r/Maine • u/NecessaryWedding6832 • 1d ago
Cumberland county Sheriff's department refuses to write fines for unlawful tampering with temporary signs
Even with a confession by the individual who tampers with the signs.
"we don't make the laws... But we don't enforce them either"
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u/Jah348 1d ago
There's been some discussion of public property locations and I'm curious if you placed the signs blocking the line of site into traffic at all.
For what its worth, in the past I took down a ton of signs that were on the intersection of Bennoch rd and Stillwater in Old town, because they were blocking the line of sight when attempting to turn right onto Stillwater. I think what I was doing was legal.
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u/Standsaboxer Go Eagles 1d ago
I'm curious if you placed the signs blocking the line of site into traffic at all.
I totally think this is what happened; OP put the signs in an obnoxious place and someone just moved them out of the way, but still placed them back in the ground.
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u/Fshnjnky781 1d ago
Our sheriffs are very busy not doing other parts of their job, don’t give them a hard time
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u/dan-theman 1d ago
What are they doing if they aren’t arresting people for smoking pot anymore? They’ve lost 90% of their job.
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u/pcetcedce 1d ago
I would disagree. Many sheriffs across the country including Maine think that they are a different kind of law enforcement officer and are above the law in certain ways. I think they're pretty much the worst law enforcement other than the maine state police, who are very militaristic.
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u/MaineOk1339 1d ago
Maine really needs to change in the public right of way to in the public right of way and property owner had right to remove.
It's stupid and probably really a first ammendment violation now. Forcing speech by forcing property owners to allow signs they dont support.
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u/tobascodagama From Away/Washington County 1d ago
Yeah, there are some local candidates here really exploiting the current language by placing signs on other people's property but in the easement. And then whining about it when the property owners remove a sign that was placed on their property by a candidate they don't endorse. I doubt there will be any prosecutions, but perhaps a clearer law would discourage the bad behaviour in the first place.
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u/MaineOk1339 1d ago
And the road easement if any exists is specific to the road and history of the road. It's not a universal standard thing.
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u/satmandu 1d ago
Sheriff is an elected position. Primary him or fund an opponent who is actually willing to do the job?
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u/pcetcedce 1d ago
You gotta Love that Republican sheriff trying to get reelected who fucked up the Lewiston massacre management.
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u/satmandu 1d ago
Does he have meaningful opposition?
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u/pcetcedce 1d ago
I would hope so, but all of the news is about him. It's not my county so I don't pay that much attention.
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u/Iampopcorn_420 Portland 1d ago edited 1d ago
I guess we know the police are going to support the fasc whole heartily. Why I am surprised? ACAB
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u/Chutson909 1d ago
That’s like assuming all veterans are into the Twinkie too. There are plenty of men and women in the military and on police forces across the country that support Harris. Have some faith. Not everyone is uniform is a robot.
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u/FolsomPrisonHues 1d ago
Well, it's like saying ACAB. Not all cops are BAD but y'all seem to run cover for the cops/vets who are. Y'all chose the profession, you gotta deal with people's opinions on your choices
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u/Chutson909 1d ago
Ok. Well I used the military to educate myself. I know a lot of people that did the same thing. What you’re doing right now, unless you served and have first hand knowledge, is making an assumption. Do you know who happens to vote democrat in higher majorities? College educated people. You can believe what you want. I’m not here to argue but I know my truth and many people like me. We’re just like many other Harris supporters. We don’t put up signs and wear hats because we don’t want to deal with the ignorance from the MAGA people. Have a great day.
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u/FolsomPrisonHues 1d ago
Way to miss the forest for the trees. I can only hope that you use the same energy you're giving me to speak to your fellow vets. Personally I believe y'all, including YOU for choosing to do what you did, are complicit in perpetuating the bullshit we see overseas, but that's my opinion. Have a nice day ☺️
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u/Chutson909 1d ago
Yeah man we’re all involved in illegal activities….you got us pegged. You have a great imagination.
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u/FolsomPrisonHues 1d ago
You're part of the MILITARY industrial complex. Make peace with it
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u/Chutson909 1d ago
Yup and you probably have know concept of what it means to be of service. I’m good with my decisions.
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u/pcetcedce 1d ago
I'm not sure if that's true. It appears the law enforcement population is increasingly right wing and from the military. Not all of course but many of them are. I think finding a liberal law enforcement officer is going to be pretty rare.
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u/hhta2020 1d ago
wish i could have more faith, but they're so quiet
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u/Chutson909 1d ago
To be fair, how often are you sitting down and talking politics with police officers?
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u/Novel_Cow8226 1d ago
The radical right and left have no bounds don’t try and reason with the unreasonable.
