A message from the Hancock Country Democrats:

Background: Earlier this year, the Hancock County Dems acquired hundreds of used road signs from candidates who no longer needed them. Using white paint and long handled rollers, we converted the signs to “blank canvas” for future use, ready when the inspiration strikes. Recycling not only saves money, but is probably better for the environment. Plus, you get to use your creativity on a road sign you make. The Deer Isle/Stonington Dems were particularly effective in this effort, making excellent use of those plastic signs that have channels for inserting metal stakes. That type of sign needs to be painted, or have poster board stapled to it to cover the existing text. Unfortunately, plain ordinary poster board is not waterproof.

It will be easy to recycle the red “No on 1” and similar waterproof poster board signs. No paint required! Simply remove the sign from the stake, gently pull apart the glued edges, flip the sign inside out, and glue, staple, or tape the edges shut again. Voila! A blank canvas which will accept various kinds of permanent, waterproof markers or paint! There will be significant scarring along the edges where the original glue was. You can cover this up with a strip of dark paint, or a strip of duct tape (which now is available in lots of colors and patterns). If you are careful, you can use the duct tape also to seal the edges at the same time. Store the signs with their original metal stakes inserted, but wait to staple the bottom shut until after you have finished decorating the sign, because that’s easier to do without the stake inserted. Check with your town Democratic Committee about where the signs can be stored. Share your signs!

Action: After 8 pm November 4 (or for safety sake, first thing in the morning November 5) go around and pick up all the outdated “No on 1” signs you placed before someone else does! Then prepare them for recycling! 

Extra Credit: (more on sign prep and placement) 

Remember the law requires that signs IN THE ROAD RIGHT OF WAY have to have a contact name and address, and a date the sign was placed.  (It’s also a good idea to write the date 6 weeks later when the sign must be removed.) Signs lacking this information can be confiscated by the highway department (not by some random person). There are a LOT of nonconforming signs out there, particularly the black “resist” signs and signs for various candidates. Campaigns: please take note of the rules, before your signs get confiscated! It’s also a good idea to place a warning against vandalism on the sign. Print out a small version of something similar to the text shown below, and affix it to the sign. You can put the warning on one side of the sign, and the contact info and date on the other side. You can use printed labels, but remember not all printers use waterproof ink.  Ifyour ink runs in the rain, cover the labels with clear packing tape.

When can you place your signs? IF IN THE ROAD RIGHT OF WAY, you get 6 weeks from January through June, and another 6 weeks from July through December. If you are making a sign for a candidate, the best time to place the sign is probably 6 weeks before the election. The primary is June 9, 2026 and the general election is November 3, so plan on placing your signs April 28 and September 22. If your signs are not for a candidate, you can place them for any 6 week period during the half year. You could even place them for one week each month of the year – 12 weeks total. But be sure to remember to change the date label. This could be a great way to keep your candidate in the public eye all year.

Signs fully on your own property and outside of the right of way don’t have to follow these rules for labeling and dating.However, there are setback requirements for signs on your property. Check MRSA Title 23 Chapter 21 Section 1914 for those requirements. 

How do you know if your sign is inside or outside of the right of way? It depends on the classification of your road, and there are lots of special circumstances. Always check with your town office, road commissioner, or the State highway department for the right-of-way width at your location. As a general rule, a typical residential “two rod road” has a right-of-way width of 33 feet. To find where that is on your property, measure the width of the road where you would like to place your sign, find the midpoint, and then measure 16 ½ feet from that point into your property. That’s the edge of the right-of-way for a typical, uncomplicated two-rod road. That may not describe your road! Always check.

Print something like these labels and place them on your signs.
Fill out the dates and contact info with a sharpie, when you are ready to put the sign out.

