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

1. Protect our Public Lands 
2. Tell our members of Congress how fed up we are 
3. Pressure Speaker of the House Mike Johnson to reopen the House of Representatives 
4. Sign up to help Californians pass their Election Rigging Response Act 
5. Sign up for a phone banking shift in support of Maine’s Referendum Question #1 
6. Give blood and help save lives 
7. Some additional resources for messaging and taking 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) Protect our public lands: 

           The Trump Administration has officially begun the process of revoking the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) “Conservation and Landscape Health Rule.” This rule, commonly known as the “Public Lands Rule,” was crafted to restore balance to the ways the BLM manages its 245 million acres of public lands, by requiring it to include the protection of fish, wildlife, and ecological integrity, not just industrial uses such as oil and gas drilling, mining, grazing, and logging. If we want to see America’s public lands, wildlife, and communities prosper, we need to submit our public comments demanding that this rule not be rescinded. All comments must be submitted by November 10^th, 2025: https://www.regulations.gov/document/BLM-2025-0001-0001 

2) Tell our members of congress how fed up we are and what we expect them to do:  

    Given the ongoing abuse of power by Trump and his handlers, we have a lot to oppose, so here’s a menu. Choose a couple of issues that concern you the most, then contact Senators King and Collins and House Rep. Golden to let ‘em have it. Make sure they know that we will do everything we can to vote them out if they don’t do everything in their power to claw back Congress’s authority. 

®  No “blank check” federal spending bill for Trump, Miller, and Vought 

®  All of Trump’s ongoing  use of the White House to solicit bribes from private companies, billionaires, and foreign countries must be investigated and held to account 

®  Any government official who has participated in this administration’s illegal actions should be investigated and prosecuted 

®  File articles of impeachment and move to convict and remove Trump for his repeated defiance of the law 

® Stop the military invasion and occupation of American cities 

®  No more funding for ICE as long as it continues kidnapping people and terrorizing our cities 

®  Stop Trump’s move toward war with Venezuela: Congress must conduct public investigations into the legal authority of the attacks on ships in the Caribbean; support a War Powers resolution to terminate these unauthorized strikes and block this administration’s attempt to broaden its military power; and call for the resignation of Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense 

®  Anything else you can think of! 

3) Pressure Speaker of the House Mike Johnson to immediately swear in Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva and stop obstructing the democratic process just to appease Trump: 
   Contact Jared Golden and demand that he put pressure on Mike Johnson to swear in duly-elected Adelita Grijalva of Arizona to the House of Representatives. Johnson has sworn in other new members during pro forma sessions; his excuses are just blatant lies to protect Trump from the release of the Epstein files. 

4) Sign up to help California pass their Election Rigging Response Act:       
   Texas recently redrew its voting maps to ensure more Republican seats in the House of Representatives, and several other states are trying to follow suit. Proposition 50, currently on California’s ballot for this year’s November 4th election, is California’s response to those attempts to rig the 2026 midterms. It will temporarily redraw California’s voting maps to give Democrats more seats in the House of Representatives to balance out the extra seats being created by the Texas Republicans and maintain a level playing field. But this proposition won’t pass unless enough Californians know about it and vote for it. You can help by volunteering for a phone bank here: https://act.gavinnewsom.com/signup/volunteer-erra/ 
 

5) Sign up for a phone banking shift in support of Maine’s Question #1 on the November 4^th ballot: 
   Polls are showing opinions very close on Referendum Question #1 here in Maine. Way too many people are ignoring the fine print and falling for the sensible-sounding call for “secure elections.” Our elections are already secure. Question #1 will restrict voting, pure and simple. Join a phone bank to help convince other Mainers to vote NO on Question #1:  https://www.mobilize.us/mainedems/event/855836/ 
 

6) Give blood and help save lives: 
    Sumner’s Community Service Class and the American Red Cross will be hosting a blood drive on December 17^th. It will be held from 10am to 3pm in the gym at the high school in Sullivan. You can sign up to donate here: https://bit.ly/4qhklRM 
 

7) Additional resources for messaging and taking action: 

Follow all the ways Trump and his family have enriched themselves since he took office: https://www.americanprogress.org/feature/trumps-take/#section-22 

Maine’s ICE watch is live! The phone number, 207-544-9989, 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. You can read more about it here: 
https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/maine-immigration/maine-immigrants-rights-coalition-peoples-safety-justice-ice-immigration-enforcement-watch-hotline/97-4e769c04-40b2-4e39-b108-3eea71d31155 

Artists (of all stripes) unite against Trump: https://falloffreedom.com   

Yours in Civic Action, 

Bold Coast Civic Alliance

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

 1)      Keep the power of the purse away from Russ Vought 

2)      Contact family and friends in places where there are important elections coming up this November  

3)      Stop Trump from invoking the Insurrection Act 

4)      Urge our Senators and House Representative to support Voting Rights 

5)      Contact Jared Golden to ask him to demand the House be brought back into session 

6)      Boycott Spotify  

7)      Join a Zoom discussion of No Kings and what comes next 

8)      Maine-Specific Action (public health) 

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 the power of the purse away from Russ Vought, Trump’s head of the Office of Management and Budget and one of the primary architects of Project 2025: 

     Contact Senators King and Collins to strongly oppose the piece of Trojan-horse legislation set to be introduced in the Senate this week by Senator Ron Johnson. It’s called the “Shutdown Fairness Act” and it’s anything but fair. It’s supposedly about getting our military troops paid during the shutdown, but what it actually does is give Russell Vought vast new power to disburse funds where he chooses during the shutdown and cut off departments and services with which he disagrees. This is a terrible idea, for obvious reasons. If they wanted to get the troops paid during the shutdown, why not just propose a bill to pay the troops? We have to make sure our representatives in Congress see just how sneaky and wrong this bill is.  

    For Susan Collins: Remind her that without the extensions to the ACA Premium Tax Credits, a Maine family of four making $126,000 will see their average annual premium costs rise by $8,358. A 45-year-old Mainer making $62,000 will see their average annual premium costs rise by $2,133 to hit a yearly high of $7,403. A 60-year-old Maine couple making $82,000 will see their average annual premium costs rise by $20,858 to hit a yearly high of $27,828. [This data is from https://www.protectourcare.org/] She must see how insane and punitive that is. She has got to work with the Democrats to get those ACA tax credits extended so the government can be reopened. 

