People are growing increasingly aware of the environmental hazards of plastic water bottles; it's time to take it a step further and challenge large corporations to further reduce plastic use and consumption by switching to biodegradable choices where they exist. Starbucks and its subsidiary companies should be leading the change on reducing their environmental impacts by using biodegradable and green to-go products. Further use of single-life plastics is contributing to the global trash epidemic; which is leaving our oceans and lands littered with plastic, creating health hazards and endangering many animal populations.

From the Aurora Sentinel: "Aurora U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, a Republican, as recently as January voted against a spending bill that would have set aside as much as $100 million for overtime and additional training for claims processors to reduce the growing backlog of veterans waiting for care. Coffman joined 66 other Republicans in the House, including Colorado congressmen Doug Lamborn, Cory Gardner and Scott Tipton, in voting against that appropriations bill. - See more at: http://www.aurorasentinel.com/news/despite-clear-calls-va-resignations-voting-records-vets-still-cloudy/#sthash.yi3yqSnt.dpuf"

When I signed the contract to take out my loans, I knew I would have to work hard after graduation to pay them back. I thought Sallie Mae would make that process simple. I was wrong. My bills were sent to the wrong addresses. Payments I made on time were marked late. And it was up to me to fight through hours on the phone to fix it. After graduation, Sallie Mae sent notifications to my school email and address, which were both deactivated when I left campus. When I started making payments, they never recorded them, so my paper bills had added penalties. I was always on the phone with Sallie Mae trying to fix their mistakes. Sallie Mae is the country’s largest private student lender, with more than 6 million borrowers owing more than $166 million. I don’t understand how so many mistakes could happen in the lending process. On June 25, the Nathan Cummings Foundation will present a resolution calling for a vote of NO CONFIDENCE in the board of directors at Sallie Mae’s annual shareholders meeting. We need more diverse voices on Sallie Mae’s board, voices of those who can speak up for borrowers and our families. A vote of NO CONFIDENCE will show the current board members that they can no longer treat their customers with disrespect. Join me to vote NO CONFIDENCE in Sallie Mae’s board of directors and ask for a change in leadership at the company.

As a Marine I believe that America should return to the pre-Bush Doctrine of military engagement only when a country has attacked America and it is in our direct National Security interests. We learned from Vietnam to not trust politicians waging wars. We forgot when Bush, Cheney, Rice, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Bremer and their co-conspirators in conservative media and talk radio engaged to push the false war in Iraq and to castigate any who dared to challenge the immoral nature of that war and the new "Pre-emptive strike" mindset of the Bush Doctrine.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy was voted to replace Rep. Eric Cantor as Majority Leader in the U.S. House of Representatives. As a key leader in the Republican Party, he can help to ensure that immigration reform actually comes up for a vote! He's supporting one measure to help provide a path to citizenship for young immigrants who are also members of the military, and his district is 35% Latino. If any Republican can "get it", he can.

I'm a parent of a child playing Junior Softball with the City of Binghamton Parks & Recreation. Before her season started, the following notice was posted on the Binghamton East Side Youth Association Website indicating the potential for injury. Attention Parents: We need your help!!! The city of Binghamton has decided to add an inch of topsoil plus grass on the infield of the upper softball field at Fairview park. This has greatly effected the field making the field almost unplayable on. We have fought hard to get this softball field and is one of the few that remain in the City of Binghamton. The addition of this topsoil has made the field a potential safety hazard for anyone playing on it. The same thing was done to the softball field in west end but the city has since changed the field back to normal. We need all of the parents to contact the city let let them know that you are unhappy about this change at Fairview. Let them know you are concerned about the safety of your children playing on this field. You can contact the Parks and Recreation Director (Bill Barber) by telephone at 772-7017. He can be contacted by email at the following link: http://www.binghamton-ny.gov/node/330 Appropriate attention to this matter has not been provided and, as a result, one of my child's teammates suffered an injury in their game last evening at this field. Please encourage Director Barber to pay equal attention to boys' and girls' sporting events and to take steps to ensure the safety of our girls.

The State of California cares for its prisoners so badly that in 2005, a judge mandated federal oversight of their prison healthcare system after it was documented that one person dies in California prisons every day from extreme medical malpractice or neglect. But as horrific as these crimes of neglect are, it shocks the conscience anew to hear that the medical care that was provided to prisoners included forced sterilization as recently as 2010. [1] Eugenics is a word that sounds to too many of us like it belongs only in the history books, but the eugenics programs started in California in the 1920s were found still alive and kicking in its prisons until very recently. While mainstream, and mostly white, women's rights advocates celebrated and defended legal abortion, too little attention has been paid to genocidal medical violence practiced against members of society deemed 'unfit' parents due to poverty, mental health, or non-white ethnicity. As Loretta Ross, an African American victim of forced sterilization at the age of 23, wrote recently, "After my sterilization, I felt empty, lost, and butchered. I was in shock and felt powerless." [1] There is no justification for an atrocity like this and the State of California must immediately act to ensure that state power is never again abused to deprive people of their right to parent and make their own decisions about their family size. Tell Governor Brown to ask the California legislature to act immediately to pass SB 1135 and safeguard against forced sterilization of vulnerable populations. [1] - "Eugenicists Never Retreat, They Just Regroup: Sterilization and Reproductive Oppression in Prisons," Loretta Ross, RH Reality Check, June 12, 2014. http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2014/06/12/eugenicists-never-retreat-just-regroup-sterilization-reproductive-oppression-prisons/

For a long time I have witnessed the flybys that leave chemicals. These chemicals sit in the sky and spread out and as a result the morning blue sky turns grey. We need our sun. You are killing this planet. Why? You make claims that other countries have weapons of mass destruction. My view is this is the greatest weapon of mass destruction.

The Houston Rockets have a rich culture that is not portrayed in their current brand. Bringing back our Championship color scheme and style pays homage to the past so we can continue to build our legacy.

According to National Geographic explorer-in-residence Enric Sala, "It's the closest thing I've seen to the pristine ocean." Tuna are in trouble and have been unable to get protection. The loss to the U.S. tuna fleet will only be 3%. And sport fishing removes the largest specimens that tend to be the last breeding stock for the future. Along with no energy exploration, there must also be no extraction of fish. Joey Racano, Director www.OceanOutfallGroup.com On Facebook: Ocean Outfall Group

Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, would threaten our waters. Toxic chemicals can leak into aquifers that feed springs and wells, and fracking waste water spills can pollute rivers and lakes. The methane gas stirred loose during the drilling process can end up in tap water, causing it to ignite. My community and I depend on individual wells to provide our water. The drinking water for at least 2.4 million people in North Carolina, including more than 400,000 well-users, is at stake. Special thanks to WNC Frack Free (wncfrackfree.org) for helping out.

ive just been disappointed that Illusion software allows these relationships but totally doesn't include them to be acted out on screen, just darkens the screen and cuts to after whats going on. its a disgrace and there is to reason why we cant have trap/crossdressing characters too!