Good morning! Here is today’s newsletter from Indivisible Bangor.
Following this newsletter is Emanuel’s Daily Action Email from Augusta; the daily action along with a link to his great list of important actions and information. Today’s action asks us to thank Governor Mills for taking a stand on LD 1971.
Also, an action from Hancock County Democrats: Action 187–Michigan leads? (12/11), that discusses articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that have been filed. More HCD actions here.
Also, check out the latest from the Bold Coast Civic Alliance (12/16) with information about pushing back against Trump’s verbal attacks on those he sees as his political enemies, impeaching Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and other important topics. More BCCA actions here.
A lot of research goes into these additional actions, so be sure to read them!
And THANK YOU to supporters who have been donating to our ActBlue fund! Planning events and maintaining the website and email list take money, so these donations are appreciated!
Current News:
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Weekly vigils are happening here in the Bangor area!
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Tuesdays
Weekly Vigil at the Federal Building in Bangor – 11:00 am
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*****Today*****
Wednesday
Weekly Orono Vigil in the town center,
noon to 1:00 pm.
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Fridays
Bangor Visibility Brigade
The week finishes with two highway overpass actions! There is the Visibility Brigade on the Essex Street I-95 overpass at the new time of 3:00 p.m. Learn more here. Tell them you read about it here!
Home Depot Saturday:
12/20
For the one more Saturday, 12/20, we will be out on Stillwater Ave at noon for one hour, across from the entrance to the Home Depot shopping center. It’s cold, it’s important, and it’s fun! Can you think of a better way to spend an hour on a Saturday in Maine in the winter???
Contact George for more info!
Upcoming Events:
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Maine People’s Alliance Town Hall with Graham Platner
TONIGHT– Wednesday, 12/17
Have you been following Graham Platner’s campaign for US Senate?
We sure have, and for the past several weeks, MPA’s board (which is led by our members) has been discussing whether to endorse Graham in the primary—and before they make their decision, they want to hear from you!
Join the MPA for a virtual town hall with US Senate candidate Graham Platner, all questions welcome
Wednesday, December 17, 2025 at 5:00 PM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Event Type: Virtual
A virtual link will be communicated before the event.
Register here for the town hall on Wednesday, 12/17/2025.
Other News:
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Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino and Agents Return to Chicago
From Wikipedia: “In June 2025, he was named the tactical commander of a mass raid operation in Los Angeles that led to protests across the city. After the operation concluded, he shifted to Chicago to serve as the commander of Operation Midway Blitz. In the Los Angeles and Chicago operations, Bovino assumed a public-facing role. By October, he was called a “commander-at-large” of the Border Patrol.”
In another “made-for-television jaunt” (The Chicago Tribune gift article), Gregory Bovino and agents are back in Chicago. President Donald Trump has ordered ICE agents, National Guard, and Marines to American cities that he has described as war zones, but are really just cities he has determined to be the enemy.
We cannot let these actions be routine and normal. Federal action in cities where there is no emergency or crisis should not be tolerated. These are exercises in intimidation; terrorizing the people, rounding them up, regardless of citizenship status, and sometimes depriving them of their right to due process.
“Let’s be clear, the terror and cruelty is the point, not the safety of anyone living here,” Gov. JB Pritzker said Sept. 2. – The Chicago Tribune, “What to know about immigration enforcement raids in Chicago,” gift article, 12/16/2025.
Please contact your senators and your representative in Washington to remind them that this is not acceptable and must stop. There have been numerous court orders addressing this, but Bovino, Noem, and Trump have ignored them.
Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter for the list of Maine contacts or click here to for more Maine options.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Policies and Academic Freedom
Fellow IB member and member of the American Association of University Professors, Eliot Benjamin, is forming a network with like-minded individuals at other US colleges and universities to organize and gather support for maintaining this kind of academic freedom.
Please read his latest blog post, “Join Me in Supporting DEI Policies and Academic Freedom” in the Academe magazine blog for more information. Thank you!
Governor Mills will NOT veto LD 1971!!
Yesterday, Governor Janet Mills announced in an op/ed piece in the Portland Press Herald that she has decided that she will NOT veto LD 1971. Read the piece here on the PPH site.
Read the official notice from the Office of the Governor here: In Press Herald Op-Ed, Governor Mills Announces LD 1971 to Become Law.
Representative Ambureen Rana, D – Bangor, was one of the co-sponsors. Thank you, Rep. Rana, and to the other Bangor representatives, Sean Faircloth, Amy Roeder, and Laura Supica, along with Reps. Laurie Osher of Orono and Jim Dill of Old Town, and Senator Mike Tipping of Penobscot! Their work and your work of telephone calls to, emails to, and talking with Governor Mills did the trick!
Next up:
An Act to Enhance Public Safety in Maine by Defining the Relationship Between Local and Federal Law Enforcement
Presented by Representative RANA of Bangor. Cosponsored by Senator TALBOT ROSS of Cumberland and Representatives: ABDI of Lewiston, CLOUTIER of Lewiston, DHALAC of South Portland, KUHN of Falmouth, MCCABE of Lewiston, SACHS of Freeport, SATO of Gorham, Senator: CARNEY of Cumberland.
