SUPPORT ADEQUATE FUNDING FOR TANF - CHILDCARE ASSISTANCE. WORKING WILL BE WORTHWHILE AND PEOPLE WILL MOVE OFF OF WELFARE AND LOSE RESENTMENT , GAIN SELF RESPECT. CHILDREN WILL BE SAFER.

The violence and death caused by lack of regulations on firearms has to be stopped. The leadership of the Massachusetts government should take the lead in championing change starting locally, but driving change at a national level.

SUPPORT ADEQUATE FUNDING FOR TANF - CHILDCARE ASSISTANCE. WORKING WILL BE WORTHWHILE AND PEOPLE WILL MOVE OFF OF WELFARE AND LOSE RESENTMENT , GAIN SELF RESPECT. CHILDREN WILL BE SAFER.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich's imposition of a corporate model onto public education has found a new target in his proposals regarding college and university funding. Chief among the problems is the elimination of separate funding for the university regional campuses that would undermine their open-access mission and thus close the path to the middle class for many Ohioans . This petition was started by a large group of regional campus faculty from around the state who want to preserve the important role out institutions play in the state's higher education system.

It is time we demand our elected officials do something significant about gun violence to keep our communities, families and children safe. After the horror of Newtown, we need comprehensive, common sense legislative action.

Public Employee Retirees have not received a COLA in several years to offset the cost's of healthcare premiums, co-pay's, deductibles and out-of-pocket-expenses, which were imposed by the Public Employees Retirement Board.

People are dying in the subways, and what does the MTA do? Remove service booths and agents from the stations. Since the removal of the service booths and agents, crime, particularly vandalism, has been on the rise within the stops, according to DNAinfo.com. More importantly, these stops are overcrowded and, as a result, people have tripped or been pushed onto the tracks. Without service agents to alert oncoming trains, people have been tragically hit and killed; 55 deaths on New York City subway tracks last year.

The State of Vermont currently hands over much of its funds to big out of state banks and Wall St. for safekeeping. Many of us believe that keeping our money in a publicly owned state bank would be a much less risky way to keep public moneys. A state partnership bank would partner with local community banks to help grow the economy of Vermont in ways that would better benefit all Vermonters. S.55 would set up a task force to examine the most efficient ways of managing state funds which is a necessary step on the path to creating a Vermont Partnership Bank.

The White House petition to expand HARP 3.0 #MyRefi is currently up on the White House website and the petition needs to reach 100,000 signatures before there is a response from the President of the United States. HARP 3.0 has not yet become a reality, which has frustrated many homeowners who are still currently struggling to make their mortgage payments and cannot do anything about it. Homeowners that are still “underwater” on their property and/or make less income than before the recession hit cannot qualify for a new mortgage. Currently, if you refinanced using the HARP program before, you cannot use it again or if your loan was endorsed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac on or after June 1st, 2009 you cannot take advantage of the program at all. HARP 3.0 would possibly revamp those provisions.

Our one-sided backing of Israel leads to Arab hatred of us, acts of terrorism, expensive measures to guard against terrorism, and loss of civil rights. Continued tension expands our defense budget and makes our deficit worse. We pay more taxes, or lose vital services, or both. I suffer from all of these.

On Tuesday, February 19th, the Maine Legislature will take up an "emergency" measure exempting concealed weapons permit holders from our Freedom of Access Act (FOAA). This means that for 60 days, the public will not be able to know who possesses a concealed carry permit. The Legislature will likely take up a permanent measure in the coming weeks, but by then a dangerous precedent will have been set. The emergency bill will not be given a hearing, and the public will not be invited to comment. Maine's Freedom of Access law covers a whole range of information, from hunting and fishing licenses to emergency dispatch records. It's based on the premise that government shouldn't be doing business in secret. It allows only very limited exceptions - to people such as recipients of protection orders - who might be in danger if their private information got into the wrong hands. Concealed weapons permit holders are not in danger and do not need special protections that the rest of us do not have. Please join us in asking the Legislature to apply our Freedom of Access Law to all citizens equally. For more information see http://www.sunjournal.com/news/our-view/2013/02/17/guarding-our-right-public-access/1321821.

Representatives Alan Grayson and Mark Takano released a letter to President Obama promising to "vote against any and every cut to Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security benefits." Within two days, the letter had more than a dozen co-signers, but to date, Rep. Matt Cartwright has not signed on. We want to know definitively that Rep. Cartwright will stand up against Republican efforts to cut the social safety net.