More Actions Today if You Have the Bandwidth

We haven’t talked much about farms and food lately as part of the resistance, but here in Maine we have scores of organic and traditional small farms and your support for these two bills will support the farmers who feed us and our families daily. Oppose the White House’s short-term farm-aid plan: Trump’s plan to provide 11 billion dollars for Big Agriculture, and 1 Billion for “specialty farming” which includes small family farms and organic farming is patently unfair. 

Call Senators King and Collins and House Rep Golden to urge them to speak up about this discriminatory farm-aid bill. ALL farmers are being hurt by Trump’s tariffs, and small and medium farms should not be left behind. And while you are on the phone ask King, Pingree and Golden to Support the Domestic Organic Investment Act which gives Organic farmers the capacity to expand their businesses. Collins is one of the co-sponsors – so thank her for that.  (Thanks to Shelly for this action)   

Please consider asking your State Representative and Senator to support LD 1383, a bill to end our complicity in all genocides and the persecution and detention of our neighbors by keeping our state’s investments aligned with our values. 

You can learn all about the campaign in this one page toolkit from theThe Maine Coalition for Peace and Human Rights with easy links to background info on LD 1383 and where folks can write their own letters to reps in just minutes.

Ask our Senators and Congressional Representatives to demand a resignation or begin impeachment proceedings for Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense.  He is now guilty of war crimes due to his ordering the killing of wounded combatants on a boat blown up twice in September by US drones. Both King and Collins voted AGAINST his nomination in the first place. For more information on this go here.  The Impeachment bill is  H. Res. 935. 

They should demand his immediate resignation NOW. Articles of Impeachment are on the way for RFK Jr. as well. (Thanks to Dave for this information.)

While you are at it, Ask Representatives Pingree and Golden to support the No Unauthorized Force in Venezuela Act bill presented by Seth Moulton and others. (This war on Venezuela is about OIL – Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world, and it is a distraction from the…..EPSTEIN FILES)

Congressman Moulton, a Marine Corps veteran who served four tours in Iraq, emphasized that the legislation is urgently needed in light of recent developments. For a live stream broadcast of his press conference go here.

Support libraries: Senator Jack Reed (RI) and Representative Adelita Grijalva (AZ-07) have introduced the Right to Read Act (H.R.6640 / S.3365), landmark legislation that invests in school libraries, strengthens literacy, and defends students’ freedom to read. Send an email to support this act. Libraries are crucial elements of resistance to demagoguery and oligarchy. Send an email today to support this act. Go to EveryLibraryhttps://www.everylibrary.org for more information on this act.

Mutual Aid

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.”  Even though the Government is “open” now, hunger issues continue for people around the country.

Heating Assistance:  If you have friends, neighbors, or need support for Heating Assistance, Li Heap funds have been authorized for Maine, Click here to learn more about applying for LIHEAP assistance. Collins and King were  involved in pushing that this money get released after the Government shutdown.

Arts and Politics!

Consider boycotting Spotify and canceling your subscription to them: To participate in the boycott of Spotify for their running of ads recruiting for ICE, visit this Indivisible page for more information, and for ready-made materials you can post online and use in other ways to encourage others to cancel their subscriptions, visit this page.  According to Indivisible Bangor, Pandora is running the same ICE recruiting adds.  Pandora is a subsidiary of SiriusXM. Spotify’s stock has dropped 13% in the past month. 

Indivisible Bangor suggests you stop using Spotify free version and instead try some of these options:  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. (Thanks to George from Indivisible Bangor for these suggestions)

GOT MORE TIME? HERE ARE SOME MORE ACTIONS  (just pick one!)

• Join the Maine People’s Alliance in bringing your story to our Congresspeople: Are your insurance rates going up? Did you lose SNAP benefits – the MPA wants to hear your story and use it to fight for Mainers in the ongoing shutdown budget battle. Fill out this form and tell your story here. 
• Call or email our Congressional Representatives to publicly condemn the administration’s use of our Military to create havoc in Blue Cities:  It is time to publicly denounce these unconstitutional, king-like actions of our Executive branch. Where is the outrage? Go to 5calls.org for a script on this request.
• Call Governor Mills and our Congressional Representatives:  Ask Mills to deny any request from the Trump administration to deploy National Guard Troops for local law enforcement; Ask our representatives to sound the alarm about the use of US Military to intimidate and harass peaceful, public protests. Go here for wording on this.
• From Linda:  I testified in support of LD 99 in 2020 and was thrilled that it was passed into law. LD 99 requires MainePERS to divest from all fossil fuel investments. The MainePERS Board was given until December 31, 2025, to comply with this law and has made almost no forward motion. If you would like to sign our petition in support of divesting, it would be appreciated.
• From Topsham Representative Rafael Macias: Rafael is sponsoring LD 1383 in this coming legislature starting in January to require PERS to divest from all war related industries. More information on this below in the StateWide Action section. (See above for more information on this.)
• Consider volunteering and/or donating to one of the worthy immigrant support organizations listed below:  Capital Area New Mainers Project, Mainers for Humane Immigration, Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, (all Maine based), and the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, go here to donate to the Capital Area New Mainers Project.

