(Please let us know if you feel these Action Items emails are clouding things with too much explanation, or if you’d like any other changes to the way I’ve been doing this.)  

Action Items to choose from (or do all of them: your choice!) Scroll down to the matching number of your option: 

1. Support the right of our troops to disobey illegal orders 
2. Stop the buildup to war with Venezuela 
3. Quit Spotify until they quit broadcasting ICE recruitment ads 
4. Two Maine-specific anti-ICE Actions 

Reminder: When you call vs when you email via our reps’ websites (best way to contact them in writing), don’t forget to begin with: “Hi, my name is [name] and I’m a constituent calling from [zip code]. That is important, because if they don’t know you’re actually a constituent, your opinion will be ignored. 

Contact info: 

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 Representative: 
By name: Here
By district: Here

(Please note that for those of you receiving this email who are not represented by Senators or House members in our district, I have to leave it up to you to find the contact info for your own representatives.)

Actions 

Actions 

1) Support the right of our troops to disobey illegal orders:  

         Defiance.org is a fairly new organization co-founded by Miles Taylor, ex-DHS Chief of Staff during the first Trump administration and the author of the 2018 New York Times op-ed titled, “I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration,” which he wrote under the name “Anonymous” (in 2020, while campaigning against Trump’s reelection, he revealed that he was “Anonymous.” 

        Defiance.org, in partnership with WhistleblowerAid.org, has launched Phase One of what it planned to be an ongoing effort to help members of our military obey lawful orders, recognize manifestly illegal ones, and know where to turn to understand the difference.  This campaign includes: 

• Geo-targeted public service announcements, online and via social media 
• Billboards near key U.S. military installations 
• Information about confidential, independent support available through Whistleblower Aid, a trusted nonprofit that offers legal intake and case support for servicemembers and government officials 
• A volunteer-driven push to distribute information in military communities nationwide 

We can help with that last part. Defiance.org has: 

• Downloadable posters that we can distribute in our communities and/or near military hubs – Bases, Recruitment Centers, MEPs, ROTC Units, National Guard + Reserve Centers, etc. (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DO2ah0f4c_DoxQ4FnVhcX3L4ecvJCfR3/view) 
• Downloadable wallet cards you can keep on you to share with military members when you cross paths (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1K60TWTsKfVu2-8YM1ZAo-WXB4qOVrXoa/view)  
• A downloadable you can use to post about the campaign on social media (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1K0pkOcrHd5SjdNv7Pp-KFazZh80ovRXB/view) 

2)  Stop the buildup to war with Venezuela: 

     Trump seems bound and determined to start a war between the U.S. and Venezuela. And it’s not about drugs, since Venezuela is not the origin of most of the drugs that are smuggled into our country. It’s about two things: distraction (from Trump’s incredibly low approval numbers and all the illegal things he’s been doing that people are starting to wake up to, not to mention the Epstein files—yes, let’s not forget those or let up on the pressure to make sure everything gets released) and oil. Trump is claiming that Venezuela stole oil from the U.S. What actually happened was that, after multiple foreign oil companies, including those from the U.S., moved in on and built up Venezuela’s oil industry, Venezuela nationalized its oil industry, taking control of the oil it produced. The assets taken back belonged to the oil companies, not the U.S. government. And that was almost 20 years ago. Old story and never since seen as crucial to the U.S. oil industry. Which brings us back around to: distraction. 

     The United States has no right to unilaterally shoot boats out of the water without legal justification. We have not declared war against Venezuela, nor is there justification for that, either. But Trump and wannabe soldier Pete Hegseth are itching to start a war, and they have to be stopped. Americans don’t want another years-long land war…or any other kind of war. 

     So far, bipartisan legislative attempts to prevent unauthorized war or military action with Venezuela have been voted down by Republicans in both houses of Congress. We need our congresspeople to step up and keep pushing for legislation that will put Congress back in the driver’s seat, where it belongs, when it comes to war efforts. Contact Senators King and Collins and House Rep. Golden to urge them to sponsor and/or support new bills to prevent any military action or attempted regime change in Venezuela unless authorized by Congress, as directed by the Constitution. 

3) Quit Spotify until they quit broadcasting ICE recruitment ads:  
    If you love Spotify Wrapped, please consider not posting as long as Spotify is still airing ICE recruitment ads. Instead, consider sharing posts about the campaign to boycott Spotify until these ads stop. https://app.sosha.ai/toolkit/spotify-wrapped-ice-trump-01aa 
 

4) Two Maine-specific anti-ICE Actions:

• Activate Maine has a toolkit to help us fight ICE in Maine: https://www.activatemaine.com/icetoolkit (Please note that they haven’t yet updated their website to delete the part about asking Governor Mills to allow LD 1971 to become law: She has already announced that she will not veto this bill in January, which means that it will become law.) 
• Get involved with the Maine ICE watch hotline: 
       Just as they say, “If you see something, say something,” follow this directive: “If you see ICE, report ICE.” According to News Center Maine, the ICE watch hotline “…functions like a community dispatch system. When someone calls in to report a possible ICE sighting, trained volunteers answer the phone. If the report involves a live ICE presence, two additional volunteers—called verifiers—are dispatched to the scene to confirm the sighting. Once verified, the information is quickly relayed through trusted networks to inform immigrant communities across the state.” The goal is to verify and monitor immigration enforcement activity and provide support resources such as legal assistance, immigrant support services, and community resources. No data from these calls is collected or stored, and all calls are encrypted for security. 
        If you see evidence of ICE activity, call 207-544-9989 (hours of operation: Monday – Friday, 6am – 9am and 5pm – 9pm). 

          You can also look into fighting ICE in Maine here: https://linktr.ee/noice4me 

Yours in Civic Action, 

Bold Coast Civic Alliance

Action Items to choose from (or do all of them: your choice!) Scroll down to the matching number of your option: 

1. Oppose the escalating illegal military action in the waters off the shore of Venezuela 
2. Protect transgender young people 
3. Protect the health and safety of American children 
4. Keep up the fight for science 
5. Maine-specific actions 

Reminder: When you call vs when you email via our reps’ websites (best way to contact them in writing), don’t forget to begin with: “Hi, my name is [name] and I’m a constituent calling from [zip code]. That is important, because if they don’t know you’re actually a constituent, your opinion will be ignored. 

Contact info: 

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 Representative: 
By name: Here
By district: Here

(Please note that for those of you receiving this email who are not represented by Senators or House members in our district, I have to leave it up to you to find the contact info for your own representatives.)

Actions 

1) Oppose the escalating illegal military action in the waters off the shore of Venezuela: 

    First, contact Congressman Golden and thank him for voting for H.Con.Res.62, the House bill “To direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against Venezuela that have not been authorized by Congress.” Unfortunately, the bill failed, despite some Republicans crossing over to vote with the Democrats.  

   Yesterday, Senator Ruben Gallego introduced S.J.Res.100 – A joint resolution to direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities against vessels operating in the Caribbean Sea or the Eastern Pacific Ocean that have not been authorized by Congress. Contact Senators King and Collinsand urge them to co-sponsor this bill. While we’re at it, also ask them to support Sen. Adam Schiff in his push for unanimous consent for a bill requiring the administration to release the video of the Sept. 2 boat strikes. When the administration doesn’t want us to see something, that usually means we definitely ought to see it. And if crimes were committed, Pete Hegseth needs to be impeached and prosecuted.  

