INTERESTING NEWS-Daily
Commentary: Nuclear Energy Is the Only Way to Achieve Maine’s Climate Goals
By Roy Matthews
In response to a rise in climate anxiety, particularly among young voters, politicians have made numerous “climate pledges” to transition entire networks to carbon-free energy sources. These goals are noble. Whether they are realistic remains to be seen, but Maine’s legislature has a chance to make these intentions a reality — without breaking the bank [...]
The post Commentary: Nuclear Energy Is the Only Way to Achieve Maine’s Climate Goals appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Recent ArticlesIndependent Commission Reveals Failures and Missed Opportunities by Law Enforcement Before Lewiston Shooting
Leftists Blamed Libs of TikTok for the Death of LGBT Teen Allegedly Beaten to Death by Bullies. She Actually Died of a Drug Overdose
Bangor Man Found With 38 Bags of Fentanyl Pleads Guilty to Drug, Firearm Charges
Florida Ship Intercepted Boat of Haitian Illegals carrying Firearms and Drugs
Chellie Pingree Removes the Ukrainian Flag From Her X Profile, Quickly Puts it Back After Being Questioned
By Roy Matthews
In response to a rise in climate anxiety, particularly among young voters, politicians have made numerous “climate pledges” to transition entire networks to carbon-free energy sources. These goals are noble. Whether they are realistic remains to be seen, but Maine’s legislature has a chance to make these intentions a reality — without breaking the bank [...]
The post Commentary: Nuclear Energy Is the Only Way to Achieve Maine’s Climate Goals appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Recent ArticlesIndependent Commission Reveals Failures and Missed Opportunities by Law Enforcement Before Lewiston Shooting
Leftists Blamed Libs of TikTok for the Death of LGBT Teen Allegedly Beaten to Death by Bullies. She Actually Died of a Drug Overdose
Bangor Man Found With 38 Bags of Fentanyl Pleads Guilty to Drug, Firearm Charges
Florida Ship Intercepted Boat of Haitian Illegals carrying Firearms and Drugs
Chellie Pingree Removes the Ukrainian Flag From Her X Profile, Quickly Puts it Back After Being Questioned
Streaming Service Subscriptions May Soon Be Taxed in MaineBy Libby Palanza
The State of Maine may soon begin taxing subscriptions to streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, and Spotify. The proposed supplemental budget released by Gov. Janet Mills (D) in February contains language that would impose a 5.5% tax on the cost of Mainers’ streaming service subscriptions. On page twenty-five of the eighty-page legislation, it states [...]
The post Streaming Service Subscriptions May Soon Be Taxed in Maine appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Chellie Pingree Removes the Ukrainian Flag From Her X Profile, Quickly Puts it Back After Being QuestionedBy Edward Tomic
Democratic Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (ME-01) has been a staunch supporter of sending U.S. aid to Ukraine aid in their effort to repel the Russian invasion that began in February 2022 — so why did she remove the Ukrainian flag from her X profile? [RELATED: Chellie Pingree’s Wealth Has Surged as Member of Congress…] In March [...]
The post Chellie Pingree Removes the Ukrainian Flag From Her X Profile, Quickly Puts it Back After Being Questioned appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Independent Commission Reveals Failures and Missed Opportunities by Law Enforcement Before Lewiston ShootingBy Edward Tomic
The Independent Commission tasked by Maine Gov. Janet Mills with investigating the facts and circumstances surrounding the Oct. 25, 2023 Lewiston shootings has released an Initial Interim Report covering the missed opportunities by law enforcement to follow Maine’s “Yellow Flag” law procedure. Since November 2023, the Independent Commission has conducted seven public meetings, featuring testimony [...]
The post Independent Commission Reveals Failures and Missed Opportunities by Law Enforcement Before Lewiston Shooting appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Leftists Blamed Libs of TikTok for the Death of LGBT Teen Allegedly Beaten to Death by Bullies. She Actually Died of a Drug OverdoseBy Seamus Othot
The death of Oklahoma high schooler who identified as “non-binary” caused an uproar among left-wing activists and media, with many hastening to claim that she had been brutally beaten to death by transphobic students. Autopsy reports revealed that Nex Benedict died of suicide by a drug overdose. “From the beginning of this investigation, Owasso Police [...]
The post Leftists Blamed Libs of TikTok for the Death of LGBT Teen Allegedly Beaten to Death by Bullies. She Actually Died of a Drug Overdose appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Bangor Man Found With 38 Bags of Fentanyl Pleads Guilty to Drug, Firearm ChargesBy Edward Tomic
A Bangor man who was found with drug paraphernalia and a firearm during a traffic stop pleaded guilty Friday in U.S. District Court in Bangor to charges of being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm and possessing controlled substances with the intent to distribute them. Andrew Blais, 37, of Bangor, was arrested by [...]
The post Bangor Man Found With 38 Bags of Fentanyl Pleads Guilty to Drug, Firearm Charges appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Florida Ship Intercepted Boat of Haitian Illegals carrying Firearms and DrugsBy Seamus Othot
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Florida) announced on Friday that Florida Fish and Wildlife Officers apprehended a ship of Haitian potentially illegal immigrants attempting to smuggle drugs into the U.S. [RELATED: DeSantis Deploys National Guard to Stop Potential Haitian Migrant Arrivals as Gang Leaders Seize Island Nation…] “Officers interdicted a vessel that had 25 Illegal immigrants, potentially [...]
The post Florida Ship Intercepted Boat of Haitian Illegals carrying Firearms and Drugs appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Portland High School Student Brought a BB Gun to School, Prompting Police Response
By Edward Tomic
A Portland High School student brought a BB gun to school Thursday morning, prompting a response from police, according to the Portland Police Department. Portland Police spokesperson Brad Nadeau confirmed that on the morning of Thursday, March 14, police responded to Portland High School for a report of a student with a gun. Nadeau said [...]
The post Portland High School Student Brought a BB Gun to School, Prompting Police Response appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Haitian Migrant Accused of Raping Child at Mass Hotel Being Used as ShelterBy Edward Tomic
A Haitian migrant living in a hotel being used as an emergency shelter in Rockland, Massachusetts is being held without bail on a child rape charge after being accused of raping a 15-year-old girl. [RELATED: DeSantis Deploys National Guard to Stop Potential Haitian Migrant Arrivals as Gang Leaders Seize Island Nation…] Cory B. Alvarez, 26, [...]
The post Haitian Migrant Accused of Raping Child at Mass Hotel Being Used as Shelter appeared first on The Maine Wire.
California Man Pleads Guilty to Coordinating Meth Trafficking Operation to Downeast MaineBy Edward Tomic
A California man has pleaded guilty to charges related to his role in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy in Downeast Maine. [RELATED: California Man Accused of Running Massive Drug Trafficking Operation Out of Caribou Home…] Alex Hanna, 30, of California, pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court in Bangor to drug conspiracy and money laundering charges. [...]
The post California Man Pleads Guilty to Coordinating Meth Trafficking Operation to Downeast Maine appeared first on The Maine Wire.
California Man Accused of Running Massive Drug Trafficking Operation Out of Caribou HomeBy Edward Tomic
A California man is facing multiple felony drug trafficking charges after a months-long investigation and sting operation led to the seizure of large amounts of illegal drugs from a residence in Caribou, the Maine Department of Public Safety announced Thursday. The Maine Drug Enforcement Agency (MDEA) Aroostook County Task Force recently launched an investigation into [..]
The post California Man Accused of Running Massive Drug Trafficking Operation Out of Caribou Home appeared first on The Maine Wire.
The State of Maine may soon begin taxing subscriptions to streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, and Spotify. The proposed supplemental budget released by Gov. Janet Mills (D) in February contains language that would impose a 5.5% tax on the cost of Mainers’ streaming service subscriptions. On page twenty-five of the eighty-page legislation, it states [...]
The post Streaming Service Subscriptions May Soon Be Taxed in Maine appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Chellie Pingree Removes the Ukrainian Flag From Her X Profile, Quickly Puts it Back After Being QuestionedBy Edward Tomic
Democratic Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (ME-01) has been a staunch supporter of sending U.S. aid to Ukraine aid in their effort to repel the Russian invasion that began in February 2022 — so why did she remove the Ukrainian flag from her X profile? [RELATED: Chellie Pingree’s Wealth Has Surged as Member of Congress…] In March [...]
The post Chellie Pingree Removes the Ukrainian Flag From Her X Profile, Quickly Puts it Back After Being Questioned appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Independent Commission Reveals Failures and Missed Opportunities by Law Enforcement Before Lewiston ShootingBy Edward Tomic
The Independent Commission tasked by Maine Gov. Janet Mills with investigating the facts and circumstances surrounding the Oct. 25, 2023 Lewiston shootings has released an Initial Interim Report covering the missed opportunities by law enforcement to follow Maine’s “Yellow Flag” law procedure. Since November 2023, the Independent Commission has conducted seven public meetings, featuring testimony [...]
The post Independent Commission Reveals Failures and Missed Opportunities by Law Enforcement Before Lewiston Shooting appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Leftists Blamed Libs of TikTok for the Death of LGBT Teen Allegedly Beaten to Death by Bullies. She Actually Died of a Drug OverdoseBy Seamus Othot
The death of Oklahoma high schooler who identified as “non-binary” caused an uproar among left-wing activists and media, with many hastening to claim that she had been brutally beaten to death by transphobic students. Autopsy reports revealed that Nex Benedict died of suicide by a drug overdose. “From the beginning of this investigation, Owasso Police [...]
The post Leftists Blamed Libs of TikTok for the Death of LGBT Teen Allegedly Beaten to Death by Bullies. She Actually Died of a Drug Overdose appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Bangor Man Found With 38 Bags of Fentanyl Pleads Guilty to Drug, Firearm ChargesBy Edward Tomic
A Bangor man who was found with drug paraphernalia and a firearm during a traffic stop pleaded guilty Friday in U.S. District Court in Bangor to charges of being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm and possessing controlled substances with the intent to distribute them. Andrew Blais, 37, of Bangor, was arrested by [...]
The post Bangor Man Found With 38 Bags of Fentanyl Pleads Guilty to Drug, Firearm Charges appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Florida Ship Intercepted Boat of Haitian Illegals carrying Firearms and DrugsBy Seamus Othot
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Florida) announced on Friday that Florida Fish and Wildlife Officers apprehended a ship of Haitian potentially illegal immigrants attempting to smuggle drugs into the U.S. [RELATED: DeSantis Deploys National Guard to Stop Potential Haitian Migrant Arrivals as Gang Leaders Seize Island Nation…] “Officers interdicted a vessel that had 25 Illegal immigrants, potentially [...]
The post Florida Ship Intercepted Boat of Haitian Illegals carrying Firearms and Drugs appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Portland High School Student Brought a BB Gun to School, Prompting Police Response
By Edward Tomic
A Portland High School student brought a BB gun to school Thursday morning, prompting a response from police, according to the Portland Police Department. Portland Police spokesperson Brad Nadeau confirmed that on the morning of Thursday, March 14, police responded to Portland High School for a report of a student with a gun. Nadeau said [...]
The post Portland High School Student Brought a BB Gun to School, Prompting Police Response appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Haitian Migrant Accused of Raping Child at Mass Hotel Being Used as ShelterBy Edward Tomic
A Haitian migrant living in a hotel being used as an emergency shelter in Rockland, Massachusetts is being held without bail on a child rape charge after being accused of raping a 15-year-old girl. [RELATED: DeSantis Deploys National Guard to Stop Potential Haitian Migrant Arrivals as Gang Leaders Seize Island Nation…] Cory B. Alvarez, 26, [...]
The post Haitian Migrant Accused of Raping Child at Mass Hotel Being Used as Shelter appeared first on The Maine Wire.
California Man Pleads Guilty to Coordinating Meth Trafficking Operation to Downeast MaineBy Edward Tomic
A California man has pleaded guilty to charges related to his role in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy in Downeast Maine. [RELATED: California Man Accused of Running Massive Drug Trafficking Operation Out of Caribou Home…] Alex Hanna, 30, of California, pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court in Bangor to drug conspiracy and money laundering charges. [...]
The post California Man Pleads Guilty to Coordinating Meth Trafficking Operation to Downeast Maine appeared first on The Maine Wire.
California Man Accused of Running Massive Drug Trafficking Operation Out of Caribou HomeBy Edward Tomic
A California man is facing multiple felony drug trafficking charges after a months-long investigation and sting operation led to the seizure of large amounts of illegal drugs from a residence in Caribou, the Maine Department of Public Safety announced Thursday. The Maine Drug Enforcement Agency (MDEA) Aroostook County Task Force recently launched an investigation into [..]
The post California Man Accused of Running Massive Drug Trafficking Operation Out of Caribou Home appeared first on The Maine Wire.
If this isn't rich.................election time is in the air for Jared Golden (CD-2)!
Golden Votes to Condemn Biden’s Border Policies, Urge Reining in Taxpayer-Funded Benefits for Illegal Aliens
By Edward Tomic
Democratic Maine Congressman Jared Golden (CD-2) voted in favor of a House Resolution Wednesday condemning the Biden administration’s immigration policies and calling for stricter border security measures. [RELATED: Golden Pitches Compromise Border Security and $66 Billion Foreign Aid Package on CBS’ Face the Nation…] The resolution, H. Res. 1065, passed by 226-193, with Golden one of [...]
The post Golden Votes to Condemn Biden’s Border Policies, Urge Reining in Taxpayer-Funded Benefits for Illegal Aliens appeared first on The Maine Wire.
‘The last thing we need is a raise’: Jared Golden Urges Against Pay Raise for Members of Congress
By Edward Tomic
Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Golden (ME-02) sent a letter Wednesday requesting that congressional appropriations leaders not include a pay raise for members of Congress in fiscal year 2024 (FY24). [RELATED: Golden Votes to Condemn Biden’s Border Policies, Urge Reining in Taxpayer-Funded Benefits for Illegal Aliens…] Golden’s letter comes as the House and Senate Appropriations Committees [...]
The post ‘The last thing we need is a raise’: Jared Golden Urges Against Pay Raise for Members of Congress appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Wholesale Inflation Surges “Unexpectedly” in February 2024
By The Maine Wire
In an unexpected development that could spell ongoing challenges for the U.S. economy, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday that inflation at the wholesale level rose significantly in February 2024. The department’s Producer Price Index (PPI), which measures inflation at the wholesaler level, i.e. before it impacts consumers, jumped 0.6 percent from January to February. [...]
The post Wholesale Inflation Surges “Unexpectedly” in February 2024 appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Residents of Crime-Ridden San Francisco Neighborhood Sue City Over Open Drug Markets, Homeless Encampments
By Edward Tomic
A group of residents in a crime-ridden San Francisco neighborhood have filed a federal lawsuit accusing the city of not doing enough to combat open-air drug markets and large homeless encampments, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The lawsuit, filed Thursday on behalf of a group of residents and businesses in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood, [..]
The post Residents of Crime-Ridden San Francisco Neighborhood Sue City Over Open
Drug Markets, Homeless Encampments appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Collins Probes U.S. National Security Heads Over Biden’s Failed Afghanistan Withdrawal, Terrorism, and Foreign Criminal Operations in Maine
By Steve Robinson
Washington, D.C. – Key U.S. intelligence officials have faced a series of probing questions from lawmakers this week, including Maine Sen. Susan Collins (R), concerning pressing national security threats related to foreign terrorism, the use of new and emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), illegal immigration and drug trafficking. Sen. Collins, a member of the [...]
The post Collins Probes U.S. National Security Heads Over Biden’s Failed Afghanistan Withdrawal, Terrorism, and Foreign Criminal Operations in Maine appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine Pols Urge Biden VA Sec to Secure Funding for Maine Veterans’ Homes
By Libby Palanza
All four members of Maine’s Congressional delegation have reached out to the federal government for an update regarding a proposed rule allowing the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) to reimburse Maine Veterans’ Homes (MVH) for care provided to veterans with dementia. Sen. Susan Collins (R), Sen. Angus King (I), Rep. Jared Golden (D), and Rep. [...]
The post Maine Pols Urge Biden VA Sec to Secure Funding for Maine Veterans’ Homes appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Bangor Man Sentenced to 14 Years After Being Caught with Fentanyl, Cocaine, Firearm While Out on Bail
By Edward Tomic
A Bangor man has been sentenced to 14 years in prison after he was caught by police in possession of multiple illegal drugs and a firearm while out on bail. Allen Henry, 49, was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District court in Bangor to 168 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for [...]
The post Bangor Man Sentenced to 14 Years After Being Caught with Fentanyl, Cocaine, Firearm While Out on Bail appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Wholesale Inflation Surges “Unexpectedly” in February 2024
By The Maine Wire
In an unexpected development that could spell ongoing challenges for the U.S. economy, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday that inflation at the wholesale level rose significantly in February 2024. The department’s Producer Price Index (PPI), which measures inflation at the wholesaler level, i.e. before it impacts consumers, jumped 0.6 percent from January to February. [...]
The post Wholesale Inflation Surges “Unexpectedly” in February 2024 appeared first on The Maine Wire.
‘Please carry Narcan, do not use alone’: Sanford PD Responds to Three Overdoses in 24 Hours
By Edward Tomic
The Sanford Police Department are calling on the public to carry Narcan — an opioid overdose reversal drug — and take safety precautions after responding to three overdoses within 24 hours. [RELATED: Sanford Suspends Syringe Exchange Program, Cleans Homeless Encampment…] Sanford Police said Thursday that they responded to three overdoses in a 24-hour period between [...]
The post ‘Please carry Narcan, do not use alone’: Sanford PD Responds to Three Overdoses in 24 Hours appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Recent Articles
Potential TikTok Ban Passes U.S. House of Reps with Strong Bipartisan Support
Angus King Says Russia is Selling Off $151 Billion Stockpile of Gold to Bypass Western Sanctions
Maine’s Marijuana Biz Set for Major Overhaul
Follow the Maine Wire on Twitter
Support our independent, nonpartisan reporting with a gift to the Maine Wire today.
Copyright © 2024 Maine Policy Institute, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you chose to receive updates from TheMaineWire.com
Our mailing address is:
Maine Policy Institute
PO Box 7829
Portland, ME 04112-7829
Golden Votes to Condemn Biden’s Border Policies, Urge Reining in Taxpayer-Funded Benefits for Illegal Aliens
By Edward Tomic
Democratic Maine Congressman Jared Golden (CD-2) voted in favor of a House Resolution Wednesday condemning the Biden administration’s immigration policies and calling for stricter border security measures. [RELATED: Golden Pitches Compromise Border Security and $66 Billion Foreign Aid Package on CBS’ Face the Nation…] The resolution, H. Res. 1065, passed by 226-193, with Golden one of [...]
The post Golden Votes to Condemn Biden’s Border Policies, Urge Reining in Taxpayer-Funded Benefits for Illegal Aliens appeared first on The Maine Wire.
‘The last thing we need is a raise’: Jared Golden Urges Against Pay Raise for Members of Congress
By Edward Tomic
Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Golden (ME-02) sent a letter Wednesday requesting that congressional appropriations leaders not include a pay raise for members of Congress in fiscal year 2024 (FY24). [RELATED: Golden Votes to Condemn Biden’s Border Policies, Urge Reining in Taxpayer-Funded Benefits for Illegal Aliens…] Golden’s letter comes as the House and Senate Appropriations Committees [...]
The post ‘The last thing we need is a raise’: Jared Golden Urges Against Pay Raise for Members of Congress appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Wholesale Inflation Surges “Unexpectedly” in February 2024
By The Maine Wire
In an unexpected development that could spell ongoing challenges for the U.S. economy, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday that inflation at the wholesale level rose significantly in February 2024. The department’s Producer Price Index (PPI), which measures inflation at the wholesaler level, i.e. before it impacts consumers, jumped 0.6 percent from January to February. [...]
The post Wholesale Inflation Surges “Unexpectedly” in February 2024 appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Residents of Crime-Ridden San Francisco Neighborhood Sue City Over Open Drug Markets, Homeless Encampments
By Edward Tomic
A group of residents in a crime-ridden San Francisco neighborhood have filed a federal lawsuit accusing the city of not doing enough to combat open-air drug markets and large homeless encampments, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The lawsuit, filed Thursday on behalf of a group of residents and businesses in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood, [..]
The post Residents of Crime-Ridden San Francisco Neighborhood Sue City Over Open
Drug Markets, Homeless Encampments appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Collins Probes U.S. National Security Heads Over Biden’s Failed Afghanistan Withdrawal, Terrorism, and Foreign Criminal Operations in Maine
By Steve Robinson
Washington, D.C. – Key U.S. intelligence officials have faced a series of probing questions from lawmakers this week, including Maine Sen. Susan Collins (R), concerning pressing national security threats related to foreign terrorism, the use of new and emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), illegal immigration and drug trafficking. Sen. Collins, a member of the [...]
The post Collins Probes U.S. National Security Heads Over Biden’s Failed Afghanistan Withdrawal, Terrorism, and Foreign Criminal Operations in Maine appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine Pols Urge Biden VA Sec to Secure Funding for Maine Veterans’ Homes
By Libby Palanza
All four members of Maine’s Congressional delegation have reached out to the federal government for an update regarding a proposed rule allowing the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) to reimburse Maine Veterans’ Homes (MVH) for care provided to veterans with dementia. Sen. Susan Collins (R), Sen. Angus King (I), Rep. Jared Golden (D), and Rep. [...]
The post Maine Pols Urge Biden VA Sec to Secure Funding for Maine Veterans’ Homes appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Bangor Man Sentenced to 14 Years After Being Caught with Fentanyl, Cocaine, Firearm While Out on Bail
By Edward Tomic
A Bangor man has been sentenced to 14 years in prison after he was caught by police in possession of multiple illegal drugs and a firearm while out on bail. Allen Henry, 49, was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District court in Bangor to 168 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for [...]
The post Bangor Man Sentenced to 14 Years After Being Caught with Fentanyl, Cocaine, Firearm While Out on Bail appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Wholesale Inflation Surges “Unexpectedly” in February 2024
By The Maine Wire
In an unexpected development that could spell ongoing challenges for the U.S. economy, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday that inflation at the wholesale level rose significantly in February 2024. The department’s Producer Price Index (PPI), which measures inflation at the wholesaler level, i.e. before it impacts consumers, jumped 0.6 percent from January to February. [...]
The post Wholesale Inflation Surges “Unexpectedly” in February 2024 appeared first on The Maine Wire.
‘Please carry Narcan, do not use alone’: Sanford PD Responds to Three Overdoses in 24 Hours
By Edward Tomic
The Sanford Police Department are calling on the public to carry Narcan — an opioid overdose reversal drug — and take safety precautions after responding to three overdoses within 24 hours. [RELATED: Sanford Suspends Syringe Exchange Program, Cleans Homeless Encampment…] Sanford Police said Thursday that they responded to three overdoses in a 24-hour period between [...]
The post ‘Please carry Narcan, do not use alone’: Sanford PD Responds to Three Overdoses in 24 Hours appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Recent Articles
Potential TikTok Ban Passes U.S. House of Reps with Strong Bipartisan Support
Angus King Says Russia is Selling Off $151 Billion Stockpile of Gold to Bypass Western Sanctions
Maine’s Marijuana Biz Set for Major Overhaul
Follow the Maine Wire on Twitter
Support our independent, nonpartisan reporting with a gift to the Maine Wire today.
Copyright © 2024 Maine Policy Institute, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you chose to receive updates from TheMaineWire.com
Our mailing address is:
Maine Policy Institute
PO Box 7829
Portland, ME 04112-7829
If this isn't rich.................election time is in the air!
By Edward Tomic
Democratic Maine Congressman Jared Golden (CD-2) voted in favor of a House Resolution Wednesday condemning the Biden administration’s immigration policies and calling for stricter border security measures. [RELATED: Golden Pitches Compromise Border Security and $66 Billion Foreign Aid Package on CBS’ Face the Nation…] The resolution, H. Res. 1065, passed by 226-193, with Golden one of [...]
The post Golden Votes to Condemn Biden’s Border Policies, Urge Reining in Taxpayer-Funded Benefits for Illegal Aliens appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Potential TikTok Ban Passes U.S. House of Reps with Strong Bipartisan Support
By Libby Palanza
The U.S. House of Representatives has voted in favor of a bill that would ban TikTok from all devices in the United States unless the app’s Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance divests from the platform. A substantial number of both Democrats and Republicans voted in favor of the measure Wednesday, leading to the bill passing by [...]
The post Potential TikTok Ban Passes U.S. House of Reps with Strong Bipartisan Support appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Angus King Says Russia is Selling Off $151 Billion Stockpile of Gold to Bypass Western Sanctions
By Edward Tomic
U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) sent a letter to Biden administration officials Tuesday calling for additional steps to be taken against Russia in order to prevent Vladimir Putin from funding its war effort against Ukraine by selling its stockpile of gold. According to the Senators, Russia has been bypassing western sanctions [...]
The post Angus King Says Russia is Selling Off $151 Billion Stockpile of Gold to Bypass Western Sanctions appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine’s Marijuana Biz Set for Major Overhaul
By Steve Robinson
Big Picture: Maine lawmakers continued on Wednesday to hash out the details of a massive piece of legislation that would fundamentally reshape how Maine regulates the cultivation, processing, and sale of what is quickly becoming Maine’s top cash crop, the stickiest of the icky: legal cannabis. While much of the State House talk in 2024 [...]
The post Maine’s Marijuana Biz Set for Major Overhaul appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Man Out on Bail With Warrants for Assault, Drug Possession Arrested for Robbery of Lewiston Convenience Store
By Edward Tomic
Lewiston Police announced Wednesday that an arrest has been made in connection to a robbery of a local convenience store. Police say they were dispatched to the store on Tuesday, March 12 at approximately 6:30 p.m. for a report of a robbery. After reviewing surveillance footage, speaking to witnesses, and gathering evidence, Lewiston Police identified [...]
The post Man Out on Bail With Warrants for Assault, Drug Possession Arrested for Robbery of Lewiston Convenience Store appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Second Attempt to Impeach Maine Secretary of State Over Trump Ballot Ban Fails
By Libby Palanza
A second effort to impeach Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D) for her December decision attempting to remove former Republican President Donald Trump from the state’s primary ballot has been defeated. Consideration of the impeachment inquiry in the House took place just two days after the United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled that states [...]
The post Second Attempt to Impeach Maine Secretary of State Over Trump Ballot Ban Fails appeared first on The Maine Wire.
The Rematch Officially Begins: Trump and Biden Both Clinch Their Party Nominations
By Seamus Othot
Former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden each secured their party nominations on Tuesday, following four state primaries. [RELATED: Nikki Haley Announces Campaign Suspension after Trump Wins Sweeping Victories on Super Tuesday…] “It is my great honor to be representing the Republican Party as its Presidential Nominee. Our Party is UNITED and STRONG, and [...]
The post The Rematch Officially Begins: Trump and Biden Both Clinch Their Party Nominations appeared first on The Maine Wire.
DeSantis Deploys National Guard to Stop Potential Haitian Migrant Arrivals as Gang Leaders Seize Island Nation
By Edward Tomic
In order to preempt a potential influx of illegal immigration from Haiti as the island nation devolves into chaos and gang violence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has deployed the Florida National Guard and other state assets to the Keys and southern waters of the state for additional security. Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced [...]
The post DeSantis Deploys National Guard to Stop Potential Haitian Migrant Arrivals as Gang Leaders Seize Island Nation appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine AG Aaron Frey Defends Revamped “Transgender Trafficking” Bill Condemned by Red State AGs
By Edward Tomic
Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey says he is “dismayed” at the condemnation of a proposed bill that would expand legal protections for sex-change procedures and late-term abortions by a group of 16 other state attorneys general. [RELATED: GOP AGs Threaten Maine Over “totalitarian” Child Sex-Change Bill…] In response to a letter sent Monday by the [...]
The post Maine AG Aaron Frey Defends Revamped “Transgender Trafficking” Bill Condemned by Red State AGs appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine Lawmakers May Get the Final Say on Controversial EV Mandate
By Libby Palanza
The Legislature is considering a bill that would give state lawmakers the final say on the Maine Board of Environmental Protection’s (BEP) controversial electric vehicle (EV) mandate, as well as on similar rules going forward. Introduced by Rep. Michael Soboleski (R-Phillips), LD 2261 would designate all BEP rulemaking related to vehicle emissions standards as major [...]
The post Maine Lawmakers May Get the Final Say on Controversial EV Mandate appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Angus King Says Russia is Selling Off $151 Billion Stockpile of Gold to Bypass Western Sanctions
By Edward Tomic
U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) sent a letter to Biden administration officials Tuesday calling for additional steps to be taken against Russia in order to prevent Vladimir Putin from funding its war effort against Ukraine by selling its stockpile of gold. According to the Senators, Russia has been bypassing western sanctions [...]
The post Angus King Says Russia is Selling Off $151 Billion Stockpile of Gold to Bypass Western Sanctions appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine’s Marijuana Biz Set for Major Overhaul
By Steve Robinson
Big Picture: Maine lawmakers continued on Wednesday to hash out the details of a massive piece of legislation that would fundamentally reshape how Maine regulates the cultivation, processing, and sale of what is quickly becoming Maine’s top cash crop, the stickiest of the icky: legal cannabis. While much of the State House talk in 2024 [...]
The post Maine’s Marijuana Biz Set for Major Overhaul appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Man Out on Bail With Warrants for Assault, Drug Possession Arrested for Robbery of Lewiston Convenience Store
By Edward Tomic
Lewiston Police announced Wednesday that an arrest has been made in connection to a robbery of a local convenience store. Police say they were dispatched to the store on Tuesday, March 12 at approximately 6:30 p.m. for a report of a robbery. After reviewing surveillance footage, speaking to witnesses, and gathering evidence, Lewiston Police identified [...]
The post Man Out on Bail With Warrants for Assault, Drug Possession Arrested for Robbery of Lewiston Convenience Store appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Second Attempt to Impeach Maine Secretary of State Over Trump Ballot Ban Fails
By Libby Palanza
A second effort to impeach Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D) for her December decision attempting to remove former Republican President Donald Trump from the state’s primary ballot has been defeated. Consideration of the impeachment inquiry in the House took place just two days after the United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled that states [...]
The post Second Attempt to Impeach Maine Secretary of State Over Trump Ballot Ban Fails appeared first on The Maine Wire.
The Rematch Officially Begins: Trump and Biden Both Clinch Their Party Nominations
By Seamus Othot
Former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden each secured their party nominations on Tuesday, following four state primaries. [RELATED: Nikki Haley Announces Campaign Suspension after Trump Wins Sweeping Victories on Super Tuesday…] “It is my great honor to be representing the Republican Party as its Presidential Nominee. Our Party is UNITED and STRONG, and [...]
The post The Rematch Officially Begins: Trump and Biden Both Clinch Their Party Nominations appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Potential TikTok Ban Passes U.S. House of Reps with Strong Bipartisan Support
By Libby Palanza
The U.S. House of Representatives has voted in favor of a bill that would ban TikTok from all devices in the United States unless the app’s Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance divests from the platform. A substantial number of both Democrats and Republicans voted in favor of the measure Wednesday, leading to the bill passing by [...]
The post Potential TikTok Ban Passes U.S. House of Reps with Strong Bipartisan Support appeared first on The Maine Wire.
By Edward Tomic
Democratic Maine Congressman Jared Golden (CD-2) voted in favor of a House Resolution Wednesday condemning the Biden administration’s immigration policies and calling for stricter border security measures. [RELATED: Golden Pitches Compromise Border Security and $66 Billion Foreign Aid Package on CBS’ Face the Nation…] The resolution, H. Res. 1065, passed by 226-193, with Golden one of [...]
The post Golden Votes to Condemn Biden’s Border Policies, Urge Reining in Taxpayer-Funded Benefits for Illegal Aliens appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Potential TikTok Ban Passes U.S. House of Reps with Strong Bipartisan Support
By Libby Palanza
The U.S. House of Representatives has voted in favor of a bill that would ban TikTok from all devices in the United States unless the app’s Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance divests from the platform. A substantial number of both Democrats and Republicans voted in favor of the measure Wednesday, leading to the bill passing by [...]
The post Potential TikTok Ban Passes U.S. House of Reps with Strong Bipartisan Support appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Angus King Says Russia is Selling Off $151 Billion Stockpile of Gold to Bypass Western Sanctions
By Edward Tomic
U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) sent a letter to Biden administration officials Tuesday calling for additional steps to be taken against Russia in order to prevent Vladimir Putin from funding its war effort against Ukraine by selling its stockpile of gold. According to the Senators, Russia has been bypassing western sanctions [...]
The post Angus King Says Russia is Selling Off $151 Billion Stockpile of Gold to Bypass Western Sanctions appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine’s Marijuana Biz Set for Major Overhaul
By Steve Robinson
Big Picture: Maine lawmakers continued on Wednesday to hash out the details of a massive piece of legislation that would fundamentally reshape how Maine regulates the cultivation, processing, and sale of what is quickly becoming Maine’s top cash crop, the stickiest of the icky: legal cannabis. While much of the State House talk in 2024 [...]
The post Maine’s Marijuana Biz Set for Major Overhaul appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Man Out on Bail With Warrants for Assault, Drug Possession Arrested for Robbery of Lewiston Convenience Store
By Edward Tomic
Lewiston Police announced Wednesday that an arrest has been made in connection to a robbery of a local convenience store. Police say they were dispatched to the store on Tuesday, March 12 at approximately 6:30 p.m. for a report of a robbery. After reviewing surveillance footage, speaking to witnesses, and gathering evidence, Lewiston Police identified [...]
The post Man Out on Bail With Warrants for Assault, Drug Possession Arrested for Robbery of Lewiston Convenience Store appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Second Attempt to Impeach Maine Secretary of State Over Trump Ballot Ban Fails
By Libby Palanza
A second effort to impeach Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D) for her December decision attempting to remove former Republican President Donald Trump from the state’s primary ballot has been defeated. Consideration of the impeachment inquiry in the House took place just two days after the United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled that states [...]
