Bear Pond Conservative Chronicles, Ray Cardello, 5/11/24, Volume 1- 25

Progressive politicians have taken over Maine and are making the most of their time in power. These people, who live on the extreme left of society, know that the clock is ticking, and they must initiate as much change as they can before the people realize they were wrong, giving these people the wheel and taking it away. In their time in Augusta, they have legalized marijuana, paved the way for thousands of illegal migrants to come to Maine, passed the most liberal abortion law in the country, established Maine as a sanctuary state for abortion and transgender care, and moved Maine into the top slot of the most taxed states in America.

Because of the size of Maine and the shortage of law enforcement personnel to keep it secure, the Progressives have made the state a perfect environment for the Chinese cartel to infiltrate and establish hundreds of illegal pot farms. They are imposing restrictions on the lobster industry, making it difficult for these hard-working seamen to make a living in one of the state’s oldest industries while relaxing the enforcement of laws, making it easier for illegal residents to survive and prosper.

Aside from the apparent drop in quality of life for Mainers, one of the most harmful elements of the new Leftist direction is the precipitous decline in the quality of education. U.S. News has published its rankings of the states and looks at many elements that a person could use to determine the desirability of a state. In Maine’s case, it has dropped in the ranking of every aspect in 2024 compared to the state in 2018. This article was not good news for Maine but terrible news for the Progressives who think their vision is the proper choice for the future.

The ranking for education in Maine is not good news for Governor Mills, the state Department of Education, the Progressive Party implementing the changes in education, or the students shortchanged by the system. I acknowledge that the pandemic occurred during this time, but it is a constant in all states. The ranking of Maine’s quality of education dropped from 19th in 2018 to 43rd in 2024—a fall from the top half of states to nearly the worst. Although Maine’s overall education is not dead last, U.S. News did rate the state’s public schools as the worst in the nation, following an overview of all public schools in the country.

The news outlet ranked schools based on six metrics, including college readiness, which is weighted heaviest, student performance in advanced, college-level classes, performance on standardized tests, and the graduation rate. The outlet also used one Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) metric to measure schools, ranking them based on the performance of “underserved students,” meaning low-income, black, and Hispanic students.

Two areas that showed promise are Equality and the Overall Environment, though the ranking was poor for air and water quality. Maine had ten times the number of water violations than the national average.

This article by U.S. News is a damning condemnation of the decisions and policies of the people responsible for these results, and those people are the WOKE and Progressives. We must replace these people before their impact affects another generation. The Progressive movement is misnamed and is actually regressive. Their goal is the destruction of America. There is no other option. They must be replaced.