June 15, 2014 U.S. District Judge Harry S. Mattice Regarding: Carol Chalk I am making an official plea for mercy for my sister Carol Chalk. Carol Chalk arrested and charged with federal “drug” crimes. There is nothing in Carol’s history/background that poses a threat “serious or otherwise” to society. We are requesting she be offered alternative sentencing to imprisonment and/or incarceration as a first offense and no criminal background? Does Carol comprehend her actions and the laws presented to her including, but not limited to “all” evidence and how that evidence was obtained in her case? Does she understand the facts involved or said facts in the decision-making, main choices, does she weigh up the consequences of any choices and understand how the consequences affect her; and can she communicate her understanding? Does stress, grief, depression, certain medical conditions, hearing impairment, vision, etc. affect a person’s decision-making capacity? Does Carol articulate reasoning, is her comprehension consistent over time, and does she understand and/or comprehend consequences? (I’ve known Carol “all” of our lives and I know that she “does not” understand and/or comprehend this whole process. Carol is not a high profile criminal, sex offender, armed robber, serial killer, weapons dealer, and/or NOTORIOUS drug dealer. The streets are NO safer with her absence; in fact, clean ups should start where true “change and safety” can make a difference in society. She signed a “plea” that she absolutely did not understand. Carol is on medication for high blood pressure – Uncontrolled high blood pressure increases the risk of serious health problems, including heart attack and stroke. Carol is on medication for diabetes – If you have diabetes, no matter what type, it means too much glucose in the blood,although the reasons may differ. Too much glucose can lead to serious health problems. Carol has on-going female gynecological female issues I have been asked to write a letter of plea or explanation as to why my sister should receive a less harsh sentencing, but what do I say? How do I plea effectively to a system that appears determined to imprison and/or incarcerate Carol? How and when does change occur if not by those in a position to make change? I beg you on behalf of Carol’s family and her grandson to please be as lenient as possible or as the law allows. Carol’s criminal history category is not higher than a two and she does not have more than one criminal history point. Meredith and District Attorney don’t want Carol to receive the Safety Valve, but in Carol’s case no one was harmed during the offense, she has little or no history of criminal convictions, no violence or gun was used. Carol is not the leader, manager, or organizer of anything. The Safety Valve is to prevent people from getting more time than they deserve. Federal Prisons are overcrowded and almost half of all federal offenders are nonviolent drug offenders, not violent criminals. Judge we are asking that you sentence Carol as a nonviolent, low-level, first-time offender. We need to save space for violent and career criminals. Public safety is our main focus, concern, and goal, so shy sentence non-violent criminals the same as violent criminals. I know that God judges all. I have faith that he is working in this case as he works in every aspect of our lives. Thank you, Audrey R Harris

Because as with drilling for oil, strip mining for coal, nuclear energy, fracking is so misguided and based on short-sighted greed and in no way benefits our planet and life on it.

Currently many communities have zoning bylaws in place that prohibit the posting of lost pet signs. I have been impacted by these bylaws. Two and half years ago, my Siberian husky, Bridgett, went missing and these zoning laws cost me thousands of dollars and impeded my ability to locate and trap my dog. I am not alone in this. There are many, many pet owners fighting the same battle. I am a certified Missing Animal Response Technician trained by Kat Albrecht, the founder of Missing Pet Partnership. I am also the team leader for their Lost Pet Consultants. I understand missing animal behavior and know how long they can survive on their own. These bylaws need to be amended. There is a simple win/win solution for the communities and the pet owners. All we want is to bring our pets home. Let's make this happen.

You are making vehicles I cannot drive. You did not think of drivers with handicaps.

Because as with drilling for oil, strip mining for coal, nuclear energy, tracking is so misguided and based on short-sighted greed and in no way benefits our planet and life on it.

It's appalling that the same man who forced almost 50,000 Native Americans off their lands and forced them on a death march is still honored on our currency.

Tesla has fought tooth and nail to get into the car market, as fossil fuel monopolies tried to get it shut out of entire states. Now instead of sacrificing its principles, it's doubling down on them.

