"The Arctic is an amazing place, home to whales, polar bears, and other amazing creatures. We need to act now to protect it for future generations."

Across the country, payday and car-title lenders extract billions of dollars a year from people who are struggling to get by. They do it with deceptive, triple-digit interest loans that trap people in a cycle of debt. Now, at long last, there’s a chance to do something decisive about it. That chance lies with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the new agency proposed by Senator Elizabeth Warren and created by the Dodd-Frank financial reform law of 2010. After extensive study, the CFPB is getting down to the task of writing new rules for payday and smaller dollar loans. Please join us in urging the CFPB to write effective rules to end the small-dollar debt trap once and for all.

Without the Arctic, we could lose so many amazing creatures, like polar bears and whales, that have as much right to live as we do. This is why we need to protect it.

On the evening of October 24th, 2000 Edward Blankenship and Gordon Baker Jr. who had been long time friends met up during the day and spent the day working at Gordon's trailer home in Manistique Michigan. Also present was Jennifer Johnson and several other friends they spent the early part of the evening drinking and visiting. Early in the evening Gordon and Edward went into town to get more beer and met up with Cheryl Baker (Gordon's mother) at a local bar (Christy's) they spent the evening drinking in Christy's bar at one point Cheryl made remarks and an attempt to go after the bartender Candace Resmussen Gordon stopped his mother and they had a knock down drag out fight to the point they moved the pool table. After the fight they continued to stay at Christy's and drink. Gordon and his mother were later seen behind the bar having a words. Cheryl was seen at some point giving the two drugs believed to be LSD. At bar closing there was some issue of not being able to find the car keys. Gordon after fighting with his mother several times that night and knowing his mother was going to kick Jennifer out of the trailer decided to go to his dad's house a few blocks away leaving Edward to go with his mother out to the home. When they arrived at the trailer Cheryl and Jennifer had some words leading to a physical confrontation and Jennifer being hit. Jennifer then left looking for Gordon. These are the known facts and where the story changes depending on who you talk to. Edward went into the back bedroom to lay down and at some point Cheryl came in the room and attempted to have sex with Edward and there was some issue as to if they started to have sex or if Edward could perform. At some point they had a small scuffle resulting in Edward being hit with a small board and or pushing Cheryl away from him. When Edward attempted to go outside and leave this is when we believe Gordon and Jennifer showed back up. Jennifer had met up with Gordon at his dad's house after speaking to him on the phone. They were supposedly heading to Katrina Marks home and stopped at the trailer because Gordon wanted a pack of cigarettes he had left out by the fire pit. We believe at this point there was another third fight between Gordon and his mother Cheryl that got way out of hand leading to Cheryl being hurt. We believe Cheryl was hurt bad and both Gordon and Edward went into a panic about what might happen if she wakes up. At ten to five that morning Gordon went next door to the McKinney home and said his mother had been violated and he needed help. 911 was called and they returned to the trailer. When the officers arrived they could not gain entry into the trailer as Cheryl's foot was against the door. Gordon at one point picked up an ax and was swinging it around claiming the tree's were attacking him. He admitted to the officers he had been taking LSD and was not in his right mind, that if it wasn't for the drugs he would be flipping out. He was in and out of control during the time they were at the scene. The officers asked Gordon and Jennifer for their cloths for forensic testing and they were taken next door to the McKinney home to change into cloths Jennifer had in her car. The officer made the observation the cloths were wet like they had been washed but not dried. At this point the police began looking for Edward for questioning. Edward had left the scene in Cheryl's car and gone to his mothers looking for money. Edward's statement to his mother was "Me and Gordy are in some trouble." He asked for 40$ which she said she did not have then went to use the bathroom at this point Edward took her work apron and left. Edward got part way down state when Cheryl's car broke down and he then hitch hiked to Detroit and was arrested. At the time of his arrest Edward was wearing the same cloths he had been wearing all day and been seen wearing in the bar that evening. His cloths were tested for blood and the only blood found on them was a few small splatter on his pant leg and on his one shoe. At his first questioning Edward denied any knowledge of what happened, then he told them they needed to speak to Gordon about what happened. He made several calls to friends and family telling them all that someone needed to speak to Gordon about what happened. Officers from the state police in Manistique traveled down to Detroit to transport Edward back to Manistique. It is during these interviews that the officers are telling Edward they don't believe that Gordon is involved that Edward first states he must have killed her but doesn't remember. That he blacked out. His version of the fight outside and the attack on Cheryl changes several times based on what they are telling him and why they are telling him they don't believe him. The officers notes state they told Edward he needed to drop the smoke screen and just tell the truth. When asked why he didn't just tell them about Gordon from the beginning Edward tells them he was afraid of what might happen to him or his family if he talked about Gordon, they told him that was not a realistic reason. There is several inconsistent statements from Gordon starting with his first interview when he tells the officers he got to his mother, held her then realized she needed help and went next door for help, to him telling the officers that they could not get the door open but could see her. The responding officers noted several scratches and red marks on Gordon's stomach when they arrived on the scene but his shirt was never found or tested for blood evidence. In the end of October in Northern Michigan at 4/5 in the morning no person would be running around without a shirt. Our question is where is Gordon shirt and why the changes in his story. There is also the question of time. From Gordon's dad's to his mom's in not more then a 15 minute drive. What happened between 3:20 when everyone states Jennifer picked Gordon up from his dad's to 4:50 when they went to the McKinney hom...

American police forces have become increasingly militarized since the attacks of 9/11. Incidence of SWAT responses has increased markedly since that date. There have been numerous recent incidents of excessive use of force by American policemen, including shooting of unarmed children and battery of elderly people. This can be dealt with effectively only by a special independent commission constituted to study the issues and produce guidelines for effective and humane policing.

The Arctic is an amazing place, home to whales, polar bears, and other amazing creatures. We need to act now to protect it for future generations.

"The Arctic is an amazing place, home to whales, polar bears, and other amazing creatures. We need to act now to protect it for future generations."

WE NEED PRAYER BACK IN SCHOOL 3 TIMES A DAY. CHRISTIANS, MUSLIMS, JEWS, ISREALITES, NO MATTER WHAT RELIGION. IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO PRAY THEN DON'T . AS FOR ME IN MY HOUSE WE WILL SERVE THE LORD AT ALL TIMES AND ANY WHERE WE CHOOSE . ONE WOMAN STOPPED IT NOW LET 1 MILLION PEOPLE PUT IT BACK IN PLACE.

I believe in increasing awareness of our planet, how we affect it, and how we can protect it. I constantly hear about the dying marine ecosystem and the dwindling Arctic habitat. Things need to change. We need to be active. We need to protect these habitats before they're gone forever.

The Los Angeles Ethics Commission recently proposed important changes to the city's matching funds system to increase the rate at which qualified donations are matched to 6 dollars for every dollar. This has the potential to give small donors a fighting chance in city elections. Unfortunately, the Commission has not recommended lowering the amount that can be matched per donor. Under the current proposal, up to $500 of a donation gets the 6-1 match, meaning somebody who gave $1,300 — clearly not a "small" donor — would get $3,000 in public funds — making their advantage over small donors even bigger! Please urge the three members of the Los Angeles City Council Rules Committee to fix the proposal: City Council President Herb Wesson, Councilmember Jose Huizar, and Councilmember Tom Labonge. Sign the petition now!

As a concerned young American voter, I feel that it is a duty of mine to pass this petition on and around to whoever wishes to sign it, so that the People can be informed of this mighty issue.

The Arctic is truly an amazing place, home to whales, polar bears, and other amazing creatures. We need to act to protect it for future generations.