Michigan Senate Bill 693 in the state Senate will create Michigan's health insurance exchange called the "MiHealth” marketplace. As mandated by the Affordable Care Act, all states are required to establish consumer-oriented health insurance marketplaces through which individuals and small businesses can purchase health insurance coverage starting in January 2014.

Because of the new protections in the Affordable Care Act, starting this year insurance companies are suppose to either spend 80% of all premium dollars on actual medical care, or give back to consumers what they don't spend. Michigan's Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation (OFIR) submitted a waiver request so that Michigan insurance companies would NOT have to comply for the nest three years.

Chemtrails are no longer a myth once thought to only be a figment of one's imagination. They are real and toxic chemicals are being sprayed onto us without our consent. These chemtrails are known to contain ethylene dibromide, aluminum, and Barium, which are all toxic to humans. The spraying must stop and those responsible must tell us why they are spraying toxic chemicals in our skies and be held accountable.

Corporations have been given citizenship by the supreme court in two rulings in the past 40 years...the most recent of which was Citizens United which gave corporations an unfettered ability to influence our political system. The other is a little known ruling Buckley v. Valeo (1976) upheld limits on campaign contributions, but held that spending money to influence elections is protected speech as in the first amendment. These two have created the current legislative environment we find ourselves in and its time for the 28th Amendment: Corporations are not citizens and DO NOT have the same rights as someone BORN a Citizen. It is Illegal for any Corporation, trade union, or other registered Organization to donate to candidates or otherwise attempt to influence elections or the legislative process.

My name is Peter Gigliotti and a graduate from Rowan University with a degree in Radio, TV and Film production. I was working at a local TV station by my house (which closes 6/8) as well as a delivery driver at a bakery, but make just enough to cover my loan payments. Although I have applied elsewhere, I have had no success in finding another job. Even going on unemployment, it will leave me having to find around $200 for loans. This leaves me with no money to save for me to get my own apartment, or in emergency cases. Even on my family's health care plan, I haven't been to my doctor in almost 2 years because I literally can't afford the co-pay to go. I would ask for my parents' help in matters like this, but I can't because they have one child in college and another to go in. They have given me so much, and I know if they could help me, they would. Plain and simple, I need help and I have no where else to turn. Thank you very much for your consideration and I hope to be able to thank you personally. If anyone would like to meet with me personally, I would like to sit down and discuss my situation further.

Occupy Wall Street and, locally, Occupy Bloomington have galvanized national attention to growing economic inequality, the erosion of the social safety net, and the political assault on public schools, unions, collective bargaining, and the environment. Join IUB faculty and staff in applauding the Occupy movement for acting as the public conscience and drawing attention to the larger collective good.

The British Virgin Islands has a Sea Turtle Hunting season December 1st through March 31st. They are legally allowed to harvest Hawksbill and Green Sea Turtles, both endangered animals. Hawksbill turtles (must be 15+inches carapace length) and Green turtles (24 +inches carapace length) but these sizes still put them in the late juvenile / sub-adult age and the fact they do not have a size limit is even worse since those are the ones probably nesting here but live elsewhere. There is a moratorium on loggerhead turtles, leatherback turtles, & all sea turtle eggs.

Reports are circulating that a settlement of the robo-signing case between the big Wall Street banks and the 50 state attorneys general will be announced as soon as NEXT WEEK. Early indications are that the settlement will amount to yet another UNCONSCIONABLE GIVEAWAY TO THE BANKS. The settlement will provide too little money to home owners, will require only trivial financial penalties for the banks, will not have sufficient enforcement mechanisms to ensure that the money banks ARE supposed to pay actually gets paid, and will distribute huge amounts of money to home owners who were NOT fraudulently foreclosed on, while falling far short of compensating victims for the actual losses they wrongly sustained. Worst, early reports indicate that the settlement will grant civil and/or criminal IMMUNITY to the Wall Street banks and their executives.

In 2006 Congress past house bill H.R. 2309 mandating prefunding of healthcare and retirement for the US Postal Service (USPS). The USPS retirement fund is now over paid by $47 billion, with 5.5 billion in required annual payments for retirement. Without this requirement there would be no USPS deficit. The Postal Service does not rely on taxpayer funds. If H.R. 2309 remains in effect it destroys the USPS and devastates the US Economy.

The South leads the country in new diagnoses of HIV/AIDS. Death rates in the South are among the highest in the US — 9 of the 10 states with the highest age-adjusted HIV case death rates are in the South. African Americans are disproportionally represented among new HIV diagnoses in the South. 50% of men and 71% of women diagnosed with HIV in the South were African American.

The current age to have automatic independent status to receive financial aid is 24. We would like to lower that age to 21 to accommodate more students who are currently unable to qualify for financial aid because they have to file as a dependent. Students should not be denied access to education based on their parents income when they can determine their independence prior to age 24.

Stores, Shops, Consumers and Community Minded Groups on St. John, Virgin Islands are comming together to help eliminate the more than 500,000 disposable plastic shopping bags that are discharged into the environment and waste stream of St. John, annually. #1. Shopper Pledge: We the undersigned shoppers and consumers pledge to remember to bring a reusable shopping bag with us into the store to eliminate the need to use a disposable plastic bag. #2. Store Pledge: We the undersigned Stores on St. John agree to support and encourage our customers to remember to "Bring A Bag" and, once our supplies are depleted, to stop giving away disposable plastic shopping bags. #3: Community Groups: We the undersigned community and environmental groups agree to support and encourage our members to participate in the St. John "Bring A Bag" Campaign