2) Protect transgender young people: 
    I apologize for being a bit behind the times recently. Life has been getting in the way. That said, the House passed H.R. 3492, the Protect Children’s Innocent Act, which will criminalize gender-affirming care for transgender young people (under 18). They also voted for H.R. 498, the bill titled “Do No Harm in Medicaid Act,” which aims to change the laws relating to Medicaid funding for procedures related to gender transition for minors, defined as individuals under the age of 18. The proposed legislation amends the Social Security Act, specifically targeting federal funding for certain medical procedures. 
     I, personally, an disgusted by these votes. Transgender folk are a very, very small percentage (about 1%) of the U.S. population, and gender-affirming surgeries are almost never done on young people under age 18.  Regardless how one feels about helping transgender children align their physical bodies with their gender identity, it seems to me that that sort of decision belongs with the child, the parents, and their doctor, not with the federal government. International guidelines already exist for treatment of transgender children; I don’t think laws criminalizing it are the best way to go. I will never understand why the Republicans are always so concerned with what’s inside a person’s underwear. 
    So we should contact Jared Golden to thank him for voting against these bills. But while we’re at it, we also need to let him know that the Republicans’ eleventh-hour healthcare plan is ridiculous. It includes all the anti-woman and anti-life issues they want to push, while including nothing that will help Americans actually be able to afford their healthcare. Tell Jared Golden to support Hakeem Jeffries’s bill extending the ACA premium tax credits. It’s not an ideal solution to the problems of our healthcare system, but it’s necessary for the time being. You can read about the GOP offering here.  
 

3) Protect the health and safety of American children: 
     The Department of Health and Human Services has terminated seven grants totaling millions of dollars to the American Academy of Pediatrics, including for initiatives on reducing sudden infant deaths, improving adolescent health, preventing fetal alcohol syndrome, and identifying autism early. The AAP has been a harsh critic of RFK Jr.’s chaotic and anti-science leadership of the HHS. “The sudden withdrawal of these funds will directly impact and potentially harm infants, children, youth, and their families in communities across the United States,” said Mark Del Monte, AAP’s chief executive and executive vice president. Once again, the Trump administration is risking the health of millions of vulnerable youngsters just to teach the AAP a lesson—one which, so far, the AAP is refusing to learn. Contact Senators King and Collins and Representative Golden to urge them to push back against this hostile removal of grant funds and demand the impeachment and removal of RFK., Jr. as Secretary of the Dept. of Health and Human Services. 
 

4) Keep up the fight for science: 
     Russell Vought, the extreme right-wing director of the Office of Management and Budget and one of the primary architects of Project 2025, has called the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, one of the world’s leading Earth science research institutions, “one of the largest sources of climate alarmism in the country” and said that the federal government would be “breaking up” the institution.  
     The National Center for Atmospheric Research is widely considered a global leader in both weather and climate change research, with programs aimed at tracking severe weather events, modeling floods and understanding how solar activity affects the Earth’s atmosphere. But Vought hates climate change, and Trump hates Colorado (he is furious that Colorado Governor Jared Polis has refused to pardon Tina Peters, the county clerk jailed for refusing to do her job of issuing a wedding permit to a same-sex couple—if I recall correctly), so here is another attack on the health of the planet and on the economy of a blue state.  
     Contact Senators King and Collins and Rep. Jared Golden and urge them to speak out against this destructive move. 
 

5) Maine-specific actions: 

1. Thank Governor Mills for making the decision to allow LD 1971 to become law. That is the law that prevents local Maine law enforcement from working with Federal agents like those from ICE and CBP in Federal anti-immigration enforcement. 
2. Support the National Popular Vote bill compact: 
        The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact was designed to base the election of the President on a one-person-one-vote basis, insuring that the Presidency would go to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and DC. The “interstate compact” would go into effect among participating states only after they collectively represent an absolute majority of Electoral College votes (currently at least 270). Then, in each Presidential election, the participating states would award all of their electoral votes to the candidate with the largest national popular vote total across the 50 states and the District of Columbia. As a result, that candidate would win the presidency by securing a majority of votes in the Electoral College.  
        The compact bill has been enacted into law by 18 states with 209 electoral votes, including Maine. However, this was another bill that Janet Mills allowed to become law by neither signing it into law nor vetoing it when she had the chance (like the recent LD 1971 anti-ICE-collaborating law). Plenty of Maine GOP legislators want it repealed. We have to keep support for it alive (if you agree with it, of course!). 
        Contact your Maine state legislators and tell them how important the National Popular Vote bill is to you. 

     Your representatives in the state legislature depends on your district. Here are most local districts; if you live in a different district in Maine than those above, you can find your representatives here. 

–House District 11: Tiffany Strout (207- 598-7043 or email: Tiffany.Strout@legislature.maine.gov  ) 

–House District 12: Billy Bob Faulkingham (207-460-6967 or William.Faulkingham@legislature.maine.gov –he won’t be interested, but we should certainly annoy him as much as possible) 

— House District 13: Russell P. White (207- 460-6359 or email: Russell.White@legislature.maine.gov  ) 

— House District 14: Gary Friedmann (207-460-7362 or email: Gary.Friedmann@legislature.maine.gov ) 

— Senate District 6: Marianne Moore (home: 207-454-0501 or 207-952-2050; State House: 207-287-1505; email: Marianne.Moore@legislature.maine.gov) 

— Senate District 7: Nicole C. Grohoski (cell: 207-358-8333; State House: 207-287-1515; email: Nicole.Grohoski@legislature.maine.gov ) 

Yours in Civic Action, 

Bold Coast Civic Alliance

December 16th is Beethoven’s birthday. Something to celebrate.

Action Items to choose from (or do all of them: your choice!) Scroll down to the matching number of your option: 

1. Push hard to stop gun violence 
2. Push back against Trump’s verbal attacks on those he sees as his political enemies 
3. Impeach Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth 
4. Support the Domestic Organic Investment Act 
5. Oppose the White House’s short-term farm-aid plan 
6. Help save public lands 
7. Maine-specific Actions 

Reminder: When you call vs when you email via our reps’ websites (best way to contact them in writing), don’t forget to begin with: “Hi, my name is [name] and I’m a constituent calling from [zip code]. That is important, because if they don’t know you’re actually a constituent, your opinion will be ignored. 

Contact info: 

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 Representative: 
By name: Here
By district: Here

(Please note that for those of you receiving this email who are not represented by Senators or House members in our district, I have to leave it up to you to find the contact info for your own representatives.)

Actions 

1) Push hard to stop gun violence: 

     Australia just saw a horrific mass shooting last weekend, and their government is already in action, preparing a special session in which they will tighten their gun laws. We need to do the same. In America, some forty-six thousand people die from gun violence every year and yet Congress keeps refusing to act. We need an assault weapons ban. We need universal background checks. We need safe storage laws. And we need the Office of Gun Violence Prevention, which Trump shut down in his first week in office, to be reopened immediately. Nothing less will do. Gun people say, “Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.” Well, these types of laws will limit the ability of people-killers and wannabe people-killers to kill innocent people. 

     Contact Senators King and Collins and House Representative Golden to urge them to stop pussyfooting around this issue and step up and start some serious lawmaking against the problems caused by guns in our country. 

2) Push back against Trump’s verbal attacks on those he sees as his political enemies: 
     According to NBC news reports, in just the past few weeks, almost two dozen federal, state, and local officials have received a “surge” of violent threats for similar reasons — saying or doing something Trump didn’t like, resulting in his attacking them on TV or Truth Social. Right after that, the threats began. “Among those who’ve been targeted with threats after being mentioned in social media posts by the president are numerous Democrats, including Sens. Chuck Schumer of New York and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan — but even more Republicans, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and over a dozen Indiana state lawmakers.” (NBC News) 
     Contact Senators King and Collins and Representative Golden to demand that they stand up to Trump and demand that he tell his followers that regardless of his invective, no death threats or other threats promising physical harm of any kind are acceptable and perpetrators will be arrested and investigated. Or, obviously, put this any way you want to express it. 