The post Second Attempt to Impeach Maine Secretary of State Over Trump Ballot Ban Fails appeared first on The Maine Wire.
The Rematch Officially Begins: Trump and Biden Both Clinch Their Party Nominations
By Seamus Othot
Former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden each secured their party nominations on Tuesday, following four state primaries. [RELATED: Nikki Haley Announces Campaign Suspension after Trump Wins Sweeping Victories on Super Tuesday…] “It is my great honor to be representing the Republican Party as its Presidential Nominee. Our Party is UNITED and STRONG, and [...]
The post The Rematch Officially Begins: Trump and Biden Both Clinch Their Party Nominations appeared first on The Maine Wire.
DeSantis Deploys National Guard to Stop Potential Haitian Migrant Arrivals as Gang Leaders Seize Island Nation
By Edward Tomic
In order to preempt a potential influx of illegal immigration from Haiti as the island nation devolves into chaos and gang violence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has deployed the Florida National Guard and other state assets to the Keys and southern waters of the state for additional security. Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced [...]
The post DeSantis Deploys National Guard to Stop Potential Haitian Migrant Arrivals as Gang Leaders Seize Island Nation appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine AG Aaron Frey Defends Revamped “Transgender Trafficking” Bill Condemned by Red State AGs
By Edward Tomic
Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey says he is “dismayed” at the condemnation of a proposed bill that would expand legal protections for sex-change procedures and late-term abortions by a group of 16 other state attorneys general. [RELATED: GOP AGs Threaten Maine Over “totalitarian” Child Sex-Change Bill…] In response to a letter sent Monday by the [...]
The post Maine AG Aaron Frey Defends Revamped “Transgender Trafficking” Bill Condemned by Red State AGs appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine Lawmakers May Get the Final Say on Controversial EV Mandate
By Libby Palanza
The Legislature is considering a bill that would give state lawmakers the final say on the Maine Board of Environmental Protection’s (BEP) controversial electric vehicle (EV) mandate, as well as on similar rules going forward. Introduced by Rep. Michael Soboleski (R-Phillips), LD 2261 would designate all BEP rulemaking related to vehicle emissions standards as major [...]
The post Maine Lawmakers May Get the Final Say on Controversial EV Mandate appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Angus King Says Russia is Selling Off $151 Billion Stockpile of Gold to Bypass Western Sanctions
By Edward Tomic
U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) sent a letter to Biden administration officials Tuesday calling for additional steps to be taken against Russia in order to prevent Vladimir Putin from funding its war effort against Ukraine by selling its stockpile of gold. According to the Senators, Russia has been bypassing western sanctions [...]
The post Angus King Says Russia is Selling Off $151 Billion Stockpile of Gold to Bypass Western Sanctions appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine’s Marijuana Biz Set for Major Overhaul
By Steve Robinson
Big Picture: Maine lawmakers continued on Wednesday to hash out the details of a massive piece of legislation that would fundamentally reshape how Maine regulates the cultivation, processing, and sale of what is quickly becoming Maine’s top cash crop, the stickiest of the icky: legal cannabis. While much of the State House talk in 2024 [...]
The post Maine’s Marijuana Biz Set for Major Overhaul appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Man Out on Bail With Warrants for Assault, Drug Possession Arrested for Robbery of Lewiston Convenience Store
By Edward Tomic
Lewiston Police announced Wednesday that an arrest has been made in connection to a robbery of a local convenience store. Police say they were dispatched to the store on Tuesday, March 12 at approximately 6:30 p.m. for a report of a robbery. After reviewing surveillance footage, speaking to witnesses, and gathering evidence, Lewiston Police identified [...]
The post Man Out on Bail With Warrants for Assault, Drug Possession Arrested for Robbery of Lewiston Convenience Store appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Second Attempt to Impeach Maine Secretary of State Over Trump Ballot Ban Fails
By Libby Palanza
A second effort to impeach Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D) for her December decision attempting to remove former Republican President Donald Trump from the state’s primary ballot has been defeated. Consideration of the impeachment inquiry in the House took place just two days after the United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled that states [...]
The post Second Attempt to Impeach Maine Secretary of State Over Trump Ballot Ban Fails appeared first on The Maine Wire.
The Rematch Officially Begins: Trump and Biden Both Clinch Their Party Nominations
By Seamus Othot
Former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden each secured their party nominations on Tuesday, following four state primaries. [RELATED: Nikki Haley Announces Campaign Suspension after Trump Wins Sweeping Victories on Super Tuesday…] “It is my great honor to be representing the Republican Party as its Presidential Nominee. Our Party is UNITED and STRONG, and [...]
The post The Rematch Officially Begins: Trump and Biden Both Clinch Their Party Nominations appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Potential TikTok Ban Passes U.S. House of Reps with Strong Bipartisan Support
By Libby Palanza
The U.S. House of Representatives has voted in favor of a bill that would ban TikTok from all devices in the United States unless the app’s Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance divests from the platform. A substantial number of both Democrats and Republicans voted in favor of the measure Wednesday, leading to the bill passing by [...]
The post Potential TikTok Ban Passes U.S. House of Reps with Strong Bipartisan Support appeared first on The Maine Wire.
- Town of York GOP - March Monthly Meeting
Tuesday, March 19, 6:00pm to 8:00pm
Union Bluff Hotel
8 Beach St, York
Guest Speaker:
Lynn Osgood, York Town Clerk to discuss the voting process. Bring your questions!
- Maine State Republican Convention
The Maine State Convention will be held April 26th and 27th at the Augusta Civic Center. At the convention, delegates vote on the party platform and hear speeches from candidates throughout the state.
To become a delegate:
In York please contact Wayne Wright at waynecwright@hotmail.com. Deadline to become a delegate is March 25.
Attending Convention:
To cover the cost of holding the convention, there is a delegate fee. The fee is currently $40, but it rises after March 23rd and again after April 21st. If you are already a delegate and want to pay your delegate fee now, use this link: PAY MY DELEGATE FEE
Delegates will receive information on meal prices, lodging information and events in their delegate packets that will be emailed out.
Pay attention & please stay informed!
YRTC website - http://yorkgop.me
daily updates about bills in the state legislature and articles from The Maine Wire and other sources.
Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/yorkrepublicans/
we're posting information daily and growing our followers.
For more information:Please be sure to follow the York Republican Town Committee on Facebook and Twitter.
Website: http://yorkgop.me
We can be reached by phone at 207-370-7523
**NOTE: York Republican Town Committee sponsored events will always include the YRTC logo.**
Dick’s: Liberal Sporting Goods Company Stops Selling Guns in Rural MaineBy Seamus Othot
The last of four Dick’s Sporting Goods locations in Maine has stopped the sale of all firearms in the state, according to a report in the Bangor newspaper. The Bangor location was the last to stop selling firearms, removing them, and other hunting equipment, from its shelves in January. [RELATED: Maine Dems Want Cabela’s to [...]
The post Dick’s: Liberal Sporting Goods Company Stops Selling Guns in Rural Maine appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Boeing Whistleblower Dead from Alleged Suicide Amid Legal Case Against the Aircraft ManufacturerBy Seamus Othot
John Barnett, longtime employee of aircraft manufacturer Boeing who had turned whistleblower, was found dead from a gunshot wound in what appears to be a suicide, according to authorities. Barnett, a 26-year employee for the airplane manufacturer and defense contrator, had been involved in a lawsuit against the company amid scrutiny over its manufacturing standards [...]
The post Boeing Whistleblower Dead from Alleged Suicide Amid Legal Case Against the Aircraft Manufacturer appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Operators of Sham Marriage ‘Agency’ that Helped 600+ Noncitizens Fraudulently Obtain Green Cards SentencedBy Edward Tomic
Four California-based individuals have been sentenced in federal court in Boston for their roles in running a large-scale marriage fraud “agency” designed to help non-citizens bypass immigration laws. The Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office says the four defendants, all Philippine nationals residing in Los Angeles, arranged sham marriages between foreign nationals and U.S. citizens, and submitted [...]
The post Operators of Sham Marriage ‘Agency’ that Helped 600+ Noncitizens Fraudulently Obtain Green Cards Sentenced appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Nigerian National Convicted of Sex Crime Against Child in Rhode Island After Overstaying Visa Arrested by ICEBy Edward Tomic
An unlawfully present Nigerian national who was convicted of indecent solicitation of a Rhode Island child after overstaying a tourist visa has been arrested by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, the agency announced Monday. [RELATED: Biden Apologizes for Calling Illegal Alien Suspected of Murdering Nursing Student “an Illegal”…] According to ICE, deportation officers [...]
The post Nigerian National Convicted of Sex Crime Against Child in Rhode Island After Overstaying Visa Arrested by ICE appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Biden Orders U.S. Military Deployment to Gaza on Humanitarian Mission Amid Left-Wing ProtestsBy Seamus Othot
President Joe Biden has ordered the U.S. military to construct a temporary pier in the Mediterranean Sea in order to bring humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza, a move that comes as the Commander-in-Chief faces criticism from left-wing voters for backing funding for Israel’s war against Hamas. [RELATED: Trump Scores Massive Michigan Victory as Biden [...]
The post Biden Orders U.S. Military Deployment to Gaza on Humanitarian Mission Amid Left-Wing Protests appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Collins, King Join Bipartisan Push to Keep AM Radio Service in New VehiclesBy Edward Tomic
U.S. Senators from Maine Susan Collins (R) and Angus King (I) are backing a bill that would require automakers to include AM broadcast radio service in their new vehicles at no additional charge. “AM Radio delivers highway safety information to drivers and critical storm and weather updates to farmers in Maine and across the country,” Sen. [...]
The post Collins, King Join Bipartisan Push to Keep AM Radio Service in New Vehicles appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine’s Congressional Delegation Offers Mixed Response to Biden’s State of the Union AddressBy Seamus Othot
Following a highly divisive State of the Union Speech (SOTU), which saw President Joe Biden comparing former President Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler, comparing his supporters to Russians invading Ukraine, and pushing for the restoration of Roe V. Wade, the Maine Wire reached out to Maine’s congressional delegation to ask their opinions on the speech. [...]
The post Maine’s Congressional Delegation Offers Mixed Response to Biden’s State of the Union Address appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Biden Apologizes for Calling Illegal Alien Suspected of Murdering Nursing Student “an Illegal”By Seamus Othot
President Joe Biden apologized for calling the illegal immigrant who is suspected of murdering 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley “an illegal,” but issued no apology for getting Riley’s name wrong during his State of the Union Speech (SOTU). [RELATED: From Texas to Maine, Biden’s Lawless Border Fuels Illegal Alien Crime Wave…] During President Biden’s Speech [...]
The post Biden Apologizes for Calling Illegal Alien Suspected of Murdering Nursing Student “an Illegal” appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine Receives $2 Million in Federal Funding for Mental Health Initiatives Related to Lewiston Mass ShootingBy Libby Palanza
The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) announced Friday that it received more than $2 million in federal funding to address the “community mental health needs” that have arisen from the tragic mass shooting that took place in Lewiston last year. The $2,048,452 in funding has to the Maine DHHS through the U.S. [...]
The post Maine Receives $2 Million in Federal Funding for Mental Health Initiatives Related to Lewiston Mass Shooting appeared first on The Maine Wire.
The last of four Dick’s Sporting Goods locations in Maine has stopped the sale of all firearms in the state, according to a report in the Bangor newspaper. The Bangor location was the last to stop selling firearms, removing them, and other hunting equipment, from its shelves in January. [RELATED: Maine Dems Want Cabela’s to [...]
The post Dick’s: Liberal Sporting Goods Company Stops Selling Guns in Rural Maine appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Boeing Whistleblower Dead from Alleged Suicide Amid Legal Case Against the Aircraft ManufacturerBy Seamus Othot
John Barnett, longtime employee of aircraft manufacturer Boeing who had turned whistleblower, was found dead from a gunshot wound in what appears to be a suicide, according to authorities. Barnett, a 26-year employee for the airplane manufacturer and defense contrator, had been involved in a lawsuit against the company amid scrutiny over its manufacturing standards [...]
The post Boeing Whistleblower Dead from Alleged Suicide Amid Legal Case Against the Aircraft Manufacturer appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Operators of Sham Marriage ‘Agency’ that Helped 600+ Noncitizens Fraudulently Obtain Green Cards SentencedBy Edward Tomic
Four California-based individuals have been sentenced in federal court in Boston for their roles in running a large-scale marriage fraud “agency” designed to help non-citizens bypass immigration laws. The Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office says the four defendants, all Philippine nationals residing in Los Angeles, arranged sham marriages between foreign nationals and U.S. citizens, and submitted [...]
The post Operators of Sham Marriage ‘Agency’ that Helped 600+ Noncitizens Fraudulently Obtain Green Cards Sentenced appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Nigerian National Convicted of Sex Crime Against Child in Rhode Island After Overstaying Visa Arrested by ICEBy Edward Tomic
An unlawfully present Nigerian national who was convicted of indecent solicitation of a Rhode Island child after overstaying a tourist visa has been arrested by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, the agency announced Monday. [RELATED: Biden Apologizes for Calling Illegal Alien Suspected of Murdering Nursing Student “an Illegal”…] According to ICE, deportation officers [...]
The post Nigerian National Convicted of Sex Crime Against Child in Rhode Island After Overstaying Visa Arrested by ICE appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Biden Orders U.S. Military Deployment to Gaza on Humanitarian Mission Amid Left-Wing ProtestsBy Seamus Othot
President Joe Biden has ordered the U.S. military to construct a temporary pier in the Mediterranean Sea in order to bring humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza, a move that comes as the Commander-in-Chief faces criticism from left-wing voters for backing funding for Israel’s war against Hamas. [RELATED: Trump Scores Massive Michigan Victory as Biden [...]
The post Biden Orders U.S. Military Deployment to Gaza on Humanitarian Mission Amid Left-Wing Protests appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Collins, King Join Bipartisan Push to Keep AM Radio Service in New VehiclesBy Edward Tomic
U.S. Senators from Maine Susan Collins (R) and Angus King (I) are backing a bill that would require automakers to include AM broadcast radio service in their new vehicles at no additional charge. “AM Radio delivers highway safety information to drivers and critical storm and weather updates to farmers in Maine and across the country,” Sen. [...]
The post Collins, King Join Bipartisan Push to Keep AM Radio Service in New Vehicles appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine’s Congressional Delegation Offers Mixed Response to Biden’s State of the Union AddressBy Seamus Othot
Following a highly divisive State of the Union Speech (SOTU), which saw President Joe Biden comparing former President Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler, comparing his supporters to Russians invading Ukraine, and pushing for the restoration of Roe V. Wade, the Maine Wire reached out to Maine’s congressional delegation to ask their opinions on the speech. [...]
The post Maine’s Congressional Delegation Offers Mixed Response to Biden’s State of the Union Address appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Biden Apologizes for Calling Illegal Alien Suspected of Murdering Nursing Student “an Illegal”By Seamus Othot
President Joe Biden apologized for calling the illegal immigrant who is suspected of murdering 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley “an illegal,” but issued no apology for getting Riley’s name wrong during his State of the Union Speech (SOTU). [RELATED: From Texas to Maine, Biden’s Lawless Border Fuels Illegal Alien Crime Wave…] During President Biden’s Speech [...]
The post Biden Apologizes for Calling Illegal Alien Suspected of Murdering Nursing Student “an Illegal” appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine Receives $2 Million in Federal Funding for Mental Health Initiatives Related to Lewiston Mass ShootingBy Libby Palanza
The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) announced Friday that it received more than $2 million in federal funding to address the “community mental health needs” that have arisen from the tragic mass shooting that took place in Lewiston last year. The $2,048,452 in funding has to the Maine DHHS through the U.S. [...]
The post Maine Receives $2 Million in Federal Funding for Mental Health Initiatives Related to Lewiston Mass Shooting appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Mortifying State of the Union
By Robert "Bobby" Charles
Seldom in American history has a president so boldly insulted the American people, played demagogue, or taken us for fools – the way an audacious Joe Biden did in his beg-the-issues, bag-of-air State of the Union. Frankly, it was – the only word is mortifying. If you did not hear it, he began by comparing himself [...]
The post Mortifying State of the Union appeared first on The Maine Wire.
GOP AGs Threaten Maine Over “totalitarian” Child Sex-Change Bill
By Steve Robinson
An effort by Democratic state lawmakers to establish Maine as a “sanctuary state” for child sex-change procedures and late-term abortions drew strong condemnation Monday from the attorneys general of 15 other U.S. states. In a letter spearheaded by Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, the 15 AGs warned that Maine could face lawsuits from other states [...]
The post GOP AGs Threaten Maine Over “totalitarian” Child Sex-Change Bill appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Collins Grills FBI Director Wray Over Rural Maine’s Triad Weed Epidemic
By Steve Robinson
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) questioned FBI Director Christopher Wray on Monday about what his agency is doing to help local and regional Maine law enforcement do to combat the proliferation of Asian Transnational Criminal Organizations (ATCOs) throughout rural Maine. “What we’re also seeing in Maine is a new phenomenon that was reported by some [...]
The post Collins Grills FBI Director Wray Over Rural Maine’s Triad Weed Epidemic appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine School District Will Explore Restructuring Elementary, Middle Schools to Improve ‘programmatic equity’By Edward Tomic
Later this month Maine Regional School Unit 22 (RSU 22) is set to consider various options for “restructuring” the district’s elementary and middle schools in line with the recommendations of its 2020-2021 “Equity Audit Report.” RSU 22 serves the towns of Hampden, Newburgh, Winterport and Frankfort, and approximately 2,270 students across seven schools — four [...]
The post Maine School District Will Explore Restructuring Elementary, Middle Schools to Improve ‘programmatic equity’ appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Portland Police Announce Seizure of 37.7 grams of Fentanyl Across 3 Arrests Over Past Week
Edward Tomic
Portland Police announced Monday that over the past seven days they have seized a total of 37.7 grams of fentanyl from three separate arrests. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), just 2 milligrams of fentanyl can be considered a potentially lethal dose — meaning from March 5-11, Portland Police took nearly 20,000 potential [...]
The post Portland Police Announce Seizure of 37.7 grams of Fentanyl Across 3 Arrests Over Past Week appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Hebron Academy Teacher Arrested for Inappropriate Sexual Relationship with Minor Student
By Seamus Othot
A Maine teacher was arrested Thursday following information that she had been engaging in inappropriate sexual relations with a minor student. [RELATED: Maine’s Far Left Media Censor MASSIVE Turnout Opposed to Transgender Trafficking, Abortion Tourism Bill…] The Oxford County Sheriff’s Office began its investigation after being given information that a teacher at Hebron Academy, a [...]
The post Hebron Academy Teacher Arrested for Inappropriate Sexual Relationship with Minor Student appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Triad Weed: New York Man Arrested As Maine Sheriff Raids Two More Foreign-Run Drug Houses
Steve Robinson
Authorities in Piscataquis County have cracked down two more illegal marijuana operations, executing two search warrants on March 7 that resulted in significant seizures and an arrest. The Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from several law enforcement agencies, targeted properties suspected of housing illicit marijuana grows. The first raid took place on Glass Hill [...]
The post Triad Weed: New York Man Arrested As Maine Sheriff Raids Two More Foreign-Run Drug Houses appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Brewer Sex Offender Registrant Arrested on Child Pornography Charges
By Edward Tomic
On Friday, the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of a Brewer man who was a 10-year sex offender registrant on several child pornography charges. The Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office said the arrest followed a long investigation conducted with the assistance of the Brewer Police Department and U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) Homeland [...]
The post Brewer Sex Offender Registrant Arrested on Child Pornography Charges appeared first on The Maine Wire.
14-Year-Old Accused of Weekend Shooting in Lewiston
By Edward Tomic
Lewiston Police announced Sunday that a 14-year-old male has been charged in connection to a weekend shooting on Pierce Street. Police say they responded to the area of 101 Pierce St. at about 4:40 p.m. on Saturday, March 9, for a report of numerous shots fired. Upon arrival, police met with several witnesses and located [...]
The post 14-Year-Old Accused of Weekend Shooting in Lewiston appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine DEI Board Says No Conflict of Interest with $12,000 Grant to Co-Chair’s Sister
By Edward Tomic
Maine’s Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous, & Tribal Populations (PCRITP) has determined that no conflict of interest occurred when they granted $12,000 to the Commission Co-Chair and Maine House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross’ (D-Portland) sister for a Black History Month Event. [RELATED: Corruption: Equity Panel Chief Dodges Questions Over $12k Grant to [...]
The post Maine DEI Board Says No Conflict of Interest with $12,000 Grant to Co-Chair’s Sister appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Recent Articles
Follow the Maine Wire on Twitter
Support our independent, nonpartisan reporting with a gift to the Maine Wire Copyright © 2024 Maine Policy Institute, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you chose to receive updates from TheMaineWire.com
Our mailing address is:
Maine Policy Institute
PO Box 7829
Portland, ME 04112-7829
Add us to your address book
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.
USA Today Blames Libs of TikTok Operator for Bomb Threat Hoax in Maine CapitolBy Seamus Othot
USA Today published an article blaming Chaya Raichik, operator of the anti-woke X account Libs of TikTok, for the bomb threat hoax perpetrated against the Maine State House on Friday morning. [RELATED: Maine State House Evacuated After Second Bomb Threat Hoax of the Legislative Session…] “The legislators targeted by the threats, have also been publicized [...]
The post USA Today Blames Libs of TikTok Operator for Bomb Threat Hoax in Maine Capitol appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine State House Evacuated After Second Bomb Threat Hoax of the Legislative SessionBy Seamus Othot
Maine’s State House was evacuated Friday morning following a bomb threat emailed to one legislator, which was quickly determined to be a hoax. [RELATED: Maine Capitol Police Issue Evacuation Order for the Maine State House Following an Emailed Bomb Threat to State Houses Across the Country…] “There was a bomb scare at the Maine Capitol [...]
The post Maine State House Evacuated After Second Bomb Threat Hoax of the Legislative Session appeared first on The Maine Wire.
No Labels Moving Forward with Plans to Run a “Unity Ticket” This NovemberBy Libby Palanza
No Labels has officially announced that it will be moving forward with candidate selection for its presidential ticket ahead, according to a press release shared by the organization Friday. The group has gained recognition in recent months for pledging to offer its ballot line to a “Unity Ticket” this November should the two major parties [...]
The post No Labels Moving Forward with Plans to Run a “Unity Ticket” This November appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Lewiston Shooter Robert Card’s Brain Showed Evidence of Trauma from Serving as Army Hand Grenade Instructor: FamilyBy Edward Tomic
Lewiston mass shooter Robert Card, who killed 18 people and injured more than a dozen others in two Oct. 25, 2023 shootings before dying by suicide at age 40, likely had a traumatic brain injury from his time serving as a hand grenade instructor with the U.S Army, according to his family. [RELATED: Lewiston Shooter [...]
The post Lewiston Shooter Robert Card’s Brain Showed Evidence of Trauma from Serving as Army Hand Grenade Instructor: Family appeared first on The Maine Wire.
$15 Million Municipal Reimbursement for Short-Lived Senior Citizen Property Tax Program Signed Into LawBy Libby Palanza
Gov. Janet Mills (D) has signed into law a bill allocating more than $15 million to reimburse municipalities for the cost associated with the short-lived Property Tax Stabilization for Senior Citizens program. After the appropriation was unanimously approved in committee, both chambers of the legislature voted without a roll call in favor of moving the [...]
The post $15 Million Municipal Reimbursement for Short-Lived Senior Citizen Property Tax Program Signed Into Law appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine to Require Internet Service Providers to Prorate Final Bills and Credit Customers for Prolonged OutagesBy Libby Palanza
Gov. Janet Mills (D) signed into law this past Thursday a bill that requires internet providers to prorate for customers who cancel their services midway through their billing cycle, as well as issue rebates to customers who experience prolonged outages. Maine had previously enacted a law requiring cable companies to prorate their customers’ final bills, [...]
The post Maine to Require Internet Service Providers to Prorate Final Bills and Credit Customers for Prolonged Outages appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Lawmakers Block Bill Creating Tax Deduction for Home Electricity CostsBy Libby Palanza
Lawmakers in Augusta have shut down a bill that would have created a new tax deduction allowing Mainers to subtract what their yearly electricity costs — up to $2,500 — off of their taxable income. The bill’s defeat fell nearly along partisan lines in both the House (77-64) and Senate (20-14), with a small handful [...]
The post Lawmakers Block Bill Creating Tax Deduction for Home Electricity Costs appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Recent ArticlesLeaked Docs Show Top Transgender Association Violating Medical Ethics, Hiding Harms of “Gender-Affirming Care” – WPATH
Chinese National Indicted for Stealing AI-Related Trade Secrets From Google
Maine Bureaucrats Seek Power to Investigate Businesses With No Evidence of Wrongdoing Based on Hunches
USA Today published an article blaming Chaya Raichik, operator of the anti-woke X account Libs of TikTok, for the bomb threat hoax perpetrated against the Maine State House on Friday morning. [RELATED: Maine State House Evacuated After Second Bomb Threat Hoax of the Legislative Session…] “The legislators targeted by the threats, have also been publicized [...]
The post USA Today Blames Libs of TikTok Operator for Bomb Threat Hoax in Maine Capitol appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine State House Evacuated After Second Bomb Threat Hoax of the Legislative SessionBy Seamus Othot
Maine’s State House was evacuated Friday morning following a bomb threat emailed to one legislator, which was quickly determined to be a hoax. [RELATED: Maine Capitol Police Issue Evacuation Order for the Maine State House Following an Emailed Bomb Threat to State Houses Across the Country…] “There was a bomb scare at the Maine Capitol [...]
The post Maine State House Evacuated After Second Bomb Threat Hoax of the Legislative Session appeared first on The Maine Wire.
No Labels Moving Forward with Plans to Run a “Unity Ticket” This NovemberBy Libby Palanza
No Labels has officially announced that it will be moving forward with candidate selection for its presidential ticket ahead, according to a press release shared by the organization Friday. The group has gained recognition in recent months for pledging to offer its ballot line to a “Unity Ticket” this November should the two major parties [...]
The post No Labels Moving Forward with Plans to Run a “Unity Ticket” This November appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Lewiston Shooter Robert Card’s Brain Showed Evidence of Trauma from Serving as Army Hand Grenade Instructor: FamilyBy Edward Tomic
Lewiston mass shooter Robert Card, who killed 18 people and injured more than a dozen others in two Oct. 25, 2023 shootings before dying by suicide at age 40, likely had a traumatic brain injury from his time serving as a hand grenade instructor with the U.S Army, according to his family. [RELATED: Lewiston Shooter [...]
The post Lewiston Shooter Robert Card’s Brain Showed Evidence of Trauma from Serving as Army Hand Grenade Instructor: Family appeared first on The Maine Wire.
$15 Million Municipal Reimbursement for Short-Lived Senior Citizen Property Tax Program Signed Into LawBy Libby Palanza
Gov. Janet Mills (D) has signed into law a bill allocating more than $15 million to reimburse municipalities for the cost associated with the short-lived Property Tax Stabilization for Senior Citizens program. After the appropriation was unanimously approved in committee, both chambers of the legislature voted without a roll call in favor of moving the [...]
The post $15 Million Municipal Reimbursement for Short-Lived Senior Citizen Property Tax Program Signed Into Law appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine to Require Internet Service Providers to Prorate Final Bills and Credit Customers for Prolonged OutagesBy Libby Palanza
Gov. Janet Mills (D) signed into law this past Thursday a bill that requires internet providers to prorate for customers who cancel their services midway through their billing cycle, as well as issue rebates to customers who experience prolonged outages. Maine had previously enacted a law requiring cable companies to prorate their customers’ final bills, [...]
The post Maine to Require Internet Service Providers to Prorate Final Bills and Credit Customers for Prolonged Outages appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Lawmakers Block Bill Creating Tax Deduction for Home Electricity CostsBy Libby Palanza
Lawmakers in Augusta have shut down a bill that would have created a new tax deduction allowing Mainers to subtract what their yearly electricity costs — up to $2,500 — off of their taxable income. The bill’s defeat fell nearly along partisan lines in both the House (77-64) and Senate (20-14), with a small handful [...]
The post Lawmakers Block Bill Creating Tax Deduction for Home Electricity Costs appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Recent ArticlesLeaked Docs Show Top Transgender Association Violating Medical Ethics, Hiding Harms of “Gender-Affirming Care” – WPATH
Chinese National Indicted for Stealing AI-Related Trade Secrets From Google
Maine Bureaucrats Seek Power to Investigate Businesses With No Evidence of Wrongdoing Based on Hunches
2024 - MAINE STATE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION
April 25th, 26th & 27th
Augusta Civic Center
76 Community Drive
Augusta, ME 04330
Anyone wanting to be a convention delegate who was not at the January County GOP caucus should email info@townofyorkgop.com by MARCH 25TH
Registration Fee for Delegates, Alternatives and Guests:
$40 -payment received by March 23rd
$50 -payment received between March 24th and April 20th
$65 -payment received between April 21st and the 27th
Hotels will be found on the Maine GOP Website
All convention delegates will be receiving email updates from the YRTC delegation
chair, Wayne Wright.
April 25th, 26th & 27th
Augusta Civic Center
76 Community Drive
Augusta, ME 04330
Anyone wanting to be a convention delegate who was not at the January County GOP caucus should email info@townofyorkgop.com by MARCH 25TH
Registration Fee for Delegates, Alternatives and Guests:
$40 -payment received by March 23rd
$50 -payment received between March 24th and April 20th
$65 -payment received between April 21st and the 27th
Hotels will be found on the Maine GOP Website
All convention delegates will be receiving email updates from the YRTC delegation
chair, Wayne Wright.
Maine Bureaucrats Seek Power to Investigate Businesses With No Evidence of Wrongdoing Based on HunchesBy Seamus Othot
Maine’s new Director of Labor Standards wants to change the state’s Bureau of Labor Standards (BLS) into an enforcement agency, allow it to investigate employers for potential violations based on no prior evidence, and empower it to impose penalties without court intervention. [RELATED: Maine’s Far Left Media Censor MASSIVE Turnout Opposed to Transgender Trafficking, Abortion [...]
The post Maine Bureaucrats Seek Power to Investigate Businesses With No Evidence of Wrongdoing Based on Hunches appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Communism at its best!
Leaked Docs Show Top Transgender Association Violating Medical Ethics, Hiding Harms of “Gender-Affirming Care” – WPATHBy Edward Tomic
Leaked internal documents from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), the leading global medical body behind developing “standards of care” for transgender treatments, show members improvising experimental treatments and consistently violating medical ethics and informed consent, according a report published Tuesday by the U.S.-based thinktank Environmental Progress. [RELATED: National Medical Association Concludes ‘Gender [...]
The post Leaked Docs Show Top Transgender Association Violating Medical Ethics, Hiding Harms of “Gender-Affirming Care” – WPATH appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Chinese National Indicted for Stealing AI-Related Trade Secrets From GoogleBy Edward Tomic
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Wednesday that a Chinese National residing in California has been charged with four counts of theft of trade secrets in connection to an alleged plot to steal artificial intelligence (AI) technology from Google LLC (Google). [RELATED: Four Chinese Nationals Charged With Illegally Exporting U.S. Military Technology to Iran…] According [...]
The post Chinese National Indicted for Stealing AI-Related Trade Secrets From Google appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine Moves One Step Closer to Joining the National Popular Vote Interstate CompactBy Libby Palanza
House lawmakers in Augusta voted to approve joining the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, an agreement that could bring about sweeping changes to how the President of the United States is elected. With a roll call vote of 74-67, representatives in the State House voted in favor of LD 1578 — An Act to Adopt [...]
The post Maine Moves One Step Closer to Joining the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact appeared first on The Maine Wire.
One-in-Five Portland Dems Blank Primary Ballots After Gaza Ceasefire Campaign Against ‘Butcher Biden’By Edward Tomic
Although incumbent President Joe Biden handily won Maine’s Democratic presidential primary election on Super Tuesday, he appears to have been opposed by a significant contingent of Portland voters protesting his administration’s handling of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. [RELATED: Anti-Israel Protesters Defend Hamas “Resistance” by Blockading Traffic in Maine’s Biggest City…] According to unofficial election results [...]
The post One-in-Five Portland Dems Blank Primary Ballots After Gaza Ceasefire Campaign Against ‘Butcher Biden’ appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Cumberland Voters Resoundingly Defeat Controversial Proposal for Drowne Road Affordable Housing DevelopmentBy Libby Palanza
Voters in the Town of Cumberland resoundingly defeated the controversial proposal to construct a 107-unit affordable housing development on the municipally-owned land located on Drowne Road. 2,545 Cumberland voters — representing 68.6 percent of those who cast ballots Tuesday — rejected the proposed development, while just 31.4 percent — or 1,163 voters — expressed support [...]
The post Cumberland Voters Resoundingly Defeat Controversial Proposal for Drowne Road Affordable Housing Development appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Angus King Introduces Legislation That Would Ban Energy Exports to China, Russia, Other Foreign AdversariesBy Edward Tomic
Maine Senator Angus King, a self-described independent who caucuses with Democrats, has introduced legislation that would ban energy exports, which King has called the United States’ “principal advantage in the world economy,” to foreign adversaries. Sen. King joined with three Senate Democrats to introduce the “Protecting American Households from Rising Energy Costs Act,” which would [...]
The post Angus King Introduces Legislation That Would Ban Energy Exports to China, Russia, Other Foreign Adversaries appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine’s Taxpayer-Funded “News” Website Ignores Massive Public Opposition to New Transgender Trafficking Bill, Only Quotes Planned ParenthoodBy Edward Tomic
Maine Public, a nonprofit news outlet funded in large part by taxpayer dollars, published a perfunctory article Tuesday covering the public hearing on the revamped transgender trafficking bill, LD 227, failing to mention the massive public turnout in opposition to the bill, and quoting only a Planned Parenthood spokesperson. [RELATED: Massive Turnout for Public Hearing [...]