This bill, LD 1259, will ban 287g agreements (read about 287g agreements here) and is still in the Judiciary committee.
Holiday Gift Drive for The Shaw House in Bangor
Ends Today, 12/17
*****UPDATE 12/16/25*****
All the kids’ wishlists have been fulfilled! Thank you! If you would still like to donate goods and gifts to the Shaw House, the drive is still going on until tomorrow, 12/17. Thank you!
Meanwhile, if it’s not convenient to drop them off in Bangor, contact George to make arrangements for pick up in Bangor. Or, if a monetary donation is easier, please donate here, and we’ll get that donation to the Shaw House!
The Shaw House in Bangor provides preventative and emergency services to youth between the ages of 10 and 24 who are at risk of, or who are currently experiencing, homelessness.
There are currently seven teens living at the Shaw House, ages 16 to 18 – four boys and three girls. Help make this Holiday season special for them by donating items from this list from the kids.
Go here for the list of items these kids are requesting for Christmas, as well as a list of general goods the Shaw House needs.
Please drop off gifts at the Food and Medicine building in Brewer by December 17th. All details are here.
Thank you very much!!!!
***UPDATE***
TENTATIVE AGREEMENT REACHED!
A message from the UMaine Graduate Workers Union:
“On 12/14/2025, we reached a Tentative Agreement for our first contract with the UMS administration. We are very proud to have won many critical and substantive improvements in every area that we collectively identified as priorities in our 2023 bargaining survey. These gains are the direct result of tireless organizing, over two years of bargaining, and our unstoppable solidarity. Together, we fought, and together, we won.
“The ratification vote will begin on Tuesday December 16th at 9:00 am (Eastern Time) and will conclude on Wednesday December 17th at 5:00pm (Eastern Time). If a majority votes “yes”, the Tentative Agreement will go into effect.”
You can read a comprehensive summary here.
Rally Behind Our Somali Community
Rally organizer and former Lewiston city councilor Safiya Khalid leads a march from Kennedy Park to a nearby church on Saturday, Dec. 13th, 2025.
The rally on Saturday, December 13th, in Lewiston was a success! Hundreds showed up to support our fellow Mainers who are from Somalia and to let them know they are not what the president says they are, but they are valued members of our community.
Read more here in this Maine Public Broadcasting Network article by Ari Snider: Hundreds rally in Lewiston in solidarity with Somali community
Good Trouble in Minnesota!
There has been some good trouble happening in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. Click the links to read more.
KARE 11 – Minneapolis, Minn. 12/14/25
Postal workers rally in Minneapolis against ICE raids
FOX 9 – Minneapolis, Minn, 12/15/25:
ICE agents swarmed by protesters in Minneapolis
Indiana Legislature
Says NO to Trump
From Leah with Indivisible (National):
Donald Trump knows that in 2026 he’s going to face an electoral wipeout. So he’s spent the last six months doing everything he can to rig the rules. He leaned on Texas, North Carolina, Ohio, and Missouri Republicans to initiate mid-decade redistricting designed to maximize Republican seats — in other words, to dramatically gerrymander them — and in each of those cases, the Republican legislators did his bidding.
For the last few months, he’s been putting the same heat on Indiana. He sweet-talked legislators. He promised rewards. He sent JD Vance to visit and lobby in person. He (reportedly) threatened to cut all funding from the state if they didn’t fulfill his demand.
And it was all to no avail. On Wednesday, the Indiana Senate said no, by a vote of 31-19, including the majority of the Senate Republican Caucus. The gerrymandering plan is dead.
Trump threw everything he had at Indiana — and he failed.
~~~~Read more about it in this New York Times gift article: Indiana Lawmakers Reject Trump’s New Political Map (12/11/2025)
Cancel Spotify Until They Stop Collaborating with ICE
From Indivisible Project:
Today, social media feeds are full of people sharing their Spotify Wrapped results, while Spotify is full of … ICE recruitment ads.
Here are a few things you can do right now:
- If you’re still paying for Spotify premium, cancel your subscription. We’ve got instructions (and some suggestions on alternatives) here.
- (I have found a fun streaming site alternative, Soma.FM, based in San Francisco. They are listener supported and feature an eclectic selection of channels, including holiday, soul, and groovy pop! And another fun and quirky alternative, also based in California, is Luxuriamusic.com. Any other suggestions, just let me know! -George).
- Don’t use Spotify’s free version either. You don’t need to delete your account. Just close out your apps and don’t open them again until Spotify stops forcing ICE ads into people’s feeds.
- Instead of sharing your Spotify Wrapped this year, share our Wrapped-themed posts calling on others to cancel Spotify. As long as Spotify is willing to take money from ICE, they don’t need (and don’t deserve) free advertising on our social feeds. And there’s no reason you can’t post your own list of top songs/artists on social — maybe alongside a message about why you chose not to stream them on Spotify.
