Just days after Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia shockingly equated homosexuality with murder in an appearance at Princeton University, another troubling revelation has emerged: Scalia’s son Paul, a Roman Catholic priest, has served as chaplain for the Arlington, Virginia chapter of Courage, an official Catholic apostolate that ministers to people with so-called “same-sex attractions” — or what the rest of the world refers to as lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. In an op-ed for the Los Angeles Times, Michael McGough writes that Paul Scalia’s anti-gay beliefs are so extreme that he isn’t even willing to concede the fact that gay people exist: He has written: “We must always distinguish the person from the attractions. Most errors in this area come from the reduction of the person to the attractions: to say, ‘A person who has homosexual attractions must be homosexual.’ This reduces the human person to the sum total of his sexual inclinations.” The last time I heard that frighteningly dehumanizing lie was when I was undercover receiving “ex-gay” therapy at the Bachmann clinic. No joke. McGough also points out that when the Vatican acknowledged the reality of homosexuality, it too earned the wrath of Scalia the Younger: In a 2005 article in the magazine First Things, Paul Scalia warned against the labeling of high school students as “gay” and even took the Vatican to task for using the term “homosexual person,” which, the younger Scalia said, “suggests that homosexual inclinations somehow determine, which is to say confine, a person’s identity.” Of course, this is a straw man; psychologists and other who speak of a gay identity don’t argue that “gay” is an exhaustive description of an individual’s personality traits, only that there is more to being gay or lesbian than participation in sexual acts. Courage, the “ministry” that Paul Scalia was affiliated with, uses a 12-step program similar to Alcoholics Anonymous to encourage Catholics struggling with “same-sex attractions” to suppress their sexuality and live totally celibate lives. It’s essentially a Catholic version of the widely-discredited “ex-gay” programs, just wrapped in a more subtly-colored bow. As I read McGough’s op-ed I couldn’t help but be reminded of the lyrics of a song from the legendary musical South Pacific: You’ve got to be taught to hate and fear, you’ve got to be taught from year to year. It’s got to be drummed in your dear little ear — you’ve got to be carefully taught. . . You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late — before you are six or seven or eight — to hate all the people your relatives hate. You’ve got to be carefully taught.

Together, we oppose hydrofracking in Boulder County, Colorado. High-volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" uses 4-9 million gallons of fresh water per well. Water that is treated with known carcinogens, such as formaldehyde, methanol, and radioactive chemicals. This poisoned water can leach into and contaminate our groundwater and pollutes our air. Fracking damages the environment, contributes to Climate Change, and poses health and safety risks to families and community members of all ages. These are not risks that can be prevented by regulation. The only safe and sustainable response is to ban hydraulic fracking completely in our community. I make this petition to prevent the poisoning of Boulder County, Colorado’s water, air, and land on which our life, health, and economic prosperity all depend–for current and future generations. I petition Boulder County Commissioners to ban hydrofracking in Boulder County, Colorado.

There is only one opportunity for the Senate to change its rules concerning filibusters and that is on the first day of the next session. Senator Reid needs to hear from everyone about how important it is that one Senator not be allowed to shut off voting just by saying "I object."

La Trobe University is attempting to victimise several students who were involved in a campaign of peaceful civil disobedience against cuts to the La Trobe Humanities and Social Sciences department

Benjaman Kyle is a unique victim of identity theft. After getting beaten in 2004, he had not only his money and his identification taken from him, but also, his memories. Benjaman has retrograde amnesia, and is unable to remember any of his personal details or past. All investigations, including one by the FBI, were unable to discover who he was. Benjaman Kyle is an "invisible man" without a social security number. Without a number, Benjaman can't get hired or stay in a shelter. There's nothing he can do. He's trapped in a loophole that nobody anticipated. Only political intervention will allow Benjaman to work and have a place to stay. But nobody is speaking for him or his rights. Do we leave him here? He needs a new number, for a new life. For more info, visit www.findingbenjaman.com

There are many elderly people who need to be taken care of and should be. Or disabled people that are not able to take care of themselves. Just because you never have to worry about it, does not mean it is not essential!

"Fix the Debt" is financed by corporate and private equity billionaires and millionaires who have advocated making big cuts to the social safety net and slashing corporate taxes for years. They're not concerned about working families; they only care about their profit margins. And Mayor Michael Bloomberg is their new co-chair. New Yorkers don't think working men and women should have to give up the retirement security they've paid for just to give the wealthiest another tax cut. Fix the Debt's approach is dangerous for working families. We should be asking millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share instead.

DSHE represents all Disabled Students in Higher Education. Disabled students have been discriminated against. UMKC allocates funds to other student groups but not to DSHE. Disabled students need more than just accommodations, we needs the support of UMKC.

Running right through the middle of Salem, OR are train tracks that carry cargo and passengers at all hours of night and day. The trains blow their extremely loud horns and cause a great deal of distraction and peace-less sleep. Ordinances were passed a few years ago, but have never been implemented. It's time for someone to do something.

I am concerned by the extent of control and power exerted by Grover Norquist on our politicians who have signed his anti tax pledge over the last twenty years.

If you are concerned with the two tiered justice system abused by the banking elites and the Justice Department you must sign on with this petition about criminality and "get out of jail free" cards issued to the criminal bankers by the Justice Department.

Alot of my family and friends work at walmart supposedly part-time only thing is they work a lot of sparatic hours, they are always on call or are being called in. With hours being forwarded to the next pay period, pre-scheduled work days are cut all in an effort i believe to deny even a decent weeks pay much less over-time. Thats not fair to the employee or their families.