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A
My name is Mackenzie and I started a GoFundMe for the adoptive mother of a nonverbal autistic child. The mother had lost her job because she wasn't able to find adequate care for this autistic child. So she really needed some help with living expenses, paying some back bills. So I launched a GoFundMe to help support them during this crisis. And, and we raised about $10,000 within just a couple of months. I think that the surprising thing was by telling a clear story and just like really being very clear about what we needed, we had some really generous donations from people who were really moved by the situation that this family was struggling with.
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GoFundMe is the world's number one fundraising platform, trusted by over 200 million people.
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Start.
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Start your GoFundMe today at gofundme.com that's gofundme.com gofundme.com this podcast is supported by GoFundMe. The new WeGovy pill is now available through Weight Watchers. Powerful GLP1 results in a simple pill at the lowest price available. And with Weight Watchers, you can get doctor support and personalized nutrition programs. See if you qualify@weight watchers.com ad not reviewed or approved by Novo Nordisk.
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C
Maine is furious. Maine is fuming. What you saw, right, there were thousands of protesters in Portland, Maine, protesting against Donald Trump's despicable regime and the ICE and Border Patrol Gestapo that are terrorizing the people of Maine and the rest of this country. We've seen Donald Trump's approval plummet across the country, but perhaps one of the areas where it is the worst and maybe surprisingly so, but not if, you know, Maine's independent streak. In Maine, Donald Trump's approval right now is below net negative 18%. Just look at Donald Trump's approval in some of these other states right here. I mean, Georgia, he's negative 18.6. Maine, right here, negative 18.4%. Even in Texas, Donald Trump's negative 17.2%. Now in Maine, they're going through a recession in the state induced by Donald Trump's tariffs against the world. Donald Trump's attack on Canada, you know, Maine and Canada's relations are so close that now that Canada's boycotting the United States, that's impacting Maine a ton, especially Canada's tourism boycott. The Trump regime has invaded Maine with ICE and Border Patrol Gestapo, and it announced that invasion right around the same time as its surge with its INVAS invasion of Minneapolis. Now, the Trump regime claims it's pulling out of both Minneapolis and Portland, Maine. But the Trump regime lies about everything and we've seen some horrifying images and the people of Portland, Maine and throughout Maine have experienced horrifying situations where ICE is absolutely terrorizing and torturing the community. I mean, just take a look at this story right here from this past week where Maine's top federal judge, a chief judge, ordered ICE to release a woman arrested without a warrant. Francois Mukiza was detained by ice Gestapo on January 23rd while leaving her neighborhood for work. And Maine's chief judge, US District Court judge, told immigration officials this past Friday they had to release this asylum seeker, Francois Mukaiser, who was arrested as she was leaving her house for work. Just listen to the story. Macisa and her family lived in the country for more than a dozen years having having arrived on visas in 2011 from Colombia. They were refugees there from the Democratic Republic of Congo. She is the mother of a 12 year old US citizen and works providing professional support to residents in an assisted living facility, according to court records. Mukiza has no criminal history, according to her lawyer, and has been waiting since a hearing last summer for an answer on her asylum application. I know that she and her family are ecstatic, attorney Christine Hanley said Friday. Even the week tension has been very trying for their family and very scary for the family. Now Judge Lance Walker wrote in his order that Mukisa status as an asylum seeker had no bearing on his order. Instead, he was more concerned with the lack of an administrative warrant. Quote, I have no difficulty appreciating the Department of Homeland Security or Immigration and Customs Enforcement should be permitted to effectuate the orderly application of federal immigration law prescribed by Congress. Walker, who was nominated Donald Trump in 2018, wrote in the order. This is a Trump appointed judge who's the chief judge in Maine. However, I question the notion that the activities that have brought petitioner and others to the court via habeas petitions have generally borne the hallmark of orderliness and meticulous observation of statutory details. Now dozens, perhaps hundreds, perhaps thousands of other Maine immigrants arrested by ICE and Border Patrol Gestapo in the last year have filed similar petitions alleging that they are being held unlawfully. And so whether you're talking about immigration or the economy, Maine is suffering. I mean, take a look at this. Moody's lists Maine as one of 22 states facing recession right now. Mounting job losses and rising prices are squeezing Maine's economy. If you're noticing your dollar isn't going as far as it used to be, you are weren't alone, 13WGME reports. Sure. Hoping for grocery prices to come down, but those prices are not there. Eggs are still too high, bread is still too high is what you would expect, given the general tenor of the country. $16 billion of Maine's economy comes from tourism, especially Canadian tourism. But Trump's trade war with Canada resulted in Canadians boycotting Maine this past summer. The Maine Office of Tourism reports the state likely lost 225,000 tourists. This and that corresponds to $139 million that stayed in Canada over the summer. And don't get me started on the tariffs against the world, which have increased input prices and increased prices on consumers dramatically. Then you have instances like this taking place in Maine where ICE agents threatened to assault and illegally arrest a U.S. citizen in Portland, Maine. In this video, a man is legally observing ICE activity in his own neighborhood. And watch what the ICE Gestapo do here. Play this clip.