The post Maine’s Taxpayer-Funded “News” Website Ignores Massive Public Opposition to New Transgender Trafficking Bill, Only Quotes Planned Parenthood appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Nikki Haley Announces Campaign Suspension after Trump Wins Sweeping Victories on Super TuesdayBy Seamus Othot
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has announced that she is dropping out of the Republican presidential race after former President Donald Trump defeated her in all but one Super Tuesday primary. [RELATED: Trump Favored in Maine GOP Primary, Concerns Over Border Driving Many Voters’ Choice: UNH Poll…] “I am filled with gratitude for the [...]
The post Nikki Haley Announces Campaign Suspension after Trump Wins Sweeping Victories on Super Tuesday appeared first on The Maine Wire.
ICE Boston Deports Unlawfully Present Brazilian Convict Accused of Strangulation, Assault and BatteryBy Edward Tomic
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced Monday that deportation officers in Boston have removed an unlawfully present Brazilian national who is wanted in Brazil for extortion, and who was charged locally with strangulation and assault and battery. [RELATED: ICE Boston Deports Brazilian Fugitive Wanted for Child Rape Who Fled to US Under Tourist Visa…] [...]
The post ICE Boston Deports Unlawfully Present Brazilian Convict Accused of Strangulation, Assault and Battery appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine’s new Director of Labor Standards wants to change the state’s Bureau of Labor Standards (BLS) into an enforcement agency, allow it to investigate employers for potential violations based on no prior evidence, and empower it to impose penalties without court intervention. [RELATED: Maine’s Far Left Media Censor MASSIVE Turnout Opposed to Transgender Trafficking, Abortion [...]
The post Maine Bureaucrats Seek Power to Investigate Businesses With No Evidence of Wrongdoing Based on Hunches appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Communism at its best!
Leaked Docs Show Top Transgender Association Violating Medical Ethics, Hiding Harms of “Gender-Affirming Care” – WPATHBy Edward Tomic
Leaked internal documents from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), the leading global medical body behind developing “standards of care” for transgender treatments, show members improvising experimental treatments and consistently violating medical ethics and informed consent, according a report published Tuesday by the U.S.-based thinktank Environmental Progress. [RELATED: National Medical Association Concludes ‘Gender [...]
The post Leaked Docs Show Top Transgender Association Violating Medical Ethics, Hiding Harms of “Gender-Affirming Care” – WPATH appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Chinese National Indicted for Stealing AI-Related Trade Secrets From GoogleBy Edward Tomic
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Wednesday that a Chinese National residing in California has been charged with four counts of theft of trade secrets in connection to an alleged plot to steal artificial intelligence (AI) technology from Google LLC (Google). [RELATED: Four Chinese Nationals Charged With Illegally Exporting U.S. Military Technology to Iran…] According [...]
The post Chinese National Indicted for Stealing AI-Related Trade Secrets From Google appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine Moves One Step Closer to Joining the National Popular Vote Interstate CompactBy Libby Palanza
House lawmakers in Augusta voted to approve joining the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, an agreement that could bring about sweeping changes to how the President of the United States is elected. With a roll call vote of 74-67, representatives in the State House voted in favor of LD 1578 — An Act to Adopt [...]
The post Maine Moves One Step Closer to Joining the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact appeared first on The Maine Wire.
One-in-Five Portland Dems Blank Primary Ballots After Gaza Ceasefire Campaign Against ‘Butcher Biden’By Edward Tomic
Although incumbent President Joe Biden handily won Maine’s Democratic presidential primary election on Super Tuesday, he appears to have been opposed by a significant contingent of Portland voters protesting his administration’s handling of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. [RELATED: Anti-Israel Protesters Defend Hamas “Resistance” by Blockading Traffic in Maine’s Biggest City…] According to unofficial election results [...]
The post One-in-Five Portland Dems Blank Primary Ballots After Gaza Ceasefire Campaign Against ‘Butcher Biden’ appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Cumberland Voters Resoundingly Defeat Controversial Proposal for Drowne Road Affordable Housing DevelopmentBy Libby Palanza
Voters in the Town of Cumberland resoundingly defeated the controversial proposal to construct a 107-unit affordable housing development on the municipally-owned land located on Drowne Road. 2,545 Cumberland voters — representing 68.6 percent of those who cast ballots Tuesday — rejected the proposed development, while just 31.4 percent — or 1,163 voters — expressed support [...]
The post Cumberland Voters Resoundingly Defeat Controversial Proposal for Drowne Road Affordable Housing Development appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Angus King Introduces Legislation That Would Ban Energy Exports to China, Russia, Other Foreign AdversariesBy Edward Tomic
Maine Senator Angus King, a self-described independent who caucuses with Democrats, has introduced legislation that would ban energy exports, which King has called the United States’ “principal advantage in the world economy,” to foreign adversaries. Sen. King joined with three Senate Democrats to introduce the “Protecting American Households from Rising Energy Costs Act,” which would [...]
The post Angus King Introduces Legislation That Would Ban Energy Exports to China, Russia, Other Foreign Adversaries appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine’s Taxpayer-Funded “News” Website Ignores Massive Public Opposition to New Transgender Trafficking Bill, Only Quotes Planned ParenthoodBy Edward Tomic
Maine Public, a nonprofit news outlet funded in large part by taxpayer dollars, published a perfunctory article Tuesday covering the public hearing on the revamped transgender trafficking bill, LD 227, failing to mention the massive public turnout in opposition to the bill, and quoting only a Planned Parenthood spokesperson. [RELATED: Massive Turnout for Public Hearing [...]
The post Maine’s Taxpayer-Funded “News” Website Ignores Massive Public Opposition to New Transgender Trafficking Bill, Only Quotes Planned Parenthood appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Nikki Haley Announces Campaign Suspension after Trump Wins Sweeping Victories on Super TuesdayBy Seamus Othot
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has announced that she is dropping out of the Republican presidential race after former President Donald Trump defeated her in all but one Super Tuesday primary. [RELATED: Trump Favored in Maine GOP Primary, Concerns Over Border Driving Many Voters’ Choice: UNH Poll…] “I am filled with gratitude for the [...]
The post Nikki Haley Announces Campaign Suspension after Trump Wins Sweeping Victories on Super Tuesday appeared first on The Maine Wire.
ICE Boston Deports Unlawfully Present Brazilian Convict Accused of Strangulation, Assault and BatteryBy Edward Tomic
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced Monday that deportation officers in Boston have removed an unlawfully present Brazilian national who is wanted in Brazil for extortion, and who was charged locally with strangulation and assault and battery. [RELATED: ICE Boston Deports Brazilian Fugitive Wanted for Child Rape Who Fled to US Under Tourist Visa…] [...]
The post ICE Boston Deports Unlawfully Present Brazilian Convict Accused of Strangulation, Assault and Battery appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Illegal Immigration: We Are at War
By Robert "Bobby" Charles
Today, we are all Laken Hope Riley. If the name does not move you, it should. We are losing young people at a record pace. Only in war do we lose more, maybe not then. Truth is, we are at war. Laken Hope Riley was a hopeful, believing, cheerful, smart American woman, 22, who wanted to [...]
The post Illegal Immigration: We Are at War appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Massive Turnout for Public Hearing on Last-Minute Bill Creating “Legal Right” to Abortion and “Gender-Affirming Care” in MaineBy Libby Palanza
Lawmakers in Augusta held a public hearing Tuesday for a bill that would institute legal protections for those seeking or providing “gender-affirming health care” and “reproductive health care services” in Maine. Originally introduced last session as a concept draft titled “An Act Regarding Health Care in the State,” the bill’s sponsor — Rep. Anne C. [...]
The post Massive Turnout for Public Hearing on Last-Minute Bill Creating “Legal Right” to Abortion and “Gender-Affirming Care” in Maine appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Facebook and Other Meta Services Suffer Worldwide Outages, Spurring Concerns of CyberattackBy Seamus Othot
Facebook, Instagram, and other services operated by Mark Zuckerberg’s META experienced a worldwide outage as users were unable to log in to most accounts. [RELATED: Nationwide Cell Service Disruption Stokes Concerns Over Cyberattacks, Solar Flares…] Meta spokesman Andy Stone was forced to issue his initial statement on the outage on X, while Facebook was down. [...]
The post Facebook and Other Meta Services Suffer Worldwide Outages, Spurring Concerns of Cyberattack appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Angus King Denies Ukrainians Are Embezzling Any U.S. Tax Dollars, Claims Putin Will Invade PolandBy Seamus Othot
Maine Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), a top proponent of sending billions of US tax dollars to the Ukrainian regime, denied on Friday that any of the over $113 billion in aid transferred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by the U.S. has been misused, stolen, or embezzled. [RELATED: Angus King Calls for Biden Admin to Deploy [...]
The post Angus King Denies Ukrainians Are Embezzling Any U.S. Tax Dollars, Claims Putin Will Invade Poland appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Recent ArticlesMaine’s Far Left Media Censor MASSIVE Turnout Opposed to Transgender Trafficking, Abortion Tourism Bill
Gender X: Trans Activists Want “Emergency” Bill to Add Third Gender Option to State Forms
Voter IDs Are Discriminatory, Burdensome, and Unnecessary: AG Garland
Maine Pharmacies Giving Out Prescriptions Without Verifying MaineCare Coverage Amid Weeks-Long System Outages
Two Arrested on Drug Trafficking Charges in Portland Following Traffic Stop
Follow the Maine Wire on Twitter
Support our independent, nonpartisan reporting with a gift to the Maine Wire today.
By Robert "Bobby" Charles
Today, we are all Laken Hope Riley. If the name does not move you, it should. We are losing young people at a record pace. Only in war do we lose more, maybe not then. Truth is, we are at war. Laken Hope Riley was a hopeful, believing, cheerful, smart American woman, 22, who wanted to [...]
The post Illegal Immigration: We Are at War appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Massive Turnout for Public Hearing on Last-Minute Bill Creating “Legal Right” to Abortion and “Gender-Affirming Care” in MaineBy Libby Palanza
Lawmakers in Augusta held a public hearing Tuesday for a bill that would institute legal protections for those seeking or providing “gender-affirming health care” and “reproductive health care services” in Maine. Originally introduced last session as a concept draft titled “An Act Regarding Health Care in the State,” the bill’s sponsor — Rep. Anne C. [...]
The post Massive Turnout for Public Hearing on Last-Minute Bill Creating “Legal Right” to Abortion and “Gender-Affirming Care” in Maine appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Facebook and Other Meta Services Suffer Worldwide Outages, Spurring Concerns of CyberattackBy Seamus Othot
Facebook, Instagram, and other services operated by Mark Zuckerberg’s META experienced a worldwide outage as users were unable to log in to most accounts. [RELATED: Nationwide Cell Service Disruption Stokes Concerns Over Cyberattacks, Solar Flares…] Meta spokesman Andy Stone was forced to issue his initial statement on the outage on X, while Facebook was down. [...]
The post Facebook and Other Meta Services Suffer Worldwide Outages, Spurring Concerns of Cyberattack appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Angus King Denies Ukrainians Are Embezzling Any U.S. Tax Dollars, Claims Putin Will Invade PolandBy Seamus Othot
Maine Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), a top proponent of sending billions of US tax dollars to the Ukrainian regime, denied on Friday that any of the over $113 billion in aid transferred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by the U.S. has been misused, stolen, or embezzled. [RELATED: Angus King Calls for Biden Admin to Deploy [...]
The post Angus King Denies Ukrainians Are Embezzling Any U.S. Tax Dollars, Claims Putin Will Invade Poland appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Recent ArticlesMaine’s Far Left Media Censor MASSIVE Turnout Opposed to Transgender Trafficking, Abortion Tourism Bill
Gender X: Trans Activists Want “Emergency” Bill to Add Third Gender Option to State Forms
Voter IDs Are Discriminatory, Burdensome, and Unnecessary: AG Garland
Maine Pharmacies Giving Out Prescriptions Without Verifying MaineCare Coverage Amid Weeks-Long System Outages
Two Arrested on Drug Trafficking Charges in Portland Following Traffic Stop
Follow the Maine Wire on Twitter
Support our independent, nonpartisan reporting with a gift to the Maine Wire today.
The York Weekly 3/1/24
York Hospital CEO pleads with lawmakers to ditch tax hike: 'Give us a chance to survive'
Max Sullivan, Portsmouth Herald
AUGUSTA, Maine — York Hospital CEO Patrick Taylor pleaded with a state House committee Monday not to lift millions of dollars in tax exemptions he fears will mean the end of York Hospital.
State health officials are looking to invest $90 million into MaineCare to help medical centers across the state. The proposal is included in the supplemental budget currently with the Maine House Committee on Appropriations and Financial Affairs.
“Some hospitals will benefit from this proposal,” Taylor told the committee. “Unfortunately, we would be crippled financially.”
DHHS and the Maine Hospital Association announced in early February their "$90 million investment" in MaineCare, stating it would "maintain or increase payments to every medical center in Maine and improve care for Maine people." As part of this plan, however, taxes would be raised at all Maine hospitals and York Hospital would, after five years, lose a multi-million-dollar tax exemption.
The proposed tax increase for York Hospital is estimated to be about $2 million a year. After five years, the plan will also eliminate about $5.6 million in annual tax exemptions the facility has had in place since the late 1990s. The York Hospital exemption was put in place because of its location in a tourist community with a fluctuating population that surges in summer, located near competing hospitals in New Hampshire.
“That is not sustainable for York Hospital,” Taylor said.
Taylor said York Hospital is currently taxed on net revenue but already ends up $1.6 million in the red. He said if the changes pass as proposed, the negative will increase by $2.4 million. Take away the $5.6 million the hospital gets in tax exemptions, the hospital would be down almost $8 million, he said.
Taylor asked the committee and DHHS to consider maintaining York Hospital’s current exemptions that have been in place for decades. He asked they increase the substantial payment proposed in the budget to help offset the proposed taxes.
“That would give us a chance to survive,” Taylor said.
York lawmakers from support hospital at hearing
State Rep. Holly Sargent, D-York, and state Sen. Mark Lawrence, D-York, described York Hospital as critical as an employer to 1,100 people and a provider of health care to many older residents. They noted the seasonal vacation population that comes to York and its surrounding towns relies on the hospital as well.
Sargent explained many people have come to live and work in York with the understanding the hospital is in town. At the same time, she said, the town already provides a significant amount of money to the state through income tax and York’s robust hospitality taxes.
“We do our part,” Sargent said. “I recognize the statewide need for the new system DHHS is proposing … the vibrancy and safety of a critical part of the state should not be sacrificed.”
Lawrence said York is unique because it is part of a multi-state metropolitan region known as the “Seacoast,” which he described as spanning the Kennebunks, in Maine, into New Hampshire and south to Amesbury, Massachusetts. He said residents in York and the rest of that region are removed from other metro areas like Portland and Boston.
If York Hospital were to close, he said, it would put Seacoast residents of Maine in a position where they may need to go out of state for health care. He warned that would bring them out of the network regulated by the state of Maine and could complicate the process of finding proper care.
“We can’t afford to lose this hospital,” Lawrence said. “This position taken by the DHHS is a poison pill for the hospital. It is a pathway to closure.”
Local lawmakers hopeful committee will consider their pleas
Lawrence said the committee is expected to work on the supplemental budget in the coming weeks and release it mid to late March. In the meantime, he said he plans to speak with individual members of the committee, as well as the governor.
Lawrence said protecting York Hospital has been a challenge in the past, pointing to when he and other lawmakers led an initiative to get the hospital the tax exemptions 20 years ago.
"The exemptions were put in place because York Hospital services a large population in the summer when tourists and snowbirds are in the area and a much smaller population in the off-season," he said. "This helped the hospital hold sufficient staffing through the winter months, so they'd be ready for the crush of summer. It also allowed the hospital to hold strong against HCA and Wentworth-Douglass."
HCA owns Portsmouth Regional Hospital and Frisbie Memorial Hospital of Rochester in New Hampshire. Wentworth-Douglass Hospital is in Dover, New Hampshire, and owned by Mass General Brigham.
Lawrence said he's hopeful they will be able to convince lawmakers of the importance of York Hospital.
“I’m never overly optimistic, but we’ve been down this road before,” Lawrence said. “It’s always a process, it is a process to educate the state on the uniqueness of this hospital.”
York Hospital CEO pleads with lawmakers to ditch tax hike: 'Give us a chance to survive'
Max Sullivan, Portsmouth Herald
AUGUSTA, Maine — York Hospital CEO Patrick Taylor pleaded with a state House committee Monday not to lift millions of dollars in tax exemptions he fears will mean the end of York Hospital.
State health officials are looking to invest $90 million into MaineCare to help medical centers across the state. The proposal is included in the supplemental budget currently with the Maine House Committee on Appropriations and Financial Affairs.
“Some hospitals will benefit from this proposal,” Taylor told the committee. “Unfortunately, we would be crippled financially.”
DHHS and the Maine Hospital Association announced in early February their "$90 million investment" in MaineCare, stating it would "maintain or increase payments to every medical center in Maine and improve care for Maine people." As part of this plan, however, taxes would be raised at all Maine hospitals and York Hospital would, after five years, lose a multi-million-dollar tax exemption.
The proposed tax increase for York Hospital is estimated to be about $2 million a year. After five years, the plan will also eliminate about $5.6 million in annual tax exemptions the facility has had in place since the late 1990s. The York Hospital exemption was put in place because of its location in a tourist community with a fluctuating population that surges in summer, located near competing hospitals in New Hampshire.
“That is not sustainable for York Hospital,” Taylor said.
Taylor said York Hospital is currently taxed on net revenue but already ends up $1.6 million in the red. He said if the changes pass as proposed, the negative will increase by $2.4 million. Take away the $5.6 million the hospital gets in tax exemptions, the hospital would be down almost $8 million, he said.
Taylor asked the committee and DHHS to consider maintaining York Hospital’s current exemptions that have been in place for decades. He asked they increase the substantial payment proposed in the budget to help offset the proposed taxes.
“That would give us a chance to survive,” Taylor said.
York lawmakers from support hospital at hearing
State Rep. Holly Sargent, D-York, and state Sen. Mark Lawrence, D-York, described York Hospital as critical as an employer to 1,100 people and a provider of health care to many older residents. They noted the seasonal vacation population that comes to York and its surrounding towns relies on the hospital as well.
Sargent explained many people have come to live and work in York with the understanding the hospital is in town. At the same time, she said, the town already provides a significant amount of money to the state through income tax and York’s robust hospitality taxes.
“We do our part,” Sargent said. “I recognize the statewide need for the new system DHHS is proposing … the vibrancy and safety of a critical part of the state should not be sacrificed.”
Lawrence said York is unique because it is part of a multi-state metropolitan region known as the “Seacoast,” which he described as spanning the Kennebunks, in Maine, into New Hampshire and south to Amesbury, Massachusetts. He said residents in York and the rest of that region are removed from other metro areas like Portland and Boston.
If York Hospital were to close, he said, it would put Seacoast residents of Maine in a position where they may need to go out of state for health care. He warned that would bring them out of the network regulated by the state of Maine and could complicate the process of finding proper care.
“We can’t afford to lose this hospital,” Lawrence said. “This position taken by the DHHS is a poison pill for the hospital. It is a pathway to closure.”
Local lawmakers hopeful committee will consider their pleas
Lawrence said the committee is expected to work on the supplemental budget in the coming weeks and release it mid to late March. In the meantime, he said he plans to speak with individual members of the committee, as well as the governor.
Lawrence said protecting York Hospital has been a challenge in the past, pointing to when he and other lawmakers led an initiative to get the hospital the tax exemptions 20 years ago.
"The exemptions were put in place because York Hospital services a large population in the summer when tourists and snowbirds are in the area and a much smaller population in the off-season," he said. "This helped the hospital hold sufficient staffing through the winter months, so they'd be ready for the crush of summer. It also allowed the hospital to hold strong against HCA and Wentworth-Douglass."
HCA owns Portsmouth Regional Hospital and Frisbie Memorial Hospital of Rochester in New Hampshire. Wentworth-Douglass Hospital is in Dover, New Hampshire, and owned by Mass General Brigham.
Lawrence said he's hopeful they will be able to convince lawmakers of the importance of York Hospital.
“I’m never overly optimistic, but we’ve been down this road before,” Lawrence said. “It’s always a process, it is a process to educate the state on the uniqueness of this hospital.”
Daily Mail Torches Maine’s “Migrants First” Welfare, Housing Policies
By Steve Robinson
The U.K.’s Daily Mail, the largest newspaper in the western world, scorched the policies of Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) and Democratic lawmakers in a Thursday article exposing how far left policies have left Maine taxpayers, including military veterans, stranded in the cold, while recently arrived migrants receive lux digs at taxpayers’ expense. From the [...]
The post Daily Mail Torches Maine’s “Migrants First” Welfare, Housing Policies appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Three Chinese Nationals Caught Sneaking Into Maine from Canada Amid Asian Organized Crime EpidemicBy Steve Robinson
Three unidentified Chinese nationals were intercepted attempting to enter the U.S. illegally from Canada into Maine early Wednesday morning, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. A fourth Chinese national operating a motor vehicle was also arrested on suspicion of attempting to assist with the three other Chinese nationals’ illegal entry into the U.S. CBP [...]
The post Three Chinese Nationals Caught Sneaking Into Maine from Canada Amid Asian Organized Crime Epidemic appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Nikki Haley Touts All-Star Lineup of Influential Maine Endorsements Ahead of March 5 PrimaryBy Steve Robinson
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who has yet to drop out of the GOP presidential race, shared with Maine’s George Soros-funded media outlets Tuesday the impressive lineup of politicos backing her campaign. In a post to the websites controlled by the National Trust for Local News, Haley’s remaining campaign staff listed tens of endorsements [...]
The post Nikki Haley Touts All-Star Lineup of Influential Maine Endorsements Ahead of March 5 Primary appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Bipartisan Coalition Must ‘sideline hardliners’ Who Want Government Shutdown: Jared GoldenBy Edward Tomic
In advance of a Friday government funding deadline, Democratic Maine Congressman Jared Golden called for a bipartisan Congressional coalition to “sideline hardliners” who he says want a government shutdown. [RELATED: Golden Pitches Compromise Border Security and $66 Billion Foreign Aid Package on CBS’ Face the Nation…] Rep. Golden’s Tuesday statement came on the heels of [...]
The post Bipartisan Coalition Must ‘sideline hardliners’ Who Want Government Shutdown: Jared Golden appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Guatemalan Illegal Alien Convicted of Sexually Assaulting a Child Arrested by ICE After Being Released by MA CourtBy Edward Tomic
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on Tuesday announced the arrest of a Guatemalan illegal alien recently convicted of sexually assaulting a child after he was released by a Massachusetts court. [RELATED: Haitian Illegal Alien Charged with Raping Developmentally Disabled Person Arrested by ICE After Being Released…] ICE said the Guatemalan national illegally entered [...]
The post Guatemalan Illegal Alien Convicted of Sexually Assaulting a Child Arrested by ICE After Being Released by MA Court appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Trump Scores Massive Michigan Victory as Biden Flops with Muslim AmericansBy Seamus Othot
Former Republican President Donald Trump has scored another major victory in Michigan against former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, the only other significant Republican candidate lingering in the GOP nomination contest. Trump notched his largest margin of victory to date in the Wolverine State primary. “I am so proud of the results because they’re far [...]
The post Trump Scores Massive Michigan Victory as Biden Flops with Muslim Americans appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine Pols Tout $10M in Tax Dollars to Subsidize Heat PumpsBy Libby Palanza
Maine politicians announced Tuesday that the state has been awarded $10 million in taxpayer funding to subsidize the installation of heat pumps in mobile and manufactured homes throughout the state. Gov. Janet Mills (D) was joined at a press conference Tuesday by Rep. Chellie Pingree (D), Director of the Governor’s Energy Office Dan Burgess, and [...]
The post Maine Pols Tout $10M in Tax Dollars to Subsidize Heat Pumps appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Google Parent Loses $90 Billion in Market Value Following Catastrophic Woke A.I.By Seamus Othot
Google’s parent company, Alphabet, lost roughly $90 billion in market value on Monday after the disastrous launch of its “Gemini” chatbot, which was described as an “Artificial Intelligence” or AI. [RELATED: Google Suspends Ultra Woke AI Image Maker “Gemini” After Widespread Mockery…] Rather than anything approaching an AI, Gemini was instead a comically bizarre generator [...]
The post Google Parent Loses $90 Billion in Market Value Following Catastrophic Woke A.I. appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Recent ArticlesAfter Maine House Speaker Gave Sister’s Nonprofit $12,000 in Taxpayer Money, DEI Panel Will Consider Anti-Corruption Policy
Biden Babbles About Gaza Ceasefire While Eating Ice-Cream
Follow the Maine Wire on Twitter
Support our independent, nonpartisan reporting with a gift to the Maine Wire today.
By Steve Robinson
The U.K.’s Daily Mail, the largest newspaper in the western world, scorched the policies of Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) and Democratic lawmakers in a Thursday article exposing how far left policies have left Maine taxpayers, including military veterans, stranded in the cold, while recently arrived migrants receive lux digs at taxpayers’ expense. From the [...]
The post Daily Mail Torches Maine’s “Migrants First” Welfare, Housing Policies appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Three Chinese Nationals Caught Sneaking Into Maine from Canada Amid Asian Organized Crime EpidemicBy Steve Robinson
Three unidentified Chinese nationals were intercepted attempting to enter the U.S. illegally from Canada into Maine early Wednesday morning, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. A fourth Chinese national operating a motor vehicle was also arrested on suspicion of attempting to assist with the three other Chinese nationals’ illegal entry into the U.S. CBP [...]
The post Three Chinese Nationals Caught Sneaking Into Maine from Canada Amid Asian Organized Crime Epidemic appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Nikki Haley Touts All-Star Lineup of Influential Maine Endorsements Ahead of March 5 PrimaryBy Steve Robinson
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who has yet to drop out of the GOP presidential race, shared with Maine’s George Soros-funded media outlets Tuesday the impressive lineup of politicos backing her campaign. In a post to the websites controlled by the National Trust for Local News, Haley’s remaining campaign staff listed tens of endorsements [...]
The post Nikki Haley Touts All-Star Lineup of Influential Maine Endorsements Ahead of March 5 Primary appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Bipartisan Coalition Must ‘sideline hardliners’ Who Want Government Shutdown: Jared GoldenBy Edward Tomic
In advance of a Friday government funding deadline, Democratic Maine Congressman Jared Golden called for a bipartisan Congressional coalition to “sideline hardliners” who he says want a government shutdown. [RELATED: Golden Pitches Compromise Border Security and $66 Billion Foreign Aid Package on CBS’ Face the Nation…] Rep. Golden’s Tuesday statement came on the heels of [...]
The post Bipartisan Coalition Must ‘sideline hardliners’ Who Want Government Shutdown: Jared Golden appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Guatemalan Illegal Alien Convicted of Sexually Assaulting a Child Arrested by ICE After Being Released by MA CourtBy Edward Tomic
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on Tuesday announced the arrest of a Guatemalan illegal alien recently convicted of sexually assaulting a child after he was released by a Massachusetts court. [RELATED: Haitian Illegal Alien Charged with Raping Developmentally Disabled Person Arrested by ICE After Being Released…] ICE said the Guatemalan national illegally entered [...]
The post Guatemalan Illegal Alien Convicted of Sexually Assaulting a Child Arrested by ICE After Being Released by MA Court appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Trump Scores Massive Michigan Victory as Biden Flops with Muslim AmericansBy Seamus Othot
Former Republican President Donald Trump has scored another major victory in Michigan against former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, the only other significant Republican candidate lingering in the GOP nomination contest. Trump notched his largest margin of victory to date in the Wolverine State primary. “I am so proud of the results because they’re far [...]
The post Trump Scores Massive Michigan Victory as Biden Flops with Muslim Americans appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine Pols Tout $10M in Tax Dollars to Subsidize Heat PumpsBy Libby Palanza
Maine politicians announced Tuesday that the state has been awarded $10 million in taxpayer funding to subsidize the installation of heat pumps in mobile and manufactured homes throughout the state. Gov. Janet Mills (D) was joined at a press conference Tuesday by Rep. Chellie Pingree (D), Director of the Governor’s Energy Office Dan Burgess, and [...]
The post Maine Pols Tout $10M in Tax Dollars to Subsidize Heat Pumps appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Google Parent Loses $90 Billion in Market Value Following Catastrophic Woke A.I.By Seamus Othot
Google’s parent company, Alphabet, lost roughly $90 billion in market value on Monday after the disastrous launch of its “Gemini” chatbot, which was described as an “Artificial Intelligence” or AI. [RELATED: Google Suspends Ultra Woke AI Image Maker “Gemini” After Widespread Mockery…] Rather than anything approaching an AI, Gemini was instead a comically bizarre generator [...]
The post Google Parent Loses $90 Billion in Market Value Following Catastrophic Woke A.I. appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Recent ArticlesAfter Maine House Speaker Gave Sister’s Nonprofit $12,000 in Taxpayer Money, DEI Panel Will Consider Anti-Corruption Policy
Biden Babbles About Gaza Ceasefire While Eating Ice-Cream
Follow the Maine Wire on Twitter
Support our independent, nonpartisan reporting with a gift to the Maine Wire today.
Maine Dems Unanimously Reject Voter IDBy Seamus Othot
Maine’s Legislative Council voted down a proposed bill to increase election security before the upcoming state primary and the potentially contentious general election in November. [RELATED: South Portland City Clerk Reveals How Easily Non-Citizens Can Vote in Maine Elections…] The bill, proposed by Rep. Heidi Sampson (R-Alfred), would have outlawed ballot harvesting, required voters to [...]
The post Maine Dems Unanimously Reject Voter ID appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Conservatives unite and plan on signing up for security detail on securing our election drop boxes from voter fraud.
Citizens Initiative Aiming to Limit PAC Spending Validated by Maine Secretary of StateBy Libby Palanza
A citizens initiative aimed at changing Maine’s campaign finance law is likely to come before voters at the ballot box this November. Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows announced Thursday that the petitions circulated by the effort’s organizers were found to have 76,081 valid signatures — a figure that surpasses the minimum threshold for a [...]
The post Citizens Initiative Aiming to Limit PAC Spending Validated by Maine Secretary of State appeared first on The Maine Wire.
For the First Time in Over 50 Years, A United States Spacecraft Has Landed on the MoonBy Seamus Othot
Thursday marked the first time since 1972’s Apollo 17 mission that a United States spacecraft has landed on the moon. [RELATED: The billionaire space race: Another giant leap for mankind] On Thursday evening the Houston, Texas based company, Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus Lander touched down on the moon. During the landing, Odysseus began experiencing communication errors, [...]
The post For the First Time in Over 50 Years, A United States Spacecraft Has Landed on the Moon appeared first on The Maine Wire.
MOFGA Employee’s Failure to Recuse From Vote Opposed by MOFGA Highlights Maine’s Weak Ethics Rules
By Seamus Othot
A Warren lawmaker who works for the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) refused GOP requests to recuse himself from voting against a bill opposed by his employer, raising questions about blurred ethical lines when lawmakers official acts overlap with their jobs. The bill in question was a major rule change regarding the use [...]
The post MOFGA Employee’s Failure to Recuse From Vote Opposed by MOFGA Highlights Maine’s Weak Ethics Rules appeared first on The Maine Wire.
No, Letting Boys Use the Girls’ Bathroom Is Not “Settled Law” in Maine
By Steve Robinson
Maine’s public institutions, especially the government-run schools, have been consumed in recent years with crafting policies on the basis of left-wing gender ideology. Specifically, this ideology clings with religious fervor to the idea that biological sex is meaningless, that gender is purely a social construct, and that a man should be free to invade spaces [...]
The post No, Letting Boys Use the Girls’ Bathroom Is Not “Settled Law” in Maine appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine Democrats Block Bill to Keep Boys Out of Girls’ Public School Bathrooms
By Edward Tomic
Maine Democratic lawmakers on the Legislative Council voted Thursday to reject an after-deadline emergency bill proposal that would restrict the use of public school bathrooms by biological sex. The requested bill, entitled “An Act to Create a Safe Environment in Public School Bathrooms by Restricting Their Use to Persons of the Same Biological Sex,” was [...]
The post Maine Democrats Block Bill to Keep Boys Out of Girls’ Public School Bathrooms appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Nationwide Cell Service Disruption Stokes Concerns Over Cyberattacks, Solar Flares
By Seamus Othot
Early Thursday morning, thousands of cell customers reported that their phones were stuck on “SOS only” mode, meaning that they had been disconnected from cellular service. The outages began very early Thursday, but AT&T remained silent until 11:15 am. “Some of our customers are experiencing wireless service interruptions this morning. Our network teams took immediate [...]
The post Nationwide Cell Service Disruption Stokes Concerns Over Cyberattacks, Solar Flares appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Time to Change the Game with Russia: Patten
By Sam Patten
Today is “Officers’ Day,” otherwise known as “Men’s Day” among those who served in the Soviet military. My former business partner Kostya – a Russian-Ukrainian who once made his way onto the FBI’s most wanted list – had once served and used to joke that it was a day to put on your old uniform, [..]
The post Time to Change the Game with Russia: Patten appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine’s Legislative Council voted down a proposed bill to increase election security before the upcoming state primary and the potentially contentious general election in November. [RELATED: South Portland City Clerk Reveals How Easily Non-Citizens Can Vote in Maine Elections…] The bill, proposed by Rep. Heidi Sampson (R-Alfred), would have outlawed ballot harvesting, required voters to [...]
The post Maine Dems Unanimously Reject Voter ID appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Conservatives unite and plan on signing up for security detail on securing our election drop boxes from voter fraud.
Citizens Initiative Aiming to Limit PAC Spending Validated by Maine Secretary of StateBy Libby Palanza
A citizens initiative aimed at changing Maine’s campaign finance law is likely to come before voters at the ballot box this November. Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows announced Thursday that the petitions circulated by the effort’s organizers were found to have 76,081 valid signatures — a figure that surpasses the minimum threshold for a [...]
