Archive for Maine

Maine Joins 12 Other States in Officially Supporting an End to Corporate ‘Personhood’

And it’s high time, too.
mapofmaine

From Mark Karlin, Editor of BuzzFlash at Truthout:

Twelve states are officially backing a constitutional amendment to eliminate corporate personhood, and Maine just became the thirteenth.

According to he Bangor Daily News:

Sen. Richard Woodbury, I-Yarmouth, plans to introduce a resolution Tuesday in the Maine Senate that directs the state’s congressional delegation to support a constitutional amendment that would overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 “Citizens United” opinion equating campaign spending with free speech….

In March, independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Democratic U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch of Florida introduced a constitutional amendment to overturn “Citizens United.” The proposed amendment would “expressly exclude for-profit corporations from the rights given to natural persons by the Constitution of the United States, prohibit corporate spending in all elections, and affirm the authority of Congress and the states to regulate corporations and to regulate and set limits on all election contributions and expenditures.”

More here at Truthout:

What I will not write about today

frustrated15Sometimes I get so frustrated and/or disheartened and/or annoyed by some of the news stories of the day that I can’t bring myself to write about them. Here are a few recent reports that made my blood pressure hit the roof. I am avoiding delving into them at length out of concern for my physical and mental health.

See what I mean? So who’s up for a couple of Margs or a trough of wine?

drunk flamingos

VIDEO– Maine GOP chairman on black voters: “Nobody in town knows anyone who’s black. How did that happen?”

“In some parts of rural Maine, there were dozens, dozens of black people who came in and voted on Election Day. Everybody has a right to vote, but nobody in town knows anyone who’s black. How did it happen? I don’t know. We’re going to find out. I think it’s a problem.”

You heard that right, the chief Republican poo-bah in Maine finds it odd that mystery “blah people” in rural Maine turned out to vote. Why, those pesky “urban” voters! Who do they think they are, and where do they get off thinking they can cast ballots like white people? How dare they? WHO are they? Where’d they come from?

Dun-dun-dunnn!

Besides, everyone who’s anyone knows that President Obama got black people to vote by giving them all kinds of free “gifts” or they’d never have turned out. He “wooed” them! With free stuff!

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And whoa Nelly! Justwaitaminutethere! Maine’s not 100% lily white? Why didn’t anyone notify GOP state chairman Charlie Webster?!

Think Progress:

GOP state chairman Charlie Webster aims to find those who committed the alleged fraud fraud by sending thank you cards to voters, and seeing if they are returned to sender… [A]nd having a piece of mail bounce back is not proof that voters intentionally lied about their address.

UPDATE via Tagean. Here’s his defense. Oy:

Said Webster: “There’s nothing about me that would be discriminatory. I know black people. I play basketball every Sunday with a black guy. He’s a great friend of mine. Nobody would ever accuse me of suggesting anything.”

Again: Voter I.D. fraud is nearly non-existent, and, of course, the GOP-generated Voter I.D. laws affect mostly Democratic voters.

Video- Best Marriage Equality Ad Ever: “It’s About Family”

Tears a’plenty. Via.

Doonesbury: “Maine’s shocking wave of voter fraud– at least TWO incidents in 38 years!”

We owe Garry Trudeau yet another huge thank you for this story arc. Here’s the first installment, here’s the second,  here’s the third, and here’s the fourth.

And here is Pennsylvania’s legal stipulation that there is no voter fraud.

Here are all our posts on voter suppression. This is a huge issue that needs more attention.

And now, because it’s election season and we’ll be extra busy, we GottaAsk. We do so reluctantly and would love to reach our goal so we can stop asking already!

Please note: You can chip in to help TPC using the widget below via PayPal or major credit cards.

Quickie: Gay Marriage Back on Ballot in Maine

Today’s Quickie:

Back in 2009, Maine voted against marriage equality, but now things are different, in a good way.

How nice to see this country making progress, as opposed to what so many conservatives wish for us.

Via Taegan:

“Advocates for same-sex marriage turned in enough valid signatures to get a question on the November ballot,” the Portland Press Herald reports.

That was today’s Quickie. Was it good for you?

Mitt Romney wins Maine caucuses

Willard Romney won the CPAC straw poll too. Big big day for Flipper.

MSNBC:

Mitt Romney: 39%

Ron Paul: 36%

Rick Santorum:18%

Newt(ered): 6″%.

Willard didn’t severely beat Paul, and I’m hearing he got 12% less of the vote than he did in 2008.

Ah, here’s the CNN email alert:

Mitt Romney wins the Maine GOP caucuses, with 39% of the vote, beating Ron Paul into second place with 36%.

The former Massachusetts governor comes off an embarrassing trio of losses Tuesday, but he was already ahead in the delegate race. Before the Maine results CNN estimated he had 115 out of 1,144 needed to win the nomination to challenge President Barack Obama.

Former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich did not actively compete in the state’s caucuses.

The caucuses were mostly held between February 4 and 11; at stake were 21 delegates, to be committed proportionally. The results were compiled by the Maine Republican Party and kept secret until tonight.