News
Information for charting path forward.
- Testimony at Rockland City Council on The Dangers of Police Cooperation with ICEThe following is a video record of the testimony of of Abi Morrison, Annegien Zuidema, and Peter Yanz to the Rockland City Council in Maine on March 10, 2025. Video credit: Marjorie Strauss. Transcript follows. You have a choice: a choice between words and actions. The resolution affirming community trust and clarifying law enforcement responsibilities claims that Rockland police will not participate in targeting people based on immigration status. But this council has already taken federal money, the Operation Stonegarden Grant funds, and those will compel our law enforcement officers to do exactly that. On January 29, 2025 the president… Read more: Testimony at Rockland City Council on The Dangers of Police Cooperation with ICE
- Proposed Abortion Ban Summary
On Friday, H.P. 635 was presented to the Maine Committee on Judiciary. If made law, this bill would end abortion in Maine. As presently written, this bill proposes the following: 1. Repeals the authority of District Court to grant the right to an abortion to a minor. 2. Redefines “Reproductive Healthcare Services” in 14 MRSA 9002 to exclude abortion. 3. Repeals the crime of Elevated Aggravated Assault Upon A Pregnant Person in 17-A MRSA 208-C. Presumably, this is specifically to allow for prosecution of abortion providers, which are called out in MRSA Title 17‑A, section 208-C as being exempt from… Read more: Proposed Abortion Ban Summary - 40 Days of Trump, 75 Grievances for Congress
On March 1, 2025, 131 residents of the towns of midcoast Maine peaceably assembled at the Knox County Courthouse to petition our government for redress of grievances, the protected right of all people living in the United States under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The following list represents the full 75 grievances identified by members of The Audacity as of March 1, each representing an act of the Trump administration during the first 40 days of its second term. We sadly expect many more to follow. We’re sending our list of grievances to each of our members of… Read more: 40 Days of Trump, 75 Grievances for Congress - Protest on the Newcastle-Damariscotta Bridge 2/26/25
[Keep up with the news from Lincoln County Indivisible on Facebook -editor] We arrived in Newcastle for our first protest. (Well, since the late 60’s during the Viet Nam War and the Nixon years. In retrospect, Nixon was a breeze as compared with trump.) I had joined an Indivisible group just last week, and had been told that two weeks ago there were 10 protesters, and that last week there were 20. The hope was that this past Wednesday there might be 30 participants. Well, nearly 90 people showed up and it was so encouraging. Lots of cars traveling both ways over the… Read more: Protest on the Newcastle-Damariscotta Bridge 2/26/25 - Pen Bay Pilot: The Audacity Joins Maine’s 16-County Day of Courage on March 1, 2024
Source: https://www.penbaypilot.com/article/midcoast-activist-group-audacity-meet-sign-march-rockland/255349 Members of the local artistic social movement known as The Audacity are holding a mass meeting, a public-square sing-out of protest songs, and a march to the Knox County Courthouse Saturday, March 1, as part of the statewide 16 Counties for Courage day of action. “Members of the public who support democracy and who oppose the turn toward authoritarianism, bigotry, and corruption in America are invited to join,” the organizers said, in a news release. Part 1 of the day on March 1 begins at 10 a.m. with a mass meeting at the First Universalist Church, 345 Broadway,… Read more: Pen Bay Pilot: The Audacity Joins Maine’s 16-County Day of Courage on March 1, 2024
Views
Perspectives, commentary, and discussion about the authoritarianism, bigotry, and corruption of our time.
- Dear Soldier
After one of our recent protests, a man identifying himself as a veteran called us “Nazis” and spat that we should serve in the military before we dare to criticize this country. Excuse me? Plenty of us protesters have served in the military. Go talk to Jon Soltz of votevets.org in Boothbay and you’ll get an ear-full. Some of the harshest voices of criticism come from veterans. I am sincere when I say “thank you for your service”, but if military service were the only thing responsible for giving us our rights, then you’d think that China, Russian, and North… Read more: Dear Soldier - I’m learning from y’all!!Hi, neighbors in the Maine resistance community! My friend who lives in Camden shared your Audacity:CAT link with me. I love how creative and articulate you are as you organize and choose actions! Your website is so fun and inviting! I am an old white lady in western North Carolina near Asheville. We have stuff going on here but OMG is the messaging ever BORING and OLD SCHOOL!!! I’m going to bring your creative spirit to my local folks and see if we can raise our game. Then maybe the young people will be more interested in including us in… Read more: I’m learning from y’all!!
