Two milk trade groups are asking the FDA for greater flexibility in how they inform consumers when artificial sweeteners are added to kid-friendly products such as chocolate milk. They argue that the required, prominent low-calorie labels are not attractive to children. Say NO to paving the way for artificial sweeteners to make it into your child's dairy consumption!!!

Yesterday, a State Senator and a City Councilmember were arrested. Their crime? Allegedly trying to buy an election. There will surely be calls for the arrested officials to resign. But that won't solve the real problem here. We must end the corrupting influence of money in politics, once and for all. Why did they think they could get away with it? "That's politics, that's politics, it's all about how much," the arrested Councilmember explained in a wiretapped conversation. "Not about whether or will, it's about how much, and that's our politicians in New York, they're all like that, all like that. And they get like that because of the drive that the money does for everything else. You can't do anything without the f***ing money." But the problem goes much deeper than bribes. It's the legalized corruption of campaign contributions that really poisons our system. We can't afford to let New York be bought by the highest bidder.

Currently, S.55 is stuck in the State Senate Appropriations Committee. This bill would set up a task force to study state government banking and financial activities and determine if the present way of performing them is the best that can be done or if there are better ways of conducting these activities in a manner that will better benefit the state and its citizens. Many state government agencies currently do business with several financial institutions that engage in questionable activities. One of the possible outcomes of the study by the task force as currently configured in this bill is determining how much risk our public money is placed under by continuing to do business with these systemically important (AKA Too Big Too Fail) financial institutions. One example of possible risk is Citigroup’s efforts to unload its investments in shipping companies which are losing money. Citigroup is the lead administrator of the state municipal bonding program. There is also some evidence that there are efforts at the federal level to turn deposits at these big institutions into property of the banks which could be used to bail them out in the event of failure of any of these banks resulting in the possible loss of these deposits to the depositors. It is very important that the Senate Appropriations Committee acts promptly to release S.55 so that this very important study can be undertaken. Signatures to this petition will be sent directly to members of the Appropriations Committee. Please sign this petition as soon as you can and thank you for your efforts. State/Public Bank Committee Jim Hogue, Chair http://vtpublicbank.com

Stop selling out to Com Ed

U.S. consumers are now competing with consumers in China & South America for gasoline. Oil companies are exporting oil out of our country, to these areas and are driving our prices up. We currently have enough natural gas in the U.S. to meet our energy needs for the next 100 years...but NOT if the oil companies are allowed to export it...which they plan to do. This is our gas and our oil. It should not be put on the world market...it should be kept in this country. Companies owned by persons outside of the U.S. (like British Petroleum...BP) should not be allowed to come here, and deplete our oil & natural gas stores by selling them overseas. A nationalized, U.S. Goverment-owned Oil & Natural Gas Exploration/refining/distribution company could stop this. Consumers could buy from the goverment stations, and profits would be returned to them in the form of putting them back into goverment budgets. In essence, you would be buying from your own company. Please sign if you think this is a good idea. U.S. oil & natural gas should stay in the U.S.! The President could invoke an Executive Order to the Energy Dept. by-passing Congress to establish this...because oil company lobbyists would pressure Congress not to pass such a law, so we cannot depend on Congress.

Cease Corporate tax break incentives and bailouts offered by various domestic governments (i.e., federal, state and local governments) to corporations for performing certain tasks or accomplishing certain goals and bailouts which are a type of welfare provided by the People.

Repealing the law signed into law by President Obama on Tuesday March 26, 2013. No recourse for the public if Monsanto's business has a negative effect on anyone who ingests, consumes, eats any of their products. The act is a betrayal by government of the people it is supposed to protect.

Hungry, a man used his debit card for fast food. EACH triggered a $40 overdraft fee PLUS $7 a day until the next month's check was deposited. Hospitalized with a stroke; when he got out, over $500 had been taken OUT of his next Federal check. He could not pay his bills nor his rent. Asking the bank for an adjustment, they said NO, the fees were policy. Period. STOPPING this crazy larceny means people relying on Federal monthly stipends could Keep and Spend MORE of THEIR OWN MONEY!

Almost all aspects of the making home affordable act requires that the loan or previous refinance not taken place after May 31, 2009. This means that almost nobody who refinanced after that date can participate in the program.

Poor people or those who have debt are being held hostage by faulty credit reports, unfair credit scores and hiring practices which allow discrimination against those who have low credit scores. The reason people apply for jobs is to ensure that they can pay their bills, being unemployed or poor should not limit one's ability to gain employment. Please add economic class or status to the list of Title VII criteria that should not be considered by employers when making hiring decisions. Prospective employers should not be permitted to request credit reports or scores for applicants.

OccupytheNRA (Twitter/Instagram/facebook @OccupytheNRA) is taking part in the #SilentNoMore campaign targeting hedgefunds and other Wall Street firms investing in Gun Manufacturer Stock including Owl Creek Asset Management and Impala who invested in gun stocks after the Sandy Hook Massacre along with others such as Black Rock. The silent Majority has been silent too long in the face of gun violence, and we are saying, "Enough, No More, We shall be Silent No More" while our children are murdered with guns even as the hedge funds profit from the sale of these very same military style weapons.

California can strike a blow against Citizens United by passing the California DISCLOSE Act, a bill that would shine a bright light on the shadowy interests who depend on secrecy to influence elections. The California DISCLOSE Act (Senate Bill 52, Leno-Hill), sponsored by the California Clean Money Campaign and endorsed by Progressives United, local MoveOn.org counsels, and over 100 other organizations, would mandate clear and prominent disclosure of who is behind political TV, radio, print, and mass mailer ads -- on the ads themselves. SB 52 will stop special interests from hiding behind fake committee names by requiring ads to show their actual original contributors. Giant corporate interests are trying to kill SB 52. Join the California Clean Money Campaign and Progressives United by signing our petition to urge state legislators to pass the California DISCLOSE Act today.