3) Impeach Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth: 

         Congressman Shri Thanedar (MI-13) has introduced two articles of impeachment (H.Res.935) against Donald Trump’s Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, for the following charges: 

     –Murder and Conspiracy to Murder

     –Reckless and Unlawful Mishandling of Classified Information

     Contact Congressman Jared Golden to ask him to support this resolution to impeach Pete Hegseth. We simply can’t have an army-playing clown like Hegseth in control of the U.S. military.

4) Support the Domestic Organic Investment Act: 
     Last week, Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Susan Collins (R-ME), along with Representatives Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) and Andrea Salinas (D-OR), introduced legislation to give organic producers tools to increase capacity, modernize their operations, and expand their businesses to meet growing demand. permanent program to equip organic farmers and producers to grow their businesses and meet rising demand. Contact Senator Susan Collins to thank her, and contact Senator Angus King to ask him to support this act. 
 

5) Oppose the White House’s short-term farm-aid plan: 
    Last week, the Trump administration announced that it will provide $12 billion in economic aid for farmers, with the bulk of the funds reserved for commodity crop farmers. Through a new Farmer Bridge Assistance program, $11 billion will go to one-time payments exclusively to commodities farmers, like those producing corn, rice, wheat, soybeans, cotton, sorghum and cattle. An extra $1 billion will go to so-called “specialty” farming (mostly fruits and vegetables, and presumably including organic farming). As usual, this decision by the White House pretty much supports big ag, while merely throwing a small piece of kibble to organic farmers, of which we have a lot here in Maine. 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.  
 

6) Help save public lands: 
     Introduced by Representatives Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) and Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) in the 118th Congress and reintroduced in the 119th, this bipartisan bill (H.R. 718, the Public Lands in Public Hands Act) prohibits the sale or transfer of public lands managed by the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Forest Service without extra oversight. It would require Congress to approve the sale or transfer of publicly accessible parcels of land larger than 300 acres, as well as water-adjacent parcels larger than 5 acres.  
    Contact Jared Golden and urge him to co-sponsor H.R. 718. Contact Senators King and Collins to ask them to sponsor a Senate version of the Public Lands in Public Hands Act. Remind them how important Maine’s vast wilderness areas are to the state’s economy. It would be wild (and equally unlikely) if they could Sponsor it together as a bipartisan bill! 
 

7) Maine-specific Actions (see contact info below): 

1.      Support LD 1383, An Act to Require State Divestment from Perpetrators of International Human Rights Violation:  

     If you don’t want Maine to be investing in corporations and other entities that are involved in or support human rights violations, contact your representatives in Maine’s Congress and ask them to support LD 1383, An Act to Require State Divestment from Perpetrators of International Human Rights Violation. Maine has millions of dollars invested in corporations like Palantir and Signature Aviation. LD1383 would withdraw those investments and replace them with cleaner investments. This link will help you compose a message to your state representatives and other state officials.

2.      Fight against EPA Superfund Cuts and PFAS Cleanup Delays:  
     The Pentagon has quietly delayed PFAS cleanup at the former Loring Air Force Base in Limestone by six years, and the old Brunswick Naval Air Station is also facing setbacks. Meanwhile, the Superfund program is looking at potential budget cuts. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) points to actions like ordering foam removal at Brunswick Executive Airport after last year’s 1,500-gallon PFAS spill as proof of progress. But state environmental advocates and our congressional delegation are concerned these delays will leave Maine communities dealing with contaminated water and soil longer than necessary. Contact your Maine state representatives to speak up about this problem. 

Maine State-level Contact Info: 

• Governor Janet Mills: 287-3531 or https://www.maine.gov/governor/mills/contact/share-your-opinion 
• Attorney General Aaron Frey: 207-626-8800 or email attorney.general@maine.gov 
• Secretary of State Shenna Bellows: 207-626-8400 or https://www.maine.gov/sos/about-us/contact-us-form 
• State Controller Douglas E. Cotnoir: 207-626-8420 or douglas.e.cotnoir@maine.gov 
• State Treasurer Joseph C. Perry: 207-624-7477 or Joseph.C.Perry@maine.gov 
• Commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services Sara Gagné-Holmes:  (207) 287-3707 
  And, of course, contact your representatives in the state legislature, which depends on your district: 

• House District 11: Tiffany Strout (207- 598-7043 or email: Tiffany.Strout@legislature.maine.gov  ) 
• House District 12: Billy Bob Faulkingham (207-460-6967 or William.Faulkingham@legislature.maine.gov –he won’t be interested, but we should certainly annoy him as much as possible) 
• House District 13: Russell P. White (207- 460-6359 or email: Russell.White@legislature.maine.gov  ) 
• House District 14: Gary Friedmann (207-460-7362 or email: Gary.Friedmann@legislature.maine.gov ) 
• Senate District 6: Marianne Moore (home: 207-454-0501 or 207-952-2050; State House: 207-287-1505; email: Marianne.Moore@legislature.maine.gov  ) 
• Senate District 7: Nicole C. Grohoski (cell: 207-358-8333; State House: 207-287-1515; email: Nicole.Grohoski@legislature.maine.gov ) 

Yours in Civic Action, 

Bold Coast Civic Alliance

ion Items to choose from (or do all of them: your choice!) Scroll down to the matching number of your option: 

1. Keep fighting for the extension of the ACA premium tax bill 
2. Oppose the military strikes on boats off the Venezuelan coast 
3. Fight for the Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act 
4. Maine-specific 

Reminder: When you call vs when you email via our reps’ websites (best way to contact them in writing), don’t forget to begin with: “Hi, my name is [name] and I’m a constituent calling from [zip code]. That is important, because if they don’t know you’re actually a constituent, your opinion will be ignored. 

Contact info: 

Reminder: When you call vs when you email via our reps’ websites (best way to contact them in writing), don’t forget to begin with: “Hi, my name is [name] and I’m a constituent calling from [zip code]. That is important, because if they don’t know you’re actually a constituent, your opinion will be ignored. 

Contact info: 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 Representative: 
By name: Here
By district: Here

(Please note that for those of you receiving this email who are not represented by Senators or House members in our district, I have to leave it up to you to find the contact info for your own representatives.)

Actions 

1) Keep fighting for the extension of the ACA premium tax bill: 

    The ACA premium tax credit extension vote failed today, as did the other proposed healthcare bills. We should thank our Senators for voting to extend the ACA premium tax credit extensions, but the fight isn’t over. We need to urge our Senators to take up every chance to revisit this issue. These subsidies (or some other workable option—NOT the ridiculous put-a-little-money-in-some-people’s-HSA-accounts bill proposed by Senator Bill Cassidy) are so important to keep our healthcare system alive. If you are a proponent of universal healthcare/Medicare for all, make sure you mention that when you call/write. 

2) Oppose the military strikes on boats off the Venezuelan coast: 
   Contact Senators King and Collins and Rep. Golden to demand that the Trump administration release the full videos of these strikes and the legal memos justifying them. The Trump administration is trying to normalize something fundamentally un-American: that a president can unilaterally erase constitutional rights, hide evidence of lethal military operations, and punish critics without consequence. The truth must be revealed to the people. 
 

