Anyone in his or her 40s, 50s, and 60s who has been forced out into the job market again by a layoff in this economy, knows how hard it is to find a new job and how prevalent the practice is of circumventing equal employment opportunity laws by 'prescreening' applicants by asking for their birthdate. It's time this blatantly discriminatory practice came to an end.

Several provisions of Alabama's disgraceful anti-immigration law were found unconstitutional in a series of rulings by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. They include invalidating any contracts with undocumented immigrants (making it virtually impossible to get a lease), harboring illegal aliens and the requirement that parents and students disclose their legal status to enroll in school. Days ago, Governor Bentley announced his decision to appeal the ruling to the full Court "based on principle"–claiming that Alabama must defend its rights against federal intrusion. The call for states rights' is a time-honored tradition for laws that oppress and disenfranchise people of all types in the southern United States. It is time for Alabama to accept the widely-held and fully constitutional "principles" that all children have a right to education and all people a right to shelter free of discrimination, harassment or fear. And it is time for Alabama to quit wasting money it doesn't have defending the indefensible on a fool's errand in court.

I've had a student loan since 1989. Due to school bankruptcy the schooling was interrupted: finished at another school, but without any benefit of placement. I have never worked in this field as a result and never netted a thin dime. Due to overwhelming circumstances I been able to pay very little, and the interest has grown exponentially. Now I'm retired on Social Security and DOE has taken a federal offset from my benefits to pay the loan. This works a real hardship with less than 900 to live on.

Candidates running unopposed.

"The Innocence of Muslims" is a dehumanizing and violence-inciting piece of extremist propaganda got several Americans killed in Libya and is resulting in a rash of protests across the Middle East. Google has a social and political responsibility to remove the video from YouTube.

Our Congress will remain stalemated as long as members pledge loyalty to Grover Norquist. Pledges to him must be rejected. Some new taxes are needed to overcome the recession and reduce the deficit.

States receive billions of dollars in tobacco taxes, but very little of it is actually spent on tobacco prevention and health issues. We should demand the government provide transparent information showing people they are being taxed for a good reason.

I think everyone is affected when churches campaign for a specific individual and/or party. There should be separation of church and state. No one enforces the law as it stands.

Mountain Roll-offs, Inc. (MRI) has filed their FINAL APPLICATION to build a “Solid Waste Transfer Station” at the old Mid-Continent Mine Building east of Carbondale, Colorado. Our concerns include but are not limited to pollution of all kinds, traffic, safety, fires, recreation, and what is to come in the future. Please join the us before Monday November 19th in opposition to this facility and tell our county commissioners NO! Get the facts at www.donttrashcarbondale.org.

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.