Recycled and ready for a message!

~~~~~

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

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

A message from the Hancock Country Democrats:

Background:  In the wake of his ballroom fiasco, Trump has fired the entire Commission of Fine Arts (1). Their website is still up, but we can expect that it will be substantially revised to reflect the “Trump aesthetic and priorities”, which have been described as “dictator chic” (2).  This aesthetic is repugnant to many of us, particularly those of us raised in New England, with our “use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without” values (3) and the restraint shown by our “old money” residents and institutions against flamboyant display (4).  From destroying the Rose Garden, to the gilding of the oval office, to the Big Ugly Ballroom, to Trump’s notional “Arc de Trump” (5), “dictator chic” style has infested Washington at breakneck speed. It’s a direct, parvenue, “nouveau riche” affront to our citizens who are increasingly struggling just to get by. Trump claims that his excesses are being paid for by his private sector cronies.  News: all of those cronies expect something in return, something that will benefit them personally or the companies that have made them obscenely rich. And it’s something we citizens are most likely paying for with our tax dollars, should we care to “follow the money”. This is not American government under our Constitution and the rule of law. This is the government of a banana republic, satisfying the childish and venal whims of an arrested-development tyrant. How much longer are we going to put up with it? 

Action:  Other than throwing your body in front of a wrecking ball or a bulldozer (definitely not recommended!) ridicule and satire may be the best remedy here. We know it gets under the thin skin of the megalomaniac (6). The technical term for this type of protest is “tactical frivolity” (7), but serious art also has always been a means of protest expression (8).  One could envision a traveling “Maine rebels” art exhibit – maybe something like that is already developing “under the radar”. Let us know.  If your art is musical, join Jesse Welles in creating memorable contemporary protest songs (9). Or, write a protest poem. Whatever your art form, you are sure to come up with something, either as a creator or a promoter.

Urgency: Ongoing until the nightmare is over, and then for years afterward. We need to keep factual history from going down the “memory hole” (10).

Extra Credit/References:

(1) https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/29/trump-fires-arts-board-arc-ballroom

Perhaps the ballroom is a fantasy relating to his father’s hopes for the grand “pavilion of fun” at Steeplechase/Coney Island? https://www.cardcow.com/35266/coney-island-new-york-interior-pavilion-fun-steeplechase

(2) https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/03/trump-style-dictator-autocrats-design-214877 Worth reading!

(3) This saying is the title of a page on the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum website, which we predict will go dark soon, along with much of the rest of the publicly-accessible National Archives. Better do any planned research now, and archive as much as you can, before the Trump censors go to work.

(4) “New money, Bobby, is old money that got away” – cartoon by William Hamilton, New Yorker, 1988. Pride in restrained style used to include Republicans – see Nixon’s comment about his wife’s “cloth coat” https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/richardnixoncheckers.html

(5) https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-new-arch-resembling-arc-de-triomphe

(6) https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5550506-trump-ludicrous-satire-efforts/

https://www.newsweek.com/obama-trump-white-house-correspondents-dinner-2011-roast-bin-laden-raid-2063833

(7) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tactical_frivolity

(8) https://www.myartbroker.com/collecting/articles/art-as-activism

(9) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Welles  https://www.wellesmusic.com

(10) https://www.enotes.com/topics/1984/questions/the-concept-of-the-memory-hole-in-1984-3128763

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four

~~~~~

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

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

A message from the Hancock Country Democrats:

Background: No, not the year 1975! LD 1975 is a bipartisan bill in the Maine Legislature that proposes to clean up some “redundancies” between the Maine Connectivity Authority enabling legislation, and previous legislation creating ConnectME, a predecessor agency (1).  Sounds innocuous, right? Who could be against cleaning up redundancies?  If you have super-duper, high speed internet now (possibly thanks to a ConnectME grant), you probably aren’t focused onthis issue, but you might want to wade into the policy weeds to help create a better internet future for those less fortunate than some of us – including our beloved Heather Cox Richardson, who mentioned today while talking with Joyce Vance, that her internet is terrible! 