3) Fight for the Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act: 
     Contact Senators King and Collins and Rep. Golden to ask them to cosponsor, support, and publicly champion the Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act (In the Senate: S. 2818 (IS); in the House: H.R.7041). Working families need a government willing to stand up for them and challenge a system that has become wildly imbalanced. We need our congresspeople to stand for the people of Maine by bringing this bill forward for hearings and action.  
   The Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act creates a simple, fair mechanism: If a company chooses to maintain an extreme CEO-to-worker pay ratio, it will pay a higher corporate tax rate. If it raises workers’ wages or reins in excessive executive compensation, it pays nothing extra. This is a market-based incentive to reduce inequality without imposing wage mandates. It rewards companies that treat workers fairly and asks more from those that don’t. 
     These greedy corporate CEOs are killing the American dream for everyone else. This bill is an important step toward closing the wealth gap that was, in my opinion, a large part of the anger that simmered, then boiled, then paved the way for the horror that is American under Trump. That has to stop, one way or another.  
   You can read an explanation of the proposed bill here: https://tlaib.house.gov/posts/tlaib-sanders-introduce-bill-to-end-outrageous-ceo-pay-and-combat-corporate-greed 
 

4) Maine-specific: 
 Urge Janet Mills to allow LD 1971 (the bill to that would forbid Maine’s law enforcement and other public offices from collaborating with ICE) become law: 

          Earlier this year, Maine lawmakers passed LD 1971: An Act to Protect Workers in This State by Clarifying the Relationship of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies with Federal Immigration Authorities. This act limits the degree to which Maine State and Local Law Enforcement are allowed to cooperate/collude with Federal Immigration enforcement (ICE and CBP, mostly. Governor Janet Mills has refused to sign it (and now it’s too late), but she can still veto it. If she doesn’t veto it when the next legislative session opens in January, the bill will become law.        

    Contact Janet Mills to urge her to NOT veto it and let it become law (personally, I suspect that is her plan, but we should remind her that we care). You can email her through her website ( https://www.maine.gov/governor/mills/contact), call her at 207-287-3531, or send a snail-mail to Governor Janet Mills, 1 State House Station, Augusta, Maine, 04333. 

Yours in Civic Action, 

Bold Coast Civic Alliance

Seems like our lawmakers have finally gotten back to work—even some Republicans! Suddenly there are a number of new bills to research and act on. 

Action Items to choose from (or do all of them: your choice!) Scroll down to the matching number of your option: 

1. Stop Trump’s and Hegseth’s illegal warmongering off Venezuela’s shores 
2. Support H.R. 6390, the Make Housing Affordable and Defend Democracy Act 
3. Fight for Fair Social Security 
4. Oppose the government’s plan to hold back SNAP money from blue states 
5. Support the Experts Act to halt corporate corruption in government rulemaking and elevate the public’s support for strong safeguards 
6. Support the Stop Ballroom Bribery Act 
7. Support the Toxic Substances Control Act 
8. Support the renewal of the NewStart Nuclear Armed Forces Agreement 
9. Send a letter to our congresspeople to urge them to stop Medicare from using AI to deny care 
10. 2 Resistbot letters to send 

Reminder: When you call vs when you email via our reps’ websites (best way to contact them in writing), don’t forget to begin with: “Hi, my name is [name] and I’m a constituent calling from [zip code]. That is important, because if they don’t know you’re actually a constituent, your opinion will be ignored. 

Contact info: 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 Representative: 
By name: Here
By district: Here

(Please note that for those of you receiving this email who are not represented by Senators or House members in our district, I have to leave it up to you to find the contact info for your own representatives.)

Actions 

1) Stop Trump’s and Hegseth’s illegal warmongering off Venezuela’s shores: 

    Democrat Senators Tim Kaine, Adam Schiff, and Chuck Schumer, along with Republican Senator Rand Paul, have filed a bipartisan war powers resolution to prevent the United States from using the U.S. armed forces to engage in hostilities with Venezuela without congressional approval. The resolution directs President Trump to cease using the military “unless specifically authorized by a declaration of war or specific authorization for use of military force.” Contact Senators King and Collins to support the resolution. 

2)  Support H.R. 6390, the Make Housing Affordable and Defend Democracy Act:  
    Representative Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) has introduced a bill (H.R. 6390, the Make Housing Affordable and Defend Democracy Act) to rescind certain immigration enforcement funds and amend the Internal Revenue Code to provide for new credits related to expanding access to housing. This legislation would take the $175 billion given to ICE and put it instead toward making housing affordable for working Americans. As ICE is terrorizing more and more communities, the same communities are struggling to keep a roof over their heads. That’s just wrong. Our tax dollars should be helping Americans, not attacking and kidnapping them. Contact Jared Golden and urge him to take a stand and co-sponsor this bill, even if he thinks it won’t pass.  
 

3) Fight for Fair Social Security: 
   Senator Warren and House Representatives Larson and Horsford just introduced the bicameral Social Security Emergency Inflation Relief Act to provide a $200/month emergency increase to Social Security checks until July 2026. Medicare Part B premiums are rising by nearly 10% next year, yet Social Security recipients have received only a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment, amounting to just $56 per month. Contact Senators King and Collins and Rep. Golden to stand with senior citizens by co-sponsoring this bill. 
 

4) Oppose the government’s plan to hold back SNAP money from blue states: 
     Last week, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced that the Trump administration will block Democratic-controlled states from accessing billions of dollars they need to run their SNAP programs unless governors turn over their states’ benefits rolls to the federal government. The information they’re demanding includes vast quantities of identifying information on the over 42 million monthly participants, including names, addresses, when an individual enrolled in SNAP and whether they are still enrolled. (Per the Washington Post, it’s unclear if Rollins has the authority to demand that data, and the request could violate recipients’ privacy rights. Historically, no federal agency has required states to share this amount of private data with the federal government; current practice is for states to share only randomized samples. ) Twenty-two states, including Maine (Go, Maine!), refused to comply and sued the USDA.  
    Rollins claimed that the data from the complying states showed 186,000 dead people receiving benefits and 500,000 people receiving double benefits, and said that “more than 120 people” have been arrested on SNAP fraud. Makes me wonder: Over 600,000 supposed fraudulent benefits were paid and only 120 people have been arrested? That enormous amount of “waste, fraud, and abuse” (the constant refrain of the administration) is shocking. I’m also wondering why they need this information after DOGE supposedly got access to so much private information already. Why don’t they just demand that Musk turn over the data his minions mined from the government systems? 
    Contact Senators King and Collins, and House Representative Jared Golden to demand that Rollins and the USDA stop politicizing hunger, cease their demand for personal information that the federal government has no right to, and pay the blue states the administrative monies they are supposed to receive to run their SNAP programs. 
 

5) Support the Experts Act to halt corporate corruption in government rulemaking and elevate the public’s support for strong safeguards: 
   Senator Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Pramila Jayapal have introduced a bicameral bill (simultaneously in both parts of Congress) called the Experts Act (S. 3210; H.R. 6145), which would reform the rules for federal rule making by modernizing the process federal agencies use to develop vital safeguards like those that provide clean air and water, safe products, healthy workplaces, fair pay, and truth in lending, to name just a few. Formerly titled the Stop Corporate Capture Act, the legislation would achieve key improvements to the rulemaking process by lifting up the voices of the American people and closing loopholes that favor corrupt corporations and their lobbyists. 
   Contact Senators King and Collins and Representative Golden and push them to co-sponsor this bill.  
 

6) Support the Stop Ballroom Bribery Act: 
Senator Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Robert Garcia have introduced a bicameral bill called The Stop Ballroom Bribery Act (S.3191 and H.R. 6085) that would restrict donations for certain public projects linked to the President or Vice President, particularly from entities involved in litigation or seeking contracts with the federal government. Trump’s corrupt ballroom project is allowing companies he’s doing business with to funnel money his way. Contact Senators King and Collins to ask them to co-sponsor this bill in the Senate, and Representative Golden to co-sponsor the House version. 
 

