George Bush and the Republicans initiated the erosion of our personal liberties. NDAA, Patriot Act, and Civilian Surveillance programs intended to stop terrorism have accomplished the mission of the terrorists by curtailing our Constitutionally assured liberties and striking a blow to our free and responsible society. It is time to ask our President to step in on behalf of Americans and put an end to the assault. While most of us have not been impacted by these Acts it is only a matter of time before a Politician wields these powers in order to attack their domestic opposition. As Americans we cannot allow this to happen.

My name is David and i am a senior in high school. I am trying to go to a college in the state of Georgia. They have alot of scholarships provided for people trying to go to college but creating more and better scholarships through social media would give a higher percentage of people a chance to experience the college life and going on to persue their careers.

In a democracy, the people are only part of the democratic process when they participate in it. As we have one of the lowest voter turnout rates among first world nations, we should give our citizens every chance possible to participate in the process. Many of our citizens do not live in states with early voting. Some of our citizens live in states where voter suppression is a real problem. Still others have to wait in lines for hours. Making national elections a national holiday would do several things. First, it should be a source of national pride to engage in the democratic process through voting and could become an occasion similar to Independence Day. Second, the poorer Americans who have work-related issues and cannot vote or get stuck in lines would have much more time and therefore be more likely to engage in the process. Finally, having a holiday dedicated to voting might encourage our citizens who rarely engage in the process to become more active as their friends and neighbors vote. Also, over time it may become as much a national pastime where individuals and families or groups of friends develop traditions as they have for other holidays. In a nation with as much national pride as the United States, we must increase voter turnout any way we can! As more Americans engage in the process, the national perception of our government may improve as well. Making Election Day a national holiday is the logical starting point for increasing voter participation!

Various illegal and unethical attempts to make it unnecessarily difficult to vote. I have not been personally affected by the issue.

If Sen. Kerry is nominated as Secretary of State to succeed Hillary Clinton, it would leave Massachusetts with an empty senate seat to fill and the the US Senate one seat closer to losing its democratic majority. Scott Brown's campaign machinery is still in place and although he failed to beat Elizabeth Warren for re-election, it was a close contest. His mean-spirited campaign was funded in large part by outside the state right wing SuperPacs, most notably Karl Rove's Crossroads. That means, if he ever was bi-partisan in his first term, he is going to be beholden to far right Republicans if he succeeds in regaining a Senate seat. All of us who worked hard to defeat Scott Brown and elect Elizabeth Warren would have an uphill struggle to do it again for a brand new democratic candidate in such a short period of time, given his campaign machinery is likely still in place just waiting for this opportunity.

As a result of Hurricane Sandy, thousands of children in NYS will lose weeks of instructional time in school. Many will have to transfer to different districts due to the loss of their homes or destruction of their own school buildings. The upheaval caused by the storm will negatively impact their ability to learn. Results from tests taken under such devastating circumstances cannot possibly be accurate and will be a waste of educational time and taxpayer money. We are calling on the Governor Cuomo, the State Legislature and the State Education Department to skip the state assessments this year.

Despite being elected by a minority of voters, Governor Paul LePage has consistently refused to listen to the wishes of the people. Instead, he has pursued radical policies that are completely out of touch with Maine's values. On November 6th, Mainers said "no" to LePage by voting overwhelmingly for candidates opposed to his agenda. But instead of signaling a willingness to work with the newly elected legislature, he's adopted a combative stance, continuing his rhetorical attacks on public schools, unions and green energy.[1] The people have spoken, and now Gov. LePage must listen. We're calling on him to get out of the way and allow the new legislative majority to do what voters are asking it to do. [1] http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20121110-NEWS-211100329

The Republicans have unequivocally refused to work with Obama for the past 4 years in order to make him a "one term president." This obviously didn't work, yet Senate Minority Leader McConnell still says, 48 hours after the election, one thing is certain: He is in no way chastened by Tuesday's results. "Let me put it very clearly," says the five-term Republican senator from Kentucky. "I am not willing to raise taxes to turn off the sequester. Period." Then, Boehner held a news conference on Friday where he declined to wade too deep into specifics, saying it could restrict his options at the negotiating table. They have not heard the demands of the middle class to raise taxes on the wealthy and quit giving them a carte blanche pass to do as they please. We do not agree with their policies or reasoning to keep the Bush tax breaks for the rich, which did nothing but put us on the road to ruin during his 8 year residency. Sign this petition to let the House and Senate Republicans that we are watching them and expect results. They are not in office to work for their own political party but to represent the citizens of the United States.

As soon as pundits called this election for Pres. Obama, they started talking about "open season for the 2016 presidential election." Enough already! We need elected officials to solve our problems, not continuously run for election/re-election. The perpetual campaigning contributes to our divisiveness. Campaigning for any office shouldn't start more than 18 months before the election.

Papa Johns and Darden restaurants, and Jimmy Johns have claimed that they will cut their employees hours rather than provide them with healthcare under the Affordable Health Care Program. Papa John founder, John Schnatter claims it will add an additional $.14 per Pizza to their costs so he's going to cut his employees hours down to part time so that he doesn't have to pay it. Darden Restaurants, owner of Oliver Garden, Red Lobster, Longhorn Steakhouse, Bahama Breeze, Capital Grille, Eddie V's and yard house has claimed they will do the same. Jimmy Johns CEO has said the same thing. Boycott these restaurants until they change their stance!

Let's give Americans and our economy a gift for the holidays: Peace, Bipartisanship, Leadership, and Confidence as we shop

My pets have always been like family members to me. Currently in California, pets are merely personal property. Therefore, if somebody were to murder my dog, I would only be able to recover the value of my dog in a civil law suit against the murderer, and nothing for my emotional distress or loss of companionship. My dog is priceless to me, but being a rescued mixed breed, with health problems his objective, economic value is probably zero. I believe that the legislature should add statutory civil damages against those who purposely or recklessly kill pets. I'm not asking that pets be treated like humans, just better than some inanimate object (like a chair or tv).