For over ten years, as a Professor of Mathematics and Criminal Justice, I have specialized in teaching Alternative Dispute Resolution and Restorative Justice to Criminal Justice Majors at New England College in Henniker, New Hampshire. I have seen these prospective "cops on the street" go from "no way" to "this could have really made a difference in my friend's life". If police departments would begin a Restorative Justice Program for youth offenders, it would have significant positive impact on the youth, the community, and their department. It is an opportunity to change the dialog from confrontation to cooperation.

Syriza’s victory in Greece’s elections marks a historic turning point for countries attempting to emerge from sluggish economic growth and high unemployment. [1] Syriza has promised to enact alternatives to austerity policies European authorities have imposed on Greece, which have left Greece with extremely high unemployment similar to the U.S. Great Depression, currently at 25.5%, with youth unemployment at 49.6%. [2] The IMF projects Greek unemployment will still be at nearly 16% in 2018, and almost all of their projections since 2010 have been over-optimistic. Greek voters have rejected prolonged mass unemployment and elected a government with a mandate to negotiate a better deal. A government willing to stand up to the European authorities can help Europe move away from economic policies that have been a miserable failure. Syriza has vowed to enact a stimulus, including through boosting public investment; to seek renegotiation of Greece’s debt; to clamp down on tax evasion; and to take advantage of the new quantitative easing program announced by the European Central Bank last week. The party has opposed plans to cut salaries and pensions of public employees even further. [3.] The amounts of money needed to guarantee a robust Greek recovery are extremely small for the European authorities, especially given the size of the ECB’s announced 60 billion euro per month QE. [4.] U.S. officials will have significant influence on European leaders as they formulate their response to the election, both directly and indirectly through U.S. leadership of the IMF. Urge U.S. officials to press European leaders to respect and compromise with the anti-austerity will of the Greek electorate by signing our petition. References: 1. “Syriza Victory in Greece Could Be a ‘Historic Turning Point’ for Eurozone Economic Policy, CEPR Co-Director Says,” Center for Economic and Policy Research, January 25, 2015, http://www.cepr.net/index.php/press-releases/press-releases/syriza-victory-in-greece-could-be-a-historic-turning-point-for-eurozone-economic-policy-cepr-co-director-says 2. “The Greek Economy: Which Way Forward?” Mark Weisbrot, David Rosnick and Stephan Lefebvre, Center for Economic and Policy Research, January 2015, http://www.cepr.net/index.php/publications/reports/the-greek-economy-which-way-forward 3. “End austerity before fear kills Greek democracy,” Alexis Tsipras, Financial Times, January 20, 2015, http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/da236d24-9ff9-11e4-9a74-00144feab7de.html 4. “The Greek Economy: Which Way Forward?” Mark Weisbrot, David Rosnick and Stephan Lefebvre, Center for Economic and Policy Research, January 2015, http://www.cepr.net/index.php/publications/reports/the-greek-economy-which-way-forward

I attend Hobart, and the food served is unhealthy, dismal, and tasteless. Feeding kids moderately healthy, tasteful food leads to more academic success, and the well-being of the student body is increased with actual nutrition in the meals.

It's been 5 years since the Citizens United Supreme Court decision and big money continues to have a negative impact on our democracy. The Massachusetts Legislature has taken some significant steps in addressing this problem but we must do more. Please join me in writing your state legislators today.

Taxi drivers, like me, who work in Montgomery County, Md., work 16-hour days, but many of us struggle to feed our families because of the tens of thousands of dollars in fees we have to pay to companies like Barwood. Many drivers barely make minimum wage and can be fired without cause because we have no protections on the job. But we’re fighting back. We are pushing for the Montgomery County Council to pass a Passenger and Driver Bill of Rights that would lower fees to ensure drivers are paid a living wage, provide drivers with basic workplace protections, make sure customers receive the highest-quality service at lower prices and regulate companies like Uber. Not surprisingly, lobbyists for companies like Barwood and Uber are trying to stop this, so they can keep more money in the pockets of their CEOs. That’s why we need Montgomery County residents to tell County Council members they support a Passenger and Driver Bill of Rights. Sign the petition now to tell Montgomery County Council members you want them to support the drivers’ push for a Passenger and Driver Bill of Rights, so that taxi drivers can support their families and provide the best service to customers.

Burial Hill will be adversely affected with the needless removal of these trees. Burial Hill is one of the country's earliest burial grounds and is part of the original area settled by the Pilgrims. It is of historic, artistic, and cultural importance. We must be stewards to its preservation. If we stand silent we are party to its desecration.

