Good morning on this chilly, but sunny, Tuesday morning. Here is today’s newsletter from Indivisible Bangor.
Following this newsletter is Emanuel’s Daily Action Email from Augusta -a great list of important actions and information.
Also, TWO urgent actions from Hancock County Democrats:
~Action 184 – The “Fix It Act” (12/5), that discusses the bipartisan bill, HR 6010, the Fix It Act, that aims to extend the ACA premium tax credits by two years.
~Action 185 – Now it’s the Architects! (12/5) discusses that the profession of architecture is also no longer to be recognized as a qualifying profession by the Department of Education.
Also, check out the latest from the Bold Coast Civic Alliance (12/9) with information about Trump’s and Hegseth’s illegal warmongering off Venezuela’s shores, the Stop Ballroom Bribery Act, and others.
A lot of research goes into these additional actions, so be sure to read them!
And THANK YOU to supporters who have been donating to our ActBlue fund! Planning events and maintaining the website and email list take money, so these donations are appreciated!
Current News:
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Weekly Vigils
Weekly vigils are happening here in the Bangor area!
TODAY is the Tuesday Weekly Vigil at the Federal Building in Bangor at 11:00 am, followed by the Wednesday Weekly Orono Vigil from noon to 1:00 pm.
Bangor Visibility Brigade
Fridays
The week finishes with the Visibility Brigade on Fridays. Join the brigade on the Essex Street overpass at the new time of 3:00 p.m. as we hold letters to spell out messages for the drivers on I-95! Learn more here. Tell them you read about it here
Home Depot Saturdays
For the next two Saturdays of holiday shopping, 12/13 & 12/20, we will be out on Stillwater Ave at noon for one hour, across from the entrance to the Home Depot shopping center.
Contact George for more info!
Upcoming Events:
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***TONIGHT***
Bangor Town Hall and Food Drive with Nirav Shah!
Tuesday, 12/9
Tonight, 12/9, a Town Hall and Food Drive in Bangor with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Nirav Shah.
This will be a great opportunity to hear directly from Nirav, ask questions, and share what matters most to you and your community. We encourage attendees to come ready with questions — and as Nirav likes to say, there is only one rule: no easy questions! Nirav is excited to listen, learn, and engage with you on the issues that matter most.
FOOD DRIVE: In the spirit of supporting our neighbors ahead of the holiday season we will also be hosting a food drive at the event. If you’re able, please consider bringing a non-perishable food donation to help families in need. We are collecting items for local food pantries. Items in high demand: peanut butter, canned tuna and chicken, pasta / pasta sauce, cereals, granola bars.
We hope to see you there — let’s come together, talk about the future of Maine, and support our community!
📍 Bangor Public Library: 145 Harlow St., Bangor, ME 04401
📅 Tonight, Tuesday, December 9
🕐 Town Hall begins at 6:00 PM (doors open at 5:30 PM)
Questions? Contact kira@shahformaine.com
***TONIGHT***
UMaine Grad Workers Union Forum – The State of Affordability in Maine
Tuesday, 12/9 -UMaine
Join Grad Workers, ME Legislators, and the community for an important public forum discussion on affordability for workers at the Universities of Maine!
One of the major issues that we as Graduate Workers have been working to address in our first union contract is the crisis of affordability for GWs. Cost of living has risen dramatically over the last five years, and yet GW pay has not gone up since 2022, healthcare expenses have skyrocketed, and the economic pressures on GWs are worse than ever. The University of Maine System as a public institution that should be lifting up Maine families, not perpetuating low wage, low benefit working conditions.
When: Tonight, 12/9 6pm
Where: UMaine Orono Campus, building and room TBD
RSVP HERE
December 10 International Human rights Day in Bangor
In the midst of tragic events in Gaza, Venezuela, Ukraine, Sudan, and many other locations, the world will observe the 77th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), including an event on December 10 in Bangor. Participants will hold a vigil/standout from 12 noon-12:30 PM on Wednesday at the Kenduskeag Stream bridge, outside 6 State, downtown Bangor.
Supporters of human rights worldwide, and particularly those worried about the lives and safety of people in the hotspots mentioned above, will hand out copies of the UDHR. Participants will read the entire Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including the Preamble and its 30 articles. The UDHR was first signed in 1948 by over 50 members of the United Nations, including the United States, with no dissent.
“Promoting human rights means an end to the violence by all sides of these conflicts and a priority for respecting human lives; there are nonviolent alternatives that are more effective in resolving conflicts,” stated Larry Dansinger of the Peace and Justice Center of Eastern Maine, an organizer of the event.