It is imperative that the neighborhoods of Bushwick and East Williamburg, Brooklyn receive more dedicated bike lanes, specifically on Broadway between Marcy Avenue and Gates Avenue. On June 10th , 2014, Zack Xochil Fortune, an acquaintance of mine and a neighborhood figure, was hit by a car and killed at the intersection of Boradway and Myrtle. I live in Bushwick and just like many other community members I ride a bike every day for both recreation and work. With the increase in people living in my community - the number of cars, pedestrians, bikers and other commuters has vastly risen creating a dangerous environment for cyclists. Bicycle safety is personal to me on multiple levels and the catastrophe that took a fellow citizens life may have been prevented if proper action had been taken sooner. This is an issue of public and individual safety and with the addition of more bike lanes, the quality of life in our neighborhood will be greatly improved.

Mystery groups have already spent over $1 million in the primary election for just one seat on the NC Supreme Court. More money for nasty ads is coming into the state every day. The US Supreme Court opened the floodgates for Super PACs and outside groups in its Citizens United decision. It argued that big money would be held accountability through "modern disclosure" - rapid, electronic reporting of who's behind the money. But we don't even have that tool of accountability in North Carolina! Candidates are also raising millions of dollars and a majority only submit paper reports disclosing information about the donors. The State Board of Elections is swamped in paper. Fortunately, a bipartisan coalition in the NC House passed two bills to improve all this and now it's up to the NC Senate to pass them. H918 requires rapid, electronic disclosure of outside groups spending big money; H919 requires candidates raising over $10,000 to submit detailed, electronic disclosure reports. That's a good start! If you live in North Carolina, please support these measures by signing the petition.

Our broken immigration system deports 1100 people per day, tearing apart countless families. Congressman Roskam represents a district with a growing immigrant population, but his actions continue to show his anti-immigrant nature. It's time for Peter Roskam to be the leader the Illinois and America needs.

Setting the record straight: Social Security is a vital system, one you’ve paid into your whole life Three things you need to know: • Social Security is fiscally sound. • Social Security is not a handout, you paid for it. • Spreading the truth is the key to urging lawmakers to ignite change. There are rumors and false information abounding regarding the financial status of the Social Security System and what really happens to that 6.2 percent taken from your paychecks. Pond Lehocky Stern Giordano wants you to know the facts! We want you to understand that Social Security isn't going anywhere for the hardworking men and women who have paid into the trust fund. Social Security As long as Americans are working, Social Security will have funds. Currently, $2.8 trillion is stored in the Social Security Trust Fund, which is collected from wage earners' paychecks [1]. That 6.2 percent taken from your paycheck is an insurance policy that you paid for; Social Security is not an entitlement or welfare program as some media have portrayed it. While nearly everyone understands that Social Security assists retirees, there is a lesser known benefit built into the system in case you cannot work because of a disability. No one wants to be out of work, but if you become disabled and are unable to return to work, you have invested in an insurance policy that can assist you - Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). The false representation of SSDI in the media has caused some Americans to feel ashamed and embarrassed to apply for benefits even though they are compiled from the money the government deducted from their paychecks. Internal issues affecting applicants Delays in processing applications are affecting America's most vulnerable - those on long-term disability. Less than 30 percent of initial applicants are awarded benefits, which are modest at an average $1,130. Processing delays have caused some to file for bankruptcy or lose their homes; some even die before seeing a penny of the money they are entitled to [2]. An applicant must wait a minimum six months without any source of income, but the wait times nationally have been as high as 382 days in 2013 with no signs of decrease in 2014 [3]. Justice delayed is justice denied to those unable to work because of disabilities. What can you do? By knowing this information and sharing it, you can help ensure that lawmakers fulfill their obligations by advocating the importance of Social Security Disability Insurance and helping end delays within the system. In 2014, Pond Lehocky will redouble its efforts to remind lawmakers of their responsibilities to advocate for disabled American workers. Pond Lehocky asks you to support our efforts and have your voice heard by signing our online petition to urge lawmakers to do something about the delays affecting injured workers and help dispel the false persona the media has created about Social Security Disability Insurance. 1[] YES! Magazine, “Infographic: Why Social Security’s Not Going Broke,” http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/the-power-of-story/social-security [2] The Baltimore Sun,” Social Security disability backlog in Md. Among the highest in the nation,” http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2014-06-02/news/bs-md-ssa-delay-20140602_1_disability-backlog-ruppersberger-inspector-general. [3] “Getting Worse by the Month,” http://socsecnews.blogspot.com/2013