Statewide Actions

• Ask your local Maine Representative and Senator to support LD 1383 “An Act to Require State Divestment from Perpetrators of International Human Rights Violations.” This bill prohibits Maine from investing its funds from any companies, entities, persons or financial institutions that are “associated with” a “perpetrator state”. For more details see the attachment below. The Maine Coalition for Peace and Human Rightsis responsible for this campaign, see their  one page toolkit  here, and write a letter to your state legislative representatives.
• Online Meeting with Graham Platner:  The Maine People’s Alliance is holding an online conversation with Graham Platner TODAY at 5 pm; you can sign up here to take part in the conversation.
• 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!)
• More ICE resistance: 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. NO I.C.E. for Maine (noice4me): Learn more about this effort to reign in ICE. Here is the number for the ICE Watch hotline in Maine: 207 544 9989
• Mid Maine Indivisible has a great weekly newsletter – To sign up: go here. Indivisible Bangor has a great daily newsletter and actions go here to sign up. If you are in the Mid Coast area consider joining Audacity – learn more here. The Bold Coast Civic Alliance has a newsletter as well as the Hancock County Democrat.   Cumberland County Indivisible newsletter go here.  Greater Portland Indivisible, go here. We are developing a great ecosystem for resistance communications in Maine.
• Check out the No Kings Alliance page for  updates about actions that you can take to continue building the pro-democracy movement, building and protecting our communities. (Thank you to Indivisible Mid Maine for this suggestion)

Thanks to the work of our intrepid Resistance Inspirationalist, Elizabeth Leonard, Indivisible MidMaine is sponsoring an MLK day event that has limited seating – Indivisible Mid Maine Remembers and Honors Dr. King – Monday January 19th, 1-4 at the Playhouse at Waterville Station (the old RailRoad Square building). The event will include the viewing of a documentary, discussion, and the opportunity to donate winter clothing for folks who need it. To sign up go here, remember, space is limited! Join us and help build the Mid Maine community of resisters.

With great appreciation for all the engagement everywhere!  As always, throw a little sand in their gears! 

Emanuel

“Most Maine people, regardless of political party, want an immigration system that works. A fair and reasonable set of rules that allow people who want to live here and contribute to this country to earn the right to become a citizen. I don’t know anyone — aside from our president and his allies — who wants our federal government to separate young children from their parents, arrest and abduct U.S. citizens or normalize hateful terms like “garbage.”     Governor Janet Mills  

SOLIDARITY 

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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!

Good morning! Here is today’s newsletter from Indivisible Bangor.

Following this newsletter is Emanuel’s Daily Action Email from Augusta; the daily action along with a link to his great list of important actions and information. Today’s action asks us to ask ourRepresentative and Senator to support LD 1383, a bill to end our complicity in all genocides and other actions.

Also, an action from Hancock County Democrats: Action 187–Michigan leads? (12/11), that discusses articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that have been filed. More HCD actions here.

Also, check out the latest from the Bold Coast Civic Alliance (12/16) with information about pushing back against Trump’s verbal attacks on those he sees as his political enemies, impeaching Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and other important topics. More BCCA actions here.

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!

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Current News:

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Weekly vigils are happening here in the Bangor area!

*****
*****Today*****
Tuesday
Weekly Vigil at the Federal Building in Bangor – 11:00 am

*****
Wednesdays
Weekly Orono Vigil in the town center,
noon to 1:00 pm.  

*****
Fridays
Bangor Visibility Brigade

The week finishes with two highway overpass actions! There is the Visibility Brigade on the Essex Street I-95 overpass at the new time of 3:00 p.m. Learn more here. Tell them you read about it here!

Home Depot Saturday:
12/20

For the one more Saturday, 12/20, we will be out on Stillwater Ave at noon for one hour, across from the entrance to the Home Depot shopping center. It’s cold, it’s important, and it’s fun! Can you think of a better way to spend an hour on a Saturday in Maine in the winter???

Contact George for more info!

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Upcoming Events:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Maine People’s Alliance Town Hall with Graham Platner
Tomorrow- Wednesday, 12/17

Have you been following Graham Platner’s campaign for US Senate?

We sure have, and for the past several weeks, MPA’s board (which is led by our members) has been discussing whether to endorse Graham in the primary—and before they make their decision, they want to hear from you!

Join the MPA for a virtual town hall with US Senate candidate Graham Platner, all questions welcome

Wednesday, December 17, 2025 at 5:00 PM EST to 6:00 PM EST

Event Type: Virtual
A virtual link will be communicated before the event.

Register here for the town hall on Wednesday, 12/17/2025.

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Other News:

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Governor Mills will NOT veto LD 1971!!

