During his tenure as a Senator from Colorado, Mark Udall has been a champion of government transparency: on privacy and government surveillance, secret law, torture, and drone strikes. Sen. Udall lost his re-election bid this November, which puts him in a unique position to carry out one final mission to advance government transparency. News reports have indicated that the Senate Intelligence Committee’s CIA torture report details not only brutal abuse the CIA perpetrated on detainees, but also illegal deception CIA officials conducted on Congress and other executive branch officials about the program in order to evade democratic and legal accountability. The CIA has been preventing the report from becoming public. This is information the public deserves to know—and there is a way to get it to the people without the approval of the CIA. In 1971, Sen. Mike Gravel, frustrated with attempts to make the Pentagon Papers public through ordinary channels, used a key provision of the U.S. Constitution to get the documents published. According to the Speech and Debate Clause, members of Congress have an absolute free-speech right on the floor or in committee—even if what they say includes classified information. [1] So Gravel—along with an aide—read the entire Pentagon Papers into the Congressional Record, which is published for anyone to read. Government transparency advocates are now urging Sen. Udall to follow Gravel’s lead and read the Senate intelligence committee’s torture report into the congressional record. [2] The worst punishment he’d face would be censorship or expulsion by his colleagues—but since he is out of office in January in any event, he has little to fear. Urge Senator Udall to use this unique opportunity to defend the public interest and let the American people know about the CIA’s use of torture by signing our petition. References: 1. “Senator Who Put Pentagon Papers Into Public Record Urges Udall To Do Same With Torture Report,” Dan Froomkin, The Intercept, November 10, 2014, https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/11/10/mike-gravel-senator-put-pentagon-papers-public-record-urges-udall-torture-report 2. “Mark Udall's loss is a blow for privacy, but he can go out with a bang: 'leak' the CIA torture report,” Trevor Timm, The Guardian, November 5, 2014, http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/nov/05/mark-udall-loss-privacy-cia-torture-report

AARP, whose own "R.I.G.H.T Ethical Decision-Making Model" demands that they "hold their decisions up to the mirror" must do so with it's current business partnership with Walmart, who is selling the AARP RealPad Tablet and whose labor practices are infamously poor, unethical, immoral, unjust and unfair. As recently as January of 2014 the National Labor Relations Board issued a complaint against Walmart, asserting that it had broken U.S. labor laws during the Black Friday strikes of 2012 and 2013. AARP should stop doing business through and with Walmart and remove the AARP RealPad from Walmart shelves and it's online catalog.

Experiments on great apes are permitted only if they are absolutely necessary to improve human health, if no other animal should be used instead, and it is impossible to conduct studies on men for reasons ethical. Apes therefore are likely to continue to be used for research of vaccines against hepatitis C and the development of monoclonal antibodies. Studies on the behavior and genetics of great apes including chimpanzees and must obey strict clauses regarding their habitat and their conditions of detention. Thus, because of the need for primates (as men) to maintain social relationships, they should be kept in groups of at least 7 monkeys, with 100 square meters of space per animal and the ability to climb when they wish. The next fight for American animal rights associations will be with private laboratories and US universities, which still retain 350 chimpanzees for research.

To investigate possible Treason and High Crimes committed by the Bush Administration on September 11, 2001, and the far reaching Cover Up of those Crimes. To take Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Powell and Wolfowitz into custody during their trial in "Saleh v Bush" in NW District Federal Court, San Francisco, CA. November 13, 2014. (ref Comar Law)

Now that there is lacrosse at the middle and high school level, Clear Creek needs its own youth program to feed into those. Mtn Area Lacrosse has been an option in the past, but they are at least a 20 - 40 minute drive for Clear Creek residents. We need a program closer and more convenient for our families.

As the costs of housing, food, health care and other basic necessities continue to rise dramatically, Georgia’s minimum wage has stalled at its 2002 level of just $5.15 an hour -- the lowest of any state in the country. Georgia has one of the highest percentages of minimum wage workers in the country -- 6.4 percent of Georgia workers earn minimum wage vs. 4.7 percent of workers nationally. And about half of all minimum-wage workers nationwide are over the age of 24. In Georgia, a minimum-wage worker at the federal rate of $7.25 an hour would have to work 79 hours per week in order to afford a two-bedroom apartment at fair market rent. A majority of Georgia voters support raising the minimum wage, which would benefit hundreds of thousands of Georgia workers, their children and their families, while giving a huge boost to local economies.

We the voters of Illinois and nationwide believe that because of the undue political influence exerted by those who are only meant to provide pastoral counsel, many races in Illinois and around the country were tainted. Ultimately, electing some officials selected by the church instead of the people. We feel that our rights as Americans were violated and we are seeking justice.

