The very founding concepts of this country, and the laws establishing such a system, have been established for a couple centuries, since the beginning, were based upon the right for people to immigrate to this country to pursue happiness, amidst the security of freedom and liberty. The United States was conceived as a haven for those yearning for liberty. At that juncture, the people coming to the USA were viewed as a great and valuable resource! Should we not appreciate many of these immigrants that made this country successful, in so many aspects, by welcoming their brainpower, the might of their ideas and their work towards making a better life for all those in this land? What has happened to this structure and our motto, which were the founding pillars of the United States of America, as the land of opportunity and freedom? The United States is, unquestionably, a nation of immigrants. It is as much our identity as anything else we can name. The value of immigration, in our history, is clear and need not be belabored. What must be asked of our politicians and our voting public is, if we are going to claim we welcome immigrants, why do we make it so difficult for them? The current requirements for immigration are staggering. Most Americans seem to feel any hard-working, law-abiding applicants can become citizens, legally, with a minimum of hassle. This is not the case! We ask all Americans to become educated on these issues. It can require tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees alone and even hundreds of thousands of dollars in investments to become a US Citizen, legally. It can take years. But it’s not the same for all nations. A citizen of the UK, for instance, will have a much easier time than someone from a what the government might consider a “less desirable” country, despite how desirable the individual applicant may be. How “desirable” the government considers an immigrant is heavily steeped in politics and the relationship the US Government has with that particular nation at the time. This is grossly unfair and bigoted treatment of individuals, their destinies determined by politics and not their individual merits.It is staggering what is required and asked of those seeking to be US Citizens. The USA purports to welcome immigrants, yet makes legal immigration extremely difficult. We have out the welcome mat – but won’t open the door. This results in a mixed message of hypocrisy. Either we need to welcome immigrants and help them come here legally, or we need to roll up the welcome mat, land mine all the borders and sell the naming rights of the Statue of Liberty to some banal corporation – she might as well become “One of these Corporation’s Harbor Gal”! If we claim to welcome immigrants, then we must make policies which reflect it. Else we need to change the Statue’s inscription to read, “Keep, ancient lands, your yearning people. I extinguish my lamp and close the door”. Immigration reform, making it easier for immigrants to enter the USA legally, is not only in line with our national identity and the message we claim, but it has positive impacts on illegal immigration. How many people, we must wonder, would come here legally if that choice were open to them?

The great state of Michigan has been harmend by his decision to sign right to work legistration.

This petition is about getting Congress to support a new green energy technology opposed by "big oil" and "big coal."

We believe Holyoke's greatness lies not only in its past, but in its future. The best years for Holyoke lay ahead. The potential for economic growth may indeed be realized by a resort casino in Holyoke. We as citizens respectfully ask Mayor Alex Morse to move forward with a host agreement with one or more gaming interests so that this potential opportunity is decided by the voters of Holyoke in a future referendum.

The 4th Amendment to the constitution of the United States has been attacked from mostly conservatives who weaken the protections it affords from overzealous law enforcement agencies. The war on drugs, and now terror, have dealt serious blows to the protections that are as important as the 1st Amendment is for fee speech!!

SUGGEST and or ENFORCE that all businesses of every kind; schools, churches, gas stations, grocery stores, apt. complexes etc., make available to consumers etc. RECYCLE BINS to be able to RECYCLE when they are NOT at home or feel the need to take items home to RECYCLE.

WHEREAS 18 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws legalizing the use of cannabis when recommended by a physician, and Whereas Colorado and Washington in 2012 passed laws legalizing the recreational use of cannabis, and Whereas over 825,000 Americans are caught up in the criminal justice system every year for marijuana law violations, and Whereas the United States spends over $20 billion a year enforcing marijuana prohibition laws, and Whereas thousands of people are murdered every year involving the smuggling of illegal drugs into the United States and marijuana accounts for over half of these illegal drugs, and Whereas polls show overwhelming support for the medicinal use of cannabis and majority support for legalization of marijuana, and Whereas marijuana prohibition laws are racially enforced with a far larger percentage of African-Americans and Hispanics convicted and imprisoned for marijuana prohibition offenses than their white counterparts even though marijuana use in their communities is no more than in white communities, and Whereas college students lose their college grants and scholarships if found to be using marijuana, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Riverside County Democratic Central Committee requests: President Obama to allow the newly enacted marijuana legalization laws in Colorado and Washington to go into effect with no federal interference, and President Obama to end the Department of Justice interference and raids by federal agencies in states with medical marijuana laws, and A comprehensive study be immediately undertaken to produce recommendations for reform of our nation’s marijuana prohibition laws.

The Federal Reserve is an independent bank that is run by the most wealthy banks in the world that determine our interest rates and money supply. It was created in 1913 in a lame duck session and has no government control and has never been audited. The value of the dollar has been continually losing value and inflation makes prices of everything go up and it's time for the government to do an audit to find out why our money in continually losing value and where the money is going to so we can prevent the collapse of our currency.

The minority leader of the Senate filibustered himself yesterday. It should be obvious that filibustering has gone too far. We need an amendment to the US constitution to fix this. Here is something that might work.

Citizens United created a ridiculous environment allowing nearly unlimited campaign contributions. BUT - with the election over, campaign funding issues seem to have been forgotten.

I say you shouldn't ban gay marriage because people in this world would like/love their own gender and to marry their partner, and have a happy ever after for their life . That's why god made males and females to love each other.

Within the last several years my son was diagnosed with celiac disease and I was diagnosed with gluten sensitivity. A decade ago gluten intolerance was at a rate was 1/2500 world wide. Now it is 1/133. In Finland gluten intolerance has doubled in the past thirty years with the elderly population rates growing faster than regular population. Celiac disease is under-diagnosed. Only 5% of an estimated 1/100 patients have been tested. Gluten sensitivity is in about 5% 1/20 of the population. It is time to question the safety of gluten and to require product manufacturers to list gluten as an ingredient.