Sunday Night GO SCHWEITZER! Open Thread

Let the Governors’ Rebellion Begin! Montana governor Brian Schweitzer — who, by the way, speaks fluent Arabic from his years in Saudi Arabia as an irrigation developer (bio) — “declared independence Friday from federal identification rules [”Real ID”] and called on governors of 17 other states to join him in forcing a showdown with the federal government which says it will not accept the driver’s licenses of rebel states’ citizens starting May 11.” (More below the fold.)

On the lighter side, the New Yorker’s Hendrick Hertzberg links to campaign limericks that Andrew Sullivan’s readers have been contributing to his blog at The Atlantic:

There once was a mayor called Rudy
Who went to Long Island for booty
The taxpayers paid
So that he could get laid
Did 9/11 come before Judy?

More on the Real I.D. story:

States have until May 11 to request extensions to the Real ID rules that were released last Friday. They require states to make all current identification holders under the age of 50 to apply again with certified birth and marriage certificates. The rules also standardize license formats, require states to interlink their DMV databases and require DMV employee to undergo background checks. […]

Last year Montana passed a law saying it would not comply, citing privacy, states’ rights and fiscal issues.

In his letter (.pdf) to other governors, Schweitzer makes clear he’s not going to ask for an extension.

“Today, I am asking you to join with me in resisting the DHS coercion to comply with the provisions of REAL ID,” Schweitzer wrote. “If we stand together either DHS will blink or Congress will have to act to avoid havoc at our nation’s airports and federal courthouses.” […]

[DHS spokesperson Laura] Keehner says DHS’s policy won’t change even if Georgia — one of the 17 states that has signaled strong opposition to the rules — declines to apply for an extension.

If that scenario came to pass, every Georgian who flies out through the nation’s busiest airport — Atlanta-Hartsfield International — would have to be patted down by Homeland Security agents and have his carry-on bag hand-screened, likely resulting in massive delays.

Keehner also suggests that patted-down citizens will turn their wrath not on the feds but on their state government.

For his part, Schweitzer wants Congress to step up and pass alternative legislation that would stop Real ID and re-instate a commission that was working on driver’s license rules before the REAL ID Act was slipped into must-pass defense legislation in 2005. That legislation assigned DHS the task of setting the rules single-handedly. … Read all at Wired.

What else is going on?