   For Angus King: If you agree with the Democratic Senators’ negotiating demands for the reopening of the government (I do), urge him to stand firm with them and not to cave to his natural concerns about the harm the shutdown is doing to a lot of American citizens. Those harms are nothing compared to the hard times the Republicans are promising will someday turn around and usher in a new age of prosperity for everyone. King knows perfectly well that it’s a lie, and that the Republicans’ plans will bring prosperity only to the top 1%–and of those, only the ones who bend the knee to him. Tell our Independent Senator that he has our backing to stick to a firm stand against this unfair bill. 

2)  Contact family and friends in places where there are important elections coming up this November:  
    Send them messages by email or text, or even phone them, to make sure they are aware of the races, how they should consider voting, and why they should vote that way. No November 4^th is fast approaching, so do this now ! Jess Craven of “Chop Wood, Carry Water” has put together a document to help with this: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ERIgqnUmLqaBkccaXYguq5xEB4TQzukOa2trgIQYH6I/edit 
 

3)  Stop Trump from invoking the Insurrection Act to deploy the military in American cities: 
   Trump wants to invoke the Insurrection Act in order to federalize National Guard troops—which, in ordinary times, are under the orders of State Governors—and order our military to enforce the law against American citizens on U.S. soil. His goal is to override the power of State Governors and continue to try to suppress the rights bestowed on U.S. citizens by the First Amendment: the right to speak freely without government censorship, the right to assemble publicly in peaceful protest, the right to dissent, the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances, and the right to a free press.  
   Contact Senators King and Collins and Congressman Golden to demand that Congress update the Insurrection Act to add controls to prevent Trump or any other President from abusing the power of the office to police or otherwise attack the citizens of the United States on U.S. soil. You can read more here: https://robertreich.substack.com/p/tomorrow-and-forever-no-kings-in, and write your letter here: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-congress-rein-in-the-insurrection-act-and-end-trumps-war-on-cities/, or you can use whatever method you usually use to contact our representatives in Congress. 
 

4) Urge our Senators and House Representative to support Voting Rights: 
     It’s looking like the Supreme Court is getting ready to gut what remains of the Voting Rights Act. But per the Constitution, it’s Congress, not the courts, that has the power to enforce the Fifteenth Amendment’s promise of fair voting. Tell Senators Collins and King and House Rep. Golden to support the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (the Senate version is S. 4; the House version is H.R. 14). This Act would restore preclearance, reinforce Section 2 protections, and guarantee that every American has an equal voice in elections.  
 

5)  Contact Jared Golden to ask him to demand the House be brought back into session: 
    Mike Johnson is playing games with the lives of all Americans by refusing to call the House of Representatives back into session. What he’s doing is not governance. It’s a craven abdication of responsibility. He was elected to be a lawmaker, not a liar and a rulebreaker. 
 

6)  Boycott Spotify: 
    If you are Spotify user and object to their running at least one ICE recruitment ad on their streaming service, consider canceling your subscription. (https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/spotify-ice-recruitment-ads/) 

7)   Join a Zoom discussion of No Kings and what comes next: 

    Tomorrow night, October 21^st, from 8pm-9pm Eastern time. If you’re interested in hearing or participating in a discussion with movement leaders and other activists across the country, sign up here: https://www.mobilize.us/nokings/event/858246 

7) Maine-Specific Action (public health): 

    Contact Janet Mills and ask her why she’s not part of the new multi-state public health alliance: 

     Back in September, 10 states—including Maine–announced a voluntary coalition called the Northeast Public Health Collaborative, designed to break with public health guidance from the Trump administration and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of U.S. Health and Human Services and instead form their own, science-based guidelines. Now 15 Democratic governors have formed another new public health alliance. This new group, called Governors Public Health Alliance, differs from the Northeast Public Health Collaborative in scope, membership, and specific goals. While the NPHC is more focused on regional public health guidelines and regional readiness, the GPHA is more focused on cross-state coordination and data sharing.  

     If you agree that Maine could benefit from participating in both groups, contact Janet Mills and tell her so. 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 letter to Governor Janet Mills, 1 State House Station, Augusta, Maine, 04333. 

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)      Add a public comment on the petition to change U.S. voting rules to require ID

2)      Oppose the building of a Qatari military base in Idaho 

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) Add a public comment on the petition to change U.S. voting rules 

The far right is still trying to limit voting accessibility, even though the SAVE Act did not pass in Congress, and Trump’s Executive Order to require proof of citizenship was thwarted by a judge. Now the America First Legal Foundation (AFLF), co-founded by none other than white supremacist Stephen Miller, has a petition before the Election Assistance Commission (EAC)to change the rules to require Documentary Proof of Citizenship (DPOC). Now through October 20^th we have the opportunity to add our public comments. At the moment, the comments section seems to be flooded by people supporting this rules change, many if not most of whom are submitting identical comments. We need to get our comments in there, and it’s best if we personalize them, especially if we have actual experience with voting issues or know someone who has.  

Comment here: https://www.regulations.gov/document/EAC-2025-0236-0001/comment 

2) Oppose the building of a Qatari military base in Idaho 

Contact Senators King and Collins and Representative Golden to tell them to speak out against the announced deal to allow Qatar to build a military base in Idaho. Qatar is a foreign country that supports and hides known terrorists. Their military should have no home here in the U.S.  

NO KINGS DAY: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18^th! For a moment of nostalgia: Be there or be square! 😉(Seriously, though, I think this one is important and needs to be HUGE.) 

I kept things short today because Monday’s list was long and so much of the issue just keep continuing. Do what you can, as always, and have a great weekend! 

Yours in Civic Action, 

Bold Coast Civic Alliance

Once again, a reminder that this is just the tip of the iceberg.  Many “older” actions are still relevant and bear repeating. 

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

1) Stop ICE

2) Demand that Congress do its job and work for the people

3) Keep after our reps to demand transparency (Epstein, Homan)

4) Try a backdoor to our reps’ ears: donor accountability

5) Participate in NO KINGS DAY (10/18)

6) 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. STOP ICE:

   Contact Senator King, Senator Collins, and House Rep. Golden to protest ICE’s continued assault on immigrant children. In the recent raid on an apartment building in Chicago, they zip-tied children, some of whom were US citizens (not that that should matter!), and left them in vans for hours. On Friday, they launched a plan called “Freaky Friday, targeting immigrant minors and threatening them with the punishment of their parents. Ask our reps why there hasn’t been an outcry against such treatment of kids and demand that they speak up. ICE has to be stopped. Ideally, Congress must declare, in clear and binding law, that the U.S. military shall not be used as a domestic police force or a political weapon.

