Due to the collapse of the U.S. housing bubble in 2007 and the global financial crisis that followed in 2008, millions of Americans (including myself) have struggled to survive and are loosing patience with the recovery. This Great Recession will not really end and housing will not recover until well paying jobs with decent benefits are created again. A "National Renewable Energy Jobs Program" is the stimulus that our country needs. We must create local jobs in every region of America in the following ways: • Building or remodeling factories to make renewable energy systems such as wind turbines and solar panels. The rest of the world needs to make and use their own renewable energy systems so that our planet will become sustainable everywhere. • Building “Renewable Energy Farms” and completing a “Smart Grid” to utilize the energies in every region. As an example, the Midwest might use wind power and bio-fuels while the Southwest might use solar and geothermal power. • Funding with “Energy Security Bonds” that would allow U.S. corporations and wealthy individuals to reinvest their offshore accounts back into America. After converting our country into a "Renewable Energy Economy", all of the assets can be privatized and the bonds retired. From a business perspective this program will produce a great “Triple Bottom Line.” There will be excellent environmental benefits in significantly reduced pollution, huge economic benefits from increased revenues & vast social benefits from job creation. And last of all, provide us with the freedom to improve our lives and to help rebuild our country so that future generations will remember to never underestimate the capabilities of the United States of America.

2 billion dollars of OUR money is given to the BIG 5 oil companies every year. These companies are raking in record profits. That money woul dbe better spent by hiring teachers in math and science to improve scores in public schools.

The Archbishop of Newark just sent a pastoral letter, addressed to over 1 million Catholics in his archdiocese, demanding that Catholics who support marriage equality refrain from receiving Holy Communion. This is a step too far. It's one thing for the bishops to pursue an increasingly conservative political agenda. It's quite another to wield the Blessed Sacrament as a political weapon against anyone who disagrees. We need a huge public outcry to show Archbishop John Myers that his new position is unacceptable, or we risk other bishops joining him–and millions of faithful Catholics being denied Holy Communion.

Under an "At Will" contract in the State of California an employee can be terminated with no notice, no pay in lieu and no reason given for the termination, no matter how long they've worked for the company. This has happened to me three times now. I believe that this is ethically wrong. An employee has the right to know why they are being terminated and to be given an opportunity to defend themselves or put right any grievances that the employer may have against them. I had no feedback at all from my employer as to why I was being terminated, and this is very detrimental to my future employment prospects, as if I don't know what's wrong I can't improve my performance. Plus I am emotionally traumatized by these events, and with the lack of information it's hard to move on. I would like the State of California (and other states if appropriate) to enact new laws protecting employee rights, stating that an employee has the right to have: 1. A valid reason for their termination. 2. A chance to petition the employer for reconsideration. 3. Written warning before termination, and the opportunity to put right any performance-related issues before termination is considered.

There is far too much ignorance about hunger today. Too much demonization of the poor who are on SNAP and too much disinformation by those who know little about what being on Food Stamps is really like.

I would like to see that we have the right to die without suffering in the state of Arizona with the aid of a Seconal induced peaceful way out for the terminally ill or incapacitated individual(s) who may be suffering far more than needed.

Drones are operated by people sitting in front of a computer, like someone playing a video game. Their targets are supposed to be military, but many civilians have been killed. The people operating the drones have no picture of the unnecessary pain and suffering they are causing. Michelle Obama has her husband's ear in a way that no one else does. I know she cares about the children and their families that are being killed and made homeless. Let's ask her to tell Barack that he must call off the drones.

Public education all across America is under attack. Their plan is simple, make teachers & teachers' unions appear to be the reason public schools are failing in America, then use that anger to privatize America's most successful public resource. Please sign our petition in support of Teachers, their Unions and their support of educating America's children.

Community Education Task Force (CETF) members have asked that the Rochester Board of Education compel Comissioner Mary Adams to issue an apology for behavior unbecoming of an elected official. I urge you to sign this letter in support of Commissioner Adams' right to due process and in opposition to the the dubious tactics employed by CETF in pursuing their grievance.

