We are all impacted by the illegal activities of the "too large to fail/jail banks," such as those of JPMorgan. In February, a group of JPMorgan shareholders filed a resolution to divide the chairman and chief executive posts, but the board is lobbying against it. This is one way to provide some additional oversight. Vanguard and Blackrock, the top shareholders, have decided the outcome of shareholder votes in the past 82.2% of the time.

Accountability. If you want to covertly insert something into a bill about to be voted on…expect to have to explain yourself later!

Accountability. If you want to covertly insert something into a bill about to be voted on…expect to have to explain yourself later!

Walmart and a real estate developer are pressuring elected officials to rush a rezoning plan through the Montgomery County Council. Councilman Craig Rice is pushing for the county to rush its normal rezoning. He says the community will be hurt if the county council doesn't push the proposal through. In fact, small businesses and Montgomery County workers will be hurt if Walmart comes to Aspen Hill. A new store means big profits for Walmart and big headaches for Montgomery County. It means more poverty-wage jobs. And it means less business for small businesses.

Our country has suffered catastrophic economic and environmental devastation as a result of the ensuing imbalance of political and economic power over the power of the people. This power has been granted to corporate entities by affording them constitutional rights designed for human beings. I am starting my journey to Deny corporate personhood at the city level in Vancouver Washington to pass a resolution to Deny corporations human rights while giving corporations privileges that we the people grant them.

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.