Why is one of the nation's most prominent Catholic archbishops scheduled to speak at a virulently anti-gay rally? San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone is appearing at the upcoming "March for Marriage" in Washington, D.C. The event is organized by the National Organization for Marriage, an organization that has equated gay marriage with incest, and co-sponsored by the Family Research Council, a hate group that blamed gay marriage for the recent mass shootings in Isla Vista. By speaking alongside these extremists, Archbishop Cordileone risks lending the church's authority to their vitriol and hatred - and undermining Pope Francis's call for a more compassionate church. We need to make it clear to Archbishop Cordileone that encouraging bigotry is unacceptable, regardless of his position on marriage for same-sex couples.

Move to Amend does not go far enough, because money in politics operates not just by corporate giving but also because of the impact of the wealthy in giving, and most powerfully by the ability of corporations to threaten to move their assets if local, state or national legislation requires environmental responsibility or adequate pay for workers or adequate safety and health protections, etc. That threat is sufficient to make even the most liberal Democrats back down and modify their attempts at environmental sanity, a carbon tax, a living (not just a "minimum") wage, and other humane and earth-preserving legislation. That's why the Network of Spiritual Progressives is launching this campaign (read the full legal language of the Amendment at www.spiritualprogressives.org). This ESRA may never pass, but the campaign for it will have a dramatic impact in changing consciousness and opening up energies to challenge corporate environmental irresponsibility and the power of money in politics.

The lack of leadership from the football commissioner. This years flag program was absolutely horrible. The kids weren't covered under the insurance policy. The Football Program is rapidly failing with no signs of recovery. The numbers are at a all time low. In fact the lowest they have ever been in the history of the program. With more parents on the fence right now threatening to leave and move on. Something needs to happen RIGHT NOW !!!!

Recent reinterpretation of law by a state agency has abruptly and unjustifiably eliminated the protective natural buffer along Georgia's marshlands and other contiguous wetlands. The health and productivity of Georgia's tidal marshes will be degraded by eliminating the buffer, jeopardizing coastal fisheries, recreational areas, tourism, and quality of life. To prevent such threats the buffer must be restored. Since 1997, the Center for a Sustainable Coast has represented the public interest in safeguarding Georgia's coastal resources including shorelines, waterways, wildlife habitat, fisheries and vast areas of tidal marsh.

The plight of Iraq's Christians has now lasted longer than a decade, and recent militant uprisings in Mosul threaten to expunge the neighboring Chaldean-Assyrian-Syriac villages. This preliminary campaign will help kickstart a transnational movement focusing on development of a sovereign territory for the indigenous Iraqis.

GMOs aren't without risk - some are designed for increased pesticide use, which has been linked to serious health and environmental effects. Sufficient independent pre-market testing has not been done on GMOs to determine the long-term health effects on humans. Monsanto’s pocketbook is also hard at work to defeat GMO legislation in Massachusetts, and reports indicate that Monsanto and its allies are set to spend over $6 million to defeat a current ballot initiative in Oregon. Consumers have a right to know whether the foods we eat contain GMOs, and special interests like Monsanto should not be spending millions to leave us in the dark.

Local citizens have personally maintained the channel markers throughout the years. We were informed by Hillsborough County that we are not allowed to continue doing this. For the safety of all the boaters coming in and out of Rocky Creek daily it is necessary to petition to have Rocky Creek channel markers installed and maintained properly as requested.

The Washington Post actually just published an opinion piece mocking sexual assault survivors and saying that women want to be raped. The author, conservative columnist George Will, goes so far as to write that colleges are making "victimhood a coveted status" by taking public steps to curb sexual assaults on campus. He even implies that non-consensual sex is not rape, when in fact it's the very definition of rape! George Will makes his living writing columns that many people disagree with. But his latest column has gone too far. Rape is a serious crime--accusing women of making it up and arguing schools shouldn't be addressing sexual assault puts both women and men at risk. By publishing George Will's piece, The Washington Post is amplifying some of the most insidious lies that perpetuate rape culture. It's not just wrong--it's dangerous.

I believe in the freedom of choice! No one should be prosecuted for choosing the religion he or she believes in.

Its a unfortunate day and age we live in when sites like worldstarhiphop.com can use young men and women. Mostly Africn American to go out and commit heinous crimes with the hopes of being posted. On any given day amongst the plethora of ignorant music videos, you may also find in the myriad of choice videos posted choices such as "old man gets knocked out", or "man having sex in the parking lot", or more infamously its "fight week" compilation, where you can see a person punching another person into a coma! Literally!!! This site grosses millions of dollars every year and is owned and operated by Lee "Q" Q'Denat. A person who has shown he is totally apathetic to the harm he is causing, and just relishes the often used phrase of "Worldstar" as a person commits another crime to be shared. Help stop this tragedy on the internet!!!

Do you want to eat dinner around a bunch of crazies with semi automatics?

The Westford Community has not had the chance to thoroughly discuss the new assessment test called PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career) which may, or may not be a replacement for MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System). As a result, we think it's best for Westford to hold off implementing PARCC for the 2014-2015 school year.