I am of the generation who remember bomb drills in elementary school, when students innocently hid under their desks. Spending billions of tax dollars on Cold War era nuclear weapons in hopes of security is just as absurd, especially at a time when Congress is cutting the federal budget. Unless we change our course, nuclear weapons and their associated costs are projected to cost U.S. citizens $640 billion during the next 10 years. I'm dead tired of seeing my tax dollars, paid by the work I do everyday as a teacher, high-jacked for weapons that have the capacity to destroy - many times over - everything I love and value. NUKES ARE NUTS! Need more food for thought and action.The declassified video included with the first article is surreal reality check! http://swampland.time.com/2013/10/31/debating-nuclear-deterrence/ http://www.wand.org/2013/11/22/a-look-into-gold-plated-waste-our-briefing-on-the-hill/ http://blogs.fas.org/security/2013/09/b61-12holland/

The Affordable Care Act is a good thing....it supports the 48 million people who can't afford or have been blocked out of health insurance. The 4 million insured who could potentially lose their current policy have the option to get another, more robust plan.

Student loan debt is a big burden for those on fixed income.Some have co-signed for children and grandchildren. debt like this put seniors in risk of extreme poverty

I have a wine shop in Manchester. I do not want to sell mass market wines. What happened to slow food, buy individual family farms, help individuals as opposed to conglomerates.

Obamacare - we need to speed up its implementation.

Very dear friends have found affordable health insurance through the Marketplace. They were "uninsurable" before. Now they are covered in spite of pre-existing conditions. It has taken a huge worry off their shoulders--the fear of losing everything they have to pay medical costs. I will gladly pay more for my health insurance premiums if it means affordable care is available to everyone. That's a "no-brainer!"

Newspapers need to stop publishing letters that deny climate change.

My 80-year old, widowed mother, who worked up until a year ago, depends on her Social Security benefits. Like many seniors, she has paid into this system for the majority of her life in order to have these benefits now. Making a cut to Social Security is unconscionable.

We believe the proposed development at 3210 California Ave SW (DPD project # 3014176) is of broad public significance. As neighbors and residents of the Admiral neighborhood of West Seattle, we ask the City to uphold the intent of the NC2-40 zoning classification by allowing no more than 4-stories to be built. • The proposed 5-story building is not legal. It is an additional story beyond the applicable height limit. (SMC 23.47A.012.A.1.a.2.) • The proposed average grade plane is set artificially high (at over 13-feet above street level) and does not meet the intent of the rule for calculating average grade, which is to encourage buildings to better follow the topography. (Director's Rule 4-2012.) We respectfully request a public meeting with DPD in order to understand why the proposed 5-story project is considered legal, and to voice our opinion that a 5-story building at this location will have a negative impact on the Admiral neighborhood, and the City. There is potential for this project to set a negative precedent for large, non-contextual development in the City of Seattle.

We are all affected when our government pisses money away!!

The individual insurance plans under Obamacare have gotten off to a rocky start. But families like mine, where we are not eligible for employer sponsored health insurance, but have pre-existing illnesses, depend on the success of this law.

The leadership of Eastern Michigan University (EMU) entered into an inter-local agreement that created the Education Achievement Authority (EAA). They did so in a manner that fostered assumptions that members of the education faculty at Eastern were actively engaged in the EAA -- misleading the citizens of the state; the professional educators of the state; AND the students of the University. The fact is EMU faculty were not invited to give input into such an arrangement or asked for our expertise as researchers and professionals in the complex and varied aspects of education (school administration, teacher development, and student achievement) as the EAA was established. To date, the faculty have been excluded from any direct participation in the creation or implementation of its policies, operating procedures, professional development, curricula or pedagogical practices, many of which the faculty find questionable at best. Furthermore, the faculty find the undermining of democratic processes represented in the creation of a district outside the purview of public decision-making and oversight to be in direct conflict with this university's mission and our legacy as a champion of public education. This violation of our principles is now beginning to affect our historically strong relationship with local schools. Thus, the faculty find Eastern Michigan University’s participation in the Education Achievement Authority unacceptable. These negative impacts on our reputation, our local relationships, our students and programs, the clear effect on enrollments and thus revenue to the university are a repudiation of Eastern Michigan University’s legacy as a champion of public education and a leader in the preparation of educational professionals. The faculty implores you to remedy this situation as quickly as possible by unanimously voting to withdraw from the contract creating the Education Achievement Authority.