We want an explanation for Rep. Sinema's vote to delay the individual mandate in Obamacare.

The Washington Post says that right now, Larry Summers is the front-runner for chair of the Federal Reserve, one of the most powerful economic policymaking positions in the country. But as noted progressive economist Dean Baker says, "Picking Larry Summers for Fed chair would be exactly the wrong message to send at the moment. Summers is one of the main architects of the policies that have given us the worst downturn since the Great Depression. It would be an especially bad signal to send when there is an outstanding pick already at the Fed serving as Vice-Chair, Janet Yellen." References: Reuters, "Opposition mounts to Summers as possible Fed chief," http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/26/usa-fed-summers-idUSL1N0FV0T820130726 (mentions this petition) Bloomberg, "Senate Democrats Ready Letter Urging Yellen as Fed Chief," http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-26/senate-democrats-ready-letter-urging-yellen-as-fed-chief.html Dean Baker, "The Return of Larry Summers?" http://www.cepr.net/index.php/op-eds-&-columns/op-eds-&-columns/the-return-of-larry-summers Felix Salmon, "Don’t send Summers to the Fed," http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2013/07/24/dont-send-summers-to-the-fed/ Scott Sumner, "Larry Summers is unqualified to be Fed chair," http://www.themoneyillusion.com/?p=22379 Bill McBride, "Janet Yellen for Fed Chair" http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2013/07/janet-yellen-for-fed-chair.html Ezra Klein, "The subtle, sexist whispering campaign against Janet Yellen" http://m.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/07/19/the-subtle-sexist-w hispering-campaign-against-janet-yellen/ Dean Baker, "Democracy Versus Bankers at the Fed" http://www.cepr.net/index.php/op-eds-&-columns/op-eds-&-columns/democracy-versus-bankers-at-the-fed William Greider, "Stop Larry Summers Before He Messes Up Again" http://www.thenation.com/blog/175372/stop-larry-summers-he-messes-again David Dayen, "Larry Summers will destroy the economy (again)" http://www.salon.com/2013/07/24/sexist_larry_summers_will_destroy_the_economy/singleton/ Yves Smith, "Why Larry Summers Should Not Be Permitted to Run Anything More Important than a Dog Pound" http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2013/07/why-larry-summers-should-not-be-permitted-to-run-anything-more-important-than-a-dog-pound.html William Greider, "No More Second Chances for Larry Summers" http://www.thenation.com/blog/175420/no-more-second-chances-larry-summers Noam Scheiber, "Wait, Larry Summers Is Now the Favorite for the Fed? Can we at least talk it over first?" http://www.newrepublic.com/article/114009/larry-summers-fed-chairman-over-janet-yellen Mike Konczal,,"Should Obama pick Larry Summers to head the Fed?" http://www.politico.com/story/2013/07/should-obama-pick-summers-to-head-the-fed-94765.html

Water Purchase Mandates in Pennsylvania and the violation of the Riparian Doctrine.

Right now, while some school districts in wealthy areas are giving computers to students, financially stressed ones are getting cut back millions, barely able to keep instructors, and needy courses. We demand a resurrection of this situation. The districts most needy of the money are also the ones where families are the most financially stressed, and can't afford the basics, much less computers, for their children, thus making it much harder for them to get ahead in life, alos becoming notable tax PAYERS, as opposed tolikely tax burdens.

The residents of North Carolina have a right to know what they are putting into their bodies. There is no evidence to show that genetically modified food is safe for humans to consume--in fact, other countries have banned genetically engineered food. North Carolina residents should be able to decide whether or not they want to consume food that has been genetically modified. Los residentes del Carolina del Norte tienen derecho de saber qué es lo que sus cuerpos están consumiendo. No hay prueba que los alimentos genéticamente modificados son seguros para los seres humanos – de hecho, otros países han prohibido los alimentos genéticamente modificados. Los residentes de Carolina del Norte deberían tener el poder de decidir si quieren o no quieren consumir la comida que ha sido genéticamente modificada.

Representative Dan Maffei why did you vote with House Republicans to delay the critical individual mandate for one year under Obamacare?

Rep. Cheri Bustos, explain why you voted with Republicans to dismantle Obamacare—this time by delaying the critical individual mandate for one year component of Obamacare.

Firearms ownership. Not personally affected.

It's hard to imagine what would possess someone to align with the obstructionists trying to upset one of the most significant legislative achievements of the past four years. Every delay just adds more uncertainty to the of future health care shopping. Voters of the Illinois 10th district deserve an explanation.

Pennsylvania's public schools are currently funded largely on the basis of local property taxes. This means that richer districts get *much* more funding per student than poorer ones, such as in rural counties or inner cities. The funding formula should be changed so that all property taxes in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are collected into a single, statewide pool, and then redistributed to school districts normalised for cost of living (eg: it costs less to educate a child in Perry County than in Pittsburgh). The end result of this will be better-educated children across Pennssylvania, improving the state's economy over the long term.

Montgomery County (Pennsylvania) Register of Wills Bruce Hanes has decided to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. We support his decision to be the first official in PA to issue marriage licenses. He is sure to get blowback from the far-right. Please send him a message of support. Here is his news release: For the first time since I took office in January 2008, a same sex couple contacted me last week indicating their intention of applying for a marriage license in Montgomery County. In the ensuing days, my solicitor, Michael Clarke, and I, in conjunction with county solicitor Ray McGarry, studied every aspect of the law, including recent Supreme Court decisions and statements by the Pennsylvania Attorney General. Based upon the advice of Mr. Clarke, my own analysis of the law and mindful of the Attorney General’s belief that Pennsylvania’s marriage laws are unconstitutional, I decided to come down on the right side of history and the law, and was prepared to issue a license to the couple. However, the women for reasons of their own decided this morning not to seek the marriage license at this time. When I took the oath of office 19 months ago, I swore to uphold the U.S. and the Pennsylvania Constitutions. Article 1 Section 1 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, aptly entitled “Inherent rights of mankind,” says “all men are born equally free and independent, and have certain inherent and indefeasible rights, among which is “pursuing their own happiness.” Article 1, Section 26 of the Constitution says, “Neither the Commonwealth nor any political subdivision thereof shall deny to any person the enjoyment of any civil right, nor discriminate against any person in the exercise of any civil right.” Furthermore, Article 1 Section 28 says, “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania because of the sex of the individual.” Had the couple sought the license today, I would have issued it and wished them all the freedom, independence, happiness and rights that our Commonwealth’s Constitution purports to grant to them.

Remove the cap on taxing Social Security. In this era of record profits, the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, this is the moral thing to do. This is the only way to make the program work.