Wages have been flat--static--no growth--since the 1970s. MNCs and TNCs are recording record profits in the billions. CEOs make 400 times what line workers earn. It is time to correct these economic injustices.

More than a dozen congressional representatives have signed onto the the Grayson-Takano letter, thereby vowing to "vote against any and every cut to Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security benefits." Vermont's lone congressional representative Peter Welch has been resisting signing this letter. I think we should help him make up his mind.

Elections have consequences and one result of President Obama's decisive victory is the rejection by American voters of any move to penalize the Middle Class for mistakes by the 1% by offering up cuts to the social safety net - *our* return on *our* investment - to offset the problems caused by unneeded tax-cuts and unfunded wars. Social Security and Medicare are off the table.

Democrats have built the most popular government programs in American history – including Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security -- by working with Republicans whenever possible and by defeating Republican opposition whenever necessary. The torch has been passed to today’s elected officials, and we must carry it forward boldly. Voters across the political spectrum oppose cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security benefits, and we must do whatever it takes to protect these vital benefits from cuts.

As the President of the Chiropractic Society of Texas, I am concerned with regard to the actions of our Bd of Examiners. They seem to continue to be influenced by other organizations in the state to "expand our Scope of Practice" . I have on numerous times addressed them these past two years, stating that Anytime we add what is not Chiropractic to Chiropractic, we have problems with litigation and legislation. Our Board of Examiners has had 5 open litigations during this time with the TX Medical Bd & Texas Medical Association. They have gone to the point of trying to take "Diagnosis" away from Dr.'s of Chiropractic. The Profession of Chiropractic is NOT a medical sub-specialty, but a seperate and distinct profession, based on all things natural. It already affects the whole human condition, via the nervous system. The very source of addressing the spine and it's weight bearing articulations, via neurologic processes which control All body organ systems. We are NOT simply "musculoskeletal" practitioners. The Central & Peripheral Nervous system are the key to true Health. The Chiropractic profession does NOT address symptoms, nor treat conditions. They remove Nerve Interferences to Allow the Inborn Innate control system of the body to function optimally as Nature intended it to do. Regardless of condition, we all perform better, with a clearly functioning nerve system and its ability to convey Nerve & Mental impulses to the systems of the body.

In April 2011, New York City Council Member Margaret Chin introduced legislation to criminalize the purchase of counterfeit trademark goods. This bill will make it a class A misdemeanor to purchase counterfeit goods, punishable by up to a $1,000 fine and/or up to a year in jail for repeat offenders. For years, the neighborhoods of lower Manhattan - especially Chinatown, SoHo, and Tribeca - have been inundated by vendors selling illegal trademark counterfeit goods. This trade has greatly impacted the quality of life in our community. Counterfeit vendors clog our sidewalks and streets; intimidate and harass local residents; destroy private property; and create a negative image of our neighorhood. This legislation would give the NYPD the power to issue a summons to individuals who are caught buying goods which they should know are counterfeit based on the cost or quality of the good, or the conditions and location of the seller or sale. While it is currently illegal to sell counterfeit trademark goods in New York City, it is not illegal to purchase them. Our laws are incomplete as long as they focus on the supply, but not the demand. The illegal counterfeit good trade costs New York City an estimated $1 billion in tax revenue each year. At a time when our city's services are being slashed, it is irresponsible for our city to forgo such much-needed revenue.

13.5 billion of Road Home money allocated to Louisiana for hurricane Katrina that was unfairly distributed to homeowners.

An Arizona lawmaker is proposing a bill which would have teachers go through a training in order to keep a gun in the classroom. The solution to the gun issue is not more guns.