The post Citizens Initiative Aiming to Limit PAC Spending Validated by Maine Secretary of State appeared first on The Maine Wire.
For the First Time in Over 50 Years, A United States Spacecraft Has Landed on the MoonBy Seamus Othot
Thursday marked the first time since 1972’s Apollo 17 mission that a United States spacecraft has landed on the moon. [RELATED: The billionaire space race: Another giant leap for mankind] On Thursday evening the Houston, Texas based company, Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus Lander touched down on the moon. During the landing, Odysseus began experiencing communication errors, [...]
The post For the First Time in Over 50 Years, A United States Spacecraft Has Landed on the Moon appeared first on The Maine Wire.
MOFGA Employee’s Failure to Recuse From Vote Opposed by MOFGA Highlights Maine’s Weak Ethics Rules
By Seamus Othot
A Warren lawmaker who works for the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) refused GOP requests to recuse himself from voting against a bill opposed by his employer, raising questions about blurred ethical lines when lawmakers official acts overlap with their jobs. The bill in question was a major rule change regarding the use [...]
The post MOFGA Employee’s Failure to Recuse From Vote Opposed by MOFGA Highlights Maine’s Weak Ethics Rules appeared first on The Maine Wire.
No, Letting Boys Use the Girls’ Bathroom Is Not “Settled Law” in Maine
By Steve Robinson
Maine’s public institutions, especially the government-run schools, have been consumed in recent years with crafting policies on the basis of left-wing gender ideology. Specifically, this ideology clings with religious fervor to the idea that biological sex is meaningless, that gender is purely a social construct, and that a man should be free to invade spaces [...]
The post No, Letting Boys Use the Girls’ Bathroom Is Not “Settled Law” in Maine appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine Democrats Block Bill to Keep Boys Out of Girls’ Public School Bathrooms
By Edward Tomic
Maine Democratic lawmakers on the Legislative Council voted Thursday to reject an after-deadline emergency bill proposal that would restrict the use of public school bathrooms by biological sex. The requested bill, entitled “An Act to Create a Safe Environment in Public School Bathrooms by Restricting Their Use to Persons of the Same Biological Sex,” was [...]
The post Maine Democrats Block Bill to Keep Boys Out of Girls’ Public School Bathrooms appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Nationwide Cell Service Disruption Stokes Concerns Over Cyberattacks, Solar Flares
By Seamus Othot
Early Thursday morning, thousands of cell customers reported that their phones were stuck on “SOS only” mode, meaning that they had been disconnected from cellular service. The outages began very early Thursday, but AT&T remained silent until 11:15 am. “Some of our customers are experiencing wireless service interruptions this morning. Our network teams took immediate [...]
The post Nationwide Cell Service Disruption Stokes Concerns Over Cyberattacks, Solar Flares appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Time to Change the Game with Russia: Patten
By Sam Patten
Today is “Officers’ Day,” otherwise known as “Men’s Day” among those who served in the Soviet military. My former business partner Kostya – a Russian-Ukrainian who once made his way onto the FBI’s most wanted list – had once served and used to joke that it was a day to put on your old uniform, [..]
The post Time to Change the Game with Russia: Patten appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Climate Monitor
A weekly roundup of Maine's most urgent environmental and energy-related news from The Maine Monitor. January 6, 2023
What does the "Pine Tree Power" plan to replace CMP and Versant have to do with climate change?
By Annie Ropeik
It's now January, and much as it pains me to say, Election Day will be here before we know it. Mainers can expect to hear a lot in the coming months about two likely ballot initiatives that deal with electric utilities -- specifically, questions of whether and how to replace the investor-owned Central Maine Power and Versant Power with, as the Secretary of State's office plans to phrase it, "a new quasi-governmental owned power company governed by an elected board." AKA: Pine Tree Power or the consumer-owned utility debate.
This fight is already well underway and promises to be bitterly contentious, down to the very language we use to talk about it. The main proposal would create a privately-owned nonprofit with a publicly elected board, which would effectively take over the infrastructure and workforces of Central Maine Power and Versant Power. CMP has backed a related referendum, just submitted to the Secretary of State for certification, that would limit the ability of this new kind of entity to borrow more than $1 billion without voter approval. Both initiatives will go to voters in November if the legislature doesn't pass them.
As in the case of 2021's referendum against the CMP corridor transmission line, we're facing a perfect storm of potential voter confusion here -- wonkiness, double negatives, competing language, dire political claims. There's much more in-depth reporting and fact-checking to be done on the practical implications of both of these proposals. But today, I want to talk broadly about the stakes.
The wonderful editor under whom I learned to report on climate change -- Cori Princell, now of the New England News Collaborative (hi Cori!) -- always told me to remind people of the stakes. What is actually on the line when we debate what kind of entity should be in charge of how we get our electricity? One answer is climate action -- who benefits, who pays and who has a seat at the table as we transition off fossil fuels, and how quickly it happens.
Rising carbon emissions are already causing rising sea levels, worsening storms, droughts, fires and deadly heat. Our electric service providers have a huge role to play in forestalling these impacts -- these utilities are of almost singular importance in the push to electrify our homes, cars and other parts of life now powered by oil and gas.
Besides accelerating or delaying our progress toward a livable future, the way we handle this transition might line foreign investors' pockets, make renewable energy savings more or less accessible, or pile onto the electric bills that many Mainers already struggle to pay every month.
Government or corporate control
Ania Wright, the youth representative to the Maine Climate Council, a Sierra Club organizer and one of the lead petitioners on the Pine Tree Power proposal, argues that a nonprofit utility will be able to invest more efficiently -- with more public input and accountability -- than a traditional utility can in the electric grid overhaul needed to facilitate decarbonization.
"If we choose to stick with CMP and Versant, all of us Maine ratepayers will bear twice the cost for that investment," Wright said in an emailed statement in response to questions from The Maine Monitor. "No profit-driven shareholders or Christmas bonuses for CEOs means more money in your pockets each month, and more money in our communities too. This affordable investment ... means lower rates, even while some of those rates go to pay off the initial purchase price."
Wright's campaign touts a 2021 economic analysis that quantifies these lower rates. They point to several small communitieswith consumer-owned utilities that they say have done well on renewable energy adoption. And they note that Nebraska, which has all community-run utilities, is an outlier among red states in setting climate goals.
Willy Ritch, who leads the CMP-funded campaign against the consumer-owned utility and in favor of the "No Blank Checks" referendum on borrowing limits, had answers to these examples. In response to emailed questions, he argued that these small towns are too small to make a fair comparison to Maine, and said Nebraska and others on the list are still using plenty of carbon-heavy fuels.
He shared a 2021 Wall Street Journal article about obstacles to renewables adoption by rural electric cooperatives -- and another, from 2018 in Grist, where the former mayor of Boulder, Co., expressed regret that his city sunk time into working against its utilities instead of with them in this arena. (The Pine Tree Power campaign argued that Boulder's consumer-owned utility effort helped push the city's investor-owned utility forward on climate change.)
Ritch also noted that utilities don't have direct control over the fuel mix powering the grid. New England's energy system is "deregulated," meaning a company like CMP can't own both energy generation facilities and the poles and wires to distribute that energy. The same would be true for the nonprofit model.
Still, through lobbying in Augusta and more opaque venues like the New England Power Pool, these utilities retain plenty of influence over energy policy and grid planning decisions -- about, for example, paying to keep fossil fuel plants online in the name of reliability. (You can read a story I did in 2018 about why this matters, and learn how climate activists recently got a foot in the door of New England grid oversight.)
Ritch argued that this political reality cuts both ways -- that Pine Tree Power's elected board would be no better than CMP or Versant in its exposure to potential corruption.
"Putting elected politicians in charge of the grid means special interests will be able to use campaign contributions to get their way when it comes to how we run the electric grid," Ritch said. "If a fossil fuel company that doesn’t want us to switch to renewables wants to get their people elected to a government-run power board, they can pour money into their campaigns."
Political status quo a mixed bag
Under Gov. Janet Mills, Maine has been rated a leader on climate action, with relatively rapid renewable energy growth and a comprehensive, aggressive decarbonization plan. CMP and Versant have been part of this, with recent developments like new ratesdesigned to incentivize and adapt to electrification.
But they've also struggled. CMP, for example, has acknowledged in Public Utilities Commission proceedings that it did not do enough to prepare for what's now a backlog of requests to add new solar arrays to the grid. In 2019, lobbyists for CMP and Versantraised concerns about the state incentives that led to this solar boom.
Likewise, there was intense debate over a bill last year, which I covered for Spectrum News Maine, that sought more accountability measures for CMP and Versant -- seen by some as Gov. Mills' answer to the consumer-owned utility plan. The law that eventually passed requires more climate planning by the investor-owned utilities and includes a path to a replacement if they fail.
Political influence may be inevitable -- but Seth Berry, the former state legislator who got an initial version of the Pine Tree Power plan passed in 2020 (it was vetoed by Mills), argued voters should take control where they can.
“We would never turn over our schools, roads or hospitals to a foreign, for-profit monopoly, and the time has come to restore local control to our energy grid too," Berry said. "Some things are just too important.”
Berry correctly anticipated that his campaign's opponents would raise fears about a time-wasting legal battle that will be sure to follow if voters approve Pine Tree Power. Willy Ritch nodded to this: "Time is not on our side in the fight to meet our clean energy goals," he said. "The legal and bureaucratic process [of implementing a consumer-owned utility] would take years and years to resolve. That’s lost time when we would be fighting over who owns the poles and wires instead of making the necessary improvements to the grid."
Andrew Blunt, the executive director of the Pine Tree Power campaign, described this as "CMP's threats to break the dishes on their way out of the kitchen." He said PUC analyses of the plan show "there are no issues like those that tripped up other proposals of this kind, and we are fully confident that the transition will be expeditious."
As this campaign heats up, the devil will be in these kinds of details as I and others keep trying to pin down the truths behind the rhetoric. I hope to have much more to share with you before November about the costs, benefits and inevitable trade-offs of both the Pine Tree Power proposal and the status quo
Climate Monitor
A weekly roundup of Maine's most urgent environmental and energy-related news from The Maine Monitor. January 6, 2023
What does the "Pine Tree Power" plan to replace CMP and Versant have to do with climate change?
By Annie Ropeik
It's now January, and much as it pains me to say, Election Day will be here before we know it. Mainers can expect to hear a lot in the coming months about two likely ballot initiatives that deal with electric utilities -- specifically, questions of whether and how to replace the investor-owned Central Maine Power and Versant Power with, as the Secretary of State's office plans to phrase it, "a new quasi-governmental owned power company governed by an elected board." AKA: Pine Tree Power or the consumer-owned utility debate.
This fight is already well underway and promises to be bitterly contentious, down to the very language we use to talk about it. The main proposal would create a privately-owned nonprofit with a publicly elected board, which would effectively take over the infrastructure and workforces of Central Maine Power and Versant Power. CMP has backed a related referendum, just submitted to the Secretary of State for certification, that would limit the ability of this new kind of entity to borrow more than $1 billion without voter approval. Both initiatives will go to voters in November if the legislature doesn't pass them.
As in the case of 2021's referendum against the CMP corridor transmission line, we're facing a perfect storm of potential voter confusion here -- wonkiness, double negatives, competing language, dire political claims. There's much more in-depth reporting and fact-checking to be done on the practical implications of both of these proposals. But today, I want to talk broadly about the stakes.
The wonderful editor under whom I learned to report on climate change -- Cori Princell, now of the New England News Collaborative (hi Cori!) -- always told me to remind people of the stakes. What is actually on the line when we debate what kind of entity should be in charge of how we get our electricity? One answer is climate action -- who benefits, who pays and who has a seat at the table as we transition off fossil fuels, and how quickly it happens.
Rising carbon emissions are already causing rising sea levels, worsening storms, droughts, fires and deadly heat. Our electric service providers have a huge role to play in forestalling these impacts -- these utilities are of almost singular importance in the push to electrify our homes, cars and other parts of life now powered by oil and gas.
Besides accelerating or delaying our progress toward a livable future, the way we handle this transition might line foreign investors' pockets, make renewable energy savings more or less accessible, or pile onto the electric bills that many Mainers already struggle to pay every month.
Government or corporate control
Ania Wright, the youth representative to the Maine Climate Council, a Sierra Club organizer and one of the lead petitioners on the Pine Tree Power proposal, argues that a nonprofit utility will be able to invest more efficiently -- with more public input and accountability -- than a traditional utility can in the electric grid overhaul needed to facilitate decarbonization.
"If we choose to stick with CMP and Versant, all of us Maine ratepayers will bear twice the cost for that investment," Wright said in an emailed statement in response to questions from The Maine Monitor. "No profit-driven shareholders or Christmas bonuses for CEOs means more money in your pockets each month, and more money in our communities too. This affordable investment ... means lower rates, even while some of those rates go to pay off the initial purchase price."
Wright's campaign touts a 2021 economic analysis that quantifies these lower rates. They point to several small communitieswith consumer-owned utilities that they say have done well on renewable energy adoption. And they note that Nebraska, which has all community-run utilities, is an outlier among red states in setting climate goals.
Willy Ritch, who leads the CMP-funded campaign against the consumer-owned utility and in favor of the "No Blank Checks" referendum on borrowing limits, had answers to these examples. In response to emailed questions, he argued that these small towns are too small to make a fair comparison to Maine, and said Nebraska and others on the list are still using plenty of carbon-heavy fuels.
He shared a 2021 Wall Street Journal article about obstacles to renewables adoption by rural electric cooperatives -- and another, from 2018 in Grist, where the former mayor of Boulder, Co., expressed regret that his city sunk time into working against its utilities instead of with them in this arena. (The Pine Tree Power campaign argued that Boulder's consumer-owned utility effort helped push the city's investor-owned utility forward on climate change.)
Ritch also noted that utilities don't have direct control over the fuel mix powering the grid. New England's energy system is "deregulated," meaning a company like CMP can't own both energy generation facilities and the poles and wires to distribute that energy. The same would be true for the nonprofit model.
Still, through lobbying in Augusta and more opaque venues like the New England Power Pool, these utilities retain plenty of influence over energy policy and grid planning decisions -- about, for example, paying to keep fossil fuel plants online in the name of reliability. (You can read a story I did in 2018 about why this matters, and learn how climate activists recently got a foot in the door of New England grid oversight.)
Ritch argued that this political reality cuts both ways -- that Pine Tree Power's elected board would be no better than CMP or Versant in its exposure to potential corruption.
"Putting elected politicians in charge of the grid means special interests will be able to use campaign contributions to get their way when it comes to how we run the electric grid," Ritch said. "If a fossil fuel company that doesn’t want us to switch to renewables wants to get their people elected to a government-run power board, they can pour money into their campaigns."
Political status quo a mixed bag
Under Gov. Janet Mills, Maine has been rated a leader on climate action, with relatively rapid renewable energy growth and a comprehensive, aggressive decarbonization plan. CMP and Versant have been part of this, with recent developments like new ratesdesigned to incentivize and adapt to electrification.
But they've also struggled. CMP, for example, has acknowledged in Public Utilities Commission proceedings that it did not do enough to prepare for what's now a backlog of requests to add new solar arrays to the grid. In 2019, lobbyists for CMP and Versantraised concerns about the state incentives that led to this solar boom.
Likewise, there was intense debate over a bill last year, which I covered for Spectrum News Maine, that sought more accountability measures for CMP and Versant -- seen by some as Gov. Mills' answer to the consumer-owned utility plan. The law that eventually passed requires more climate planning by the investor-owned utilities and includes a path to a replacement if they fail.
Political influence may be inevitable -- but Seth Berry, the former state legislator who got an initial version of the Pine Tree Power plan passed in 2020 (it was vetoed by Mills), argued voters should take control where they can.
“We would never turn over our schools, roads or hospitals to a foreign, for-profit monopoly, and the time has come to restore local control to our energy grid too," Berry said. "Some things are just too important.”
Berry correctly anticipated that his campaign's opponents would raise fears about a time-wasting legal battle that will be sure to follow if voters approve Pine Tree Power. Willy Ritch nodded to this: "Time is not on our side in the fight to meet our clean energy goals," he said. "The legal and bureaucratic process [of implementing a consumer-owned utility] would take years and years to resolve. That’s lost time when we would be fighting over who owns the poles and wires instead of making the necessary improvements to the grid."
Andrew Blunt, the executive director of the Pine Tree Power campaign, described this as "CMP's threats to break the dishes on their way out of the kitchen." He said PUC analyses of the plan show "there are no issues like those that tripped up other proposals of this kind, and we are fully confident that the transition will be expeditious."
As this campaign heats up, the devil will be in these kinds of details as I and others keep trying to pin down the truths behind the rhetoric. I hope to have much more to share with you before November about the costs, benefits and inevitable trade-offs of both the Pine Tree Power proposal and the status quo
What’s the GOP Plan After Dems Budget Betrayal?
By Steve Robinson
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, with an assist from Senate President Troy Jackson (D-Aroostook) and House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross, has continued her streak as the most partisan ideologue to ever inhabit the Blaine House. By orchestrating yet another partisan budget, she has once again shown that, for all her talk of bipartisanship, she’s interested only […]
The post What’s the GOP Plan After Dems Budget Betrayal? appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Augusta Overflows with Opposition to School, Healthcare Vaccine Mandates
By Steve Robinson
The Education and Cultural Affairs Committee filled two overflow rooms Monday morning as Mainers turned out to voice their opposition to vaccination mandates, in particular mandates that students and healthcare workers receive the experimental COVID-19 shots in order to work or attend school. Before a crowd of more than 100, Assistant Senate Minority Leader Lisa […]
The post Augusta Overflows with Opposition to School, Healthcare Vaccine Mandates appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Nudge or Ram? Bangor Newspaper Can’t Decide How to Spin Mills’ Partisan Budget
By Steve Robinson
Did Gov. Janet Mills and legislative Democrats “nudge” the partisan budget into law last week? That’s how the headline writers at the Bangor Daily News initially spun one of the most overtly partisan power plays in the history of Maine politics. As the Maine Wire detailed last week, Mills and her allies in the legislature […]
The post Nudge or Ram? Bangor Newspaper Can’t Decide How to Spin Mills’ Partisan Budget appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine Civil Rights Advocates Fear 2nd Term Flip on Second Amendment from Mills
By Steve Robinson
Gun rights advocates from across the state of Maine gathered Monday at the State House in Augusta to voice their opposition to several gun control proposals submitted this session by liberal Democrats. Laura Parker, President of Gun Owners of Maine, and Justin Davis, State Director of the National Rifle Association, both spoke at a press […]
The post Maine Civil Rights Advocates Fear 2nd Term Flip on Second Amendment from Mills appeared first on The Maine Wire.
By Steve Robinson
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, with an assist from Senate President Troy Jackson (D-Aroostook) and House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross, has continued her streak as the most partisan ideologue to ever inhabit the Blaine House. By orchestrating yet another partisan budget, she has once again shown that, for all her talk of bipartisanship, she’s interested only […]
The post What’s the GOP Plan After Dems Budget Betrayal? appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Augusta Overflows with Opposition to School, Healthcare Vaccine Mandates
By Steve Robinson
The Education and Cultural Affairs Committee filled two overflow rooms Monday morning as Mainers turned out to voice their opposition to vaccination mandates, in particular mandates that students and healthcare workers receive the experimental COVID-19 shots in order to work or attend school. Before a crowd of more than 100, Assistant Senate Minority Leader Lisa […]
The post Augusta Overflows with Opposition to School, Healthcare Vaccine Mandates appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Nudge or Ram? Bangor Newspaper Can’t Decide How to Spin Mills’ Partisan Budget
By Steve Robinson
Did Gov. Janet Mills and legislative Democrats “nudge” the partisan budget into law last week? That’s how the headline writers at the Bangor Daily News initially spun one of the most overtly partisan power plays in the history of Maine politics. As the Maine Wire detailed last week, Mills and her allies in the legislature […]
The post Nudge or Ram? Bangor Newspaper Can’t Decide How to Spin Mills’ Partisan Budget appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine Civil Rights Advocates Fear 2nd Term Flip on Second Amendment from Mills
By Steve Robinson
Gun rights advocates from across the state of Maine gathered Monday at the State House in Augusta to voice their opposition to several gun control proposals submitted this session by liberal Democrats. Laura Parker, President of Gun Owners of Maine, and Justin Davis, State Director of the National Rifle Association, both spoke at a press […]
The post Maine Civil Rights Advocates Fear 2nd Term Flip on Second Amendment from Mills appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Triad Weed: Law Enforcement AWOL on Chinese Drug House Hearing
By Seamus Othot
Maine’s Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety (CJPS) held a public hearing on a bill intended to crackdown on what the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) calls Asian Transnational Criminal Organizations (ATCOs) operating in the state of Maine. The topic first surfaced thanks to a leaked DHS memo, originally reported by immigration reporter [...]
The post Triad Weed: Law Enforcement AWOL on Chinese Drug House Hearing appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Vote Buying: Biden Circumvents SCOTUS (Again) to Saddle U.S. Taxpayers with Student Loan Debt
By Seamus Othot
The White House announced Wednesday that President Joe Biden has canceled yet another round of student debt, nearly six months ahead of schedule. The debt cancellation, originally scheduled for July, was moved to February, a move that comes as Biden has faced a month of faltering approval ratings in the wake of a disastrous press [...]
The post Vote Buying: Biden Circumvents SCOTUS (Again) to Saddle U.S. Taxpayers with Student Loan Debt appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Unpopular “Aroostook Renewable Gateway” May Face More Roadblocks
By Seamus Othot
Maine’s Committee on Energy Utilities and Technology (EUT) held a public hearing on Tuesday on a bill which could strike another blow against the controversial Aroostook Renewable Energy Gateway. [RELATED: The Heavily Criticized “Aroostook Renewable Gateway” Suffers Another Setback…] “The opposition of this transmission line was not specific to any political party. It is a [...]
The post Unpopular “Aroostook Renewable Gateway” May Face More Roadblocks appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine Speaker’s Fundraising Committee Faces Deficit After Spending Thousands on Overseas Travel, Restaurants
By Edward Tomic
The leadership Political Action Committee (PAC) led by Maine House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross (D-Portland) ended 2023 in a deficit after spending tens of thousands of dollars on overseas travel and meals at various restaurants, according to filings with the Maine Ethics Commission. [RELATED: Maine Speaker’s Racial Equity Board Gave Her Sister’s Nonprofit $12,000 for [...]
The post Maine Speaker’s Fundraising Committee Faces Deficit After Spending Thousands on Overseas Travel, Restaurants appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Two Chinese Nationals Convicted for Multimillion-Dollar Scheme to Defraud Apple Out of 5,000 iPhones
By Edward Tomic
A federal jury in Washington, D.C. convicted two Chinese nationals Tuesday for participating in a multimillion-dollar scheme to defraud Apple Inc. out of 5,000 iPhones. [RELATED: Four Chinese Nationals Charged With Illegally Exporting U.S. Military Technology to Iran…] Haotian Sun (aka Hao Sun, Jack Sun, and Frank Sun), 33, of Baltimore, Maryland, and Pengfei Xue, [...]
The post Two Chinese Nationals Convicted for Multimillion-Dollar Scheme to Defraud Apple Out of 5,000 iPhones appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Owner of Auburn Diner Charged with Drug Trafficking After Police Seize Large Quantities of Narcotics, Guns
By Edward Tomic
Auburn Police announced Tuesday that a man has been arrested on drug trafficking charges after a search warrant executed at the man’s home and business led to the seizure of large quantities of narcotics and firearms. Auburn Police say they conducted a traffic stop at about 1 p.m. Tuesday in connection to an ongoing narcotics [...]
The post Owner of Auburn Diner Charged with Drug Trafficking After Police Seize Large Quantities of Narcotics, Guns appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Susan Collins, Amy Klobuchar Celebrate Approval of Federal Funds to Combat AI-Generated Disinformation in Elections
By Edward Tomic
The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) voted unanimously last week to allow election officials to allocate federal funds toward countering disinformation in elections caused by artificial intelligence (AI). The decision comes after U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) sent a letter in January calling on the commission to assist state and local [...]
The post Susan Collins, Amy Klobuchar Celebrate Approval of Federal Funds to Combat AI-Generated Disinformation in Elections appeared first on The Maine Wire.
By Seamus Othot
Maine’s Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety (CJPS) held a public hearing on a bill intended to crackdown on what the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) calls Asian Transnational Criminal Organizations (ATCOs) operating in the state of Maine. The topic first surfaced thanks to a leaked DHS memo, originally reported by immigration reporter [...]
The post Triad Weed: Law Enforcement AWOL on Chinese Drug House Hearing appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Vote Buying: Biden Circumvents SCOTUS (Again) to Saddle U.S. Taxpayers with Student Loan Debt
By Seamus Othot
The White House announced Wednesday that President Joe Biden has canceled yet another round of student debt, nearly six months ahead of schedule. The debt cancellation, originally scheduled for July, was moved to February, a move that comes as Biden has faced a month of faltering approval ratings in the wake of a disastrous press [...]
The post Vote Buying: Biden Circumvents SCOTUS (Again) to Saddle U.S. Taxpayers with Student Loan Debt appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Unpopular “Aroostook Renewable Gateway” May Face More Roadblocks
By Seamus Othot
Maine’s Committee on Energy Utilities and Technology (EUT) held a public hearing on Tuesday on a bill which could strike another blow against the controversial Aroostook Renewable Energy Gateway. [RELATED: The Heavily Criticized “Aroostook Renewable Gateway” Suffers Another Setback…] “The opposition of this transmission line was not specific to any political party. It is a [...]
The post Unpopular “Aroostook Renewable Gateway” May Face More Roadblocks appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine Speaker’s Fundraising Committee Faces Deficit After Spending Thousands on Overseas Travel, Restaurants
By Edward Tomic
The leadership Political Action Committee (PAC) led by Maine House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross (D-Portland) ended 2023 in a deficit after spending tens of thousands of dollars on overseas travel and meals at various restaurants, according to filings with the Maine Ethics Commission. [RELATED: Maine Speaker’s Racial Equity Board Gave Her Sister’s Nonprofit $12,000 for [...]
The post Maine Speaker’s Fundraising Committee Faces Deficit After Spending Thousands on Overseas Travel, Restaurants appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Two Chinese Nationals Convicted for Multimillion-Dollar Scheme to Defraud Apple Out of 5,000 iPhones
By Edward Tomic
A federal jury in Washington, D.C. convicted two Chinese nationals Tuesday for participating in a multimillion-dollar scheme to defraud Apple Inc. out of 5,000 iPhones. [RELATED: Four Chinese Nationals Charged With Illegally Exporting U.S. Military Technology to Iran…] Haotian Sun (aka Hao Sun, Jack Sun, and Frank Sun), 33, of Baltimore, Maryland, and Pengfei Xue, [...]
The post Two Chinese Nationals Convicted for Multimillion-Dollar Scheme to Defraud Apple Out of 5,000 iPhones appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Owner of Auburn Diner Charged with Drug Trafficking After Police Seize Large Quantities of Narcotics, Guns
By Edward Tomic
Auburn Police announced Tuesday that a man has been arrested on drug trafficking charges after a search warrant executed at the man’s home and business led to the seizure of large quantities of narcotics and firearms. Auburn Police say they conducted a traffic stop at about 1 p.m. Tuesday in connection to an ongoing narcotics [...]
The post Owner of Auburn Diner Charged with Drug Trafficking After Police Seize Large Quantities of Narcotics, Guns appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Susan Collins, Amy Klobuchar Celebrate Approval of Federal Funds to Combat AI-Generated Disinformation in Elections
By Edward Tomic
The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) voted unanimously last week to allow election officials to allocate federal funds toward countering disinformation in elections caused by artificial intelligence (AI). The decision comes after U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) sent a letter in January calling on the commission to assist state and local [...]
The post Susan Collins, Amy Klobuchar Celebrate Approval of Federal Funds to Combat AI-Generated Disinformation in Elections appeared first on The Maine Wire.
2-20-2024 At the York GOP monthly meeting, School Superintendent Tim Doak was invited to give an update on the state of our schools and covered information ranging from special needs, endorsing Pre-K for addressing the needs of our youngest entering the schools, budget, shared IT expense, SEL Social Emotional Learning and a number of other issues the audience asked to Tim to address.
View this email in your browser
Gov. Janet Mills (D-Maine) announced Tuesday that she had designated the historic, and undeveloped Sears Island for a 100-acre development on behalf of renewable energy. [RELATED: Reagan Paul: Sears Island May Be the Next Victim of Maine’s Radical Climate Agenda…] “I cannot escape the conclusion that the parcel on Sears Island fundamentally makes the most [...]The post Mills Designates the Pristine Sears Island to be Developed For Offshore Wind appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Mills Designates the Pristine Sears Island to be Developed For Offshore WindBy Seamus Othot
Gov. Janet Mills (D-Maine) announced Tuesday that she had designated the historic, and undeveloped Sears Island for a 100-acre development on behalf of renewable energy. [RELATED: Reagan Paul: Sears Island May Be the Next Victim of Maine’s Radical Climate Agenda…] “I cannot escape the conclusion that the parcel on Sears Island fundamentally makes the most [...]
The post Mills Designates the Pristine Sears Island to be Developed For Offshore Wind appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Vehicle Owners in Maine Pay One of the Highest Tax Rates in the Country: WalletHub StudyBy Libby Palanza
The State of Maine reportedly imposes upon its residents one of the heftiest vehicle tax burdens in the nation. According to a recent study from the personal finance website WalletHub, Maine has the fifth highest vehicle tax rate in the country, coming in at an effective rate of 2.40 percent. Virginia was found to have [...]
The post Vehicle Owners in Maine Pay One of the Highest Tax Rates in the Country: WalletHub Study appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Pro-Biden Neo-Nazi Who Fled Maine After Receiving Criticism Makes An Unimpressive Showing in Tennessee
By Seamus Othot
The Biden supporting Neo-Nazi, former Marine Christopher Pohlhaus, led his Blood Tribe group in a lackluster protest in Nashville before retreating after facing minor opposition. [RELATED: Co-Owner of Neo-Nazi Compound in Northern Maine, a Former Democratic Activist, May Be Prohibited from Owning Firearms…] Many left-wing politicians and news-outlets were quick to condemn the protestors as [...]
The post Pro-Biden Neo-Nazi Who Fled Maine After Receiving Criticism Makes An Unimpressive Showing in Tennessee appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Oxford County GOP Announces Plans to Host Maine CD-2 Primary DebateBy Edward Tomic
The Oxford County Republican Committee announced Tuesday that they plan to host a debate for the 2024 Maine Second Congressional District Primary scheduled for Saturday, April 20, a week ahead of the Republican state convention. The debate, which aims t draw up to 300 attendees, is set to be held at the American Legion Jackson-Silver [...]
The post appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Several Electric School Buses Pulled Off the Road Amidst EV Mandate ControversyBy Libby Palanza
Several recently acquired electric school buses have been pulled off the road as a result of potentially dangerous malfunctions and premature signs of wear. According to the Kennebec Journal, the buses in question were manufactured by the Canadian-based company Lion Electric and provided at no cost through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) $5 billion [...]
The post appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Portland Man Sentenced to 16 Years for Child Sexual Exploitation and Drug TraffickingBy Edward Tomic
A Portland man was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Portland to 16 years in prison for drug trafficking and for sexually exploiting a 14-year-old child he met online. U.S. District Judge Nancy Torresen sentenced 32-year-old Sebastian Demers to 15 years on the child exploitation count, and one year on the drug trafficking count, with [...]
The post appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine School District Clarifies ‘Students of Color Coalition’ Open to All Students Regardless of Race After Pushback from Activist GroupBy Edward Tomic
A Maine school district has agreed to change how it promotes “affinity groups” for students of color after receiving pushback from an anti-critical race theory activist organization. [RELATED: Maine Private School Teacher Was Fired After Criticizing Critical Race Theory and Posting Jordan Peterson Videos…] In December, the New York-based Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism (FAIR) [...]
The post Maine School District Clarifies ‘Students of Color Coalition’ Open to All Students Regardless of Race After Pushback from Activist Group appeared first on The Maine Wire.
U.S. Vetoes United Nations Security Council Move to Demand A Ceasefire from IsraelBy Seamus Othot
The United States used its veto power to kill a measure in the United Nations Security Council intending to demand that Israel implement a ceasefire in Gaza. [RELATED: Resolution Supporting Israel’s Right to Defend Itself Against Hamas Rejected by Democrats Who Supported a Similar Proposal about Ukraine…] “For weeks we have made it incredibly clear [...]
The post U.S. Vetoes United Nations Security Council Move to Demand A Ceasefire from Israel appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Russia Places Sen. Lindsey Graham on its List of Terrorists and ExtremistsBy Seamus Othot
Russia has officially added Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) to its list of terrorists and extremists. The decision, by Russian financial monitoring agency Rosfinmonitoring on Tuesday, came as Sen. Graham had been pushing for Russia to be designated a state sponsor of terrorism following the suspicious death of opposition politician Alexie Navalny in an Arctic [..]
The post Russia Places Sen. Lindsey Graham on its List of Terrorists and Extremists appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Recent ArticlesFollow the Maine Wire on Twitter
Support our independent, nonpartisan reporting with a gift to the Maine Wire today.
Share
Tweet
Forward
Copyright © 2024 Maine Policy Institute, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you chose to receive updates from TheMaineWire.com
Our mailing address is:
Maine Policy Institute
PO Box 7829
Portland, ME 04112-7829
Add us to your address book
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.
