Republicans in Michigan are pushing "right to work" legislation under the guise that it is about freedom of association. We should extend this concept to all associations. Therefore, it should also be voluntary to pay Michigan state taxes. The government should welcome this as it will allow them to better respond to the needs of their residents.

Maryland's death penalty makes too many mistakes. It diverts funds from the real needs of victims' families. And it certainly doesn’t do anything to solve or prevent crimes. There have been no death sentences since 2004, and no executions since 2005, but it remains a huge drain on our budget. 2012 was quite a year for progressives in Maryland – passage of the DREAM Act and marriage equality were both great steps forward. Now it’s time to finish the job and repeal the death penalty.

Ending drone attacks by the United States military.

I have relatives that are currently attending Chicago Public Schools which are grossly underfunded in some areas should be treated with the same urgency as Charter Schools because public money from the Lottery is available but not used for something as important as educating children and hiring more teachers

Arts education is important in K-12, schools, yet it is always the first thing to be cut. Arts education is a top priority that helps kids express themselves, spark creative thinking, aid problem solving skills, and so much more. The proportion of 18-year-olds who had arts education as children has declined with each wave of SPPA, reaching a low of less than half in the most recent survey. 93% agree the arts are vital to providing a well rounded education for children. 86% agree an arts education encourages and assists in the improvement of a child's attitudes toward school. 83% believes that arts education helps teach children to communicate effectively with adults and peers. 79% agree incorporation the arts into education is a first step in adding back what's missing in public education today. 54% rated the importance of arts education a "ten" on a scale of one to ten. nea.gov/research/2008-SPPA-ArtsLearning.pdf www.nasaa-arts.org/Publications/critical-evidence.pdf

Jamba Juice uses styrofoam cups in the majority of their stores. I have seen a petition before asking Jamba Juice to stop using styrofoam and it has worked in the past in a few stores. Now we need to get them to take the initiative to end the cups nationwide!

Bibi Netanyahu wants to make it impossible for Palestinians to have a state of their own. Call upon the American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) to stand up for the two-state solution they claim to support.

While hosting a popular live comedy show, actor Jamie Fox is reported by various news mediums to have made racist, murderous comments regarding his character's killing of all the white characters in his new movie:"How ​great is that? And how black is that?" While this is a comedy forum, Mr. Fox should realize that joking or otherwise encouraging killing of any race is the beginnings of genocide related ideas and is offensive to members of that race as well as those who know the consequences of the realities of such opinions. Furthermore, Mr. Fox should realize that suggesting that killing white people is the "black" thing to do is offensive to law abiding African Americans.

Improving Education

The federal debt is now at a critical level, and the fairest way to pay off a lot of this debt is with a big increase in the estate/inheritance tax, to tax the mega-millions/ billions going to people who didn't earn it, by limiting the amount that may be received as gift or inheritance.

There are many people who has wrong ID. They do not pay for car or other insurances. This misunderstanding of their legal status, have created a numerous fakes ID, unable to identify the individuals and has given to them a excellent, legal way to get free of their share.

I feel that we are being scammed by all the big department stores to buy into this Fraud that Christmas has become.