As a Livingston County resident, I have long been interested in local government and how it affects our lives. The Flint water crisis has brought this home for many people, but we don't need to wait until a crisis to get involved in our government. Our local goverrnment will work better when it is more connected with residents. Please ask the county commission to bring more transparency to our local government.

Yes......we lost the Presidency......and yes, we lost the Congress.....BUT......take heart friends...                            .....we DO retain substantial POWER this year!                               WE HAVE THE POWER OF THE PURSE!!!!!! Read on.... Mark Muro, a Brookings Senior Fellow made some stunning observations shortly after last month's devastating election. He reported the following: "The less-than-500 counties that Hillary Clinton carried nationwide encompassed a massive  64% percent of America’s economic activity as measured by total output in 2015.  By contrast, the more-than-2,600 counties that Donald Trump won generated just 36% of the country’s output—just a little more than one-third of the nation’s economic activity." Take a minute to let this sink in.   The 472 counties that Clinton won represented an amazing  64% of  last year's GDP! In sharp contrast, although Trump won an overwhelming number of counties…..those roughly 2600 counties only accounted for 36% of 2015 GDP!  According to Muro..... “Trumpland consists of hundreds and hundreds of tiny low-output locations that comprise the non-metropolitan hinterland of America”, while, with 3 exceptions, “CLINTON WON EVERY LARGE-SIZED COUNTY ECONOMY IN THE COUNTRY”.  He then points out that this unprecedented economic split is especially striking...... given that CLINTON IS THE CLEAR WINNER OF THE POPULAR VOTE! The significance of these amazing observations is the following....... we have NOT lost all of our power people! We actually retain a remarkable and powerful tool - THE POWER OF THE PURSE!!!   Let us join together to put our SUBSTANTIAL power to work immediately.  Let us exercise our ECONOMIC POWER to mount a MASSIVE NATIONWIDE ECONOMIC PROTEST! . If you are appalled by the presence of a white nationalist in the white house; if you are terrified of his cabinet picks and Twitter storms; if you are alarmed by the thought of Russian interference in our national election; if you believe that Donald Trump's extensive business interests, at home and abroad, represent significant conflicts of interest that have the potential to plunge us into a constitutional crisis......then please, consider making a commitment TODAY to join a nationwide economic protest.  It will cost you nothing.  All you have to do is to make a commitment to REDUCE your discretionary consumer spending. Consumer spending represents approximately 70% of GDP!!!! Imagine....if millions of people all across this country commit to a reduction in consumer spending by a certain  percentage - say 50% or 75% or even 100% reductions;  an economic protest of this magnitude would send a powerful message to Washington and to Wall St.   WE CAN DO THIS.  WE SHOULD DO THIS.  Even the HINT of a large scale economic protest will rattle the people in power across this nation! For those of you who say that this action may put us at a risk for an economic slowdown - I say.....yes, it might.  But I also say, that the risks of a Trump presidency - to our democracy, to our freedoms, to our Constitution, to our national security, to our environment, AND ultimately, to our long term economic well-being - pale in comparison!  So I urge you to carefully reflect on these issues.  An ECONOMIC PROTEST now is a fight for our country.  We have this POWER.  Let's use it - NOW! Our message to Congress is the following: 1.)  Steve Bannon, Mike Flynn and others like them have NO PLACE in the People's House 2.)  Congress will begin an immediate, SPECIAL bipartisan investigation of the role of Russia in our election. Was there any collusion between team Trump and Russian operatives? 3.)  Congress will demand that Donald Trump fully comply in both the spirit and the letter of the        'emoluments clause' of the Constitution  (article 1 section 6 clause 2). Failure to comply will result in impeachment proceedings. 4.)  The Trump family will have NO role - formal or informal - in this incoming administration.  Trump will   comply in the letter AND the spirit of the laws with regard to nepotism. 5.) There will be NO repeal of Obamacare without an IMMEDIATE AND COMPREHENSIVE replacement healthcare plan to be effective on the day Obamacare is repealed. 6.) The following Trump cabinet picks - Pruitt, Tillerson, DeVos, Puzder, Sessions, and Price are deemed too extreme for their respective posts and will be replaced by individuals who are experienced and who have demonstrated a personal philosophy that is congruent to their respective departments.                              EXTRAORDINARY TIMES DEMAND EXTRAORDINARY ACTION! Commit today. Exercise your economic power.   Use it or lose it!   Decrease your discretionary consumer spending. We ARE stronger together!  Let's send an important message to Washington and to Wall St.  If you find this message compelling please share it with EVERYONE you know, who might also share your thoughts or feelings on these very important issues.  Post this message on your Facebook page.  LET’S GET THE WORD OUT THERE AND GET IT OUT FAST!!!! Your signature demonstrates your commitment to this protest! Sincerely, Marea Baggetta

Private citizens and public figures alike have been the target of the president-elect's tweets, which have brought forth the furry of his supporters. The results have been dangerous -- from death threats to in-person harassment -- and will only compromise Trump's targets further as he assumes the presidency. Furthermore, Trump has tweeted about nuclear weapons without realizing the potential catastrophic effect on the international horizon. Twitter is a unique format that doesn't require thoughtful consideration or the vetting of a cohesive message. Trump can use other media forums to more clearly lay out his policies and opinions, without endangering our citizens in an irresponsible manner. Twitter has suspended accounts for death threats and continued harassment. For the protection of individuals and for the safety of our nation, CEO Jack Dorsey should suspend the account of President-elect Donald Trump.

Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Chris Murphy will be in a strong position to shape debate over Russia policy in the next Administration. Elizabeth Warren will be on the Senate Armed Services Committee. [1] Chris Murphy, the first Senator to publicly challenge the Obama Administration's support for the devastating Saudi war in Yemen, is on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. [2] Unfortunately, some Democrats are planning to make common cause with John McCain and Lindsey Graham on Russia policy, pushing for a new Cold War that would likely jack up the already bloated Pentagon budget at the expense of domestic priorities like expanding Social Security, while undermining prospects for de-escalation of conflict in Ukraine, Syria, and Yemen. Urge Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senator Chris Murphy to stand up for diplomacy and against the Russia hawks by signing our petition. References: 1. http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/311741-warren-stirs-talk-of-2020-white-house-run 2. http://www.cfr.org/middle-east-and-north-africa/chris-murphy-roots-radical-extremism/p37471

It is important that we combat fake news with facts and that our government generates policy based on fact rather than pressure from lobbyists with domestic or foreign interests.

The hysteria over supposed Russian hacking costing Hillary the election is pathetic, and blaming Russia takes attention from the real issue, THAT the DNC, the DEMOCRATIC ESTABLISHMENT and the MEDIA rigged the DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY, to ensure that their predetermined candidate would win the nomination. The content of the leaked emails only verified the obvious rigging. This rigging needs to be acknowledged and censured by the Democratic establishment, or it will continue. Suppose that Russia is responsible for the hacking; it could simply be emulating the actions of the self declared exceptional world leader. The U.S. has routinely manipulated elections, orchestrated coups and overthrown governments. The U.S. government and its media need to stop blaming and demonizing Russia, and the U.S. needs to see its actions as other countries see them, if it wants to lead effectively towards a more peaceful, sustainable world background: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/12/adam-schiff-russia-election-hack/511571/#article-comments http://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=A04D321E-5F86-4FD6-AD8E-7F533E1C2845 http://rootsaction.org/news-a-views/1412-urgent-to-progressives-stop-fueling-the-anti-russia-frenzy http://www.unz.com/emargolis/moscow-attacks/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/...

The GOP passed a bill to ban Democrats from filming or photographing the debates in the House Chamber. The proposed legislation would refer members of the House to the Ethics Committee and would levy fines against those who would record Congressional business. Fox News has obtained a document spelling out the proposed penalties. House Republicans are proposing sanctioning members with a $500 fine for the first offense and $2,500 for additional offenses. “Any subsequent offense will be assessed at the higher amount, regardless of whether it is connected to any other offense by time or proximity,” part of the proposal reads. In addition, lawmakers cannot block the well of the House as Democrats did with their sit-in in June.

On January 6th when the Joint Session of the House and Senate certify the election- they must support objections to Electoral College ballots from Wisconsin, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Wisconsin violated a court order on voter ID restrictions and roughly 300,000 voters were denied ballots in a state that Mr. Trump won by 27,000 votes. Disqualify that state's Elector Ballots !! North Carolina's Republican legislature bragged on voter suppression cutting early voting in minority districts by 85 %. Disqualify that state's Elector Ballots !! Most ballots in PA are cast with unverifiable touch screen tallying that experts agree is completely untrustworthy and prone to interference. Disqualify that state's Elector Ballots !! And since Mr Trump will no longer have the 270 majority ballots, rendering him ineligible for the Presidency - instead select a moderate, sane Republican for president and a Democrat for Vice President having the result of ridding Congress of partisan gridlock. See this link for more info; https://web.facebook.com/groups/1200718793349588/permalink/1247785415309592/

I am concerned that the President Elect has already shown his inability to restrain himself from commenting on sensitive domestic and international issues as evidenced by his latest foray into suggesting the altering of long standing Nuclear Non-Proliferation policy.

According to news reports, the majority of the Radio City Rockettes--some of the most talented dancers in the country--apparently do not want to perform at Trump's inauguration. Yet, their union, the American Guild of Variety Artists, sent a note to the Rockettes that they will lose their jobs if they refuse to perform. We must tell the producers of the event and the union that represents the Rockettes that forcing this extremely talented and dedicated group of women to dance for Donald Trump against their will--and otherwise risk their entire careers--is absolutely unacceptable.

Indications of corruption in the election process necessitate the invalidation of the 2016 presidential election and the holding a new one: • winner loses by almost 3 million votes • vote count inconsistent with exit polls • unlawful purges of voter registries in swing states • valid votes not counted in swing states in greater numbers than the margin of the win in those states • absentee ballots not sent out as required

Trump uses Twitter to avoid the Press (our 4th Estate) and to guide followers to bully his enemies. His Tweets are reckless and could start a nuclear war. Twitter should permanently revoke his account to ensure transparency and democracy. Twitter should not enable this behavior, but should stand up for civil discourse.