Gov. Janet Mills (D-Maine) announced Tuesday that she had designated the historic, and undeveloped Sears Island for a 100-acre development on behalf of renewable energy. [RELATED: Reagan Paul: Sears Island May Be the Next Victim of Maine’s Radical Climate Agenda…] “I cannot escape the conclusion that the parcel on Sears Island fundamentally makes the most [...]The post Mills Designates the Pristine Sears Island to be Developed For Offshore Wind appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Mills Designates the Pristine Sears Island to be Developed For Offshore WindBy Seamus Othot
Gov. Janet Mills (D-Maine) announced Tuesday that she had designated the historic, and undeveloped Sears Island for a 100-acre development on behalf of renewable energy. [RELATED: Reagan Paul: Sears Island May Be the Next Victim of Maine’s Radical Climate Agenda…] “I cannot escape the conclusion that the parcel on Sears Island fundamentally makes the most [...]
The post Mills Designates the Pristine Sears Island to be Developed For Offshore Wind appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Vehicle Owners in Maine Pay One of the Highest Tax Rates in the Country: WalletHub StudyBy Libby Palanza
The State of Maine reportedly imposes upon its residents one of the heftiest vehicle tax burdens in the nation. According to a recent study from the personal finance website WalletHub, Maine has the fifth highest vehicle tax rate in the country, coming in at an effective rate of 2.40 percent. Virginia was found to have [...]
The post Vehicle Owners in Maine Pay One of the Highest Tax Rates in the Country: WalletHub Study appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Pro-Biden Neo-Nazi Who Fled Maine After Receiving Criticism Makes An Unimpressive Showing in Tennessee
By Seamus Othot
The Biden supporting Neo-Nazi, former Marine Christopher Pohlhaus, led his Blood Tribe group in a lackluster protest in Nashville before retreating after facing minor opposition. [RELATED: Co-Owner of Neo-Nazi Compound in Northern Maine, a Former Democratic Activist, May Be Prohibited from Owning Firearms…] Many left-wing politicians and news-outlets were quick to condemn the protestors as [...]
The post Pro-Biden Neo-Nazi Who Fled Maine After Receiving Criticism Makes An Unimpressive Showing in Tennessee appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Oxford County GOP Announces Plans to Host Maine CD-2 Primary DebateBy Edward Tomic
The Oxford County Republican Committee announced Tuesday that they plan to host a debate for the 2024 Maine Second Congressional District Primary scheduled for Saturday, April 20, a week ahead of the Republican state convention. The debate, which aims t draw up to 300 attendees, is set to be held at the American Legion Jackson-Silver [...]
The post appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Several Electric School Buses Pulled Off the Road Amidst EV Mandate ControversyBy Libby Palanza
Several recently acquired electric school buses have been pulled off the road as a result of potentially dangerous malfunctions and premature signs of wear. According to the Kennebec Journal, the buses in question were manufactured by the Canadian-based company Lion Electric and provided at no cost through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) $5 billion [...]
The post appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Portland Man Sentenced to 16 Years for Child Sexual Exploitation and Drug TraffickingBy Edward Tomic
A Portland man was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Portland to 16 years in prison for drug trafficking and for sexually exploiting a 14-year-old child he met online. U.S. District Judge Nancy Torresen sentenced 32-year-old Sebastian Demers to 15 years on the child exploitation count, and one year on the drug trafficking count, with [...]
The post appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine School District Clarifies ‘Students of Color Coalition’ Open to All Students Regardless of Race After Pushback from Activist GroupBy Edward Tomic
A Maine school district has agreed to change how it promotes “affinity groups” for students of color after receiving pushback from an anti-critical race theory activist organization. [RELATED: Maine Private School Teacher Was Fired After Criticizing Critical Race Theory and Posting Jordan Peterson Videos…] In December, the New York-based Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism (FAIR) [...]
The post Maine School District Clarifies ‘Students of Color Coalition’ Open to All Students Regardless of Race After Pushback from Activist Group appeared first on The Maine Wire.
U.S. Vetoes United Nations Security Council Move to Demand A Ceasefire from IsraelBy Seamus Othot
The United States used its veto power to kill a measure in the United Nations Security Council intending to demand that Israel implement a ceasefire in Gaza. [RELATED: Resolution Supporting Israel’s Right to Defend Itself Against Hamas Rejected by Democrats Who Supported a Similar Proposal about Ukraine…] “For weeks we have made it incredibly clear [...]
The post U.S. Vetoes United Nations Security Council Move to Demand A Ceasefire from Israel appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Russia Places Sen. Lindsey Graham on its List of Terrorists and ExtremistsBy Seamus Othot
Russia has officially added Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) to its list of terrorists and extremists. The decision, by Russian financial monitoring agency Rosfinmonitoring on Tuesday, came as Sen. Graham had been pushing for Russia to be designated a state sponsor of terrorism following the suspicious death of opposition politician Alexie Navalny in an Arctic [..]
The post Russia Places Sen. Lindsey Graham on its List of Terrorists and Extremists appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Recent ArticlesFollow the Maine Wire on Twitter
Support our independent, nonpartisan reporting with a gift to the Maine Wire today.
Share
Tweet
Forward
Copyright © 2024 Maine Policy Institute, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you chose to receive updates from TheMaineWire.com
Our mailing address is:
Maine Policy Institute
PO Box 7829
Portland, ME 04112-7829
Add us to your address book
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.
Biden Blames Congress for Fall of Ukrainian CityBy Seamus Othot
The Kremlin announced Monday that Russian forces had taken full control of the Ukrainian city Avdiivka, in a significant defeat for Ukraine, which has been treating the city as a defensive stronghold. [RELATED: Russian Opposition Leader Dead Under Mysterious Circumstances…] President Joe Biden blamed Congress for the fall of Avdiivka, using it as ammunition to [...] The post appeared first on the Wire. Biden is using the war in the Ukraine as a distraction from the massive invasion over our borders in the south and the north! Twice-Deported Mexican National Sentenced to 27 Months for Illegal Border Crossing in HamlinBy Edward Tomic A Mexican national who was previously removed from the United States twice was sentenced Friday to 27 months in prison for illegally crossing the U.S.-Canada border in Hamlin, Maine. Alberto Beltran-Martinez, 44, of Mexico pleaded guilty to entering the U.S. after a prior removal on Sept. 25, 2023, and has been incarcerated since he was [...] The post appeared first on The Maine Wire. Man Stabbed on Portland Street, Suspect ApprehendedBy Edward Tomic A Portland man has been arrested in connection to a Monday stabbing on Portland Street. Portland Police responded to 5 Portland St. on Monday, Feb. 19 at approximately 11:22 a.m. for a report of a stabbing. Upon arrival, a 36-year-old man was found lying on the ground with an apparent stab wound, police said. The [...] The post appeared first on The Maine Wire. Cumberland Voters to Weigh In On Controversial Drowne Road Affordable Housing ProposalBy Libby Palanza On March 5, voters in the Town of Cumberland are set to weigh in on a controversial proposal to construct a 107-unit affordable housing development on the municipally-owned land located on Drowne Road. As the day of the vote draws closer, brightly colored lawn signs have begun to crop up throughout the town, vehemently advocating [...] The post appeared first on The Maine Wire. Calls Grow for the Pardon of Julian Assange Before a Potential Extradition to the U.S.By Seamus Othot As divisive WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces a hearing in the United Kingdom court, which could determine whether he will be extradited to face espionage charges in the U.S., calls have grown for him to be pardoned. [RELATED: Major News Outlets Call on U.S. to Drop Charges Against Wikileaks’ Julian Assange…] “The fallout from prosecuting [...] The post appeared first on The Maine Wire. Biden Receives Overwhelmingly Negative Reception During his Visit to East Palestine Ohio Over a Year After an Environmental DisasterBy Seamus Othot Over a year after a disastrous train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, which led to devastating amounts of poisonous Vinyl Chloride being released into the air and water, President Joe Biden finally decided to visit the town. President Biden was greeted with an overwhelmingly negative reception from the East Palestine residents, many of whom felt [...] The post appeared first on The Maine Wire. Texas Man Sentenced for Sexually Exploiting Maine ChildBy Seamus Othot A former U.S. soldier stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, 23-year-old Christopher Meza was sentenced on Friday for sexually exploiting a child from Maine. [RELATED: Three Undocumented Ecuadorian Nationals Taken into Custody by Border Patrol After Crash in Eustis Left Two Seriously Injured…] “It’s hard to put one’s mind to just how deeply disturbing the conduct [...] The post appeared first on The Maine Wire. Lewiston Police Investigating Shots Fired Into Apartment BuildingBy Edward Tomic Lewiston Police are investigating a shooting that occurred early Sunday morning at a Pine St. apartment building. Police say they were dispatched just before 5 a.m. Sunday to the area of 189 Pine St. in Lewiston for a report of multiple gunshots fired from outside a multi-unit apartment building. Upon arrival, officers discovered that numerous [...] The post appeared first on The Maine Wire. George Soros to Become Largest Shareholder in Nationwide Chain of Radio NetworksBy Graham Pollard
Billionaire activist investor George Soros proved this week that he doesn’t care strictly about money, as it was revealed his investment firm will become the largest shareholder of Audacy, the nation’s second-largest chain of radio stations. Audacy, which operates over 230 “broadcast brands” (AKA radio stations), has been reduced to a shallow husk of its [...] The post appeared first on The Maine Wire. New Video of Lewiston Shooter Confronted by Police Three Months Before ShootingBy Graham Pollard Body cam footage has been released showing police conducting a welfare check on Lewiston shooter Robert Card, three months before Card went on to commit the deadliest mass shooting in Maine’s history. Filmed July 16, 2023, the video shows NY Police telling Card he was being transferred from his military barracks to the Keller Army [...] The post appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Janet Mills $71M Spending Bill Will Bring Maine’s 24-25 Budget to $10.41 BILLIONBy Seamus Othot
Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) announced a $71 million new spending proposal on Wednesday that would bring Maine’s total spending for 2024-2025 to more than $10.41 billion, the most state government has ever spent over a two-year period. In an email detailing the proposed spending, the Mills Administration also said money would be allocated to [...] The post appeared first on The Maine Wire. Maine Republican Proposes Bill to Crack Down on Blackmarket Chinese Drug HousesBy Steve Robinson Maine Wire Reporter Seamus Othot contributed to this report. A Maine Republican is looking to crackdown on the foreign organized crime networks that have spread throughout rural Maine since 2020, using the proceeds of illegal marijuana cultivation and trafficking to build a lucrative blackmarket drug empire in the state. [RELATED: Triad Weed: How Chinese Marijuana [...] The post appeared first on The Maine Wire. Missing Child from Iowa Found Safe on Peaks IslandBy Edward Tomic A 6-year-old missing child from Iowa has been found safe on Peaks Island off the coast of Portland. Avery Doherty, 6, of Ames, Iowa was found by police on Peaks Island on Wednesday, Feb. 14. Ames Police said that Esther Bender, the child’s mother, unlawfully removed Avery from Iowa on or about Oct. 14, 2023, The post first on The Maine Wire. $24.4 Million in Maine Medicare Fraud Clawed Back, Mostly from Martin’s Point Health Care: DOJBy Edward Tomic U.S. Attorney for the District of Maine Darcie McElwee announced Wednesday that her office collected a total of $24.4 million from civil and criminal actions during fiscal year 2023. Nearly all of the $23 million collected by the Maine U.S. Attorney’s Office from civil actions was the result of a $22.5 million settlement in July [...] The post appeared first on The Maine Wire. Maine’s Bellows Has Not Released Ballot Drop-Box Locations, Over a Week after Maine’s Republican Primary Early Voting BeganBy Seamus Othot Maine’s Office of the Secretary of State (SoS) has not yet released its list of ballot drop-box locations, over a week after Maine’s Republican primary was opened for early voting. For Republicans, this is yet another lapse from Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a former far left activist and Democratic State Senator, that has undermined [...] The post appeared first on The Maine Wire. Maine Airports Receive More Than $18 Million in Federal Funding for “Critical Infrastructure Improvements”By Libby Palanza Three Maine airports have received a combined $18,024,800 in federal funding from the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Fiscal Year 2024 Airport Terminal Program to make “critical infrastructure improvements.” $10.4 million was given to the Portland International Jetport, $6.5 million to the Presque Isle International Airport, and $1,124,800 to the Eastport Municipal Airport. The grant that [...] The post appeared first on The Maine Wire. New England Fishermen Fear NOAA Retaliation as Feds Pin Dead Whale on Maine LobstermenBy Libby Palanza For the first time in twenty years, the death of a North Atlantic Right Whale has been linked to Maine fishing gear, according to a federal environmental agency. Found dead off of Martha’s Vineyard on January 28 — near Joseph Sylvia State Beach — the juvenile, female whale was described as having been entangled in [...] The post appeared first on The Maine Wire. Global Warming Will Send Thousands of Migrants to Maine, Claims Portland’s Sustainability Director [VIDEO]By Edward Tomic Maine Gov. Janet Mills has proposed creating an “Office of New Americans” to bring 75,000 low-skill workers to Maine, but a new dire warning from the City of Portland’s Sustainability Director suggests the new office may be unnecessary. That’s because rising temperatures caused by global climate change will lead thousands of migrants from developing countries [...] The post appeared first on The Maine Wire. Far Left Activists Shaft Rural Maine Over Wolfden Resources’ Pickett Mountain MineBy Seamus Othot Far left activists have successfully blocked a proposed mining project in remote Township 6, Range 6 (T6R6) that would have brought 270 jobs and the related economic development to rural northern Maine. The Land Use Planning Commission (LUPC) voted against Wolfden Resource’s proposed Pickett Mountain mine weeks after Democratic lawmakers, spurred on by the Natural [...] The post appeared first on The Maine Wire. Former U.S.-Mexico Border Official Selected as New Chief Patrol Agent of Maine’s Houlton SectorBy Edward Tomic U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) Chief Jason Owens has appointed Juan Bernal as the new Chief Patrol Agent (CPA) of Maine’s Houlton Sector, which encompasses the entire state and the northeastern corner of the U.S.-Canada border, as well as Maine’s sprawling coastline. [RELATED: Border Patrol Apprehends 20 Romanian Nationals Who Illegally Crossed US-Canada Border into Hodgdon…] [...] The post appeared first on The Maine Wire. Maine High School Ditches Biometric Student Scanning After MW Viral Report
By Steve Robinson A high school in Maine has opted to ditch a plan to using biometric fingerprint scanners to help staff keep attendance following a Maine Wire report on the school district’s plans. As the Maine Wire reported exclusively on Feb. 2: Caribou High School in Aroostook County (RSU 39) has contracted with IdentiMetrics to implement a [...] The post appeared first on The Maine Wire. Exotic Dancers, Tax Liens & Debauchery: Maine’s CD2 Republican Primary Is Getting Fiery By Steve Robinson Maine’s Second Congressional District is big — 27,326 square miles, encompassing what passes in Maine for cities, Lewiston-Auburn and Bangor, as well as the vast North Maine Woods, the mountainous riverlands of western Maine, and the rambling downeast coast. But even all that space is not enough for the ambitions and sharp elbows of the [...] The post appeared first on The Maine Wire. Triad Weed: Valentine’s Day Bust Breaks Heart of New York Man Illegally Growing 1,310 Pot Plants in Norridgewock, Maine By Steve Robinson A New York man was arrested Wednesday morning in Norridgewock following a raid on a Betterment Road property that uncovered a large 1,310-pant marijuana growing operation, according to Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster. Zunjie Wu, 26, of Brooklyn, N.Y., was arrested and charged with Cultivation of Marijuana (Class B, over 500 plants) and Trafficking Scheduled [...] The post appeared first on The Maine Wire. Bill Amending Maine Human Rights Act Rejected 9-0 by Maine Judiciary Committee By Libby Palanza The Maine State Legislature’s Judiciary Committee has voted nine-to-zero against a bill that would have amended the Maine Human Rights Act to give business owners the opportunity to remove physical barriers that hinder disabled individuals’ access to their property before a lawsuit could be filed against them. Introduced by Sen. Mattie Daughtry (D-Cumberland), LD 2195 [...] The post appeared first on The Maine Wire. Angus King Urges DOT to Protect Witty Highway Signs in Pun-Filled Letter By Edward Tomic Maine Senator Angus King (I) is calling for the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to protect humorous and witty highway signs that he says “breaks through the traffic jam of information” and are more memorable to drivers. In his pun-filled letter to DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg, King quipped that he is writing to ensure that [...] The post appeared first on The Maine Wire. By Edward Tomic The Portland Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released a 2023 year-in-review report on the city’s response to homelessness, detailing demographic data and statistics related to residents of the Homeless Services Center (HSC), overdoses, housing, and other social services. Portland’s Homeless Services Center Reports High Number of “Out-of-State” Intakes…] Portland HHS Interim [...] The post appeared first on The Maine Wire. Maine Lawmakers Consider “Right to Repair” for Electronic DevicesBy Libby Palanza Maine lawmakers are considering a bill that would institute a statewide consumer products rule — dubbed the “right to repair” — for electronic devices. LD 1487 — An Act to Ensure That Residents of the State Have the Right to Repair Their Own Electronic Devices — was sponsored by Sen. Mike Tipping (D-Penobscot) last year [...] The post appeared first on The Maine Wire. Janet Mills Signs Bill Granting Commission Investigating Lewiston Shooting Subpoena Power By Edward Tomic Maine Gov. Janet Mills signed into law Tuesday a bill that grants the Independent Commission investigating the Oct. 25, 2023 mass shootings in Lewiston subpoena power. [RELATED: Mills’ Lewiston Shooting Commission Seeks Power to Force Testimony from U.S. Military Personnel…] The bipartisan legislation, which was sponsored by all four of Maine’s legislative leadership and passed [...] The post Janet Mills Signs Bill Granting Commission Investigating Lewiston Shooting Subpoena Power appeared first on The Maine Wire. |
OPEN BORDER COSTS REVEALED
Republicans blow the lid off a program that spends over $56,000 per asylum seeker while spending far less addressing Maine’s homeless and nursing home crises
STATE HOUSE – Legislative Republicans held a press conference today to deliver shocking new numbers on state spending related to thousands of asylum seekers coming to Maine for free housing. The migration is part of Governor Mills’ pledge to bring in 75,000 new Mainers by 2029.
These costs have largely been hidden from the public and are now being exposed in an effort to demand accountability and a results-driven plan. Taxpayer money is being diverted away from pressing state needs as Mainers languish on housing lists for years or waiting lists for nursing homes.
WATCH THE PRESS CONFERENCE
‘Cash in Envelopes’: How the US and UN Are Funding the Border CrisisThe Biden administration gave the UN migration agency nearly $1.3 billion in 2023, which it uses to help migrants on their journey to enter the US illegally.By Darlene McCormick Sanchez
February 13, 2024 Updated: February 14, 2024
The United States is bankrolling its own “invasion” by funding the United Nations and its partners, which, in turn, give hundreds of millions of dollars in cash and aid to migrants who eventually cross the U.S. southern border illegally.
While the U.N. has aided migrants for decades, the scope of its operation has dramatically expanded as the number of illegal immigrants—from at least 160 countries—into the United States has surged.
That expansion has been fueled by more than $1 billion in funding from the U.S. government to the U.N. and other agencies assisting migrants, according to a government spending database.
“We’re actually funding our own border crisis,” Todd Bensman, senior national security fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, a “pro-immigrant, low-immigration” think tank, told The Epoch Times.
“And it’s provided by, ultimately, the United States taxpayer.”
More Articles
Inside the Brewing Fed–State Showdown at the Texas Border
Until President Joe Biden took office, the United States had obligated about a half-billion dollars per year to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the U.N.’s migration arm.
But that funding has skyrocketed under the Biden administration to nearly $1.3 billion in 2023—more than double what it had been under the Trump administration,
according to USASpending.gov.The government spending database shows that most of the money comes from the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Two of the largest government giveaways were voluntary contributions to the U.N.’s IOM from the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration totaling $547 million over two years ending in 2023.The bureau’s objective was “to fund processing individuals requesting refugee status and resettlement in the United States and arrange their movement.”
Illegal immigrants cross the Rio Grande from Mexico into Eagle Pass, Texas, on Sept. 30, 2023. (John Moore/Getty Images)
‘Aiding and Abetting’The U.N. is pouring a staggering amount of money—partially stemming from U.S. taxpayers—into the illegal immigration crisis.
The U.N.-orchestrated Regional Refugee and Migrant Response Plan update for 2024 calls for distributing $1.6 billion in 17 Latin American and Caribbean countries with the help of 248 partner agencies, which are also receiving U.S. grants.
Todd Bensman, a senior national security fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, in Costa Mesa, Calif., on May 24, 2023. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)The plan allocated $372 million in “cash and vouchers” and “multipurpose cash assistance” during 2024 for 624,300 migrants—the population of Detroit—in Central and South America who are headed for the U.S. border.
Mr. Bensman, who has been at the forefront of investigating the causes of the migrant surge, believes that the U.N. is “aiding and abetting mass migration.”
People who might not have taken the risk to travel to the U.S. border because they were worried about food or safety now have help, he said.
That help comes in the form of prepaid debit cards, food, water, shelter, medical care, and transportation, according to the U.N.
Migrants can also directly receive cash, what the U.N. emergency manual calls “cash in envelopes.”And they know that the U.S. border is wide open.
The U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security shows 6.2 million encounters at the southern border, in addition to 1.7 million known gotaways since President Biden took office.“They say, ‘Well, you know, we’re coming now because Biden’s letting us in,"Bensman said.
As illegal immigration ramped up in 2021, he went to investigate what was happening firsthand.
A Haitian migrant shows his cash card provided by the United Nations. He said his 3,500 peso payment (about $175 US) didn’t deposit this month, in Tapachula, Mexico, on Jan. 14, 2022. (Todd Bensman/Center for Immigration Studies)What he found was IOM and other nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) helping migrants make the dangerous trek from South and Central America.
Workers at an IOM migrant camp in Reynosa, Mexico, in 2021 told him that families of four were receiving about $800 per month on a debit card. His viral post on X, formerly known as Twitter, noted long lines of migrants waiting to receive the cards.An IOM Mexico spokesperson quibbled over terminology and the amount of aid but confirmed that the migrants were getting monetary assistance, according to an Agence France-Presse news agency “fact check.”
The spokesman said the maximum amount for a family is about $395 on an “e-wallet,” noting that the cards could not be exchanged for cash.
He said workers at the migrant station giving them out were from a nonprofit organization that works with the IOM, not the IOM itself.
‘A Force for Good’Documents show that IOM facilitates global migration and has strong ties to the Biden administration.IOM Director General Amy Pope served as President Biden’s senior adviser on migration. She also served as deputy Homeland Security adviser to President Barack Obama.
(L–R) Amy Pope, deputy Homeland Security advisor, Vice President Joe Biden, President Barack Obama, and other officials meet in the Oval Office on May 21, 2016.
In January, the IOM announced its first “annual appeal,” seeking a massive $7.9 billion to tackle the “migrant crisis” and “[realize] migration’s promise as a force for good throughout the world.”“The evidence is overwhelming that migration, when well-managed, is a major contributor to global prosperity and progress,” Ms. Pope said in her appeal for money to assist migration.
The U.N. agency stated that it needs money for humanitarian reasons to “save lives” and provide “regular pathways for migration.”
It also wants to use the money to deal with the “displacement” of people because of the “impacts of climate change.”
U.N. documents linked to Ms. Pope’s announcement show that in 2024, the U.N. wants to spend $70 million in Panama, Costa Rica, and Mexico—all countries on the most common migration route to the United States.Documents state that in 2023 a record 500,000 migrants had traveled through the dense jungle known as the Darien Gap from Colombia into Panama.
Michael Yon, a war correspondent appearing on Epoch TV’s American Thought Leaders in 2021, told The Epoch Times’ Jan Jekielek that he had taken other journalists and congressmen to the Darien Gap to see the mass migration firsthand.
He estimated that some 10 percent of migrants traveling through the Darien Gap are murdered or die because of the harsh environment, but even that’s not enough of a deterrent to stop the flow.
Migrants from around the world are flying into South and Central America to start their journey because countries such as Suriname and Ecuador don’t require a visa to enter, Mr. Yon said.
Many then travel by foot through the Darien Gap, through Central America, and into Mexico, where they wait for the Mexican government to clear them to travel north, where they eventually cross illegally into the United States.
Migrants walk through the jungle near Bajo Chiquito village, the first border control of the Darien Province in Panama, on Sept. 22, 2023. The journey through the Darien Gap usually takes five or six days, at the mercy of all kinds of bad weather. (Luis Acosta/AFP via Getty Images)After successfully entering the United States, they text their friends, which encourages more migration, he said. Most don’t communicate how difficult or dangerous the journey is.
“As long as those incentives are there to come to the United States, they’re going to come,” said Mr. Yon, who has interviewed a large number of migrants.
He said most come to the United States for economic reasons.
“Almost all of them have no case for asylum.” Mr. Yon said.
To stop illegal immigration, countries need to have a border barrier, such as a wall, enforcement, and political will, he said.
Ian Mehlman is a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), an immigration reform nonprofit group that has been studying U.S. immigration since 1979.
Like Mr. Bensman, he believes that the U.N. is instrumental in the surge at U.S. borders.
“This is a way for the U.N. to get money from the donor countries to carry out their programs,” Mr. Mehlman told The Epoch Times.
Researchers at FAIR noted in a recent article that “cash-based intervention” programs at the U.N. increased by 77 percent between 2019 and 2020, although some of that was attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.Mr. Mehlman said migration is big business under the Biden administration.
“There’s no question that we saw a vast increase in migration to the United States, starting from the day that Joe Biden took office,” he said.
President Biden rescinded former President Donald Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy, under which would-be asylum seekers stayed in Mexico while awaiting adjudication on their immigration court case. The vast majority of illegal immigrants don’t qualify for asylum because they’re entering the United States for economic reasons and not fleeing political persecution.
Migrants walk toward Canaan Membrillo village, in the Darien Province in Panama, on Oct. 13, 2022. (Luis Acosta/AFP via Getty Images)President Biden also halted border wall construction on his first day, halted deportations for 100 days, and rescinded the travel ban on terror-prone countries.
“People respond to the signals that are being sent,” Mr. Mehlman said.
“If they believe that there is a good chance that they’re going to be able to get to the United States and be allowed to remain here, then they will go through all the things that they have to go through.”
“Failing state” economies benefit from illegal immigrants working in the United States or other wealthy Western countries and sending money back to their families.
Smuggling people across multiple countries is coordinated, Mr. Mehlman said.
“It’s happening because people are allowing it to happen,” he said. “It is being facilitated every step along the way.”
The U.N. appears to have taken the position that people should be able to move to any country that they desire, which is problematic, not only to countries such as the United States but also to the countries migrants are fleeing, according to Mr. Mehlman.
“If the incentive is to leave rather than to reform and change things where you are, then those failed societies continue,” he said.Migration NationSome on the left favor immigration as a way for the United States to bolster declining birth rates with noncitizens and provide cheap labor.
“We need immigrants in this country,” Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) said in January during a House Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on immigration.
He said vegetables “would rot in the ground if they weren’t being picked by immigrants, illegal immigrants.”
“The fact is the birth rate in this country is way below replacement level,” Mr. Nadler said.
But some conservative pundits say mass immigration is part of the Great Replacement Theory, which speculates that immigrants are replacing citizens of countries with mainly white European ancestry.
Others believe that Democrats want open borders because if illegal immigrants become citizens, they would likely vote to keep Democrats in power for generations.
Members of CHIRLA Action Fund, an immigrant advocacy organization, gather near the entrance to the Ronald Reagan Library prior to a GOP presidential debate in Simi Valley, Calif., on Sept. 27, 2023. (Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images)But Mr. Bensman has a more straightforward explanation for what’s fueling the border crisis: a cash bonanza.
Migrant advocates from the left are now becoming political appointees, leading him to believe that the migrant crisis is “engineered.”
In Mr. Bensman’s 2023 book “Overrun: How Joe Biden Unleashed the Greatest Border Crisis in U.S. History,” he contended that mass migration has become a cottage industry, with many migrant-centered NGOs getting fat off taxpayer dollars.
He pointed to one group called HIAS, a migration assistance group initially founded to help Jews fleeing Eastern Europe. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas once served on the group’s board.
It’s one of several groups that has received millions of dollars in federal grants, according to Mr. Bensman.
HIAS has received most of the $11 million from two recent grants awarded by the U.S. government and earmarked for Latin American migrants, according to USASpending.gov.
The group, working in concert with the U.N., has pledged $17 million to help immigrants in 2024, according to Refugee and Migrant Response Plan documents.“Their organizations are the ones that are just getting filthy rich, building their endowment, and paying their executives and just getting federal contracts,” Mr. Bensman said.
The United Nations office in Geneva, Switzerland, in this file photo. The Biden administration gave the U.N.'s migration agency nearly $1.3 billion in 2023. (Johannes Simon/Getty Images)Defunding the UNWith the border crisis becoming the No. 1 issue in the 2024 presidential race, Republicans on Capitol Hill have already blocked a bipartisan border bill that many see as doing more harm than good in stopping illegal immigration.They argue that President Biden already has the power to stop the border crisis that he created.
With attention squarely on the border, House Republicans used the opportunity to reintroduce a bill that would eliminate U.N. migrant funding.
H.R. 6166, the Tax Dollars for the U.N.’s Immigration Invasion Act, would prohibit contributions to the IOM and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, as well as the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
The bill also requires the Government Accountability Office to conduct an audit of all federal funding previously appropriated to U.N. agencies that have financed the migrant crisis to force repayment of that funding to the U.S. Treasury.
U.N. agencies are “financing the ongoing U.S. border crisis,” Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Texas) said in a Jan. 26 statement.
“The United Nations is using our own tax dollars against us, and U.S. policymakers can no longer stand by while elites in the U.N. and Davos actively finance an invasion of our sovereign territory.
“It’s time to say enough and cut off funding to these corrupt globalist institutions until respect for our territorial integrity and appreciation for our generosity is restored.”
The IOM didn’t respond to an email seeking comment from The Epoch Times
February 13, 2024 Updated: February 14, 2024
The United States is bankrolling its own “invasion” by funding the United Nations and its partners, which, in turn, give hundreds of millions of dollars in cash and aid to migrants who eventually cross the U.S. southern border illegally.
While the U.N. has aided migrants for decades, the scope of its operation has dramatically expanded as the number of illegal immigrants—from at least 160 countries—into the United States has surged.
That expansion has been fueled by more than $1 billion in funding from the U.S. government to the U.N. and other agencies assisting migrants, according to a government spending database.
“We’re actually funding our own border crisis,” Todd Bensman, senior national security fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, a “pro-immigrant, low-immigration” think tank, told The Epoch Times.
“And it’s provided by, ultimately, the United States taxpayer.”
More Articles
Inside the Brewing Fed–State Showdown at the Texas Border
Until President Joe Biden took office, the United States had obligated about a half-billion dollars per year to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the U.N.’s migration arm.
But that funding has skyrocketed under the Biden administration to nearly $1.3 billion in 2023—more than double what it had been under the Trump administration,
according to USASpending.gov.The government spending database shows that most of the money comes from the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Two of the largest government giveaways were voluntary contributions to the U.N.’s IOM from the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration totaling $547 million over two years ending in 2023.The bureau’s objective was “to fund processing individuals requesting refugee status and resettlement in the United States and arrange their movement.”
Illegal immigrants cross the Rio Grande from Mexico into Eagle Pass, Texas, on Sept. 30, 2023. (John Moore/Getty Images)
‘Aiding and Abetting’The U.N. is pouring a staggering amount of money—partially stemming from U.S. taxpayers—into the illegal immigration crisis.
The U.N.-orchestrated Regional Refugee and Migrant Response Plan update for 2024 calls for distributing $1.6 billion in 17 Latin American and Caribbean countries with the help of 248 partner agencies, which are also receiving U.S. grants.
Todd Bensman, a senior national security fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, in Costa Mesa, Calif., on May 24, 2023. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)The plan allocated $372 million in “cash and vouchers” and “multipurpose cash assistance” during 2024 for 624,300 migrants—the population of Detroit—in Central and South America who are headed for the U.S. border.
Mr. Bensman, who has been at the forefront of investigating the causes of the migrant surge, believes that the U.N. is “aiding and abetting mass migration.”
People who might not have taken the risk to travel to the U.S. border because they were worried about food or safety now have help, he said.
That help comes in the form of prepaid debit cards, food, water, shelter, medical care, and transportation, according to the U.N.
Migrants can also directly receive cash, what the U.N. emergency manual calls “cash in envelopes.”And they know that the U.S. border is wide open.
The U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security shows 6.2 million encounters at the southern border, in addition to 1.7 million known gotaways since President Biden took office.“They say, ‘Well, you know, we’re coming now because Biden’s letting us in,"Bensman said.
As illegal immigration ramped up in 2021, he went to investigate what was happening firsthand.
A Haitian migrant shows his cash card provided by the United Nations. He said his 3,500 peso payment (about $175 US) didn’t deposit this month, in Tapachula, Mexico, on Jan. 14, 2022. (Todd Bensman/Center for Immigration Studies)What he found was IOM and other nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) helping migrants make the dangerous trek from South and Central America.
Workers at an IOM migrant camp in Reynosa, Mexico, in 2021 told him that families of four were receiving about $800 per month on a debit card. His viral post on X, formerly known as Twitter, noted long lines of migrants waiting to receive the cards.An IOM Mexico spokesperson quibbled over terminology and the amount of aid but confirmed that the migrants were getting monetary assistance, according to an Agence France-Presse news agency “fact check.”
The spokesman said the maximum amount for a family is about $395 on an “e-wallet,” noting that the cards could not be exchanged for cash.
He said workers at the migrant station giving them out were from a nonprofit organization that works with the IOM, not the IOM itself.
‘A Force for Good’Documents show that IOM facilitates global migration and has strong ties to the Biden administration.IOM Director General Amy Pope served as President Biden’s senior adviser on migration. She also served as deputy Homeland Security adviser to President Barack Obama.
(L–R) Amy Pope, deputy Homeland Security advisor, Vice President Joe Biden, President Barack Obama, and other officials meet in the Oval Office on May 21, 2016.
