The Morning Wire: Bangor Tells Penobscot County to Prep for Refugees

After we published a story regarding the University of Maine’s decision renege on a deal to sell the Hutchinson Center in Belfast to Calvary Chapel Belfast, an official from the University of Maine system reached out to complain about our characterization of the move as “caving” to anti-Christian pressure.

So enjoy this opinion editorial underscoring precisely why the University of Maine’s decision is not only anti-Christian, but a despicable act of cowardice and a disservice to Mainers.

The “chancellors” of the taxpayer-funded university can claim to have discovered some new financial reason why Calvary Chapel Belfast’s purchase offer actually isn’t the best offer, but none of this would be happening if the same exact offer had come from Trans Justice Belfast or Stop Global Warming Belfast.

It doesn’t take a Biblical prophet to foresee that the new group of activists chosen to take over the property will likely abandon it over the next decade without significant and ongoing taxpayer support. While the leftists can’t tolerant Christians freely teaching their own beliefs — without any taxpayer support — those same Christians will now be forced to pay taxes for the grants that inevitably flow to whatever comes of the Hutchinson Center.

In Maine, as in the rest of America, tolerance of others’ beliefs is only expected to flow in one direction. What that means is a Christian baker must be forced to produce art that contradicts his religious beliefs and values, but the Hermon public school system can refuse to rent space to a group that doesn’t pass it’s moral litmus test. Make no mistake: The Center is still going to be used for religious purposes — it’ll just be some state-approved theology, like climate change doomerism or gender expansive gnosticism. Bottom line: The UMaine Discriminates. If you don’t want your donor dollars supporting anti-Christian discrimination, perhaps consider some alternatives.

The Morning Wire

Welcome to Penobscot County: As many as 150 refugees are slated for resettlement in the greater Bangor area over the coming year, according to the Bangor City Council and Catholic Charities Maine, the state’s top migrant resettlement agency. According to a presentation given last week at a meeting of the Bangor City Council, the “New Mainers” will be eligible for taxpayer-funded assistance to resettle anywhere within 100 miles of Bangor. Edward Tomic has the latest details here.

Massage Parlors: In what’s becoming a trend here in Maine, two more Asian-themed massage parlors have been outed as illegal sex trafficking rackets. Yesterday, the Maine Wire reported some additional details on the massage parlor that was busted earlier this summer. The owner, it turns out, was the recipient of a plush PPP loan a few years before he decided to threaten an elderly woman with handgun in Portland.

Government Logic: The FCC in 2020 was going to purchase Starlink systems to bring high-speed internet to some 640k locations throughout the U.S. The systems were going to cost $1,300 each, according to FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr. Then, Elon Musk (the owner of SpaceX / Starlink) became persona non grata for the Left and hence the government. So the FCC cancelled the contract and instead has decided to spend $100,000 per location in some cases on the foundering program.

No Second Amendment in Massachusetts: In a wild attack caught entirely on video, a pro-Hamas / anti-Israel protester attacked a Massachusetts man on Thursday. The attacker crossed a busy street, charged the man, and tackled him to the ground. The victim of the attack happened to me carrying a pistol and used it to defend himself. Can you guess which of these men has been charged with a crime? Video here.

WW3 Update: As most American attention remains on the presidential contest between former Republican President Donald Trump and current Vice President Kamala Harris, the threat of escalation in the Ukraine-Russia war is growing. Canadian PM Justin Trudeau rattled whatever saber the Canadians might have on Friday, telling foreign media that he would fully support Ukraine using long-range Western-made munitions on targets deep inside Russia. Russian President/Dictator Vladimir Putin has meanwhile made clear his view that the use of Western-made munitions, because they would require Western forces to deploy, would constitute an act of war against Russia by the U.S. and NATO. As the world hurtles toward nuclear peril, it’s comforting to know we’ve got a veteran foreign policy master in the White House.