Our Congress is under the thumb of big money courtesy of the United States Supreme Court, and of stale, defeated leadership in the United States Senate. The result of this defeated leadership is the stalemate big money so cherishes because it perpetuates their unfettered right to pollute, impoverish, outsource, tax dodge, foreclose, unemploy, deploy and otherwise enrich itself at the expense of the rest of us,

For our collective future

This week a group of American University graduate students, frustrated with President Compaore's decision to change the Constitution, formed "Students for Democracy in Burkina Faso." We plan to deliver a letter to the Burkina Faso Ambassador to the United States on Thursday, accompanied by these signatures, and spread our letter of frustration to news outlets in the United States and Burkina Faso. Political legitimacy is key to the progress of Burkina Faso and we want to let key leaders know students and other global citizens are concerned with this setback to Burkina Faso's young democracy! Timeline: Tuesday, October 28: Opposition Party will hold an official demonstration outside the National Assembly. Thursday, October 30: The National Assembly votes on amending the Constitution. We will deliver the letter to the Burkina Faso Ambassador.

Reduce carbon footprint and wasted natural resources. Lower the entry barrier to candidates and committees who don't have a lot of money. The most basic color glossy mailers cost 50 cents each to mail. For Oakland with 60,000 highly likely voter unique households, that's a minimum of $30,000 to communicate with voters. You need three or more because most mailing pieces get thrown out. $90K is a lot of favors you'll owe to well to do supporters or you have to be rich to run.

Democracy in America and Maryland is being corrupted by big moneyed interests. Legislative leaders should help create a more level political playing field for all Americans, rich and poor, by allowing a floor vote in the Maryland General Assembly on the Democracy Amendment. This proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution would declare that: • Corporations are not persons with constitutional rights. They do not have First Amendment rights such as free speech. • Money is not speech. The right to spend vast sums of money on elections is not protected as freedom of speech. • Federal, state and local governments have the right to regulate campaign finance, to assure free and fair elections. That should include how money is raised, how money is spent, public disclosure and public financing. • Natural persons who are U.S. citizens have the right to vote and to have their vote counted. The amendment this resolution supports will overturn the deeply flawed Supreme Court decision, Citizens United v. FEC, and similar court decisions. Why do we call for a constitutional amendment, given how hard it is to pass an amendment? Because it’s the only way to reverse the Supreme Court when it goes in the wrong direction. For example, after the Supreme Court in the 1857 Dred Scott case declared that slaves are property who cannot become citizens and have virtually no rights, the United States in 1865-66 passed the Thirteenth and Fourteenth amendments. These abolished slavery and gave former slaves full citizenship rights.

Thanks to the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United, the way elections are decided has been completely altered This decision by the Supreme Court has opened the floodgates to allow Super PACs and special interest groups, run by the likes of the Koch brothers and Karl Rove, to spend millions of dollars to influence elections. To make matters worse, we can never be completely sure of their true motives or where their money comes from. Despite this, they spend enough money to put their interest front and center while middle class families in Arkansas – those who don’t have a million dollars to spend on campaigns – get drowned out. Arkansas has seen unprecedented amount of special interest money being poured into its elections this year and it will only increase over the next fourteen days. While we cannot reverse what has already been done, we can lessen the impact of big money in future elections. I know that we can take back control of our democracy, but we must come together and take action.

Destruction of democracy. Demos means people, not money. I have been directly affected by these conservative activists.

This Petition is started to PROVIDE U.S. CITIZENS ONE FOCAL POINT WHERE THEY MAY STATE THEIR RAGE that an EXTREME CONFLICT OF INTEREST EXISTS BETWEEN A NUMBER OF THE SUPREME COURT JUSTICES OF THE U.S.A. AND THEIR ABILITY TO TRUTHFULLY AND ADEQUATLEY PERFORM THE DUTIES TO WHICH THEY ARE BOUND.

Our American History class feels that having Election day on Tuesday prevents many eligible voters from voting. By allowing the process to change to Sunday or even Saturday, more citizens will be able to vote thus creating a more democratic process.

It's time for Washington State 5th District voters to put Joe Pakootas in the House and send Cathy home to her family in California. Please send in your ballots with your vote for Joe, and remind your family and friends to do so as well. Though Cathy claims support of VAWA, she and her fellow House Republicans reduce funding every chance they get. Joe supports VAWA and full funding of it. Joe Pakootas will vote for the protection of women everywhere. Go to http://www.pakootasforcongress.com/#!issues/c1han to learn of Joe's background and why he should have your support.

Voter turnout is pathetic in this country. I am concerned that the political ads increase voter apathy and make the public less inclined to have their voice heard in the political process. No matter how you lean politically, the ads are awful and don't further our democracy. Banning political ads and instead airing PSA's of this nature will increase participation and lead to greater trust in the political process.

The Tatia M. Oden French Memorial Foundation is petitioning the FDA because of adverse events associated with the use of the drug Cytotec, (Misoprostol) for cervical ripening and labor induction. When used to induce labor, Cytotec has been known to cause uterine rupture, AFE and death of the mother and or death of the child. Tatia Malika Oden French and her daughter, Zorah, are only two of the people who would be alive today had the FDA made the Searle (original manufacturer) announcement available to consumers via its website. They both died because of the amniotic fluid embolism that Tatia experienced, shortly after being administered her second dose of Cytotec on December 27, 2001. That is a fact. If Tatia’s health care provider, an obstetrician, had informed her of the manufacturers warning letter that the doctor’s office received from G.D. Searle, she would never have taken the drug. But her obstetrician chose not to share this information with her. The August 23, 2000, warning letter from the original manufacturer took an even stronger step and issued a statement sent to 200,000 OBGYN’s throughout the U.S. We quote from this statement: “Serious adverse events reported following off-label use of Cytotec in pregnant women include maternal or fetal death, uterine hyper-stimulation, rupture or perforation requiring uterine surgical repair, hysterectomy or salpingo-oophorectomy, amniotic fluid embolism, severe vaginal bleeding, retained placenta, shock, fetal bradycardia and pelvic pain.” We therefore specifically request the FDA to create a medicine guide, that states these adverse affects of Misoprostol when used off label for labor induction. If the manufacturer itself warns of death as a possibility for both mother and child, the FDA should make this known. The FDA, has a duty to publish, at the very least, all of the possible adverse events that have been reported, including those published by the original manufacturer when it is bought by a larger company. By doing this hundreds of mothers and babies lives would be saved.