In January, the IOM announced its first “annual appeal,” seeking a massive $7.9 billion to tackle the “migrant crisis” and “[realize] migration’s promise as a force for good throughout the world.”“The evidence is overwhelming that migration, when well-managed, is a major contributor to global prosperity and progress,” Ms. Pope said in her appeal for money to assist migration.
The U.N. agency stated that it needs money for humanitarian reasons to “save lives” and provide “regular pathways for migration.”
It also wants to use the money to deal with the “displacement” of people because of the “impacts of climate change.”
U.N. documents linked to Ms. Pope’s announcement show that in 2024, the U.N. wants to spend $70 million in Panama, Costa Rica, and Mexico—all countries on the most common migration route to the United States.Documents state that in 2023 a record 500,000 migrants had traveled through the dense jungle known as the Darien Gap from Colombia into Panama.
Michael Yon, a war correspondent appearing on Epoch TV’s American Thought Leaders in 2021, told The Epoch Times’ Jan Jekielek that he had taken other journalists and congressmen to the Darien Gap to see the mass migration firsthand.
He estimated that some 10 percent of migrants traveling through the Darien Gap are murdered or die because of the harsh environment, but even that’s not enough of a deterrent to stop the flow.
Migrants from around the world are flying into South and Central America to start their journey because countries such as Suriname and Ecuador don’t require a visa to enter, Mr. Yon said.
Many then travel by foot through the Darien Gap, through Central America, and into Mexico, where they wait for the Mexican government to clear them to travel north, where they eventually cross illegally into the United States.
Migrants walk through the jungle near Bajo Chiquito village, the first border control of the Darien Province in Panama, on Sept. 22, 2023. The journey through the Darien Gap usually takes five or six days, at the mercy of all kinds of bad weather. (Luis Acosta/AFP via Getty Images)After successfully entering the United States, they text their friends, which encourages more migration, he said. Most don’t communicate how difficult or dangerous the journey is.
“As long as those incentives are there to come to the United States, they’re going to come,” said Mr. Yon, who has interviewed a large number of migrants.
He said most come to the United States for economic reasons.
“Almost all of them have no case for asylum.” Mr. Yon said.
To stop illegal immigration, countries need to have a border barrier, such as a wall, enforcement, and political will, he said.
Ian Mehlman is a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), an immigration reform nonprofit group that has been studying U.S. immigration since 1979.
Like Mr. Bensman, he believes that the U.N. is instrumental in the surge at U.S. borders.
“This is a way for the U.N. to get money from the donor countries to carry out their programs,” Mr. Mehlman told The Epoch Times.
Researchers at FAIR noted in a recent article that “cash-based intervention” programs at the U.N. increased by 77 percent between 2019 and 2020, although some of that was attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.Mr. Mehlman said migration is big business under the Biden administration.
“There’s no question that we saw a vast increase in migration to the United States, starting from the day that Joe Biden took office,” he said.
President Biden rescinded former President Donald Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy, under which would-be asylum seekers stayed in Mexico while awaiting adjudication on their immigration court case. The vast majority of illegal immigrants don’t qualify for asylum because they’re entering the United States for economic reasons and not fleeing political persecution.
Migrants walk toward Canaan Membrillo village, in the Darien Province in Panama, on Oct. 13, 2022. (Luis Acosta/AFP via Getty Images)President Biden also halted border wall construction on his first day, halted deportations for 100 days, and rescinded the travel ban on terror-prone countries.
“People respond to the signals that are being sent,” Mr. Mehlman said.
“If they believe that there is a good chance that they’re going to be able to get to the United States and be allowed to remain here, then they will go through all the things that they have to go through.”
“Failing state” economies benefit from illegal immigrants working in the United States or other wealthy Western countries and sending money back to their families.
Smuggling people across multiple countries is coordinated, Mr. Mehlman said.
“It’s happening because people are allowing it to happen,” he said. “It is being facilitated every step along the way.”
The U.N. appears to have taken the position that people should be able to move to any country that they desire, which is problematic, not only to countries such as the United States but also to the countries migrants are fleeing, according to Mr. Mehlman.
“If the incentive is to leave rather than to reform and change things where you are, then those failed societies continue,” he said.Migration NationSome on the left favor immigration as a way for the United States to bolster declining birth rates with noncitizens and provide cheap labor.
“We need immigrants in this country,” Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) said in January during a House Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on immigration.
He said vegetables “would rot in the ground if they weren’t being picked by immigrants, illegal immigrants.”
“The fact is the birth rate in this country is way below replacement level,” Mr. Nadler said.
But some conservative pundits say mass immigration is part of the Great Replacement Theory, which speculates that immigrants are replacing citizens of countries with mainly white European ancestry.
Others believe that Democrats want open borders because if illegal immigrants become citizens, they would likely vote to keep Democrats in power for generations.
Members of CHIRLA Action Fund, an immigrant advocacy organization, gather near the entrance to the Ronald Reagan Library prior to a GOP presidential debate in Simi Valley, Calif., on Sept. 27, 2023. (Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images)But Mr. Bensman has a more straightforward explanation for what’s fueling the border crisis: a cash bonanza.
Migrant advocates from the left are now becoming political appointees, leading him to believe that the migrant crisis is “engineered.”
In Mr. Bensman’s 2023 book “Overrun: How Joe Biden Unleashed the Greatest Border Crisis in U.S. History,” he contended that mass migration has become a cottage industry, with many migrant-centered NGOs getting fat off taxpayer dollars.
He pointed to one group called HIAS, a migration assistance group initially founded to help Jews fleeing Eastern Europe. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas once served on the group’s board.
It’s one of several groups that has received millions of dollars in federal grants, according to Mr. Bensman.
HIAS has received most of the $11 million from two recent grants awarded by the U.S. government and earmarked for Latin American migrants, according to USASpending.gov.
The group, working in concert with the U.N., has pledged $17 million to help immigrants in 2024, according to Refugee and Migrant Response Plan documents.“Their organizations are the ones that are just getting filthy rich, building their endowment, and paying their executives and just getting federal contracts,” Mr. Bensman said.
The United Nations office in Geneva, Switzerland, in this file photo. The Biden administration gave the U.N.'s migration agency nearly $1.3 billion in 2023. (Johannes Simon/Getty Images)Defunding the UNWith the border crisis becoming the No. 1 issue in the 2024 presidential race, Republicans on Capitol Hill have already blocked a bipartisan border bill that many see as doing more harm than good in stopping illegal immigration.They argue that President Biden already has the power to stop the border crisis that he created.
With attention squarely on the border, House Republicans used the opportunity to reintroduce a bill that would eliminate U.N. migrant funding.
H.R. 6166, the Tax Dollars for the U.N.’s Immigration Invasion Act, would prohibit contributions to the IOM and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, as well as the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
The bill also requires the Government Accountability Office to conduct an audit of all federal funding previously appropriated to U.N. agencies that have financed the migrant crisis to force repayment of that funding to the U.S. Treasury.
U.N. agencies are “financing the ongoing U.S. border crisis,” Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Texas) said in a Jan. 26 statement.
“The United Nations is using our own tax dollars against us, and U.S. policymakers can no longer stand by while elites in the U.N. and Davos actively finance an invasion of our sovereign territory.
“It’s time to say enough and cut off funding to these corrupt globalist institutions until respect for our territorial integrity and appreciation for our generosity is restored.”
The IOM didn’t respond to an email seeking comment from The Epoch Times
Maine Speaker’s Racial Equity Board Gave Her Sister’s Nonprofit $12,000 for Black History Month
By Edward Tomic
A taxpayer-funded commission originally proposed and currently co-chaired by Maine House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross (D-Portland) is celebrating Black History Month by giving a $12,000 contract to the nonprofit founded by the Speaker’s sister, Portland City Councilor Regina Phillips. The “Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous & Tribal Populations” (PCRITP), which is co-chaired [...]
The post Maine appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine Republican Lawmakers Reveal ‘Alarming’ Cost of Taxpayer-Funded Housing, Welfare for Migrants
By Edward Tomic
Maine Republican lawmakers held a press conference Tuesday on the state’s homelessness crisis and spending related to providing taxpayer-funded housing for asylum-seeking migrants. “These costs have largely been hidden from the public and are now being exposed in an effort to demand accountability and a results-driven plan,” the Republican lawmakers said in a Tuesday press [...]
The post appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Biden Won’t Take Cognitive Test Despite Growing Concerns about His Mental Fitness for Office
By Seamus Othot
President Joe Biden will not take a cognitive exam during his next visit to the doctor’s office despite growing doubts about his mental fitness for office, exacerbated by a catastrophic press conference meant to prove his mental ability. [RELATED: Biden Lashes Out at Press, Suffers Memory Lapse While Denying Senility…] “The President proves every day [...]
The post appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Joe Biden Met With Officials of Chinese Energy Firm That Did Business With Hunter in 2017, Former Associate Testifies
By Edward Tomic
President Joe Biden met with the chairman of a Chinese government linked energy firm that later wired millions of dollars to Hunter Biden and his business partners, an ex-associate of the Biden family testified to congressional investigators. [RELATED: Biden Campaign Joins TikTok Despite Persistent Security Concerns…] The House Oversight and Judiciary Committees on Tuesday released [...]
The post appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Migrant Families Are Moving Into Massachusetts Homes Under a Voluntary Government Program
By Seamus Othot
Multiple residents of Brookline, Mass., have volunteered for the state’s immigrant resettlement program, which begged residents to host illegal immigrant families as immigration shelters in the Commonwealth have reached maximum capacity. One family of four migrants who arrived in the U.S. without authorization were delivered to the home of Colin and Jessica Stokes within an [...]
The post appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Illinois Democrat Pushes Bill to Make It a Crime for Parents to Refuse to Affirm Child’s Gender Dysphoria
By Seamus Othot
An Illinois Democrat is pushing for a bill that would amend the definition of child abuse to make it a crime for parents to prevent their children from undergoing irreversible sex-change procedures. [RELATED: “Transgender Trafficking” Bill Hits Roadblock After Deadlocked Committee Vote…] The bill, proposed by Illinois State Rep. Anne Stava-Murray (D-81st District), also classifies as child [...]
The post appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Trump Taps NC GOP Chair Whatley to Replace Ronna McDaniel
By Seamus Othot
Former Republican President Donald Trump has tapped North Carolina GOP Chair Michael Whatley to replace Ronna McDaniel as the Republican National Convention (RNC) chair, according to a statement provided to the Daily Wire. [RELATED: Vivek Ramaswamy Says GOP has Become “a Party of Losers,” Blames Ronna McDaniel, Calls for Her Resignation…] “The RNC MUST be [...]
The post appeared first n The Maine Wire.
Attempted Mass Shooting at Joel Osteen’s Houston Megachurch Leaves Unanswered Questions About Shooter
By Seamus Othot
The individual who attempted a mass shooting at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood megachurch in Houston on Sunday has been identified as 36-year-old Genesse Moreno — a El Salvadorian national, once held but released by immigration authorities, who left behind anti-Semitic writings. Moreno entered the church with her seven-year-old son during the Spanish-language service and proceeded to [...]
The post appeared first on The Maine Wire.
By Edward Tomic
A taxpayer-funded commission originally proposed and currently co-chaired by Maine House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross (D-Portland) is celebrating Black History Month by giving a $12,000 contract to the nonprofit founded by the Speaker’s sister, Portland City Councilor Regina Phillips. The “Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous & Tribal Populations” (PCRITP), which is co-chaired [...]
The post Maine appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine Republican Lawmakers Reveal ‘Alarming’ Cost of Taxpayer-Funded Housing, Welfare for Migrants
By Edward Tomic
Maine Republican lawmakers held a press conference Tuesday on the state’s homelessness crisis and spending related to providing taxpayer-funded housing for asylum-seeking migrants. “These costs have largely been hidden from the public and are now being exposed in an effort to demand accountability and a results-driven plan,” the Republican lawmakers said in a Tuesday press [...]
The post appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Biden Won’t Take Cognitive Test Despite Growing Concerns about His Mental Fitness for Office
By Seamus Othot
President Joe Biden will not take a cognitive exam during his next visit to the doctor’s office despite growing doubts about his mental fitness for office, exacerbated by a catastrophic press conference meant to prove his mental ability. [RELATED: Biden Lashes Out at Press, Suffers Memory Lapse While Denying Senility…] “The President proves every day [...]
The post appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Joe Biden Met With Officials of Chinese Energy Firm That Did Business With Hunter in 2017, Former Associate Testifies
By Edward Tomic
President Joe Biden met with the chairman of a Chinese government linked energy firm that later wired millions of dollars to Hunter Biden and his business partners, an ex-associate of the Biden family testified to congressional investigators. [RELATED: Biden Campaign Joins TikTok Despite Persistent Security Concerns…] The House Oversight and Judiciary Committees on Tuesday released [...]
The post appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Migrant Families Are Moving Into Massachusetts Homes Under a Voluntary Government Program
By Seamus Othot
Multiple residents of Brookline, Mass., have volunteered for the state’s immigrant resettlement program, which begged residents to host illegal immigrant families as immigration shelters in the Commonwealth have reached maximum capacity. One family of four migrants who arrived in the U.S. without authorization were delivered to the home of Colin and Jessica Stokes within an [...]
The post appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Illinois Democrat Pushes Bill to Make It a Crime for Parents to Refuse to Affirm Child’s Gender Dysphoria
By Seamus Othot
An Illinois Democrat is pushing for a bill that would amend the definition of child abuse to make it a crime for parents to prevent their children from undergoing irreversible sex-change procedures. [RELATED: “Transgender Trafficking” Bill Hits Roadblock After Deadlocked Committee Vote…] The bill, proposed by Illinois State Rep. Anne Stava-Murray (D-81st District), also classifies as child [...]
The post appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Trump Taps NC GOP Chair Whatley to Replace Ronna McDaniel
By Seamus Othot
Former Republican President Donald Trump has tapped North Carolina GOP Chair Michael Whatley to replace Ronna McDaniel as the Republican National Convention (RNC) chair, according to a statement provided to the Daily Wire. [RELATED: Vivek Ramaswamy Says GOP has Become “a Party of Losers,” Blames Ronna McDaniel, Calls for Her Resignation…] “The RNC MUST be [...]
The post appeared first n The Maine Wire.
Attempted Mass Shooting at Joel Osteen’s Houston Megachurch Leaves Unanswered Questions About Shooter
By Seamus Othot
The individual who attempted a mass shooting at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood megachurch in Houston on Sunday has been identified as 36-year-old Genesse Moreno — a El Salvadorian national, once held but released by immigration authorities, who left behind anti-Semitic writings. Moreno entered the church with her seven-year-old son during the Spanish-language service and proceeded to [...]
The post appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Portland’s Homeless Services Center Reports High Number of “Out-of-State” Intakes
By Edward Tomic
Portland’s Homeless Services Center (HSC) received a total of 178 intakes in January, including two dozen homeless individuals from out-of-state, according to the city’s Emergency Shelter Assessment Committee (ESAC) January shelter statistics report. [RELATED: Portland Budget Woe: Decline in State, Federal Funding, Staffing Shortages, Shelter for Homeless and Asylum Seekers…] According to the ESAC report, [...]
The post Portland’s Homeless Services Center Reports High Number of “Out-of-State” Intakes appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Homeless Man Arrested for Drug Trafficking, Refusing to Submit to Arrest, Assaulting Police Officer in Portland
By Edward Tomic
A homeless man was arrested on Riverside Street in Portland Sunday on charges of drug trafficking, refusing to submit to arrest, and assaulting an officer, according to Portland Police. Portland Police say they received a report of a person refusing to leave the Ramada Plaza hotel at 155 Riverside St. at 1:16 p.m. on Sunday, [...]
The post Homeless Man Arrested for Drug Trafficking, Refusing to Submit to Arrest, Assaulting Police Officer in Portland appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Foreign Fentanyl Threatens American National Security
By Robert "Bobby" Charles
Let me ask you, what do you think China would do if President Xi discovered thousands of stealth drones, quiet assassins, entering China, each able to kill multiple Chinese of military age, then discovered they were killing 100,000 Chinese kids annually? Shrug? China does that to us – with fentanyl. Shrug? Fentanyl is China’s assassin [...]
The post Foreign Fentanyl Threatens American National Security: Robert Charles appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Biden Campaign Joins TikTok Despite Persistent Security Concerns
By Libby Palanza
President Joe Biden (D) has received criticism after his campaign officially joined TikTok — the Chinese-controlled social media app widely known to serve as a spyware and influence tool of the Communist Party of China — this week in spite of the oft-cited security concerns surrounding the platform. Owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, the [...]
The post Biden Campaign Joins TikTok Despite Persistent Security Concerns appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Lawmakers Considering Proposals to Allocate Millions of Dollars in Response to Recent Destructive Storms
By Libby Palanza
Elected officials in Maine are considering proposals that would allocate millions of dollars in response to destruction caused by the severe weather events that have swept through the state in recent months. At the end of January, a bipartisan group of lawmakers co-sponsored a bill allocating $50 million to a program that would provide relief [...]
The post Lawmakers Considering Proposals to Allocate Millions of Dollars in Response to Recent Destructive Storms appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Ukraine Aid Bill Would Force a Re-Elected Trump to Fund War or Face Impeachment: Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance
By Seamus Othot
U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) sent a letter to every Republican member of congress on Monday, urging them to oppose the current foreign aid bill, which provides billions of dollars for Ukraine. According to Sen. Vance, the massive foreign aid bill contains provisions that, he believes, will be used as a pretext to impeach former [...]
The post Ukraine Aid Bill Would Force a Re-Elected Trump to Fund War or Face Impeachment: Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Brakey Scores a Win for Bitcoin and Strikes a Blow Against CBDC Advocates
By Seamus Othot
Maine Sen. Eric Brakey (R-Androscoggin) has scored a victory in his fight against the implementation of legislation that would pave the way for a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) with his an amendment to bill that has so far skated under the radar. “Nothing in this act may be construed to support, endorse, create or [...]
The post Brakey Scores a Win for Bitcoin and Strikes a Blow Against CBDC Advocates appeared first on The Maine Wire.
A Saturday night shooting near the University of Maine at Augusta’s Bangor campus stemmed from a dispute between residents of the needle-strewn, drug-infested homeless encampment that has festered for more than two years at the campus’s southeastern edge. The shooting occured Saturday night and resulted in one individual being hospitalized with gunshot wounds, according to [...]
The post Bangor’s Lawless Tent City Results in Shooting Near UMA Campus: No Arrests appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Activists, American College of Pediatricians Differ Over Benefits of Sex Change Interventions
By Seamus Othot
A new report from a group of transgender ideology activists has published survey data that conflicts sharply with a recently published study review from the American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds) on the efficacy of sex-change surgeries and pharmaceutical interventions. The National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE), an activist group formed in 2003, released the preliminary [...]
The post Activists, American College of Pediatricians Differ Over Benefits of Sex Change Interventions appeared first on The Maine Wire.
By Edward Tomic
Portland’s Homeless Services Center (HSC) received a total of 178 intakes in January, including two dozen homeless individuals from out-of-state, according to the city’s Emergency Shelter Assessment Committee (ESAC) January shelter statistics report. [RELATED: Portland Budget Woe: Decline in State, Federal Funding, Staffing Shortages, Shelter for Homeless and Asylum Seekers…] According to the ESAC report, [...]
The post Portland’s Homeless Services Center Reports High Number of “Out-of-State” Intakes appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Homeless Man Arrested for Drug Trafficking, Refusing to Submit to Arrest, Assaulting Police Officer in Portland
By Edward Tomic
A homeless man was arrested on Riverside Street in Portland Sunday on charges of drug trafficking, refusing to submit to arrest, and assaulting an officer, according to Portland Police. Portland Police say they received a report of a person refusing to leave the Ramada Plaza hotel at 155 Riverside St. at 1:16 p.m. on Sunday, [...]
The post Homeless Man Arrested for Drug Trafficking, Refusing to Submit to Arrest, Assaulting Police Officer in Portland appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Foreign Fentanyl Threatens American National Security
By Robert "Bobby" Charles
Let me ask you, what do you think China would do if President Xi discovered thousands of stealth drones, quiet assassins, entering China, each able to kill multiple Chinese of military age, then discovered they were killing 100,000 Chinese kids annually? Shrug? China does that to us – with fentanyl. Shrug? Fentanyl is China’s assassin [...]
The post Foreign Fentanyl Threatens American National Security: Robert Charles appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Biden Campaign Joins TikTok Despite Persistent Security Concerns
By Libby Palanza
President Joe Biden (D) has received criticism after his campaign officially joined TikTok — the Chinese-controlled social media app widely known to serve as a spyware and influence tool of the Communist Party of China — this week in spite of the oft-cited security concerns surrounding the platform. Owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, the [...]
The post Biden Campaign Joins TikTok Despite Persistent Security Concerns appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Lawmakers Considering Proposals to Allocate Millions of Dollars in Response to Recent Destructive Storms
By Libby Palanza
Elected officials in Maine are considering proposals that would allocate millions of dollars in response to destruction caused by the severe weather events that have swept through the state in recent months. At the end of January, a bipartisan group of lawmakers co-sponsored a bill allocating $50 million to a program that would provide relief [...]
The post Lawmakers Considering Proposals to Allocate Millions of Dollars in Response to Recent Destructive Storms appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Ukraine Aid Bill Would Force a Re-Elected Trump to Fund War or Face Impeachment: Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance
By Seamus Othot
U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) sent a letter to every Republican member of congress on Monday, urging them to oppose the current foreign aid bill, which provides billions of dollars for Ukraine. According to Sen. Vance, the massive foreign aid bill contains provisions that, he believes, will be used as a pretext to impeach former [...]
The post Ukraine Aid Bill Would Force a Re-Elected Trump to Fund War or Face Impeachment: Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Brakey Scores a Win for Bitcoin and Strikes a Blow Against CBDC Advocates
By Seamus Othot
Maine Sen. Eric Brakey (R-Androscoggin) has scored a victory in his fight against the implementation of legislation that would pave the way for a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) with his an amendment to bill that has so far skated under the radar. “Nothing in this act may be construed to support, endorse, create or [...]
The post Brakey Scores a Win for Bitcoin and Strikes a Blow Against CBDC Advocates appeared first on The Maine Wire.
A Saturday night shooting near the University of Maine at Augusta’s Bangor campus stemmed from a dispute between residents of the needle-strewn, drug-infested homeless encampment that has festered for more than two years at the campus’s southeastern edge. The shooting occured Saturday night and resulted in one individual being hospitalized with gunshot wounds, according to [...]
The post Bangor’s Lawless Tent City Results in Shooting Near UMA Campus: No Arrests appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Activists, American College of Pediatricians Differ Over Benefits of Sex Change Interventions
By Seamus Othot
A new report from a group of transgender ideology activists has published survey data that conflicts sharply with a recently published study review from the American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds) on the efficacy of sex-change surgeries and pharmaceutical interventions. The National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE), an activist group formed in 2003, released the preliminary [...]
The post Activists, American College of Pediatricians Differ Over Benefits of Sex Change Interventions appeared first on The Maine Wire.
By Steve Robinson
Renowned conservative columnist Mark Steyn has been ordered by a Washington, D.C. jury to pay controversial global warming activist Michael Man a whopping $1M to settle the Al Gore acolyte’s claim that he was defamed in one of Steyn’s National Review columns. Mann, the progenitor of the infamous “hockey stick” graph used to sell various [...]
The post Blow to Press Freedom as DC Jury Orders Mark Steyn to Pay Climate Hoaxer Michael Mann $1M appeared first on The Maine Wire.
King, Golden, and Pingree Tout $1 Million Federal Grant for Installation of EV Chargers and Rooftop Solar Panels at New Acadia National Park Maintenance ComplexBy Libby Palanza
The past few weeks have marked the receipt of several million dollars in federal funding being sent to Maine in support of environmental initiatives primarily aimed at increasing access to electric vehicle (EV) charging and renewable energy in the state. In late January, three members of Maine’s Congressional delegation announced that an Acadia National Park [...]
The post King, Golden, and Pingree Tout $1 Million Federal Grant for Installation of EV Chargers and Rooftop Solar Panels at New Acadia National Park Maintenance Complex appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Recent ArticlesBoston CBP K-9 Thwarts Illegal Import of Mummified ‘bushmeat’ Monkey Remains
Maine’s Liberal Members of Congress Stand by Biden After Disastrous, Confused Press Conference
Mills Orders Hearings Over Request to Remove Oxford Sheriff for Alleged Misconduct
BREAKING: Sheriffs Raid Multiple Triad Weed Properties Throughout Central, Northern Maine – Guilford, Mercer, Corinna & Sangerville
Tucker’s Putin Interview — Bold Gambit Worth Taking: Sam Patten
TheMaineWire.com
Our mailing address is:
Maine Policy Institute
PO Box 7829
Portland, ME 04112-7829
Add us to your address book
Tuckler Carlson Interviews Vladimir Putin [VIDEO]
By The Maine Wire
Journalist Tucker Carlson, of Maine, published his controversial Feb. 6 interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday evening. The interview mostly concerns the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with Putin discoursing at length on the historical factors that have created modern Eurasia. Putin blames the American CIA for blowing up the Nordstream pipeline, insists that Russia [...]
The post Tuckler Carlson Interviews Vladimir Putin [VIDEO] appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Susan Collins One of Four Republican Senators to Vote in Favor of Failed Border Security and Foreign Aid Package
By Edward Tomic
U.S. Senator from Maine Susan Collins was one of four Republican Senators to join Democrats in voting in favor of the $118 billion border and foreign aid package in key vote Wednesday. The long-awaited bill, the product of months of bipartisan negotiations, was blocked by the Senate in a 49 to 50 vote. [RELATED: ‘Dead [...]
The post Susan Collins One of Four Republican Senators to Vote in Favor of Failed Border Security and Foreign Aid Package appeared first on The Maine Wire.
No Arrests as Illicit Chinese Marijuana Grow in Norridgewock Busted
By Steve Robinson
Maine law enforcement busted a massive illegal marijuana growing operation Thursday morning at 9 Riverside Drive in Norridgewock. Although no arrests were made, law enforcement seized more than 2,000 cannabis plants and 10 lbs of processed marijuana, according to Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster. Read more of the Maine Wire’s “Triad Weed” A 2016 Ford [...]
The post No Arrests as Illicit Chinese Marijuana Grow in Norridgewock Busted appeared first on The Maine Wire.
SCOTUS Hears Oral Arguments on Trump Ballot Case
By Libby Palanza
The United States Supreme Court on Thursday heard oral arguments in the case of Trump v. Anderson out of Colorado concerning former President Donald Trump’s eligibility to appear on the state’s presidential primary ballot. That decision will determine whether Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows’ has the authority to block Trump from appearing on Maine’s [...]
The post SCOTUS Hears Oral Arguments on Trump Ballot Case appeared first on The Maine Wire.
U.S. Border Agents Arrest Three Chinese “Asylum Seekers” with 23 Fake IDs
By Steve Robinson
Five Chinese nationals were arrested this week in California after border agents discovered thousands of gift cards, merchandise, and 23 fake Pennsylvania IDs, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said Thursday. Of the five, three had pending hearings for claims of asylum. CBP did not release any other details about the individuals.
The post U.S. Border Agents Arrest Three Chinese “Asylum Seekers” with 23 Fake IDs appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Zelenskyy Fires Commander-In-Chief of Ukrainian Armed Forces
By Seamus Othot
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy replaced the Commander-In-Chief of all Ukrainian armed forces on Thursday following disputes. “The year 2024 can be successful for Ukraine only if we make effective changes in the basis of our defense, which is the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” said President Zelenskyy. The announcement did not come as a surprise, as [...]
The post Zelenskyy Fires Commander-In-Chief of Ukrainian Armed Forces appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine’s State Racial Equity Commission Lobbies for Drug Decriminalization, Expanded Welfare Programs
By Edward Tomic
Maine’s Permanent Commission on Racial, Indigenous & Tribal Populations (PCRITP) have released a report detailing the legislative initiatives they are supporting for the second session of the 131st Legislature. The PCRITP was created by the Legislature in 2021 and tasked with “eliminating disparities for historically disadvantaged racial, indigenous and tribal populations in the State.” In [...]
The post Maine’s State Racial Equity Commission Lobbies for Drug Decriminalization, Expanded Welfare Programs appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine’s Tucker Carlson Could Face EU Sanctions for Putin Interview
By Seamus Othot
Multiple members of the European Union’s (EU) parliament have called for sanctions against Tucker Carlson following his interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin. [RELATED: Maine Man Interviews Russian President Vladimir Putin…] “Carlson wants to give a platform to someone accused of crimes of genocide—this is wrong,” said Estonian Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Urmas [...]
The post Maine’s Tucker Carlson Could Face EU Sanctions for Putin Interview appeared first on The Maine Wire.
State Senate Rejects Bill Requiring Search Warrants to Access Wider Range of Mainers’ Electronic Data
By Libby Palanza
The Maine State Senate rejected a bill Tuesday aimed at extending search warrant requirements to cover a wide range of Mainers’ electronic data, including that which is kept in cloud storage. Although the bill was originally aimed at preventing state entities from collaborating with the federal government to collect Mainers’ personal data in a matter [...]
The post State Senate Rejects Bill Requiring Search Warrants to Access Wider Range of Mainers’ Electronic Data appeared first on The Maine Wire.
National Medical Association Concludes ‘Gender Affirming Care’ has ‘No demonstrable, long-term benefit’ to Adolescents with Gender Dysphoria
By Edward Tomic
The American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds) released a statement Wednesday following a review of 60 studies that concluded “social transition, puberty blockers, and cross-sex hormones have no demonstrable, long-term benefit on psychosocial well-being of adolescents with gender dysphoria.” The ACPeds paper, entitled “Mental Health in Adolescents with Incongruence of Gender Identity and Biological Sex,” details [...]
The post National Medical Association Concludes ‘Gender Affirming Care’ has ‘No demonstrable, long-term benefit’ to Adolescents with Gender Dysphoria appeared first on The Maine Wire.
By The Maine Wire
Journalist Tucker Carlson, of Maine, published his controversial Feb. 6 interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday evening. The interview mostly concerns the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with Putin discoursing at length on the historical factors that have created modern Eurasia. Putin blames the American CIA for blowing up the Nordstream pipeline, insists that Russia [...]
The post Tuckler Carlson Interviews Vladimir Putin [VIDEO] appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Susan Collins One of Four Republican Senators to Vote in Favor of Failed Border Security and Foreign Aid Package
By Edward Tomic
U.S. Senator from Maine Susan Collins was one of four Republican Senators to join Democrats in voting in favor of the $118 billion border and foreign aid package in key vote Wednesday. The long-awaited bill, the product of months of bipartisan negotiations, was blocked by the Senate in a 49 to 50 vote. [RELATED: ‘Dead [...]
The post Susan Collins One of Four Republican Senators to Vote in Favor of Failed Border Security and Foreign Aid Package appeared first on The Maine Wire.
No Arrests as Illicit Chinese Marijuana Grow in Norridgewock Busted
By Steve Robinson
Maine law enforcement busted a massive illegal marijuana growing operation Thursday morning at 9 Riverside Drive in Norridgewock. Although no arrests were made, law enforcement seized more than 2,000 cannabis plants and 10 lbs of processed marijuana, according to Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster. Read more of the Maine Wire’s “Triad Weed” A 2016 Ford [...]
The post No Arrests as Illicit Chinese Marijuana Grow in Norridgewock Busted appeared first on The Maine Wire.
SCOTUS Hears Oral Arguments on Trump Ballot Case
By Libby Palanza
The United States Supreme Court on Thursday heard oral arguments in the case of Trump v. Anderson out of Colorado concerning former President Donald Trump’s eligibility to appear on the state’s presidential primary ballot. That decision will determine whether Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows’ has the authority to block Trump from appearing on Maine’s [...]
The post SCOTUS Hears Oral Arguments on Trump Ballot Case appeared first on The Maine Wire.
U.S. Border Agents Arrest Three Chinese “Asylum Seekers” with 23 Fake IDs
By Steve Robinson
Five Chinese nationals were arrested this week in California after border agents discovered thousands of gift cards, merchandise, and 23 fake Pennsylvania IDs, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said Thursday. Of the five, three had pending hearings for claims of asylum. CBP did not release any other details about the individuals.
The post U.S. Border Agents Arrest Three Chinese “Asylum Seekers” with 23 Fake IDs appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Zelenskyy Fires Commander-In-Chief of Ukrainian Armed Forces
By Seamus Othot
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy replaced the Commander-In-Chief of all Ukrainian armed forces on Thursday following disputes. “The year 2024 can be successful for Ukraine only if we make effective changes in the basis of our defense, which is the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” said President Zelenskyy. The announcement did not come as a surprise, as [...]
The post Zelenskyy Fires Commander-In-Chief of Ukrainian Armed Forces appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine’s State Racial Equity Commission Lobbies for Drug Decriminalization, Expanded Welfare Programs
By Edward Tomic
Maine’s Permanent Commission on Racial, Indigenous & Tribal Populations (PCRITP) have released a report detailing the legislative initiatives they are supporting for the second session of the 131st Legislature. The PCRITP was created by the Legislature in 2021 and tasked with “eliminating disparities for historically disadvantaged racial, indigenous and tribal populations in the State.” In [...]
The post Maine’s State Racial Equity Commission Lobbies for Drug Decriminalization, Expanded Welfare Programs appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine’s Tucker Carlson Could Face EU Sanctions for Putin Interview
By Seamus Othot
Multiple members of the European Union’s (EU) parliament have called for sanctions against Tucker Carlson following his interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin. [RELATED: Maine Man Interviews Russian President Vladimir Putin…] “Carlson wants to give a platform to someone accused of crimes of genocide—this is wrong,” said Estonian Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Urmas [...]
The post Maine’s Tucker Carlson Could Face EU Sanctions for Putin Interview appeared first on The Maine Wire.