    Call out U-Haul and Budget Rent-a-Car:

According to CBS News Chicago, rented vehicles from U-Haul and Budget were used in that recent military operation raiding a Chicago apartment building. You can:

• Call out Budget & U-Haul on social media, asking why they’re allowing their vehicles to be used for this. Announce that you will not rent from either company until they make a statement condemning the raid operation in Chicago and commit to do no business with the government or the military until these anti-American military actions cease.

• For those of you on TikTok or Instagram, share this video from IndivisibleChicago: https://www.tiktok.com/@indivisiblechicagonw/video/7556626839548988727?_r=1&_t=ZT-90DaCBAUt0B

2.   DEMAND THAT CONGRESS DO ITS JOB AND WORK FOR THE PEOPLE:

     Yet again, Mike Johnson has given the House the week off. He is avoiding swearing in the new Representative-elect from Arizona, who has said she will provide the 218th signature need to force a vote on releasing the Epstein files. John Thune is refusing to negotiate with Democrats in the Senate to work out a budget proposal that will be acceptable to all. Republicans are turning a blind eye to the harm they’re inflicting on their voters. 

    Tell Senator King and Representative Golden that this is no place to compromise, and that no proposed workarounds, not even bipartisan ones like what Golden claims to be working on, are acceptable. Angus King and Jared Golden should issue clear statements that they:

• are FOR healthcare for all their constituents, not just the rich ones;

• are FOR keeping the power of the purse under Congressional control and away from the hands of power-hungry people like Trump and Russell Vought. 

     Tell Senator Collins that any budget that threatens the healthcare of so many of her constituents is unacceptable, as is a budget that gives Trump a blank check on a silver platter. Remind her that every time this administration impounds misspends money, it is undoing hours and hours of her own hard work. She was not voted in to the Senate to protect the cushy lives of her rich donors at the expense of everyday Mainers. Tell her to speak out against her colleagues for refusing to negotiate with the Democrats to get a budget that will work for the majority of Americans and not just the wealthiest ones.

     Tell all three—King, Collins, Golden—to issue statements:

• denouncing Trump’s and Vought’s threats to fire masses of federal workers and withhold federal money from blue states;

• denouncing Mike Johnson for extending the House vacation during a shutdown and refusing to swear in Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva.

3. Keep after our reps to demand transparency (Epstein, Homan):

• Demand the release of the Epstein tapes

• Demand the release of the evidence on the Tom Homan bribery case

4. Use this backdoor to our reps’ ears: donor accountability:https://open.substack.com/pub/cmarmitage/p/how-anyone-with-a-phone-can-ruin

5. Participate in NO KINGS DAY (10/18):

    Strength in peaceful numbers speaks!

6. Maine-specific issues and actions:

Voting in Maine:

• Today, October 6th, is the first day absentee ballots can be submitted. If you need one or want one for any reason, you can pick one up (and submit it, too) at your local town office; or you can request one online: https://apps.web.maine.gov/cgi-bin/online/AbsenteeBallot/index.pl

• Keep educating everyone and anyone on the importance of voting NO on Question #1 this fall. Put up signs, talk to people, use social media.

• Share the need for voting YES on Question #2: The institution of a Red Flag law. You can read more here: https://www.mainegunsafety.org/

Encourage our officials in Maine government to step up and support states’ rights:

     It’s time that the states under attack by Trump—generally blue states but also purple with blue leadership, like Maine—consider ways to defend themselves via states’ rights. Among other things, Maine can:

• start withholding federal tax money;

• commit to denying any request from the administration to deploy National Guard troops in Maine to conduct federal law enforcement activities;

• commit to threatening to arrest federal agents who commit crimes (like grabbing and attaining people without due process) on Maine soil;

• continue to refuse requests from this administration to turn over voter records.

       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

Maine’s New Climate Guide:

     From the Maine Climate Council: “Maine Won’t Wait is a comprehensive plan to tackle climate change across industries, communities and landscapes. At nearly 200 pages, it can be daunting for someone new to climate solutions to pick up. The Maine Climate Council has also heard from community members who want more educational resources around climate action.

     “That’s why the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future (GOPIF) is pleased to share its newest resource: Maine’s Climate Action Plan: A Guide. This abridged version of Maine Won’t Wait uses plain language, visuals, and real stories to explain climate strategies in a clear and accessible way.

     “Think of Maine’s Climate Action Plan: A Guide as a young adult reader: perfect for middle and high schoolers and college students, educators, and anyone looking for a straightforward introduction to how Maine is tackling climate change.”

     I’ve attached a copy in case you’re interested in reading it.

A thought on messaging: 

     I think we need to try to keep as much of our public messaging as positive as possible. For example, Democrat lawmakers who are speaking out are saying things like, “Republicans are lying,” or “We’re NOT trying to give health insurance to illegal aliens—that’s illegal!,” or “We’re just trying to stop the GOP from rolling back the ACA.”  But those are all examples of negative messaging: it’s defensive.

     It seems to me that it’s stronger to go on the offensive, by which I really mean stating the facts clearly and without emotion: “Republicans are shutting down the government to protect their Billionaire Tax Cuts—cuts they’re paying for by eliminating health insurance for 17 million people and raising the costs of healthcare for everyone else.”

     Ideally, we need some seriously positive messaging: a vision that could simply and clearly paint a picture of the future, of how a really effective and efficient our government could be while protecting people’s rights, making sure no one gets left behind and that everyone has a chance to be healthy and work to improve their life. If any of you have any thoughts on that, I’d love to hear them!

Yours in Civic Action, 

Bold Coast Civic Alliance

Don’t forget that many of our Action Items are ongoing, not limited to the time when you first see them. You can always go back to an earlier email to find more information you might have forgotten or to redo actions that bear repeating! 

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

1. Continue the fight for free speech 
2. Fight for food security 
3. Support LGBTQ+ youth 
4. Fight the administration’s efforts to protect its lawbreaking lackeys 
5. Protest Pete Hegseth’s ongoing attempts to reduce the role of women in the military 
6. Support California’s Proposition 50, also known as the “Election Rigging Response Act” 
7. Consider volunteering at your town office on November 4^th 
8. REMEMBER: October 18^th is the next big nationwide protest day! 