Yesterday, Governor Janet Mills announced in an op/ed piece in the Portland Press Herald that she has decided that she will NOT veto LD 1971. Read the piece here on the PPH site.

Read the official notice from the Office of the Governor here: In Press Herald Op-Ed, Governor Mills Announces LD 1971 to Become Law.

Representative Ambureen Rana, D – Bangor, was one of the co-sponsors. Thank you, Rep. Rana, and to the other Bangor representatives, Sean Faircloth, Amy Roeder, and Laura Supica, along with Reps. Laurie Osher of Orono and Jim Dill of Old Town, and Senator Mike Tipping of Penobscot! Their work and your work of telephone calls to, emails to, and talking with Governor Mills did the trick!

Next up:

An Act to Enhance Public Safety in Maine by Defining the Relationship Between Local and Federal Law Enforcement

Presented by Representative RANA of Bangor. Cosponsored by Senator TALBOT ROSS of Cumberland and Representatives: ABDI of Lewiston, CLOUTIER of Lewiston, DHALAC of South Portland, KUHN of Falmouth, MCCABE of Lewiston, SACHS of Freeport, SATO of Gorham, Senator: CARNEY of Cumberland.

This bill, LD 1259, will ban 287g agreements (read about 287g agreements here) and is still in the Judiciary committee.

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Holiday Gift Drive for The Shaw House in Bangor
Ends Tomorrow, 12/17

*****UPDATE 12/16/25*****

All the kids’ wishlists have been fulfilled! Thank you! If you would still like to donate goods and gifts to the Shaw House, the drive is still going on until tomorrow, 12/17. Thank you!

Meanwhile, if it’s not convenient to drop them off in Bangor, contact George to make arrangements for pick up in Bangor. Or, if a monetary donation is easier, please donate here, and we’ll get that donation to the Shaw House!

The Shaw House in Bangor provides preventative and emergency services to youth between the ages of 10 and 24 who are at risk of, or who are currently experiencing, homelessness.

There are currently seven teens living at the Shaw House, ages 16 to 18 – four boys and three girls. Help make this Holiday season special for them by donating items from this list from the kids. 

Go here for the list of items these kids are requesting for Christmas, as well as a list of general goods the Shaw House needs.  

Please drop off gifts at the Food and Medicine building in Brewer by December 17th. All details are here.

Thank you very much!!!!

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***UPDATE***
TENTATIVE AGREEMENT REACHED!

A message from the UMaine Graduate Workers Union:

“On 12/14/2025, we reached a Tentative Agreement for our first contract with the UMS administration. We are very proud to have won many critical and substantive improvements in every area that we collectively identified as priorities in our 2023 bargaining survey. These gains are the direct result of tireless organizing, over two years of bargaining, and our unstoppable solidarity. Together, we fought, and together, we won.

“The ratification vote will begin on Tuesday December 16th at 9:00 am (Eastern Time) and will conclude on Wednesday December 17th at 5:00pm (Eastern Time). If a majority votes “yes”, the Tentative Agreement will go into effect.”

You can read a comprehensive summary here.

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Rally Behind Our Somali Community

The rally on Saturday, December 13th, in Lewiston was a success! Hundreds showed up to support our fellow Mainers who are from Somalia and to let them know they are not what the president says they are, but they are valued members of our community.

Read more here in this Maine Public Broadcasting Network article by Ari Snider: Hundreds rally in Lewiston in solidarity with Somali community

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Good Trouble in Minnesota!

There has been some good trouble happening in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. Click the links to read more.

KARE 11 – Minneapolis, Minn. 12/14/25
Postal workers rally in Minneapolis against ICE raids

FOX 9 – Minneapolis, Minn, 12/15/25:
ICE agents swarmed by protesters in Minneapolis

Indiana Legislature
Says NO to Trump

From Leah with Indivisible (National):

Donald Trump knows that in 2026 he’s going to face an electoral wipeout. So he’s spent the last six months doing everything he can to rig the rules. He leaned on Texas, North Carolina, Ohio, and Missouri Republicans to initiate mid-decade redistricting designed to maximize Republican seats — in other words, to dramatically gerrymander them — and in each of those cases, the Republican legislators did his bidding.

For the last few months, he’s been putting the same heat on Indiana. He sweet-talked legislators. He promised rewards. He sent JD Vance to visit and lobby in person. He (reportedly) threatened to cut all funding from the state if they didn’t fulfill his demand.

And it was all to no avail. On Wednesday, the Indiana Senate said no, by a vote of 31-19, including the majority of the Senate Republican Caucus. The gerrymandering plan is dead.

