A hate crime is usually defined by state law as one that involves threats, harassment, or physical harm and is motivated by prejudice against someone's race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, or physical or mental disability. Laws vary by state and if hate crimes are provided for by statute, the definitions of hate crimes and penalties imposed vary. States that have hate crime statutes provide harsher penalties for such offenses. The underlying criminal offenses that are designated in hate crime laws include, but are not limited to, crimes against persons like harassment, terroristic threats, assault and crimes against property like criminal trespass, criminal mischief and arson. The current federal law regarding hate crimes deals with crimes where the offender is motivated by bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or ethnicity/national origin.

What are your priorities? Stop private profiteers from commercializing our clean drinking water reservoirs. Stop rewarding those linked to blatant dumping and disregard environmental law with Marina permits. Take private corporate marinas and gasoline storage out of our, by deed, no-commercial neighborhoods and off of our central Texas drinking water reservoirs where they do not belong. PROTECT WATERS OF THE USA. Do not let ALEC right-wing superPAC, in their Jan. 2016 resolution to Congress, undermine the EPA, Clean Water ACT and Army Corps of Engineers on a state by state basis in order to deregulate water protections! Water knows no boundary. Protect ALL waters of the USA under the ground and above the ground Federally as CLEAN WATER IS A HUMAN RIGHT! Please, protect the legacy we leave our children and protect all waters of the USA because clean water is a human right!

The properties of Massillon, Ohio resident and Viet Nam veteran Jim Huebner and 14 of his neighbors were mandatory pooled into a drilling unit in November, 2013. Everflow Eastern Partners, LLC requested a pooling order from the Ohio Department of Natural Resource’s (ODNR) Technical Advisory Council (TAC). Everflow’s Leasing Manager, Les Dunics, told TAC that he had Massillon City property leased when in fact the city had not yet signed a lease for 8.10 acres of city-owned roadway within the drilling unit. The chief of the ODNR Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management approved the pooling order on December 10, 2013. On the same day Everflow was issued a permit to drill, though they did not have the necessary acreage under lease and had knowingly given false testimony to the TAC. The fact that TAC nor The Chief took the time to review the evidence provided illustrates the way in which the ODNR merely serves as a rubber stamp for the oil and gas industry to do as they please. To further demonstrate the way in which ODNR acts as a rubber stamp for oil and gas: by law (ORC 1509.38) the TAC must have eight members, six of which represent oil and gas producers, one to represent landowner royalty interest, and one member to represent the public. Effectively, seven of the eight council members represent the oil and gas industry. The public representative’s seat has not been filled for several years because the Governor of Ohio has not appointed anyone to that position. What the Stark Summit Coalition want to know is: Why didn’t the TAC or the Chief review Everflow’s leases before issuing the mandatory pooling order and permit? And why are the legal proceedings weighted so heavily in favor of oil and gas? Had the TAC and the Chief reviewed the leases, an order would have never been issued and neither would the permit. Had there been a balanced process and representation, evidence would likely be reviewed. Mr. Huebner had thirty days to file an appeal with the Ohio Oil and Gas Commission and he did. Since Everflow had the permit, they could technically drill if they wanted to. Mr. Huebner also had to file a request for a Stay of Execution of the Mandatory Pooling Order to attempt to prevent any drilling from occurring while he was going through the appeal process. As the primary basis of his appeal and request for a Stay of Execution, Mr. Huebner alleged that Everflow provided the TAC, and consequently the Chief, false information regarding their lease agreements with the City of Massillon, as Massillon’s City Council had not approved the lease agreement, and backed up the allegation with documentation. As a result, the Chief revoked the drilling permit and the pooling order. Mr. Huebner is still working on his Stay of Execution and appeal because Everflow Eastern now has 30 days to appeal the revocation order. MANDATORY POOLING HAS TO STOP: 1. A Mandatory Pooling Hearing takes place in front of a biased and pro-drilling panel; the TAC. This procedure is not consistent with due process rights and undermines the judicial practice that is meant to ensure justice in a free society. The Ohio and U.S. constitutions protect due process rights, which brings the constitutionality of this law into question. 2. Pooled person(s) do not have representation on the TAC when the request is made to pool. It is unjust to force a person into a drilling unit without fair and equal representation with independent, knowledgeable council members who have no ties to the oil and gas industry. 3. Being forced to surrender an asset violates a person’s right to form or decline a contract. 4. Current oil and gas law does little to protect Ohioans from impacts that emerge over a long period of time or affect their health in ways that are difficult to prove with the high standard of certainty required for legal proceedings. The law is unclear about the liability the mandatory pooled person(s) have in the event of an accident that occurs as a result of the presence of a drilling operation or well and the associated activities when they have been forced to participate. “Owners” of the well may be liable for future problems. Those currently forced into “ownership” should not be held liable for any damages that occur. Furthermore, the company should have to remediate damages incurred on the property fully and promptly.

Animals deserve to live a happy and healthy life, not be confined to small places without sun or fresh air. They feel pain and depression and should not be subjected to mutilation and prolonged torture. The food we eat is also affected by their waning health and distress. Cows, pigs, chickens and turkeys, sheep, goats, and rabbits should get fresh air and sun daily and fed nutritional food according to their natural diet.

Stop bullying. I have been affected by bullying before, I have been depressed, I have cut because of it, I have been sent to the hospital, and I don't wanna see other kids go through what I'm going through, or worse. I want bullying to stop.

Assembly Bill 54/Senate Bill 324 limits the time available to vote. People who work for a living, the elderly, and the disabled benefit from evening and weekend hours to vote. The legislature should be expanding voting hours to maximize participation in our electoral process not limiting them, the authority of local clerks to set hours, and the staff legally authorized to accept absentee ballots as mandated in AB54/SB324.

Rep. Dave Reichert and I both live in Auburn, WA. But Rep Reichert ignores the fact that many of our neighbors here in Auburn and across his district are struggling to make ends meet. His vote against raising the minimum wage means too many of his constituents still cannot afford rent, groceries, or health care for themselves and their children. Tell Rep Reichert: Support raising the minimum wage. It's the least he can do.

The President and the Congress reduced the Food Stamp and Nutrition Assistance Programs (WIC) for poor American babies; yet, continues Foreign Aid and Foreign Assistance, at a cost of over 49 million dollars. The wars in Iraq and in Afghanistan cost Americans, one trillion dollars. Recently the new government of Ukraine requested that our country, to give them 35 million dollars. Our country does have funds for American citizens ; who are in need and, during this perilous economic downfall; it is time, to support this country and its citizens and, not the world.

Adjusted for inflation, the current minimum wage is 30% less than it was in 1968. Yet last year, Representative Heck and his fellow House Republicans voted unanimously against raising the nation’s minimum wage. Increasing the minimum wage would help Nevada's workers pay their bills and feed their families. Rep. Heck should do the right thing and side with working people over big corporations.

Members of my community are working harder and making less!

Our pollinators are facing a bleak future without some intervention in present practices. They have lost both sanctuary areas and food sources as every acre of private land is now tilled and planted with commodity crops. The pesticides and herbicides used in modern farming are threatening that very industry as the numbers of pollinators have dropped drastically over the last few decades. I don't advocate legislation that takes away anyone's right to utilize their privately owned land as they see fit, but I believe that the state should not contribute to this coming calamity on ground it owns or controls. We have farmed for thousands of years without chemicals and close cutting vegetation in areas not used for crops, but we have never farmed without pollinators.

HB 4588 passed the West Virginia House on Tuesday, February 25, 2014. We must do everything we can to stop it in the Senate before the legislative session ends on March 9, 2014.