), some record of where you&#8217;ve been (passport stamps have been generally replaced by a magnetic swipe at the border) even though many countries don&#8217;t bother, maybe something on some of the visas you have (for me, most recently, I have a rather pompous document from the Russian Republic attached to my passport, though I doubt the Russians told the US. They were more concerned I pay a fee.). That&#8217;s about it. Unless the candidates have been sneaking in and out of the country without our knowing for nefarious purposes, there&#8217;s not a helluva lot of there there. And even if they&#8217;ve gone places they&#8217;re not supposed to, chances are they didn&#8217;t have their passport stamped or swiped. [Were you in Communist Cuba for the First Festival of the New Latin American Cinema in 1979?-ed. Don&#8217;t ask, don&#8217;t tell&#8230; but you can read about it in my forthcoming book. And, no, I didn&#8217;t get my passport stamped. I flew illegally out of Miami.]]]>Fri, 21 Mar 2008 15:56:02 -0400<![CDATA[Roger L. Simon]]>https://pjmedia.com/roger-l-simon/2008/03/21/the-big-passport-flap-what-id-like-to-know-n215422