Senator McConnell voted against students by voting "NO" to a bill that would have stopped student loan interest rates from doubling, on July 1st, and he voted "YES" on a bill that would see interest rates skyrocket. In the Senator's home state of Kentucky alone, 60% of students from have student debt upon completion from college; the average student loan debt is $22,270; and 123,382 students in Kentucky are Stafford Loan borrowers. Going to college shouldn't mean a lifetime of paying off crushing loans, and students in South Carolina (and the rest of America) can't afford more debt!

Senator Graham voted against students by voting "NO" to a bill that would have stopped student loan interest rates from doubling, on July 1st, and he voted "YES" on a bill that would see interest rates skyrocket. Now, on July 10th, the Senate is planning to vote on The Keep Student Loans Affordable Act, which would cut our current student loan interest rates in half -- from 6.8% to 3.4 % -- for a year. In the Senator's home state of South Carolina alone, 54% of students from have student debt upon completion from college; the average student loan debt is $25,140; and 111,601 students in South Carolina are Stafford Loan borrowers. Going to college shouldn't mean a lifetime of paying off crushing loans, and students in South Carolina (and the rest of America) can't afford more debt!

Senator Cochran voted against students by voting "NO" to a bill that would have stopped student loan interest rates from doubling, on July 1st, and he voted "YES" on a bill that would see interest rates skyrocket. Now, on July 10th, the Senate is planning to vote on The Keep Student Loans Affordable Act, which would cut our current student loan interest rates in half -- from 6.8% to 3.4 % -- for a year. In the Senator's home state of Mississippi alone, 54% of students from have student debt upon completion from college; the average student loan debt is $25,090; and 66,392 students in Mississippi are Stafford Loan borrowers. Going to college shouldn't mean a lifetime of paying off crushing loans, and students in Mississippi (and the rest of America) can't afford more debt!

Senator Alexander (R-TN) voted against students by voting "NO" to a bill that would have stopped student loan interest rates from doubling, on July 1st, and he voted "YES" on a bill that would see interest rates skyrocket. In Tennessee alone, 53% of students graduate with debt, and close to 132,000 are Stafford Loans borrowers. The average amount of student debt is $24,740. As the Ranking Member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Senator Alexander is in a key leadership position. He has a responsibility towards his fellow Tennesseans to make sure that everyone receives a fair shake at an education -- and that includes students being able to afford one.

Jessica was a loving, caring mother of three, who was ruthlessly hunted down and murdered by an ex-boyfriend. For weeks an application for an order of protection was ignored by court and police officials. Several phone calls the day Jessica died were inadequately responded to by local officials. Her death was tragic and unnecessary.

"Pro-life" politicians are willing to place their political agenda over women's lives and health. Speak out against this injustice and demand better treatment of the women of Ohio. Please sign to get the attention of the Ohio state government and let them know we want these provisions repealed.

Leon Rosby had been asked to turn down the music blaring from his car because it was interfering with an investigation. Meanwhile the owner filming the cops proceeds to placing his dog back into his car, in the backseat. Then he walks towards the cops freely, let's himself get arrested. The dog begins to bark, jumps out the window. Then the officer Shoots 4 shots killing the dog! Video provided at the link below: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ej-2FlWGWcU

CALL FOR REVOCATION OF NOBLE PEACE PRIZE OF LIBERIAN PRESIDENT ELLEN JOHNSON SIRLEAF;;, NO LEADER OF ANY NATION DESERVES A NOBEL PEACE PRIZE FOR CRIMINALIZING GAY, LESBIAN, AND TRANSGENDER CITIZENS.... PLEASE WITHDREW THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE FROM LIBERIAN PRESIDENT:: ELLEN JOHNSON SIRLEAF, & LIBERIAN GORVERMENT !!!!!! PETITIONER :''GRACE FELICIA LAWRENCE. A TRANSGENDER WOMAN & A NATIVE AND CITIZEN OF OF LIBERIA West Africa...... LIVING IN SAN FRANCISCO,CA. ON ASYLUM IN THE USA.. GRANTED IN 2006.