Trump threw everything he had at Indiana — and he failed.

~~~~Read more about it in this New York Times gift article: Indiana Lawmakers Reject Trump’s New Political Map (12/11/2025)

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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 a 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. 

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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!

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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!

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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.

(207) 544-9989

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.

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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.

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We are on Blue Sky, Instagram, and Facebook!

Follow us! Invite your friends! Comment! You’ll be glad you did!

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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

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And now to the Emanuel’s Daily Call to Action:

Action Tuesday December 16th: Support Maine Family Farms Organic and Traditional + The Right to Read Act

Good Morning Folks, it’s Tuesday and we have a lot of new ideas for action below thanks to the communications eco-system developing in Maine. I have pulled from several posts and emails to put this one together; new items will be in blue for a couple of days. 

Top Action to Take Today:

We haven’t talked much about farms and food lately as part of the resistance, but here in Maine we have scores of organic and traditional small farms and your support for these two bills will support the farmers who feed us and our families daily. Oppose the White House’s short-term farm-aid plan: Trump’s plan to provide 11 billion dollars for Big Agriculture, and 1 Billion for “specialty farming” which includes small family farms and organic farming is patently unfair.

Call Senators King and Collins and House Rep Golden to urge them to speak up about this discriminatory farm-aid bill. ALL farmers are being hurt by Trump’s tariffs, and small and medium farms should not be left behind. And while you are on the phone ask King, Collins, Pingree and Golden to Support the Domestic Organic Investment Act which gives Organic farmers the capacity to expand their businesses. Collins is one of the co-sponsors – so thank her for that.  (Thanks to BCCA for this action)

Also,

Please consider asking your State Representative and Senator to support LD 1383, a bill to end our complicity in all genocides and the persecution and detention of our neighbors by keeping our state’s investments aligned with our values. 

You can learn all about the campaign in this one page toolkit from theThe Maine Coalition for Peace and Human Rights with easy links to background info on LD 1383 and where folks can write their own letters to reps in just minutes.

For “More Actions Today if You Have the Bandwidth” from Emanuel’s Daily Call to Action (12/16), click here.

With great appreciation for all the engagement everywhere!  

As always, throw a little sand in their gears! 

~~Emanuel

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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!

More Actions Today if You Have the Bandwidth

Please consider asking your State Representative and Senator to support LD 1383, a bill to end our complicity in all genocides and the persecution and detention of our neighbors by keeping our state’s investments aligned with our values. 

You can learn all about the campaign in this one page toolkit from theThe Maine Coalition for Peace and Human Rights with easy links to background info on LD 1383 and where folks can write their own letters to reps in just minutes.

Ask our Senators and Congressional Representatives to demand a resignation or begin impeachment proceedings for Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense.  He is now guilty of war crimes due to his ordering the killing of wounded combatants on a boat blown up twice in September by US drones. Both King and Collins voted AGAINST his nomination in the first place. For more information on this go here.  The Impeachment bill is  H. Res. 935. 

They should demand his immediate resignation NOW. Articles of Impeachment are on the way for RFK Jr. as well. (Thanks to Dave for this information.)

While you are at it, Ask Representatives Pingree and Golden to support the No Unauthorized Force in Venezuela Act bill presented by Seth Moulton and others. (This war on Venezuela is about OIL – Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world, and it is a distraction from the…..EPSTEIN FILES)

Congressman Moulton, a Marine Corps veteran who served four tours in Iraq, emphasized that the legislation is urgently needed in light of recent developments. For a live stream broadcast of his press conference go here.

Support libraries: Senator Jack Reed (RI) and Representative Adelita Grijalva (AZ-07) have introduced the Right to Read Act (H.R.6640 / S.3365), landmark legislation that invests in school libraries, strengthens literacy, and defends students’ freedom to read. Send an email to support this act. Libraries are crucial elements of resistance to demagoguery and oligarchy. Send an email today to support this act. Go to EveryLibraryhttps://www.everylibrary.org for more information on this act.

Mutual Aid

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.”  Even though the Government is “open” now, hunger issues continue for people around the country.

Heating Assistance:  If you have friends, neighbors, or need support for Heating Assistance, Li Heap funds have been authorized for Maine, Click here to learn more about applying for LIHEAP assistance. Collins and King were  involved in pushing that this money get released after the Government shutdown.

Arts and Politics!

Consider boycotting Spotify and canceling your subscription to them: To participate in the boycott of Spotify for their running of ads recruiting for ICE, visit this Indivisible page for more information, and for ready-made materials you can post online and use in other ways to encourage others to cancel their subscriptions, visit this page.  According to Indivisible Bangor, Pandora is running the same ICE recruiting adds.  Pandora is a subsidiary of SiriusXM. Spotify’s stock has dropped 13% in the past month. 

