Free Republic

BANGOR, Maine - Maine Sen. Susan Collins has joined those making an early endorsement in the GOP race for president. Collins told MPBN News she is supporting former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. “I have recently made a decision after talking extensively with Jeb Bush that I am going to endorse him for president," Collins said at an event in Bangor.

Maine’s Paul LePage became the first sitting governor to endorse a candidate in the 2016 GOP nomination race, throwing his support behind Christie Christie’s fledgling bid for president. Mr. LePage said that the New Jersey governor has been an inspiration to him over his career and said Mr. Christie, as the head of the Republican Governors Association, played an instrumental role in helping him win re-election last year. (SNIP) LePage refused to criticize Christie for accepting Obamacare’s huge Medicaid expansion, a program LePage has derided as “welfare expansion” and that he repeatedly vetoed when the Maine Legislature sent it to...

PRESQUE ISLE, Maine —It is not uncommon for firefighters to get called to rescue a cat stuck in a tree, but crews in northern Maine recently had to rescue a cat's owner. A woman climbed 75 feet up a tree in Presque Isle to try and save her cat, but then she panicked and called 911. The fire department came with a ladder truck and brought her to safety.

On 4 June, 2015, LD 652, the Maine constitutional carry bill passed the House, with the amendment required to meet Governor Paul Le Page's demand that 18-20 year old veterans not be required to have a permit to carry.  It was sent to the Senate for concurrence.  The Senate immediately concurred, and second amendment supporters believed that the bill would be sent to Governor Le Page for signature and enactment into law.  The last action on the bill was on June 4th.  From mainelegislature.org: 6/4/2015 House PASSED TO BE ENACTED. Sent for concurrence. ORDERED SENT FORTHWITH. 6/4/2015 Senate On...

Two 2016 presidential competitors have joined forces to get a ban on the indefinite detention of U.S. citizens included in an annual defense policy bill. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.), both of whom are running for president, have joined up with other senators to introduce an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), currently before the Senate, that would ban indefinite detention of U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents, without being charged or given a trial, unless authorized by Congress.Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) also put their names on the...

If liberals had to endure what conservatives do on campus, or off of it, they would be screaming “witch hunt” so loudly you would think that we were all back in Salem. Susan Dench, founder and president of the Informed Women’s Network, was named by the governor to the University of Maine’s board of regents. “I have the perfect background,” she told the audience at the Independent Women’s Forum (IWF) “Women Lead” summit meeting on June 4, 2015. “I have a background in business and they are in financial difficulty.” But first she had to get past the state assembly....

BANGOR, Maine — City police have arrested a 34-year-old woman in connection with two stabbings at the Bangor Mall on Tuesday that sent two people to the hospital, Detective Sgt. David Bushey said Tuesday evening. Elizabeth Ellis, whom police describe as a transient, was charged with two counts of aggravated assault, Class B felonies that carry a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $20,000.

The Maine House of Representatives has overwhelmingly passed a bill to allow citizens to carry concealed weapons without a permit. L.D. 652, which would eliminate the permitting requirement to carry a concealed weapon (and also permit people to carry a weapon in a car), passed with bipartisan support in a 83-62 vote. The bill passed through the Senate on May 28. Gov. Paul LePage has indicated that he will sign the bill into law. Maine, a "shall-issue" state, has issued over 36,000 concealed weapons permits, including permits to out-of-state residents. Maine has exceptionally low crime rates, and a relatively high...

AUBURN, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage pitched his plan to reform Maine’s tax system and realign the state’s spending priorities in a “town hall” forum at Edward Little High School on Wednesday. LePage announced he intends to put a statewide ballot measure before voters in 2016 that would ask them to amend the Maine Constitution to eliminate the state’s income tax for good. He told Eileen Heidrich of Turner that that way he would be sure his goal to end the state’s income tax completely could not be undone by politicians in Augusta. “We are working on the language; we’ve...

Yesterday, 28 May, 2015, the Maine Senate voted to restore Mainers second amendment rights.   The legislation would remove the requirement to obtain a permit to carry a concealed firearm.  The earliest ban on concealed carry in Maine that I could find, was passed in 1967.   It has never been illegal for Mainers to carry handguns openly.    The Maine Senate has a majority of Republicans, but the vote was expected to be closer.  The bill passed 21-14.  From the pressherald.com:  The decisive vote led advocates to predict passage in the House of Representatives, which could take up the proposal...

