What if you lost your legs in the Boston bombings only to discover you can either accept charitable contributions and lose your health insurance or keep your health insurance but know it still won't cover all your medical needs? ThinkProgress brings us the story of brothers caught in our modern "health care system" Catch 22. "That [accepting their charity checks] wouldn’t be an issue if they could access health care through an employer, or if the funds were enough to cover all of their expected medical costs. But the Norden brothers’ recovery process has been slow, and they’re not sure when they will be able to work again. They also worry that the high cost of prosthetics will quickly eat up the $1.2 million sum, leaving them with nothing." Why should being at the wrong place to view the end of the Boston Marathon require anyone to make such choices?http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/09/16/2625731/boston-bombing-victims-cash-checks/. Additionally, Mother Jones tells us about what mass shooting victims face. "Mass shootings can be a devastating financial blow to victims and their families, especially if they don't have health insurance. Dr. Adil Haider, the codirector of the Center for Surgery Trials and Outcomes Research at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, tells Mother Jones that "if a person has insurance—it will mostly likely cover everything apart from the deductible." But, he adds, "unfortunately, most of the patients we see do not have insurance." If a victim is paralyzed by a gunshot wound, costs could easily surpass $1 million—although a patient could be eligible for Medicaid or disability at that point...In Virginia Tech and Columbine, the most commonly awarded amount was $11,500 and $10,000, respectively, and payment amounts are often distributed based on number of nights spent in the hospital (after Aurora, victims who spent fewer than seven days in the hospital received $35,000)." http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/04/where-does-money-donated-victims-mass-shootings-go But, we can get these victims access to quality care if Congress will negotiate so these individuals can be added as dependents to the Congressional plan. As dependents of the government plan, these individuals would be able to reap the benefits currently available to them while also being able to access funds donated to their recovery without fear of losing their subsidized insurance. Add your name to tell Congress to get to work taking care of our survivors! If we can't stop the killing and maiming, we can at least step up and get people the coverage they need and the care they deserve.

My name is John Fenton, and I farm and ranch near Pavillion, Wyoming. Over the years, drilling has damaged and devalued our land and the land of our neighbors. The water has been contaminated and the air fouled. Our health has also been attacked. My wife is losing her sense of smell and her sense of taste, my youngest son developed seizures, and I suffer chronic headaches and fatigue. The EPA stepped in to investigate, and released a draft report on the contamination. But now, the EPA has dropped its study. Along with my family and my community, I feel abandoned. I wish that my family was the only one experiencing this kind of heartbreak. But we’re not. Families in Dimock, Pennsylvania, and Parker County, Texas, have similar stories. Over the past year, the Obama administration has ordered the EPA to shut down one fracking-related water pollution investigation after another. President Obama, you promised we would only “Extract natural gas safely, without polluting our water supply." But you’re running away from your own investigations that show we’re not. President Obama and EPA Administrator McCarthy: stand up to the oil and gas lobby and protect communities across the country; uphold your responsibility to us, our health, and our drinking water; and direct the EPA to reopen these important investigations into the dangers of drilling and fracking.

My step-father is married to both my mother, and another woman in a different city. My mother and step-father have two little girls (age 5 & 8) not only are they seeing that it is okay for their father to be married to two women at a time, they are learning that there is no justice for breaking the law. My mother tried to have him prosecuted since it is a class-C felony, and it was denied. Nobody sees this as a real concern. Bottom line, its a felony, it needs to be treated as so, punished as so.

Genetically engineered foods have not been adequately tested; it's unethical to be putting an experimental technology into the food we feed our families. I am concerned about the rise in allergies and gastrointestinal problems in children. I believe GMOs need to be labeled so that we the consumers can make our own choices. We have a right to know what we are eating and feeding our families.

There are fans that cannot afford to purchase season tickets, but want to be a part of the game day action and excitement as much as they can. By only allowing season ticket holders to purchase tailgating passes, you are not allowing fans that cannot purchase season tickets the ability to enjoy the excitement and camaraderie of the game day experience.

To see that heroin dealers receive attempted murder and murder charges for distributing a lethal drug.