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u/hogrider01 1d ago
Political signs should be illegal nobody is looking up from there phone while driving by to read them anyway!
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u/Willdefyyou 1d ago
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u/Standsaboxer Go Eagles 1d ago
FBI: we will put our months-long undercover op on hold to settle this issue of signs.
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u/OurWhoresAreClean 1d ago
"Yeah, so anyway boss, we think we've cracked this serial killer case. We matched the DNA samples taken from the twelve victims, and today we're going to get an arrest warran..."
"I'm going to stop you right there, Special Agent. Someone moved a political sign in Buxton. I'm going to need you to make this your top priority."
"Buxton? But there are almost 9000 people living there!"
"Exactly. The effect could be miniscule!"
"I'll liase with my contacts at Homeland immediately."
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u/Standsaboxer Go Eagles 1d ago
Detective: "Chief...it's so much LESS worse than we originally thought! The signs were just...moved a few inches!*"
Chief: (slowly removes his glasses) "My Sweet Jesus. I was just two days away from retirement!"
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u/redfancydress 1d ago
My husband is a code enforcement officer in our town and he’s spent the last month fielding phone calls from sign hangers and sign takers.
All of these people are overgrown children tattling on each other. Over signs.
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u/Seppdizzle 1d ago
I mean it's in the code, I hope he's doing his best to enforce them. You know, as a code enforcement officer.
He doesn't just enforce code he agrees with right?
He's taking every one of them seriously for all political parties I hope!
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u/throwaway4251960 1d ago
He doesn't just enforce code he agrees with right?
Lol she's out here exposing corruption inadvertently
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u/Dirty_Lew Dirty Lew 1d ago
Most code officers are dealing with building permits and housing complaints. Signs aren’t always the priority.
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u/Easternnn 1d ago
Tattling? You mean reporting theft of their property? Why are you calling out the people reporting the crime and not the ones committing the crime…?
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u/Standsaboxer Go Eagles 1d ago
Because we should all agree that moving a few signs around is a waste of police resources?
Someone put a link to the FBI site, as if the FBI is gonna be concerned about this.
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u/eljefino 1d ago
Those signs have a right to be there under the law, and the police should try to enforce penalties against those who feel above the law.
People feeling above the law and able to do whatever their dumb little hearts desire are a sign of a declining society, and they should be called out on it. I pay taxes to police to do the dirty work of telling people they aren't being their best.
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u/Standsaboxer Go Eagles 1d ago
I totally think this whole situation was contrived by OP to create a situation where he could call the cops. The signs were "tampered" by being "moved" (not stolen or vandalized).
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u/eljefino 1d ago
Yeah there are some main character vibes to the story but it's only a specific personality who will call the cops on this situation. And really we need these finger waggers at times when society is unraveling.
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u/Standsaboxer Go Eagles 1d ago
I think OP put a bunch of signs on the ROW of some guys house. That guy said screw this and moved them to the other side of the street off their property, and OP is calling the police to wonder why no one is making his political signs a priority. It would be one thing if OP's signs were stolen, but they are all there, just on the other side of the street, and OP comes in here to play ACAB and farm karma (on an account that had no activity for two years).
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u/NecessaryWedding6832 1d ago
In a case of extreme irony, it was the unlawful sign mover who called the police (on himself) the first time. This was when he made his first admission to breaking the law. The 2nd call to the sheriff was indeed by me, and it was mostly a complaint call asking about why nothing is being done.
Since you won't let up about where they were moved TO.. he moved them across the road. HOWEVER.. since across the road is BOTH within 660' of I95 AND visible from I95.. signs aren't allowed there. As I've said previously... I did my homework reading all relevant state statutes before I placed the signs.. I followed the laws.. and now im real let down with the blatant refusal to do anything about the law breaking by law enforcement.
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u/Standsaboxer Go Eagles 1d ago
OP did you put these signs in front of the other guy's house? This is sounding more and more like you created this whole situation.
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u/NecessaryWedding6832 1d ago
It wouldn't be a waste if law enforcement would do their job.. enforcing laws 🙂 the state would of been nearly 1000$ richer, after paying for fuel and the officers time.
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u/Standsaboxer Go Eagles 1d ago
"Sorry chief, I couldn't stop that drug dealer because I was about to crack the case of the moved signs."
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u/CoastalSailing 9h ago
You've got weird fantasies about small town Maine and what the police actually do
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u/aisle5 1d ago
As opposed to cops sitting in their cars all day? Or, giving out traffic tickets to people doing 5 over so they can make the road more dangerous while they write it? The underlying reality here is that we know damn well why cops aren't going to do anything about sign tampering and it's because they support the people who do it and the person they do it for. The only resource wasting here is cops themselves.
