banks have a very exclusive club of investors that get an early information on forthcoming foreclosures, enabling them to pick and choose the best properties and buy them for pennies on the dollar. The net result is that the banks and their shareholders do not get the top dollars for those properties and the favored investors get returns of, in one instance, 19000% percent in a matter of few days.

Outsourcing only increases profits of business owners but has eliminated millions of American jobs. It also has reduced salaries paid to existing jobs.

I work for the Government. Our budget, staffing, and pay have been cut to save money. I have no problem sacrificing for my country, but what about the Senate and Congress. Budget cuts never affect them or the several hundred staff members(that's each congressmen and Senator, literally hundreds of staff) They make 3-4 times what me and my fellow government workers make, yet they continue to get yearly pay raises and never face any budget cuts.

The School District of Philadelpha is planning to cut schools drastically, irreparably harming our children and our future.

35 hour work-week Tools were/are invented and used to save time and energy. They allow us to do more things, including having more “free” time to engage in other perhaps more enjoyable aspects of life. Industrialization did that to a great extent for civilization. So is our continuing advances in automation. The idea behind these advances is, or should be, to reduce the number of hours an average worker must put in on the job to accomplish the same feat. The average workweek in America did decline over the decades to reach 40 hours a week around World war 11. Since then, automation and efficiency have increased dramatically, but we are still stuck with a 40-hour workweek. This has been one of the reasons that we currently have such high unemployment-people still working 40 hours + a week while others are completely unemployed. We are long overdue for a legal reduction to a 35-hour workweek. If we did this, employers, especially corporations employing a large number of people, will be encouraged to hire more people to fill the gap rather then pay current employees time and a half overtime for that extra 5 hours needed to do the job. This would save parents some money reducing the amount of after school day care needed. The ultimate goal (in America) would be the 30-hour week. This would match America’s current school day. Some parents could then eliminate after school daycare altogether and allow some other families to become 2 earner families.

I'm asking you to sign my petition requesting President Barrack Obama to address poverty in the United States. Tavis Smiley and Dr. Cornell West are doing their part to bring this issue to light. Yet, no where in our mainstream media do we hear about poverty. Did you know that during the Chicago teacher strike last year, schools in our Presidents home town were left open so the children could get food to eat? Did you know that 1 in 2 babies born in the United States is eligible for WIC? 150 Million, yes that is half of our nation are considered the working poor. This is a national security issue. We are leaving American's behind in the face of soaring Wall Street profits. This doesn't make any sense. Who are we as American's to allow 50% of our population to live in these type of conditions? How can we call ourselves a great nation? To learn more about the issue of poverty please take time to watch the recent forum in January. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIpHmocynjQ I urge you to sign this petition and help your fellow American citizens.

Democracy, human rights, labor rights

STOP THE COVERT CAMPAIGN / TOP SECRET AMERICA'S HIGH TECH TERROR CENTERS / JSOCK,ETC. . DESIGNED TO DATA MINE AND SPY ON ALL US CITIZENS.

Guatanamo prisoners are being held indefinitely without trial. One hundred men (nearly 2/3 of the entire population) are silently starving themselves to death in protest at this very moment. Lawyers and human rights groups say it is just a matter of time before the detainees start to die. More information here: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/inside-guantnamo-an-unprecedented-rebellion-leaves-a-notorious-detention-centre-in-crisis-8604532.html