State Senate Rejects Bill Requiring Search Warrants to Access Wider Range of Mainers’ Electronic Data
By Libby Palanza
The Maine State Senate rejected a bill Tuesday aimed at extending search warrant requirements to cover a wide range of Mainers’ electronic data, including that which is kept in cloud storage. Although the bill was originally aimed at preventing state entities from collaborating with the federal government to collect Mainers’ personal data in a matter [...]
The post State Senate Rejects Bill Requiring Search Warrants to Access Wider Range of Mainers’ Electronic Data appeared first on The Maine Wire.
National Medical Association Concludes ‘Gender Affirming Care’ has ‘No demonstrable, long-term benefit’ to Adolescents with Gender Dysphoria
By Edward Tomic
The American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds) released a statement Wednesday following a review of 60 studies that concluded “social transition, puberty blockers, and cross-sex hormones have no demonstrable, long-term benefit on psychosocial well-being of adolescents with gender dysphoria.” The ACPeds paper, entitled “Mental Health in Adolescents with Incongruence of Gender Identity and Biological Sex,” details [...]
The post National Medical Association Concludes ‘Gender Affirming Care’ has ‘No demonstrable, long-term benefit’ to Adolescents with Gender Dysphoria appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Supreme Court Appears Poised to Back Trump in Ballot Challenge Case‘Why should a single state get to decide who gets to be the President of the United States?’ asked Justice Elena Kagan.
Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court pose for their official photo at the Supreme Court in Washington on Oct. 7, 2022. (Front L–R) Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John Roberts, Justices Samuel Alito, and Justice Elena Kagan. (Back L–R) Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
The Supreme Court held the highly anticipated hearing of former President Donald Trump’s appeal to remain on the Colorado primary ballot, expressing repeated skepticism that a ruling to remove him would not result in swift and widespread election chaos.Jason Clifford Murray argued for the six Colorado voters who petitioned to remove President Trump from the ballot, and several times frustrated judges by sidestepping questions about the consequences of a ruling in his favor.
Article 2 gives states broad power to run elections, Mr. Murray argued, and that involved removing ineligible candidates from the ballot—even in a national election—through the process of their choosing.
The justices expressed skepticism that a ruling affirming the Colorado decision would settle the matter.State Authority Limits“Why should a single state get to decide who gets to be the President of the United States?” asked Justice Elena Kagan. “That means is quite extraordinary.”Mr. Murray said that was not the case because the Supreme Court would ultimately make a decision that could inform all other states to take Colorado’s record of fact—largely based on the Jan. 6 Select Committee report—as settled.
This answer drew several more hypothetical situations of chaos from the justices, who pointed out that states have different processes for adjudicating ballot issues, meaning several different records of fact and decisions could come before the Supreme Court.
Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court pose for their official photo at the Supreme Court in Washington on Oct. 7, 2022. (Front L–R) Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John Roberts, Justices Samuel Alito, and Justice Elena Kagan. (Back L–R) Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
The Supreme Court held the highly anticipated hearing of former President Donald Trump’s appeal to remain on the Colorado primary ballot, expressing repeated skepticism that a ruling to remove him would not result in swift and widespread election chaos.Jason Clifford Murray argued for the six Colorado voters who petitioned to remove President Trump from the ballot, and several times frustrated judges by sidestepping questions about the consequences of a ruling in his favor.
Article 2 gives states broad power to run elections, Mr. Murray argued, and that involved removing ineligible candidates from the ballot—even in a national election—through the process of their choosing.
The justices expressed skepticism that a ruling affirming the Colorado decision would settle the matter.State Authority Limits“Why should a single state get to decide who gets to be the President of the United States?” asked Justice Elena Kagan. “That means is quite extraordinary.”Mr. Murray said that was not the case because the Supreme Court would ultimately make a decision that could inform all other states to take Colorado’s record of fact—largely based on the Jan. 6 Select Committee report—as settled.
This answer drew several more hypothetical situations of chaos from the justices, who pointed out that states have different processes for adjudicating ballot issues, meaning several different records of fact and decisions could come before the Supreme Court.
What embarrassing defeats tell us about a splintered Republican Party
by Matthew Gagnon, Opinion columnist
February 7, 2024
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, speaks Tuesday during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Credit: Jose Luis Magana / APThe BDN Opinion section operates independently and does not set news policies or contribute to reporting or editing articles elsewhere in the newspaper or on bangordailynews.com.
On Tuesday, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives faced down twin humiliations.
The first failure was a Republican-sponsored $17.6 billion Israel aid package, which went down in flames. The second, and higher profile failure, was in a vote attempting to impeach the Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.
The dramatic vote, which failed 214 to 216, was an unexpected humiliation, because the Republicans should have won this vote. They have the numbers, and have been headhunting Mayorkas for more than a year, blaming him for the crisis at the southern border. They always knew their impeachment was doomed in the Senate, but they went “all-in” on making a point about the problem and Mayorkas’ leadership by trying this.
Yet the effort failed. It will likely succeed in a second attempt, but the setback has once again highlighted the ongoing crack up of the conservative governing coalition.
The current makeup of the House is 219 Republicans to 212 Democrats, with four vacancies, making the GOP majority only seven votes if everyone shows up. This is frequently pointed to as the reason why the House Republicans are so chaotic, but the Democrats had a similarly thin majority in the 117th Congress. They began with only a nine-seat majority, but by the end their majority was down to only three. Despite this, they operated in virtual lockstep for two years.
Part of the difference boils down to rules. Under Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s leadership in the prior Congress, the rule governing a motion to “vacate the chair,” or remove the speaker, was changed to necessitate a majority of either party initiating the motion. Prior to this (and since) the rules of the House allowed a single member to call for a vote to remove the speaker. This is what ultimately led to Kevin McCarthy’s ouster as speaker last year.
And in the past, even with this rule in place, we have seen thin majorities operate smoothly. Why is the Republican Party such a mess right now? Why is it being split apart at the seams?
To answer this, we have to better understand what the parties really are.
Both the Republican and Democratic parties are actually made up of many “parties within parties,” or different groups that are quite different, but collaborate in either common cause, common opposition, or both.
On the Republican side, many people have attempted to describe the lines that define the internal divisions. When I look at the party, I tend to see five macro groups.
The most prominent is the nationalistic, or populist wing represented by Donald Trump. There is also what I like to call a “Chamber of Commerce” wing of establishment types who favor the status quo and focus mostly on marginal change to promote economic growth. There is the ever-shrinking national security internationalists who believe in global American leadership and engagement. You have religious “faith and values” voters who believe the primary mission of government is to do cultural battle on a variety of moral issues. And you have the libertarians, who seek to deconstruct the state.
These groups overlap with each other on many issues like some kind of grotesque Venn diagram, so the lines can be very unclear. The public at large likes to think of a party as one “thing,” but the reality is that it is an ever-evolving collection of shifting internal alliances based on where the diagram overlaps, and which “parties” are more popular in the moment.
The important thing to understand, though, was that in the past the Republican Party had a glue of sorts holding it together and keeping these oftentimes radically different groups together and disciplined. In the latter half of the 20th century that glue was the global fight against communism. When the Soviet Union fell, that glue was later replaced by the global war on terror.
Now this glue is gone, and there is nothing enforcing unity or discipline within the party anymore. As a result, we are starting to see just how much contempt many of these internal parties have for each other, causing the routine creation of circular firing squads that destroy any ability to effectively govern.
Where will this end? I don’t know. It is possible that Republicans can find a new glue to hold them together. I believe it is more likely, though, that we are already in the middle of a fundamental political realignment. If that happens, what the Republican Party looks like 20 years from now will be very, very different than what it looks like today.
by Matthew Gagnon, Opinion columnist
February 7, 2024
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, speaks Tuesday during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Credit: Jose Luis Magana / APThe BDN Opinion section operates independently and does not set news policies or contribute to reporting or editing articles elsewhere in the newspaper or on bangordailynews.com.
On Tuesday, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives faced down twin humiliations.
The first failure was a Republican-sponsored $17.6 billion Israel aid package, which went down in flames. The second, and higher profile failure, was in a vote attempting to impeach the Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.
The dramatic vote, which failed 214 to 216, was an unexpected humiliation, because the Republicans should have won this vote. They have the numbers, and have been headhunting Mayorkas for more than a year, blaming him for the crisis at the southern border. They always knew their impeachment was doomed in the Senate, but they went “all-in” on making a point about the problem and Mayorkas’ leadership by trying this.
Yet the effort failed. It will likely succeed in a second attempt, but the setback has once again highlighted the ongoing crack up of the conservative governing coalition.
The current makeup of the House is 219 Republicans to 212 Democrats, with four vacancies, making the GOP majority only seven votes if everyone shows up. This is frequently pointed to as the reason why the House Republicans are so chaotic, but the Democrats had a similarly thin majority in the 117th Congress. They began with only a nine-seat majority, but by the end their majority was down to only three. Despite this, they operated in virtual lockstep for two years.
Part of the difference boils down to rules. Under Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s leadership in the prior Congress, the rule governing a motion to “vacate the chair,” or remove the speaker, was changed to necessitate a majority of either party initiating the motion. Prior to this (and since) the rules of the House allowed a single member to call for a vote to remove the speaker. This is what ultimately led to Kevin McCarthy’s ouster as speaker last year.
And in the past, even with this rule in place, we have seen thin majorities operate smoothly. Why is the Republican Party such a mess right now? Why is it being split apart at the seams?
To answer this, we have to better understand what the parties really are.
Both the Republican and Democratic parties are actually made up of many “parties within parties,” or different groups that are quite different, but collaborate in either common cause, common opposition, or both.
On the Republican side, many people have attempted to describe the lines that define the internal divisions. When I look at the party, I tend to see five macro groups.
The most prominent is the nationalistic, or populist wing represented by Donald Trump. There is also what I like to call a “Chamber of Commerce” wing of establishment types who favor the status quo and focus mostly on marginal change to promote economic growth. There is the ever-shrinking national security internationalists who believe in global American leadership and engagement. You have religious “faith and values” voters who believe the primary mission of government is to do cultural battle on a variety of moral issues. And you have the libertarians, who seek to deconstruct the state.
These groups overlap with each other on many issues like some kind of grotesque Venn diagram, so the lines can be very unclear. The public at large likes to think of a party as one “thing,” but the reality is that it is an ever-evolving collection of shifting internal alliances based on where the diagram overlaps, and which “parties” are more popular in the moment.
The important thing to understand, though, was that in the past the Republican Party had a glue of sorts holding it together and keeping these oftentimes radically different groups together and disciplined. In the latter half of the 20th century that glue was the global fight against communism. When the Soviet Union fell, that glue was later replaced by the global war on terror.
Now this glue is gone, and there is nothing enforcing unity or discipline within the party anymore. As a result, we are starting to see just how much contempt many of these internal parties have for each other, causing the routine creation of circular firing squads that destroy any ability to effectively govern.
Where will this end? I don’t know. It is possible that Republicans can find a new glue to hold them together. I believe it is more likely, though, that we are already in the middle of a fundamental political realignment. If that happens, what the Republican Party looks like 20 years from now will be very, very different than what it looks like today.
Maine Lawmakers Consider Calling for Constitutional Convention to Propose Congressional Term Limit, Campaign Finance Amendments
By Libby Palanza
The Maine State Legislature’s Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs (VLA) is split on a resolution calling for a national constitutional convention under Article V to consider proposing amendments to impose term limits on members of Congress and address issues related to campaign finance. SP 705 — Joint Resolution Making Separate Applications to the Congress [...]
The post Maine Lawmakers Consider Calling for Constitutional Convention to Propose Congressional Term Limit, Campaign Finance Amendments appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Mills Admin, Nonprofits, and Big Biz Back New Migrant Resettlement Agency for Maine
By Edward Tomic
Maine Gov. Janet Mills’ proposed migrant resettlement plan received a public hearing Tuesday afternoon before the Legislature’s State and Local Government Committee [RELATED: Maine Governor Signs Executive Order Creating New Migrant Resettlement Office..] The bill, LD 2167, would establish the so-called “Office of New Americans” within the governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future [...]
The post Mills Admin, Nonprofits, and Big Biz Back New Migrant Resettlement Agency for Maine appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine After Five Years of Janet Mills, By the Numbers
By Steve Robinson
Gov. Janet Mills (D) is set to deliver her annual State of the State address Tuesday evening. The speech, her communications team advised the media beforehand, will focus on climate change and gun control. But here’s a look at a few numbers and trends that actually reveal the State of the State. Housing After five [...]
The post Maine After Five Years of Janet Mills, By the Numbers appeared first on The Maine Wire.
By Libby Palanza
The Maine State Legislature’s Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs (VLA) is split on a resolution calling for a national constitutional convention under Article V to consider proposing amendments to impose term limits on members of Congress and address issues related to campaign finance. SP 705 — Joint Resolution Making Separate Applications to the Congress [...]
The post Maine Lawmakers Consider Calling for Constitutional Convention to Propose Congressional Term Limit, Campaign Finance Amendments appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Mills Admin, Nonprofits, and Big Biz Back New Migrant Resettlement Agency for Maine
By Edward Tomic
Maine Gov. Janet Mills’ proposed migrant resettlement plan received a public hearing Tuesday afternoon before the Legislature’s State and Local Government Committee [RELATED: Maine Governor Signs Executive Order Creating New Migrant Resettlement Office..] The bill, LD 2167, would establish the so-called “Office of New Americans” within the governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future [...]
The post Mills Admin, Nonprofits, and Big Biz Back New Migrant Resettlement Agency for Maine appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine After Five Years of Janet Mills, By the Numbers
By Steve Robinson
Gov. Janet Mills (D) is set to deliver her annual State of the State address Tuesday evening. The speech, her communications team advised the media beforehand, will focus on climate change and gun control. But here’s a look at a few numbers and trends that actually reveal the State of the State. Housing After five [...]
The post Maine After Five Years of Janet Mills, By the Numbers appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Mainers List Their Concerns About the State
Today Maine House Representative Katrina J. Smith, District 62, a Republican from Palermo, asked the question, "What concerns you the most about Maine right now?"
There were over 184 responses, and here were some of the concerns raised:
According to U.S. Census Bureau facts, in 2022, per capita income in Maine was $39,718 and 10.8% of people in Maine are living in poverty.
Maine ranks in the top 10 states for the highest electricity rates, coming in at number 3 for 2024.
When it comes to affordable rent, Maine is the 5th least affordable state.
The cost of living index for Maine is 110.7.
In 2022, there were 151,212 small businesses in Maine.
Do you agree with the concerns on this list? What if any other concerns would you add to the list? Please add your concerns and suggestions in the comment section.
Please keep emailing me your local news tips, school/education news, community issues, crime concerns, issues you feel should be investigated, upcoming events, good news stories, neighbors helping neighbors, etc. to TheMaineWriter@gmail.com
Today Maine House Representative Katrina J. Smith, District 62, a Republican from Palermo, asked the question, "What concerns you the most about Maine right now?"
There were over 184 responses, and here were some of the concerns raised:
- There are too many free benefits
- Illegal marijuana grows
- Election integrity
- The Secretary of State's decision to remove former President Trump from Maine's primary ballot
- The attack on legal gun owners' rights by the anti-gun lobby
- Governor Mills policies
- The cost of living was mentioned several times
- The cost of electricity, food, heating oil, and taxes in Maine
- The number of solar panel farms plastering the state
- A lack of affordable rentals and housing for hard-working Mainers was mentioned a few times
- Immigration
- Finding medical care in a timely manner
- The state not doing enough to take care of the homeless
- Maine is turning into California more and more
- Lack of common sense in Augusta
- The removal of the religious and philosophical exemptions for the huge list of mandatory childhood vaccinations to attend public school
- Underfunded nursing homes
- Maine is not attracting new businesses
- Energy bills are too high
- Poorly maintained roads
- High property taxes
- Poor use of taxpayer money
- Cost of living
- Housing for asylum seekers
- Government overreach
- Lack of support for Maine educators
- Quality of the schools
- Ranked choice voting
- Gender ideology
- Fentanyl overdoses
- Mental health
According to U.S. Census Bureau facts, in 2022, per capita income in Maine was $39,718 and 10.8% of people in Maine are living in poverty.
Maine ranks in the top 10 states for the highest electricity rates, coming in at number 3 for 2024.
When it comes to affordable rent, Maine is the 5th least affordable state.
The cost of living index for Maine is 110.7.
In 2022, there were 151,212 small businesses in Maine.
Do you agree with the concerns on this list? What if any other concerns would you add to the list? Please add your concerns and suggestions in the comment section.
Please keep emailing me your local news tips, school/education news, community issues, crime concerns, issues you feel should be investigated, upcoming events, good news stories, neighbors helping neighbors, etc. to TheMaineWriter@gmail.com
Maine Lobstermen Ask Court to Block State Agency from Enforcing a 24-Hour Location Monitoring Mandate Pending the Resolution of Their LawsuitBy Libby Palanza
A group of Maine lobstermen have asked the United States District Court for the District of Maine to temporarily block state officials from enforcing the controversial requirement that lobstering boats be equipped with a 24-hour location monitoring system. At the beginning of January, five Maine lobstermen filed a lawsuit against the Maine Department of Marine [...]
The post Maine Lobstermen Ask Court to Block State Agency from Enforcing a 24-Hour Location Monitoring Mandate Pending the Resolution of Their Lawsuit appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Houlton Panopticon: Aroostook County Town Will Install More Surveillance Cameras Per Person than NYCBy Seamus Othot
The small town of Houlton is about to become one of the most surveilled communities on the U.S. border thanks to the police chief’s decision to install more surveillance cameras per-thousand residents than can be found in New York City. “Considering we live in a world of continuous video in many locations, I expect positive [...]
The post Houlton Panopticon: Aroostook County Town Will Install More Surveillance Cameras Per Person than NYC appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Chellie Pingree Supports $7 Billion Extension of Affordable Connectivity Program
By Libby Palanza
U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) is supporting the effort to approve a $7 billion extension of the federal Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The ACP — enacted in Nov. 2021 as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act — represented a $14.2 billion modification to the existing Emergency Broadband Benefit Program (EBB Program). Under the [...]
The post Chellie Pingree Supports $7 Billion Extension of Affordable Connectivity Program appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine Republican Legislators Back Texas’ Right to Defend U.S.-Mexico Border
By Edward Tomic
Maine’s Republican State Senators and Representatives issued a joint statement Monday in support of the State of Texas’ constitutional right to defend its borders from illegal crossings by migrants. “The Biden Administration is purposefully jeopardizing our national security and economic and public safety by its outright refusal to enforce our southern border,” the Maine GOP [...]
The post Maine Republican Legislators Back Texas’ Right to Defend U.S.-Mexico Border appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Troy Jackson Backs Gun Control After Gun Control Group Hires His Son’s Firm
By Steve Robinson
Senate President Troy Jackson (D-Aroostook) has told Democratic activists that he will support gun control legislation he has previously voted against, a flip that comes only after the Maine Gun Safety Coalition hired his son and his former chief of staff to lobby for Second Amendment restrictions. The payments from Maine Gun Safety Coalition to [...]
The post Troy Jackson Backs Gun Control After Gun Control Group Hires His Son’s Firm appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Mike Soboleski Wins Androscoggin CD2 GOP Primary Poll by 11.5%
By Edward Tomic
At the Androscoggin County Republicans’ 2024 caucus over the weekend, State Rep. Mike Soboleski (R-Phillips) won the caucus’ CD2 primary straw poll by 11.5 percent. [RELATED: State Rep Mike Soboleski Officially Announces Campaign for Maine’s Second Congressional District…] The Saturday caucus gave candidates for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, County Commissioner, State Representative and State Senator [...]
The post Mike Soboleski Wins Androscoggin CD2 GOP Primary Poll by 11.5% appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Investigation Reveals the White House had a Drug-Dealing Pharmacy Operating Under Obama and Trump
By Seamus Othot
According to an 80-page report published by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Inspector General, the White House’s private pharmacy for staffers facilitated a host of prescription drug abuses during both Democratic and Republican administrations. “Dr. [X] asked if I could hook up this person with some Provigil as a parting gift for leaving the [...]
The post Investigation Reveals the White House had a Drug-Dealing Pharmacy Operating Under Obama and Trump appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine’s Rate of Gender Dysphoria Has Surged Since 2018
By Seamus Othot
A new study from Definitive Healthcare shows that from 2018-2022 the number of people suffering from gender dysphoria in Maine increased 135 percent, with minors making up a fifth of that number. Although Definitive Healthcare has since taken down its report, U.K news outlet The Daily Mail preserved its data in an article. Maine’s massive [...]
The post Maine’s Rate of Gender Dysphoria Has Surged Since 2018 appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Connecticut Woman Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Trafficking Fentanyl, Cocaine in Franklin County
By Edward Tomic
A Connecticut woman was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Bangor Friday to a year-and-a-half in prison for trafficking cocaine and fentanyl in Franklin County. Chrissie LaForge, 43, was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release for possessing fentanyl and cocaine base with intent to distribute. LaForge had previously pleaded [...]
The post Connecticut Woman Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Trafficking Fentanyl, Cocaine in Franklin County appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Collins, Golden, Pingree Respond to the Killing of 3 American Soldiers by Iranian-Backed Militants
By Edward Tomic
Three U.S. Army soldiers were killed and more than thirty service members were injured in a drone attack on a U.S. base in northeast Jordan near the Syrian border Sunday night. In a statement issued Sunday, President Joe Biden said the attack was carried out by radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq. [...]
The post Collins, Golden, Pingree Respond to the Killing of 3 American Soldiers by Iranian-Backed Militants appeared first on The Maine Wire.
A group of Maine lobstermen have asked the United States District Court for the District of Maine to temporarily block state officials from enforcing the controversial requirement that lobstering boats be equipped with a 24-hour location monitoring system. At the beginning of January, five Maine lobstermen filed a lawsuit against the Maine Department of Marine [...]
The post Maine Lobstermen Ask Court to Block State Agency from Enforcing a 24-Hour Location Monitoring Mandate Pending the Resolution of Their Lawsuit appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Houlton Panopticon: Aroostook County Town Will Install More Surveillance Cameras Per Person than NYCBy Seamus Othot
The small town of Houlton is about to become one of the most surveilled communities on the U.S. border thanks to the police chief’s decision to install more surveillance cameras per-thousand residents than can be found in New York City. “Considering we live in a world of continuous video in many locations, I expect positive [...]
The post Houlton Panopticon: Aroostook County Town Will Install More Surveillance Cameras Per Person than NYC appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Chellie Pingree Supports $7 Billion Extension of Affordable Connectivity Program
By Libby Palanza
U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) is supporting the effort to approve a $7 billion extension of the federal Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The ACP — enacted in Nov. 2021 as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act — represented a $14.2 billion modification to the existing Emergency Broadband Benefit Program (EBB Program). Under the [...]
The post Chellie Pingree Supports $7 Billion Extension of Affordable Connectivity Program appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine Republican Legislators Back Texas’ Right to Defend U.S.-Mexico Border
By Edward Tomic
Maine’s Republican State Senators and Representatives issued a joint statement Monday in support of the State of Texas’ constitutional right to defend its borders from illegal crossings by migrants. “The Biden Administration is purposefully jeopardizing our national security and economic and public safety by its outright refusal to enforce our southern border,” the Maine GOP [...]
The post Maine Republican Legislators Back Texas’ Right to Defend U.S.-Mexico Border appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Troy Jackson Backs Gun Control After Gun Control Group Hires His Son’s Firm
By Steve Robinson
Senate President Troy Jackson (D-Aroostook) has told Democratic activists that he will support gun control legislation he has previously voted against, a flip that comes only after the Maine Gun Safety Coalition hired his son and his former chief of staff to lobby for Second Amendment restrictions. The payments from Maine Gun Safety Coalition to [...]
The post Troy Jackson Backs Gun Control After Gun Control Group Hires His Son’s Firm appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Mike Soboleski Wins Androscoggin CD2 GOP Primary Poll by 11.5%
By Edward Tomic
At the Androscoggin County Republicans’ 2024 caucus over the weekend, State Rep. Mike Soboleski (R-Phillips) won the caucus’ CD2 primary straw poll by 11.5 percent. [RELATED: State Rep Mike Soboleski Officially Announces Campaign for Maine’s Second Congressional District…] The Saturday caucus gave candidates for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, County Commissioner, State Representative and State Senator [...]
The post Mike Soboleski Wins Androscoggin CD2 GOP Primary Poll by 11.5% appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Investigation Reveals the White House had a Drug-Dealing Pharmacy Operating Under Obama and Trump
By Seamus Othot
According to an 80-page report published by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Inspector General, the White House’s private pharmacy for staffers facilitated a host of prescription drug abuses during both Democratic and Republican administrations. “Dr. [X] asked if I could hook up this person with some Provigil as a parting gift for leaving the [...]
The post Investigation Reveals the White House had a Drug-Dealing Pharmacy Operating Under Obama and Trump appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine’s Rate of Gender Dysphoria Has Surged Since 2018
By Seamus Othot
A new study from Definitive Healthcare shows that from 2018-2022 the number of people suffering from gender dysphoria in Maine increased 135 percent, with minors making up a fifth of that number. Although Definitive Healthcare has since taken down its report, U.K news outlet The Daily Mail preserved its data in an article. Maine’s massive [...]
The post Maine’s Rate of Gender Dysphoria Has Surged Since 2018 appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Connecticut Woman Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Trafficking Fentanyl, Cocaine in Franklin County
By Edward Tomic
A Connecticut woman was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Bangor Friday to a year-and-a-half in prison for trafficking cocaine and fentanyl in Franklin County. Chrissie LaForge, 43, was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release for possessing fentanyl and cocaine base with intent to distribute. LaForge had previously pleaded [...]
The post Connecticut Woman Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Trafficking Fentanyl, Cocaine in Franklin County appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Collins, Golden, Pingree Respond to the Killing of 3 American Soldiers by Iranian-Backed Militants
By Edward Tomic
Three U.S. Army soldiers were killed and more than thirty service members were injured in a drone attack on a U.S. base in northeast Jordan near the Syrian border Sunday night. In a statement issued Sunday, President Joe Biden said the attack was carried out by radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq. [...]
The post Collins, Golden, Pingree Respond to the Killing of 3 American Soldiers by Iranian-Backed Militants appeared first on The Maine Wire.
orld Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and launched the Great Reset initiative.
Dear Fellow American,
A few years ago, members of the world’s elite met at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and launched the Great Reset initiative.
What is their plan, and what does it mean for America?
In short, they aim to transform the world economy. As Klaus Schwab—the founder and executive director of the Forum—wrote, “We need a ‘Great Reset’ of capitalism.” If successful, their plan would also have the effect of destroying our American way of life.
This initiative is not merely about economic reform. It is an attempt to impose global rule by so-called experts.
Some social media companies are censoring our efforts to promote a seminar we hosted on the Hillsdale campus that explored the topic of the Great Reset. Fortunately, we are able to communicate directly with you.
In this seminar, we consider the idea of the Great Reset and its implications for America. But that’s not all. We also delve into pro-freedom alternatives to this tyrannical plan.
Sign up now using the secure link below, and we’ll send the Great Reset seminar lectures—absolutely free—directly to your inbox.
https://lp.hillsdale.edu/the-great-reset-cca/
Don’t miss this opportunity to learn lessons that are essential to the defense of American liberty.
Warm regards, Larry P. Arnn
President, Hillsdale College
Dear Fellow American,
A few years ago, members of the world’s elite met at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and launched the Great Reset initiative.
What is their plan, and what does it mean for America?
In short, they aim to transform the world economy. As Klaus Schwab—the founder and executive director of the Forum—wrote, “We need a ‘Great Reset’ of capitalism.” If successful, their plan would also have the effect of destroying our American way of life.
This initiative is not merely about economic reform. It is an attempt to impose global rule by so-called experts.
Some social media companies are censoring our efforts to promote a seminar we hosted on the Hillsdale campus that explored the topic of the Great Reset. Fortunately, we are able to communicate directly with you.
In this seminar, we consider the idea of the Great Reset and its implications for America. But that’s not all. We also delve into pro-freedom alternatives to this tyrannical plan.
Sign up now using the secure link below, and we’ll send the Great Reset seminar lectures—absolutely free—directly to your inbox.
https://lp.hillsdale.edu/the-great-reset-cca/
Don’t miss this opportunity to learn lessons that are essential to the defense of American liberty.
Warm regards, Larry P. Arnn
President, Hillsdale College
Top Maine Democrat to Hunters: Support Gun Control If You Want to Keep Hunting
By Steve Robinson
Maine sportsmen had better fall in line with the Democratic Party’s upcoming push for gun control if they want to continue to enjoy sport shooting and hunting in Maine. That’s the message Senate President Troy Jackson (D-Allagash) shared with Democratic Party activists at a private event on Saturday hosted by Food and Medicine, according to [...]
The post Top Maine Democrat to Hunters: Support Gun Control If You Want to Keep Hunting appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Janet Mills Endorses Planned Parenthood-Backed Abortion Amendment to Maine ConstitutionBy Libby Palanza
Gov. Janet Mills (D) has officially come out in support of an amendment to the state’s constitution that would codify the right to abortion access in Maine, a move that comes less than a year after she signed legislation permitting late-term abortions in the state. Gov. Mills embraced both changes to Maine’s abortion laws despite [...]
The post Janet Mills Endorses Planned Parenthood-Backed Abortion Amendment to Maine Constitution appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine Democrats Seek Millions in New Funding for Homeless SheltersBy Edward Tomic
Maine State Rep. Colleen Madigan (D-Waterville) has sponsored a bill that would provide the state’s “low-barrier” homeless shelters with a $2.5 million subsidy. [RELATED: Voluntarily Homeless: Portland Spent $65,000 Offering Shelter and Housing to 100 “Unhoused Individuals” — Only 18 Accepted…] According to the Maine State Housing Authority, a low-barrier shelter is an emergency shelter [...]
The post Maine Democrats Seek Millions in New Funding for Homeless Shelters appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Mainers Gather for Public Hearing on Amendment Enshrining Abortion in State ConstitutionBy Libby Plalanza
Many Mainers turned out to the State House Monday to make their voices heard at the Judiciary Committee’s public hearing on a resolution proposing an amendment to Maine’s State Constitution that would enshrine a right to abortion in the state. The Committee’s hearing for the bill coincided with the 51st anniversary of the Supreme Court’s [...]
The post Mainers Gather for Public Hearing on Amendment Enshrining Abortion in State Constitution appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Dem Govs Call on Biden Admin, Congress to Secure Southern Border, Increase DeportationsBy Edward Tomic
A coalition of nine Democratic state governors, led by Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York, sent a letter to the Biden Administration and congressional leaders Monday calling for federal action to be taken to secure the Southern border. [RELATED: “Enforce the Immigration Laws”: Maine Democrat Lays Blame for U.S. Border Catastrophe on Biden…] “As Governors [...]
The post Dem Govs Call on Biden Admin, Congress to Secure Southern Border, Increase Deportations appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Lewiston Man Dead After Firing on Capitol Police in AugustaBy Seamus Othot
A Lewiston man was killed Sunday night during a firefight with five police officers in Augusta. “Several officers fired upon by suspect at Northern Ave disturbance in Augusta Sunday night. A Capitol Police Officer was among those in the line of fire,” said the Maine Capitol Police on X. The suspect, identified by the Office [...]
The post Lewiston Man Dead After Firing on Capitol Police in Augusta appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Portland School Placed on Lockdown Over Alleged Threatening Comments Made by StudentBy Edward Tomic
Portland’s Arts and Technology and Casco Bay High Schools were put on lockdown Monday afternoon over alleged threatening comments made by a student. Portland Police were called to the school shortly before 2 p.m. on Monday, and were informed that a student had made threatening comments to Casco Bay High School online during the afternoon. [...]
The post Portland School Placed on Lockdown Over Alleged Threatening Comments Made by Student appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine Court Orders Government Entity to Pay $130,000 for Unlawfully Withholding Public Records in Bad FaithBy Edward Tomic
The Kennebec County Superior Court has ordered the Maine County Commissioners Association Self-Funded Risk Management Pool (Risk Pool) to pay $130,000 to a non-profit prisoner advocacy organization after finding that the Risk Pool unlawfully withheld public records from the organization in bad faith. The award comes after the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled in August [...]
The post Maine Court Orders Government Entity to Pay $130,000 for Unlawfully Withholding Public Records in Bad Faith appeared first on The Maine Wire.
“Anyone But Trump” Is the Loser’s Strategy: PattenBy Sam Patten
I got the weirdest email the other night from Donald Trump. He said he loved me. It was very confusing, because the smart people in the media keep telling me how hateful a man he is. It was so confusing it got me thinking: where the hell did this guy sending me love notes come [...]
Fetterman Again Bucks Dems with Calls for Border SecurityBy Seamus Othot
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Penn.) doubled down on his calls for a secure border despite receiving strong criticism from his party when he said that Democrats should engage with Republicans on border security in an interview with Politico last month. [RELATED: John Fetterman Once Again Breaks With His Party and Suggests That Democrats Should Engage [...]
Recent ArticlesFollow the Maine Wire on Twitter
Support our independent, nonpartisan reporting with a gift to the Maine Wire today.
By Steve Robinson
Maine sportsmen had better fall in line with the Democratic Party’s upcoming push for gun control if they want to continue to enjoy sport shooting and hunting in Maine. That’s the message Senate President Troy Jackson (D-Allagash) shared with Democratic Party activists at a private event on Saturday hosted by Food and Medicine, according to [...]
The post Top Maine Democrat to Hunters: Support Gun Control If You Want to Keep Hunting appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Janet Mills Endorses Planned Parenthood-Backed Abortion Amendment to Maine ConstitutionBy Libby Palanza
Gov. Janet Mills (D) has officially come out in support of an amendment to the state’s constitution that would codify the right to abortion access in Maine, a move that comes less than a year after she signed legislation permitting late-term abortions in the state. Gov. Mills embraced both changes to Maine’s abortion laws despite [...]