By the ruling of the Yakima Farmer's Market manager Don Eastridge and it's President, Dimmick Delights can no longer vend at the market despite being there for the last 10 years selling it's famous lemonade and roasted nuts. The manager wrote on a letter of dismissal saying it was due to "lack of response this year and years of pass years of problems" (see attachment 1). Dimmick Delights believes this vague ruling came after I decided to whistle blow to board members last year that the manager Don Eastridge was acting fraudulently. The board, has repetitively requested that the market manager provide financial records and receipts that show the whereabouts of thousands of dollars that the market receives from farmers, small businesses and corporate sponsors. It is even questionable if the market has ever filed a tax report or received a tax refund. We believe that some board members are intimidated to take a stand against removing Don as a Manager in fear that they too will face the same outcome that we are experiencing. I assure you there are many people who are willing to take on this position and see the market succeed and flourish myself included. Since whistle blowing the market manager Don Eastridge has made extortionist comments that suggested, "By creating problems for the market, he would make sure that Dimmick Delights would never be allowed to vend at the market again." He followed through with his threats. For the past 2 months the market manager has created fabricated excuses that Dimmick Delight's vendor application was in non-compliance and claimed it was incomplete. For this reason Don has disallowed us the right to vend or products. It should be noted that for 10 years we have operated our business the same and have never had issues surrounding our application. Up until this year, Don was even one of our valued customers. All of this activity started once the whistle blowing occurred and board members started to question financial records and lack of receipts. When we requested a special board meeting to discuss the situation, the President responded by sending off emails to other board members calling Dimmick Delights liars. Stating that, “Dimmick Delights lied about having liability insurance.” The slanderous comment is not true at all. In an effort to get a better rate we switched companies. We currently are covered under 2 policies until one expires and have never been without a policy. (See attachment 2) Our question is why would Don only allow us to return to sell nuts and not lemonade? If we were non-compliant wouldn’t it be in the best interest of the market to help its vendors serve their customers? How are placing limits on their business helping them? Don Eastridge continuously uses his authority to make decisions without the board's approval. The current Treasure is also concerned about the financial standing of the market. Since volunteering for the position over a year ago she has yet to get any receipts or answers to questions she has about the expenses and assets belonging to the market. She is considering leaving her position in fear it destroy her career. While my time as a board member I witnessed several meetings where Don used excuses that the computer crashed and all the records were lost. Recently it was brought to the board’s attention that the market even had accounts in collections. As an accounting major I can tell you this is textbook fraudulent behavior. Don has exercised his absolute authority. He has placed limits to what and how we marketed our products even how we make our product (see attachment 2). According to him he has absolute authority to remove vendors and make revisions to the Bylaws. It is our understanding that the board members have not approved the revisions to the bylaws. This means that at any given time Don has the authority to send you home if you sell a product that you have offered for 10 years and with no explanation. (See attachment 3) He has made contradictory decisions saying that we could return but only if we agreed to offer only 2 flavors of lemonade and roast nuts on site. He then reversed the decision by saying that we were no longer allowed to sell lemonade because we didn’t follow the rules. This has cost us in lost earnings and creates hardships given that we come from over 60 miles to serve this market. When asked what rules we broke, we were not given an answer and if we don’t like it we will be removed. It should also be noted that he and the market's President are also leading competitors with Dimmick Delights because they both sell beverages at the Farmer's Market. If Dimmick Delights is no longer able to vend they both stand to gain financially. Dimmick Delights has been featured on the Market's Website as being both lemonade and nut vendors, we have for 10 years (see attachment 3). Under no written agreement did we agree that we would roast on-site at every market. It is not cost effective and will cause us to go out of business. The former market manager approved Dimmick Delights to sell lemonade. We have been doing it successfully for 10 years. Yet on several occasions Don tells us that we are not approved. If we are not approved then why does the website say that we are? We have been loyal and dedicated to the market and the community. Dimmick Delights was even voted by Yakima Herald as one of the top things to do in Yakima. We use fresh ingredients that come from this market when feasible. We promote the farmers that we support. We have a seen children grow up and bring their own children to our booth over the years. Many of them are the vendor’s own children. This business is our family's livelihood. 3 years ago, I was laid off as a Union Carpenter. I have 5 children to support and this is a detrimental event that is unjust and wrong. We believe that the actions taken against us have nothing to do with our application, insurance or products. We believe this activity is occurring b...

