The Washington Post reports that "negotiations are almost complete on a long-overdue farm bill" and that House and Senate negotiators plan to "call for eliminating about $9 billion in funding for food stamps." ?#@*&%! But this fight is not over, not by a longshot. Here is how we plan to stop food stamp cuts: Passage of the Farm Bill is not guaranteed. Any Farm Bill has to pass both the tea party controlled House and the Democratic controlled Senate. Just as there are some Democrats who will oppose the bill because it cuts food stamps (partially because the Daily Kos community sent 265,000 emails telling members of Congress to oppose food stamp cuts), there are also tea partiers who oppose the Farm Bill because it doesn't cut food stamps enough. As such, it is possible for a left-right coalition to sink this bill. If the Farm Bill is defeated, then any food stamp cuts will probably be delayed at least a year. If there is no way to pass a Farm Bill in the current Congress, then the most likely outcome is for a continuing resolution which would extend the current Farm Bill for another year. This would stop any cuts to the food stamp program, and kick the can down the road until there is a new Congress after the 2014 elections. Now, there is no guarantee that the 2014 elections will result in a Congress that is better on food stamps. In fact, those elections could make things even worse. But defeating the Farm Bill, getting a continuing resolution, and then doing well in the 2014 elections is the only realistic path to stopping food stamp cuts. This is our path. Please sign our petition denouncing congressional negotiators for planning to cut food stamps, and share the bill far and wide over Facebook, Twitter and other social networks.

Oklahoma is home to many intelligent and talented individuals. The legalization of marijuana for medical and personal use would shift an amazing economic boost for our state. Schools, roads, hospitals these are but a few things that are still in need of repair and /or reform. For years I have heard talk of how cutbacks, crackdowns, lotteries and casinos would bring revenue to our state and give us the means to fix these things, yet here we stand. With an absolute accomplishment of nothing to show. There are numerous positive facts and statements that can be made on marijuana and the many uses it holds. It's legalization could help get and keep Oklahoma a debt free and financially sound state. Aside from also helping to thin out correctional facility overcrowding and pioneering in cancer cures and being the most useful plant on the planet. Why would you not legalize? It is time to break the cycle of ignorance and fear, stand up, change the way the world sees and put your stamp on a whole new chapter in our futures past.

I am one of the people that is affected by congress stopping this benefits. I been searching for employment but has not been successful in my search. At this time I am a mother of one and am expecting my second child. No one will hire due to me being pregnant. With these benefits, it will help until I deliver and begin my search again. Please Stop this from happening to millions of people that need this extra help at this time!

A mother of 2 small children was placed in jail for following the advisement of a Social Worker and 2 judges in WI to not bring her children for visitation with their father who resides in TN. The advisement given to her to not bring her kids to TN is because a third party reported to Children Protective Services in WI concerns that the children might have been abused by their father. After a forensic investigation where it was decided that the fathers visitation rights be suspended by the Social Worker in WI so the mom did not bring her children to TN (as any concerned mother would do). During the forensic investigation one of the boys stated that his father had touched him inappropriately and left him unattended on multiple occasions. Additionally there was a temporary restraining order placed against the father by 2 judges in WI thereby legally preventing the mother from bringing the children to the father in TN. If this mother had disregarded the legal advisement from WI she would have been held accountable by the WI Courts. This mother is still facing additional jail time and could potentially lose custody of her children. Because this mother followed the legal advisement in WI- the TN judge Phillip Robinson has placed this mother in jail to “make a point” that she should not have disobeyed his order… But what kind of a mother would drop her children off with someone she was just advised not to leave her children with? The community needs to know what type of “points” this judge is trying to make to mothers trying to follow the law and protect their children. This is public record. Please see more on the story here at this blog: http://onemomsbattle.com/2014/01/13/a-tragedy-in-the-family-court-system-judge-phillip-robinson-tennessee/

The consideration of a satanic monument at the State capital is a Disgrace to America and such a peposal is taking a monument such as GODS ten commanments out of Context. This peposal greatly affects not only me as a Citizen but the undersigned as a whole nation.

Myself along with thousands of residents in my community have been seriously affected by the lack of public notification of Maryland State and County DOT sponsored public hearings (presentation, Q&A session etc ...) regarding a major highway which will ruin our community and destroy hundreds of acres of critical wildlife habitat.

I see too often men and women escape accountability for their actions. They never suffer, the parent that is doing the right thing does all the suffering, its almost like the drunk driver that crashes into an innocent person. The innocent person ends up dying and the drunk driver gets to go to jail...alive!