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) Continue the fight for free speech: 

    Now that we’ve enjoyed our brief victory with the return of Jimmy Kimmel, we need to recognize that it wasn’t a complete victory: ABC affiliates under both Nexstar and Sinclair are still preempting Kimmel’s show. Meanwhile, Nexstar and Sinclair are both trying to buy Tegna, which owns News Center Maine in Bangor/Portland. Mainer’s need News Center Maine to remain a friendly, local station focused on real journalism, not to join the raft of local broadcasters squeezed under the umbrella of a company eager to pander to the anti-free-speech demands of the Trump administration. 

     Call or write to News Center Maine, Tegna, Nexstar, Sinclair, and the FCC to object to the muzzling of newscasters and journalists and urging them to support our constitutional right to freedom of speech. 

® News Center Maine:  

          WCSH 6: One Congress Sq, Portland, ME 04101, (207-828-666 and 800-464-1213) 

          WLBZ 2: 329 Mount Hope Ave, Bangor, ME 04401, (207- 942-4821 and 800-244-6306) 

® Tegna Inc.: 8350 Broad Street, Suite 2000, Tysons, VA 22102 (phone: 703-873-6600)  

          President and CEO: Mike Steib 

®Nexstar: 545 East John Carpenter Freeway, Suite 700, Irving, TX 75062 (972-373-8800) 

          Chairman and CEO: Perry A. Sook 

® Sinclair: 10706 Beaver Dam Road, Hunt Valley, MD 21030 (410-568-1500) or https://sbgi.net/contact-us/  

          President and CEO: Christopher S. Ripley 

          Executive Chairman: David D. Smith 

® FCC: 45 L Street NE, Washington, DC 20554 (888-225-5322) 

          Chairman: Brendan Carr 

2) Fight for food security: 

    The Restoring Food Security for American Families and Farmers Act of 2025 — soon to be introduced — would repeal the damaging budget reconciliation cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). 

     Use the FRAC Action Network to send a ready-to-go email to your Members of Congress urging them to reject any Farm Bill that does not address the recent, devastating SNAP cuts and to actively pursue every legislative avenue to restore SNAP. https://secure.everyaction.com/xf5JzY9MDEGusDx_2WNpsQ2 

3) Support LGBTQ+ youth: 

    Senators Baldwin and Murkowski have introduced the 988 LGBTQ+ Youth Access Act, a bipartisan bill to re-establish the national emergency suicide prevention services for LGBTQ+ youth. Contact Senators King and Collins and urge them to co-sponsor this important bill. 

4) Fight the administration’s efforts to protect its lawbreaking lackeys: 

     Contact Jared Golden to urge him to demand the release of the video of Border Czar Tom Homan accepting a bribe. More here: https://democrats-judiciary.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/judiciary-democrats-demand-doj-fbi-release-recordings-of-tom-homan-receiving-50000-cash-bribe 

5) Protest Pete Hegseth’s ongoing attempts to reduce the role of women in the military: 

    Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said in no uncertain terms that women should not serve in combat. Now he has announced that he is eliminating the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services, saying that it, “focused on advancing a divisive feminist agenda that hurts combat readiness.” You can read more about the background of this very helpful committee here: https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/24/politics/hegseth-shuts-down-women-advisory-military 

     Contact Senator Angus King, who is on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Representative Jared Golden, who is on the House Armed Services Committee, to let them know that the elimination of this Defense Advisory Committee is unacceptable.  

6) Support California’s Proposition 50, also known as the Election Rigging Response Act: 

    Join Vote Forward’s letter writing campaign to California voters: https://votefwd.org/district/CA_2025_C4_PROP50_LBW 

7) Consider volunteering at your town office on November 4^th: 

    We know that the GOP will be doing everything possible to make voting harder for everyone. More friendly faces at the voting sites could help. If you have the time and energy, volunteer to work the Nov. 4^th election in your town. If you’re not sure whom to call, check here: https://www.maine.gov/sos/elections-voting/find-a-municipal-clerk-or-registrar 

8) Make plans for the next nationwide No Kings Protests on October 18^th: 

    This is important! The last No Kings Day brought millions to the streets to protest the current administration’s illegal/unethical/unconstitutional overreach. We need to get as many people as possible out to protest on 10/18. We have to demonstrate visibly and volubly that the resistance is stronger and more determined than ever—and growing. Put the date on your calendars. Make arrangements to get there. Bring friends and family. Be there! 

Yours in Civic Action, 

Bold Coast Civic Alliance

Please note: When I share petitions to sign, please keep in mind that signing petitions, while worth doing, is nowhere near as strong as reaching out as an individual. A thousand calls and letters make far more noise than one letter with a thousand signatures. (Puts me in mind of the wonderful scene in Miracle on 34^th Streetwhen all those huge bags of letters to Santa are dragged into the courtroom to prove that Santa is real.)  

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

1)      Fight to save freedom of speech 

2)      Fight for a fair budget 

3)      Support the Restore Trust in Congress Act 

4)      Speak up against Trump’s use of the DOJ as his political retaliation enforcers 

5)      National NO KINGS protests on October 18^th! 

6)      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. 

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

Actions 

1)  Fight to save freedom of speech: 

(UPDATE-Jimmy Kimmel is back on the air, but SInclair is refusing to broadcast the show on their stations. If you live near a Sinclair station, like WGME in Portland, contact the station and tell them to air it. Note the advertisers and contact them. This is likely not the end of the story ~~I.B.)