Governor Brown may be deciding any day now whether to sign SB 3, the first part of the Sunshine in Campaigns Act to pass the legislature. SB 3 is a key step in replacing California's antiquated website for tracking campaign contributions and lobbyists. As the Los Angeles Times says, it is currently "an embarrassing relic of the early Internet era." Knowing who pays for political campaigns and lobbyists is crucial for our democracy -- which is why SB 3 is so important. It is sponsored by California Common Cause and the League of Women Voters of California, and supported by the California Clean Money Campaign, Progressives United, CALPIRG, AFSCME, and others. TELL GOVERNOR BROWN TO SIGN SB 3 so Californians have a modern website that shows who's paying for lobbyists and political campaigns!

This time of year, Target can become like a parent's second home. Dropping by to pick up school supplies, clothes and fall sports equipment in addition to regular shopping, a mom or dad can be in and out of the local store so often, she or he should have a personalized parking spot. Target is many a parent's go-to retailer, because of their friendliness, overall product selection and affordability. And when Target says, “Expect more, pay less,” we generally feel like they mean it. And, well, parents DO expect more. That’s why, with all the money and time spent at Target, parents should tell the company exactly what their expectations are when it comes to Back-to-School needs: When our kids throw skin cream, hair gel or lip gloss into the shopping cart, we expect those items to be safe. And because the ingredients that go into cosmetics and personal care products aren't regulated by the federal government, we expect our favorite retailer to assume some responsibility and create safeguards against cosmetic toxins to protect our family's health. Many personal care products—from baby shampoo and deodorant to lotion and mascara—have been found to contain chemicals we inhale, ingest, and absorb through our skin. And, many of these chemicals may be linked to cancer, birth defects, learning disabilities and other health problems epidemic in our society. We have an opportunity to help Target set a storewide safe cosmetics policy that would help us all. In fact, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics reports, "Target carries a range of safer alternatives, but lacks a policy to address chemicals of concern in the full range of personal care products it sells. Target is currently determining what criteria would go into a personal care product standard." Protecting our health from toxic cosmetics can’t wait, so we need to speak up now to push the company forward in the process of removing such products from its shelves. It is a fact that Target is regularly named to the Ethisphere Institute’s annual “World’s Most Ethical Companies” list, an honor the company is very proud of. It did not get that distinction without a strong sense of corporate responsibility and responsiveness to its customers. The more people sign on to our letter, the more clearly Target will hear us and the more urgently it will respond to us.

Barbara Boxer voted yes to war in Syria, and, miraculously, received over $24,000.00 in contributions from the defense contractors industry. She panders to special interests, to the detriment of the people. Any politician who puts personal financial gain above the people is obstructing the democratic process. Boxer has no place in the Democracy of the People, that we call the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave. Bring pride back to America. Get the WAR PIGS out of office, and keep our sons and daughters, mothers and fathers home, with their families, where they belong, building memories, not tombstones.

This Senator has betrayed all American citizens, by implementing PRISM, extended the Monsanto Protection Act, she voted 'no' on the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (S 397)--which would protect gun manufacturers, retailers and suppliers from being sued for crimes or accidents involving their products--and more! She no longer represents the people. She has outlived her usefulness.

My two sons, who are loving responsible fathers, as are many other non-custodial fathers, are constantly denied visitation rights to their children by their custodial mothers. These denials can arise for reasons as trivial as selfish anger or miscommunication. The best interest of the child, which is the right to be lovingly reared by both parents, gets lost in the chaos. These dads need our support, and these children need our voice. It takes both parents and a village to raise emotionally well balanced children.

My local post office was forced to cut back to 4 hour per day service, and a good full time, secure job was lost. The problems the USPS faces were created by the passing of the PAEA, and they can be solved by the repeal of this measure. The postal service is not broken, and worked well and economically until they were forced to prepay retirement for 75 years, for future employees not yet born. This bill is destroying this wonderful 235 year old institution that we all love. And for those of us in the wonderful villages of New Mexico, the post office is the center of the community. Let's save it!!