An open and accessible government is the standard of U.S. democracy. Or at least it should be! John Faso won Ulster County by a narrow margin and there are many of us who want to make sure that he is going to do the job he was hired to do; speak for all citizens of Ulster County and not just the 1%! With the uncertainty and unorthodox nature of our present Republican administration, our job of holding Rep. Faso accountable just got bigger and more crucial than ever.

It is of utmost importance, in this time of radical change and uncertainty, that our elected representatives hear from us and talk with us.

An apartment building in a West Bank settlement was funded by an organization headed by David Friedman, President Trump’s nominee for ambassador to Israel. The building is financed by American Friends of Beit El Institutions, which Friedman chairs. American Friends of Beit El Institutions raised almost $667,000 for its Israeli counterpart, the Organization for the Sukkat Ovadia Yeshiva of Beit El. The Israeli organization funded construction projects on private Palestinian land. The projects were illegal under Israeli law. The planned apartment building is also to be built partly on private Palestinian land. [1] A recent bill passed by the Knesset which has drawn wide international condemnation seeks to retroactively legalize such theft; Israel's Attorney General has declared the bill to be unconstitutional, and many expect Israel's high court to overturn it. Kentucky Senator Rand Paul has demonstrated unique ability to influence the Administration's foreign policy choices on nominees. On Feb. 7, Rand Paul declared his opposition to the expected nomination of Elliott Abrams as No. 2 in the State Department. [2] On Feb. 10, the idea of nominating Elliott Abrams was apparently killed. [3] All true conservatives should oppose the government theft of private property. Urge Rand Paul and other Senators to oppose the nomination of private property thief David Friedman to be U.S. ambassador to Israel by signing our petition. References: 1. http://forward.com/news/breaking-news/362712/david-friedman-trump-s-israel-envoy-pick-reportedly-behind-newly-approved-s/ 2. http://rare.us/rare-politics/rand-paul-do-not-let-elliott-abrams-anywhere-near-the-state-department/ 3. http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/10/politics/elliott-abrams-trump-state-department-tillerson/index.html

To HELP other families, those affected and those NOT affected, understand that WE as Americans, as human beings, and as PARENTS have RIGHTS. We have a voice and we ALL NEED to stand up for ourselves and each other especially when our CHILDREN are SUFFERING and ripped from us and taken to church's and Christmas boxes... WHAT THE HELL is THAT? DCFS CAN'T find placement so they think that our babies are better off, EXCUSE me, it is in their BEST INTEREST to be placed in a "CHRISTMAS BOX" rather than with their OWN PARENTS. Get THEM out of our justice system and away FROM our CHILDREN.

The Puerto Rico political status issue pertaining to its relationship with the United States is a complicated one. A significant majority of the Puerto Rico people believe that due to the island's unequal political rights under the American flag, Puerto Rico is in fact not just a territory, but a colony. We agree with this theory because all the elements of a colony are present. In 2012, the people of Puerto Rico voted to end the current colonial political status , and yet Congress and the White House chose to ignore the democratic will of over 3.5 million American citizens (more population than 23 states). As a result of the United States government's clear rejection and disinterest in making Puerto Rico a state, Congressman Luis Gutierrez of Illinois, has filed HR 900 to recognize Puerto Rico's sovereign nationhood under either independence or free association and to provide for a transition process, and for other purposes. As a proud Puerto Rican I strongly encourage you to support HR 900 by becoming a co-sponsor. No country or territory deserves to be held as a colony subject to the absolute powers of another country. US Congress should support Congressman Gutierrez's bill and grant independence to Puerto Rico. Otherwise the US would be doing exactly the same as Great Britain when it held the original 13 colonies under an undemocratic and voiceless political situation which triggered the declaration of independence and the birth of the United States of America.

Coal has been in the spotlight, as contributing to climate change. In Montana, as elsewhere, many jobs are affected by the global economics that have led to the closing down of Colstrip Units 1 & 2 by 2022. Those jobs could be saved by redesigning the coal burning industry into Solar &/or Wind projects

I think we all are affected by Trump's desire to make the judicial branch do his bidding. We need Judge Gorsuch, who is in a very prominent position right now, to speak up and defend the Constitution of the US.

We must not allow our legislators to silently benefit from Donald Trump's presence in the White House without their personal acceptance of responsibility for the agenda he is promoting. Join us in warning them that we, the voters, will remember and hold them to account when they stand for reelection.

On February 9, 2017, Representative Jerrold Nadler took the extraordinary step of filing a "resolution of inquiry" in the U.S. House that could force a House investigation into Donald Trump’s financial conflicts of interest and ties to the Russian government. Media reports have called Rep. Nadler’s action the “most aggressive move” yet by Democrats. If Rep. Nadler is successful, the Department of Justice will have "to provide Congress with the basic information required to conduct an inquiry into President Trump and his associates" conflicts of interest, ethical violations—including the Emoluments Clause—and connections to the Russian government." The DOJ will also have to provide information related to " any criminal or counterintelligence investigation targeting President Donald J. Trump, National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort, Carter Page, Roger Stone, or any employee of the Executive Office of the President." This could be just the breakthrough needed for the American people to learn the full extent of Trump's unconstitutional activity. The House Judiciary Committee has 14 legislative days to respond to Rep. Nadler's request, or it will automatically go to the full House for vote, forcing Republicans to grapple with and vote on whether they are going to take seriously and investigate—or continue to ignore—Trump’s flagrant ethical and constitutional violations. We need a massive wave of support and media attention now to make sure all the committee members understand that the American people demand a timely and thorough investigation of Donald Trump. Anything short of that is a complete abdication of their oversight responsibility—and we will hold them accountable accordingly.

The Pennsylvania Values Act The Pennsylvania Values Act will protect all Pennsylvanians by ensuring that state and local resources are not used for mass deportations, separation of families or to divide Pennsylvanians on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, immigration status, or national or ethnic group. This bill would create “safe zones” around public places such as public schools, courthouses and hospitals. Immigration enforcement would be banned from these places and this bill would also require these agencies to update their confidentiality policies so that immigration status is not shared for enforcement purposes. The Pennsylvania Values Act has not been introduced yet. We are urging our legislators and Gov. Wolf to move this concept forward. Throughout his campaign, President Trump has publicly stated his stance against immigration, where he threatened to increase deportations and target the Muslim community. Now that he is president, he has issued a travel ban that targets Muslims and has begun the process of expanding the deportation of families. He also threatened to cut the funding from cities or counties that declare themselves “sanctuary.” This puts cities and counties in a limbo, to decide between cooperating with immigration enforcement or to lose their funding. This bill is important to the immigrant community because if local and state agencies cooperate with federal immigration authorities, the immigrant community will lose the hard-earned trust of our local agencies. Broken trust can lead our immigrant community to discontinue seeking services such as health services, educational services or they will fear to inquire for law enforcement’s help if they are victims or witnesses of a crime to avoid being questioned about their immigration status.

Senator Heller represents Nevadans but has not given us the opportunity to meet with him in a Town Hall or other public event. We deserve a chance to share our perspectives and how we are being affected by his actions and the actions of the Trump White House. He needs to hear our voices.

I have personally had difficulty reaching Senator Portman. When I am able to reach his office by phone, I am assured that my messages will be "passed along", and when I email or fax I receive canned responses only after my wishes - and the wishes of many other Ohioans - have been disregarded. Senator Portman, you need to face your constituents. Hold a public event!