      We need to speak up against the weaponization of the FCC under Brendan Carr who just pressured and threatened ABC and its parent company, Disney, to suspend Jimmy Kimmel’s show because he criticized MAGA people. Carr, sounding like a movie mob boss, actually said, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.” This is government censorship—maybe not absolute according to the letter of the law, but any other way you look at it, that’s exactly what it is. Read more on the background of this issue here: https://5calls.org/issue/free-speech-suppression/ 

     Actions:  

•      Contact Senators King and Collins and House Rep Jared Golden to demand the resignation (or firing) of Brendan Carr, and urge them to call for an investigation into the FCC meddling in the content business and the threats being made against broadcasters and networks. 
•       Contact Disney CEO Bob Iger (phone: 310-890-5241; email: Robert.A.Iger@disney.com) and urge him to immediately reverse the suspension of the Jimmy Kimmel show. Disney stood up to Florida; now it needs to stand up the Trump administration. Disney has the money, the position, and the power to fight for freedom of speech. It doesn’t need to collaborate with a dictator. 
•      Write to ABC about the same issue. Go to https://support.abc.com/hc/en-us, then click “Submit Programing Feedback” (just under the search bar). Tell them that you’re done with ABC until it stops kowtowing to a dictatorship, or whatever else you might want to say. Free Press also has a website to help you call your nearest ABC affiliate: https://act.freepress.net/call/kimmel-calls/ 
•      Sign a petition: https://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/551/365/912 
•      Speak with your wallet: Cancel all streaming subscriptions to Disney+ and Hulu and let them know why you’re doing it. Find a vacation somewhere other than Disneyland, Disneyworld, Epcot, etc. Stop supporting Disney (see companies, below) until they straighten out their act. If you watch broadcast TV, see if your local station is owned by Sinclair or Nextar: If it is, watch the local newscast, note the businesses advertising on the show, and call those businesses to let them know you will boycott them until they pull their ads from that station. (It can feel difficult to boycott a local business, but it will have an impact). 

     A related action: Contact Fox News and demand that Brian Kilmeade be fired for his horrific on-air suggestion that the homeless should be be given involuntary lethal injections—in other words, that the way the handle the homeless problem is to kill them all. Why is he still on the air, when Jimmy Kimmel (who made no threats to anyone in the comment for which he was suspended) was summarily thrown off the air? Absolutely unconscionable.  

     Ways to contact Fox News: https://www.wikihow.com/Contact-Fox-News.  

     You can also sign this petition: https://www.change.org/p/fire-brian-kilmeade-for-his-harmful-comments-about-homeless-people 

      This would be a good opportunity for a Letter to the Editor! 

2)  Fight for a fair budget: 

® If anyone in our group votes elsewhere and has a Democratic Senator, you need to urge them to hold strong and push Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to fight for a spending bill that protects healthcare AND puts meaningful checks on Trump. He must let the Republicans shut down the government rather than enable Trump further by giving him a de facto blank check on government spending. If the government shuts down because Republicans won’t come to the table on a bipartisan basis, Donald Trump and Republicans will be to blame, not the Democrats (though Trump and his lackeys will blame the Dems anyway). 

® For those of us who vote in Maine:  

              · Contact Senator King, Senator Collins, and House Rep. Golden and tell them to summarily reject any federal budget deal that has no safeguards for preventing administration overreach (a blank check). No budget should be approved unless it includes a PERMANENT extension of the ACA premium tax credits, a reversal of all cuts to Medicaid, and strong guardrails to prevent Trump from cutting funding that Congress has allocated.  

               Put extra pressure on Susan Collins. She needs to understand how much a government shutdown would hurt businesses, workers, and families in Maine. Tell her we can see clearly how Republicans are more focused on censoring free speech than on the real issues people need solved, like healthcare. It’s time for Susan Collins to step up and publicly commit to preventing a government shutdown by working with Democrats on a bipartisan budget deal. 

The Constitution is clear: Under Article I, Section 9, Clause 7, no money shall be drawn from the Treasury but in consequence of appropriations made by law. That means Congress—not the President—decides how taxpayer dollars are spent. This is not a partisan issue. The balance of power depends on Congress defending its constitutional responsibility. We want our representatives in Congress to: 

— Block unlawful rescissions or withholding of funds already approved by Congress— Require that any spending changes receive congressional approval and transparent reporting 

— Prevent unchecked executive overreach that erodes the separation of powers. 

3)  Support the Restore Trust in Congress Act: 

     Representatives Magaziner, Roy, Burchett, Ocasio-Cortez, and others have introduced a bipartisan bill called The Restore Trust in Congress Act that would ban Congressional stock trading.  

® Contact Senators King and Collins and urge them to support a companion bill in the Senate. This is legislation that is supported by voters across the partisan spectrum.  

® Contact Representative Golden to demand that he sign on to the Restore Trust in Congress Act as a co-sponsor.  

® Call Mike Johnson’s office (202-225-4000, or 318-840-0309, or 318-497-6610 or 337-423-4232). Give them your name and tell them that you’re calling him in his capacity as Speaker of the House. Tell them that you expect him to bring this bill up for a vote in the House. Banning members of Congress, their spouses, and their dependent children from owning, buying, or trading individual stocks and other banned assets while in office. This is popular legislation with constituents of both major parties. It would not look good for Johnson to obstruct this bill, especially after his crass blocking of the release of the Epstein files. 

4)  Speak up against Trump’s use of the DOJ as his political retaliation enforcers: 

              Contact our Senators and House Representative to tell them to object to Trump’s weaponizing of the DOJ. He is using the DOJ to go after those he perceived as political enemies, while simultaneously forcing it to shut down investigations into crimes committed by his allies. The Trump Administration is engaging in unprecedented corruption while simultaneously throwing working Americans under the bus. This illegal and unethical behavior has to stop. Urge Senators King and Collins and Rep. Golden to call for hearings into the DOJ’s shutting down of Tom Homan’s bribery case, demand an end to the baseless investigations into Trump’s enemies, and get to work on legislation to help Americans.

5)  October 18^th:  Another national NO KINGS protest. Be there! 

              Ellsworth:  Noon to 1:30pm at City Hall and Main Street  

Bangor:  Noon – 2pm at Broadway Park  

6)   Maine Specific Actions: 

1.      Keep fighting the proposed Voter ID law, Question 1 on the upcoming Nov 4^th referendum. If you want to use an Absentee Ballot (not a bad idea even if you won’t be away—it’ll show how many people rely on this method of voting), you can request one now: https://apps.web.maine.gov/cgi-bin/online/AbsenteeBallot/index.pl. VOTE NO on Question 1! 

2.      Support the proposed Red Flag Law, Question 2 on the Nov 4^th referendum. More info here: https://www.mainegunsafety.org/ . VOTE YES on Question 2! 