State Sen. Daylin Leach (D-Montgomery/Delaware) has legislation that will allow marijuana to be grown and sold legally in PA. “The modern prohibition of marijuana does a disservice to Pennsylvania by tying up our resources in the prosecution of its users; by depriving us of the revenue that this marijuana could generate; and by denying the Pennsylvanians suffering from terminal illnesses access to a natural medicine that could take away their pain,” Leach said. “It’s time we legalize marijuana and reap the benefits it has to offer.” What benefits could we reap? • Money to balance the state budget. Based on national figures, there is at least $3.4 billion in illegal sales of marijuana in PA each year. If we legalized it and taxed it at 6% it would generate $200 million. If we sold it in the State Wine and Spirit Shoppes, we could generate another $680 million with a 20% markup. • Fewer people in prison, lower costs for taxpayers. Approximately 25,000 citizens are arrested annually in Pennsylvania for marijuana-related offenses, at a cost of some $325 million dollars. • Legal access to a widely used medicine. Marijuana has legitimate medicinal uses and should be available to those who need it without risking arrest or dealing with underworld criminals. • A lucrative cash crop for PA farmers. Those who choose to grow marijuana will have a crop that can reap great profits. • An end to organized dealing in marijuana. Marijuana is the number money-maker for organized crime. Legalizing ends their participation in its trafficking and the associated violence. And that’s just the beginning. It’s time to end the hypocrisy, help to balance our state budget and end the 21st century version of Prohibition.

As any consumer, we have a right to know what we are purchasing and in regards to food, we have a right to know what we are feeding our bodies. Currently there is not enough long term research proving GMO is healthy or safe and there have been cases where people cannot eat GMO because it makes them sick. They, along with us all, have the right and need to know what foods contain GMO's to avoid getting sick.

My grandkids ride an overcrowded school bus. Seat belts would not only prevent the school systems from overcrowding the bus but keep children in their seats properly.

To understand why this petition is needed go to my blog at: http://borisbermesblog.wordpress.com AND U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE HAS WARNED AGAINST FAMILY LAW CORRUPTION More state revenue is raised from alimony collecting, motivating longer duration alimony than justified An American Bar Association (ABA) web site (abajournal.com) is inviting comments on a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) letter sent to “Dear Colleague” on March 14, 2016 which addresses current state and local court practices that run afoul of federal law. The letter sets forth the requirements of several principles that need to be followed to correct the situation. Press coverage of this important development however reported only on Principles 1 thru 4 relating to harmful effect of fees and fines associated with the illegal enforcement of court ordered support payments upon the indigent and minorities. What has been ignored is the DOJ’s less emotional concerns, Principle 7, which addresses opportunities for wrongdoing (corruption) when contractors are hired to act as proxies. An example can be the Florida Department of Revenue (DOR) employing a private contractor as its State Disbursement Unit (SDU) to implement the federal Welfare Reform Act by having it take over management of court ordered support collecting that creates data for calculating how large its reward from the federal government will be for collecting the support. Principle 7 of the DOJ letter (https://www.justice.gov/crt/file/832461/download) warns that “Courts must safeguard against unconstitutional practices by court staff and private contractors.” That means the payment management practices they carry out is suspect, as explained by DOJ’s analogous examples (last two paragraphs, page 8 of the letter) since DOR is the Act’s designee and has a pecuniary interest (revenue generation) in the outcome of its decision on which court ordered payments its contractor collects (the more child and spousal support contractors collect, the greater the incentive rewards DOR can receive.) One example of the illegal activity associated with misuse of the federal Welfare Reform Act is Florida having its contractor ignore the federal regulation establishing nationwide that spousal support is alimony for custodial parents so it consequently receives a larger, undeserved, percentage portion of the Act’s shared incentive fund pool by also accounting for lifetime alimony collecting that is not spousal support. Therefore nationwide implementation of the Act is unconstitutional because bureaucrats are allowing some states to not comply with the law while denying the compliant states protection by choosing not to impose available penalties and stop the resulting fraud which is harming them by reducing their percentage share of the incentive payment pool. I documented Florida’s harmful government program fraud in my blog dated March 2, 2016 http://borisbermesblog.wordpress.com which was emailed to federal law enforcement with my request for an independent investigation of that situation, but there has not been any acknowledgement of my request. Therefore I hope anyone not in agreement with the apparent thinking that an investigation is not warranted will let the ABA know by going to their web site at http://www.abajournal.com/mobile/article/justice_department_warns_local_courts_about_illegal_enforcement_of_fees_and and post a comment. (Published April 2, 2016 on my Facebook page under title “Corruptive Effects of Lifetime Alimony”)