October is Juvenile Justice Awareness Month. Because we are making a documentary about incarcerated youth, we've learned A LOT about whats going on in the system. There is so much that needs to change, and raising the age so that minors aren't prosecuted as adults is one of the easiest ways Governor Cuomo can make a difference. To learn more about our documentary, please visit www.likeanyotherkid.com

The people of the United States of America established and supported the Endangered Species Act (ESA) which protected animals through a legitimate scientific process. That process was upheld and protected via the courts. The rider that stripped wolves from the ESA is unpatriotic, was not supported by most Americans, caves in to special lobbying anti wolf extremists, and is unscientific. It is outrageous that the rider that stripped wolves of their ESA protections went against public support, the courts, and the intent of Congress in implementing the ESA. It is extremely disturbing that the rider also prevents any review by the courts of the so-called "wolf management plans" that are calling for killing up to 60% of our wolves in the first year. It is disgusting that these animals will be trapped, poisoned and shot on sight, even in our national wild lands. This terrible error has already resulted in world famous and beloved wolves from Yellowstone National Park, many of whom were the subject of real-life ecological research, being killed inhumanely and unnecessarily by hunters specifically targeting these animals for their own ends. These and other wolf populations bring tourism and tens of millions of dollars annually to the local communities near Yellowstone and other wolf habitats. I call on our Congress to rescind the ESA rider and to restore wolves to their rightful place on the Endangered Species List.

We need to get Congresswoman Kuster on board with no cuts to Social Security and no chained CPI. She has stated she would not cut Social Security or Medicare! Congresswoman Ann McLane Kuster, please cosponsor the Strengthening Social Security Act!

I am a physician and a veteran. Electronic prescriptions are a great improvement in the care of my patients. There are no mistakes due to handwriting and the prescription is usually ready by the time the patient reaches the pharmacy. Because the prescription is already in electronic form, it is easier for the pharmacy and reduces mistakes by pharmacy staff. Our veterans deserve all the care we can give. Military pharmacies should accept electronic prescriptions.

everyone who votes has a stake in this action.

The Portland Police uses vehicle-mounted cameras to capture 128,000 license plates every single day with their new license plate tracking program. Even if you're not suspected of a crime, they're tracking your vehicle. This kind of information allows the police to track people’s daily routines, where they go to church, which doctor they visit…even a person’s political affiliations. There are no rules for how long it can be kept or strict guidelines on its use. Right now, data is kept for four years, even if you're not suspected of a crime. Tell the Portland City Council to implement rules that require the Portland Police to discard all location data after no more than one month, except where specifically relevant to a particular criminal investigation.

It is time for Texas to have a Senator who represents the interest of all of the people. Mayor Castro is a proven leader who revitalizes communities, promotes a pro-business environment, and cares for all people. He is the type of leader Texas needs in Washington.

Senator Ted Cruz tied glitches pn the Obamacare website with email scamming, and then made a crude reference to Nigerians. We consider that a gratuitous insult.

Cruelty to marine life.

My name is Tammy Timm and I am urging the Nebraska legislature to revise the grandparent rights statute in Nebraska. (Nebraska Revised Statute 43-1802) While Troxel V. Granville addressed the weight that should be given to fit parents as it pertains to their ability to raise their children, it did not address the legalities of who has standing to bring suit in such cases. The Nebraska statute currently states that grandparents have standing to file for visitation rights if the parents have started the process of, or are divorced, if one parent is deceased, or if the parents were never married and paternity has been established. It does not, however, take into consideration the rights of grandparents (as legally defined in Nebraska Revised Statute 43-1801) whose children are married, yet separated, and may never decide to start divorce proceedings. In the Nebraska State Constitution Article I-3, it states that "No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, NOR BE DENIED EQUAL PROTECTION OF THE LAWS." (ALL CAPS added for emphasis.) Given this, it seems to me that the wording of the grandparent rights statute does not fully give equal protection. Grandparents who meet the current criteria can begin the process to protect, via the law, the relationship that they have with their grandchildren, while other grandparents who do not meet these criteria, are being denied that same protection. Nebraska has the right, and the duty, to see that all of it's citizens are treated equally under the law. One can not provide relief under the law for one set of grandparents while denying a subset within that same group, equal relief. Especially if each set has equally maintained a legitimate relationship with the child, and in some cases, if the excluded subset has played closer to a parental type role with the grandchild, above and beyond what those who are currently protected have done. I am not asking that we seek to overturn the Supreme Court decision regarding how judges must weigh grandparent rights against the rights of fit parents to make decisions about the raising of their children. I am merely asking that Nebraska gives equal access and protection to all grandparents, at a minimum, so they may present their case to the court for a decision. I believe that this can be achieved by making a revision which eliminates wording that divides grandparents into subsections based on the martial status of their children, which is well within the rights of the Nebraska legislature to do. If interested, you will see my personal story below. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ While the focus is on providing legal protection to all, here is my personal story, which was what led me to get interested in grandparent rights: In my personal case, I have always had a significant relationship with my grandson. He is 17 months old currently and I have never gone longer than a week without seeing him (until recently), he has lived with me without his parents being here, lived with me with his parents being here, I have provided financially for his needs when his parents were unable to do so, I have taken him to medical appointments, but most importantly I have always provided him with a loving relationship that was stable. The parents separated and after a visit with the father, he refused to return the child to the mother and cut off contact with her. Shortly after that, he agreed in writing, to allow me a visit with my grandson. Then a few days after that, he also cut off all contact with me, leaving me without the visitation he had agreed to. Neither parent has started divorce proceedings, nor does it appear that either will in the near future. Now, every day that goes by where I have no legal recourse is a day he can use against me as not having an ongoing relationship with the child, thereby hindering my ability to be granted visitation rights in the future, should legal recourse become available to me. My sole interest is in what is best for the child, and it would seem, that given the chaos surrounding his parents current situation, which is between the two of them and something I don't wish to be in the middle of, that continuing a personal relationship with someone who has been a significant, stabilizing, positive individual in his life, would be in his best interests. I am only asking for the legal opportunity to present those facts in a court of law. **UPDATE - My grandson was returned to my daughter and I paid for the attorney to file for divorce. I now have an ongoing relationship with my grandson. I would like to help others. If you are in the Nebraska or nearby surrounding areas, please visit our FB page https://www.facebook.com/NEgrandparents/