For years I have been concerned of how short our children’s lunch is way too short. It's stressful on them. They do not have time to eat even half of their lunch. On an average a child will have 8-15 (it's closer to 8-10) many parents are concerned with what is taking place with all the children. Standing in the lunch line is awful. A change needs to take place within the lunchroom as well to speed up the process. Children are being excused for recess while many students are still trying to eat their lunch. It then becomes a mad dash to get out to recess. I have personally seen what takes place in my school's lunch room on a daily basis. I have taken time stamped photos as proof. My two children who attend Arbor Heights School (it is a wonderful school) have always complained how there is no time to eat lunch. They bring home mostly full lunch boxes all the time. Many other parents complain about the same thing. The kids also say being late to lunch is a common occurrence. I sat at the tables the other day. I asked the kids questions, such as how long is the lunch line. They all said that the line can go all the way to the other side of the lunch room. A child in that lunch line would really suffer by the time they found a seat and sat down to eat. Many other schools are affected by this short lunch issue as well. In fact this issue seams to be district wide. Change must occur NOW. The Seattle School District has said it will take many months to come up with a solution. I disagree. Trim 5 minutes off the day and extend the day to 3pm. I have discussed this with a few teachers already. it's really quite simple. Of course we will be told it is actually quite complicated. That gives them time to do nothing, or pretend they are working on it. Short lunches are a slap in the face to our young children. It’s an outrage after you really start hearing the children’s and parents stories. We need to start being more mindful of the care of our little ones. Our wonderful teachers are spread too thin. They need our help. Together we can ALL make a difference- for the kids! Please take the time to support this very important cause. Our children’s health and well being is at stake. https://www.facebook.com/groups/LunchMatters/permalink/1546694718905348/ A proposed plan- Lunch is now 20 min Recess is now 20 min On a larger teacher time segment (5 minutes deducted from teachers daily schedule) Extend the school day to 3pm (10 minutes added) That will make lunch 30 minutes and recess 20 minutes with a 5 minute grace period to actually get to lunch on time or for kids to wash their hands. Problem solved? Peace

I have reached my limit with these racist slurs from this Gov. and other Republicans. This kind of denied racism inflames bigotry and prejudice, making it more prominent and acceptable in our language and culture. It needs to stop.

The Military Service Buyback Bill (AKA 'Veterans Equity Act'), was overwhelmingly supported by 57 (of 57) NYS Senators and 133 (of 134) NYS Assembly Members over the Summer (June/July 2014. It waited months to be called for by Governor Cuomo (before election day) only to be promptly vetoed AFTER the election and notably right BEFORE Veteran's Day. This bill would provide all Veteran's the equality they deserve. It is in need of a two-thirds vote by the Assembly in order to have Cuomo's veto overridden. Let's show Governor Cuomo that Veteran's and their families are important and that we will not allow him to make fools of them by toying with their votes or underestimating their ability to enact change.

Big development threatens Mead Garden neighborhood. Land that is zoned for residential use only is under attack by Sention developers who want to disrupt our quiet neighborhood & build a monstrous 3 story assisted living facility on our street. Neighbors of Mead Garden & Orwin Manor stand together to protect our community from "up zoning." Join us in our effort to save our streets from big development.

We understand the desire to address traffic safety concerns, to improve under-street utilities, to replace old pavement, and to provide for future traffic loads on this stretch of 6th Street. But we believe that all of these can be done while retaining four lanes and the current street width. (Please see our reasoning below.) We still have heard no compelling arguments as to why the street must absolutely be widened. 1. Traffic safety. · The safety problem meant to be rectified is not dire. To our understanding, there is less than one accident a month on this stretch of 6th Street attributable to turning, usually a fender-bender. It’s not at all clear that this minor accident would be eliminated by adding a fifth lane. · That one minor accident might be eliminated by lowering the speed limit, putting up more speed limit signs, installing speed-monitoring signs, and enforcing the speed limit more strictly. · Most intersections in this stretch already have turn lanes. We believe those turn lanes are sufficient. 2. Utilities. To our understanding, under-street utilities can (and should) be upgraded without having to widen the street. If the project kills any trees by harming roots, those trees should be replaced. 3. Pavement. The old pavement can be replaced without widening of the street. 4. Future traffic load. While we recognize the legitimacy of this concern, we question the approach being proposed to address it. Through-traffic should be encouraged to go around town on the bypass. Any traffic going through town on 6th Street should be made to slow down for the sake of community safety and local business patronage. It would defeat some of the point of a by-pass by making it possible for more traffic to move through town on 6th Street. 5. Citizen concerns. · We need to keep the boulevards we have now in order to help with snow removal, to safely accommodate considerable foot traffic (including persons with disabilities) and bike traffic, and to preserve the distinctive beauty and historical feel of this part of the city. · We need to preserve the widespread favorable opinion of our city’s green boulevards and mature boulevards in order to remain attractive to visitors, future residents, potential students, business people, and others. · We need to retain as many of the mature trees as possible to preserve the street’s beauty; its historical nature; the canopy for the street, pedestrians and homes; and more.