LD 1975 as currently written is premature.  In a nutshell: when the MCA was created, it took on ConnectME’sresponsibilities, contracts, people and budget. But some of that prior work was federally and state funded, and the funding is targeted to ConnectME as an entity.  ConnectME currently serves as a subsidiary to MCA. Its funding cannot easily be transferred to a now-parent organization. Full integration of the two agencies is part of the plan, but not until 2027 when all “legacy” programs will be finished. Terminating its “legacy” programs and their funding prematurelywill damage MCA, which has already lost $35M from Trump’s slashing of Biden’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.  ConnectME’s budget provides MCA with matching funds for grants, funds for technical and policy studies, and funds for community education and outreach (e.g. digital literacy). The $2 M that MCA receives annually from ConnectME’s “assessment fee” (1) leverages over $100 M in federal funding and $25 M in private investment. 

Action: Send a note to the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee (on which our senator Nicole Grohoski sits) opposing LD 1975 in its current form. The full name of the bill is “An Act to Eliminate the ConnectMaine Authority by Repealing the Advanced Technology Infrastructure Act”, the text of the bill is here (2) . For a refresher on how to submit testimony, see this link (3). Be sure to send a copy to Senator Grohoski.

Contact:   

Senator Nicole Grohoski,

Lindsay Laxon, Legislative Analyst for the EUT committee (207) 287-1670

Urgency: The public hearing is at 10 AM October 30

Extra Credit:

(1) The fee consists of a 0.0025 % assessment on a communications service provider’s state revenues, plus a surcharge of 10 cents per phone line or number each month. This fee is applied to both wired and wireless services. 

(2) https://legislature.maine.gov/billtracker/#Paper/HP1319?legislature=132 This page lists the sponsors