There are so many bicyclists who ride the roads in the mountains, that bicycle paths would make it safer for them to enjoy their ride, and motorists would not be afraid of hitting one when they drive around a curve. Some places have such narrow curvy roads that it is impossible to pass a bicycle when going uphill. There is no need to widen any roads, but a well maintained bicycle path plus keeping the roads in good condition is a must.

Comprehensive student loan reform would free up hundreds of millions of dollars currently being used to service debt, to be spent on ailing sectors of the economy, providing a real jump-start to economic growth and prosperity. Such reforms would put the American Dream back in reach for millions of Americans, unleashing a new era of entrepreneurship, investment and innovation for all. The question is not whether we can afford to make such reforms, but whether we can afford not to. At a time when the big banks can borrow from the federal government at near-zero percent interest rates, what sense does it make to force students to borrow exorbitant sums of money at outrageously high interest rates, just to obtain an education? If we, as a society, deem it so necessary to invest in the big banks with such sweetheart deals, why do we find it so difficult to find the political will to invest in our own people? Among the reforms that we, the undersigned, believe should be implemented include, but are not limited to: * Restoration of basic consumer protections, such as bankruptcy rights and statutes of limitations on the collections of student loan debt; * The right to refinance student loans so as to allow borrowers to take advantage of historically low interest rates; * Elimination of the $2,500 cap on the deductibility of student loan interest paid; * Elimination of the practice of interest capitalization on student loan debt; * The ability to consolidate private student loans with federal loans; and * Making all federal and private student loans eligible for income-driven repayment programs, such as Pay As You Earn, that limits payments to ten percent of income and provides forgiveness after 20 years; There is no shortage of good ideas, but a serious shortage of political will to address this ever-growing crisis. Along with any additional legislation that may be required, we, the undersigned, demand hearings and action on the following pending bills: * The Student Loan Fairness Act (H.R. 1330) - Rep. Bass * The Private Student Loan Bankruptcy Fairness Act (H.R. 532) - Rep. Cohen * The Student Loan Affordability Act (S. 707) - Sen. Reed * The Student Loan Default Prevention Act (H.R. 618) - Rep. Michaud * The Know Before You Owe Private Student Loan Act (S. 113) - Sen. Durbin * The Student Loan Employment Benefits Act (H.R. 395) - Rep. Israel * The Student Loan Interest Deduction Act (H.R. 1527) - Rep. Rangel * Responsible Student Loan Solutions Act (S. 909/H.R. 1946) - Sen. Reed/Rep. Tierney * The Student Loan Relief Act (S. 953) - Sen. Reed * The Federal Student Loan Refinancing Act (S. 1066) - Sen. Gillibrand * Refinancing Education Funding to Invest for the Future Act (S.1266 ) - Sen. Brown * Proprietary Institution of Higher Education Accountability Act (H.R.1928) – Rep. DeLauro * Smarter Borrowing Act (S. 546) - Sen. Harkin * Fairness for Struggling Students Act of 2013 (S. 114) – Sen. Durbin * Bank on Students Loan Fairness Act (S. 897/ H.R. 1979) – Sen. Warren/ Rep. Tierney * Students First Act of 2013 (S. 406) – Sen. Lautenberg

In America we believe that everyone is equal, period. But that's not how our current immigration system works. Under our current immigration laws, immigrants currently living in the US without papers have no way to fix their immigration status and pursue the rights obtained through citizenship. These immigrants -- many of whom are American in every way but on paper -- are doomed to a life in shadows. They are prevented from doing things many US citizens take for granted, like driving, working, applying for credit cards, and even from visiting sick family members overseas. The Senate just passed an immigration bill that will would fix this tragedy by creating a pathway to citizenship for these 11 million Americans without papers. Through this pathway, students, workers, family members, and even some immigrants with deportation orders under the previous broken system would finally be allowed to pursue their American dream and eventual citizenship. Advocates have been fighting for these reforms for years, and we have never seen a better chance for making these dreams a reality. But some anti-immigrant members of Congress -- lead by legislators like Rep. Steve King -- are trying to kill reform by destroying the path to citizenship and promoting inhumane policies that would keep these 11 million people in the shadows so they "self-deport." Our movement has reached a tipping point and we need your help to finish the job. We need you to tell Rep. Mike Coffman to support immigration reform with the pathway to citizenship, now more than ever. It's time for Congress to pass this bill. Please tell your representative to vote YES on immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million Americans without papers.