To the memory of Free Republic’s “Kenny Bunk.” Continue to love each other like brothers, and remember always to welcome strangers, for by doing this, some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13, 1-2 Our FRiend Kenny Bunk passed away this weekend. He had many compatriots and admirers here, and so I thought I would tell you a little more about him, in order that you might in a small way celebrate his life as I do. Kenny knew the classics (or the western canon, generally) inside and out, and was a focused, passionate student of ancient and...

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) -- Republican Gov. Paul LePage vowed Friday to veto every Democratic-sponsored bill that gets to his desk for the rest of the time he's in office unless the Legislature agrees to let residents weigh in on whether to get rid of the income tax. "The Maine people deserve to have a say on the income tax and until they lift it, that's my leverage," LePage said during a wide-ranging and spirited news conference at the Blaine House. "And yes, is that politics? I'm playing their game. I'm finally learning to play the game of the politician." LePage...

[full title] GOP’s demonic new crusade: Right-wing zealots look for even crueler ways to treat the poor like garbage Happy Memorial Day! But if you’re in Wisconsin, and relying on food stamps, remember that Republicans don’t want you to have ketchup on your hamburger. They’d probably rather you didn’t have a hamburger at all, but Wisconsin farmers and ranchers have clout, and so proposed cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program made room for Wisconsin products. But they still don’t want you to have “crab, lobster, shrimp, or any other shellfish.” Or ketchup. Or spaghetti sauce. Really. For now, that’s...

KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine — Jeb Bush, who has a longtime relationship with this seaside town where generations of Bushes have vacationed, is having a house built for him at the family compound on Walker’s Point, with a wraparound porch and expansive views of the Atlantic Ocean. The home, on a 1.3-acre site assessed by the town at $1.4 million, was initiated for him by his mother and father, who have tried to preserve the family ties to the picturesque property. But as he tries to appeal to middle-class Americans in his likely Republican presidential campaign — and distinguish himself as his...

Maine recently joined 35 other states this year in filing the Convention of States (COS) resolution calling for an Article V convention limited to proposing amendments that impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and limits terms of office for its officials and members of Congress. The Convention of States Project now holds the record for filing the most identical Article V resolutions in a single year --and it demonstrates that state legislators are realizing their power to correct our nation’s most pressing problems through this long-neglected constitutional process. As Alexander...

Maine may be the most likely state to pass constitutional carry next.  The state is one of those which has has preserved open carry without government permission, though that applies to over 60% of the states.   In addition, it has a quirky shall issue permit system that gives a little bit of arbitrary power, in the form of a "good moral character" requirement, to local police or to elected officials, if there is no police chief.  The system was created in 1985, one of the early "shall issue" laws. These characteristics have lead to an effective campaign to reform...

KITTERY POINT, ME, May 1, 2015, (LifeSiteNews.com) – Parents at one Maine school are upset that children as young as six were exposed to a book promoting transgender issues, in the name of "acceptance."Parents were not only not consulted, they were never even notified of their children's exposure to transgenderism.Horace Mitchell Primary School read the book I Am Jazz to first-grade students. The book is about a boy who identifies as a girl from the age of two, "with a boy's body and a girl's brain." He eventually finds a doctor who tells his parents, "Jazz is transgender."Parents began to...

New England fishermen of important food species like cod and haddock say the looming cost of paying for at-sea monitors could put them out of business this year. Officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service said the money it had been using to pay for the monitors — trained workers who collect data on fishing trips — will be needed for other obligations. That means groundfishermen who catch fish like cod, haddock and pollock in New England waters will likely have to start paying the cost around August. The new expense is coming at a...

People who are trying to do good for their families and the planet by living a simple life based on traditional skills are facing yet another assault. Artisanal soap makers say new regulations, proposed by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California) and Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), will put them out of business. Many soap makers are rural “kitchen table” operations that rely on the income to fund their simple living lifestyle. Some use milk from goats they raise and ingredients they harvest from the land. The Handmade Cosmetic Alliance posted this form on its website that can be used to reach out...

In a previous column, Towhall.com highlighted the upset and ascendancy of Republican Larry Hogan to Governor of Maryland.Today, conservatives frustrated with Washington bickering, pandering, and inaction should look to another governor, in an otherwise overlooked part of the country: Maine’s Paul LePage.Born into deep poverty in Lewiston Maine, LePage was the first of eighteen children in a traditional Catholic family. His father beat him repeatedly, and the impoverished mother could only look on. Once LePage’s father abused him so thoroughly, Paul ended up in the hospital, where the father attempted to bribe him into lying about his brutal beating. The...