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mostassuredlyafish t1_itvgrol wrote

I like to think we're cousins. We only meet occasionally at family reunions, and you'd think there might be competition... but honestly we get along pretty well.

It's because we both know the real enemy is Old Man Winter.

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Funny-Alps-7105 t1_itvgw00 wrote

Maine is older so Alaska is obviously the younger sibling who lucked out on the genetics and grew taller/bigger.

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SwvellyBents t1_itvhw0t wrote

No one in Maine would ever vote for a numbskull like Sarah Palin for, well, for anything.

Like Alaska, however, we can see Canada from our front porch.

−13

ScenePlayful1872 t1_itvnu1s wrote

We got a Moscow, but otherwise You can’t see Russia from here

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WilliamOfMaine t1_itvod71 wrote

Maine was here first bitches. Alaska can GTFO

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iammabdaddy t1_itvpf7r wrote

We have daylight throughout the yr. I'm thankful for that!

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TheWorld_IsNotFair t1_itvph66 wrote

Cousins is better. If they had lobster and marijuana, id agree we were the mini me.

−2

TheUnknownNut22 t1_itvt927 wrote

You forgot that it's just as cold here in the dead of winter as it is in parts of Alaska. I woke up to -37 degrees up here in The County several times last winter! Gah!

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clhomme t1_itvt9xw wrote

Alaska leads the country in violent deaths per capita.

No, but thank you.

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Lieutenant_Joe t1_itvtw85 wrote

Replying to SwvellyBents (#240,529)

LePage, Poliquin, Collins

Collins isn’t as bad as those other two (she’s selfishly evil rather than maliciously evil), but LePage is at least as bad as Palin and Bruce Poliquin forced the Maine GOP to spend 60% of their 2020 budget on trying and failing to get ranked choice voting repealed. 2020. The pandemic year. When like a third of the state’s small businesses closed their doors for good due in part to COVID restrictions.

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Bywater t1_itw00iy wrote

For sure a lot of crossover.

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hootlaska t1_itw1jb6 wrote

Oh they are related but I don’t think the older sibling younger sibling dynamic is there, even less for a mini me parody, more like crazy west or east coast cousin. I happen to live in AK and two of my moms siblings raised their families near Brunswick Maine…. And they are crazy in 5 different ways, and they probably think so about me, we are close

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smokinLobstah t1_itw1wpm wrote

From Maine, lived 4yrs in Alaska.

Other than the sun setting (sometimes!) in the wrong place, they are remarkably similar.

Salmon and trout fishing is better there...and king crab is cheaper, but other than that?

samesame.

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acister t1_itw2st6 wrote

lol @ people thinking one came before the other.. oh America with its Eurocentric way of looking at everything (they were both there before it was Maine or Alaska)

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clhomme t1_itw7ikc wrote

Replying to Cockroach-Jones (#243,521)

On review Alaska doesn't lead, but its close to the top.

source

Interesting to note - other than the two "territories" in the US with no representation or right to vote (and which are starved for resources - DC and PR), almost all states at the top are Republican controlled.

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Cockroach-Jones t1_itwalws wrote

Replying to clhomme (#243,745)

I can’t speak for other states, but I live in Louisiana which usually has the highest murder rate in the country. Democrat governor. And the two cities that give us that murder capital status are New Orleans (mainly) and Baton Rouge, both overwhelmingly blue cities with Democrat mayors.

−3

Reilious t1_itwbddl wrote

The idea of Maine came first by a few hundred years or so.

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clhomme t1_itwcnod wrote

Replying to Cockroach-Jones (#244,170)

You make the point exactly.

In LA Dems are in the majority and therefore elected the governor.... who... has no power at all really.

The highly gerrymandered legislature on the other hand is super-majority Republican in both houses and has been since 2011 which makes no sense if you think about it.

So the legislature makes the laws. What laws have Republicans passed in the last 10 years to "reduce crime". They have a veto proof majority no?

(Note crime is more a function of the strength of a society than it is of the criminal penalties imposed by the society).

source 1

The Senate is R27, D11; R68, D33. It is one of the most gerrymandered states in the country. Source 2

This is yet another example of American Anti-Democracy.

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RandomUsername468538 t1_itwg02h wrote

Minnesota winters are worse than Maine winters. Maine coast is... Well, it exists. Which is more than Minnesota can say. Maine + Minnesota = Alaska?

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Kr00kTV t1_itwg8j4 wrote

Wasn't Alaska declared a state after Maine lol.