What: vigil/standout
When: Wednesday, December 10, 12 noon-12:30 PM
Where: Kenduskeag Stream bridge, outside 6 State, downtown Bangor
Navigating Community Relationships in Rocky Waters
Brewer, Saturday, 12/13
Home Depot Picketing
Saturday, 12/13
We will be out there every Saturday at noon for the next two Saturdays with our signs for an hour to inform people about Home Depot’s complicity with and support of the Trump administration.
The shopping boycott weekend is over, but if you can, continue to focus on local businesses and others that are not collaborating with the Trump administration.
Effective boycotts take time and sacrifice and we CAN do it!
Home Depot has allowed its parking lots to become ground zero for ICE raids on immigrant day laborers, and its billionaire co-founder Bernie Marcus has funneled millions into Trump’s campaigns.
Target, which once branded itself as the friendly, inclusive big-box store, has now scrapped its DEI goals and scaled back LGBTQ+ offerings to avoid angering the regime.
Amazon didn’t just shower Trump’s inauguration with cash — Jeff Bezos’ company pitched facial-recognition tools to ICE and powers the Palantir systems ICE uses to track and deport immigrants, making Amazon a core contractor for the regime’s deportation machine.
Amazon owns Audible.com, Whole Foods Market, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Studios, Ring doorbell cameras, Goodreads, IMDB, zappos.com, Zoox self-driving subsidiary, and other companies, so keep those in mind, too. -George.
If you have any suggestions or ideas for alternatives to these stores, drop me a line here!
Other News:
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Ask Governor Mills to NOT VETO LD 1971
From the Maine People’s Alliance:
“Governor Mills refused to sign this bill into law in the last legislative session and will have just 3 days in the new legislative session starting January 7, 2026, to either veto the bill or allow it to become law without her signature.
“The immoral and illegal actions of ICE throughout the United States and in Maine including arresting parents outside of schools, terrorizing immigrant communities, and attempting to intimidate and assault lawful protestors and those who would document their actions must be resisted. Maine law enforcement should be free to focus on their jobs in keeping the people of Maine safe from crime and not compelled to support immigration enforcement outside of criminal investigations.”
President Trump has singled out our Somali friends and neighbors, targeting them in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, for the next ICE terror campaign:
Trump ‘garbage’ rhetoric about Somalis draws cheers from administration, silence from Republicans and alarm from critics, Reuters, 12/4/2025
ICE agents to descend on Twin Cities as soon as this week, sources tell ABC News, KSTP, 12/4/2025
Maine has a vibrant Somali community and we need to stand with them, not only because it’s the right thing to do, but also because we know that the ICE terror campaign will not stop with immigrants. Please call Governor Janet Mills and ask her to allow LD 1971 to become law and please contact your senators and congressional representatives and let them know you object to Donald Trump’s use of DHS agencies to terrorize people in our cities. There is a handy list of links at the bottom of this email, tap the link below.
Cancel Spotify Until They Stop Collaborating with ICE
From Indivisible Project:
Today, social media feeds are full of people sharing their Spotify Wrapped results, while Spotify is full of … ICE recruitment ads.
Here are a few things you can do right now:
- If you’re still paying for Spotify premium, cancel your subscription. We’ve got instructions (and some suggestions on alternatives) here.
- (I have found another fun streaming site alternative, Soma.FM, based in San Francisco. They are listener supported and feature an eclectic selection of channels, including holiday, soul, and groovy pop! And another fun and quirky alternative, also based in California, is Luxuriamusic.com. Any other suggestions, just let me know! -George).
- Don’t use Spotify’s free version either. You don’t need to delete your account. Just close out your apps and don’t open them again until Spotify stops forcing ICE ads into people’s feeds.
- Instead of sharing your Spotify Wrapped this year, share our Wrapped-themed posts calling on others to cancel Spotify. As long as Spotify is willing to take money from ICE, they don’t need (and don’t deserve) free advertising on our social feeds. And there’s no reason you can’t post your own list of top songs/artists on social — maybe alongside a message about why you chose not to stream them on Spotify.
- Use this social media moment to have GENTLE, NON-SHAMING conversations with friends about the Spotify boycott. Seriously, no one is going to respond well to judgy DMs when they’re just trying to post something fun about the music they like. So approach with kindness, maybe compliment their music tastes, and then talk about why you’ve decided to stream from other platforms for the time being (one point you can make: Those platforms probably treat their favorite artists much, much better than Spotify does).
- Help us track the growth of this economic campaign by taking our one-question survey.
Join Indivisible Bangor!
Do you want to become more involved? Would you like to help with the website and communications? How about helping to organize events, such as rallies and overpass actions or be a peacekeeper? Or do you just want to keep up with what we’re doing? Sign up to volunteer with Indivisible Bangor! Your level of involvement is up to you!
Weekly member meetings are on Zoom with in-person meetings on the first Wednesday of the month. Please click the link below to sign up and we’ll help you with the process of becoming a member of Indivisible Bangor!
