Well said, Catspaw! Maybe we should collaborate on a Maine-to-Mississippi joke fest, 'cause no one tells more jokes about Maine than I do (just ask Brother Curmudgeon: he'll testify!) What irritates me about Maine, other than the narrow-minded, bigoted boobs (how about that as a replacement term for redneck?) are the liberal Mainers who think that all the intolerance is south of the Kittery Trading Post. Lest we forget, Maine has repeatedly defeated state-wide referenda to extend equal rights to gay and lesbian people, for example. And the fact of the matter is, while the more urban(e) parts of the state - the Gold Coast (York and Cumberland Counties) - voted for gay rights - the more rural areas, including Aroostook County - voted against, with the campaign cry: "Vote for common sense! That's the Maine way!" The Maine way is discrimination? As Doctor Evil would say, "Right-ttt!"
   Another example of our compassion up here, is the referendum to amend Maine's human rights provisions, to extend suffrage to folks who are mentally challenged, and who are under supervised care. The referendum was defeated. The good news is, that it is obvious that the various municipalities don't really bar mentally challenged people from voting, if the results of the various human rights initiatives are any indication . . .