The Department of Homeland Security has thrown down the gauntlet by telling Mainers they won’t be able to fly or will be subjected to horrible screening beginning May 11 if we don’t cave to the Bush Administration in accepting REAL ID.
The emperor has no clothes of course. It’s not like any other state will be REAL ID-compliant. None of them will. DHS has publicly acknowledged that the target date for implementation is 2014 for people under 50 and 2017 for people over 50. This is plain old politics. If DHS can say that all of the states are compliant, then there will be no political will for Congress to repeal the REAL ID.
Contact Governor Baldacci's office and tell him to stand up to bullying from the Department of Homeland Security:
Phone 207-287-3531
207-287-6548 (TTY)
Fax 207-287-1034
Send an email by clicking here:
Read the Dept. of Homeland Security's intimidating rhetoric