Dear Friend; Enough of the partisan dysfunction! I'm tired of the games of chicken and of the costs of political war. Relationship building and collaborative problem solving are needed for us to address the big challenges that we face today and in the future. MoveOn does remarkable work enabling us to stand up together to oppose wars, environmental threats, and to stop further harm to our already sketchy social safety net. And when our elected leaders do not reflect our values, we work to elect leaders that do. But not all the country is Progressive and Congress is a place where many viewpoints are represented. Can MoveOn members also work to address the deep polarization in politics that undermines our ability to work for our common good? Will you join me in signing the following? "I pledge to help our leaders and our communities to engage in respectful dialogue and to look for ways to solve problems cooperatively. Doing this, we can create better answers to all the challenges we face." Sign this pledge and tell two friends you've signed. We will provide everyone that signs this pledge with opportunities to contribute to creating a more civil political culture. I'm a co-founder of MoveOn. In January of this year I co-hosted a Living Room Conversation about crony capitalism with a co-founder of Tea Party Patriots. The conversation was fun and enlightening! We learned that all of us agreed that the war on drugs is a failure, that we all think there are too many people in prison, and that none of us think banks should be able to gamble with our money, enjoy the profits when they win, and be insured for their losses. There were so many things we agreed about! My Tea Party friend and his friends are smart caring people. That said, we don't agree on everything. For example, we can't talk about fracking because the facts my conservative friends believe about fracking are quite different than what I believe. In fact if I believed what they believe, I'd think fracking was great too. Not having shared facts and a shared narrative is disastrous for democracy. Shall we reweave our communities and demonstrate to our leaders and media we can "Heal the Heart of Democracy" to quote the title of Parker J. Palmer's book on the subject? Please join me in exploring how we might help create new dynamics in D.C., in the media, and in our communities that are respectful, and in so doing, realize our hopes and dreams. Joan Blades Co-founder MoveOn.org, MomsRising.org and LivingRoomConversations.org 1. Parker J. Palmer, "Healing the Heart of Democracy: The Courage to Create a Politics Worthy of the Human Spirit" http://www.amazon.com/Healing-Heart-Democracy-Courage-Politics/dp/0470590807 How do we remain "open hearted" so that we can engage constructively with citizens that hold different views of the challenges we face? 2. http://www.livingroomconversations.org/2013/01/moveon-founder-tea-party-figure-meet-sf-chronicle-article/ 3. Living Room Conversations were developed with the goal of sparking civic culture change by fostering the respectful engagement of people with diverse viewpoints. They are an unfacilitated structured conversation form. Intended to enable people that would not typically talk to get to know each other while having a conversation about an issue where they hope to find common ground or even an issue that might otherwise feel dangerous to discuss. All the conversation requires is two friends with differing views to agree to co-host a conversation about an agreed upon subject. Each co-host then invites two friends to join the conversation- friends and friends of friends. Everyone must agree to abide by 6 simple ground rules that ensure respectful listening. The first conversation follows a conversation format that enables hosts and guests to get to know each other. Typically they discover that they share many key values and like each other. Once this connection is established they hear each other in a much more caring way.

The Postal Accountability & Enhancement Act of 2006 requires the USPS to pay forward health benefits 75 years in advance over a period of 10 years. This is something that no other government agency or corporation has to do. It has caused decrease in service and closure of post office and processing facilities. It has generated a 5 billion dollar tax which the taxpayers are paying in the form of decreased service and employment. The USPS is no no longer able to continue its long standing practice of hiring large numbers of veterans for career jobs. This assault on the USPS is designed to lead to privatization of the post office. This would end up in higher costs and decreased service to rural areas. It might also mean we lose our door to door delivery of mail. This could pose hardship on many elderly and disabled. We cannot lose our valued postal delivery service. PAEA of 2006 should be repealed.