The post Janet Mills Endorses Planned Parenthood-Backed Abortion Amendment to Maine Constitution appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine Democrats Seek Millions in New Funding for Homeless SheltersBy Edward Tomic
Maine State Rep. Colleen Madigan (D-Waterville) has sponsored a bill that would provide the state’s “low-barrier” homeless shelters with a $2.5 million subsidy. [RELATED: Voluntarily Homeless: Portland Spent $65,000 Offering Shelter and Housing to 100 “Unhoused Individuals” — Only 18 Accepted…] According to the Maine State Housing Authority, a low-barrier shelter is an emergency shelter [...]
The post Maine Democrats Seek Millions in New Funding for Homeless Shelters appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Mainers Gather for Public Hearing on Amendment Enshrining Abortion in State ConstitutionBy Libby Plalanza
Many Mainers turned out to the State House Monday to make their voices heard at the Judiciary Committee’s public hearing on a resolution proposing an amendment to Maine’s State Constitution that would enshrine a right to abortion in the state. The Committee’s hearing for the bill coincided with the 51st anniversary of the Supreme Court’s [...]
The post Mainers Gather for Public Hearing on Amendment Enshrining Abortion in State Constitution appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Dem Govs Call on Biden Admin, Congress to Secure Southern Border, Increase DeportationsBy Edward Tomic
A coalition of nine Democratic state governors, led by Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York, sent a letter to the Biden Administration and congressional leaders Monday calling for federal action to be taken to secure the Southern border. [RELATED: “Enforce the Immigration Laws”: Maine Democrat Lays Blame for U.S. Border Catastrophe on Biden…] “As Governors [...]
The post Dem Govs Call on Biden Admin, Congress to Secure Southern Border, Increase Deportations appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Lewiston Man Dead After Firing on Capitol Police in AugustaBy Seamus Othot
A Lewiston man was killed Sunday night during a firefight with five police officers in Augusta. “Several officers fired upon by suspect at Northern Ave disturbance in Augusta Sunday night. A Capitol Police Officer was among those in the line of fire,” said the Maine Capitol Police on X. The suspect, identified by the Office [...]
The post Lewiston Man Dead After Firing on Capitol Police in Augusta appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Portland School Placed on Lockdown Over Alleged Threatening Comments Made by StudentBy Edward Tomic
Portland’s Arts and Technology and Casco Bay High Schools were put on lockdown Monday afternoon over alleged threatening comments made by a student. Portland Police were called to the school shortly before 2 p.m. on Monday, and were informed that a student had made threatening comments to Casco Bay High School online during the afternoon. [...]
The post Portland School Placed on Lockdown Over Alleged Threatening Comments Made by Student appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine Court Orders Government Entity to Pay $130,000 for Unlawfully Withholding Public Records in Bad FaithBy Edward Tomic
The Kennebec County Superior Court has ordered the Maine County Commissioners Association Self-Funded Risk Management Pool (Risk Pool) to pay $130,000 to a non-profit prisoner advocacy organization after finding that the Risk Pool unlawfully withheld public records from the organization in bad faith. The award comes after the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled in August [...]
The post Maine Court Orders Government Entity to Pay $130,000 for Unlawfully Withholding Public Records in Bad Faith appeared first on The Maine Wire.
“Anyone But Trump” Is the Loser’s Strategy: PattenBy Sam Patten
I got the weirdest email the other night from Donald Trump. He said he loved me. It was very confusing, because the smart people in the media keep telling me how hateful a man he is. It was so confusing it got me thinking: where the hell did this guy sending me love notes come [...]
Fetterman Again Bucks Dems with Calls for Border SecurityBy Seamus Othot
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Penn.) doubled down on his calls for a secure border despite receiving strong criticism from his party when he said that Democrats should engage with Republicans on border security in an interview with Politico last month. [RELATED: John Fetterman Once Again Breaks With His Party and Suggests That Democrats Should Engage [...]
Recent ArticlesFollow the Maine Wire on Twitter
Support our independent, nonpartisan reporting with a gift to the Maine Wire today.
Cape Elizabeth Democrat Pushes Bill to Hold Firearm Manufacturers and Distributors Liable for Damages Resulting From Illegal Sales
By Edward Tomic
On Tuesday the Maine Legislature’s Judiciary Committee will hold a work session on a bill sponsored by State Rep. Rebecca Millett (D-Cape Elizabeth) that would establish civil liability for firearm manufacturers and distributers who engaged in illegal sales or marketing. Rep. Millett’s bill, LD 1696, is a revision of a version she sponsored during the [...]
The post Cape Elizabeth Democrat Pushes Bill to Hold Firearm Manufacturers and Distributors Liable for Damages Resulting From Illegal Sales appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine Wire today.
By Edward Tomic
On Tuesday the Maine Legislature’s Judiciary Committee will hold a work session on a bill sponsored by State Rep. Rebecca Millett (D-Cape Elizabeth) that would establish civil liability for firearm manufacturers and distributers who engaged in illegal sales or marketing. Rep. Millett’s bill, LD 1696, is a revision of a version she sponsored during the [...]
The post Cape Elizabeth Democrat Pushes Bill to Hold Firearm Manufacturers and Distributors Liable for Damages Resulting From Illegal Sales appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine Wire today.
America’s Real Radicals
Posted on Tuesday, January 9, 2024
by Dr. Sebastian Gorka
|
They say “perception is reality.” Not quite.
But what someone thinks is true will shape their behavior, even if it isn’t actually true.
If that weren’t the case, billions of dollars wouldn’t be spent annually on marketing and advertising products and services you don’t actually need but which “consumers” have been convinced they can’t live without.
The same goes for the world of politics. There are perceptions, and then there is the reality. And knowing the difference between them in 2024 will be crucial.
So let’s start with that awful word: “narrative,” because the historic Presidential election this year will be driven by whether existing false representations of Left and Right can be broken.
The conventional wisdom, the DC narrative about Left v. Right has been boiled down for decades as: “the Democrats care about the little guy, for minorities and women” and “Republicans are mean, selfish, greedy and elitists who look down on the working man.” Then 2016 happened.
Incredibly, a billionaire reality-TV superstar real-estate mogul came out of nowhere with a message about the “forgotten men and women” who had been betrayed by both parties and about how we have to “Make America Great Again.” And Donald Trump won, the first time he ever ran.
Clearly the establishment narrative had failed the Left. So, what was to be done? Up the ante. With the violent support of astroturfed, so-called, social justice “movements” like Antifa and Black Lives Matter, the spin-doctors, talking heads, and communication “experts” decided to go all the way.
Building upon Hillary Clinton’s original dehumanizing language of the “Deplorables,” which itself was a version of Obama’s “bitter clingers” slur, the Biden regime and its lacks doubled down. Instead of deplorable hicks who loved their Bible and their guns, the language switched to something much darker.
If you were one of the 60 million-plus Americans who originally voted for the billionaire from Queens, or the 70 million-plus who voted to re-elect him 4 years later, you were a threat. From his fascistic red-lit Marine Corps propped-up speech in front of Liberty Hall, to his speech Monday at the site of a church shooting which – strangely occurred under Obama’s presidency, not Trump’s – Biden has you as a MAGA-extremist, a domestic terrorist driven by White Supremacy. President Trump is described as an authoritarian who admires Mussolini, reads Mein Kampf, and is readying himself to establish a dictatorship.
This is all very strange, given that the man in question has already been President and took none of the actions we are told he is obsessed with when he already was in office. Instead of being a fascist or a Nazi, or a White-Supremacist, he was the most philosemitic President since 1948, a man who recognized Jerusalem and moved our embassy there, after 3 previous Presidents were too afraid too. As to White-Supremacy and general bigotry? In addition to black and gay cabinet members, President Trump initiated unprecedented justice and penal reforms to help minorities, in addition to historic support to Black colleges and universities.
So, who are the fascists?
Who deployed the FBI to raid Mar a Lago, the residence of a former President? Which administration arrested former Assistants to the President for “contempt of Congress?” Whose DOJ targeted a former President’s lawyers, including the former Mayor of New York? Whose FBI surveilled Catholics for being “traditional?” Who sentenced January 6 demonstrators for 20+ years for trumped up “obstruction of an official proceedings” charges? Whose DOJ used illegal surveillance 200,000+ times against innocent Americans? Whose Federal Air Marshals tracked Trump supporters simply because they support the former President. Unelected judges of which political persuasion are trying to take President Trump off the 2024 ballot? And which side has raised indictments totaling more than 730+ years in prison against the leader of the Opposition?
Yes, America is facing the threat of fascist dictatorship. But it’s already here. The Fascists are the Democrat Party and the Biden regime.
Sebastian Gorka Ph.D. is host of SALEM Radio’s AMERICA First and The Gorka Reality Check on NEWSMAX TV. A former Strategist to President Donald Trump, he is a member of the National Security Education Board of the Pentagon. His latest book is The War for America’s Soul. Follow him on his SubStack page and website.
Posted on Tuesday, January 9, 2024
by Dr. Sebastian Gorka
|
They say “perception is reality.” Not quite.
But what someone thinks is true will shape their behavior, even if it isn’t actually true.
If that weren’t the case, billions of dollars wouldn’t be spent annually on marketing and advertising products and services you don’t actually need but which “consumers” have been convinced they can’t live without.
The same goes for the world of politics. There are perceptions, and then there is the reality. And knowing the difference between them in 2024 will be crucial.
So let’s start with that awful word: “narrative,” because the historic Presidential election this year will be driven by whether existing false representations of Left and Right can be broken.
The conventional wisdom, the DC narrative about Left v. Right has been boiled down for decades as: “the Democrats care about the little guy, for minorities and women” and “Republicans are mean, selfish, greedy and elitists who look down on the working man.” Then 2016 happened.
Incredibly, a billionaire reality-TV superstar real-estate mogul came out of nowhere with a message about the “forgotten men and women” who had been betrayed by both parties and about how we have to “Make America Great Again.” And Donald Trump won, the first time he ever ran.
Clearly the establishment narrative had failed the Left. So, what was to be done? Up the ante. With the violent support of astroturfed, so-called, social justice “movements” like Antifa and Black Lives Matter, the spin-doctors, talking heads, and communication “experts” decided to go all the way.
Building upon Hillary Clinton’s original dehumanizing language of the “Deplorables,” which itself was a version of Obama’s “bitter clingers” slur, the Biden regime and its lacks doubled down. Instead of deplorable hicks who loved their Bible and their guns, the language switched to something much darker.
If you were one of the 60 million-plus Americans who originally voted for the billionaire from Queens, or the 70 million-plus who voted to re-elect him 4 years later, you were a threat. From his fascistic red-lit Marine Corps propped-up speech in front of Liberty Hall, to his speech Monday at the site of a church shooting which – strangely occurred under Obama’s presidency, not Trump’s – Biden has you as a MAGA-extremist, a domestic terrorist driven by White Supremacy. President Trump is described as an authoritarian who admires Mussolini, reads Mein Kampf, and is readying himself to establish a dictatorship.
This is all very strange, given that the man in question has already been President and took none of the actions we are told he is obsessed with when he already was in office. Instead of being a fascist or a Nazi, or a White-Supremacist, he was the most philosemitic President since 1948, a man who recognized Jerusalem and moved our embassy there, after 3 previous Presidents were too afraid too. As to White-Supremacy and general bigotry? In addition to black and gay cabinet members, President Trump initiated unprecedented justice and penal reforms to help minorities, in addition to historic support to Black colleges and universities.
So, who are the fascists?
Who deployed the FBI to raid Mar a Lago, the residence of a former President? Which administration arrested former Assistants to the President for “contempt of Congress?” Whose DOJ targeted a former President’s lawyers, including the former Mayor of New York? Whose FBI surveilled Catholics for being “traditional?” Who sentenced January 6 demonstrators for 20+ years for trumped up “obstruction of an official proceedings” charges? Whose DOJ used illegal surveillance 200,000+ times against innocent Americans? Whose Federal Air Marshals tracked Trump supporters simply because they support the former President. Unelected judges of which political persuasion are trying to take President Trump off the 2024 ballot? And which side has raised indictments totaling more than 730+ years in prison against the leader of the Opposition?
Yes, America is facing the threat of fascist dictatorship. But it’s already here. The Fascists are the Democrat Party and the Biden regime.
Sebastian Gorka Ph.D. is host of SALEM Radio’s AMERICA First and The Gorka Reality Check on NEWSMAX TV. A former Strategist to President Donald Trump, he is a member of the National Security Education Board of the Pentagon. His latest book is The War for America’s Soul. Follow him on his SubStack page and website.
What The Defense Secretary Austin Scandal Reveals About The Secretive Biden AdministrationPosted on Friday, January 12, 2024
by Tammy Bruce
|
It’s bad enough that there are so many clashes happening around the world, but we’ve had to add in the fact that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin disappeared for days without anyone in the chain of command being alerted.
We now know that Secretary Austin has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and was hospitalized for a surgery to address the condition, for which he was put under general anesthesia. Days later, he developed an infection and severe pain requiring him to be transported by ambulance back to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
As of this column, he remains in the hospital and is reported to be in “good condition.” That’s good news, but in the process, some very serious issues regarding our government and the Biden administration have been revealed.
Now, the inspector general of the Department of Defense has announced an investigation into exactly what happened that allowed Austin’s hospitalization and incapacitation to be hidden from the White House, the president, the NSA, and even his own second in command, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks. She had been handling the duties of the secretary of defense for at least two days from her vacation spot in Puerto Rico. Reports are that even she was kept in the dark about why she had been delegated the responsibility. This new DoD watchdog investigation joins congressional investigations already underway.
The statement from the DoD watchdog, however, gives us a hint about how this dangerous turn of everts will be minimized. In a memo announcing the investigation, they write: “The objective of the review is to examine the roles, processes, procedures, responsibilities, and actions related to the Secretary of Defense’s hospitalization in December 2023 – January 2024, and assess whether the DoD’s policies and procedures are sufficient to ensure timely and appropriate notifications and the effective transition of authorities as may be warranted due to health-based or other unavailability of senior leadership…”
“Policies and procedures.” Got it. For this to be discussed as some sort of problem involving regulations and rulebooks is absurd. The country is not ten weeks old, we’ve been doing this now for almost 250 years. Are we supposed to believe that somebody just didn’t get the right memo and didn’t understand that it would be important for the Secretary of Defense, who is in a vital position regarding the chain of command on issues of war, the military, and the national security of the nation, to alert the president of the United States about his incapacitation?
Hardly.
Just today we have learned, finally, that the United states, in concert with the United Kingdom, have unleashed major strikes against the Hoothi, the Iranian proxy terrorist group in Yemen. They are responsible for several strikes against shipping in the Red Sea. That global shipping lane has now been frozen due to the untenable situation.
All of the investigations looking into the inexplicable suppression about Austin’s situation, must at some point not just address the how of the secrecy surrounding Austin’s condition and abilities, but the why of it. Former defense secretary and White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta was asked about the situation, and made an interesting observation: “There’s been a gradual deterioration here with regards to the role of the Cabinet. Because so much authority is centralized in the White House these days, the Cabinet really only comes together usually for a press briefing by the president.” He also noted that the Biden administration “dodged a bullet because if something had happened in that gap that was created, that could’ve been a serious event.”
What this sounds like to me is that everything is being run and micromanaged from the White House, and the cabinet is a bunch of cardboard cutouts propped up to placate the press and the American people.
Moreover, during a time of the war between our major ally Israel and Iranian proxy terrorist group Hamas, as Houthi terrorists were attacking our ships and troops, and our troops in the region were under constant assault resulting in dozens wounded, neither the president or anyone at the NSA had been contact with Austin for days. Meaning the secretary of defense was not a factor in major global military events, and no one noticed. This speaks to Panetta’s remark about “deterioration.”
In some ways, this was inevitable from an administration that behaved secretly from the beginning as President Biden’s own campaign in 2020 was managed from the basement, hidden from the media. Has the Biden administration’s reliance on secrecy, obfuscation, lies, and gaslighting, become the corporate culture of our government?
There is a reason why we elect people, and that is to make sure that we have representation in our republic, but also so that we can hold people accountable for what transpires under their watch. When an anonymous group of bureaucrats makes decisions involving life and death, whether it be about war or the erasure of the southern border, and all the other innumerable issues directly affecting our lives as citizens, we have the right to know who has done these things and then to reward or punish them for their success or failure.
The Austin scandal is not about him exclusively, but the inevitable result of a culture of groupthink and deterioration infecting the Biden administration while allowing our country and the world to collapse into chaos. There is no real cabinet as the bureaucratic state, faceless and unaccountable, appears to be running this country into the ground. Thank goodness we at least have the chance in November to say enough is enough.
by Tammy Bruce
|
It’s bad enough that there are so many clashes happening around the world, but we’ve had to add in the fact that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin disappeared for days without anyone in the chain of command being alerted.
We now know that Secretary Austin has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and was hospitalized for a surgery to address the condition, for which he was put under general anesthesia. Days later, he developed an infection and severe pain requiring him to be transported by ambulance back to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
As of this column, he remains in the hospital and is reported to be in “good condition.” That’s good news, but in the process, some very serious issues regarding our government and the Biden administration have been revealed.
Now, the inspector general of the Department of Defense has announced an investigation into exactly what happened that allowed Austin’s hospitalization and incapacitation to be hidden from the White House, the president, the NSA, and even his own second in command, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks. She had been handling the duties of the secretary of defense for at least two days from her vacation spot in Puerto Rico. Reports are that even she was kept in the dark about why she had been delegated the responsibility. This new DoD watchdog investigation joins congressional investigations already underway.
The statement from the DoD watchdog, however, gives us a hint about how this dangerous turn of everts will be minimized. In a memo announcing the investigation, they write: “The objective of the review is to examine the roles, processes, procedures, responsibilities, and actions related to the Secretary of Defense’s hospitalization in December 2023 – January 2024, and assess whether the DoD’s policies and procedures are sufficient to ensure timely and appropriate notifications and the effective transition of authorities as may be warranted due to health-based or other unavailability of senior leadership…”
“Policies and procedures.” Got it. For this to be discussed as some sort of problem involving regulations and rulebooks is absurd. The country is not ten weeks old, we’ve been doing this now for almost 250 years. Are we supposed to believe that somebody just didn’t get the right memo and didn’t understand that it would be important for the Secretary of Defense, who is in a vital position regarding the chain of command on issues of war, the military, and the national security of the nation, to alert the president of the United States about his incapacitation?
Hardly.
Just today we have learned, finally, that the United states, in concert with the United Kingdom, have unleashed major strikes against the Hoothi, the Iranian proxy terrorist group in Yemen. They are responsible for several strikes against shipping in the Red Sea. That global shipping lane has now been frozen due to the untenable situation.
All of the investigations looking into the inexplicable suppression about Austin’s situation, must at some point not just address the how of the secrecy surrounding Austin’s condition and abilities, but the why of it. Former defense secretary and White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta was asked about the situation, and made an interesting observation: “There’s been a gradual deterioration here with regards to the role of the Cabinet. Because so much authority is centralized in the White House these days, the Cabinet really only comes together usually for a press briefing by the president.” He also noted that the Biden administration “dodged a bullet because if something had happened in that gap that was created, that could’ve been a serious event.”
What this sounds like to me is that everything is being run and micromanaged from the White House, and the cabinet is a bunch of cardboard cutouts propped up to placate the press and the American people.
Moreover, during a time of the war between our major ally Israel and Iranian proxy terrorist group Hamas, as Houthi terrorists were attacking our ships and troops, and our troops in the region were under constant assault resulting in dozens wounded, neither the president or anyone at the NSA had been contact with Austin for days. Meaning the secretary of defense was not a factor in major global military events, and no one noticed. This speaks to Panetta’s remark about “deterioration.”
In some ways, this was inevitable from an administration that behaved secretly from the beginning as President Biden’s own campaign in 2020 was managed from the basement, hidden from the media. Has the Biden administration’s reliance on secrecy, obfuscation, lies, and gaslighting, become the corporate culture of our government?
There is a reason why we elect people, and that is to make sure that we have representation in our republic, but also so that we can hold people accountable for what transpires under their watch. When an anonymous group of bureaucrats makes decisions involving life and death, whether it be about war or the erasure of the southern border, and all the other innumerable issues directly affecting our lives as citizens, we have the right to know who has done these things and then to reward or punish them for their success or failure.
The Austin scandal is not about him exclusively, but the inevitable result of a culture of groupthink and deterioration infecting the Biden administration while allowing our country and the world to collapse into chaos. There is no real cabinet as the bureaucratic state, faceless and unaccountable, appears to be running this country into the ground. Thank goodness we at least have the chance in November to say enough is enough.
Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey Signs Letter Urging Ban On Civilian Use of 5.56 Ammunition
By Justin DelMonico
On January 9, Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey signed a letter authored by New York Attorney General Letitia James which calls for the banning of 5.56 ammunition produced by Lake City Ammunition Plant. The letter is addressed to the Director of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, Stefanie Feldman. Attorney General James contends [...]
The post Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey Signs Letter Urging Ban On Civilian Use of 5.56 Ammunition appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine Senate Confirms Brigadier General Diane Dunn to Lead Maine National Guard in 33-1 Vote, Sen. Brakey Opposed Due to Dunn’s Stance on ‘Defend the Guard’
By Justin DelMonico
On Thursday, the Maine Senate voted 33-1 in favor of appointing retired Army Brigadier General Diane Dunn as the new leader of the Maine National Guard. Brig. Gen. Dunn will replace the current leader of the Maine National Guard, Major General Douglas Farnham who is set to retire. Due to Maj. Gen. Farnham’s retirement, Gov. [...]
The post Maine Senate Confirms Brigadier General Diane Dunn to Lead Maine National Guard in 33-1 Vote, Sen. Brakey Opposed Due to Dunn’s Stance on ‘Defend the Guard’ appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine DHHS Indiscriminately Issues $13.5 Million in Food Stamps for Those Affected by the December Storm
By Seamus Othot
Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) announced Friday that it is automatically issuing money to anyone receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits who lived in areas affected by the devastating storms in mid-December. “Under a federal waiver approved on January 5, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit recipients who live in storm-affected [...]
The post Maine DHHS Indiscriminately Issues $13.5 Million in Food Stamps for Those Affected by the December Storm appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross Pushes Legislation to Allow Illegal Aliens to Obtain Driver’s Licenses
By Edward Tomic
Maine House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross (D-Portland) has introduced a bill for the second legislative session that would remove the requirement to prove legal presence in the U.S. in order to obtain a driver’s license. [RELATED: South Portland City Clerk Reveals How Easily Non-Citizens Can Vote in Maine Elections…] The bill, LD 1138, also proposes [...]
The post Maine House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross Pushes Legislation to Allow Illegal Aliens to Obtain Driver’s Licenses appeared first on The Maine Wire.
New Laws Approved by Voters Last November Go Into Effect
By Libby Palanza
The three citizen initiatives approved by voters in November of 2023 officially went into effect last Friday, all of which were approved by a fairly substantial portion of Mainers at the ballot box. In Maine — under Article IV, Part Third, Section 18 of the Maine Constitution — voters are able to directly petition the [...]
The post New Laws Approved by Voters Last November Go Into Effect appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Proposed Bill Preventing Foreign Nationals from Hostile Nations from Owning Land in Maine Narrowly Fails
By Seamus Othot
At Tuesday’s meeting of Maine’s legislative council, Rep. Katrina Smith (R-Palermo) proposed a bill that would stop hostile foreign governments, and citizens of hostile nations from purchasing or developing agricultural land, mines, quarries, or timberland in Maine. “As is proven by current ownership of real property by Chinese nationals,” said Rep Smith, “We already have [...]
The post Proposed Bill Preventing Foreign Nationals from Hostile Nations from Owning Land in Maine Narrowly Fails appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Yarmouth Elementary School Replaces Valentine’s Day with “Friendship Day” to be “Inclusionary”.
By Edward Tomic
Yarmouth Elementary School (YES) Principal Ryan Gleason announced Thursday in a letter to families that instead of celebrating Valentine’s Day on Feb. 14, the school will be having a “Friendship Day Celebration.” In his letter, Gleason explains that YES has been reflecting on “the celebration of holidays through an inclusionary lens.” “As a result of [...]
The post Yarmouth Elementary School Replaces Valentine’s Day with “Friendship Day” to be “Inclusionary” appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Rand Paul Launches ‘Never Nikki’ Initiative Bashing Nikki Haley’s “thirst for war”
By Edward Tomic
Just days in advance of the 2024 Iowa Republican presidential caucus, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) launched an initiative Friday dubbed “#NeverNikki,” slamming Nikki Haley over her hawkish foreign policy positions, her support of foreign aid to Ukraine, and her criticism of anonymous speech on the internet. “I don’t think any informed or knowledgeable libertarian [...]
The post Rand Paul Launches ‘Never Nikki’ Initiative Bashing Nikki Haley’s “thirst for war” appeared first on The Maine Wire.
By Justin DelMonico
On January 9, Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey signed a letter authored by New York Attorney General Letitia James which calls for the banning of 5.56 ammunition produced by Lake City Ammunition Plant. The letter is addressed to the Director of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, Stefanie Feldman. Attorney General James contends [...]
The post Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey Signs Letter Urging Ban On Civilian Use of 5.56 Ammunition appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine Senate Confirms Brigadier General Diane Dunn to Lead Maine National Guard in 33-1 Vote, Sen. Brakey Opposed Due to Dunn’s Stance on ‘Defend the Guard’
By Justin DelMonico
On Thursday, the Maine Senate voted 33-1 in favor of appointing retired Army Brigadier General Diane Dunn as the new leader of the Maine National Guard. Brig. Gen. Dunn will replace the current leader of the Maine National Guard, Major General Douglas Farnham who is set to retire. Due to Maj. Gen. Farnham’s retirement, Gov. [...]
The post Maine Senate Confirms Brigadier General Diane Dunn to Lead Maine National Guard in 33-1 Vote, Sen. Brakey Opposed Due to Dunn’s Stance on ‘Defend the Guard’ appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine DHHS Indiscriminately Issues $13.5 Million in Food Stamps for Those Affected by the December Storm
By Seamus Othot
Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) announced Friday that it is automatically issuing money to anyone receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits who lived in areas affected by the devastating storms in mid-December. “Under a federal waiver approved on January 5, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit recipients who live in storm-affected [...]
The post Maine DHHS Indiscriminately Issues $13.5 Million in Food Stamps for Those Affected by the December Storm appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross Pushes Legislation to Allow Illegal Aliens to Obtain Driver’s Licenses
By Edward Tomic
Maine House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross (D-Portland) has introduced a bill for the second legislative session that would remove the requirement to prove legal presence in the U.S. in order to obtain a driver’s license. [RELATED: South Portland City Clerk Reveals How Easily Non-Citizens Can Vote in Maine Elections…] The bill, LD 1138, also proposes [...]
The post Maine House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross Pushes Legislation to Allow Illegal Aliens to Obtain Driver’s Licenses appeared first on The Maine Wire.
New Laws Approved by Voters Last November Go Into Effect
By Libby Palanza
The three citizen initiatives approved by voters in November of 2023 officially went into effect last Friday, all of which were approved by a fairly substantial portion of Mainers at the ballot box. In Maine — under Article IV, Part Third, Section 18 of the Maine Constitution — voters are able to directly petition the [...]
The post New Laws Approved by Voters Last November Go Into Effect appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Proposed Bill Preventing Foreign Nationals from Hostile Nations from Owning Land in Maine Narrowly Fails
By Seamus Othot
At Tuesday’s meeting of Maine’s legislative council, Rep. Katrina Smith (R-Palermo) proposed a bill that would stop hostile foreign governments, and citizens of hostile nations from purchasing or developing agricultural land, mines, quarries, or timberland in Maine. “As is proven by current ownership of real property by Chinese nationals,” said Rep Smith, “We already have [...]
The post Proposed Bill Preventing Foreign Nationals from Hostile Nations from Owning Land in Maine Narrowly Fails appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Yarmouth Elementary School Replaces Valentine’s Day with “Friendship Day” to be “Inclusionary”.
By Edward Tomic
Yarmouth Elementary School (YES) Principal Ryan Gleason announced Thursday in a letter to families that instead of celebrating Valentine’s Day on Feb. 14, the school will be having a “Friendship Day Celebration.” In his letter, Gleason explains that YES has been reflecting on “the celebration of holidays through an inclusionary lens.” “As a result of [...]
The post Yarmouth Elementary School Replaces Valentine’s Day with “Friendship Day” to be “Inclusionary” appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Rand Paul Launches ‘Never Nikki’ Initiative Bashing Nikki Haley’s “thirst for war”
By Edward Tomic
Just days in advance of the 2024 Iowa Republican presidential caucus, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) launched an initiative Friday dubbed “#NeverNikki,” slamming Nikki Haley over her hawkish foreign policy positions, her support of foreign aid to Ukraine, and her criticism of anonymous speech on the internet. “I don’t think any informed or knowledgeable libertarian [...]
The post Rand Paul Launches ‘Never Nikki’ Initiative Bashing Nikki Haley’s “thirst for war” appeared first on The Maine Wire.
Maine Must Change the Way it Selects Constitutional Officers
In this Portland Press Herald op-ed, Director of Legislative Affairs Jacob Posik recounts the many controversies surrounding Maine's constitutional officers, including Secretary of State Shenna Bellows' recent decision to bar former President Trump from the Republican primary ballot, to make the case for why Maine must allow voters or the chief executive to select these positions instead of the Legislature. Read here.
Read: No Thanks to National Popular VoteCEO Matthew Gagnon explains how LD 1578, the bill to enact the National Popular Vote compact in Maine, is riddled with legal and logistical issues that its proponents can't solve or adequately address, and how Maine's electorate might respond if lawmakers move in this direction. Read here.
Watch: Donald Trump and Maine's BallotGagnon joined Gregg Lagerquist in studio for this Friday Focus segment on CBS13 to unpack the decisions in Maine and Colorado to bar Trump from the ballot and why courts need to weigh in to settle the issue and prevent from electoral chaos in 2024. Watch here.
Read our TestimonyThe Second Session of the 131st Legislature is underway. This week, Maine Policy submitted testimony on bills related to the National Popular Vote compact, occupational licensing regulations, and new rules that would hurt small businesses in rural Maine. Click here to stay up to date with all of Maine Policy's latest testimony.
In this Portland Press Herald op-ed, Director of Legislative Affairs Jacob Posik recounts the many controversies surrounding Maine's constitutional officers, including Secretary of State Shenna Bellows' recent decision to bar former President Trump from the Republican primary ballot, to make the case for why Maine must allow voters or the chief executive to select these positions instead of the Legislature. Read here.
Read: No Thanks to National Popular VoteCEO Matthew Gagnon explains how LD 1578, the bill to enact the National Popular Vote compact in Maine, is riddled with legal and logistical issues that its proponents can't solve or adequately address, and how Maine's electorate might respond if lawmakers move in this direction. Read here.
Watch: Donald Trump and Maine's BallotGagnon joined Gregg Lagerquist in studio for this Friday Focus segment on CBS13 to unpack the decisions in Maine and Colorado to bar Trump from the ballot and why courts need to weigh in to settle the issue and prevent from electoral chaos in 2024. Watch here.
Read our TestimonyThe Second Session of the 131st Legislature is underway. This week, Maine Policy submitted testimony on bills related to the National Popular Vote compact, occupational licensing regulations, and new rules that would hurt small businesses in rural Maine. Click here to stay up to date with all of Maine Policy's latest testimony.
U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Democrat who represents the southern part of the state, wrote on X that “the text of the Fourteenth Amendment is clear. No person who engaged in an insurrection against the government can ever again serve in elected office.”
“On January 6, 2021, Donald Trump incited a violent mob to block Congress from certifying the Electoral College + overturn the 2020 presidential election. Our Constitution is the very bedrock of America and our laws and it appears Trump’s actions are prohibited by the Constitution,” Pingree said.
“On January 6, 2021, Donald Trump incited a violent mob to block Congress from certifying the Electoral College + overturn the 2020 presidential election. Our Constitution is the very bedrock of America and our laws and it appears Trump’s actions are prohibited by the Constitution,” Pingree said.
JOEL STETKIS:
"Fellow Mainers:
Maine democracy is under attack.
The voice of the people, your voice, is under attack.
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, once named the most progressive Senate candidate in America, unilaterally threw Donald Trump off the ballot last night.
The Maine Republican Party has been fighting these backroom elites since they started their push to subvert democracy by tossing President Trump.
Rest assured we'll be fighting this in court -- all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary. And we reserve our right as a private organization to use a caucus system if that's what it takes to keep a Democrat Hack Secretary of State from infringing on the Rights of Maine voters.
Friends, the enemy is at the gates.
We will be fighting back. If you want to join us, we welcome you to our cause."
"Fellow Mainers:
Maine democracy is under attack.
The voice of the people, your voice, is under attack.
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, once named the most progressive Senate candidate in America, unilaterally threw Donald Trump off the ballot last night.
The Maine Republican Party has been fighting these backroom elites since they started their push to subvert democracy by tossing President Trump.
Rest assured we'll be fighting this in court -- all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary. And we reserve our right as a private organization to use a caucus system if that's what it takes to keep a Democrat Hack Secretary of State from infringing on the Rights of Maine voters.
Friends, the enemy is at the gates.
We will be fighting back. If you want to join us, we welcome you to our cause."
Lincoln Day Breakfast- Saturday 2/10/2024
Fundraiser for York County GOP
Fundraiser for York County GOP
Flag Day - June 14, 2023
County Meeting in Alfred
Kentucky Derby - May 6, 2023
Lincoln Day Breakfast - February 11, 2023
Host: York County Republican Committee
Rep. Heidi Sampson - January 18, 2023
Candidate for ME State GOP Chair
Please contact us at 207-370-7523.
Address:
YRTC
PO Box 433
York, ME 03909
We appreciate the Patriots that are willing to stand up for freedom!
LATEST POSTS
The Lastest Posts widget will appear here on the published site.
POPULAR POSTS
The Most Popular Posts widget will appear here on the published site.