7) Support the Toxic Substances Control Act: 
     In 2016, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) was updated to reduce exposure to chemicals linked to cancer and chronic diseases. TSCA empowers states to ban chemicals like PFAS. The law prioritizes human health over corporate profits and has banned deadly solvents like trichloroethylene (TCE) and methylene chloride. States are already spending billions in taxpayer dollars cleaning up PFAS contamination—prevention is the only real solution.  
    But now the chemical lobby is pushing hard to weaken that law. Contact Senators King and Collins and Rep. Golden to tell them that this successful law should not be changed. You can personalize and send a letter to your congresspeople and Brooke Rollins, head of the USDA here: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/take-action-to-protect-the-toxic-substances-control-act 
 

8) Support the renewal of the NewStart Nuclear Armed Forces Agreement: 
The NewStart Nuclear Armed Forces Agreement has been a part of a decades-long norm of limiting the deployment of deadly nuclear weapons. Its expiration in 2026 and current lack of enforcement makes it a top priority for renewal. Please join WPSR in contacting your members of Congress to join the NewSTART Arms control Resolution, H. Res 100 introduced by Representative Bill Foster and S. Res 61 introduced by Senator Ed Markey. Sign here. 
 

9) Send a letter to our congresspeople to urge them to stop Medicare from using AI to deny care: 
     A recent Senate subcommittee report on the use of AI to review prior authorizations reported that during the period that UnitedHealthcare, Humana, and CVS adopted AI tools, denials of authorization increased by anywhere from 54% to 108%, depending on the insurer. Plus, despite insurers’ claims about the bottom line benefits of AI review, the Senate study also found that patients with insurers utilizing AI will see their premiums rise $21.50/month from 2025 to 2026. So Medicare enrollees will be paying more for less. 
     You can personalize and send the letter from https://actionnetwork.org/letters/stop-medicare-from-using-ai-to-deny-healthcare 
 

10) 2 Resistbot letters to send: 
– urging Congress to immediately oppose the Trump Regime’s rollback of federal fuel-efficiency standards. Send it by texting SIGN PTYBKD to 50409, or to @Resistbot on Apple Messages, Messenger, Instagram, or Telegram. 

– urging Congress to take immediate action to stop the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s new effort to undo the Biden-era rule that keeps medical debt off credit reports. That rule gave millions of Americans a fair chance to recover financially after illness or injury by preventing medical bills, often caused by emergencies or billing errors, from wrecking their credit scores. Repealing it would punish people simply for getting sick and hand power back to credit bureaus and debt collectors. We want our congresspeople to  speak out publicly, support legislation to preserve the CFPB’s medical debt rule, and ensure that medical debt stays off credit reports permanently. No one should lose their financial future because of a hospital bill. Text SIGN PDQVGT to 50409, or to @Resistbot on Apple Messages, Messenger, Instagram, or Telegram. 

Yours in Civic Action, 

Bold Coast Civic Alliance

I apologize for jumping back into the fray so late this week. I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving! 

Action Items to choose from (or do all of them: your choice!) Scroll down to the matching number of your option: 

1. Push for the impeachment and removal from office of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth 
2. Keep pushing for an extension of the ACA tax credits 
3. Oppose the Trump administration’s dismantling of the Department of Education and its vital programs and workforce 
4. Sign a petition to keep our air safe from fine-particle pollution 
5. Have a copy of the constitution sent to a congressmember in your name 
6. Don’t let our representatives in Congress think we’ve forgotten or no longer care about the Epstein files 

Reminder: When you call vs when you email via our reps’ websites (best way to contact them in writing), don’t forget to begin with: “Hi, my name is [name] and I’m a constituent calling from [zip code]. That is important, because if they don’t know you’re actually a constituent, your opinion will be ignored. 

Contact info: 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 Representative: 
By name: Here
By district: Here

(Please note that for those of you receiving this email who are not represented by Senators or House members in our district, I have to leave it up to you to find the contact info for your own representatives.)

Actions 

1) Push for the impeachment and removal from office of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth: 

    It’s beyond unacceptable to have a Secretary of Defense who rejects the Geneva Conventions and orders war crimes. Trump’s Teflon seems to have protected Hegseth against any real blowback from Signalgate, his demands for loyalty oaths from journalists, and every other ridiculous thing he’s done, but his excitement about killing is seriously sick and cannot be ignored. Senator Mark Kelly, whose death for “sedition” both Trump and Hegseth have demanded, gets right to the point: https://newrepublic.com/post/203827/mark-kelly-pete-hegseth-donald-trump-playing-army 

     Contact Senators King and Collins and Congressman Golden to call for impeachment proceedings on Hegseth. (Hakeem Jeffries has said the House Dems will NOT pursue impeachment against Hegseth because there’s zero chance it would pass with Republicans in charge, even if it were to make it to the floor, which he is sure it won’t. I think we can still ask Jared Golden to speak up about and get involved with any and all ways to make clear to America that Hegseth is massively unqualified for the job.)  

     Related: Urge Jared Golden to support the No Unauthorized Force in Venezuela Act, which would prohibit 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). 

2)  Keep pushing for an extension of the ACA tax credits: 
     Remember how the Democrats in the Senate allowed the shutdown to end by giving up on their demand for an extension of the ACA tax credits and accepting, instead, the promise of a vote on the subject? That vote looks like it could happen next week, and given the way the GOP members of Congress freaked out at Trump’s plan to extend those credits for 2 years, they seem pretty determined to stick with their own plans to continue screwing their own constituents out of affordable health insurance. Almost everyone wants—needs—those credits extended: Without those subsidies, millions of Americans will face financial or health disaster—or both—and the resulting diminished market will raise costs further for everyone else, possibly even collapsing the entire healthcare system in this country. 
     Contact Senators King and Collins and make sure they know you want those tax credits extended. Susan Collins has called the extension of these credits a “poison pill,” so we know she’s not planning to vote for it. Let her know this is a slap in the face to all her constituents who will be directly affected by her obvious lack of compassion. 
     On the House side, Hakeem Jeffries has introduced a discharge petition to force a vote in the House on a bill to extend the ACA premium tax credits by three years. Contact Congressman Golden to thank him for signing on to this discharge petition and urge him to keep fighting for affordable healthcare for Mainers. 
 

3)  Oppose the Trump administration’s dismantling of the Department of Education and its vital programs and workforce: 
     Another nasty measure sneaked into the One Big Disgusting Bill now coming to light: The hugely diminished Department of Education now programmed to eat its own tail and consume itself entirely has announced changes to the degrees that are considered “professional.” Whether a degree is considered “professional” will influence how much reimbursement a student receives for their higher education and decrease the student loan caps for these degree programs. 
     Not included in the newly proposed list of professional degrees are nursing, physician assistants, physical therapists, educators, social workers, audiologists, architects, and accountants. 
     This is absurd. As those of us in rural parts of the country already know, we need more well-trained professionals, not fewer. Our state—really, most of our country—is already experiencing a decline in healthcare providers, teachers, social workers, etc. This is a complicated issue with many varied and valid explanations, but the bottom line is that adding to the problem is not a reasonable response. It will help no one to make it harder for less-wealthy but smart and talented students to train for these high-demand professions.  
     Contact Senators King and Collins and Congressman Golden to make sure they know that we know about this development and are outraged by it. We need our representatives to push back against these revised qualifications and limits to related student loans. I’m sure solving the overall problem will take some thinking out of the box, but preventing more people from being able to study for high-demand jobs is not the way to change things for the better. If you have any personal stories related to this issue, from your own experience or that of family or friends, share them. That’s one of the best ways to reach whatever these politicians might have left of their heartstrings. 
 