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D
Hi.
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How you doing today?
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D
Good.
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E
You? Are you following us?
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C
Yeah.
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E
Okay, so what you're doing is called impeding federal law enforcement. Okay. It's an 18 USC charge 111.
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D
I see.
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E
First and only warning. Thank you. Continue to impede us and follow us, you will be arrested. Yeah, except I'm not impeding you. Okay. You just openly admitted that you were following us. So I am following you. I'm not impeding you. I am.
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D
I'm observing you.
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E
It is impeding. No, it's actually not the one. Warning. Keep doing it, we'll pull you back out and arrest you. Yeah, okay, thanks.
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C
Then there was this clip that went viral out of Portland, Maine, in South Portland, where ICE take a photo of a peaceful protester and observer of their terrorism. They take a photo and say, we have a nice little database, and we're putting you on that database. Now, let's play this clip right here.
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E
Yeah, yeah. Look at them. Look at them.
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D
The ICE is here, guys.
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Be careful. Be careful. Be over here.
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It's not illegal to record.
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E
Exactly. Yeah, that's what we're doing. Yeah. Why are you taking my information down?
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Because we have a nice little database.
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A
Oh, good.
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And now you're considered domestic terrorist, so we're videotaping you.
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C
Are you crazy?
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D
Now, I want to bring in Troy Jackson, candidate, Democrat, for the governor of Maine in the upcoming election. Troy, great to see you again. Troy. You know, one of the things with this Trump regime is that they'll say things. We're doing this. We're doing this. And then not only is it a lie, but it is such a lie that it was never even attached to a semblance of reality. So, look, the news is out that they. Susan Collins is saying. And also, when you start with Susan Collins is saying, you also may have to have the caveat that it's probably live, but she's saying that ICE is retreating right now from Maine. We've seen some horrific videos of ICE doing terrible things to people in Maine. I don't think it was getting enough attention nationally, but they were doing horrible things to people in Maine. And so they say that, but they say a lot of things. Why don't we start there? Troy. Troy, good to see you, by the way.
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E
Yeah, well, thanks, Ben. Appreciate being on again. Yeah, well, that's the thing. I mean, obviously what's been happening in Minnesota has been horrific, and, you know, that's been taking up everything. What's been going on in Maine is bad, but not compared to there. But we've certainly been dealing with a lot. You know, Susan Collins has been making promises and saying things throughout my entire life. And. And what we know is, you know, they've been going around doing all kinds of crazy stuff here in Maine, hauling people out of vehicles, you know, violating their Fourth Amendment rights, using kids as bait, you know, and it's just been insane what. What's been happening here in Maine and. Yeah, exactly. I mean, they don't let facts get in the way at all of what's been happening. And, you know, it's just something that shouldn't be. It's not the way the Maine has been. And, you know, we're 47th as far as immigration here in Maine. We're the whitest state in the nation. And, you know, they're just going around targeting people for no good reason at all. And it's hurting our economy. It's certainly scaring the people in the state. It's hurting the hospitals, it's hurting the schools. I mean, it's hurting everything. And if anything, Maine needs to welcome immigrants to the state. I mean, we're an older state. We need people to come to it. Certainly, if, you know, there's anyone that's violated any law, we want to make sure that that's taken care of. But that's not the case here. They're just going around targeting anyone that doesn't look like me or you. And that's not the way Maine should be. That's not the way anywhere in the United States should be. And there's no place for it in Maine.
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D
Yeah, I mean, you mentioned the economy and how state like Maine and places throughout this country need some injections of people who want to contribute to this economy because things are rough. And, you know, you put out a video before, earlier in January that things were rough before Trump and things were getting rough and, you know, and getting more rough over the years. You know, the thing is, is that Trump, though, said that I am going to fix this. I'm going to make it better. He's made it worse, but worse yet, he's claimed he's fixed it. Right now, as we're heading into February 2026, he's doing the victory lap as though what just took place over the last year has saved the people of Maine and the rest of this country, that everybody should be grateful and that this is mission accomplished. And that, to me is also part of the thing that's pissing people off. It's like you made it worse and now you're spiking the not stupid. Right? I mean, there's a component of that.