3.      Sign the petition to ask the President of UMO to maintain their DEI policies: Universities must hold firm against the hateful overreach of our wannabe dictator. You can sign the petition here: https://www.change.org/p/maintaining-dei-policies-at-university-of-maine-at-orono

4.      Remind Governor Mills that she must make it clear—right now—that if MAGA-led states redraw maps, Maine will respond in kind. According to Indivisible, “that public signaling matters. It changes the risk calculation for red states.” If you want more talking points, you can go here: https://indivisible.org/resource/redistricting-coup-underway 

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. Call or email Janet Mills and urge her to take the Come and Take It Pledge and fight back against Republican redistricting 
2. Demand that our state use its resources to fight the federal power grab 
3. Keep the Epstein files front and center 
4. Keep fighting to get rid of RFK, Jr. 
5. Fight the Save Act–both Maine’s version and the federal version
6. Save our National Forests 
7. Chalk our message everywhere it’s legal to do so (sidewalks and roadways) 

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: 

Senator Susan Collins:  

Email: http://www.collins.senate.gov/contact/email-senator-collins/form  

Phone: (202) 224-2523 (DC office), (207) 945-0417 (Bangor office) 

Senator Angus King:  

Email http://www.king.senate.gov/contact 

Phone: (202) 224-5344 (DC office), (207) 945-8000 (Bangor office) 

Representative Jared Golden: 

Email: golden.house.gov/contact 

Phone: (202) 224-3121 (DC office), (207) 249-7400 (Bangor office) 

(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)      Call or email Janet Mills and urge her to take the Come and Take It Pledge and fight back against Republican redistricting: 

    She should do the same thing Governor Newsom has done, and push to respond with reciprocal redistricting in Maine so that Democratic candidates have the edge in the second district, if and only if other states join Texas in redistricting to the advantage of Republicans: 

     To call: https://indivisible.quorum.us/campaign/redistricting-call-comeandtakeit/  

     To email: https://indivisible.quorum.us/campaign/redistricting-email-solidarity-states/ 

2)      Demand that our state use its resources to fight the federal power grab: 

     Yes, I’m repeating the action from my last email. I feel this is something we really have to grab hold of with both hands and start acting on in big way. And do call, if you can, rather than email. Everything I’ve been reading says that phone calls have exponentially greater impact than emails. Let’s make some good trouble at our state level by urging our officials  to exercise their powers under states’ rights to nullify unconstitutional actions/orders by the federal government: 

• 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  

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 ) 

          To learn more about what is in these lawmakers’ power to do:  

https://rachelandthecity.substack.com/p/you-cant-sue-the-government-like

https://cmarmitage.substack.com/p/blue-states-have-90-days-to-kill

https://cmarmitage.substack.com/p/its-time-for-americans-to-start-talking\

          To see some scripts for these calls (be sure to personalize them, though!): 

https://cmarmitage.substack.com/p/5-phone-calls-can-stop-american-fascism

3)      Keep the Epstein files front and center: 
     A discharge petition to force a House vote on a bill requiring the Justice Department to release the Epstein files within 30 days. Right now, 2 more votes are necessary to reach the required number required to compel the vote. Four Republicans and all Democrats have signed on, and the rest of the Republicans are under huge pressure from the administration and Mike Johnson to not sign on. But there are currently 4 vacant seats in the house, three of which are in deep blue districts where the Democrat is expected to prevail in special elections slated for later this year. Two of those elections will happen this month, and both of the Democratic candidates are vowing to sign the petition as soon as they arrive on Capitol Hill.   
     Call Jared Golden to thank him for signing on to the discharge petition, but also to ask him to urge his Republican colleagues to cross over and do the right thing. Write a letter to the editor. We want to make sure our lawmakers in Congress know that we’re not letting this get swept under the carpet. 

     Of course, if you’re registered to vote in another state—not Maine—and have a Republican representative, call them asap and demand that they sign on to the discharge petition. 

4)      Keep fighting to get rid of RFK, Jr: 

     He’s systematically destroying all legitimate healthcare in the U.S. and the lives of all Americans. His lunatic depredations—attacks on public health and essential scientific research, extreme vaccine denialism, conspiracy theories, and harmful “alternative” treatments—must stop.  

     Call Senator Collins, Senator King, and Representative Golden to demand that they move to impeach and fire Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as Health Secretary. 

5)      Fight the SAVE Act—both Maine’s version and the federal version: 
     Currently, the Tea Party Patriots Action (TPPA) group is in the middle of a countrywide bus tour to, among other things, promote the anti-voter legislation known as the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act. They’re calling on Congress to attach the policy to either a budget resolution, an omnibus spending bill or the annual National Defense Authorization Act, so the SAVE Act would be forced through as part of avoiding a government shutdown this fall.  
    Maine’s upcoming referendum is similar: Both claim to be protecting the integrity of our elections, but both are really designed to limit who can actually vote. Both need to be stopped. 
Call Senators Susan Collins and Angus King to demand that they vote against the SAVE Act. 
     Continue to do everything you can—talking to people, writing letters to the editor, putting up signs, chalking sidewalks and streets (see Action #7)—to let Mainers know that they should vote NO on this referendum no matter how sensible the Republicans make it sound. They are lying. People need to understand that this is a voter suppression bill—no more, no less. 
 

6)      Save our National Forests: 
     The public comment period for the USDA’s next step in rescinding the 2001 Roadless Rule closes on September 19th, 2 weeks from now. They are trying to claim that this is a necessary move to protect the forests from wildfires, but proper forest management is all that’s needed, not logging and development of these old forests. Get your comments in now: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/08/29/2025-16581/special-areas-roadless-area-conservation-national-forest-system-lands 
 

7)      Chalk our message everywhere it’s legal to do so (a messaging idea from Mid Maine Indivisible): 
     Be prepared: Carry a piece of sidewalk chalk around with you for those moments when inspiration and opportunity strike! Chalk something like RESIST or DEFEND DEMOCRACY on the sidewalk or road. It’s not illegal, it might feel empowering, and who knows who you might inspire to join the resistance!  

