Oh those Mainers know how to stand up for privacy:
Maine lawmakers on Thursday became the first in the nation to demand repeal of a federal law tightening identification requirements for drivers' licenses, a post-September 11 security measure that states say will cost them billions of dollars to administer.This invasive federal law was the brainchild of Rep. James "Tex" Sensenbrenner who was doing the bidding of the Bush administration. Those Republicans are obsessed with destroying the privacy of Americans. Check out the ACLU's site, www.RealNightmare.org. It is a real nightmare.
Maine lawmakers passed a resolution urging repeal of the Real ID Act, which would create a national digital identification system by 2008. The lawmakers said it would cost Maine about $185 million, fail to boost security and put people at greater risk of identity theft.
Maine's resolution is the strongest stand yet by a state against the law, which Congress passed in May 2004 and gave states three years to implement. Similar repeal measures are pending in eight other states.
Of note, there were no Senate hearings on this critical issue. The chair of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affair committee at the time was the utterly useless Senator from Maine: Susan Collins. So, Mainers can thank Susan for that extra $185 million it will cost to implement this massive program that will make them more vulnerable to ID theft. Nice work, Susan.