RESOLUTION OF U.S. CONFERENCE OF MAYORS WHEREAS, Americans believe that women should be able to consult with their doctor, family, and faith about personal, private medical decisions; and WHEREAS, states enacted twice as many anti-choice laws in 2011 as they did in the previous year, including laws that force women who choose abortion care to undergo a forced ultrasound procedure against their will and even if their doctors do not recommend one; and WHEREAS, eight states since 2010 have enacted laws that ban abortion at 20 weeks, regardless of the women’s situation, without exceptions to protect her health, and in violation of the right to privacy guaranteed under Roe v. Wade; and WHEREAS, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to defund Title X, the only federal program exclusively dedicated to family-planning and reproductive-health care, and Planned Parenthood, jeopardizing access to birth control, cancer screenings, and other basic health care for millions of Americans; and WHEREAS, the U.S. House of Representatives also passed a bill that could spur the Internal Revenue Service to audit rape survivors who choose abortion care and another bill that would allow hospitals to refuse emergency abortion care to women who could die without it; and WHEREAS, the debate around women’s access to reproductive-health services, like contraception, has drawn offensive rhetoric; and WHEREAS, reproductive-health care and the overwhelming majority of services provided by Planned Parenthood health centers is basic health care for women, including cancer screenings and breast exams; and WHEREAS, for many women with limited incomes, Planned Parenthood clinics are their point of entry into the health care system and their ongoing source of primary care services; and WHEREAS, if these services disappear, more women are likely to contract diseases that will imperil their lives and lead to highly expensive Medicaid and Medicare bills borne by taxpayers; and WHEREAS, these programs are essential to reducing rates of unintended pregnancy and preventing the increase of the number of women with cervical and breast cancers who are not diagnosed until the cancers are in the late stages; and NOW THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the U.S. Conference of Mayors affirms the importance of women’s reproductive rights; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the U.S. Conference of Mayors urges Congress and the states to pursue a positive agenda that reaffirms fundamental rights and improves women’s access to safe and comprehensive reproductive-health care. RESOLUTION ADOPTED JUNE 2012

There is no polite way to avoid it. Our waters are in need of some straight talk about an unsavory subject: Chicken poop. And lots of it. Polluting the Chesapeake Bay. Every single year. We can't avoid it because every year, factory farms raise hundreds of millions of chickens in Maryland. The millions of pounds of manure from those birds continue to be one of the biggest sources of pollution into the Chesapeake Bay. Pollution from all those chickens and other sources creates a vast dead zone in the Bay each year where fish and wildlife perish. Use this petition to send a message to the EPA telling them to keep factory farm manure from polluting Maryland's waters and the Chesapeake Bay. Right now, agricultural runoff containing nitrogen, phosphorous, pathogens and hormones is contaminating the Bay's tributaries like the Choptank River and threatening Marylanders' health. That's why we're calling on the EPA to require that all giant factory farms (or concentrated animal feeding operations, aka "CAFOs") be held accountable for their runoff and obtain a permit to pollute. Sign our petition now and keep Big Ag's waste out of our waters. You'd think giant agribusiness polluters like Perdue wouldn't be chicken about taking responsibility for their waste. But Big Ag and mega-chicken and hog operations across the Bay’s watershed are fighting tooth and nail to use our waterways as their personal sewer system. Thanks to the polluters' squawking, the EPA halted a measure earlier this year to better identify and monitor giant factory farms. This was a big set back for the recovery of the Chesapeake Bay. We can't let that happen again. If enough people send the EPA the message to limit pollution from factory farms, we can take a huge step forward towards protecting the health of our waters. It's going to take your help, but I'm confident we can cut the chicken crud and keep the Chesapeake Bay on a path to restoration.

Staffer's partaking in the Tomahawk" rally after the debate between the Senator and Elizabeth Warren should be fired. They are government employees, consequently paid by taxpayers. Their actions were intolerable as government employees of a US senator- no matter the political party of a member of the US Congress.