Keep a good, hard-working, Commissioner on the job for all of us! Good Government is Responsive, Efficient, Accountable, Transparent and Local. It takes dedication, creativity AND common sense to Do More With Less. www.LynnPadgettForOurayCounty.org

Everyone uses hot water for bathing, cleaning, etc, yet less than 1% of homeowners use solar energy to heat that water. This low participation is costing 80 million homeowners about $43 billion each year. This petition is to our federal lawmakers to provide a 20 year loan to any willing homeowner to purchase a solar water heating system with no up-front money required. The savings would be double the loan payment. In other words homeowners make money even during the payback period. Based on 60 million homeowners and 5 hours of sunshine per day, some of the benefits include creating a million jobs, save homeowners over 1/4 electric bill, lower coal consumption by 1/8 US yearly output, reduce CO2 pollution equal to removing 25 million cars, offset 120 power plants of 250 megawatts each. This will start a culture of real solar energy use as our economics and environment demand.

Groups like Karl Rove's Crossroads GPS and the Koch brothers' Americans for Prosperity have escaped disclosing their donors by disguising their democracy-damaging groups as so-called "social welfare" organizations–meaning they can keep their donors completely secret. A group of Democratic senators asked the IRS to step up enforcement on these groups, and the tea party and extreme right wing are not happy. We all need to take a stand with our fellow progressives to build public support now. Sign our petition to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to direct the IRS to rigorously enforce the law regarding political groups masquerading as "social welfare" organizations.

My petition is about the food safety in America. Almost everything we eat today is Genetically Engineered, without any study having been done on its safety or lack of! 5o countries, which include all the European countries, India, Africa amongst them, have either banned the sale of these foods, or they have laws to insure that the consumer is aware of these foods. However in U.S. majority of people aren't even aware of this issue, and it is even effecting the so called "organic foods", because of the seeds farmers use, and many other factors. I am not a scientist, but I know when I hear that they are working on an apple that will not turn brown once it's cut, it is time to speak up and say we have the right to know! thank you

The difference between society and jungle is the health care and how the health care works. If the health care is only for the reach, this is human jungle. If the health care is for every one and the doctors don't look at you as at piggy bank, this is society. The health care is necessity as air and water. It's basic human right part of the right of life.

In 1999 I ran for city council in Indianapolis with a friend who was running for mayor. A principal plank in the platform was to have the city of Indianapolis enact an ordinance requiring the city-county governments to pay living wages to all its employees. Although our party (which we called Our Party) was not elected, we were effective in raising awareness of the issue in Indianapolis and the successful candidate for mayor did raise city workers' wages as much as $4,000.00 a year for some employees and later raised county workers pay and equal amount.

Seeking to extend Debt and Tax Forgiveness legislation to help protect homeowners attempting to modify or settle on existing home loans or through the Short sale or foreclosure processes. Many of these protections, both Federal and State are set to expire at the end of 2012. Allowing this to happen with only extend the recession and keep the Real Estate market deflated and stagnant. There are an enormous number of people in this country who are still caught up in underwater properties and our economic recession will not improve until something more is done and allowing these to expire will most certainly have a negative affect on any recovery. This legislation makes it more feasible for homeowners facing tough decisions to attempt to work with lenders to find acceptable terms and protects the homeowner from unfair and often unknown tax liabilities when trying to better their economic situation caused by the Real Estate collapse. My wife and I own a severely underwater property in Ventura, California and are seeking to modify our loans or possibly obtain a Principal Reduction on the first and/or a settlement on the Second so we can stay in the home we love. I was laid off from a job in the Architectural community almost three years ago so my income dropped by roughly 75% and we have been struggling to make or mortgage payments ever since then. If we are able to get a principle reduction (after 2012) we will face a Tax liability from the Government (in the form of a 1099) which seems like adding insult to injury as we have been so negatively affected by the role the banks played in this collapse and our household income was so drastically reduced. We are left with few options other than short sale or foreclosure, however if the Legislation is not extended we face the ominous threat of a civil action to attempt to collect after that process as well. It is nearly a no win situation for homeowners like us if we allow these protections to expire. Everyone who owns a property is affected if we allow this trend to continue. The Real Estate market affects the entire economy, regardless of if you are underwater on a property or not; this affects your homes value.

Pe' Sla, a part of the Black Hills that is the sacred center of the Sioux people, is slated to be divided into five 300-acre tracts and sold to developers at an auction. Urge the owners to sell it to the Sioux people to maintain their holy site.

Just like so many families, our kids love the popular toys made by Fisher Price, Hasbro, & Mattel. When they play, we want them to have fun, use their imaginations, and learn. But as their parents, we can't ignore the fact that each & every plastic toy is (in a few short years) bound to spend the rest of it's life in a landfill. These toys will not be recycled because they are not designed with that in mind. They will remain on the earth forever. It's time to change.

Not able to afford Cobra

Judge Jacqueline Hatch would dare blame the victim of a sexual assault for the attack, and declined to give the police officer convicted of assaulting her a jail sentence or have him register as a sex offender. As an individual who worked in a rape crisis center as part of my internship while obtaining my bachelors degree in social work, I heard statements similar to those of Judge Hatch by nurses and others in professional positions that indicated their belief that "had the victim not been dressed like that, or been in that place at that time" she wouldn't have been raped. Judge Hatch's statements are no different and no less outrageous and demeaning to victims of sexual assault everywhere. Governor Jan Brewer appointed Judge Hatch to the Arizona Superior Court in Coconino County and should be called upon to censure her!

Rep Steve King compared immigrants to dogs and said that they should have taken that as a compliment. I am not okay with this. People are people no matter skin color or anything else. He should apologize!! NO EXCUSE