The Massachusetts Open Meeting Law requires that public business be conducted in public view (i.e. in the open). But it is written so that members of public bodies aren't allowed to discuss issues within their jurisdiction with the public or with each other over the internet - even when the public is notified of the discussions and given information so that the public at large can monitor a “Public Internet Discussion” as completely as the members of the public body themselves. House Bill 2908 would amend the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law (M.G.L. c. 30A, §§ 18-25), to permit members of a public body to communicate with each other and the public via “Public Internet Discussions”, and maintain and enhance the openness and transparency of activities of public bodies, by: 1. Defining a “Public Internet Discussion” (as distinct from a meeting) 2. Requiring that notice of a “Public Internet Discussion” be publicly posted, in the same way as a notice of a meeting must be 3. Requiring that the posted notice include instructions for free access (via the Internet) to the “Public Internet Discussion” 4. Requiring that the public at large be able to monitor the “Public Internet Discussion” as completely as the members of the public body themselves 5. Requiring that every statement in the “Public Internet Discussion” have an indication of the date and time it was made and who made it 6. Requiring that a transcript of the “Public Internet Discussion” be kept 7. Requiring that the transcript be freely accessible via the Internet There is a document containing an executive summary of House Bill 2908, a description of the thinking behind it, and an FAQ about it. That PDF file can be downloaded from https://sites.google.com/site/townmeetingtechnology/home/files/HB%202908%20Description.pdf or viewed online at https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnx0b3dubWVldGluZ3RlY2hub2xvZ3l8Z3g6NjhlYTFlNTZiMjg5MjNkMw House Bill 2908 itself is available at http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/188/House/H2908/Text . . . House Bill 2908 consists of editing instructions for changes to the Open Meeting Law - so it is only meaningful if it is read in conjunction with the current Open Meeting Law, a version of which with line numbers can be downloaded from https://sites.google.com/site/townmeetingtechnology/home/files/OML_with_line_numbers.pdf or viewed online at https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnx0b3dubWVldGluZ3RlY2hub2xvZ3l8Z3g6MTQ3ZjA0OTcyNTYyYmVlNA The current Open Meeting Law (without line numbers) is also available from the Massachusetts Attorney General's office at http://www.mass.gov/ago/government-resources/open-meeting-law/open-meeting-law-mgl-c-30a-18-25.html and from the Massachusetts legislature by going to http://www.malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleIII/Chapter30A and following the links to Sections 18 through 25.

The interest rate on federal subsidized Stafford student loans is set to increase from 3.4% to 6.8% on July 1st. If Congress doesn't act soon, millions of college students will see their student loan payments jump. Some argue that it's too expensive to keep government loans at low interest rates, but the federal government makes low interest loans all the time – just not to everyone. Big banks can borrow money through the Federal Reserve discount window at a rate of about 0.75%. The biggest banks in the country – the ones that wrecked our economy and cost millions of Americans their jobs – pay next to nothing on their debt, while students pay nine times as much. That isn't right. The Bank on Students Loan Fairness Act lets students take advantage of the same low rates offered to banks for one year while Congress finds a fair, long-term solution on student loan interest rates. Unlike the big banks, students don't have armies of lobbyists and lawyers. But they do have us. Let's do what's right and bank on students.

My mom taught me that everyone deserves fairness and the same level of respect. She taught me about kindness, decency, and hard work. Above all, she taught me to do what is right. That’s why this Mother’s Day, I’m asking you to tell the Senate Judiciary Committee that immigration reform must give moms the respect they deserve. The Senate Judiciary Committee will begin voting on amendments to the immigration reform bill this week, in preparation to take it to the floor for a vote. This is a huge step forward—but we need your help today. Send a message to the Committee and the "Gang of Eight" Senators who wrote the bill. Ask them to protect the bill from attacks that would weaken it, and strengthen it by supporting amendments that give women, caregivers, and family the respect they deserve by: • Honoring the family immigration system—which has been the main channel for women to America for centuries • Letting all undocumented women in the country today reach their dream of citizenship • Honoring the work that women do as caregivers and domestic workers This Mother’s Day, tell Congress we need an immigration process that honors mothers and families—not just for one day but every day of the year. // Mi mamá me enseñó que todas/os merecemos la equidad y el mismo nivel de respeto. Me enseñó la bondad, la decencia y a trabajar duro. Sobre todo, me enseñó a hacer siempre lo correcto. Por eso hoy en el Día de la Madre, yo te pido que le digas al Comité Judicial del Senado que la reforma migratoria tiene que darles a las mamás el respeto que merecen. En esta semana el Comité Judicial del Senado comienza a votar sobre las enmiendas a la propuesta de ley sobre la reforma migratoria, antes del proceder al voto general. Este es un paso enorme—pero necesitamos tu ayuda hoy. Mande un mensaje al Comité y a la “Banda de los Ocho” Senadores que redactaron la propuesta de ley. Pide que protejan la propuesta de los ataques que la debilitarían y que la refuercen con las enmiendas que les darían el respeto que merecen las mujeres, las cuidadoras/es y las familias al: • Honrar el sistema de migración familiar— el cual ha sido la vía principal desde hace siglos para que las mujeres ingresen a los Estados Unidos • Permitir que todas las mujeres indocumentadas que hoy radican en el país alcancen su sueño de ciudadanía • Honrar el trabajo que hacen las mujeres como cuidadoras y trabajadoras de hogar dentro de la economía informal Este Día de la Madre, diles al Congreso que necesitamos un proceso migratorio que honre a las madres y a las familias—no solo por un día sino en todos los días del año.