The recent U.S. Supreme Court's 5 to 4 majority decision in "Town of Greece, N.Y. v. Galloway" (announced in early May, 2014) so radically ignores previous precedents and commonly understood interpretations of religious protections provided by the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, that the predictable consequences of the majority's opinion may be to render them almost meaningless in any practical sense. The majority's decision is also extremely bad public policy because, by opening the doors of government to sectarian religious doctrines, it will almost certainly substantially increase the risks of religious disputes and strife developing in America. We are well served by maintaining a separation between church and state, as history has long shown.

Members of Congress are public servants, and should not receive special privileges at the expense of hard-working taxpayers.

A city of Belle Glade employee, Tyrone Miles, was suspended for seven days without pay for violation of the city’s “Use of city vehicles and equipment” policy. The policy states that “city employees are permitted to use city vehicles and equipment for the performance of their professional duties only." Mr. Miles made a stop in a city vehicle at a convenience store to purchase a drink and use the bathroom while en route back to his job site after completing trash pickup for the day. This policy violation is common among city employees, where they stop at convenience stores and other non-work related establishments to purchase food and drink. This common violation would suggest that this policy is not one that is viewed as an important one by the employees or supervisors/managers. Prior to Mr. Miles’s write up and suspension, there had been some verbal disagreements between him and his supervisor. A grievance was submitted by Mr. Miles claiming: 1. Unfair and inconsistent application of city policy because, while this is a common violation, disciplinary action for this violation is not. Prior to Mr. Miles’s suspension, seeing city vehicles at convenience stores and food and drink establishments was almost a daily occurrence. The same day Mr. Miles’s suspension started, he noticed a city vehicle at a convenience store. He entered the store and photographed two city employees. One of the employees could clearly be seen at a beverage dispenser, with a cup positioned in a manner to receive a beverage. Mr. Miles reported this and showed the photo to his Director and the Director of Human Resources. At this point, no disciplinary action has been taken against these employees. Mr. Miles also grieved the submission of false information/statement because his supervisor stated that he had parked in a handicap parking space during his stop at the convenience store and provided a photo as proof. The photo clearly showed the vehicle was to the left of the handicap parking space. 2. Failure to properly follow procedures for suspending employees because the City Manager had not approved the suspension in writing as stated in the employee handbook prior to Mr. Miles being sent home. Approximately a week and a half after Mr. Miles’s grievance was submitted, the City responded by having him report to the Director of Human Resources. Once he reported, the Director of Human Resources introduced him to an attorney (Lara Donlon) who was a representative for the City. The Director of Human Resources then exited the room. Shortly after the introduction, Mr. Miles informed Ms. Donlon that he was not comfortable speaking with her and referred her to his written complaint. Prior to him leaving to report back to his job site, a second copy of the action form was given to him (approximately 21 days after the disciplinary action), which at this point had the signatures of the Director of Human Resources and the City Manager, whereas at the time of the suspension those signatures were not present. In order to ensure the fair and equitable treatment of city employees, we ask the Belle Glade City Council to ensure the following: 1. Fair and consistent application of all city, county, state and federal laws, regulations, rules, and policies among ALL city employees 2. Adopt a policy of progressive discipline based on the level and seriousness of violations 3. Adopt an effective employee relations program where employees do not feel threatened or fear losing employment by verbalizing opinions or bringing issues (good or bad) to the attention of city leaders/managers 4. The City Manager, Director of Human Resources and other leaders/managers not be allowed to create false audit trails to cover up failures in following laws, rules, policies, and procedures and discipline those found to have done so We ask that the Belle Glade City Council provide feedback/actions on petition within 60 days of its receipt.

The Supreme Court’s Citizens United and McCutcheon decisions opened the floodgates of unlimited campaign spending by the 1%, which threatens our democracy. And the Court will keep ruling this way, as long as we subscribe to the absurd notion that money is “speech.” However, Senator Tom Udall (D-New Mexico) has sponsored a constitutional amendment to give Congress the power to pass campaign contribution limits and spending limits. A vote is expected in the coming months. Sign the petition to the U.S. Senate: Support a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United and McCutcheon.

Why am I starting this? I'm an Architect / Engineer by trade, who often looks at statistics and numbers, as well as massive amounts of data for my customers. Although the data supports the recklessness of "sport hunting" of the American Grey Wolf, as a human, I'm struck by the cold, calculated way that we approach hunting of wolves. This is not "sport." This is not survival of "need," for Americans to feed their families on wolf meat. This is only the importing of hunters into various states for the purpose of shooting animals with heavy weapons. My analytical mind is giving me a "gut check." This is wrong. As we wait to slaughter wolves that may have accidentally wandered off the Yellowstone Property, I believe we need to work to re-educate and put a pause to wolf hunting.

Taking a photo against a white background? You may owe Amazon money.

I used to assist my grandmother with the election process in our neighborhood. She used to stay up until 3 am tabulating votes in public. The results were transmitted before she left the election site. My mother-in-law also did this. My experience working with ballots made me realize that our democracy is literally in OUR hands. Somehow a generation has lost this connection. Budget and time conscious people have moved to the cheaper more efficient systems without understanding the high consequence. So many people have lost their lives for this freedom and it has been watered down to a very weak system that is far too easy to corrupt. We must have a system that will stand --not in our best days--but in our worst days. The time-honored precinct system--though not perfect--was in the local citizen control.

Americans of all political stripes can all agree about one thing: the Supreme Court is too political and it's corrupting our democracy.

Legislation is often crafted by lobbyists for special interest and introduced by members of Congress without any vetting. This is due to the fact that they feel indebted to the lobbyists for their election funding. Also their staff is overworked and frequently does not review what is being proposed.

We all suffer because America's election system is not transparent and neutral for any candidate.

I run a start-up company with little capital. I believe my potential customers will be drawn away from my site if it is much slower than sites of larger companies who can afford the higher price of a faster Internet.

The deepest pockets have become the LOUDEST VOICES in determining where this country is headed. In doing so, they drown out the will of the voters. Join this non-partisan group of ordinary citizens who have put aside their careers and lives for months to bring together the many voices who are working independently on campaign finance reform so we can unite to get real change enacted. citizenscongress2014.org