As professionals in the field of education, we are held responsible to high standards in the classroom. We must ensure that we provide excellence and results for our students. We are held accountable not just by supervisors and districts, but by parents who rely on us for honest assessments of their children’s progress and classroom choices that are in the best interest of their children. Fundamentally, our primary responsibility is to our students and as such we must be able to speak freely about what is in their best interest. Since the introduction of high stakes standardized testing, it is even more critical that we are protected to speak honestly about what is happening in our classrooms. If teachers believe, based upon their professional expertise, that high stakes standardized testing and preparation are not in the best interest of their students, they must be allowed to say so. They cannot be asked to support something that their professional expertise informs them is not useful and is in fact detrimental. But teachers currently fear retaliation if they share their professional opinion. Teachers are being told they are not allowed to speak about their concerns regarding PARCC or to engage in discussions with parents who wish to refuse the tests. Concerns are compounded because there is no formal policy coming from many districts, and because many teachers are also parents. There is no more important time for the teachers union to be at the forefront of protecting the freedom of speech and academic freedom of their members. Without that protection, teachers will have to choose between being honest to their professional responsibilities and remaining silent in fear of retaliation.

John Boehner acts as if he represents America. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I am in a current legal battle at the moment having to go to court and face what could be a felony if found guilty for purchasing an off-brand cold medicine Wal-phran I purchased at my local Walgreens. I have prior convictions for running a meth lab in which I did almost a total of 10 yearrs. When I was raided they found a empty pickle jar and"no drugs". I paid my debt to society along with my family who also suffered for my mistakes. Back in December 2014, my mother who has ongoing medical conditions got the flu and her being elder she asked me to get her something from our local pharmacy. I was aware of signs in the pharmacy that warned of your name being submitted in a electronic database and no person was authorized to the purchase of no more than 3 boxes of pseudoephedrine per month but I was unfamiliar with the law that had went into effect approximately a year prior of not permitting to sell to someone that had my prior convictions. Well earlier in the month my home got raided in which they found sandwich bags--clean ones unused, food scales that weigh pounds (they were weight watchers scales), but no drugs. When I read the warrant I found they issued it because I had a warrant in the county where my mother lives for purchasing her medicine. One box I have bought in ten years and wouldn't have if I knew I wasn't allowed. I thought it was illegal for the sale too. I thought If I was doing wrong I should be protected in the system some way or another. My mother who still has the medicine a box that had a total of 20 pills and 16 still in the box. Now I'm looking at a felony conviction in which I am guilty of and wish I had known I was doing wrong. My home was raided for a possible meth lab in which there was not one and they tore my home up for the third time when I have already been punished 10 yrs and learned my lesson and then some. Now with prior convictions along with this felony I can been maxed out in years for something I did to be help to my mother. I want to keep others from running into this problem like I have. If everything goes electronically in a database why shouldn't these databases put up a red flag and not allow for such sale to those that shouldn't be permitted those sales. People that max out on the number of boxes that they can get a month are shown a red flag if they can not buy anymore, and 3 boxes is more than anyone should need in a month so why do they not get a notice not permitting them the sales. Thank you for hearing and taking my concern into consideration.

This petition is to get everyone aware of how difficult it is to find a job when you are a felon. Felons are discriminated against because of their past history. This is to show that they are hard workers like the next person. What the person did does not define them. This is for felons to get a second chance to fit into society. It will stop crimes if people will hire them. Everybody makes mistakes. Ban the rejection of felons. Laws should promote the hiring of all persons.

The North Carolina State Board of Education's Executive Committee has voted to initiate the revocation of the charter for EHS. In their vote, they ignored the fact that we obtained what they asked for - financial and management support from two very strong and experienced partners. Preparing high school students to be self sufficient and independent allows them to avoid low paying jobs or worse - chronic unemployment, welfare dependence or incarceration. EHS met this need. EHS was started to provide students with a high school diploma AND a technical certification. We prepare students for employment in a trade, to start a company or go to college. If the school shuts down, it will be difficult for our students to find a comparable entrepreneurial education and access to the promising future EHS would like to provide.

My son is autistic and if he were to come across the community it would be devastating. They have enough issues that they do not have to see the crap that is being put out on this page https://www.facebook.com/autisticfreaks. It states it is religious group of moms, not so it is just a piece of crap that needs to be removed! Facebooks answer is that it is not violating the community standards, really hum hate statements are not a violation? Really Facebook you also state some of the porn stuff I have reported is not in violation. Get you s*** together and start taking our reports seriously. You shut down business pages because someone likes too many pages or other things like that but you think the hate being spewed or the porn being uploaded is okay? Really Facebook do something about this and NOW!