Indivisible Bangor suggests you stop using Spotify free version and instead try some of these options:  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. (Thanks to George from Indivisible Bangor for these suggestions)

GOT MORE TIME? HERE ARE SOME MORE ACTIONS  (just pick one!)

• Join the Maine People’s Alliance in bringing your story to our Congresspeople: Are your insurance rates going up? Did you lose SNAP benefits – the MPA wants to hear your story and use it to fight for Mainers in the ongoing shutdown budget battle. Fill out this form and tell your story here. 
• Call or email our Congressional Representatives to publicly condemn the administration’s use of our Military to create havoc in Blue Cities:  It is time to publicly denounce these unconstitutional, king-like actions of our Executive branch. Where is the outrage? Go to 5calls.org for a script on this request.
• Call or write Governor Mills and ask her to let LD 1971 become law, by not signing and not vetoing it:  Go here to make a comment on this on her website. (She can’t sign the bill anymore, but can veto it.)
• Call Governor Mills and our Congressional Representatives:  Ask Mills to deny any request from the Trump administration to deploy National Guard Troops for local law enforcement; Ask our representatives to sound the alarm about the use of US Military to intimidate and harass peaceful, public protests. Go here for wording on this.
• From Linda:  I testified in support of LD 99 in 2020 and was thrilled that it was passed into law. LD 99 requires MainePERS to divest from all fossil fuel investments. The MainePERS Board was given until December 31, 2025, to comply with this law and has made almost no forward motion. If you would like to sign our petition in support of divesting, it would be appreciated.
• From Topsham Representative Rafael Macias: Rafael is sponsoring LD 1383 in this coming legislature starting in January to require PERS to divest from all war related industries. More information on this below in the StateWide Action section. (See above for more information on this.)
• Consider volunteering and/or donating to one of the worthy immigrant support organizations listed below:  Capital Area New Mainers Project, Mainers for Humane Immigration, Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, (all Maine based), and the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, go here to donate to the Capital Area New Mainers Project.

Statewide Actions

• Ask your local Maine Representative and Senator to support LD 1383 “An Act to Require State Divestment from Perpetrators of International Human Rights Violations.” This bill prohibits Maine from investing its funds from any companies, entities, persons or financial institutions that are “associated with” a “perpetrator state”. For more details see the attachment below. The Maine Coalition for Peace and Human Rightsis responsible for this campaign, see their  one page toolkit  here, and write a letter to your state legislative representatives.
• Online Meeting with Graham Platner:  The Maine People’s Alliance is holding an online conversation with Graham Platner this Wednesday the 17th at 5 pm; you can sign up here to take part in the conversation.
• 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!)
• More ICE resistance: 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. NO I.C.E. for Maine (noice4me): Learn more about this effort to reign in ICE. Here is the number for the ICE Watch hotline in Maine: 207 544 9989
• Mid Maine Indivisible has a great weekly newsletter – To sign up: go here. Indivisible Bangor has a great daily newsletter and actions go here to sign up. If you are in the Mid Coast area consider joining Audacity – learn more here. The Bold Coast Civic Alliance has a newsletter as well as the Hancock County Democrat.   Cumberland County Indivisible newsletter go here.  Greater Portland Indivisible, go here. We are developing a great ecosystem for resistance communications in Maine.
• Check out the No Kings Alliance page for  updates about actions that you can take to continue building the pro-democracy movement, building and protecting our communities. (Thank you to Indivisible Mid Maine for this suggestion)

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. If you have items for our weekly newsletter, please email me and I will pass them on.

Thanks to the work of our intrepid Resistance Inspirationalist, Elizabeth Leonard, Indivisible MidMaine now has it’s own mobilize page here: and, on today’s page we are posting an event that has limited seating – Indivisible Mid Maine Remembers and Honors Dr. King – Monday January 19th, 1-4 at the Playhouse at Waterville Station (the old RailRoad Square building). The event will include the viewing of a documentary, discussion, and the opportunity to donate winter clothing for folks who need it. To sign up go here, remember, space is limited! Join us and help build the mid maine community of resisters.

There is a community member who is looking to provide home cleaning services in the Waterville area for $25 an hour. Send an email with subject “Cleaning” to get in contact for scheduling! You would be providing income for a local mother with an infant son to care for.   

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. You can also Donate to the Capitol Area New Mainers Project’s rapid response fund. CANMP is actively helping those affected by ICE abductions, both with legal funding and other financial support for family members.

The Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition and partners are organizing an ICE watch Hotline  in Maine. They need volunteer hotline operators to answer phones from Mainers concerned about ICE sitings. They are looking for folks fluent in one or more of the following: Spanish, French and Portugese. 207-544-9989Tuesday, December 16th: 12:00-1:00 (and every Tuesday) New Location at the corner of Main Street and Waterville Commons Drive  Stand with us to Boycott Home Depot as well as support local businesses this shopping season.  Check out  Ice Out of Home Depot for what our demands are. We will be holding our vigil there for the month of December. See attachment below. 
Wednesday, December 17th: (and every Wednesday) 12:00-1:00 Waterville,  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, December 18th,  Fairfield Benton Bridge 3-4 pm: stop the coup, support Democracy, 
First Saturday of Each Month: Somerset Stands Up Rallies 2:30–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.  
