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In this issue of Maine's Rolling Thunder we'll be looking at the politics of Maine. Fist let's take a look at the parties that Mainers prefer (ordered by number of members and experience of members if number is equal):

1. United States Workers Party: 7
2. United Independents Party: 6
3. Federalist Party: 5
4. Libertarian Party: 2
5. S.E.E.S.: 2
6. Republican Party: 1
7. Apathy Brigade: 1
8. Amer. Defense and Trade Party: 1
9. American Military Party: 1

There are, of course, citizens that aren't party members:

Independents: 16
Non citizens: 2
Under age: 13

To clarify, under age citizens are those under level 7 that can't be party members, independents are those above level 7 but not members af any party and non citizens are, well, those that don't have US citizenship. The statistics are made by day 1015, 2:00.

So we see that we have more party members that independent (26-16) which is encouriging, showing an interest in politics from Mainers. Also the 9 parties represented here reflect a great diversity - way to go for open mindedness! We have 3 big parties in Maine ant the largest is the United States Workers Party.

Now let's take a look at the congressional elections:

Candidate Member of No. of votes
1. Heero Blaze Federalist Party 15
2. Marxus United United States Workers Party 14
3. Bartolomeu Dias S.E.E.S. 4
4. Bishop M Amer. Defense and Trade Party 4

Total votes: 37 Presence: 78.72%

The winner's presentation is found here: http://www.erepublik.com/en/newspaper/the-flaming-press-240937/1

So what happened? Let's say that the Federalists convinced more Mainers and not blame the result on electoral tourism. Of course the result may have been different not for the Republican party cheating and moving the United States Workers Party out of the top 5 parties that can nominate candidates.


And now, a short interview with the winner oh Maine's Congress seat:

Maine's Rolling Thunder: The elections were very close, only one vote separating you from second place - how did you do it?

Heero Blaze: I had a lot of support from friends and the Federalist Party. At first, I thought I'd win by a much larger margin since I was up by three by the middle of election day. But my opponent, Marxus, had a great support system as well from his party and rallied voters in Maine to tighten the race until the very end. By the last thirty minutes, Marxus was in the lead by one vote, by ultimately the last remaining voters chose me instead. It was an excellent and exciting race in my opinion.

Maine's Rolling Thunder: You promised Transparent Government but are yet to publish an article on you congressional activity - how much longer do we have to wait?

Heero Blaze: Yes, I do have an article coming. The problem I'm facing is whether or not it will be too long. As a new Congressman, I was introduced to a huge library of information regarding procedures and traditions of Congress. Of course, my article can't be a list of rules or a history book on Congress, I don't think the readers or voters would want to read that.

Instead, I'll introduce the readers to the current issues in the Congress and my experiences as a new Congressman. One interesting piece of that article will regard the Impeachment of the Speaker of the House. It was the first issue and vote for the new Congress and I definitely want the voters to know why I made my decision that I did.

Maine's Rolling Thunder: Specifically, what have you done and will you do for Maine in your term in Congress?

Heero Blaze: I want Congress the recognize that Maine is a valuable state in politics. I read through the debates and vote on every issue, both in-game and on the Congress's forum. Maine may be a small state in terms of size and population, but Maine is still a valuable political player.

Maine's Rolling Thunder: Best of luck to you in politics and make us proud!

We must add that Heero Blaze just published the promised article. You can read it here: http://www.erepublik.com/ro/article/first-few-days-in-congress-as-a-new-congressman-1504022/1/20


Now some local news - the Democrats never tire of telling us what to do or not do (it's their gift):

Maine State Senator Proposes Ban on Texting While Driving
08/31/2010

A Cumberland County Senator has introduced a bill to ban the practice of "texting while driving." Maine's current distracted driver law considers the behavior to be a secondary offense - a driver must be pulled over for another reason before he or she can be cited. But this bill makes it a primary offense to be caught typing on a keypad while behind the wheel.

Aaron Gregory commutes about 20 minutes a day from Corinth to the University College of Bangor. Standing near the student parking lot, he admits that he sometimes punches out text messages to his friends on his cell phone when he's driving.

"I definitely have, I'm not going to lie, you now, yes. But I would say. definitely not while I would think I was in danger while driving," he says.

For example, Gregory says he won't type when the car is in motion. "You know, like at a stop light, foot on the brake, I think that's okay. And I think it's a lot like eating while driving - you shouldn't be eating while you're like getting off an on-ramp but if you're driving down 95, plenty of people have ate while they drive in a straight line."

But Democratic state Sen. Bill Diamond of Windham says no one should ever text while behind the driver's wheel. He's put forth a bill to make that law. "Frankly, it's becoming much more than just a teenage problem - it's become a veteran driver, older people problem as well," he says.

Thirty states now ban texting while driving. Diamond says his supporters include AAA and law enforcement. The consequence of texting would be a fine. The amount has not yet been determined, but it would be comparable to other moving violations, Diamond says.

"It's not my intent to make this an exaggerated crime, it's simply to put it in the right perspective," Diamond says. "It's hard to chase technology with laws, and I've been trying to avoid that, which is what the distracted driving law did. It simply said anything that's a distraction would be a violation, but that really has not been any incentive at all, come to find out, to stop people from doing this activity."

Diamond said he was sitting in a parked car during this interview, but he admitted that he too has texted while driving.

"I cannot tell a lie. Yes, I have to be honest," he admits. "But you know what, even though I might have been sitting at an intersection, or pulling out of a dooryard, that's just as bad and I'm just as guilty as anybody else, and I need to make sure that I don't do that either. And I know better."

There are some who say that talking on a cellphone and using a headset is as safe as talking to a passenger or listening to the radio. But there doesn't seem to be much defense of texting while driving.

"When you take your eyes off the road for two seconds, it more than doubles your chance to be in a crash," says Pat Moody, a spokesman for Triple-A Northern New England. "Texting while driving is an inherently dangerous behavior because it involves all three types of distraction - a visual, a manual and a cognitive. So we're taking our eyes off the road, we're taking our hands off the road and you're taking your mind off the driving task."

Moody says that a recent AAA survey shows that one in seven drivers admitted to texting while driving. Nineteen-year-old Arielle Maloon of Detroit says she's been driving for three years, and only texts in places where she doesn't suspect police will be lurking.

"Even if you had a law that you tried to enforce, it's not going to really get across," she says. "People are still going to do it. And it's just like drinking and driving - people are still going to do it even though it's a law not to."

Fellow student Aaron Gregory says he's opposed to the law, saying police already have plenty of reasons to pull people over.

"I think if they ban texting while driving, then, you know, should you ban talking to your children in the back seat while you drive, should you ban eating while you drive? Where do you draw the line?" he asks.

The bill will likely appear before the next session of the Maine Legislature.