- Why Protest? Reason #1: Different Games and When it’s Not a Game At allEpisode 1 of a YouTube series on the question, “Why Protest?” Each video shares an answer from a different vantage point or experience of protest. Episode summary: GOP senators voted unanimously on 3/1/25 to target some of the already most vulnerable children for being different. Living in Maine, it’s necessary to point out this includes Senator Susan Collins. The morning after the vote, the Ivy League Debate Club circles in Democratic Leadership are murmuring their wishes that we regular folk avoid talking about it. “Shh. This issue loses the game in Maine!” they say. But we’re not in an oak-paneled… Read more: Why Protest? Reason #1: Different Games and When it’s Not a Game At all
- When The Never Is Inside Your Own House
Our certainty in shared values seemed justified in simpler times. It’s easy to stand against Nazism when it’s an evil of the past. It’s something else when the Nazis have gained control of your own country, when they hold every major lever of power. When Vice President JD Vance told the Germans that they must make way for a new generation of Nazis, he did so as part of a delegation that included Jack Posobiec, an American Nazi who now wanders the halls of the White House at will, who a year before had lifted a crucifix while speaking at… Read more: When The Never Is Inside Your Own House - Parent Complains to the US Department of Education About Rogue Sects EducationToday, the US Department of Education set up a web site solely dedicated to providing a way for Americans to report public schools for the offense of having inclusion, equity, and diversity in their classrooms. I could see right away why this project is such a priority for the US Department of Education. I mean, imagine what it must feel like for people to discover that public schools, of all places, are finding ways to include a diversity of students in their classrooms in an equitable way! The web site is at a standalone domain at EndDEI.gov. The site features… Read more: Parent Complains to the US Department of Education About Rogue Sects Education
Art
Works of original visual, literary, and performing creativity.
- A Rally Song, PoemWe won’t avert our gaze, ignore what’s in sight, Our freedom is threatened; we must stand and fight. For our children, ourselves, we will rise and be bold, Together as one, our story unfolds. In democracy’s name, no ruler shall reign, We’ll stand firm and strong, through struggle and pain. When push comes to shove, we’ll hold to our aim, For our nation we’ll battle, igniting the flame. By: Michael Martineau
- Protest Song
- We Don’t Want No Illegal Kings Around Here (lyrics)Noel Jost-Coq wrote it, and she sings it! The folks who are gathering in Rockland every Saturday at noon are full of creative energy, coming up with their own messages of dissent. Lyrics: We Don’t Want No Illegal Kings Around Here We Don’t Want No Illegal Kings Around Here The Patriots Fought the English King And We Ain’t Going to Kiss that Ring No, We Don’t Want No Illegal Kings Around Here — written by Noel Jost-Coq for The Audacity, February 2025
- Are You With Me Today? (Protest Song Lyrics)Imagine a rockabillyish pulse to it. Chords: F, C, B flat in that order. Not that complicated, which is good at a protest. The tune is kind of a modified Froggy-Went-A’Courtin’. Crowd response is in parentheses. Steal this song. Tell them about us or don’t, but pass this song along if you like it. ARE YOU WITH ME TODAY? Are you with me (we’re with you) today?Are you with me (we’re with you) today?Because today we’re going to make them seeAmerica stands for democracy?Oh are you with me (we’re with you) today? Oh am I with you (you’re with us!)… Read more: Are You With Me Today? (Protest Song Lyrics)
- Political Cartoons of Opposition in a Time of Intimidation
These are four political cartoons created by a member of The Audacity that depict different aspects of the moral rot of the presidency and person of Donald Trump. The targeting of the most vulnerable under the new regime is a consistent theme of these drawings. When I am asked to share someone’s works, I am usually eager to name the creator to properly credit that person’s work. In this case, however, the artist asked me to maintain her anonymity. “I’ve taken my signature off them since the times seem to warrant discretion,” she explained. When safety outweighs attribution for an… Read more: Political Cartoons of Opposition in a Time of Intimidation
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