Libraries, creating opportunity, underpinning democracy, and available to all New Yorkers, are an essential and basic city service. They should always be fully and adequately funded. The cost of funding libraries is a small fraction of the city's budget, an exceptional bargain, given the economic, social and myriad other benefits libraries deliver. But in 2013, breaking headlines disclosed that Mayor Bloomberg, in his last term, was again reducing library funding at a time of increasing public use. Proposals were presented to close the resulting fiscal shortfall with a self-cannibalizing sell-off and shrinkage of system assets. The proposed transactions were costly, and would include the sale of the most valuable library properties, the focus being the generation of real estate deals. Citizens Defending Libraries (CDL), a group of concerned citizens, was formed in response to protect the public interest by opposing these wrong-headed and counterproductive plans.. CDL has since worked together with other groups such as the Committee to Save the New York Public Library and Library Lovers League, and has collected more than 17,000 signatures on a petition to stop the sale of libraries. In July of 2013, Public Advocate and mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio joined CDL and other opponents of the library real estate deals on the steps of the 42nd Street Central Reference Library calling for Mayor Bloomberg to halt the proposed sales turning over “public land permanently to private parties”: Such sales include the New York Public Library's Central Library Plan, involving the sale of Mid-Manhattan and the 34th Street Science, Industry and Business Library, and the Brooklyn Public Library's plans for selling the Brooklyn Heights and Pacific branches. De Blasio joined with critics and other elected officials such as the City Comptroller and City Council Member Tish James, now the Public Advocate, in decrying a lack of transparency. He expressed skepticism about plans that had been pursued, largely in secret and without public scrutiny, by the NYPL and Brooklyn Public Library going back to at least 2007. Events have proved that skepticism about planned library sales is justified: • After belatedly responding to repeated calls for an independent audit, the NYPL disclosed that their original Central Library Plan would have cost $500 million, hundreds of millions more than the publicized estimate. Amazingly, they were about to spend half a billion dollars to sell and shrink libraries, demolish the research stacks of the Central Reference Library, exile books to New Jersey, and replace New York's most heavily used branch library, the Mid Manhattan, and SIBL with a much smaller space. When this scheme was abandoned, the NYPL had already spent at least $18 million on architect's and consultant fees. • The sudden, secretive sale of the Donnell Library in Manhattan, a transaction on which later library sales are largely modeled, netted the NYPL a pittance and space for a much smaller branch library, largely underground. The penthouse, just one apartment in the fifty-story luxury tower replacing Donnell, is on the market for 50% more than the sale netted. • With a similar lack of public discussion, NYPL sold off much of the Science, Industry and Business Library (SIBL) space for a fraction of the $100 million it had cost to build the facility in 1996. The sale was part of the now renounced Central Library Plan. • After candidate de Blasio called for a halt to library sales, it was revealed in connection with the proposed sale and shrinkage of the Brooklyn Heights Library, that about half the development rights for the site had been transferred years before, to the developer, Forest City Ratner, which is now in a position to be a gatekeeper profiting from the transaction. • The number of books in the NYPL and BPL libraries are being drastically reduced, emptying shelves of millions of books as library officials prepare to launch the real estate deals that require them to accommodate reduced collections in smaller spaces. These events cannot be ignored. While the Central Library Plan has been modified, aspects of it still ominously survive and, in Brooklyn, library trustees and officials continue to express enthusiasm for the proposed sale and shrinkages of libraries, saying that they are assessing “all” the libraries in Brooklyn for such “opportunities.” The Brooklyn Heights and Pacific Branch libraries are still prominently in their sights. Plans to sell the rest of SIBL have yet to be abandoned. The three million research books removed from the stacks of the Central Research Library have yet to be returned. Transactions such as the sale of Donnell Library, the NYPL's Central Library Plan and proposed sales of libraries in Brooklyn should be subject to a much higher level of public scrutiny than they have yet received, including review from the City Council and the State Attorney General. It is clear, among other things, that library officials and trustees do not always think in the same terms as the public when considering priorities and what is in the public's best interest. Selling libraries, these shared resources, should not become another chapter in the tale-of-two-cities story of escalating income disparities, with a few of the connected and privileged profiting at the expense of the rest of us. We should be one city standing together to protect the public commons. Libraries cannot be held hostage and traded in for development. We cannot let our libraries be the victims of privatization, or so-called “public-private” developer-driven partnerships-insider deals that put developers in the driver's seat and render competitive bids impracticable. Normal funding for operations must not be withheld to pressure communities into accepting sales of public assets, resulting in libraries housed in smaller, meaner spaces with fewer services. Isaac Asimov has commented: “Wh...