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E
Absolutely. I mean, the thing about, I mean, you're exactly right. I mean, they treated voters like they are idiots. And that is not the case. I mean, we know better. And here in Maine, I mean, our healthcare costs are going through the roof once again. I mean, they're going up even more dramatically. And people know that. People can feel it. Food prices are out of control. You know, our health care, our prescription drugs. And those are all things that, you know, people have been feeling for a long time. And like I said in that video, you know, Democrats have to own that, too. And Trump said he was going to make all those things cheaper, and he hasn't. And that's why people are frustrated with all political parties. And I get that very well. And that's the things that, you know, we need to fight on. We need to Democrats need to step up and fight for health care, prescription drugs, you know, child care, nursing homes, housing has certainly become a huge issue. And you know, what I've been saying, you know, so people across the state understand is that, you know, the Somalians and other immigrants here in Maine are not my oppressors. They're not the ones that have been driving my health care costs up. Wall street have been the ones that have driving my health care costs up. People like Donald Trump that are making sure that his friends are getting more and more money are the ones that are driving my health care across up, not the immigrants that have come to Maine. They're trying to do everything they can to fight for their families. And that's why we have to band together to try and do whatever we can to push back on this, you know, 1% that are, you know, just killing all of us.
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D
You know, then of course, there are the attacks on Canada that happen every day by this Trump regime. He wakes up, he says, now I'm thinking about 100% tariffs on Canada if Canada enters into a trade pact with China. After Trump said, I'm fine with the trade pact with China. And the only reason that Canada did that is because they've been attacked by the United States. So they're just trying to find somebody else because their traditional ally keeps attacking them over and over again. And now we learn that the Trump regime is working with a separatist movement in Alberta, a la Putin, working with separatist movements in the Donbas to try to get Alberta to secede from Canada. And you think about the close relationship between Maine and Canada and also how this impacts the economy there. And it's like, to your point, it's like, what are we doing here? Why. Why are you. What's the end game other than to really harm America?
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E
Yeah, well, I mean, that. That's really close to me for where I live in St. John Valley. I mean, they literally made the St. John river the boundary and split families. You know, one. One day the people were, you know, both sides of the river were Maine. And then one day they just split. The St. John river became the boundary, and people went from, you know, Maine and Canada being split like that. And so we have people on both sides of the river that are family members that are, you know, divided like that. And that's how close, you know, our country is to New Brunswick and Quebec up in the St. John Valley. The, you know, our countries are very well connected. And, you know, I've had, you know, issues with, in the past in the logging industry, but it wasn't the Canadian workers. What it was was the big landowners that were using Canadian workers to drive down wages over here in the United States. We've always had that similarity that. That, you know, working across the borders, that trade. And now it's become a real problem. It's really challenging for logging, it's really challenging for farming, things like that. You know, people are really feeling the effects of the tariffs across the state. And, you know, we're seeing real challenges of people, tourism, things like that, that, you know, these tariffs are hurting the state big time, and something's got to change. I mean, it's not working, and they can say whatever they want, but these tariffs are not something that's been good for the state. And I Don't believe they're good for this country.
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D
Troy, talk to us about your platform. If you were to become the governor of Maine. Tell us what you're focused on. And as many people may recall, we had, John, about maybe six to nine months ago, a lot of excitement behind your campaign as well. There still is. There are lots of as part of the Fight the oligarchy tour, AOC and Bernie and you and Platner kind of representing a generation of Democrats fighting for the people, not fighting for Wall street and speaking to that kind of Bernie, truth to power, fight the oligarchy. But obviously, with so much going on and all of the chaos taking place, sustaining that momentum and reminding people every day that the oligarchy's still here and we still need to fight them. And that's the tough part of a job like yours, and that's the tough part about politics, because people in this day and age, and this is by design by the oligarchs of Trump, people get distracted. And it's like we got to remind people who you are and what you're fighting for and what people like, like Platner and Bernie and AOC are fighting for. So talk to us before we go.
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E
Yeah, well, there's no doubt. I mean, you know, when all these ICE raids start happening and people started getting hauled off, I mean, you got to stand up for that and other things go to the backseat. But I mean, for us, it's always been about economic justice for people. I mean, you know, I started my career, you know, blocking the Canadian border, fighting for people in northern Maine to get better opportunities. And, you know, this campaign is about, you know, people getting better health care, prescription drug coverage, nursing homes, child care, you know, housing. These are the things I've been fighting for. Economic, you know, justice, like I said. I mean, we're going to take on big Pharma, you know, we're going to take on the big landowners here in Maine that have been holding back the logging industry. I mean, we're going to provide better childcare for people that, you know, deserve it. I mean, there's a lot of things that in my time as the main state senator, I've passed bills that unfortunately have been vetoed by our current governor. And that's why I'm running for governor. I'm not having, you know, the big lobby veto my bills anymore. I'm going to become governor so that we can pass bills that actually help Mainers out across the state, because working class people deserve somebody in the Blaine house. That's actually going to fight for them for a change.
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D
Where can people learn more about your campaign?
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E
Troy Jackson from Maine.com check it out.
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D
Troy Jackson running for Governor of Maine Logger. Just hard working Maine guy. Great to see you.
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E
Same here Ben. Thanks so much man.
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D
Absolutely. Everybody hit subscribe. Let's get to 6 million subscribers.
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C
Want to stay plugged in? Become a subscriber to our substack@midasplus.com you'll get daily recaps from Ron Filipkowski, ad free episodes of our podcast and more exclusive content only available@midasplus.com.