The NRA blocks reasonable gun safety legislation and wants military assault weapons, silencers and armor piercing bullets accessible with no background checks. Our elected officials must reject the NRA.

It is time to break the stranglehold the NRA has on our members of Congress! It is time for new gun control laws that reflect & benefit the citizenry, not gun manufacturers, nor their paid for Congressional stooges.

A woman has been fired because of something she did outside work. It went viral because of others, she did not post it. A (conservative) colleague of hers posted obscene comments about a liberal (libtard) on his social media page and he was not fired, he just had to remove them. Double standard: man vs woman, conservative vs liberal.

As one of the participants in the Federal 401 Lawsuit against WV DEP that demanded that WV DEP do its job and protect WV Citizens and it's Water Resources, I am more than appalled at the actions of WV DEP Chief Austin Caperton and WV DEP in reinstating the Stormwater Permit without adequate review for the MVP and by giving up their authority to protect our waters through the 401 water quality permit for both the MVP and the ACP. This is far and beyond the MVP or ACP or any pipeline, This is about whether West Virginians deserve Clean Water. You either stand up for clean water or you do not. I demand that Austin Caperton either resign or that Governor Justice fire him ASAP for his total disregard to WV citizens. I implore you to join me in that effort. WV DEP has some really great employees that are truly concerned about the environment, but the leadership needs to change and allow them to do their jobs. I call on all our lawmakers to publicly stand up for WV Citizen's right to clean water and a clean environment. Anyone that does not take this stand needs to be removed from office by the citizens of our state. Sincerely, Maury Johnson Greenville, Monroe County

SOMEONE is hating on Gucci the cat and we need to love her. (the cat that is)

Mass shootings in America are caused by those legally in our country and in nearly all cases, by American born citizens. Our representatives spend time and money on extreme vetting of people from specific counties in fear of terrorism but spend no time or money protecting us from domestic terrorism. We need background checks at all events in which people can buy fire arms, a registry for those who want semi-automatic guns or equipment that makes them fully automatic, a system that alerts local government when someone has purchased multiple weapons, restrictions on internet and gun show sales. Nearly every mass shooting since 1982 has been perforned using legally obtained guns.

November 5, 2017 Dear Honorable Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, There is concern that at various points in 2018 the Trump administration will not renew TPS (Temporary Protected Status) for the 10 countries that are currently in the program. On Friday, Nydia M. Velázquez introduced legislation in the House (H.R. 4253), the "American Promise Act," and it is imperative that the Senate do the same. Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, you sent a letter to DHS in July urging the extension of TPS designation for affected countries, and on Thursday you did so again on the behalf of Haiti, so I know you are ideal candidates to introduce legislation in the Senate. With action on DACA expected soon, it is important to counter Republican demands, especially the insane proposals of the President, with strong Democratic positions. In the horse-trading that is likely to ensue, the TPS program, like DACA, should not be compromised. As you note in your July letter, "Since its creation in the Immigration Act of 1990 nearly thirty years ago,[2] TPS has served the humanitarian purpose that Congress intended, offering protection and shelter to foreign nationals unable to safely return to their home countries due to natural disaster, armed conflict, or other extraordinary conditions. TPS also has helped to facilitate recovery and stabilization efforts, as countries can focus on rebuilding—often with the support of critically-needed remittances—without having to deal with the strain of reintegrating large numbers of returning nationals. In recent weeks, much has been said about the need to focus on the “temporary” nature of the TPS designation. It is true that although some TPS designations have been terminated in the past, other designations have lasted for a number of years. However, TPS has been granted sparingly over the past three decades and only in situations in which countries have been truly devastated by a natural disaster or are experiencing widespread armed conflict that poses a grave danger to the public. As a result, although the statute requires that the conditions justifying a grant of TPS be temporary, it nowhere presumes that the conditions will be short-lived and experience shows that it may take years for a country to get back on its feet—particularly when recovery efforts are hampered by subsequent calamities. Indeed, “temporary” in the context of natural disasters or armed conflict in countries with limited infrastructure and resources could reasonably mean many years. For countries such as El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, and Nepal, consecutive natural disasters, including deadly earthquakes and hurricanes, as well as outbreaks of infectious diseases, have hindered these countries’ efforts to adequately improve their infrastructure and rebuild their national economies. High levels of violence and citizen insecurity often compound and frustrate rebuilding efforts. While these countries have shown signs of recovery, tens or hundreds of thousands of returnees would overburden their food, housing, healthcare, and social service systems, potentially setting back the fragile progress they have made and triggering deleterious consequences for the entire region. For countries such as Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, sustained armed conflict has contributed to global human displacement reaching levels greater than after World War II. Attempting to return individuals to these war zones will inevitably cause great harm or even death." (Petitioner’s Note: According to a broadcast on NPR today, the fates of Honduras’s and Nicaragua’s TPS designations are to be decided tomorrow, November 6, 2017. The Department of Homeland Security ended Sudan’s TPS designation in September. It is now set to expire on November 2, 2018. South Sudan was not ended, but only extended to May 2, 2019.) The reasons to continue granting TPS designations are not just humanitarian but economic: both for the United States economy and the economies of the rebuilding home countries. In an April report, the Immigration Legal Resource Center estimated the economic consequences of terminating TPS for El Salvador, Honduras, and Haiti. Among the key findings of the report: ▪ "There are approximately 186,403 Salvadorans, 70,281Hondurans, and 46,558 Haitians who currently hold a valid grant of TPS, for a total of approximately 300,000 individuals. ▪ Deporting all Salvadoran, Honduran, and Haitian TPS holders would cost taxpayers $3.1 billion dollars. ▪ Ending TPS for thes three countries would result in a $6.9 billion reduction to Social Security and Medicare contributions over a decade. ▪ Ending TPS for these three countries would lead to a $45.2 billion reduction in GDP over a decade. ▪ The wholesale lay-off of the entire employed TPS population from these three countries would result in $967 million of turnover costs, e.g. costs employers incur when an employee leaves a position. ▪ The loss in GDP and turnover costs would be felt most acutely in the locations where Salvadorans, Hondurans, and Haitians are primarily located, including major metropolitan areas in Florida, New York, California, Texas, Maryland, and Virginia." As your July letter points out, "Haitians with TPS employed in nursing homes and as home health aides are filling a critical gap in chronically understaffed healthcare fields.[5]” According to a report by the North American Congress on Latin America, "remittances sent home to families in their country of origin are often a lifeline in otherwise grim economic circumstances and . . . have become a vital national economic pillar. Between El Salvador ($4.0 billion), Honduras ($3.3 billion), and Haiti ($1.34 billion), for example, remittances in 2016 totaled over $8.6 billion." It should be pointed out too, as Ted Lieu (D-California, a co-sponsor of Velázquez's American Promise Act) did in Friday's press release, that 275,000 American-born children will be affected should thei...