4)  Sign a petition to keep our air safe from fine-particle pollution: 

     The Trump administration just announced it will abandon a critical rule that strengthened limits on deadly fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) — a move scientists warn will lead to dirtier air, more asthma attacks, more heart and lung disease, and thousands of preventable deaths. Petitions aren’t a great way to affect government behavior, but they’re better than nothing and are easy to sign. https://civicshout.com/p/tell-the-epa-no-backsliding-on-clean-air-and-climate/ 

5) Have a copy of the constitution sent to a congressmember in your name: 

https://www.defiance.org/swag/p/constitutions-for-congress

6) Don’t let our representatives in Congress think we’ve forgotten or no longer care about the Epstein files: 

Yours in Civic Action, 

Bold Coast Civic Alliance

Today’s Action Items are short and simple. I’d like to preface today’s list with one item that I think is very important and easy for us all to do: Let’s all try to remember how important it is to feel grateful for what we have and what this country, with all its problems and the attempts of so many to tear it all down lately, has given us. Take comfort in family and friends, give thanks together, and renew the shared strength to keep on fighting for the survival of the freedom, compassion, and kindness that really can make America great.  

Action Items to choose from (or do all of them: your choice!) Scroll down to the matching number of your option: 

1. Oppose the CDC’s efforts to remove the universal Hepatitis B birth-dose vaccine recommendation 
2. Save the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) 
3. Pressure Apple to take back its donation to Trump’s ballroom 
4. Learn about and join Ground Truth’s efforts to educate voters and help Democrats win back voters 
5. Maine-specific action from the Washington County Dems 

Reminder: When you call vs when you email via our reps’ websites (best way to contact them in writing), don’t forget to begin with: “Hi, my name is [name] and I’m a constituent calling from [zip code]. That is important, because if they don’t know you’re actually a constituent, your opinion will be ignored. 

Contact info: 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 Representative: 
By name: Here
By district: Here

(Please note that for those of you receiving this email who are not represented by Senators or House members in our district, I have to leave it up to you to find the contact info for your own representatives.)

Actions Actions 

1) Oppose the CDC’s efforts to remove the universal Hepatitis B birth-dose vaccine recommendation: 

    Monday, November 24^th, 11:59pm, is the deadline for submitting public comments about the efforts of ACIP (Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices) to remove the recommendation of the universal Hepatitis B birth-dose vaccine. The Hepatitis B birth-dose vaccine has been given over a billion times to newborns and has saved countless lives with almost no side-effects. Now the CDC, under anti-vaxxer RFK Jr., is proposing to stop recommending this vaccine for newborns. Speak up now: https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/CDC-2025-0783-0001 

2)  Save the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB): 
   The Trump administration has falsely declared that the CFPB’s independent funding is illegal, setting the agency on a path to shut down in early 2026. Russell Vought, acting OMB Director and Trump’s shadow president, has been laying the groundwork for this outcome all year. He cut the CFPB’s funding request to zero, ignored Dodd Frank’s statutory mandate, and pushed a legal theory so fringe that even conservative courts rejected it.  
   Now the DOJ has signed onto that incorrect theory to justify blocking the CFPB from receiving any money at all. The Supreme Court has already upheld the CFPB’s funding mechanism. This maneuver is designed to bypass Congress and sidestep the courts. The CFPB’s cash reserves are rapidly draining because Vought refused to request funds from the Federal Reserve, even though the law requires the Fed to transfer whatever amount the CFPB director determines is necessary. 
   The CFPB investigates predatory lenders, monitorss credit card abuses, enforce anti-discrimination laws in banking, and returns money stolen by corporate scammers. So far, the CFPB has recovered more than $21 billion for consumers, eliminated junk fees, cracked down on discrimination, banned medical debt reporting, and stopped abusive practices across Wall Street, fintech, mortgage servicing, auto lending, and more.  
    The courts have temporarily blocked Vought’s mass firings and frozen some of the most extreme attacks, but those protections will not last forever. As this case moves toward the Supreme Court, the threat grows. Congress has the power to intervene right now and make clear that the CFPB must remain funded and operational.  
    Tell Congress to stop Russell Vought’s unlawful plan to dismantle the CFPB and protect consumers now. Congress must reinforce that the CFPB’s funding structure is legal, constitutional, and required by statute. Lawmakers must be loud and unambiguous that no administration has the authority to starve a federal agency that Congress itself created. Anything less invites a future where presidents can defund regulators at will, leaving families vulnerable to corporate abuse. Support the campaign to protect the CFPB, safeguard the billions it returns to the public, and prevent financial predators from rewriting the rules: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/afr_defend_the_cfpb_from_voughts_unlawful_shutdown 
 

3) Pressure Apple to take back its donation to Trump’s ballroom: https://act.citizen.org/page/91007/petition/1 
 

4)  Learn about and join Ground Truth’s efforts to educate voters and help Democrats win back voters:  
   https://ourgroundtruth.org/?ss_source=em20251119-184 
 

5)  Maine-specific action from the Washington County Dems:  
    The Department of Homeland Security is trying to purge new Mainers—and naturalized citizens everywhere– from voter rolls by creating a “citizenship” check system that could wrongfully keep eligible citizens from voting. They are doing this by using (abusing) private voter data that the Trump administration culled from Social Security files—in flagrant violation of the Privacy Act. 
   DHS is taking public comments on this effort until Dec. 1. Government agencies are legally required to pay attention to, consider, and respond to significant public comments.  
    Go to https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/USCIS-2025-0337-0002 to submit your comment. Here is a sample script—remember, it’s best to personalize it:  
    “The Privacy Act protects U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents from improper government use of their data. We share private citizenship information with the Social Security Administration with the guarantee that it will only be used for purposes related to benefits, retirement, disability, and death. We did NOT consent to our sensitive SSA data being repurposed by federal or state governments for use in a massive voter verification system. The government has no right to do this without our consent. 
    “This misuse of private data could wrongfully purge lawfully registered voters from voter rolls and prevent eligible voters from voting. In fact, some states have already started purging voter rolls and opening criminal cases using this system–even though this data is especially unreliable for naturalized citizens and states are doing little to confirm the data is accurate. 
    “In addition, the consolidation and misuse of our data in this way substantially increases the risk of our personal information being vulnerable to security breaches.”  

Yours in Civic Action, 

Bold Coast Civic Alliance

Action Items to choose from (or do all of them: your choice!) Scroll down to the matching number of your option: 

1. Keep pushing for the release of the Epstein files 
2. Tell SiriusXM to get Megyn Kelly off their platforms 
3. Protest the U.S. Border Patrol’s invasion of Charlotte, NC 
4. Remove the Regime: March and Lobby in Washington, D.C., 11/20-11/22 
5. Revisit actions from the Friday, November 14th, action items email 

Reminder: When you call vs when you email via our reps’ websites (best way to contact them in writing), don’t forget to begin with: “Hi, my name is [name] and I’m a constituent calling from [zip code]. That is important, because if they don’t know you’re actually a constituent, your opinion will be ignored. 

Contact info: 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 Representative: 
By name: Here
By district: Here

(Please note that for those of you receiving this email who are not represented by Senators or House members in our district, I have to leave it up to you to find the contact info for your own representatives.)

Actions 

1) Keep pushing for the release of the Epstein files: 

   It’s oddly concerning that Trump is now pressing House Republicans to vote for the release. It makes me wonder if the DOJ has redacted any mentions of him, or if they’re going to claim they can’t release the files due to them being part of the new  “investigations” of Democrat “enemies” ordered by Trump. Either way, this could continue to be an ongoing slog. It’s important to remember that releasing these files is an important step in finally getting justice for all of Epstein’s victims; it’s not just about the happy hope of seeing Trump humiliated. 

   Contact Rep. Golden again to urge him to vote for HR 4405, the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The vote could come as early as tomorrow.  

    Contact Senators King and Collins again to urge them to vote for S 2557, the Senate version of the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Push Collins in particular, stressing the justice aspect of this crusade. While I wouldn’t expect her to speak out against Trump’s sleaziness, as a woman, she might be more responsive to the idea of validation for Epstein’s victims after all these years of oppressive secrecy.  