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Xyzzydude t1_itwgxva wrote

When I dreamed of moving to Alaska to get away from it all…I ended up deciding I could do Maine instead and get a lot of the same advantages but with a much less extreme change.

In the end I did neither but it’s still fun to think about.

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ME_MissVictorious t1_itwix3t wrote

Anyone seen the Great North show? Many reminders of home.

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aigledor1665 t1_itwjgv3 wrote

I was in Stratton Eustis. I wanted to shave. both stores in the area don't carry razors. And then i noticed, my god ! pretty much every man has a beard, makes no senses to shelve razors.

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Mrcookiesecret t1_itwjxru wrote

Alaska has a population of 732,673 and a size of 665,400 sq. miles. Maine has a population of 1,372,000 and a size of 35,385 sq. miles.

This means that the average Alaskan has 0.908 sq. miles and the average mainer has 0.025 sq. miles. Assuming everyone poops the same amount this means maine is approximately 36.32 times poopier than Alaska.

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RlyehRose t1_itwllg5 wrote

Replying to satanshark (#243,618)

Before I moved to Canada, any Canadian I met online that found out I was a Mainer would just deam me an honorary Canadian. Lol. It's been fun attempting to send gift baskets to family that doesn't consist of plaid, moose, beavers and maple syrup. My grandpa even used to make and sell maple syrup so yea.

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Wyatt_Earth t1_itwpb05 wrote

As an Alaskan I can assure you that Maine absolutely is nothing like Alaska.

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clhomme t1_itwrsi1 wrote

Replying to Cockroach-Jones (#245,347)

Good thinking! It'll be a hoot having the biggest laughing stock governor in the country again!

Especially some dude who left Maine the instant he left office, and came back only to run again. Its great having a Floridian run for Gov.

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clhomme t1_itwspjn wrote

Replying to Cockroach-Jones (#246,153)

Oh! So, good news, your party will win far less votes than the Dems, but will have super majorities in your house and senate, because, that's what democracy is all about.

The tyranny of the minority.

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Cockroach-Jones t1_itwu1f6 wrote

Replying to clhomme (#246,199)

Yeah because otherwise New Orleans and surrounding areas would make all of our decisions for the rest of eternity. See how well they manage their city? I lived there for years, I had to flee like a refugee.

It’s not all about the popular vote, and that’s also why the Electoral College is absolutely essential.

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clhomme t1_itwug4s wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#246,365)

"essential" = meaning ensuring the party with the least support and the least number of voters gets to completely control power over the majority, yeah, that.

Hell of a system.

The only country in the western world where the losers get power.

0

Cockroach-Jones t1_itwvfk6 wrote

Replying to clhomme (#246,396)

If you look at a political map of Louisiana, you’ll see that’s it’s a vastly red state. There are only three small blue areas on it- New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Shreveport. I don’t think those three cities should have all the say in every matter. The territories should be represented.

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paducahbiker t1_itx7zr4 wrote

Went to visit Alaska this summer. Almost everyone I met was either from Utah or South Dakota. Having grown up in KY and live in Maine now - it struck me as a cross between Maine and Kentucky with the most breathtaking views I have ever seen in my life, bar none.

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Character_Screen_265 t1_itx8cwg wrote

Replying to RlyehRose (#245,485)

As a Canadian I can vouch that there are fairly large sections of Maine and Northern Vermont and New Hampshire that would be accepted into the country without too much fuss as they are generally seen as pretty much Canadian

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timothypjr t1_itxee8k wrote

Nah. Alaska is an overblown Maine. I mean, you can see Russia from there.

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BaddTuna t1_itxhfhr wrote

No one has ever cried, “Remember the Alaska!“

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mmichellekay t1_itxieg8 wrote

Grew up in Maine, left shortly after college, spent two years in Alaska.

People in Alaska asked me about Maine and I said in some ways, Alaska was like Maine on steroids. Bigger mountains (and mountains EVERYWHERE), more wilderness, bigger, fewer people, moose are more prevalent, and 1,000,000 times more mosquitoes.

I’d take an Alaskan winter over a Maine winter any day. As a teacher, we went to recess to 20 below. You could NOT do that in Maine! The interior of AK is dry and there’s minimal wind, so even 50 or 60 below is bearable for transitions in the right gear… which is wild. Plus… the northern lights!

Lakes? Maine wins. Alaska has swimmer’s itch which I hadn’t heard of before (maybe Maine does too). Snowmobiling? Maine wins for me; Alaskans call it snow machining, and the snow is mostly powder and mountain trails. Which some may prefer but I missed trail riding on a less sporty sled.

