The Big Banks have NEVER answered to all the crimes against Americans that continue now to strangle the economy and are still causing honest hard working people to loose underwater houses. I tried to take advantage of the HARP program and have been waiting for 3 months just to lower the interest by 2 points. They will still win in the end and get way more than the house is worth. The only answer is to lower the principle owed to what the house will appraise for NOW!

Does religious freedom mean that individuals are free to follow their own consciences, faith or morals in their conduct of their lives? Or does it mean that individuals who sign the paychecks and provide health insurance benefits as part of compensation for work performed get to impose their religious beliefs on their employees as a condition of employment? This seems a very flawed understanding of religious freedom to me. I oppose the efforts of evangelical christians or others who seek to impose their religious beliefs on those who don't share them and call it religious freedom. Such actions are the opposite of religious freedom. So when Oklahoma City-based Hobby Lobby filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday challenging the federal mandate that they provide their employees no-cost access to contraception that conflicts with their religious beliefs, I consider it an attack on the religious freedom of their employees, not a defense of the religious freedom of the company's owners. I decline to patronize such a business. When they drop their lawsuit and learn to mind their own business and stay out of the bedrooms of their employees, they will get my business back.

For over a year now, the "do nothing" Congress has been sitting on President Obama's Jobs Bill. This bill could create a million jobs and would give a much needed shot in the arm to the economy, but our "good for nothing" Congress refuses to bring the bill up for a vote. We're calling on Congress to stop the political sabotage and put the Jobs Bill up for a vote. No amendments, just and up or down vote on the Jobs Bill.

Having a legal marriage is our constitutional right. All men are created equal. We have the right to pursue happiness. There are many real legal and economic benefits of marriage that gays and lesbians are denied because they are not allowed to marry. What are the legal rights and benefits of marriage? Answer: According to Lambda Legal Defense, more than 1,400 legal rights are conferred upon heterosexual married couples in the United States. By not being allowed to marry, gays and lesbians are denied these rights. Even in the state of Massachusetts, the only US state with legalized gay marriage, most of the benefits of marriage do not apply, because the Defense of Marriage Act states that the federal government only recognizes marriage as "a legal union of one man and one woman as husband and wife". Here are some of the legal rights that married couples have and gays and lesbians are denied: Joint parental rights of children Joint adoption Status as "next-of-kin" for hospital visits and medical decisions Right to make a decision about the disposal of loved ones remains Immigration and residency for partners from other countries Crime victims recovery benefits Domestic violence protection orders Judicial protections and immunity Automatic inheritance in the absence of a will Public safety officers death benefits Spousal veterans benefits Social Security Medicare Joint filing of tax returns Wrongful death benefits for surviving partner and children Bereavement or sick leave to care for partner or children Child support Joint Insurance Plans Tax credits including: Child tax credit, Hope and lifetime learning credits Deferred Compensation for pension and IRAs Estate and gift tax benefits Welfare and public assistance Joint housing for elderly Credit protection Medical care for survivors and dependents of certain veterans These are just a few of the 1400 state and federal benefits that gays and lesbians are denied by not being able to marry. Most of these benefits cannot be privately arranged or contracted for within the legal system.

Lyme's Planning Board has developed its 2012 Master Plan draft based on a 2006 Community Attitude Survey that no longer reflects Lyme residents' ideas of the Town's current and future needs.

The state of Iowa is giving even more tax breaks to the Orascom fertilizer plant. The state is considering offering the plant over 100 million dollars to bring in only 165 jobs, despite fierce opposition to the plant from both liberal and conservative citizens groups.

I am really upset that one side of the political advertising we see on any media, is outnumbered almost 10 to 1, of the other side. After hearing the same thing over and over on the one side and hardly ever hearing the other side, I begin to think , how could anyone not believe the one you hear over and over. I think there should be a law that the amount spent on political advertising, cannot be more on one side than the other. Then, they would actually have to think about what they say, carefully, because the other side would have equal time. And we wouldn't have to hear the same thing over and over ad-nauseum.

Labeling GMOs in California/nationwide

Warehouse workers in Southern California went on strike this Wednesday, following months of high tension, high temperatures, and extreme pressure in a major Walmart-contracted warehouse. These courageous workers walked off the job to protest retaliation by their warehouse employers. Their plight is not uncommon in Walmart-contracted warehouses, which I learned from firsthand experience. After five years of lifting heavy boxes every day in the warehouse, my body aches. I am 31. Walking is difficult, lifting my son is nearly impossible, and I frequently have very painful back spasms. I finally left my job at the warehouse after I seriously hurt my back. But I had to fight for medical attention. The managers of the warehouse didn’t care about my health or safety. They tried to prevent me from seeing a doctor. I fought and I won medical care, but I have seen a lot of my coworkers fired for similar injuries. They leave the warehouse hurt, with no job and no health care. We move goods for Walmart, but we are treated like we are disposable. To this day it makes me angry. That’s why I am joining with other workers and people who support us to end these inhumane working conditions. Together, we can improve the lives of the thousands of people who live with these conditions on a daily basis. Support warehouse workers and sign our letter to Walmart. We will deliver it to Walmart executives when we arrive in Los Angeles at the end of our march.

I recently watched the TV news program that described the huge food stores that the Mormon church maintains. Every day I see more reports that food pantries all over the US are empty and people are being sent away with nothing. The Mormons have a chance to make a huge difference for families that are suffering-even if they only donate a portion of the food they have stored.

Corporations are not the same as people, as the Supreme court ruled and, this unjust ruling needs to be overturned immediately. As it stands now, corporations are contributing hundreds of millions of dollars to the republican presidential campaign in an effort to "buy" this election. Actually, the corporations and their billions of dollars are attempting to steal the election from the American people by "buying" their politicians. If elected and once in office "their" politician will not have the best interest of the people nor of the country in general but, yes you guessed it, he will have the best interest of the corporations.

Until money does not equal free speech once again and corporations are not people we need this remedy.