A six-month extension is expected to pass the Senate this week, but the Republicans in the House of Representatives are refusing to even allow a vote! When these benefits are cut off, the long-term unemployed have no money to pay rent, electricity, transportation, or many of the other necessary expenses of living and looking for work. That means they will be homeless, along with their spouses, and their children will have to go into foster care, or they will have to move in with relatives. For every person who is cut off, there are many more who are affected. How does this make any sense?? Sign this petition and tell Congress to WAKE UP and help Americans instead of corporations for a change!

To protect animals from their abusers.

I live on Staten Island and work in Brooklyn. Like many others each day after work when I travel home I am forced to pay over $6.00 in tolls. This monthly toll costs us over $200/month just to get home from work. No other citizen in the city who has to drive and use a bridge to get to work suffers from such tolls. We who live on Staten Island should be afforded the same right, respect and courtesy.

Question: How awful must a contemporary social problem become to result in a feature length documentary in commercial theaters with a nation-wide release? Answer: As bad as the current family law system. If possible, please see the movie, Divorce Corp, to understand the way our current Family Law system operates. Then as an informed active citizen please make your decision to sign a petition to reform the deplorably unethical systems of Family Law as they are now allowed to operate.. Divorce Corp. the groundbreaking expose of the US Family Law System, premieres in theaters on January 10, 2014. Locations: http://divorcecorp.com/the-film/ The documentary opens in over fifty cities in: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington. If you live in or near one of the cities Divorce Corp. premieres, you can help shine a bright light on the appalling waste seen daily in family courts by seeing and promoting the movie. Ned Holstein, MD, MS, Founder and Chair of National Parents Organization says, "This film has the potential to accelerate the family court reform movement. This is an opportunity for people of good faith to unite to save our children from the ravages of a morally corrupt system. We need to rally around this opportunity to tell the story so many of us know all too well.” More money flows through the family courts, and into the hands of courthouse insiders, than in all other court systems in America combined - over $50 billion a year and growing. Through extensive research and interviews with the nation's top divorce lawyers, mediators, judges, politicians, litigants and journalists, this documentary uncovers how children are torn from their homes, unlicensed custody evaluators extort money, and abusive judges play god with people's lives while enriching their friends. This explosive documentary reveals the family courts as unregulated, extra-constitutional fiefdoms. Rather than assist victims of domestic crimes, these courts often precipitate them. And rather than help parents and children move on, as they are mandated to do, these courts - and their associates - drag out cases for years, sometimes decades, ultimately resulting in a rash of social ills, including home foreclosure, bankruptcy, suicide and violence. Solutions to the crisis are needed because of the widespread effects upon our whole social fabric. "Divorce Corp is the most powerful cinematic indictment of the family courts yet produced. It is especially strong in tracing how high attorney fees, custody evaluation fees and other fees corrupt the original intent of the family courts. If you ever wanted a lesson in how the family courts create a winner-take-all siege mentality among divorcing parents, here it is. "This documentary details how the unethical industry called “Family Court” stomp on constitutional rights, damage the lives of children, bankrupt families, foment conflict, incite false accusations, enrich attorneys, evade accountability, jail innocent people, and create violence and hatred among people who might otherwise have settled their affairs quickly and peaceably. "One of the best things about this film is that it doesn't just criticize, it presents an alternative -- a living, functioning alternative, as currently practiced in Scandinavian countries, with shared parenting and without profiteering. It shows a win-win-win for mothers, fathers, and children." According to the director and producers, “For roughly 50% of American families divorce is an unpleasant fact of life. Dealing with divorce and its effects destroys lives and bankrupts individuals every day. Family law, which barely existed for most of our country’s history, has morphed into a gigantic industry over the past several decades. These facts peaked our interest, but when we began making our documentary film in 2011 we had no idea we were about to uncover the last vestige of lawlessness in America. Family courts are a dark corner of the judicial system where fiefdoms and tyrants still thrive, where the supreme law of the land is routinely ignored, where children are taken hostage for profit, and where lives are destroyed as a matter of course. We knew we had to shine a light on these injustices.” Please come see the film so you can understand some of what is going on and how we can improve our society by making the needed reforms.

Most states allow organizational license plates issued from DOT/DMV for an additional fee of course. I want to show my pride in the organization I belong to and how much we do for the community. Freemasons and concordant bodies (Scottish Rite, York Rite, Shriners, eastern star etc...) have been part of our community for many years. We donate hundreds of thousands of dollars to charities, children hospitals, relief funds, red cross, etc....