2) Tell SiriusXM to get Megyn Kelly off their platforms: 

In case you haven’t heard the latest from this right-wing nutjob, here’s a direct quote from her, said on her SiriusXM show: “Jeffrey Epstein was not a pedophile… He was into the barely legal type, like he liked 15-year-old girls… There’s a difference between a 15 year old and a 5 year old.” 

In other words, she stated on air that it’s okay for an adult to have sex with a 15-year-old girl. But it’s NOT. Many 15 year olds may already have the bodies of full-grown women, but emotionally they are still children and find it difficult to say no to an adult man, which makes any sex with them nonconsensual. The fact that a woman claimed that sex with a 15-year-old girl is okay just makes it all the more disgusting.  

Tell SiriusXM to dump her, and if you have a subscription with SiriusXM, cancel it and tell them why. You can submit your comment here: https://siriusxm.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0CcUkGIURd6sYxU 

By the way, SiriusXM owns Pandora, which, like Spotify, has been airing ICE recruitment ads. Another reason to dump them until they see the error of their ways. 

3) Protest the U.S. Border Patrol’s invasion of Charlotte, NC: 

    You know the drill. The Border Patrol goons are following their well-documented policies of accosting and detaining anyone who even looks like they might be native Spanish speakers. They arrived in Charlotte on Saturday, and by the end of the day they’d arrested 81 people, at least one of whom was a U.S. citizen. Needless to say, they are still there.  

     Contact Senators King and Collins and Congressman Golden that Trump’s terrorizing of American cities by the U.S. Border Patrol and ICE is unacceptable and has got to stop. 

4) Remove the Regime: March and Lobby in Washington, D.C., 11/20-11/22: 

     If you have any friends or family in or around DC, make sure they know about this event. If you have the ability to make the trip down there, do it! Hopefully this will be big. The 20^th and 21^st will be taken up by lobbying Congress directly. The main event is the Nov. 22^nd march on Washington. You can learn more here: https://www.removetheregime.com/  

5) Revisit actions from the Friday, November 14^th, action items email: 

Especially re:  

   -the military buildup near Venezuela, and the continued destruction of civilian boats (and the murders of said civilians) in international waters  

   -the Maine-specific actions 

Yours in Civic Action, 

Bold Coast Civic Alliance

Action Items to choose from (or do all of them: your choice!) Scroll down to the matching number of your option: 

1. Push for the release of the full Epstein files 
2. Fight for a permanent extension to the ACA tax credits—without conditions 
3. Protest the Trump administration’s extra-judicial killings in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific and the military buildup in the waters off of Venezuela 
4. Sign a petition to demand that Chuck Schumer step down as Minority Leader 
5. Join a new boycott against companies enabling Trump’s illegal power grabs 
6. Maine-specific Action

Reminder: When you call vs when you email via our reps’ websites (best way to contact them in writing), don’t forget to begin with: “Hi, my name is [name] and I’m a constituent calling from [zip code]. That is important, because if they don’t know you’re actually a constituent, your opinion will be ignored. 

Contact info: 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 Representative: 
By name: Here
By district: Here

(Please note that for those of you receiving this email who are not represented by Senators or House members in our district, I have to leave it up to you to find the contact info for your own representatives.)

Actions 

1) Push for the release of the full Epstein files: 

    With the House of Representatives back in session, Adelita Grijalva has finally been sworn in and, as she promised, has provided the 218^th signature required to force a vote on the bill to compel the release of all the Epstein files. Since those 218 signatures include 4 (if I recall correctly) Republicans, in all likelihood, the bill will pass. Speaker Mike Johnson announced on Wednesday that he will bring HR 4405, the Epstein Files Transparency Act, next week. Despite intense pressure on Republicans by Trump, it looks likely that the bill will pass. Unfortunately, it still will need to be passed by the Senate, where no one is even promising to bring it to a vote, and signed by Trump, who obviously has every reason to obstruct it and is continuing to denounce it as a Democrat hoax and claiming that only “very bad, or stupid” Republicans would fall into an Epstein “trap.”  

   Contact House Rep Jared Golden to urge him to follow up his signature on the discharge petition with a YES vote on HR 4405. 

    Contact Senators King and Collins to urge them to support bringing S 2557, the Epstein Files Transparency Act, to a vote once the House version passes, and then to vote YES to release the files. The American people have had enough obfuscation and downright lying. Trump campaigned partly on the promise to release these files, and a lot of MAGA folk want to see this happen. So do we. In the words of Representative Grijalva, “Just this morning, House Democrats released more emails showing that Trump knew more about Epstein’s abuses than he previously acknowledged. It’s about time for Congress to restore its role as a check and balance on this administration and fight for we, the American people.”  Make sure our Senators know how important we think this is. 

2)   Fight for a permanent extension to the ACA tax credits—without conditions:  
    The 2021 American Rescue Plan Act increased tax credits for ACA plan premiums, making health insurance more affordable for millions. However, these credits are set to expire at the end of 2025, and Republicans refused to extend funding for the credits in their recently-passed budget reconciliation bill. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that 4.2 million people will lose coverage by 2034 if the tax credits are not renewed. In addition, with the loss of those participants in the ACA, health insurance premiums will rise even further for everyone else.  
    A number of Republicans are on the record as being open to discussing extending the ACA tax credits once the shutdown was ended. That has happened. Now Senate Republicans say they’re open to extending a pot of Affordable Care Act funds that will expire at the end of the year — but only if Democrats acquiesce to stricter abortion restrictions on insurance plans. The influential Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America group, whose goal is to ban abortion entirely in the U.S., is pushing hard to condition Republican support for ACA funding on tougher abortion restrictions: They are threatening GOP lawmakers with having their votes “scored, and double-weighted, in each member’s profile on SBA Pro-Life America’s National Pro-Life Scorecard.” (You can read more about it here: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/republicans-demand-tougher-abortion-restrictions-extend-obamacare-fund-rcna243206)  
       Contact Senators King and Collins and House Rep. Golden to pass a permanent extension of the ACA premium tax credits and block any additional abortion restrictions or attempt to sabotage the ACA. Remind them that the Hyde amendment already prevents federal funds from covering abortions, and that states should be free to shape their own laws about healthcare coverage within their own borders.  
 

3)   Protest the Trump administration’s extra-judicial killings in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific and the military buildup in the waters off of Venezuela: 
    Since late September, draft legislation has been circulated at the White House and on Capitol Hill that would hand Trump sweeping power to wage war against drug cartels he deems to be “terrorists,” as well as against any nation he says has harbored or aided them. In the meantime, over a dozen civilian boats have been struck in international waters, summarily killing all those aboard (nearly 70 people so far) without evidence of legal investigation or any due process. These attacks lack legal authority, are killing people without due process, and highlight this administration’s lawless use of military force. Also, Trump has been moving major military resources into the waters off Venezuela and has ordered covert CIA operations inside Venezuela.  
     Contact Senators King and Collins and House Rep. Golden to object to the Trump administration’s repeated military strikes on civilian boats in international waters and demand that Congress step up to protect its own powers to be a check on presidential overreach. We don’t want to be at war. Trump boasts about being a war ender—he can’t be allowed to get us into a new war just because he wants to distract the US people from his deep unpopularity and the Epstein files, while also continuing to consolidate executive power in his own hands. No kings, no wars. 
® A specific note to Susan Collins: Last week the Senate rejected legislation that would have required approval from Congress before Trump could take military action against Venezuela, despite bipartisan misgivings about the administration’s secretive efforts in the region. Just two Republicans broke ranks: Lisa Murkowski and Rand Paul. Susan Collins voted with the rest of her GOP colleagues, basically supporting Trump’s claim that he can kill whomever he wants whenever he wants as long as he has declared them an enemy. Let her know that her support of Trump’s lawlessness is unacceptable. If the U.S. ends up in a war in Latin America, the blood of any Mainers who die in that war will be on her hands. 