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. Contact Senators King and Collins to oppose the nomination of E.J. Antoni as the Commissioner of the Board of Labor Statistics 
2. Tell Congress to take back its power and reverse Trump’s damaging tariffs 
3. Support bills to mitigate the negative effects of the Big Bad Bill 
4. Save our VA hospitals 
5. Consider supporting Washington, D.C., becoming a state 
6. Fight the EPA’s planned repeal of the 2009 “Endangerment Finding” rule 

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

(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)      Contact Senators King and Collins to oppose the nomination of E.J. Antoni as the Commissioner of the Board of Labor Statistics: 

     Antoni is part of the Heritage Foundation, which was the driving force behind Project 2025. In keeping with that institution’s drive toward Christian nationalism, Antoni’s doctoral dissertation from Northern Illinois University thanks his “spiritual patrons: Our Lady of Victory, St. Joseph, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Jude, St. Joseph of Cupertino, and Sts. Peter and Paul. Thank you, most especially, to Our Lord, with whom anything is possible.” Antoni is known primarily for media work, including appearances on the Fox News Channel, where he has relentlessly cheered on Trump’s policies. 

     Dominic Pino of the conservative National Review wrote today that Antoni is “nowhere near qualified to be BLS commissioner,” noting that “he has demonstrated time and again that he does not understand economic statistics.” As J.V. Last of The Bulwark notes, destroying faith in statistics by cooking the books is actually Trump’s plan, illustrated in his announcement of Antoni’s nomination when he wrote: “Our Economy is booming, and E.J. will ensure that the Numbers released are Honest and Accurate.” Project 2025 calls for consolidating the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Census Bureau, and Bureau of Labor Statistics into a single office and aligning their “mission with conservative principles,” as well as putting as many loyalists into statistical positions as possible. 

(Credit for the above information goes to Heather Cox Richardson) 

     This man should not be allowed any position of power in our government, let alone one where he will cook the books for Trump and Project 2025.  

     You can also sign a Resistbot letter about this to our senators by texting SIGN PFBABY to 50409, or to @Resistbot on Apple Messages, Messenger, Instagram, or Telegram. 

2)      Tell Congress to take back its power and reverse Trump’s damaging tariffs: 
     Prices are rising, and it is pretty clear that the blame lies square on Trump’s tariffs. Among other sources, see https://apnews.com/article/producer-prices-inflation-trump-tariffs-economy-0f6613cc6f9e1b76939fdcf2c9ad8d03    
     Call Senators Angus King and Susan Collins and Rep. Jared Golden to demand that they push both houses of Congress to take back its power and reverse the tariffs. According to the Constitution, only Congress can set tariffs on foreign countries. So Congress should be able to stop these ridiculous economy-killing tariffs. 

3)      Support bills to mitigate the negative effects of the Big Bad Bill: 
     Senate Democrats have introduced two pieces of legislation to reverse the worst of the cuts in Trump’s Big Bad Bill: The Protecting Healthcare and Lowering Costs Act (S. 2556) to repeal the healthcare cuts, and the Lowering Electric Bills Act (S. 2681) to reverse his take hikes on clean energy. Contact Angus King and Susan Collins to demand that both Senators support both bills.  
     Contact Representative Golden to urge him to support H.R. 4849, the Protecting Health Care and Lowering Costs Act of 2025.  
 

4)      Save VA hospitals: 
     According to a new report, every single VA Hospital in the country is facing critical staff shortages. These shortages are a direct result of DOGE cuts and other Trump policies. That is utterly shameful for a country that claims to revere its veterans, the men and women who have laid their lives on the line for our freedoms.  
     Contact our Senators and House Rep to urge them to demand the immediate restoration of the previously Congress-allocated funding. 
 

5)      If you agree, support Washington, D.C. becoming a state: 
     There are bills in the Senate (S. 51) and the House (H.R. 51) to grant DC statehood. If you agree that this should happen, urge our senators and house rep to support these bills. I believe Jared Golden voted against it, or at least declined to cosponsor it in the House; King has not yet joined as a cosponsor in the Senate; I don’t expect Collins to support it, but we should demand that she do it anyway. 
 

6)      Fight the EPA’s planned repeal of the 2009 “Endangerment Finding” rule:  
     The EPA’s original 2009 Endangerment Finding and Greenhouse Gas Vehicle Standards established that greenhouse gases like CO2 and methane “threaten the public health and welfare of current and future generations” and set the stage for regulations to limit greenhouse gas emissions across the economy. Now they want to repeal all that. This repeal “would not only erase all current limits on greenhouse gas pollution from cars, factories, power plants, and other sources. It would prevent future administrations from trying to tackle climate change, with lasting implications.” (The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/03/climate/trump-epa-endangerment-finding-climate-change.html?unlocked_article_code=1.eE8.46fu.6gbHqjVkCooS&smid=url-share ) 

     This proposed repeal would be an enormous step backwards for our country, effectively making pollution of air, water, and land the standard by which we will must all live…and die. There is nothing positive about this for anyone except the dirty energy companies. Next thing  you know, they’ll be making seat belts and cancer warnings on cigarette packs illegal, and Energy Star appliances will be replaced by required installation of coal-burning appliances.  
     Bottom line: The Environmental Protection Agency wants to eliminate its own authority to combat climate change and fight for public health. That is insane.  
     The EPA’s Proposed Rule for Reconsideration of 2009 Endangerment Finding and Greenhouse Gas Vehicle Standards is open for public comment NOW through Sep 15. Here’s the link to review the proposed rule and submit a comment (use the green “submit a public comment” button near the top right):  https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/08/01/2025-14572/reconsideration-of-2009-endangerment-finding-and-greenhouse-gas-vehicle-standards?     

   They need to hear from as many people as possible to hopefully stop this repeal from happening. 

Yours in Civic Action, 

Bold Coast Civic Alliance

From our friends at Bold Coast Civic Alliance-

There are so many, many things for us to speak up about, and I try hard not to share too many in these emails. There’s nothing like the feeling of overwhelm to make a person freeze like a deer in the headlights and instead of acting, do absolutely nothing. Deep breaths, everyone, and then take the next step in our long march. (How’s that for corny? LOL) 

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

1. Stop the mass starvation in Gaza! 
2. URGENT: Call our Senators to oppose Andrea Lucas’ confirmation as Chair of the EEOC 
3. Support a resolution for a “No Kings” constitutional amendment 
4. More to do on Epstein 
5. Tell the FTC to protect everyone from AI voice deepfakes 
6. The proposed Kids Online Safety Act could cause more problems than it fixes 
7. A Maine action, for those who don’t like Chik-fil-A or approve of their politics 

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. 