I want to stop the NRA from running our country.

My wife's nervous system was damaged from exposure to non-ionizing microwave radiation in 2010 forcing me to learn more than I would like to understand about biology and microwave radiation. 5G is the technology that promises to connect everything we buy with everything we've already bought (the internet of things) facilitating the sale of personal info to corporations and increasing global warming because of the massive amount of power needed for data storage and microwave emissions. At the federal level, there are various bills under consideration designed to strip local authorities of their ability to make informed decisions about 5G's enormous infrastructure, including the SPEED Act (S.1988). Now is the moment for any MA towns who have not updated their by-laws to preclude installation of small cells on light poles in people's front yards in close proximity to pregnant women, children and other vulnerable populations while diminishing the re-sale value for whatever homeowner is unlucky enough to have an antenna hung outside their bedroom window. Randolph, MA has a good template. Fiber-optic and other high-speed wired connections to the home use less energy and are safe. More at whatis5G.info https://ehtrust.org/?s=small+cells and ptco.org/emf

A 287(g) certification is harmful for Dakota County. In general, deputized officers are authorized to: •interview individuals to ascertain their immigration status; •check DHS databases for information on individuals; •issue immigration detainers to hold individuals until ICE takes custody; •enter data into ICE’s database and case management system; •issue a Notice to Appear (NTA), the official charging document that begins the removal process; •make recommendations for voluntary departure in place of formal removal proceedings; •make recommendations for detention and immigration bond; and •transfer noncitizens into ICE custody. A study by the University of North Carolina School of Law and American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina (ACLU-NC) found that “287(g) encourages, or at the very least tolerates, racial profiling and baseless stereotyping, resulting in the harassment of local residents and the isolation of an increasingly marginalized community.” Please join us and urge the Dakota County Sheriff's office to withdraw their application to become 287(g) certified.

America's gun homicide rate is more than 25 times the average of other developed countries. We can no longer remain silent while our fellow Americans die. We will not stay silent and continue to let the NRA and its money dominate the conversation and prevent research, dialogue, and responsible regulation.

Leaked documents included in the so-called "Paradise Papers," a trove of information about the offshore tax havens of some of the world's largest corporations and wealthiest people, have revealed that billionaire Wilbur Ross, a friend of Trump and currently Commerce Secretary in his administration, hid his current business dealings with Vladimir Putin's son-in-law. Ross is now understood to be involved in a financially lucrative shipping venture with Russian individuals currently under U.S. sanctions. This news comes as the Trump Russia investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller intensifies. There is no possible way for Ross to remain commerce secretary--and attend in a trustworthy manner to our nation's business--with such intense Russian entanglements and conflicts of interest. It's clear: #WilburGottaGo!