4) Sign a petition to demand that Chuck Schumer step down as Minority Leader: 
    https://www.change.org/p/demand-that-chuck-schumer-step-down-as-minority-leader 
 

5)  Join a new boycott against companies enabling Trump’s illegal power grabs:  

    “We Ain’t Buying It” is a cross-coalition action to boycott Home Depot (for cooperating with ICE), Target (for betraying their DEI commitments), and Amazon (for funding the regime). The boycott is set to begin on Black Friday and continue through the end of the month.  Learn more here: https://weaintbuyingit.com/ 

6)  Maine-specific action: 

     We don’t want masked men roaming the streets of Maine claiming without proof that they are law enforcement.  

• Call Maine Speaker of the House Ryan Fecteau and Senate President Mattie Dougherty to ask them to reverse the decision of the Legislative Council and allow LR 2591, a bill to require that ICE and Border Patrol Agents operate unmasked in Maine, to be heard and voted on when the next Maine Legislative session opens this January.  
• Call your Maine State senators and representatives to ask them to advocate for allowing this bill into the January session. 
• Call Governor Janet Mills to ask her to support LR 2591. Also urge her again to sign LD 1971: An Act to Protect Workers in This State by Clarifying the Relationship of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies with Federal Immigration Authorities (This act limits the degree to which Maine State and Local Law Enforcement are allowed to cooperate/collude with Federal Immigration agencies.) 

Maine State-level Contact Info: 

Governor Janet Mills: 287-3531 or https://www.maine.gov/governor/mills/contact/share-your-opinion 

Attorney General Aaron Frey: 207-626-8800 or email attorney.general@maine.gov 

Secretary of State Shenna Bellows: 207-626-8400 or https://www.maine.gov/sos/about-us/contact-us-form 

State Controller Douglas E. Cotnoir: 207-626-8420 or douglas.e.cotnoir@maine.gov 

State Treasurer Joseph C. Perry: 207-624-7477 or Joseph.C.Perry@maine.gov  

Commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services Sara Gagné-Holmes:  (207) 287-3707 

And, of course, contact your representatives in the state legislature, which depends on your district.

Find your State Representative: 
By name: Here
By district: Here

Yours in Civic Action, 

Bold Coast Civic Alliance

Action Items to choose from (or do all of them: your choice!) Scroll down to the matching number of your option: 

1. Time Sensitive: Tell USPS to oppose privatization and protect vote-by-mail 
2. Ending the shutdown 
3. Support Tennessee candidate for the House of Representatives 
4. Sign a petition to demand that companies who have donated to Trump’s ballroom take back their donations 

Reminder: When you call vs when you email via our reps’ websites (best way to contact them in writing), don’t forget to begin with: “Hi, my name is [name] and I’m a constituent calling from [zip code]. That is important, because if they don’t know you’re actually a constituent, your opinion will be ignored. 

Contact info: 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 Representative: 
By name: Here
By district: Here

(Please note that for those of you receiving this email who are not represented by Senators or House members in our district, I have to leave it up to you to find the contact info for your own representatives.)

Actions 

1)  Time Sensitive: Tell USPS to oppose privatization and protect vote-by-mail: 

   This week the US Postal Service is holding its annual open meeting, and this is the one chance for the board members to hear from the public. Today, Monday, November 10^th, is the last day for comments from the public. 

• Speak out to oppose any effort to privatize the USPS. 
• Show your support for ensuring that mail-in ballots remain an option for voters.  
• Advocate for the Postal Service to expand banking services around the country. (Postal banking would allow everyone, including low-income families and people who don’t live near banks, to access banking services at their local post office. 
• Demand more opportunities for the public to weigh in on USPS business. 

You can submit your comments here: https://act.citizen.org/page/90449/action/1 

2)  Ending the shutdown:  
   I don’t know about you, but I’m very disappointed in Senator Angus King and the Democrats who voted on this empty shutdown deal. First of all, the GOP has given no cause for anyone to believe their promises of a vote to be held later. Plus, even if it is held, if the Republicans hold the line on not extending the ACA premium tax subsidies, the vote will mean nothing: It will show the people which of their Senators chose to throw their constituents under the bus with the currently skyrocketing costs of health insurance.   
   Silver lining? That should help flip more Senate seats in the midterms.  
   But I think that silver lining would have been there even had the Democrats (and those that caucus with them, like Angus King) stood firm in their resolve. The Republicans were doing a fine job all by themselves in spotlighting their cruelty and disregard for human lives.     And speaking of Republican cruelty: As states have tried to move to fill in the SNAP gap caused by the administration’s refusal to release funds to pay for SNAP benefits, the Trump administration has told states that they must told states that they must “immediately undo” any actions to provide full food stamp benefits to low-income families. They are threatening harsh financial penalties on states that do not comply quickly with the new federal orders. Talk about sick! Political games are more important to these…[fill in the blank with whatever nasty wordage you like]…than making sure people don’t go hungry, especially now, right before Thanksgiving. The cruelty is unbelievable. So whatever happens with the shutdown, we need to keep pushing our representatives not to collude with the GOP’s cruel policies and to stand firm for the rights to healthcare for all Americans. 
   Silver lining? Now Mike Johnson will have to call the House back into session, at which point he’ll have to swear in Adelita Grijalva, who will then sign on to demand the release of the Epstein files. It’ll be interesting to watch him dance around that. 
   Contact Angus King and tell him how disappointed you are in his working with the GOP to come to a pathetic compromise to end the shutdown. Sure, the deal voted on will, if made law, help all the federal workers furloughed/fired during the shutdown, but what about all the Mainers who stand to lose their healthcare and access to rural hospitals that will be force to close now (Ellsworth is one of those in danger of closing)?  
   Contact Susan Collins and blast her—again—for voting with her party on a budget that will cause so much harm to her constituents.  
    Contact Jared Golden and tell him to stand firm with House Democrats in demanding an extension of the ACA tax credits. All the Senate Dems were asking, by the end, was an extension of one lousy year, not the permanent solution first demanded. Is that really too much to ask? Tell Golden, too, that Mike Johnson must now swear in Adelita Grijalva and hold the vote to release the Epstein files. And, of course, Golden must vote for the release of those files. 
 

3)  Support Tennessee candidate for the House of Representatives:  
    Democrat Aftyn Behn is running for Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District House seat on December 2nd. This is an open seat following the retirement of GOP Rep. Mark Green in July. This is a very Republican district, but so far, the race is fairly close. If she loses, the Democrats might lose any advantage they have when it comes to a vote on the release of the Epstein files.  
   Ways you can help her campaign: 

• Sign up to write postcards to rally Democrats to vote in this critical special election. Once you sign up, you’ll receive free postcards, a voter list, and instructions with three short message options. Depending on those instructions, you’ll have until November 17^th or 21^st to mail your postcards (you have to provide the postcard stamps), so NOW is the time to move on this. You can sign up here: https://turnoutpac.org/postcards/ I have to say, though, that the website is not super clear on how to sign up, other than simply joining them or signing up for updates. 
• Donate to Aftyn Behn’s campaign: https://www.aftynforcongress.com/  

4)   Sign a petition to demand that companies who have donated to Trump’s ballroom take back their donations: 

   It’s so obviously yet another pay to play scheme. Sign Public Citizen’s petition (https://act.citizen.org/page/90246/petition/1), but also consider boycotting at least some of those companies. And, as always, when you boycott, post on social media and send letters to the companies in question explaining what you are doing and why. (While you’re at it, read this piece from The Existentialist Republic: https://open.substack.com/pub/cmarmitage/p/the-bombshell-inside-trumps-13-billion?r=8g9ww&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false) 

Yours in Civic Action, 

Bold Coast Civic Alliance