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

Actions 

Actions 

1)      Contact Senator Collins, Congressman Golden, and the White House to oppose the mass starvation of the Palestinians in Gaza: 

     The situation is absolutely dire. Here is what Angus King had to say about this (and yes, you can call him to thank him and encourage him):  

“I cannot defend the indefensible. Israel’s actions in the conduct of the war in Gaza, especially its failure to address the unimaginable humanitarian crisis now unfolding, is an affront to human decency. What appears to be a deliberately-induced famine among a civilian population—including tens of thousands of starving children—can never be an acceptable military strategy…While clearly justified in responding to the horrific attack by Hamas on innocent Israeli citizens, that tragic event cannot in turn justify the enormous toll on Palestinian civilians caused by Israel’s relentless bombing campaign and its indifference to the current plight of those trapped in what’s left of Gaza…I in no way accept or condone the actions of Hamas, but recent events have placed a moral burden on Israel to ameliorate the current crisis, a burden it has thus far totally failed to meet…For these reasons, I am through supporting the actions of the current Israeli government and will advocate—and vote—for an end to any United States support whatsoever until there is a demonstrable change in the direction of Israeli policy. My litmus test will be simple: no aid of any kind as long as there are starving children in Gaza due to the action or inaction of the Israeli government.” 

Here’s what we have to ask Collins, Golden, and Trump (www.whitehouse.gov) to do: 

     1. Stop shipments of offensive weapons to IDF units in Gaza and the West Bank.  These units are credibly implicated in the commission of gross violations of human rights.  Enforce the Leahy Laws (22 U.S. Code § 2378d – Limitation on assistance to security forces 

U.S. Code: “No assistance shall be furnished under this chapter or the Arms Export Control Act [22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.] to any unit of the security forces of a foreign country if the Secretary of State has credible information that such unit has committed a gross violation of human rights.” 

     2. Stop funding the ad-hoc Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.  Bring back UN and NGO groups with demonstrated expertise in distributing humanitarian aid. (https://www.vanhollen.senate.gov/news/press-releases/van-hollen-welch-19-senators-call-for-answers-on-gaza-humanitarian-foundation-press-administration-to-cease-funding-ghf) 

Personal note for transparency: When I condemn Israel’s actions, I speak as a Jewish person who has lived in Israel and who believes in Israel’s right to exist. But I absolutely condemn the Israeli government’s actions in its obvious attempts to utterly destroy Gaza and the people who live there. If you feel differently, you are free to ignore this Action Item. 

2)Tell Senators Collins and King to oppose the confirmation of Andrea Lucas as Chair of the EEOC: 

     In addition to its name being pretty clear on what it stands for, the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) states its “vision” and “mission” right on their website: 

The EEOC’s Vision is: Fair and inclusive workplaces with equal opportunity for all. 

The EEOC’s Mission is to: Prevent and remedy unlawful employment discrimination and advance equal opportunity for all. 

Andrea Lucas, however, is a conservative activist who, as Acting Chair of the EEOC, has been using her position to accomplish the opposite of the EEOC’s stated mission and vision. From 5calls.org: 

     “During her brief tenure as EEOC Acting Chair, Lucas has abused her position to launch unlawful investigations against Trump’s critics and adversaries, shaking down law firms under the guise of “illegal DEI” programs, and thwarting free speech in universities—in some cases, even sending questionnaires to faculty on their personal cell phones asking if they identify as Jewish. She also has announced her intent to prosecute employers for engaging in “anti-American national origin discrimination”—in other words, for hiring workers who were not born in the United States. She has specifically targeted the rights of LGBTQIA+ workers, ending EEOC investigations of LGBTQIA+ workplace discrimination.” 

     It seems very clear to me that she is possibly the wrongest [sic] person for this job, and we should make clear to Susan Collins and Angus King that they should oppose her confirmation. 

3)      A resolution has been introduced in Congress for a constitutional amendment declaring that no president is above the law. Right now, to build momentum, we need to get as many members of Congress as possible on record in support of this “No Kings” amendment. Public Citizen has a petition/letter that we can sign. Obviously, this will never pass in the current Congress, but the more names on the the petition, the better. Congress must be put on notice that their constituents care. You can sign here: https://act.citizen.org/page/86233/petition/1 

4)      More to do on Epstein: 
     All seven Democrats on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, along with Chuck Schumer, sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi invoking a little-known law called “the rule of five” to force the Trump administration to turn over material related to the Epstein investigation. 
     Contact Senators Collins and King to vocally support this effort. You can read the letter here: https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/documenttools/d1193ded99f0a9a9/ced71823-full.pdf  
    And if you’re interested, the Rule of Five states: “An Executive agency, on request of the Committee on Government Operations of the House of Representatives, or of any seven members thereof, or on request of the Committee on Governmental Affairs of the Senate, or any five members thereof, shall submit any information requested of it relating to any matter within the jurisdiction of the committee.” 
 

5)      Tell the FTC to protect everyone from AI voice deepfakes: 
     Artificial intelligence “deepfakes” of people’s voices are becoming increasingly easy to create, and it can be done without your consent or even your knowledge. The FTC prohibits impersonating government officials or business officials, but not us ordinary folks, leaving us all ever more vulnerable to being scammed. 

     Consumer Reports is lobbying to change this. You can sign their petition here: https://action.consumerreports.org/nb-20250317-aideepfakepetition 

6)      Tell Senators Collins and King to oppose S.1748, the “Kids Online Safety Act” (KOSA): 

     KOSA, the “Kids Online Safety Act” doesn’t look like the right answer to a real concern. Its language is too unclear, leaving big loopholes that could allow the Trump administration’s partisan FTC to block any speech it disagrees with. See: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/05/kids-online-safety-act-will-make-internet-worse-everyone 

7)      Reported in the Press-Herald:  Maine Turnpike Authority’s new Executive Director, Andre Briere, is considering adding Chick-Fil-A to the service plazas along the Maine Turnpike. Chick-Fil-A is an ardent supporter for “traditional families”, and they are outspoken activists against gay marriage and the entire LGBTQ+ community. They’re also closed on Sundays. Is Chik-Fil-A the way Maine wants to greet its visitors? And shouldn’t Sunday drivers have full options at our service plazas? Does Chik-Fil-A’s stated vision jibe with Maine: The Way Life Should Be? If you want to oppose this, you can call Mr. Briere directly and leave him a voicemail: MTA: (877) 682-9433, ext. 124.