That being said, they both have their special things and differences. I love both, and think they’d get along pretty well tbh. That’s my take at least from living in the interior. Ask someone from a village or from anchorage and you may get a different response.

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Video_isms207 t1_itxql0o wrote

Wow, I hate all of this. Not Maine, how you interpret it. I love Maine. And it is nothing like Alaska. Except we use some similar words.

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Blue_Eyed_ME t1_itxrakg wrote

Alaska is breathtaking, achingly beautiful. Maine is scenic. I spent four years living there and never felt as cold as I do in Maine winters. Alaskan moose are larger, much more aggressive, and everywhere. Same with black bears.

Maine wilderness and mountains aren't remotely comparable to Alaskan. Swimming in Alaska sucks. In Maine, it's the best part of summer. Surfing the bore tide in Turnagain Arm is a blast. Surfing in Maine is meh.

I'd call Newfoundland closer to Alaska mini-me than Maine, and very much worth the gas and ferry price to get there from here.

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bride123105 t1_ityflwc wrote

I follow a bunch of Alaska pages on Facebook and once there was a post like "drive carefully, hitting a moose is bad" with a mangled car photo and then they're like "this picture was taken in Maine." You really had no bad moose car accident photos from your own state to post? Stealing our moose content!

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ghastlyghost1234 t1_ityk3ax wrote

I’m from Alaska and for some reason r/Maine always gets recommended to me. I guess the algorithm thinks the same thing.

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clhomme t1_itz1uey wrote

Replying to Cockroach-Jones (#246,347)

Oh, so the minority - really no matter how small - gets to dictate to the majority just because they live in a large suburban population center.

Can you point to the constitutional provisions that say "in all elections in which a majority of the population colludes in high density locations, the outlying rural populations, notwithstanding being a minority of the population, shall have super-majority right to control all branches of government."

I don't remember that bit from Civics class.

I do, however, remember that the electoral college was a compromise to get the we-own-black-sub-humans (and want to keep it that way) part of the continent to sign onto the constitution.

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Cockroach-Jones t1_itz3g4q wrote

Replying to clhomme (#255,355)

Yes, it has to work that way. What do the bigger cities care about the rest of the state? Same with the country. What do the residents of LA and NYC care about the auto industry in Michigan? They don’t. Do they care about laws affecting farmers in Midwest agriculture? No they don’t. Therefore these areas would become literal flyover states for politicians. They’d never have to pander to anyone outside of the densest population centers, and their lawmaking would reflect that. I could go on but it should be really obvious to you why it is the way it is, and I don’t have the patience or inclination to break it down for you honestly.

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clhomme t1_itz4mx0 wrote

Replying to Cockroach-Jones (#255,546)

Oh give me a damned break. The same dumb question can be asked about rural areas - what do farmers care about the need for inner city homeless assistance or drug interventions?

They answer is hopefully they do.

But neither is a justification to give the minority the absolute right to dictate to the majority. I know this is a hard concept to understand, but in literally every democracy in the free world, the party / person who wins the most votes is deemed elected to office by the people.

It is only in this country where 10% of the population think they can dictate to the other 90% "because the live in cities."

That's utterly moronic.

I completely understand your argument. I just reject it as anti-democratic. It's how we end up with abortion bans in states where the VAST majority of the population support abortion rights.

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Cockroach-Jones t1_itzh6cn wrote

Replying to clhomme (#255,681)

Like I said, I don’t have the patience or inclination to break it down into molecules and spoon feed it to you, luckily the better system prevails regardless of your approval.

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twinpines13 t1_iu0kqix wrote

What's crazy to me is that Maine has the highest percentage of forested area in the US; 89%. Alaska has so much tundra and alpine, that its forested area is only 35%.

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No-Currency458 t1_iu0ve6u wrote

There are 2 distinctly seperate Maines. SouthernMaine which has become more like northern Mass and then northern Maine which is a whole different animal.

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Frirish11 t1_iu9u7yc wrote

My Great Aunt Nell, born in Canada and then the family moved to near Lincoln to work at the mills, moved to Alaska for a while and homesteaded. Her younger brother, my grandfather, was the first US citizen born in the family. Nell was probably born in the late 1800’s, and she was the type of woman who would just squat and pee by the side of the road, rather than wait until a rest stop. My paternal aunts all laugh nervously when I ask them about Aunt Nell. I’d go to Alaska in a heartbeat, just to see it.

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