According to the Billings Gazette, Judge Baugh argued that the 14-year-old victim of rape in this case was "older than her chronological age" and "as much in control of the situation" as her 49-year-old rapist. In doing so, Baugh places the responsibility for the situation on a troubled child -- one who committed suicide just two years later -- and excuses the criminal actions of an adult who violated the ethical standards and trust of his community. Baugh has engaged in the worst kind of victim shaming, while increasing the possibility that more child predators, relying on the laxity of a judge who more readily sympathizes with the abuser than the abused, will prey on other children in the future. For the safety of our community, and the sake of sexual abuse victims whose confidence Baugh has lost, we ask that he resign from his public position as district court judge. [We would like to note that this petition is in no way a referendum on Judge Baugh's character; we merely seek appropriate action in light of a decision that hurts victims and our community. Please keep all petition comments appropriate and respectful.]

Deeply slashing income taxes could become a priority during Georgia’s 2014 legislative session. State lawmakers have already introduced two proposals meant to accomplish that goal during the upcoming assembly and some state leaders speak approvingly of the idea. A shift from income taxes to sales taxes would raise total state taxes for as many as four in five Georgia taxpayers. Conservative lawmakers are pushing for a plan that would do exactly that and are calling it ‘tax reform.’ North Carolina recently passed tax shift legislation and raised taxes on an estimated 80 percent of the state’s families. This is just wrong. This tax shift proposal would hurt families, businesses, communities and the economy.

We have Lost our House due to propane explosion. This bank would not let us rebuild even though we have never been late. and even tried to get more money from us saying we had a negative amortization loan.

In 2009 Yuengling Brewing busted its employees union, but apparently that wasn’t enough. On August 26, 2013 Yuengling Brewery owner Dick Yuengling Jr. spoke at the Pennsylvania Press Club about his desire to see so-called “right-to-work” policies implemented in Pennsylvania. Apparently Yuengling wants to deny workers the right to earn a good income and benefits for their families, while padding his bottom line. Just last year Yuengling was named on a list of the richest people in America, yet he wants to get richer. Along with advocating for right-to-work policies, he wants to cut the taxes his business pays. Corporations need to pay their fair share to help the economy, not find ways to pay less. Tell Yuengling to respect the working class.

We need to know whether you, if elected, would work to repeal Citizens United and fight against cuts to Social Security.

Oppose this so called "SAFE Act" it proposes to give power to each individual state in regards to immigration issues. It not only re-hashes Arizona's AB 1070 but actually makes it worse! It's a blatant attack on our 14th amendment rights. We need to make our legislators know by September 9th, 2013 ( this is when they return to D.C. from their recess) that their constituents DO NOT support this type of legislation. Take further action and call your own Representative and let them know to oppose the SAFE Act! All the phone numbers to their DC office are located at (http://www.house.gov/representatives/)

The TPP and TAFTA agreements - called "NAFTA on steroids," currently being negotiated in complete secrecy, will allow trade deals to prevail over any national legislation the trading partners claim decreases their profits. If they pass we will have yielded national sovereignty to corporations, which would be able to successfully sue the US government for recompense for ANTICIPATED profits, prevailing over laws our legislators have passed. With the TPP and TAFTA in place we can forget about environmental protections of any kind, as well as employee rights, minimum wage, and other hard-won gains.

The COLORADO OIL & GAS ASSOCIATION (COGA) (a private trade organization) has sued the City of Longmont, Colorado (a home rule city) and its citizens for exercising their constitutionally authorized powers to halt fracking inside their City Limits. Governor Hickenlooper has threatened to sue any other Colorado city or town who dares to follow Longmont. Governor Hickenlooper is guilty of the acts and omissions of "Constitutional Torts" and must be made to answer to We the People of Colorado, (the Sovereign), in Federal District Court in Denver.

This fall, Lionsgate Entertainment is planning to release "Ender's Game," a film based on Orson Scott Card's novel of the same name. Mr. Card, who is also one of the film's producers, has been an avowed opponent of LGBT rights—particularly marriage equality. He even sat on the Board of the National Organization for Marriage, which has fought against marriage equality in several states. Help show Lionsgate and other major studios that we refuse to let our money go to support homophobia and discrimination!

Rape survivors in Ecuador deserve access to safe and legal abortion services. Despite a president who has demonstrated a commitment to other aspects of women's health, Ecuador's current criminal code allows abortion only for victims of rape with mental disabilities, significantly excluding millions of women in a country where one in four women has been the victim of sexual violence. This policy puts the health and lives of rape victims in danger, and represents an unacceptable departure from international court rulings, as detailed in a new Human Rights Watch report. Rape survivors and all women in Ecuador and around the world deserve access to comprehensive health services including abortion if requested. A woman or girl who has suffered the trauma of rape shouldn't have to face the prospect of going to jail if she chooses to get an abortion. It is unacceptable for this or any government to continue to ignore the rights of women.

While visiting Yosemite National Park, I was taken on a bus tour, in which the ranger stated they just put down a 16 year old female Black Bear for getting too close to the camp sites. Black Bears are on the endangered species list. They are not known to harm humans, and rely on grubs, berries, and shrubs for their diets. The park will put down the Black Bears they think try to open the Bear Lockers to get food. If the camper locks their lockers appropriately there should be no problem with the bears. The euthanization of this bear took place even though the bear did not harm any human. Currently their are only 300-500 Black Bears in Yosemite's 750,000 acres of land. Please find an alternate solution to killing this small number of bears. Please find a way to relocate them, instead of killing them for using their natural insticts to go towards the smell of food. This is a direct quote from the Yosemite website "The average lifespan for Yosemite 's black bears is 18 years. Main causes of death are vehicle accidents, disease, old age, and being put down when becoming too habituated and aggressive towards human food. Please be aware and properly store your food, this will save Yosemite's bears lives. " I believe the park has a responsibility to find a more humane way to deal with this situation since they make so much money off of what the park ranger claimed to be 4 million tourists a year.

Natural vanilla flavor comes from a vanilla bean, right? Maybe not for long -- a new genetically engineered ingredient, straight out of a petri dish, is about to enter our favorite foods, from ice cream to birthday cake. Synbio vanilla -- produced by a form of extreme genetic engineering called “synthetic biology” -- is stranger than science fiction, but regulators will still let food companies call it "natural". So we're asking major ice cream companies like Haagen Dazs, Dreyer’s, Edy’s, Baskin Robbins and others not to use this experimental genetically engineered vanilla in their products. The truth is, this new vanilla doesn’t even come from a plant. Instead, it is made in labs using synthetic DNA and genetically engineered yeast that exists nowhere in nature. What’s worse, the FDA hasn’t even bothered to test this laboratory creation as a new product. Instead the agency will likely approve it as “Generally Regarded as Safe”. As the first major use of synthetic biology in our food, synbio vanilla could set a dangerous precedent and open the floodgates to allow more synthetic, genetically engineered ingredients labeled as “natural”. And if all of this wasn’t bad enough, this new synbio vanilla could speed rainforest destruction, and harm sustainable farmers and poor communities that rely on rainforest-raised vanilla beans to survive. Ice cream companies are one of the biggest purchasers of vanilla flavoring and we need your help to send them a strong message: don't use this unnatural “synbio vanilla” in your ice cream.