- Use this social media moment to have GENTLE, NON-SHAMING conversations with friends about the Spotify boycott. Seriously, no one is going to respond well to judgy DMs when they’re just trying to post something fun about the music they like. So approach with kindness, maybe compliment their music tastes, and then talk about why you’ve decided to stream from other platforms for the time being (one point you can make: Those platforms probably treat their favorite artists much, much better than Spotify does).
- Help us track the growth of this economic campaign by taking our one-question survey.
Join Indivisible Bangor!
Do you want to become more involved? Would you like to help with the website and communications? How about helping to organize events, such as rallies and visibilty actions or be a peacekeeper? Or do you just want to keep up with what we’re doing? Sign up to volunteer with Indivisible Bangor! Your level of involvement is up to you!
Weekly member meetings are on Zoom with in-person meetings on the first Wednesday of the month. Please click the link below to sign up and we’ll help you with the process of becoming a member of Indivisible Bangor!
New members, and current members, too, are invited to join one of our monthly Zoom informational meetings, which will resume after the holidays!
Donate to a Food Bank or Pantry
The shutdown is over, but the need is not. There are still cuts to programs that help people with food and other needs.
Please DONATE to a local food pantry- food, personal items, and even cash. Faith Linking in Action maintains a database of all food pantries and free meals– organized by both location and day of the week– in the Bangor area. Check it out here.
Also, ActivateMaine has created a site, SNAP Into Action: “a statewide effort to help those who are affected by the freezing of benefits due to the Government shut down.” If you know of any food drives that are happening, please visit this site to add it to the database!
The Maine ICE Watch Hotline
The purpose of the hotline is to protect immigrant families by providing accurate, real-time information about ICE and Border Patrol activity and connect Maine families to resources and support services during a time of heightened enforcement and targeting of immigrants and refugees.
Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition ICE Watch Resource Hub.
Read more about it here in this Newscenter Maine article.
| Other Ways to Take Action (Courtesy of Indivisible Cumberland County: Maine’s ICE Watch Hotline Training: Get trained to field, verify, and document potential community ICE sightings and provide trusted, reliable information on ICE activity to immigrant communities. Action Alert on LD 1917: Contact Governor Mills and tell her to sign into law this bill to protect Maine’s immigrant communities, workforce, public safety, and future! Donate to the Maine Solidarity Fund: Fund pools resources from across communities into a shared fund we can draw from immediately when urgent needs arise. NO I.C.E. for Maine: Learn more about this effort to reign in ICE. |
Make Some Calls!
It’s mentioned a few times in these newsletters about calling your representatives in Washington, D.C. It’s one of the most important things we can do and it’s so easy!
Write Some Emails!
If you are more comfortable with sending emails to our Maine congressional delegation in Washington, click the links/buttons. This is a good option if you have lengthy comments or questions.
We are on Blue Sky, Instagram, and Facebook!
Follow us! Invite your friends! Comment! You’ll be glad you did!
We have an easy way to donate to Indivisible Bangor. Drop off your returnable bottles and cans to Ohio Street Redemption in Bangor and tell them to put it on the account of Indivisible Bangor. They’ll add the money to our kitty, mail out a regular check, and the money goes to our bank account to help with our expenses! You can find them here!
****Be sure the attendant writes down “Indivisible Bangor” because several donations have not been credited. Thank you!****
And you can donate here, too! Donations help pay for supplies, website, outreach, and to fund the many upcoming actions in Maine.
Thank you for all you do! – George and Indivisible Bangor
And now to the Emanuel’s Daily Call to Action:
Action Wednesday December 17th: Thank Governor Mills for Letting LD 1971 Become Law + Support Maine Farmers
For “More Actions Today if You Have the Bandwidth” from Emanuel’s Daily Call to Action (12/17), click here.
With great appreciation for all the engagement everywhere!
As always, throw a little sand in their gears!
~~Emanuel
It’s a piece of cake to email or call with these links!
The names of our senators and representatives listed below are links that go right to their official congressional contact form pages. The telephone numbers are links that should open your phone app to call that number. It’s that easy!
Senator Angus King
DC: (202) 224-5344
Augusta: (207) 622-8292
Senator Susan Collins
DC: (202) 224-2523
Augusta: (207) 622-8414
Bangor: (207) 945-0417
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree
DC: (202) 225-6116
Portland: (207) 774-5019
Waterville: (207) 873-5713
Congressman Jared Golden
DC: (202) 225-6306
Bangor: (207) 249-7400
Caribou: (207) 492-6009
Lewiston: (207) 241-6767
Find your State Representative:
By name: Here
By district: Here
Find your State Senator:
By name: Here
By district: Here
Our government in Augusta:
Governor Janet Mills
Email Governor Mills
Call (207) 287-3531
Secretary of State Shenna Bellows
Contact Secretary Bellows
Call (207)626-8400
Attorney General Aaron M. Frey
Contact Mr. Frey
Call (207) 626-8800
Questions or comments? Contact George!
