I am a New York State Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC). The current exclusion of LMHC's from treating Medicaid beneficiaries results in denial of vital mental health services for those in need. With the rise of adolescence and young adult crime and psychological problems, many beneficiaries suffer with a lack of mental health providers in their communities for treatment accessibility. Some beneficiaries are fortunate and find Medicaid eligible providers in their communities; many never receive needed care. LMHC represents over 40% of todays NYC licensed practitioners. Unfortunately, Medicaid has not been modernized to recognize our essential role in today's health delivery system. Our adolescence and young adult psychological problems should be our top priority, and Medicaid should utilize LMHC's to treat mental health disorders before they exacerbate into more serious mental disorders. Our children are suffering with mental health risk behaviors and harming others. Many children are being killed by their peers who have mental disorders. There needs to be more interventions to help these individuals manage these risk behaviors and psychological problems.

The University of California, Berkeley administration, in collaboration with the International and Area Studies Department administration, is employing a set of drastic transitions which are infringing on the Peace and Conflict Studies Program. Born in response to the tumultuous global political climate of the 1980s, the driving force for Peace and Conflict Studies was civic-minded students seeking to make peace a central focus of their academic experience. Focusing on the “peace-side” of Peace and Conflict Studies, PACS allows students the academic space to engage with advanced knowledge, transitioning from conflict to conflict resolution, violence to nonviolence, human rights violations to human security, and most importantly, instead of leaving students feeling unable and inept in a depressing lack of agency, PACS teaches students peace-building strategies to make a better world tangible. Integrating the “peace-side” of Peace and Conflict Studies is by far the most unique and significant facet of a PACS education in that it allows students to realize themselves as potential actors, using applicable knowledge to make effective sociopolitical change. Unfortunately, PACS is being slowly deteriorated, dismantled, and debilitated by greater administrative forces. Below are five central points as to what exactly is being seen within the PACS program and how this minimization has come to occur. 1. Although between 2001-2010 there was over 400% increase in PACS enrollment, between 2010-2014 there has been almost a 40% decrease in PACS enrollment. To keep it brief, due to the massive administrative changes, restructuring, and relocation of International & Area Studies (IAS) into another academic department on campus, a sharp transition in IAS operations occurred in 2010. In the last four years, all majors inside of IAS have experienced severely reduced enrollment except for Political Economy. This shift in IAS administration has begun to propagate, expand, and support Political Economy at the expense of PACS and all other academic programs in the Department as made apparent by the enrollment numbers, resources, and statistics below. Percentage change of enrollment between Spring 2010-2014: PACS - 36% decrease (106 students in Sp. 2014) Middle Eastern Studies - 40% decrease (12 students in Sp. 2014) Latin American Studies - 61.5% decrease (10 students in Sp. 2014) Development Studies - 36.5% decrease (47 students in Sp. 2014) Asian Studies - 53% decrease (15 students in Sp. 2014) Political Economy - 8% increase (385 students in Sp. 2014) 2. The PACS major’s design is being minimized to include only three academic concentrations instead of the previous six. Previously there were the following six concentrations: Conflict Resolution, Culture and Identity, Global Governance, Human Rights, Human Security, and Nonviolence. Now the major is being reduced to offer only three concentrations, homogenizing these vast fields within Peace Studies and disallowing students from opportunities in academic fields unique to Peace and Conflict Studies. 3. The recent loss of two core faculty, Dr. Julie Shackford-Bradley whose appointment was not renewed and former Chair of the PACS Program Dr. Jerry Sanders who has retired, leaves PACS understaffed and unstable. The loss of two core faculty has reduced the total core faculty of the Peace and Conflict Studies program to three part-time lecturers. In comparison to other top ranking universities’ Peace Studies programs, UC Berkeley’s PACS program stands incredibly inadequate. For example, American University’s International Peace and Conflict Resolution School has six core faculty, five professors and one associate professor. In addition, The KROC Institute for International Peace Studies at The University of Notre Dame boasts almost two dozen core faculty members. With other top-ranking university Peace Studies programs having a much larger core faculty presence, in addition to their ladder-rank and professor status as opposed to UC Berkeley’s part-time lecturer positions, the minimal PACS faculty at Berkeley is now an embarrassment. 4. Due to the loss of two core faculty, the PACS program is no longer able to offer the number of courses it traditionally offered, as well as being forced to outsource core PACS courses to instructors outside of the PACS program. Compared to the total number of PACS courses offered previously (36), the number of courses being offered in Fall 2014 stands 64% lower at only 13. This stark reduction in the number of courses available severely diminishes the PACS program as well as eliminates students’ ability to engage with courses on pertinent topics such as Human Rights & Global Politics, International Conflict: Analysis and Resolution, and Global Change & World Order. Not to mention that some of the offered courses still stand in an uncertain “STAFF” status, meaning there is no set instructor for the course and that they could be cancelled. In addition to the reduction of courses, due to the termination of core faculty, we are seeing a shift in who is teaching which PACS courses. Now, lecturers from outside of the PACS program are being brought in to teach core PACS courses, such as PACS 190: Senior Seminar in which students finalize their PACS education by writing a capstone project. By outsourcing PACS education to academics from other fields, PACS students are unable to engage deeply with academic intellectuals who are experts in their “peace-side” of Peace and Conflict Studies fields. 5. PACS no longer has any staff personnel, no PACS-specific advisors, and is therefore incredibly under-resourced. Due to this lack of resources, PACS no longer holds any events and no longer hosts any panels/panelists. Compared to other programs and departments on campus which frequently hold panels, discussions, lectures, and events, PACS’ complete lack of resources disallows the program from engaging in any substantive academic ev...