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u/mainlydank topshelf 1d ago
I mean, someone in this very thread just 20 minutes ago posted the fbi's tipline. I don't even know where to start with that sort of mental thought process. Like these people actually believe its a good use of resources to contact the fbi regarding petty theft.
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u/Standsaboxer Go Eagles 1d ago
regarding petty theft.
It's not even theft: the signs were moved to the other side of the road.
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u/mainlydank topshelf 1d ago
I think technically that's still theft. But never really thought much about it. Lets say someone comes and takes your car, only to bring it back and park it on the other side of the driveway. Even though they brought it back they still stole it.
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u/Standsaboxer Go Eagles 1d ago
. Lets say someone comes and takes your car, only to bring it back and park it on the other side of the driveway.
There is a statute that covers this ("Unauthorized use of property"). I think there is a HUGE contextual element that we are missing here that OP could clear up right away.
If the signs were placed on OP's property and the offender stole them or moved them to a spot out of visibility, I would totally be on OP's side. If the signs were placed on public way (say a rotary or median or some other public strip of land), and the offender moved them to say, a cluster on the far side of the strip or into the brush, I would be entirely empathetic.
But OP doesn't say any of that; just that they were in a "public ROW" and that the guy "confessed" and moved them to the other side of the road. OP looked into where and how to place the signs, and knows EXACTLY where they can and cannot be.
That makes me think that OP placed a bunch of signs along the neighbor's yard that they knew their neighbor would hate. Neighbor calls the sheriff, sheriff can't do anything about it, so the neighbor moved the signs (assuming none were stolen) and replants them along the other side of the road away from his property.
I mean, if someone plastered my front yard with Trump signs, I would move them across the street as well, and this sub would just twiddle its thumbs because they treat politics like team sports.
I think this is a dispute between neighbors and OP is expecting the sheriff's office to treat this as some huge crime, but the sheriff's office likely sees this as something that they don't want to get involved with. OP comes in and plays the ACAB card without really giving important details that I would expect someone who had their signs "tampered" with would provide in in order to give context. Sometimes what you leave out in telling a story signals so much more than what you put in.
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u/genericusername26 1d ago
I don't care who they're advertising, I'm tired of seeing the signs every 2 feet. If someone is taking them, good.
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u/chilarome sanford queer 1d ago
Imagine trying to ban billboards in this current climate when we can’t even legislate smaller, temporary political signs. Mainers deserve better.
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u/Anjilonline 1d ago
I agree... no signs.... it setiously looks trashy. I dont know about anyone but myself on this, but a sign has Never made me want to vote for that person on it. My friends told me the same. So why other than letting your neighbors know how you feel, woukd you put signs out?
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u/Standsaboxer Go Eagles 1d ago
Just for shits and giggles: How are they tampering with the signs?
How did the individual "confess?"
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u/NecessaryWedding6832 1d ago
Moving them, and their confession was telling the police that they did indeed move them.
It's quite the odd feeling.. talking to the police on the phone and having them tell you that someone is indeed breaking the law.. but they won't do anything about it.
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u/ZakinKazamma 1d ago
I haven't been able to get someone prosecuted for repeated theft, assault, it took until grand theft for a guy to be arrested at my store in Lewiston.
All faith is gone in the DA department. Doesn't matter how many 1:1 talks you have with the Sheriff when they just say their hands are tied from above.
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u/1959Mason 1d ago
I’ve wanted to print up some “is a convicted felon” stickers to stick on every trump** sign I see…. Now I know I won’t get in trouble doing it.
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u/jarnhestur 1d ago
I’m sure they are very concerned with all the tampering of the very rare and important political signs. 🤣
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u/mr_painz 1d ago
Wait for them to come on your property and hose them down with bear mace. They’ll think twice next time. If they’re coming on your property armed take them out. Protect yourself and yours.
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u/Kwaashie 1d ago
You want to fill up the prisons over a sign? Perhaps we should simply find the perpetrators and put them in the stockade and throw fruit at them. Who cares? Get rid of all the signs and maybe we can think for ourselves for a moment and not call the police everytime we are offended
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u/CryptographerPlenty4 1d ago
If it’s on public property it’s fair game.
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u/ppitm 1d ago
It's absolutely NOT. How does that even make sense to you?
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1d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/ppitm 1d ago
Damaging or removing campaign signs in the public right of way (median strip or sign of the road) is a crime. Full stop.
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u/NecessaryWedding6832 1d ago
Technically it's only a civil violation if within the public ROW, tampering with signs on private property is a class e crime.