New members, and current members, too, are invited to join one of our monthly Zoom informational meetings, which will resume after the holidays!
Donate to a Food Bank or Pantry
The shutdown is over, but the need is not. There are still cuts to programs that help people with food and other needs.
Please DONATE to a local food pantry- food, personal items, and even cash. Faith Linking in Action maintains a database of all food pantries and free meals– organized by both location and day of the week– in the Bangor area. Check it out here.
Also, ActivateMaine has created a site, SNAP Into Action: “a statewide effort to help those who are affected by the freezing of benefits due to the Government shut down.” If you know of any food drives that are happening, please visit this site to add it to the database!
The Maine ICE Watch Hotline
The purpose of the hotline is to protect immigrant families by providing accurate, real-time information about ICE and Border Patrol activity and connect Maine families to resources and support services during a time of heightened enforcement and targeting of immigrants and refugees.
Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition ICE Watch Resource Hub.
Read more about it here in this Newscenter Maine article.
| Other Ways to Take Action (Courtesy of Indivisible Cumberland County: Maine’s ICE Watch Hotline Training: Get trained to field, verify, and document potential community ICE sightings and provide trusted, reliable information on ICE activity to immigrant communities. Action Alert on LD 1917: Contact Governor Mills and tell her to sign into law this bill to protect Maine’s immigrant communities, workforce, public safety, and future! Donate to the Maine Solidarity Fund: Fund pools resources from across communities into a shared fund we can draw from immediately when urgent needs arise. NO I.C.E. for Maine: Learn more about this effort to reign in ICE. |
Make Some Calls!
It’s mentioned a few times in these newsletters about calling your representatives in Washington, D.C. It’s one of the most important things we can do and it’s so easy!
Write Some Emails!
If you are more comfortable with sending emails to our Maine congressional delegation in Washington, click the links/buttons. This is a good option if you have lengthy comments or questions.
We are on Blue Sky, Instagram, and Facebook!
Follow us! Invite your friends! Comment! You’ll be glad you did!
We have an easy way to donate to Indivisible Bangor. Drop off your returnable bottles and cans to Ohio Street Redemption in Bangor and tell them to put it on the account of Indivisible Bangor. They’ll add the money to our kitty, mail out a regular check, and the money goes to our bank account to help with our expenses! You can find them here!
****Be sure the attendant writes down “Indivisible Bangor” because several donations have not been credited. Thank you!****
And you can donate here, too! Donations help pay for supplies, website, outreach, and to fund the many upcoming actions in Maine.
Thank you for all you do! – George and Indivisible Bangor
And now to the Emanuel’s Daily Call to Action:
Action Tuesday December 9th: Holding Home Depot Accountable + Extend the ACA Tax Credits + Support LD 1383 for Maine
Good Morning Folks, it’s a Hold Home Depot accountable Tuesday! HD has been cooperating with the Trump administration allowing ICE to snatch day workers in their parking lots. We want them to stop this practice.
Top Action to Take Today:
Home Depot Actions: Sign the petition that is demanding that Home Depot stop complying with ICE, personalize this letter to Home Depot corporate headquarters making the same demand, for more actions such as going to your local Home Depot and delivering a letter to the manager go to Ice Out of Home Depot. This month Indivisible Mid Maine and Bangor Indivisible are holding vigils near Home Depots in their area. Join us. (Thanks to Indivisible Mid Maine for these actions!)
For “More Actions Today if You Have the Bandwidth” from Emanuel’s Daily Call to Action (12/8), click here.
With great appreciation for all the engagement everywhere!
As always, throw a little sand in their gears!
~~Emanuel
It’s a piece of cake to email or call with these links!
The names of our senators and representatives listed below are links that go right to their official congressional contact form pages. The telephone numbers are links that should open your phone app to call that number. It’s that easy!
Senator Angus King
DC: (202) 224-5344
Augusta: (207) 622-8292
Senator Susan Collins
DC: (202) 224-2523
Augusta: (207) 622-8414
Bangor: (207) 945-0417
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree
DC: (202) 225-6116
Portland: (207) 774-5019
Waterville: (207) 873-5713
Congressman Jared Golden
DC: (202) 225-6306
Bangor: (207) 249-7400
Caribou: (207) 492-6009
Lewiston: (207) 241-6767
Find your State Representative:
By name: Here
By district: Here
Find your State Senator:
By name: Here
By district: Here
Our government in Augusta:
Governor Janet Mills
Email Governor Mills
Call (207) 287-3531
Secretary of State Shenna Bellows
Contact Secretary Bellows
Call (207)626-8400
Attorney General Aaron M. Frey
Contact Mr. Frey
Call (207) 626-8800
Questions or comments? Contact George!