Hobby Lobby has won the right in court to impose their religious beliefs ontheir female employees by denying them birth control coverage, which is both an attack on their female employees and the ACA. We need to protect women's healthcare and the rights of workers everywhere.

We all are affected by the foods we eat and we need to have all the information about our food in order to make informed decisions. Federal standardized labeling will be helpful in providing that information. To my knowledge, the bill is still in committee, and I would like to get the bill before the full Senate during the 114th Session, which requires action now.

Inasmuch as all local, municipal, and county bodies are subject to the Open Meeting law in order to promote transparency in government, the state legislature should be subject to those same terms and conditions intended to promote transparency and accountability to the citizens. There is no basis for the Legislature to have the advantage of holding closed door meetings while doing the People's business.

My son was treated unfairly. I watched several others in the courtroom with greater charges. His hired attorney Charles Oldham forced him to accept a plea that we could have beat. He said that we would lose, because the jury would be 80% white, he's black, and we're battling union county. He basically took our money, and did nothing. This case had been going on for 4 years. My son was convicted for having less than an ounce of marijuana, and having my prescription meds on his person. I was injured at work, and he picked up my prescription. They illegally search his house off an assumption. They had no substantial evidence. The video and audio presented showed no incrimination. Because he's black, they want to lock him up for 2 years, and white defendants had cocaine and heroine. Each received unsupervised probation. One received M - F jail time, and freedom on the weekends. I want justice for my son. I'm not condoning his actions, but fair is fair.

The Oceans are under assault from human activities, including extractive, commercial, industrial and recreational. The effects of these insults are cumulative and the ocean and marine life are showing the terrible results. Protected areas like the Remote Islands Marine National Sanctuary must be protected- no exceptions!

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The Supreme Court ruled in the Hobby Lobby decision that closely held corporations can refuse to offer contraceptive coverage to their workers on religious grounds, siding with two businesses who say they’re morally opposed to certain types of birth control. President Obama has called for Congress to remedy the situation by passing new legislation. Congress needs to take action to solve this problem that’s been created by the Hobby Lobby decision. Why? 99 percent of U.S. women who use contraception at some point in their lives. As a result, unintended pregnancies have become increasingly concentrated among poor women who lack access to birth control. Congress must act to restore insurance coverage of contraception benefits after Hobby Lobby’s big win in the Supreme Court. Call on our North Carolina representatives to be leaders on this issue. Access to contraceptives is an incredibly important issue for low-income women. The unintended pregnancy rate for women living below the poverty level is more than five times as high as the rate for the women in the highest income level. The Supreme Court created this problem, but Congress can fix it. The health of millions of American families hangs in the balance.

I have worked in Arkansas public schools for over 28 years. The recent proposed changes in our health care plans will affect me negatively, both financially and in the care that I will be able to access.

A simple request to provide ID has become a national embarrassment for ASU. Professor Ore's violent assault on a police officer who was simply trying to do his job highlights a serious problem with her personal character. These flaws became more apparent when Professor Ore had the audacity to have her lawyer make insinuations of sexual assault via news media to justify her attack on a police officer. Her actions are a disgrace to the position of Professor and to ASU. Professor Ore's actions paint a grim picture of educators at ASU. Her behavior is unbecoming of an educator who is in the position to shape young minds, and it is for this reason that ASU must terminate her employment immediately.

We see the tax burden shifting to the poor. "Full-time workers earning between $20,000 and $150,000 a year – still pay at up to double the rate of the ultra-wealthy, relative to what history suggests they should" (Von Worley, 2011). A significant tax cut in Ohio will shift $400 million away from public services and into wealthy pockets in 2015: "The top 1 percent will get a tax cut for the year averaging $1,846, while the poorest fifth of Ohioans will see just a $4 reduction" (Policy Matters Ohio, 2014; See also photobucket). Many of the wealthy make such an excess of money that they are determining laws and Supreme Court legal decisions "through the back door". Congress persons must take action to raise the tax rate on the wealthy so the the American people can decide how to distribute all that excess wealth and what fair laws should be written -- independently of financial influence. References Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. (2013, August). Photobucket/Ohio Budget. Retrieved from http://s1350.photobucket.com/user/akadjian/media/Ohio%20Budget/osac-03_zps51683ebe.jpg.html Policy Matters Ohio. (2014, May 27). Flawed tax cuts in Senate budget bill. Retrieved from http://www.policymattersohio.org/senate-budget-may2014 Von Worley, S. (2011, March 15). Data pointed. Shifting burdens: U.S. Taxes by income level over the years. Retrieved from http://www.datapointed.net/2011/03/relative-us-income-taxes-1913-2011/