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...

The Virginia GOP revealed last week that their repeated calls for a "clean" budget were disingenuous at best and an outright deception at worst. Days after engineering the resignation of a State Senator in order to grab control of the upper chamber, Republicans abandoned their oft-cited call for a "clean" budget and instead overtly threatened to torpedo the state budget unless the General Assembly agreed to legislation prohibiting future Medicaid expansion.

Mayor Elliot has a chance to help kids in Lowell, and across the whole country. Later this month, the Council of Mayors will consider resolutions in support of expanding quality early education to every child in America. Kids who attend preschool not only do better in school as they grow older -- they're also more likely to go to college and get a good job. But for many families, a quality preschool program is simply too expensive or not available. Last year a bipartisan bill was introduced in Congress that would help every child get access to quality preschool. We need more support from the local level to push this measure forward. Support from Mayor Elliot and his colleagues is the kind of local support that we will need to win. What we need to do right now is to demonstrate widespread support from people like you.

Mayor Sarno has a chance to help kids in Springfield, and across the whole country. Later this month, the Council of Mayors will consider resolutions in support of expanding quality early education to every child in America. Kids who attend preschool not only do better in school as they grow older -- they're also more likely to go to college and get a good job. But for many families, a quality preschool program is simply too expensive or not available. Last year a bipartisan bill was introduced in Congress that would help every child get access to quality preschool. We need more support from the local level to push this measure forward. Support from Mayor Sarno and his colleagues is the kind of local support that we will need to win. What we need to do right now is to demonstrate widespread support from people like you.

Mayor Koch has a chance to help kids in Quincy, and across the whole country. Later this month, the Council of Mayors will consider resolutions in support of expanding quality early education to every child in America. Kids who attend preschool not only do better in school as they grow older -- they're also more likely to go to college and get a good job. But for many families, a quality preschool program is simply too expensive or not available. Last year a bipartisan bill was introduced in Congress that would help every child get access to quality preschool. We need more support from the local level to push this measure forward. Support from Mayor Koch and his colleagues is the kind of local support that we will need to win. What we need to do right now is to demonstrate widespread support from people like you.

Mayor Petty has a chance to help kids in Worcester, and across the whole country. Later this month, the Council of Mayors will consider resolutions in support of expanding quality early education to every child in America. Kids who attend preschool not only do better in school as they grow older -- they're also more likely to go to college and get a good job. But for many families, a quality preschool program is simply too expensive or not available. Last year a bipartisan bill was introduced in Congress that would help every child get access to quality preschool. We need more support from the local level to push this measure forward. Support from Mayor Petty and his colleagues is the kind of local support that we will need to win. What we need to do right now is to demonstrate widespread support from people like you.

The Northern Manhattan community was promised $300,000 in 2011 in association with Columbia University’s Baker Field expansion. The community is still waiting because SOME of our elected officials have been sitting on the issue and continually moving the goal post. This only hurts the community. As shown in DNAinfo's "3 Years Later, Uptown Groups Still Waiting for Funds Promised by Columbia" (http://goo.gl/l1lWR9), the money is currently at risk of disappearing into the Parks Department. Our community is fortunate enough to have numerous neighborhood park groups and organizations whose projects and innovative programs improve the quality of life and make the parks more accessible to everyone. The money that was promised to the community should go to the community to support these groups and their efforts. Conservancy North is committed to administering grant funds equitably and supporting the growing community of stakeholders who recognize the critical importance our blue-green public spaces have on health, education, and making Northern Manhattan a great place to live, visit, and work. Please sign our petition urging our Northern Manhattan elected officials to stand by their commitment and sign the letter of unity that was requested by Columbia University in 2012 as the final condition for releasing the money.

Because all of my people in Iraq are in danger, because our country is destroyed now, because we lost hope in the future, and because I want to see a better Iraq, with a better future for our youth.

I am shocked that Scott Peters has been saying lately that he might support Fast Track of TPP. It is likely that Obama will try to push Fast Track legislation through Congress again during the upcoming lame duck session of Congress. It will be disastrous if the TPP passes as is, so we must stop any Fast Track legislation by targeting its potential supporters like Scott Peters.

I am starting this petition because I am shocked that Susan Davis has been saying lately that she might support Fast Track of TPP. It is likely that Obama will try to push Fast Track legislation through Congress again during the upcoming lame duck session of Congress. It will be disastrous if the TPP passes as is, so we must stop any Fast Track legislation by targeting its potential supporters like Susan Davis.