Sunday, December 21st : 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  SOLIDARITY 

*Consider supporting Graham Platner. He is an electrifying speaker, with good positions on the important issues. Volunteer here. The oddsmakers have him beating Mills in the primary as of this week.

However, Mills is a good alternative to support if she wins the primary in June. We must oust Collins!

*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 on Zoom. 

With great appreciation for all the engagement everywhere!  

As always, throw a little sand in their gears! 

Emanuel

ps. Please let me know if you don’t wish to get these Action Alerts, and please feel free to pass all or parts of these alerts on to others you know. Note my email is changed to emanuel.pariser@gmail.com

Tiny rituals,
Magic hidden in plain sight.
Joy is where you look.   

Derek Murphy

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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!

Good morning! Here is today’s newsletter from Indivisible Bangor.

Following this newsletter is Emanuel’s Daily Action Email from Augusta; the daily action along with a link to his great list of important actions and information. Today’s action asks us to ask our Representative and Senator to support LD 1383, a bill to end our complicity in all genocides.

Also, an action from Hancock County Democrats: Action 187–Michigan leads? (12/11), that discusses articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that have been filed. More HCD actions here.

Also, check out the latest from the Bold Coast Civic Alliance (12/15) with information about the ACA premium tax bill and some Maine specific actions. More BCCA actions here.

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!

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Current News:

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Weekly vigils are happening here in the Bangor area!

*****
*****Tomorrow*****
Tuesdays
Weekly Vigil at the Federal Building in Bangor – 11:00 am

*****
Wednesdays
Weekly Orono Vigil in the town center,
noon to 1:00 pm.  

*****
Fridays
Bangor Visibility Brigade

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!

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1 More Home Depot Saturday:
12/20

For the one more Saturday, 12/20, we will be out on Stillwater Ave at noon for one hour, across from the entrance to the Home Depot shopping center. It’s cold, it’s important, and it’s fun! Can you think of a better way to spend an hour on a Saturday in Maine in the winter???

Contact George for more info!

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Upcoming Events:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Maine People’s Alliance Town Hall with Graham Platner
Wednesday, 12/17

Have you been following Graham Platner’s campaign for US Senate?

We sure have, and for the past several weeks, MPA’s board (which is led by our members) has been discussing whether to endorse Graham in the primary—and before they make their decision, they want to hear from you!

Join the MPA for a virtual town hall with US Senate candidate Graham Platner, all questions welcome

Wednesday, December 17, 2025 at 5:00 PM EST to 6:00 PM EST

Event Type: Virtual
A virtual link will be communicated before the event.

Register here for the town hall on Wednesday, 12/17/2025.

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Home Depot Picketing
Saturday, 12/20
NOON in Bangor

We will be across from the entrance to Home Depot in Bangor on Stillwater Avenue 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!

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Other News:

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Holiday Gift Drive for The Shaw House in Bangor
Ends Wednesday, 12/17!!

*****UPDATE 12/15/25*****

This gift and supply drive ends on Wednesday, 12/17, and there are still some kids who don’t have their wish list fulfilled! Please check the list of items page for the update!

Meanwhile, if it’s not convenient to drop them off in Bangor, contact George to make arrangements for pick up in Bangor. Or, if a monetary donation is easier, please donate here, and we’ll get that donation to the Shaw House!

The Shaw House in Bangor provides preventative and emergency services to youth between the ages of 10 and 24 who are at risk of, or who are currently experiencing, homelessness.

There are currently seven teens living at the Shaw House, ages 16 to 18 – four boys and three girls. Help make this Holiday season special for them by donating items from this list from the kids. 

Go here for the list of items these kids are requesting for Christmas, as well as a list of general goods the Shaw House needs.  

Please drop off gifts at the Food and Medicine building in Brewer by December 17th. All details are here.

Thank you very much!!!!

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***UPDATE***
TENTATIVE AGREEMENT REACHED!

A message from the UMaine Graduate Workers Union:

“On 12/14/2025, we reached a Tentative Agreement for our first contract with the UMS administration. We are very proud to have won many critical and substantive improvements in every area that we collectively identified as priorities in our 2023 bargaining survey. These gains are the direct result of tireless organizing, over two years of bargaining, and our unstoppable solidarity. Together, we fought, and together, we won.

“The ratification vote will begin on Tuesday December 16th at 9:00 am (Eastern Time) and will conclude on Wednesday December 17th at 5:00pm (Eastern Time). If a majority votes “yes”, the Tentative Agreement will go into effect.”

You can read a comprehensive summary here.

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Rally Behind Our Somali Community

The rally on Saturday, December 13th, in Lewiston was a success! Hundreds showed up to support our fellow Mainers who are from Somalia and to let them know they are not what the president says they are, but they are valued members of our community.

Read more here in this Maine Public Broadcasting Network article by Ari Snider: Hundreds rally in Lewiston in solidarity with Somali community

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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.

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.

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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 a 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. 

