Here is today’s Call to Action from Mid Maine Indivisible. Also, remember our weekly actions here in the Bangor area! The Tuesday Weekly Vigil at the Federal Building in Bangor and the Wednesday Weekly Orono Protest. And volunteer with Indivisible Bangor!!!– Dave

Hi Folks,

Good morning everyone, Friday is here! 

Yes, you probably have heard more than you wish about the Epstein Files and the horrors within. This is a moment in time when it is worth calling our Congressional Delegation to demand the release of these files. We don’t know what they contain but Trump appears to be on his back foot on this one and the public deserves to know more. Go to 5calls.org for more details on this issue.

Reprise issues from this week:

Call our Senators and ask them to oppose the nomination of Emil Bove, (Nosferatu 2) for the Federal Appeals Court (3d circuit). Once there, Trump, can advance him to the Supreme Court. He is really bad news. Details and links below. (Vote likely on Monday)

Support clean energy as below and also ask our delegation to vote to extend the ACA tax credits.

TODAY’S ACTION (s)

• Call our Congressional Delegation to demand the release of the Epstein Files: Donald Trump promised the release of the client list throughout his 2024 presidential campaign. Pam Bondi, his Attorney General, publicly claimed the list was sitting on her desk. However, on July 6th, Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) released a memo concluding that Epstein did not have a client list and declining to publicly release evidence.(from 5calls.org)
• Call Senators King and Collins to oppose the nomination of Emile Bove to be a judge on the Federal Appeals court:  Bove was Trump’s lawyer in the hush money case, He ordered the firings of Jan. 6 prosecutors, threatened to purge the FBI and prosecute local and state officials who pushed back against Trump’s mass deportation agenda, and dropped the corruption charges against NYC mayor Eric Adams. Go to 5calls.org to get more talking points on this.
• Call our Congress people to support clean energy:  The Citizens’ Climate Lobby is 800 strong in DC lobbying for funding clean energy and passing reform legislation for energy projects. To learn more and call in through their website go here.Use these handouts for additional talking points if you like, or just use the link.  
• Join Indivisible for their One Million Rising Trainings: Go here to register for this training that will be happening July 30th and August 13th. You can watch the first training here.
• Start making a list of friends who are like-minded but have not yet taken action: To get to 3.5% (11.6 million folks) of the US population we need everyone to get involved in the resistance. Use this list to invite folks to actions, events, and contact campaigns that will help activate them. For more on the 3.5% rule go here.
• Contribute to Megan Scribner’s substack Building Bridges Word by Word:  Building Bridges has created a safe space where we can share our stories and begin to build bridges across divides. Here is an example of something I wrote for Megan in 2021: If You’re Ready, Come Go With Me.

Statewide Actions This Week:

• If you know your Maine Representative or Senator is supportive of making ICE accountable in Maine,  ask them to join with Representative Cassie Julia to put in a bill to ensure proper identification of ICE agents acting in Maine. Lawmakers in California have introduced legislation requiring the identity and affiliation of ICE agents to be displayed while interacting with the public. 
• Indivisible Actions – Register Here, For the One Million Rising action – register here  and watch the first session here.
• Buy some American Flags for your next Demo; there are lots around from July 4th – Reny’s (“the Maine Shopping Experience”) has bunches.

Angus King             
DC: (202) 224-5344
Augusta: (207) 622-8292 

Susan Collins         
DC: (202) 224-2523 
Augusta: (207) 622-8414
Bangor: (207) 945-0417

Chellie Pingree      
DC: (202) 225-6116
Portland: (207) 774-5019  
Waterville: (207) 873-5713  

Jared Golden         
DC: (202) 225-6306 
Bangor: (207) 249-7400
Caribou: (207) 492-6009 
Lewiston: (207) 241-6767

Find Your State Senator: Here

Find your State Representative: Here – (by name), By District: Here,

LOCAL ACTIONS: Join Mid Maine Indivisible(Kennebec and Somerset Counties) Please join us if you are in the Mid Maine area.  To sign up: go here. 

Are you interested in helping New Mainers learn/improve their English? To sign up for English tutoring or any of our other volunteer opportunities, please visit: Capital Area New Mainers Project (CANMP) to fill out a volunteer interest survey. An English Learning option at the Waterville library at 1:00 on Mondays is also an option for volunteers. Contact CANMP for the details.

Saturday, July 26th, The Art of Resistance:  4 – 8 pm, at the Winslow Congregational Church, 12 Lithgow, Winslow The Art of Resistance is meant to bring us together and remind us of what enlivens us and keeps us moving forward day after day: reaffirming our connections with one another; sharing our creative inspiration; expressing joy and laughter. Schedule: 4pm: Art Exhibit opens 4 to 6pm: Art-making for kids and grownups! Make origami butterflies, paint mini-canvases, and create protest signs.5pm: Community Sandwich Share: Bring a sandwich cut in two, half for you, half for the sharing table. Extras will be on hand for those who cannot provide sandwiches.Bring non-alcoholic beverage. Water provided. 6-8pm, Variety Show: Short performances related to the day’s theme.

First Saturday of each Month at 2:30: Somerset Stands Up Rallies-Margaret Chase Smith Bridge, downtown Skowhegan. Bring your signs, American flags, your voice, your friends, families and neighbors for this peaceful gathering of concerned residents of Somerset County. Next one is August 1st, 2:30

Sunday, July 27th: at 1:00 (and every Sunday): Stand with us against Trump/Stephen Miller; For Peace in the Middle East, For Ukraine, Stop the War in Iran, etc. on the Bridge by CVS in Waterville.

Tuesday, July 29th: 12:00-1:00 (and every Tuesday)  Stand against Tesla/Musk and the rising authoritarian state: around the Tesla Charging Station Elm Plaza on Main Street, Waterville. 

Wednesday, July 30th: (and every Wednesday) 12:00-1:00 Waterville, Maine. Corner of Main and Chaplin St. Grandmothers for Reproductive Rights, GRR! demonstrates every Wednesday across from Resolve, the local anti-abortion center. Please join us in assuring all Mainers have access to safe, legal, shame-free reproductive health care including abortions and contraceptive care. For more info please contact Elayne Richard  at recordconnection@gmail.com. 

Thursday, July 31st: 4 – 5 pm, Fairfield/Benton Bridge,  Stop the Coup + Save Democracy. 

MORE ACTIONS

*If you haven’t yet, write your letter to Governor Mills thanking her for her stand against Trump, and asking her to run against Collins. SHE HAS NOT YET RULED THIS OUT! Hand written if possible.  Mail to: State House Station 1, Augusta, Maine, 04333. 

*If you would like to join Maine People’s Alliance Federal Lobby Group, please contact Jim Parakilas at jamesparakilas@gmail.com. We meet Mondays at 2 pm. Consider joining the MPA for trainings in June and July on resistance strategy, lobbying, and other areas. Contact Jim on this.

With great appreciation for all the engagement everywhere! 

As always, throw a little sand in their gears! 

-Mid Maine Indivisible

Love is the only transportation

To where there’s total communication

Mavis Staples from her song If You’re Ready,Come Go with Me