Free Republic

The United States Navy has appropriated $34 million for six new workforce initiatives at Bath Iron Works (BIW) as part of the Fiscal Year 2023 Defense Appropriations bill. This inclusion came at the request of Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) as part of a larger effort to improve the infrastructure at shipyards responsible for building the Navy’s destroyers. “The crews of the Bath-built DDG-51 destroyers defending commercial shipping in the Red Sea today serve as vivid reminders of how important it is that the United States maintain a robust shipbuilding capability to support the U.S. Navy,” Sen. Collins said in a...

Portland business owners and retail workers joined the organization “Enough is Enough” to release a video Thursday drawing attention to the growing crime and violence in the city’s homeless encampments. “Enough is Enough” is a Portland-based Ballot Question Committee that launched in 2022 in opposition to several citizen initiatives led by the Maine Democratic Socialists of America (MDSA). “Untold stories of assaults, harassment, hard drug use, human waste, and discarded needles plague the area while the city council ignores pleas for assistance,” Enough is Enough wrote in a Thursday press release. “Many retail workers declined to speak publicly about the...

We know people are smoking crack at the White House — but now we have to wonder, is someone smoking crack at the Blaine House too? What else would explain Gov. Janet Mills’ announcement on August 2nd that she wants to encourage 75,000 MORE immigrants to settle here over the next five years? That’s more than the total population of Portland — by far Maine’s largest city. Anyone who’s not delusional or malevolent or stoned understands that Maine is in the grip of an unprecedented demographic and humanitarian crisis. The question before us is this: Which of the adjectives above...

Nurses and other health care workers at MaineGeneral Health, one of Maine’s largest healthcare providers, were unceremoniously fired two years ago if they refused to take the experimental mRNA injections touted as COVID-19 preventatives. Some of those workers were even slapped with misconduct charges for refusing to comply with the mandate, many were later denied unemployment benefits, and no requests for religious exemptions were honored.

Roughly 100 migrants protested outside of the Portland Exposition Building Wednesday morning, briefly blocking traffic along a busy Park Ave, to raise alarm about the “awful conditions” inside the shelter, with one man telling the Maine Wire that there was not enough food and limited ability to shower. The migrants also complained about the uncertain future they face when taxpayer-funded benefits paying for their accommodations run out later this year. “We have children here, but the life is not very good,” said Reagan Mayemba, a migrant staying at the Portland Expo. Mayemba said that they will be “kicked out” in...

As Maine retail heating oil prices surge to $5.43 per gallon and some market analysts predict rationing, Maine’s oil dealers say Gov. Janet Mills could ease pressure on Maine families this winter by issuing a waiver to allow them to import and sell non-low sulphur products, which have been banned in Maine since July 2018.

Shocking audio obtained by The Maine Wire reveals a Maine public school teacher subjecting a student to a racially charged political rant and telling the middle schooler his conservative parents only support former President Donald Trump because they are uneducated. The audio, which was recorded in April, features the voice of Ann Cook, a resource room instructor for Gray-New Gloucester Middle School. It was recorded in secret by a middle school student who was concerned with some of the conversations he had had with Cook, including conversations about her and other students’ sexuality. In the audio, the teacher tells the...

Maine July 13 Policy Alert - LD 1503 Lawmakers passed a sweeping bill banning the use of several “forever” chemicals and now it awaits action by Governor Mills. The Manufacturers Association of Maine monitored this bill, LD 1503 An Act To Stop Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Pollution during the session. Last week we asked the governor to veto this bill. MAME members are good stewards of the environment and are proud of their environmental records, however we strongly feel this is overly broad legislation and will have many unintended consequences. If signed into law, this bill will increase the cost...

Democrat Leadership Block Republican Legislators from Entering State House AUGUSTA, ME -- Maine Republican Party Chair, Dr. Demi Kouzounas, released the following statement regarding a bi-partisan group of legislators being blocked from entering work at the State House for not wearing a mask: "Why is Democrat leadership not following the guidance put forth by the CDC and the Governors office?" said Chair Dr. Demi Kouzounas. "Instead of operating on facts and science, Democrats in Augusta are once again more interested in control and fueling the mask hysteria within their party. As leaders of our state, members of the State House...