(3) https://legislature.maine.gov/house/house/Documents/Testifying

~~~~~

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

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

A message from the Hancock Country Democrats:

Background: We’ve all received enough annoying phone calls to make us leery of placing calls ourselves. But, research shows, volunteer-led phone banks are effective in achieving the objective of turning out the vote. By contrast, some studies have found professional callers to be ineffective or even have a small negative effect on turnout. (1)

Polls are showing Referendum Question 1 is in the range of 1% margin voting NO, (the choice we want) and only 3% still undecided. The margin of error is 3% (2). For whatever reason, far too many people have been persuaded that “just showing a picture ID to vote” is a good idea, ignoring or unaware of the consequences for absentee voters embedded in the actual referendum, or the burdens of obtaining/maintaining the appropriate ID. This is not altogether surprising, if you have driven around the western and northern parts of Maine where the easily read, effective “yes on one – secure the vote” signs are all over the place.

So, it’s time to overcome our reluctance, and sign up as volunteers to phone bank. For novices, here’s how it works: You sign up for the training at a specific time and place online. You use your own “smart” phone in the comfort of your own space, as long as it has a decent internet connection. Immediately after the short training you are connected to the phone bank managed by NGP-VAN (3).  You are supplied with a name and a script.  You call from your phone which is receiving the information from the statewide VAN – “Voter Activation Network” – which contains statewide data on the most likely persuadable names and phone numbers.  As soon as your call is completed (whether you reach a person or not), you request the next call, and the name and number pops up.  I tried doing this a few weeks ago for a Graham Platner phone bank to let people know about some town halls in their area, but because my browser was Safari, I couldn’t manage it.  I think I could have done it using Google Chrome or some other browser, and I plan to try again. In the space of a few hours, the 20 or so phone bankers working at that time made over 4000 calls, speaking to voters directly or leaving messages.  Very efficient!

Action:   Click here to sign up! (4) There is a dropdown menu on the right where you can pick your date and time. There are three-hour blocks of time starting at 9 am and ending at 9 pm, from November 1 (this Saturday) through voting day November 4 (when the last block ends at 8 pm – the polls close then.)

Urgency: Needless to say, the sooner you check your calendar for your availability, and sign up, the more likely you will get your first choice of time slot. Do it today!

Extra Credit:

(1) https://www.ngpvan.com/blog/is-phone-banking-effective-successful-strategies-and-software-options/

(2) https://www.pressherald.com/2025/10/23/polling-shows-maines-voter-id-and-red-flag-referendums-could-be-close/For Question 2, it’s 38% in favor of the red flag law, 40% opposed, and 22% unsure.

(3) https://www.ngpvan.com and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGP_VAN

(4) https://www.mobilize.us/mainedems/event/855836/

Contacts:  https://www.maine.gov/governor/mills/contact

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

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

A message from the Hancock Country Democrats:

Background: A bill titled “An Act to Protect Workers in This State by Clarifying the Relationship of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies with Federal Immigration Authorities” (LD 1971 aka HP 1315) was passed (“enacted”) in the legislature on June 18 and sent to Governor Mills, who deferred signing it until the next legislative session, starting in January 2026. A spokesperson for the Governor wrote the following in an email to WMTW (channel 8) back in June:

“The governor understands the motivation behind the legislation. She believes, however, that the legislation as enacted — which is billed as attempting to provide clarity to Maine law enforcement — does the opposite. The bill is both overly broad and confusing, as it establishes a complicated legal regime of the type of interactions that are or are not permitted with federal law enforcement.“(1)

 Mills is running for the Senate, so it’s a good time to give the Governor your opinion, as she will be hoping for your support. Do some homework first, though. At least take the time to read some of the 266 items of testimony (2) if not the entire bill itself (3) and its comprehensive committee amendment (4) or at least the summaries at the ends of these two documents.  Under the bill, local law enforcement agencies would no longer be allowed to arrest or detain a person for immigration purposes. Basically, this means our local police couldn’t act as an auxiliary arm of ICE. The legislation would also bar correctional facilities from informing ICE that a person who may be undocumented is being held at that facility (for whatever reason). This means they couldn’t decide on their own that, say, some dude with a broken taillightlooks like he might be here illegally, so they keep him in jail and call ICE.