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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!

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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!

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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.

(207) 544-9989

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.

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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.

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We are on Blue Sky, Instagram, and Facebook!

Follow us! Invite your friends! Comment! You’ll be glad you did!

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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

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And now to the Emanuel’s Daily Call to Action:

Action Monday December 15th: Boycott Spotify, Pandora, Home Depot + Support LD 1383 Aligning Maine Investments With Our Values

Good Morning Folks, it’s Monday and we are closing in on the end of one hell of a year!  In the words of Kaira Lingo, let’s take time each day to “look for what’s not wrong” as we continue to resist and build community. The Lewiston rally of  “hundreds of people” this Saturday in support of our Somali neighbors.  Our favorite sign at the rally:  “Not one Somali in the Epstein Files”

Top Action to Take Today:

Probably one of the most powerful actions we can take in today’s United States relate to economic actions. Reading further down, as a consumer, you can read about actions to drop Spotify and Pandora, and boycott Home Depot. We now have a chance also to put our consumer power to work as voters in Maine.  Please consider asking your State Representative and Senator to support LD 1383, a bill to end our complicity in all genocides and the persecution and detention of our neighbors by keeping our state’s investments aligned with our values. You can learn all about the campaign in this one page toolkit from theThe Maine Coalition for Peace and Human Rights with easy links to background info on LD 1383 and where folks can write their own letters to reps in just minutes.

For “More Actions Today if You Have the Bandwidth” from Emanuel’s Daily Call to Action (12/15), click here.

With great appreciation for all the engagement everywhere!  

As always, throw a little sand in their gears! 

~~Emanuel

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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!

More Actions Today if You Have the Bandwidth

Ask our Senators and Congressional Representatives to demand a resignation or begin impeachment proceedings for Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense.  He is now guilty of war crimes due to his ordering the killing of wounded combatants on a boat blown up twice in September by US drones. Both King and Collins voted AGAINST his nomination in the first place. For more information on this go here.  The Impeachment bill is  H. Res. 935. 

They should demand his immediate resignation NOW. Articles of Impeachment are on the way for RFK Jr. as well. (Thanks to Dave for this information.)

While you are at it, Ask Representatives Pingree and Golden to support the No Unauthorized Force in Venezuela Act bill presented by Seth Moulton and others. (This war on Venezuela is about OIL – Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world, and it is a distraction from the…..EPSTEIN FILES)

On last Tuesday, Congressman Seth Moulton (MA-06), along with Reps. Jake Auchincloss (MA-04), Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06), Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), and Eugene Vindman (VA-07), announced the introduction of new legislation, called the No Unauthorized Force in Venezuela Act, at a press conference by the House steps. 
The No Unauthorized Force in Venezuela Act prohibits the executive branch from spending any federal funds on the use of military inside Venezuela or against Venezuelan forces, including remote or intermittent strikes, unless Congress passes a specific Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF). This act has not been voted on in the house yet from what I can see.

Congressman Moulton, a Marine Corps veteran who served four tours in Iraq, emphasized that the legislation is urgently needed in light of recent developments. For a live stream broadcast of his press conference go here.

Last week Trump posted execution threats towards Democratic lawmakers, all former military/CIA who posted a video asking troops not to obey illegal orders: Yesterday, this act got tabled with 140 Democrats voting against tabling it. Pingree voted against tabling it, Golden voted in favor of tabling it, for more details go here.

Mutual Aid

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.”  Even though the Government is “open” now, hunger issues continue for people around the country.

Heating Assistance:  If you have friends, neighbors, or need support for Heating Assistance, Li Heap funds have been authorized for Maine, Click here to learn more about applying for LIHEAP assistance. Collins and King were  involved in pushing that this money get released after the Government shutdown.

Arts and Politics!

Consider boycotting Spotify and canceling your subscription to them: To participate in the boycott of Spotify for their running of ads recruiting for ICE, visit this Indivisible page for more information, and for ready-made materials you can post online and use in other ways to encourage others to cancel their subscriptions, visit this page.  According to Indivisible Bangor, Pandora is running the same ICE recruiting adds.  Pandora is a subsidiary of SiriusXM. Spotify’s stock has dropped 13% in the past month. 

Indivisible Bangor suggests you stop using Spotify free version and instead try some of these options:  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. (Thanks to George from Indivisible Bangor for these suggestions)

GOT MORE TIME? HERE ARE SOME MORE ACTIONS  (just pick one!)

• Join the Maine People’s Alliance in bringing your story to our Congresspeople: Are your insurance rates going up? Did you lose SNAP benefits – the MPA wants to hear your story and use it to fight for Mainers in the ongoing shutdown budget battle. Fill out this form and tell your story here. 
• Call or email our Congressional Representatives to publicly condemn the administration’s use of our Military to create havoc in Blue Cities:  It is time to publicly denounce these unconstitutional, king-like actions of our Executive branch. Where is the outrage? Go to 5calls.org for a script on this request.
