Michael Magras

And even better: Despite the cowardly refusal of @mainedems.bsky.social to back the initiative, Maine voters supported a red flag law by a vote of 60 to 40 percent.

Zohran Mamdani has won the New York City mayoral race. Mamdani will be the first Muslim and first person of South Asian descent to serve as the city’s mayor. At 34 years old, he would also be the youngest mayor to run City Hall in modern history. nymag.com/intelligence...

Hi, Maine Beacon. You've run many stories about the need for more gun control in Maine. Why did you tell me that a story I suggested about Freeport's refusal to implement even bare-bones gun control "isn't something we'd cover"?

BAD BAD GIRL is a unique mashup of literary novel and memoir that tells the fictionalized story of Gish Jen’s mother, from her 1924 birth in Shanghai to her death in the United States in 2020.

Hi, Maine Democratic Party (@mainedems.bsky.social). I just received your fundraising solicitation. You ignored eight messages--eight--in which I asked you why the party isn't advocating for further gun control measures. Friendly advice: Don't treat your allies as if their voices don't matter.

Hi, again, @freeportmaine.bsky.social. Can you ask Freeport, Maine, town council chair Joanna Benoit why she and the rest of the council have done nothing all year to address frightening gun noise near some of the town’s homes and businesses? She sent this message to me 3 weeks before her election.

It makes me uneasy, too. A so-called regular guy who owns an arsenal and spends his weekends shooting things is not my ideal candidate.

I'm a Maine progressive who cares about democracy, leadership that serves working people, and all the rest. Which is why I'm frustrated that Platner has repeatedly refused to answer my questions about gun control. I hate to say this, but none of the Democrats currently running has won me over yet.

Hi, Maine People's Alliance. I contacted you to ask for help with a gun problem in Freeport. I would have thought a progressive organization would want greater gun control. Why did you tell me you don't have the "capacity" to help?

Thank you. I understand how some people feel, but that doesn't justify a death wish. Diane tells me, quite rightly, that I shouldn't let it bother me. I'm trying.

See, this is why I'm rarely on Bluesky. There are people on this platform whose impulse yesterday was not to celebrate Diane Keaton but to publicly wish Woody Allen were dead. I find that MAGA-like and reprehensible. Nobody agrees?

I won't name names, but some people on this platform are using the sad occasion of Diane Keaton's death to take pot shots at a director they hate, to the point of wishing him dead. To those people: I get that you choose to believe a certain story, but keep your despicable thoughts to yourself.

YouTube video by Movieclips Annie Hall (5/12) Movie CLIP - Awkward Annie (1977) HD

A magnificent performance from one of the greatest films ever made. RIP, Diane Keaton. www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXy9...

Thanks. On a more pleasant note, good luck to the Brewers.

@jesterholm.bsky.social Thanks, Jeff. Other residents and I have politely asked town officials multiple times to stop this. Since they won't, I plan to publicly embarrass them at every opportunity. We'll see what that does to the town economy.

A list of the seven elected public officials in Freeport, Maine, who have refused to pass a firearms ordinance: Joanna Benoit, John Egan, Darrel Fournier (now an ex-councilor), Chip Lawrence, Matthew Pillsbury, Daniel Piltch, and Eric Smith.

These @freeportmaine.bsky.social Town Councilors have the authority to pass a firearms ordinance to stop this. Most towns in our area have done so. Freeport refused, even though Council Chair Joanna Benoit wrote to me before her election that she would "advocate for a gun-free Freeport." 2/2

Once again, we're listening to loud gunfire in @freeportmaine.bsky.social. Town officials were informed that many residents who suffer from anxiety are traumatized by this, but they refuse to stop it. A police sergeant even came to our home and tried to intimidate me into dropping my complaint. 1/2

There's still a lot of time left and much to learn, but in the off-chance anyone is listening: Jordan Wood, U.S. Senate candidate from Maine, supports an expansion of red flag laws. I asked gun enthusiast @grahamformaine.bsky.social three times for his thoughts on gun control. He wouldn't answer me.

"I'm not saying we wouldn't get our hair mussed." (One of my favorite films.)

Also, if I may, can you find out why, when I called the Freeport, Maine, police for help during an hour of terrifying gunfire that shook our house, an officer came to my house instead and, in what I interpreted as an act of intimidation, tried to pressure me into stopping my complaints?

Hi, Rep. Pingree. I'm one of your constituents. Can you find out why the Freeport, Maine, police refuse to stop a gun problem in our town, 20 miles from Lewiston? They know it's occurring, and they know who's doing it, but they won't stop it. The chief won't even answer me. I'd appreciate your help.

Yet another magazine article about Graham Platner in which the interviewer didn't ask this competitive shooter for his thoughts on badly-needed gun reform. I asked him three times (I'm a Maine progressive), but he won't respond. Could someone please ask him? I'd like to hear his thoughts.

I'm a Maine progressive. Did you receive my email? I wrote to ask you if you support further gun reform legislation in Maine, which I believe is sorely needed. I look forward to receiving your answer.

Hi, @freeportmaine.bsky.social. Why do the Freeport police respond to complaints about barking puppies during the daytime but won't address complaints about explosions of gunfire from backyard shooting ranges that occur at the same time? And please ask the police chief if he received my complaint.

One hopes that someone who isn't afraid of fascists would be willing to respond. It's a legitimate question to ask a candidate for national office in the United States.

Thank you. I hope to hear more from him on the topic. I'm aware that he's a competitive pistol shooter. I love so much about his platform (I'm a Bernie supporter, too), but gun reform is an important issue. I'll look forward to hearing his thoughts.

I'm a Maine progressive. I've asked him three times if he supports badly-needed gun reform. There's not a word about it on his campaign website or in this article. I want to defeat Collins, and I want to like Platner, but he won't answer the question. Can you get an answer for me?

It appears that only three people were willing to boost yesterday's post in which I asked for help with a gun problem in our town. Please forgive me, but anyone who claims to care about gun reform but finds it too much trouble to tap a screen is no different from the thoughts-and-prayers crowd.

Every one of these shootings is horrific. There's no excuse for this. I contacted your organization a while back for help with a gun problem in Freeport, Maine, that local officials refuse to address. You did not reply. Would you be able to help?

They're awfully reluctant to change their antiquated ways. But if I have any talent at all, it's a talent for being a pest.