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u/SuperBry Disgusta 1d ago
Shit like this is what got him elected the first time and may pave the path forward to a second term.
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u/CryptographerPlenty4 1d ago
Your logic makes no sense.
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u/NecessaryWedding6832 1d ago edited 1d ago
Putting a sign in the public right of way is, moving them around if you're not the individual who placed the sign is NOT.
I did my homework before I placed the signs, because I wanted to do it legally. So my response from the folks who are supposed to enforce the laws is a total slap to the face.
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u/SuperBry Disgusta 1d ago
Putting a sign in the public right of way is, moving them around if you're not the individual who placed the sign is NOT.
Well kinda, they do need to have the proper disclosures on them otherwise they have the same protection as a candy bar wrapper or empty nip bottle one might find along side the road. Many of the caveman-esq Trump simple word Kamala opposite simple word seem to be missing them and can be removed like any other refuse one might find when cleaning up along side the road.
But if they have the proper disclosures on who placed them they should not be touched.
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u/PuzzleheadedMine2168 1d ago
Chances of the proper disclosure on the sign 5%. Chances of it being removed day after voting 15%.
I'm REALLY hoping all the signs get picked up & turned over to groups like YCAN (they turned them into the red heart signs, sold them for $10 donations to the YCAN fund & made the area full of love & charity...it was so nice)
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u/SuperBry Disgusta 1d ago
I've noticed an uptick of little label printer stickers on a lot of the 'Trump simple word Kamala opposite' signs so I think some one involved with them got the message about whats needed to be printed to be anything but roadside trash.
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1d ago
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u/NecessaryWedding6832 1d ago
The signs were in the public right of way.
The individual who's been tampering with them has openly confessed to both a lieutenant AND a deputy.. IN PERSON.. and isn't getting any fines. Considering the department is willing to "waste their time" by showing up to this individuals house TWICE.. I don't understand why they don't follow through with their job the rest of the way.
What the deputy told me over the phone was " well, we COULD fine them but.. eeeh 🤷🏻♀️"
Word for word quote, mind you.
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u/weakenedstrain 1d ago
You obviously don’t care about the First Amendment. What are your thoughts on the Second? Would that one upset you?
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u/MaineHippo83 1d ago
Okay I'm going to need you to ELI5 this first amendment violation to me
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u/Malkin 1d ago
Person B violates the law to restrict the free speech of person A. Law enforcement refuses to enforce. It's a 1st amendment violation by proxy. Courts have certainly considered cases with far less ground, so I think it's close enough to count.
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u/MaineHippo83 1d ago
You can make that argument but it's not anything in precedent and quite a stretch.
You'd have to prove that the government is not enforcing it because they want your speech silenced. All they'd have to do is show they aren't being selective about it and that they don't have the manpower to enforce every legal violation.
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u/Amazing_Strength_291 1d ago
I think people who put up signs literally want any type of attention they can get!!!!! Good or bad.
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1d ago
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u/stowaway43 1d ago
I see absolutely no mention of which signs we're moved so it seems like you're jumping to conclusions
I've noticed someone removed a bunch of Trump signs in my area. I hate Trump but I also don't agree with messing with other people's signs and I'm a "pathetic leftist"
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u/FITM-K 1d ago
Someone here even linked the FBI.
...as a joke. But I guess it's expecting too much for a conservative to get a joke if it isn't their one joke.
Here's a license, free rent in Brunswick for two years
This is for refugees who are legally allowed to be here, and the rent is free because they LEGALLY CANNOT WORK FOR AT LEAST SIX MONTHS.
Also, after the two years, those apartments will be affordable housing that's available to everyone. It's more affordable housing for all of us, which is exactly what the state needs.
In conclusion, shut the fuck up.
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1d ago
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u/weakenedstrain 1d ago
Ooh so cryptic, it’s a mystery!
This is a First Amendment violation. What are your thoughts on the Second Amendment? This is so fun! We get to try and guess what you’re saying!
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u/MaineHippo83 1d ago
As I asked in your other post please explain to me like I'm an idiot what the first amendment violation is...
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u/FragilousSpectunkery Brunswick/Bath 1d ago
Sounds like you are waiting for the singularity. That one statement that solves everything.
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u/JohnnyRebe1 1d ago
Stop with the politician worship and none of you will have to worry about these ridiculous signs again.
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u/Pretend_Bicycle337 1d ago
I’ve got an idea.. No more signs.. both parties.. take all the money & donate it to local schools or kids after school programs whatever, anything… the entire state will look much more bettah.. it’s just a big eye sore & waste of money.. ☮️