Bangladeshi Hindus are being murdered, raped and tortured without any protection from Bangladeshi government. Source: http://www.hrw.org/world-report-2012/world-report-2012-bangladesh Luckily, our own government has enormous influence to diplomatically pursuade other governments to take corrective actions, to emphasize and elevate incidents of human rights violations to global human rights organizations - among many other peaceful diplomatic means. Please join me (a naturalized citizen of the USA who was born in Bangladesh, and who has worked as a civilian engineer in the US Navy to solicit the attention of our elected leaders in taking actions to address the blatant and on-going human rights violations in Bangladesh against the very peaceful and law-abiding Hindus.

Oregon doesn't currently have any fracking facilities, and there's no reason to support such a dangerous business. Fracking (hydro-fracturing) is the process of blasting shale with a mixture of water and chemicals to release energy. The blasting contributes to earthquakes, and only 30-50% of the fracking fluid is recovered; the remainder of the toxic chemical mixture is left in the ground, spreading to groundwater - and into people's drinking water. Furthermore, shipping oil on trains increases the possibility for oil spills. In March of 2013, a derailed train spilled up to 714 barrels of oil. Oregon is also proposing to import liquify natural gas, in the process increasing carbon dioxide usage by up to 30% compared to currently used domestic and Canadian natural gas. The proposed pipeline on the Columbia River would import fracked natural gas, liquify it, and export it. To build and run the liquifying terminal, rivers would need to be dredged, the process would use billions of gallons of water, the pollutants would affect water quality and air quality, and public safety would be reduced. This is clearly a hazard to human health and the environment; Oregon needs to stop supporting the fracking industry immediately, and move to safer sources of energy.

Immediately after January 5th , 2014 election in Bangladesh, many Bangladeshi Hindus Minorities are under attack- women raped, houses set on fire, place of worship burned or vandalized and livelihood taken away. As reported in the news and social media, most of the cases Jamaat-e-Islami of Bangladesh and Bangladesh Nationalist Party instigated the violence. Sources: • http://www.hrcbm.org/ • https://www.facebook.com/HRCBangladesh • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Bangladesh_anti-Hindu_violence • http://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/bangladesh-wave-violent-attacks-against-hindu-minority-2013-03-06 • http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/widespread-attacks-on-hindus-in-bangladesh-on-polling-day-469571 • http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2014/01/10/2-hindu-housewives-violated • http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2014/01/12/hindus-flee-after-rapes • http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/south-asia/bangladesh-postpoll-violence-hits-minorities/article5550297.ece • http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/south-asia/hindu-temple-in-bangladesh-vandalised/article5553487.ece?ref=relatedNews • http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2014/01/06/attacks-on-hindus-in-jessore-dinajpur • http://opinion.bdnews24.com/2014/01/08/denormalising-minority-violence/ • http://www.thedailystar.net/two-housewives-raped-for-voting-6323 • http://www.anandabazar.com/archive/1140109/9bdesh1.html • http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/533302/20140108/bangladesh-minority-hindu-attacked-arrested-election.htm#.UtIgLPRDvQM • http://www.thedailystar.net/terror-on-hindus-5670

Company Police will be able to take away the call load on the local law enforcement departments and bring safer communities to the State of Florida making it a safer and better destination for residents and tourists. Doing so will bring more tourists, jobs and funds for the State of Florida. Many times, security companies call on the local police department for a crime that they are witnessing and the local police department is tied up with another call. Allowing Company Police will bring a better response time and get more criminals off the street as well as bringing the call load off of the local police departments.

We live in central Illinois. Every town affected needs these funds to offset the cost of recovery efforts. Everyday it is delayed it puts a greater strain on local and county resources.

President Obama is selling our Democracy to the multinational corporations. If they pass the TPP, we will no longer be able to get generic medicines. They will extend the Pharma patents so that only the Brand Name will be available (at 10-15 times the price!) If they pass the TPP, even ordinary sharing of articles and pictures on the internet will be illegal with the new copyright laws. It will force ISPs to police us with a 3 strikes, and your off the internet. Our laws, both local and national will be superceded by the TPP rules that say that if our laws interfere with any corporate expected profits, the corporation can sue us, the citizens for their loss. This suit will be heard in a separate corporate tribunal manned with corporate lawyers, and their decisions will be final...no appeal. If the TPP passes, we will have to accept foodstuffs from all countries who sign without any trade barriers. This means that even if we have food safety laws, they will have no effect if the exporting country's laws don't live up to ours. Getting it now? The multinational corporations are racing to get global control even over our governments. Why are our governments selling us out? Ask them, but if you ask me, I think it's because they are mostly bought and paid for.

My mother grew up on a farm, but once she got sick and I became her care giver, I noticed that she had serious reactions to certain foods. I spend close to two hours a week grocery shopping. Not because I have that much to buy, but because I have to read the labels of everything I purchase and shop up to 4 different grocery stores to avoid buying GMO foods. GMOs are banned in other countries and should be banned here as well.

Same-sex marriage and yes it affects me I would one day like to get married.

Charles R. Snyder is a man of great faith, honor, and dignity. His 21 year leadership of All Ohio State Fair Youth Choir has positively impacted the lives of thousands of singers, including my children. He was removed from his position because he reported the alleged misconduct of a former volunteer accompanist, which led to this man's arrest and indictment. He should be returned to his position immediately.

I am dismayed by the ability of special interests and their lobbyists to undermine the influence of average Americans, and control information broadcasted to the public. When we allow special interests to spend money individuals can’t match, we implicitly give them permission to drown out the voice of the public, creating an imbalance in the electoral debate. Citizens United vs. FEC Supreme Court decision overturned over a century of precedent and opened the floodgates for unlimited amounts of corporate money to flow into our political system. With the Citizens United decision, large corporations have the power to spend unlimited amounts of money from their general treasuries to buy elections. What's more, Citizen United opened loopholes that allow corporations to hide their campaign expenditures by laundering the money through non-profit advocacy organizations. We need a government of, for and by the people. We need a constitutional amendment to undo the worst aspects of the Citizens United decision.

State Rep. Maria A. “Toni” Berrios has introduced legislation to use the surplus funds in Chicago's Tax Increment Financing (TIF) to help finance our underfunded Chicago Public Schools. We want to show the overwhelming support this legislation has in our community.

In my experience, the personal connection between teacher and student is a powerful means of motivation and learning. LAUSD has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to meet the needs of low-income students of color by recruiting and training culturally and linguistically skilled teachers who will make their careers in our classrooms. Let’s attack disparity and the achievement gap right now!