GOOGLE.COM, GOOGLE ADWORDS, AND ITS VARIOUS SUBSIDIARIES HAVE LITERALLY CHOKED THE LIFE AND INGENUITY OUT OF THE SEARCH ENGINE AND INTERNET MARKETING INDUSTRY, AND IS NOW FORCING OUT BROWSERS AND COMPETING INTERNET TECHNOLOGY OUT OF THE MARKET AS WELL, SO MUCH SO THAT OTHER COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD HAVE STARTED TO WAGE WAR AGAINST IT IN THE COURTS AS SOME KIND OF OUT OF CONTROL VINE THAT IS CHOKING THE LIFE OUT PEOPLE'S PRIVACY, ABILITY TO EARN A LIVING, INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS, AND HUMAN RIGHTS. BECAUSE THEY GROSS TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS A YEAR IN ADVERTISING REVENUE THEY ALSO REPRESENT A NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT AGAINST EACH AND EVERY NATION ON EARTH AS WELL AS THEIR ECONOMIES, SECURITY, INTELLIGENCE, ABILITY TO COMPETE, DEFENSE, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, FINANCES, INSTITUTIONS, AND CULTURAL INTEGRITY. IN ADDITION BECAUSE THEY CONTROL INTERNET MARKETING AROUND THE WORLD, THEIR BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND STAFF CONTROL WHICH BUSINESSES SUCCEED, AND WHICH ONES FAIL BY ELIMINATING COMPETITION, BIASING SEARCH RESULTS BY WEALTH AND THE ABILITY TO PAY HIGHER PRICES FOR GOOGLE ADWORDS, DROWNING OUT COMPETITION, FAVORING THOSE WITH ACCESS TO BANK LOANS AND EASIER CAPITAL INJECTIONS,THUS MAKING THE RICH EVEN RICHER AND THE POOR EVEN POORER, SOMETIMES ALONG RACIAL/RELIGIOUS/ETHNIC GROUNDS, AND FAVORING THOSE WEALTHIER MORE CONNECTED ADVERTISERS WHO CAN AFFORD TO DROWN OUT NEGATIVE INTERNET ANONYMOUS HATE SPEECH AND DEFAMATION WITH TONS OF SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION AND POSITIVE WEB SEARCH CONTENT. SOME WOULD ARGUE THAT GOOGLE'S UNBRIDLED AND UNCHALLENGED MONOPOLY OVER INTERNATIONAL ADVERTISING AND BUSINESS HAS RESULTED IN THE DEATH OF THE GLOBAL MIDDLE CLASS, WITH THE CREATION OF A GLOBAL OLIGARCHY OF "HAVES," VERSUS THE "HAVE NOTS." THIS HUGE AND GROWING CHASM BETWEEN THE SUPER-WEALTHY AND THE SUPER POOR, IF HISTORY IS TO BE A WITNESS AND A JUDGE, WILL UNDOUBTEDLY RESULT IN A GLOBAL GENOCIDE OF BILLIONS OF PEOPLE, HITHERTO NEVER SEEN BEFORE, EVEN IN THE ATROCIOUS MASS GENOCIDES COMMITTED BY STALIN, HITLER, POL POT, THE ARMENIAN MASSACRE BY THE TURKS, AND OTHER GENOCIDES THROUGHOUT HISTORY BY THE RICH AND POWERFUL AGAINST THE WEAK AND POOR OF THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY. GOOGLE IS FROG-MARCHING THE PEOPLE OF PLANET EARTH TO THIS HORRIBLE FUTURE OF DEATH, GENOCIDE AND DESTRUCTION THROUGH ITS ILLEGAL AND UNETHICAL MONOPOLOGY OF SEARCH ENGINE AND INTERNET MARKETING TECHNOLOGY AND OTHER PRODUCTS. IT NEEDS TO BE STOPPED NOW, WHILE THE WORLD'S PEOPLE STILL HAVE A CHANCE TO DO SO. To: EDITH RAMIREZ, CHAIRWOMEN OF THE FTC, FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION BREAK UP GOOGLE FOR SERIOUS ANTITRUST AND SHERMAN ACT VIOLATIONS Sincerely, JOHN ANTIOCH