 “This bill does not prevent Maine law enforcement agencies from doing their job. Instead, it provides clarity. It will be sure that Maine law enforcement can focus on their primary mission,” said Rep. Deqa Dhalac, a Democrat from South Portland who is a sponsor of the bill. (1)

 ”Expedited removal is allowed and enforceable when certain non-citizens lack proper entry documents or have produced fraudulent documents at the border, and I would suggest that’s 99% of people who have crossed our border,” said Rep. MarygraceCimino, a Republican from Brighton who opposed the bill. (1) Whether or not this is a fair representation of fact, this strange statement does not address whether Maine should require its local law enforcement officers to become mini-ICE agents.

 Some of the more interesting testimony in opposition comes from the Maine County Commissioners Association. I did not realize until reading it that Maine county jails get paid for holding federal suspects. Fair enough, but doesn’t it incentivize incarceration? A recent article from Cumberland County would strongly suggest so – they get $150 per day per inmate held for the feds (5). The Maine Chiefs of Police Association also opposes the bill, because they want the freedom to enter into agreements with ICE, (such as the infamous “287g program”) (6). Almost all the rest of the testimony is in support of the bill. It’s also curious that we should be contemplating using our local law enforcement people to assist a federal agency that just received a presidentially-decreed, enormously bloated budget that they are scrambling to figure out how to spend. (7, 8) Wouldn’t it be a better idea to reform the tactics of ICE and other feds so that they stop rounding up innocent legal citizens, terrorizing children, and injuring elderly protesters? (9)

Action: Contact Governor Mills: ask her to reconsider her position on LD 1971, and sign it into law as soon as the legislative session begins in January. Send a copy to your local legislator.  According to the roll call (10) all Hancock County Republican state legislators were opposed, and all Democrats in favor. 

Contacts:  https://www.maine.gov/governor/mills/contact

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

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

Urgency: Before the end of the year, definitely!

Extra Credit:

(1) https://www.wmtw.com/article/maine-bill-on-ice-relationship-gov-mills-delay/65270800

(2) https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/display_ps.asp?snum=132&paper=HP1315PID=1456

(3) https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=HP1315&item=1&snum=132

(4) https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=HP1315&item=2&snum=132

(5) https://www.pressherald.com/2025/10/20/cumberland-county-commissioners-put-off-vote-on-allowing-jail-to-hold-ice-detainees/

(6) See Action item # 105, sent May 3, and Action Item 159, sent August 22

(7) https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/big-budget-act-creates-deportation-industrial-complex. Another bill , LD1259, was not reported out of committee during the last session. “An Act to Enhance Public Safety in Maine by Defining the Relationship Between Local and Federal Law Enforcement” is much shorter and simply prohibits local law enforcement from entering into agreements with ICE and other federal agencies. It says “A law enforcement agency or law enforcement officer may not enter into a written or oral contract, agreement or arrangement that grants federal immigration enforcement authority or powers to the law enforcement agency or law enforcement officer, including an agreement pursuant to 8 United States Code, Section 1357(g).” There are 365 items of testimony. https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/display_ps.asp?snum=132&paper=HP0834PID=1456 It may re-appear in January.
(8) https://federalnewsnetwork.com/budget/2025/07/dhs-prepares-for-unprecedented-spending-surge-under-big-beautiful-bill/

(9) https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2025/10/federal-agents-knock-down-elderly-couple-during-portland-protest.html

(10)https://www.mainelegislature.org/LawMakerWeb/rollcall.asp?ID=280099282&chamber=Senate&serialnumber=634

and https://www.mainelegislature.org/LawMakerWeb/rollcall.asp?ID=280099282&chamber=House&serialnumber=574

Action 171 – ALERT – Road Signs and Postcards

1.  Road Signs:  Today in the Hancock County Democratic Committee office, while three of us were preparing postcard packets (see item 2), a rather bossy-sounding woman stormed in to tell us that our road signs were not legally marked.  When they are in the right-of-way, all political signs have to have a DATE and a CONTACT on them, per state law. (1) She was absolutely correct, even if she wouldn’t leave her name and we don’t know her motive. This pertains to the Platner signs, the yellow “No on 1” signs, the “Resist” signs, and the signs you make yourself. The red “no on 1” signs are already appropriately marked. 

