The congressional committee that shut all women out of the hearings about women's medical health was shocking and reprehensible. It should be illegal to legislate on women - and other types of people - without representation.

To refuse the help from the Federal Government to those most in need is to choose to keep them struggling under your watch. Governor Deal, do the right thing for the right reasons, regardless of politics. These are citizens of your state, and they need the help. To refuse "the least of these" is to refuse Jesus, as a Governor who claims his Christian faith as a political platform.

In Maryland and many other states if a citizen has ever been convicted of a felony no matter how small or how long ago many of that citizens right are restricted. The only appeal available is to the governor who does not sign pardons. Well maybe once in a blue moon. After 10, 20, or 30 years of having a clean record and having contributed to society a citizen should be able to apply for pardon to a judge or more local representative who would by established criteria grant or reject the application.

I do not want to see coal trains passing through our state. Coal is hazardous to mine, to transport and to burn.

Don't forget Jack Abramoff--right from the horse's mouth. After doing time in a federal penitentiary, former corrupt big time lobbyist Jack Abramoff has come clean to offer a solution to the corruption in our nations capitol. Kick the lobbyists out. Make it illegal and a conflict of interest to accept huge salaries or any amount of compensation in any form during or after the completion of their terms in our nations Senate or House of Representatives from companies who have benefited directly from their time in office. Currently, it is legal to offer fat paying jobs to Senators and Congressmen upon completion of their elected terms, to do the bidding of corporations and Wall Street while an active senator or congressman. Let's make this blatant conflict of interest illegal! Also, stop the revolving door of corruption and make it illegal to hold a public office when it calls into question a conflict of interest. For example, if a publicly held office has the potential to benefit a company that a senator or congressman or any government official has worked for in the past, or has held or currently holds financial interest in or will in the future in the form of a job when their term is up. Like many in the FDA and EPA who have in the past worked for Monsanto for example.

Use Solar Cells to charge our electric cars...

Folks in Alaska are furious upon learning that we hold the dubious honor of making the deepest education cuts of any state in the country. Alaska will spend $533 less per student this year, meaning fewer services and programs for students and making the education gap worse.

In 2010, my then nine year-old child came forward with information of sexual abuse which occurred at the hands of her father. Children and Youth found her father guilty of penetration (this was pre the change in the definition of rape), in August of 2010. He was initially charged with three criminal aggravated sexual assault counts, and held in state prison for over a year, as the new charges were a violation of his probation (he was on parole out of NV for drug trafficking, unbeknownst to me). However, the DA dropped the sex charges in Sept. 2011, because as they told me, "he had passed a lie detector test." Now, since his release from prison in Dec. 2011, I have had to pay $5,000 (my house tax monies) to legally keep my child from her rapist. $2500 was for the lawyer to file and attend the pfa hearing (pfa=restraining order), and another $2500 for when he filed an appeal on the PFA (even though he only filed the appeal and never actually went through with doing his end of the paperwork). My issue is this, if the State of Pennsylvania's Children and Youth found this man guilty of penetration (rape in my book, and also as defined by the Admin's new definition of rape), why is there even any discussion of him still having any rights to my child? Why must I pay to fight for what has been proven true? And what about parents who don't have the money for lawyers? Not to mention, all the atate would thus offer my child, protection wise, was a maximum of a three-year PFA (which we were lucky to get as it's up the the sitting judge's discretion). So that means, as it stands now, in three more years, my child must once again, go through another whole day in court, testifying about what this monster had done to her. It's simply not fair. Not only is it not fair to her, but it's not fair for the other children in similar situations. I would not want to see any other parent have to fight so hard for what is their child's God given right, a right of savoring their innocence. For children, and even adults, to come forward with such horrific events is challenging to say the least, and I feel it is nothing more then a punishment for the state to force them to relive their horrific events every several years, especially when their own state's Children and Youth found the child credible and the perpetrator's, guilty, of committing the act(s). Please help me continue in protecting my own child, as well as the many others' in the same situation in the state of Pennsylvania. Thank you and God bless

Our sentencing for drug and property crimes is out of control and strips away any meaningful rehabilitative chances from our fellow human beings who are afflicted with addiction issues. We are creating a society of people with records who can't find life sustaining employment, housing or success when they have served their time, further eroding our communnities.

Americans should have the right to know what's in their food. About 20 years ago, the FDA denied consumers the right to know whether their food was genetically altered or not. This regulation was introduced by Michael Taylor, a former Monsanto lawyer who transferred into the offices of the FDA. California now has Prop 37 on the ballot for November 6th, to pass GMO labeling. Our petition, which will go to The White House, will strengthen the message for nationwide change.

I believe it is unethical and inhumane to ship Vermont inmates out of Vermont where they will no longer even have the limited contact with their loved ones, children, spouses and support networks that they have access to n Vermont. My son is my only child and has been shipped to KY where I lack to funds to visit or even pay for phone calls. I have had cancer in the past two years and this is extremely difficult.

Last year, we saw one of the worst droughts in history: Reservoirs dipped to record-lows. Stretches of the Rio Grande, Brazos and Guadalupe rivers ran dry. As many as 500 million trees across Texas died. And we're not out of the woods yet: 72% of Texas is still in drought and 11 reservoirs are still less than 10 percent full. Meanwhile, billions of gallons of water are withdrawn from our rivers every year only to be wasted, as drilling companies fail to recycle their wastewater, agribusinesses waste water in unlined ditches, and power companies forego modern technologies in favor of outdated methods. As these companies sap two-thirds of Texas' water, it's become all too clear: Individual action is not enough to solve our problems long-term. To get the job done, we need our lawmakers in Austin to crack down on our worst corporate water hogs.