Bristol, Tennessee City Council amended dog ordinances in November, 2014. While these ordinances improved conditions for dogs in our city, they did not address some significant issues. To prevent dog abuse and neglect, our dog ordinances need to be comprehensive and address all reasonable issues for the health and safety of our pets and our community.

On March 25, 2015, a Saudi-led coalition began an airstrike campaign in Yemen to defeat the Houthi rebels who have effectively overthrown the government backed by Saudi Arabia and the US. The Obama administration is openly providing “logistical and intelligence support” to the offensive. [1] The Yemeni civil war has claimed the lives of over 1,500 civilians. [2] The coalition declared the entire city of Saada a military target, which Human Rights Watch labeled a war crime. [3] Amnesty International’s deputy director for the Middle East has said that the Saudi-led, US-supported coalition is “turning a blind eye to civilian deaths and suffering caused by its military intervention”. [4] The US public must not do the same. Yet the coverage of civilian deaths in Yemen by major US media outlets, like the New York Times and the Washington Post, has been cursory and superficial. The Intercept's Glenn Greenwald [5] foretold the coverage of an airstrike by the US-backed coalition that killed at least 45 civilians in Fayoush, Yemen. [6] "None of the victims will be profiled in American media; it’ll be very surprising if any of their names are even mentioned. No major American television outlet will interview their grieving families. Americans will never learn about their extinguished life aspirations, or the children turned into orphans, or the parents who will now bury their infants." Coverage in the Times and Post bore out Greenwald's predictions: The Times website ran a Reuters wire story [7] and the Post online had an AP piece [8], neither of which included any details about the victims. Neither paper appeared to cover the airstrike in their print editions. Urge these media outlets to provide serious coverage of the civilian bloodshed resulting from an offensive the US government is supporting. References: 1. http://news.yahoo.com/us-logistical-intelligence-support-yemen-offensive-021512580.html 2. http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/08/middleeast/yemen-conflict/ 3. http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/rights-group-airstrikes-yemen-killed-civilians-32132375 4. http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/03/31/disturbing-reports-civilian-deaths-yemen-warn-international-aid-groups 5. https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/07/06/civilian-deaths-yemen-will-ignored/ 6. http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-yemen-market-explosion-20150706-story.html 7. http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2015/07/07/world/middleeast/07reuters-yemen-security.html 8. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/airstrike-hits-market-north-of-yemens-aden-over-45-killed/2015/07/06/7cd06f6a-23e7-11e5-b621-b55e495e9b78_story.html

For almost a year now, the Texas Department of State Health Services has been denying birth certificates to immigrant mothers whose children were born within the state borders. The state agency is claiming that they are unable to provide the immigrant women with birth certificates for their children because they are unable to provide valid forms of identification -- despite the women providing foreign passports and other forms of ID. Without valid birth certificates, these children are unable to be enrolled in day care, be provided medical treatment in case of an emergency, or have any claim to their United States citizenship. Meanwhile, the parents are unable to prove that they are the legal guardians of the child. In short, no birth certificate means that these children, who are natural born United States Citizens, are unable to obtain the rights and protection that are afforded to every person born in this country. What the state of Texas is doing is discriminatory against immigrant parents, and is in clear violation of the United States Constitution. The Texas Department of State Health Services needs to stop turning a blind eye on these children and their families and begin granting them birth certificates now!

Thousands of Americans are suffering today.

The City of Cherokee Commissioners must make ALL necessary repairs to the city's water system. The people of Cherokee spent in excess of $1 million installing a reverse osmosis treatment plant. But now the water coming out of our taps smelling like pond water and is the color of tea or worse. Many of the water mains are old rusted iron pipes that need to be replaced. Clean water is the most vital resource. Please sign this petition.

Dr. Sara Goldrick-Rab has come under fire for some innocuous comments she made to incoming Badgers on Twitter. UW-Madison Chancellor Becky Blank said: "Any institution has its critics, and especially in social media, it's important to remember that the loudest voice usually isn't the most accurate." More info: http://www.jsonline.com/news/education/uw-professor-under-fire-for-tweeting-at-incoming-freshmen-b99538936z1-315784681.html

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Our President negotiated a historic peace treaty with Iran. WHY is Congress fighting for yet another war? Why destroy a negotiated peace? Congress should congratulate President Obama--not send our sons and daughters off to war.

This is a carefully crafted agreement allowing Iran to save face while eliminating any possibility for Iran to develop a nuclear weapon. It may well be the beginning of a historic decrease in tensions in the Middle East if it brings Iran back into the family of nations. Even if it does not, the nuclear threat of a Middle East arms race will be gone.

We need to protect our local community from overwhelming corporate interests. Please support our HOA and local residents fight the proposed Verizon cell tower being built in our residential community.

All eligible couples have a legal right to marriage in ALL 50 states. Ohio is no exception! Source: 1. http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2015/07/13/guernsy-county-marriages.html.

Justice should be blind. All judges should follow the law. Even laws they don't agree with.