The Supreme Court has made clear in such decisions as Citizens United and Buckley v Valeo that the First Amendment to the Constitution prevents Congress from restricting the rights of individuals and organizations, including corporations, to finance political campaigns and issue advocacy. Therefore the only way to eliminate the influence of money on American politics is to pass a new amendment to the Constitution.

New York's chief judge Jonathan Lippman is planning to propose that 16- and 17-year-olds be tried in family courts. There, their records will be sealed and their chances of being arrested again will decrease. Sign this position to support the change of the age of criminal responsibility in New York from 16 to 18. New York State is one of only two states in the country in which 16-year-olds are tried as adults. The other is North Carolina, and this year lawmakers there have proposed legislation to move these cases to juvenile courts. In eleven states, the age of criminal responsibility begins at 17. In the 37 remaining states (and the District of Columbia), the age is 18. Most recent scientific studies support the trial of those under-18 as juveniles, not adults. They have confirmed that the human brain continues to develop into an individual's twenties, and that the frontal lobe remains undeveloped in teenagers, making them less capable of making reasoned decisions, resisting peer pressure, and controlling impulses than adults. Each year, around 45-50,000 16- and 17-year-olds are tried as adults in New York, with the vast majority of them having committed nonviolent crimes. However, this leads to more recidivism, as adolescents tried as adults are more likely to commit crimes in the future. The New York State law was established in 1962, when lawmakers passed the Family Court Act. The age was set at 16 as a temporary measure, to be reviewed after research and public hearings were conducted. But it never was, and the issue has never been revisited.

Some 30 years ago I watched the Independence Day parade from Monmouth to Independence, OR... Small town America swelling from a combined population of 12,000 to over 45,000 participants and spectators for the full day of USA Independence Day celebration beginning with the fire hall breakfast and then a 2 1/2 mile parade that everyone is welcome to join. I thought... “What if 45,000 people we're to turn out for INTERDEPENDENCE DAY???” ~~~ International Interdependence Day, a global tribute to the importance of recognizing our inter-connectedness... It became the Zambian Model UN recommendation at the Model United Nations National General Assembly as brought forward by American International School Lusaka high school student, Merijn Zbynek Cornelis Wijchers, (from The Netherlands) in November, 2001. Sent on to the Model UN files in NYC, it went into storage... Let's bring it back to life and make it happen! It's about time!!!

The largest rollback in voting rights in over a century is now underway. A wave of restrictive laws passed in 13 states will mean that next year as many as 5 million Americans could find voting difficult, and even impossible. With even more states considering such legislation, the voting rights of over 21 million Americans nationwide could come under attack. In 2011, 38 states proposed legislation designed to make it harder to vote at every step of the process. New laws restrict the forms of ID allowed to vote, reduce early voting, place restrictions on voter registration, and deny voting rights to Americans with criminal records who have paid their debt to society—measures that disproportionately impact African Americans, Latinos, senior citizens, people with disabilities, and young voters. Sign this petition to Attorney General Eric Holder asking the Justice Department to enforce the Voting Rights Act and intervene to stop discriminatory voting laws. Visit advancementproject.org for more information on protecting our voting rights.

There have been so many lies spread about President Obama - both personally and professionally. A website has been created in Palm Beach County whose soul intention is to tell the truth about the accomplishment of this President and to state the "pants on fire" and other lies spread and point the finger at the person who spread the lies.

Occupy Vancouver is doing meaningful work for democracy and needs to be supported. Many people can't make it down there but need somewhere to express their support.

* Ask retailers to carry at least 10% of their apparel from Made in the USA sources * Ask consumers to buy ONE made in the USA t-shirt in 2012

We are standing together as one to bring democracy back and not a dictatorship!!!

The tax cap in New York can be overridden by a 60% vote. Stop the cuts, preserve our way of life. Pledge to override the cap!

The DEA misclassified Cannabis (marijuana) as a Schedule I forbidden drug (same scheduling as heroin) in 1970. This has never been corrected and Cannabis cannot become federally legal until it is rescheduled by Congress or by the U S Attorney General.

Congress is poised to cut medicare, social security, medicaid, planned parenthood and other key social programs. Taxpayers pay for high salaries, benefits, pensions for Members of Congress. We demand that Congress begin its budget-cutting by: 1. Reducing their salaries by 40%. 2. Eliminating all pensions, including former members, but enabling them to be eligible for social secuirty. 3. Eliminate free gym and other privileges. 4. Eliminate Congress's taxpayer subsidized health care, mandating they purchase healthcare insurance from their home states. Taxpayers can no longer afford these costs.

This country is a country of immigrants. We need comprehensive immigration reform WITH a pathway to citizenship. Mass deportations that separate families and detentions in private prisons for the sole purpose of profit are inhumane. I encourage Obama to keep his campaign promise to push for immigration reform.