Press reports say that in his budget, President Obama plans to propose cutting Social Security and veterans' benefits by imposing the "Chained CPI" cut. The only way to stop this is by escalating pressure on Congress. Let's pledge that every Democratic Representative and Senator who supports cutting Social Security and veterans' benefits is going to face a primary challenge.

Today, the Rich pay no Social Security taxes on earnings above $113,000. This means that millionaires pay NOTHING on almost all of their earnings! And yet, the President and Congress want to reduce Social Security payments to the elderly, who can least afford it. If the President and Congress would simply eliminate the cap on Social Security contributions, there would be no need to steal seniors' monthly SS payments from them, and SS could be solvent forever!

The use of Coltan in cellphones is causing major civil war and conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in Central Africa. Stopping the use of Coltan would help to cease the fight over it in Africa where thousands of lives are lost because of it. An effect of mining Coltan and ruining the environment, the number of eastern lowland gorillas, in eight Dem. Rep. of Congo national parks, has declined by 90% over the past 5 years, and only 3,000 now remain. By only using non conflict materials you are saving lives and saving the environment.

My children must miss their studies every year as I did on Good Friday because, our school's do not recognize it as a religious day of observance. I believe, as an Orthodox Christian, that we deserve a place on the public school calendar.

The biggest fiscal issue facing American's today is income inequality and nearly no one in government is talking about it, so let's make it an issue. Millions of American's are falling deeper into debt and poverty while the most affluent of us all are increasing their total share of America's wealth. Since 1979, the top 5% took home more than half of total income growth. The top 1% took nearly 40%.

Senator Lieu would make it a mandatory 3 year prison sentence for Sex offenders who tamper with their monitoring equipment. This will not only help with effective monitoring but also dissuades them from committing repeat offenses. Please join me in signing this petition to enact SB57.

Yes, I have a tremedous amount of student debt

Walmart and a real estate developer are pressuring elected officials to rush a rezoning plan through the Montgomery County Council. Councilman Craig Rice is pushing for the county to rush its normal rezoning. He says the community will be hurt if the county council doesn't push the proposal through. In fact, small businesses and Montgomery County workers will be hurt if Walmart comes to Aspen Hill. A new store means big profits for Walmart and big headaches for Montgomery County. It means more poverty-wage jobs. And it means less business for small businesses.

Tennessee has a state park named for a founder of the Ku Klux Klan. This is an affront to all fair minded people. Memphis has finally renamed its confederate parks including Nathan Bedford Forrest Park. Tennessee should follow suit and rename this state park.

The ranchers who influence BLM policy view wild horses as competition for cheap, taxpayer-subsidized livestock grazing on public lands. They want them gone, and the BLM has been only too happy to comply.

After 46 years at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Dr. James Hansen recently announced his retirement. Dr. Hansen has been a true pioneer in raising awareness about climate change. In 1988, he was the first to unequivocally tell Congress that humans are largely responsible for global warming, and in the decades since, he has continued to make important contributions to climate science. He has also helped sound the alarm about the Keystone XL pipeline, writing that it would be “game over” for our climate. Dr. Hansen has faced censorship, attacks from Fox News, harassment from climate change deniers, and lawsuits from climate denial outfits. In the face of these challenges, Dr. Hansen’s dedication to truth and scientific integrity never wavered. He has continued to tell hard truths about the climate crisis, and he plans to continue researching, writing, and advocating in his retired life. Because of his scientific accomplishments and his bravery in the face of fierce opposition, Dr. Hansen deserves our country’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It recognizes those individuals who have made “an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.” It is difficult to think of an American who more embodies that description than Dr. Hansen. Sign the petition below to express your gratitude to Dr. Hansen and to ask President Obama to award him our nation’s highest honor.

It appears Senator Kirk, came to this position, as a result of his recent near death experience, which resulted in, what appears to be, a physically limiting condition. I am the parent of a now, 25 year old young man, who through an injury, became disabled at the age of 10 with a C-5 spinal cord injury. Coincidentally, he was hospitalized at the same rehabilitation center, as the Senator. Although, I do not directly walk in my son's shoes, I DO walk beside him. I suspect the good Senator, like my son, myself and my family, became keenly aware of his differences, from the majority of the country, as he resumed his life, after his stroke. To be fair, society treats the disabled community differently, out of necessity, due to an individuals' physical, mental and/or emotional limitations. However, a good deal of the time, being treated as different, and sometimes even as less than, comes from a place of fear and ignorance. Indeed, Although, discrimination towards the disabled is mostly subtle, it most certainly exists. I believe all discriminatory behavior comes from a place of fear and ignorance. I am not gay, nor do I have anyone in my immediate family who is openly gay. However, I do support Marriage Equality, and have been a supporter, ever since I became aware there was a gay community, and they were seeking their civil rights, to marry the person they loved. I would like to firstly, thank Mark Kirk, for bravely, standing up, in contrast to his Republican caucus, and voicing his position to support Marriage Equality. Secondly, I would encourage the Senator, to take his support a step further. Approach his colleagues, and explain to them, the evolution of this position. He can then encourage them to look within their immediate families, and find that individual, which may even be they, themselves, who always seemed to be left out and not treated fairly, due to some perceived "difference". It is sometimes only this, when you can place your argument in favor of Marriage Equality, in an analogy that mirrors either a person's own, or a loved ones personal experience, a person will come to the understanding all Americans are endowed with unalienable rights, and the belief this truth is self-evident. Please sign my petition thanking Senator Mark Kirk for publicly sharing his position on Marriage Equality, and asking him to "Spread the Love" with his fellow Republicans. ...and then go "Spread the Love" yourself.