Here is what you need to do:  Arm yourself with a “Sharpie”! (Just like you know who!)  On a sunny day, drive to the place where you put a sign (other than the red “no on 1” sign) in the road right-of-way. Write on the sign – the white margin is appropriate – the approximate date you put up the sign, and provide some sort of contact info. Examples could include your phone number, or email address, or your town committee contact info (if it’s ok with them). A quick fix for the black “resist” sign is to write on a small strip of white paper and cover it with clear packing tape. (Plain scotch tape tends to loosen in bad weather.) This is a hassle we can avoid in the future by labeling our signs BEFORE we place them. Also note the signs can be in the right-of-way for no more than 6 weeks during January-June and another 6 weeks during July-December.

2.  Postcarding for NO on 1: In the HCDC office there are packets of 30 very nice postcards, complete with stamps, names and addresses of recipients, and complete instructions. If you have participated in postcard campaigns you know how enjoyable they can be. Packets will be flying out of the office this week: better get yours ASAP. The cards can be mailed as soon as completed, but in any case no later than October 25. HCDC is particularly grateful for the donation of stamps. A postcard stamp now costs 61 cents (can you believe it?) and we received enough stamps to send out 2000 postcards to Hancock County residents who are likely to be persuadable to vote NO on 1.  One hopes other Dem committees are as much on the ball!

Here’s the office info: until the November election it will be open 7 days a week from 10 am – 2 pm. It’s located at 53 Church Street The phone number is (207) 664-6012.

They also have road signs in limited quantities. (See item 1.)

_____________________________________
(1) Here is the language: L. Temporary signs placed within the public right-of-way for a maximum of 12 weeks per calendar year, except that a temporary sign may not be placed within the public right-of-way for more than 6 weeks from January 1st to June 30th or for more than 6 weeks from July 1st to December 31st. A temporary sign may not be placed within 30 feet of another temporary sign bearing the same or substantially the same message. A temporary sign may not exceed 4 feet by 8 feet in size. A sign under this paragraph must include or be marked with the name and address of the individual, entity or organization that placed the sign within the public right-of-way and the date the sign was erected within the public right-of-way.https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/23/title23sec1913-A.html

Background:  The far right has been trying to suppress voting for a long, long time.  “I don’t want everybody to vote… As a matter of fact, our leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down.” This classic 1980 quote is from Paul Weyrich (1), co-founder of ALEC (2) and The Heritage Foundation (3). 

Although attacked from many sides, our voting rights in Maine are still strong.  We are all working hard to defeat Referendum Question 1 on Nov. 4 (psst – you can vote NOW).  The SAVE Act did not pass in Congress (no thanks to Rep. Golden).   Trump’s Executive Order to require proof of citizenship was thwarted by a judge.  But the far right is relentless and will stop at nothing to stop you from voting.  Now they are trying to get the independent, bipartisan Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to require a passport or other proof of citizenship to register to vote. (4) This is apparently in response to a petition from the American First Legal Foundation (AFLF) which is Stephen Miller’s organization. (5) 

Action:  The EAC is taking public comments on this latest voter suppression measure.  Our task is to comment in opposition to the AFLF petition:

• Go to the petition and click “comment”.
• Share why you oppose this proof of citizenship requirement.  (6) 
• Choose whether to share your name and information or submit your comment anonymously.

Urgency:  Comments close October 20.  Do it today. If we don’t comment, they will assume we don’t care.

Extra Credit:

(1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Weyrich.  Worth reading for historical understanding.

(2) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Legislative_Exchange_Council

(3) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Heritage_Foundation.  To track the progress of 
            Project 2025, see https://www.project2025.observer/en

(4) https://joycevance.substack.com/p/a-thing-you-can-do-right-now-to-help
(5) https://aflegal.org  
(6) Some talking points: EAC’s rules already require certification that you are a citizen under penalty of perjury, which is the same standard for the other forms of documentation listed in the ruling (U.S. Passport, State-issued Real ID-compliant driver’s license indicating that the applicant is a citizen, an official military identification card that indicates the applicant is a citizen of the United States, or a valid Federal or State government-issued photo identification if such identification indicates that the applicant is a United States citizen or if such identification is otherwise accompanied by proof of United States citizenship).  So the new requirement is both redundant, and expensive/time consuming for the voter.  List why it would be burdensome for you or your loved ones.  Have you misplaced your birth certificate?  Has your name changed?  Do you have free time to go get a new State ID? Plus there is NO documentation that ANY outcome-determinative voter fraud has occurred.  Consider that a fraudster would be risking a felony – for what? Specifics can be found in an AI searches for “is it a felony to vote illegally?”  and “documentation that an outcome-determinative voter fraud has occurred in US”.