Legislative Republicans issued a letter, calling on Speaker Gideon and President Jackson to reconvene the Legislature for the sole purpose of removing Governor Mills’s Civil Emergency powers. May 2, 2020 President Troy Jackson 3 State House Station Augusta, ME 04333 Speaker Sara Gideon 2 State House Station August, ME 04333 Dear President Jackson and Speaker Gideon, We write to ask that you call the Legislature back in to session under Maine Constitution Article IV Part III Section 1 for the express and limited purpose of ending the Governor’s “Proclamation of State of Civil Emergency to Further Protect Public Health” through...

FREEPORT, Maine — After 18 years, the Freeport Flag Ladies will end their weekly flag waving on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. Every Tuesday since the 9/11 attacks, Elaine Greene, Carmen Footer and JoAnn Miller have waved the American flag on Main Street in Freeport to honor those killed and military members serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.

SOUTH PORTLAND — Sometimes it takes a confluence of events to provide clarity to the muddle. The events in this case are the 50th anniversary of the riots surrounding the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August 1968, the recent death of Sen. John McCain and the mind-numbingly idiotic statement by Fox News commentator Marie Harf on “Outnumbered” on Aug. 16 that “the highest form of patriotism is protest.” The muddle is the catastrophic state of the modern Democratic Party.....

WASHINGTON — Gun manufacturing companies came to Connecticut expecting a surge in gun sales after the Sandy Hook massacre, but they might not stay for long under a gun-friendly Republican president.

Ford Motor Co. will more than double spending on electrified vehicles, amplifying its investment in a segment that the auto industry sees growing from what’s now just a fraction of the market. The carmaker will shell out $11 billion bringing 40 electrified vehicles to market by 2022, Jim Farley, president of global markets, said during a presentation at the Detroit auto show. That’s up from the $4.5 billion that Ford said in late 2015 it would invest through the end of the decade. “This $11 billion you’re seeing, that means we’re all in now,” Executive Chairman Bill Ford told reporters...

General Electric is officially headed across the border with a move that delivers a shot in the arm to manufacturing in Ontario and a major blow to Wisconsin and the Export-Import Bank. GE announced Friday morning that it will break ground on a new Brilliant Factory in Welland, Ontario, almost one year after news broke that the industrial giant would close its engine factory in Waukesha, Wisconsin. GE blamed Congress at the time for failing to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank. Located about 15 miles southwest of Niagara Falls, the factory will be dedicated to production of energy-efficient reciprocating gas engines...

But here’s the good news: Manufacturing now represents a relatively small segment of the U.S. economy — just 12 percent, and less than 10 percent of total employment — and the other 88 percent of the economy is doing much better. Witness today’s data showing construction spending near an eight-year high and car sales, forecast to have had the best November on record, still on pace for a record year.

Even as Europe wrestles over how to absorb the migrant tide, experts warn that the flood is likely to get worse as climate change becomes a driving factor. More than 10,000 migrants and refugees traveled to Western Europe via Hungary over the weekend, fleeing conflict-ravaged and impoverished homelands in the hope of finding a more secure life abroad. Even as Europe wrestles over how to absorb the new arrivals, human rights activists and migration experts warn that the movement is not likely to slow anytime soon. Intractable wars, terror and poverty in the Middle East and beyond will continue to...

Pittsburgh (CNN)Vice President Joe Biden warned on Monday that "something is wrong" with the American economy as he launched a Labor Day march here with speculation swirling that he may run for President. In a highly populist speech that could foreshadow the themes he would highlight on the campaign trail, Biden said workers have been "clobbered" in the modern economy. "It used to be when productivity went up in America, everybody got to share. The people who caused the productivity increase, they got to share. They got a piece of the action," Biden said before leading a march of an...

House to Vote This Week On Scalise Bill to Boost Manufacturing and Create More American Jobs November 17, 2014 “This bill takes critical steps toward cutting red tape, reviving our country’s manufacturing base, and creating tens of thousands of jobs for hard-working Americans.” – House Majority Whip Steve Scalise America is blessed with affordable energy, and this abundance has helped ignite a powerful manufacturing renaissance that is bringing much needed jobs and investment back to the United States. But in order for the U.S. to take full advantage of this opportunity, it is critical that we have the right policies...

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