• Call or write Governor Mills and ask her to let LD 1971 become law, by not signing and not vetoing it:  Go here to make a comment on this on her website. (She can’t sign the bill anymore, but can veto it.)
• Call Governor Mills and our Congressional Representatives:  Ask Mills to deny any request from the Trump administration to deploy National Guard Troops for local law enforcement; Ask our representatives to sound the alarm about the use of US Military to intimidate and harass peaceful, public protests. Go here for wording on this.
• For a very interesting list of actions related to upcoming Federal legislation check out Shelly’s email attached below.
• From Linda:  I testified in support of LD 99 in 2020 and was thrilled that it was passed into law. LD 99 requires MainePERS to divest from all fossil fuel investments. The MainePERS Board was given until December 31, 2025, to comply with this law and has made almost no forward motion. If you would like to sign our petition in support of divesting, it would be appreciated.
• From Topsham Representative Rafael Macias: Rafael is sponsoring LD 1383 in this coming legislature starting in January to require PERS to divest from all war related industries. More information on this below in the StateWide Action section. (See top line action for more information on this.)
• Consider volunteering and/or donating to one of the worthy immigrant support organizations listed below:  Capital Area New Mainers Project, Mainers for Humane Immigration, Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, (all Maine based), and the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, go here to donate to the Capital Area New Mainers Project.

Statewide Actions

• Ask your local Maine Representative and Senator to support LD 1383 “An Act to Require State Divestment from Perpetrators of International Human Rights Violations.” This bill prohibits Maine from investing its funds from any companies, entities, persons or financial institutions that are “associated with” a “perpetrator state”. For more details see the attachment below. The Maine Coalition for Peace and Human Rightsis responsible for this campaign, see their  one page toolkit  here, and write a letter to your state legislative representatives.
• Online Meeting with Graham Platner:  The Maine People’s Alliance is holding an online conversation with Graham Platner next Wednesday the 17th at 5 pm; you can sign up here to take part in the conversation.
• 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!)
• More ICE resistance: 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. NO I.C.E. for Maine (noice4me): Learn more about this effort to reign in ICE. Here is the number for the ICE Watch hotline in Maine: 207 544 9989
• Mid Maine Indivisible has a great weekly newsletter – To sign up: go here. Indivisible Bangor has a great daily newsletter and actions go here to sign up. If you are in the Mid Coast area consider joining Audacity – learn more here. The Bold Coast Civic Alliance has a newsletter as well as the Hancock County Democrat.   Cumberland County Indivisible newsletter go here.  Greater Portland Indivisible, go here. We are developing a great ecosystem for resistance communications in Maine.
• Check out the No Kings Alliance page for  updates about actions that you can take to continue building the pro-democracy movement, building and protecting our communities. (Thank you to Indivisible Mid Maine for this suggestion)

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. If you have items for our weekly newsletter, please email me and I will pass them on.

There is a community member who is looking to provide home cleaning services in the Waterville area for $25 an hour. Send an email with subject “Cleaning” to get in contact for scheduling! You would be providing income for a local mother with an infant son to care for.   

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. You can also Donate to the Capitol Area New Mainers Project’s rapid response fund. CANMP is actively helping those affected by ICE abductions, both with legal funding and other financial support for family members.

The Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition and partners are organizing an ICE watch Hotline  in Maine. They need volunteer hotline operators to answer phones from Mainers concerned about ICE sitings. They are looking for folks fluent in one or more of the following: Spanish, French and Portugese. 207-544-9989Tuesday, December 16th: 12:00-1:00 (and every Tuesday) New Location at the corner of Main Street and Waterville Commons Drive  Stand with us to Boycott Home Depot as well as support local businesses this shopping season.  Check out  Ice Out of Home Depot for what our demands are. We will be holding our vigil there for the month of December. See attachment below. 
Wednesday, December 17th: (and every Wednesday) 12:00-1:00 Waterville,  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, December 18th,  Fairfield Benton Bridge 3-4 pm: stop the coup, support Democracy, 
First Saturday of Each Month: Somerset Stands Up Rallies 2:30–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.  
Sunday, December 21st : 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  SOLIDARITY 

*Consider supporting Graham Platner. He is an electrifying speaker, with good positions on the important issues. Volunteer here. The oddsmakers have him beating Mills in the primary as of this week.

However, Mills is a good alternative to support if she wins the primary in June. We must oust Collins!

*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 on Zoom. 

With great appreciation for all the engagement everywhere!  

As always, throw a little sand in their gears! 

Emanuel

But the honest truth is that what drives me as an economist is that economics is fun. I think I understand why so many people think that economics is a boring subject, but they are wrong. On the contrary, there is hardly anything I know that is as exciting as finding that the great events that move history, the forces that determine the destiny of empires and the fate of kings, can sometimes be explained, predicted, or even controlled by a few symbols on a printed page. We all want power, we all want success, but the ultimate reward is the simple joy of understanding.  Paul Krugman

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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!