Background: Recall that the Big Ugly Budget Bill passed the House and Senate with Vance casting the tiebreaking vote on July 3. Maine’s entire delegation voted against it. (1) But the Congressional budget and spending process is ridiculously complicated (2) and there still needs to be a vote on 13 separate spending plans to avoid a shutdown (total or partial) (3). In the House vote September 19, Jared Golden voted with the Republicans. He was the only Democrat to defect, and apparently his vote wasn’t needed anyway: he could have stood with his fellow Democrats. (4) Now the Republicans’ proposal goes to the Senate, where it is expected to fail. This means a probable shutdown on October 1, either total or partial. So what? Brookings outlines the effects – see (5). One has to wonder whether the perpetrators of Project 2025 aren’t secretly hoping for a shutdown. After all, they have already wreaked unimaginable havoc on the government, and they are undoubtedly looking forward to pinning the blame on the Democrats. But that is unfair. We members of the public need to stand on principle, that’s our job. We hire our legislators to perform the balancing act among competing interests. For a thoughtful discussion about “messaging the shutdown”, see (6).

Action: This is copied from an email sent today by Shelly, who writes: “Today’s action is to fight for a fair budget:

     Contact Senator King and Senator Collins to reject any proposed budget that unfairly doesn’t meet the needs of all Americans. If the government has run out of money, it’s not the fault of poor and working people–the blame lies solely on political gamesmanship at the highest levels. Regular people don’t deserve to be punished.

     King: He needs to stay strong in his support of the demands Democrats are making for changes to the Republican proposed budget. A shutdown might be necessary at this point—even though it’s not a good thing for anyone—and King must help Democrats push the true story that if a shutdown happens, it was forced on the country by the Republican party whose members don’t have the balls to stand up to Trump. 

     Collins: She’s been saying the right thing (or whispering it), but we all know what she says has nothing to do with the way she votes. Some billionaire will give her bucketloads of money at the last minute, and she’ll cave. That is the wrong thing to do: unethical, immoral, and shows clear disinterest in the needs of her constituents. We need an economy that works for all of us—where poor and working people can live good lives and not struggle just to get by. 

     We need to flood their offices with calls and letters demanding: 

✅ Fund Health Care: Restore Medicaid & Medicare and extend ACA tax credits. 

✅ Fund Housing: Permanently affordable housing—not harassment of unhoused people. 

✅ Invest in Clean Energy & Clean Water: Protect our environmental agencies that go after polluters, and invest in affordable clean energy and emergency response to climate disasters. 

✅ Defund Fascism: Cut the military and ICE budgets. 

✅ Tax the Rich: Make billionaires and corporations pay their fair share.” 

Urgency: Apparently the Senate won’t be in town to vote until Monday, which gives them less than 48 hours to avoid a shutdown. (They’ve been on recess since Sept. 17^th.) So call ASAP. You know how to do this by now!

Extra Credit:

(1)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Big_Beautiful_Bill_Act

(2)https://www.nvfc.org/the-federal-budget-process-fact-sheet/

(3) https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/house-passes-gop-bill-avert-shutdown-senate-likely-reject-rcna232242

(4) https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/19/house-approves-stopgap-funding-bill-putting-shutdown-ball-in-the-senates-court-00572968

(5) https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-is-a-government-shutdown-and-why-are-we-likely-to-have-another-one/

(6) https://reframingamerica.substack.com/p/messaging-the-shut-down?publication_id=875433&post_id=174471577&triggerShare=true&isFreemail=true&r=8g9ww&triedRedirect=true

Background: It is difficult for me (Betty) to comment on things related to television, because we haven’t had TV enabled in our house for 40 years. However, television is extremely important, and increasingly dangerous, in shaping public opinion. I remember participating in a protest at Sinclair Broadcasting’s headquarters in Maine, out on Washington Ave in Portland – probably on a cold October evening in 2004 (1). In the ensuing years, Sinclair has only gotten worse. (2) It’s not just the latest outrage that has captured public attention (i.e. Sinclair’s refusal to re-instate Jimmy Kimmel’s show on their network). Sinclair has for years forced their local news anchors to read canned right-wing propaganda pieces. (3) Now they are trying to glom onto even more broadcast bandwidth in an effort to expand their propaganda, by merging with Tegna (4) which owns stations in Maine. Could it be that they are trying to curry favor with Trump’s FCC in advance of the merger?

Action:  Stop watching or listening to Sinclair stations, and boycott any large, national advertisers who sponsor Channel 13 (WGME Portland) and Channel 23 (WPFO Fox). This is effective – you may have noticed how rapidly Disney caved over the Kimmel cancelation, due to public pressure. But it works only if you let the advertisers know of your intention to boycott unless they stop advertising on Sinclair stations.

Regarding local businesses who may be advertisers on these channels, be mindful of the following: “Local businesses are not thriving in this economy, contacting these businesses is to make them aware of the situation. This is not intended to shame or punish them. Local businesses are the heart of our communities and they too are affected by the decisions of large conglomerates. Tell your local business to not waste their dollars on these stations.”  Note that ad buys are often done by middlemen and the local business may not even know every place their ads appear. You can help them understand that their ads on Sinclair may be turning off customers.

So your action assignment, should you choose to undertake it, is to find out who the advertisers are on channels 13 and 23, develop contact info for the advertisers (e.g. their customer relations departments), contact them, and spread the word.  To leverage your work, send us an email with what you find out.

To find the most current advertisers, you will probably need to watch Channels 13 and 23 at different times of the day. You could try putting the station on mute and just glancing at it when an ad comes on, which we understand is about every 15 minutes or so. We’ve tried other shortcuts to finding a list of advertisers, but Sinclair is pretty cagey about listing their sponsors anywhere on the web.

Also, Jessica Craven of “chop wood, carry water” has details on this action as well as many, many others (5). 

Extra Credit: 

(1) https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/sinclair-under-fire-for-decision-to-air-anti-senator-kerry-film

(2) https://www.mediamatters.org/sinclair-broadcast-group

(3) on your search engine, type in “brainwashing by Sinclair Broadcasting”. You may get the full rundown, like I did on Safari’s “AI Overview”.

(4) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tegna_Inc

(5) Jessica Craven’s “Chop Wood, Carry Water” action on this subject is at https://chopwoodcarrywaterdailyactions.substack.com/p/chop-wood-carry-water-923-b5b

Background:  …for all good men to come to the aid of their country”.  Betcha didn’t know, this was originally an early 1900’s typing exercise like “the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.” The last two words of the original were “their party.” And in truth, now IS the time to come to the aid of our party, AND our country.

The state Dem party is quietly raising funds to produce flyers to counter the misinformation about Question 1 that is being postcarded (postcarded!) by Laurel Libby and her ilk. Those of us who have sent thousands of handwritten postcards promoting Democratic candidates across the nation are flattered that the far right has recognized the effectiveness of such campaigns. But we can bet that the Republican party is paying for the stamps, whereas we dug deep into our shrinking pockets to pay for Louis DeJoy’s ever increasing postage rates.

Turnout will determine the outcome on Nov. 4. There is another hot button referendum item on the ballot, the “red flag” law. This is sure to get out the vote of the firearm brigade, who will tend to vote YES on Question 1. 

Action: So, what I suggest we all do, is the following:

 1. Send a note to the state Democratic party encouraging them to prepare and distribute factual literature on Question 1.  And send them a donation in support of this initiative. Ask them to please consult with those of us in the grass roots who have a better idea of what will catch people’s attention than the state party has demonstrated so far. For one thing, while it is true that protecting absentee voting is extremely important, it is also important to counter the false narrative that Question 1 is “only about requiring a picture ID”. It contains, as you know, other voter suppression measures. But the average voter does not know this, they don’t know Maine doesn’t have a voter fraud problem, nor do they know that they must get out and actually VOTE on Nov. 4 to protect their rights. 

 2. Participate in, or organize, door to door canvassing efforts to defeat Question 1. Graham Platner’s campaign in cooperation with the Dem party is organizing this effort in Ellsworth. Or, you can do as Brooksville is doing, and organize your own town campaign. If you would like step-by-step suggestions on how to do this, contact Abbie McMillen or Phil Bailey. 

 3. Put up a NO ON 1 yard sign. Available from your local Dam party chair or the HCDC office.

Contacts: 

 1. State Democratic party donation portal: 

https://secure.actblue.com/donate/maine-democratic-party-federal-account-1

 Send a note to chair@mainedems.org to let the state party know you are supporting their effort to counter the right wing’s propaganda about Question 1.

 If you want to help further, volunteer to phone bank on the issue. Here is the portal:

https://www.mobilize.us/mainedems/event/826596/

 2. For how to organize local canvassing: 

 Abbie – call or text 207 756 4877. 

 Phil – Pbsustain@aol.com

 
 3. HCDC in Ellsworth:  53 Church Street.  (207) 664-6012

Urgency: November 4 is less than 6 weeks away. Do it this weekend!