Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the US. Over HALF A MILLION PEOPLE die of cancer annually. Currently, our grueling and generally ineffective treatment methods cost us over $80 Billion in direct medical care costs alone, and are a major burden on our healthcare system. Everyone has over a 40% lifetime risk of getting cancer themselves, yet compared to our annual military expenditures of over $600 Billion, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) funding for basic biomedical research to find the cure for cancer is just a miniscule $5 Billion! President Obama and Congress, please recognize that a well funded and intensive basic research program to find the cure for cancer once and for all, would be of immense value to our society. Eliminating the huge burden this insidious disease costs us all - loss of productivity, spiraling healthcare costs, and the emotional pain to sufferers and their families - is now within the realm of current biomedical technology. But, it is a difficult job that requires the full and intensive dedication to research for an effective solution, not the relative "drop in the bucket" which it has been allocated over the years. For example, if just half of the military budget of the US was redirected to the NCI, that would result in a 60-FOLD increase in funding available to basic research! I am sure the military would still be able to protect our country with $300 Billion annually, and then finally we could rid ourselves of this disease which kills more people than all wars ever combined, yet remains as the greatest unsolved problem in medicine. Thank you for your understanding and timely action to implement this solution.

1. Senators serve terms of six years each; the terms are staggered so that approximately one-third of the seats are up for election every two years. After a total of twelve years the Senator must retire from service. Or term limit like the President should be considered. 2. Two years is the length of a term in the US House of Representatives. After a total of twelve years the Congressman must retire from service. Or term limit like the President should be considered. 3. No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office. 4. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security. All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose. 5. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan (401K, IRA or Roth IRA), just as all Americans do. 6. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%. 7. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people. 8. Congress can purchase/pay their own health care plan, just as all Americans do. 9. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/14. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen. Congressmen made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work.

We stand with President Obama, our democratic allies, and members of both parties in supporting direct US action to stop chemical weapons attacks in Syria. 1) Bashar al-Assad's forces have used chemical weapons to target and kill innocent civilians. The evidence is clear and has been verified by the US, UK, France, NATO and other allies. 2) The US must act now to prevent and deter the use and proliferation of chemical weapons, and degrade the Assad regime’s capacity to carry out future chemical weapons attacks against civilians. 3) The request is NOT for an open-ended intervention. The request is NOT for US boots on the ground. 4) The US simply cannot allow rogue regimes to use chemical weapons. Most of the victims of the August 21 attack were women and children. They suffered from asphyxiation, muscle spasms, excessive salivating, and myosis. And now families are torn apart, and civilians across the country and the region are living in fear of poison gas attacks. 5) Who will stand up for these victims? And for these civilians living in fear? Russia will not help, as they have blocked even vague statements from the UN condemning chemical weapons. 6) Allowing the status quo to continue will allow Assad, and any terrorists who get their hands on chemical weapons, to use them again, knowing that the US has stepped down from its responsibility to protect against them. 7) The people of Syria need a chance at democracy - not chemistry. And whether or not you believe US action will help the war -- we believe it will -- you must stand up for the value of life and the urgency of stopping the use and proliferation of chemical weapons in Syria.

Sara May-Silfee, Monroe County's Director of Elections and Voter Registrations, we urge you to protect the integrity of elections in our County by joining with your counterparts in other counties across Pennsylvania and refuse to enforce the flawed new Voter ID law. Like similar laws across the nation, its proponents claim the purpose of the law is to prevent In-Person Voter Fraud. It is now well known that our new PA Voter ID law, like many recently enacted across the nation, was introduced not to stop voter fraud, but rather to disenfranchise minority, student and elderly voters. It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of voters would be turned away from the polls in PA if it were to be enforced. Philadelphia election officials "expect a mess". It has just been established in a Pennsylvania State Court, that there has never been a single prosecution -- in fact, there has never even been an investigation -- of anyone, ever even attempting to commit in-person voter fraud in PA. Not one. Not Ever. Not in the entire the history of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Official In Charge Of Pennsylvania Voter ID Law: 'I Don't Know What The Law Says http://bit.ly/N97eZZ Talking Points Memo, July 31, 2012 Philadelphia election official is "anticipating a mess" over photo ID law http://bit.ly/NKRXna Philadelphia Inquirer, Aug 2, 2012 Voter ID law may affect more Pennsylvanians than previously estimated http://bit.ly/OcwbDK The Philadelphia Inquirer, July 5, 2012 Delco election official vows to defy ID law http://bit.ly/P6tSlk Philadelphia Inquirer, July 28, 2012

I am an owner of a Dodge Durango that we purchased less than 2 years ago. At 5 in the morning I was on my way to the hospital for my 1 year old to get tubes in her when my Durango made a huge clanking sound and lost all power from the engine. I was in town and thankfully was only going 25 miles an hour, or it could have been worse. My husband is a mechanic and diagnosed it, as the Hemi engine throwing two rods into the pistons causing the engine to stop. Meaning the engine was trashed. We did some research on the internet and found that there are over a hundred thousand similar problems with these engines. I decided to call Dodge and see what they could do since I have a loan on this vehicle and now cannot drive it. They denied my request for help stating that it was a "owners neglect" problem and there was nothing they could do. I asked to speak with someone above her and she transferred me to a supervisor who said the same thing. I called again and submitted another request and got denied again. I explained that we did upkeep and preventative maintenance on it as schedule and it was our family vehicle and we did not "hot-rod" it. I also explained that there were hundreds of thousands of people who have had this same problem, but Dodge did not want to hear it. Like I said before, I have a loan on this vehicle that I am still paying for, I cannot afford to put a new engine in it, without some help! I would like Dodge to just acknowledge the problem and help there customers.

'IPO' Initial Public Offering. IPO is meant for general public to invest. Then why it goes to underwriters as First primary market and they distribute as they like among their portfolio subscriber ? And after that it comes to secondary market. Its not fare game. If IPO is meant for big investor's profit then it should not be known as IPO. It should not come to Secondary market. As they decide for what price they want to trade in Secondary market. If 3-5 firms are working as underwriters and sub companies then they can manipulate market within few seconds to Soar Up the prices in secondary market. This should be changed. As a normal investor I want to buy IPO of Facebook right now as of its coming. But I can not as I am very small investor who is not having BIG wealth to even get an account with Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan kind of big companies. And they are handling IPO right now. This is just One example. This is happening with public all the time during IPO. IPO should be available for Secondary market as for Primary market at same time. And company should fix the Price Band with the help of Security Exchange Commission or Board. And it should be allotted by Lottery system to the public who have bid on that. It should be easily available to apply for IPO from their trading account. So it can become fare game. Otherwise big people / companies will loot money as always. Please look into the matter. Anyways I will miss this Facebook IPO. It doesn't matter if you guys can change this BIG MANIPULATION of market as per my view for the IPO of any company and syndicate of underwriters. Thank you.

1.) Indict and effectively prosecute all officers involved in the murder of George Floyd. 2.) In the case in which any law enforcement officer is involved in the death or serious injury of a civilian, a special state or federal prosecutor should be assigned to investigate the incident. County prosecutors are too close to local police departments to effectively investigate their actions. 3.) Abolish qualified immunity. 4.) Fund the creation of elected independent community review board to review complaints against the police in every county. 5.) Require all police departments create neighborhood precinct captains that are elected by the neighborhoods in which they patrol. 5b.) Require precinct captains to maintain residency in the neighborhoods in which they patrol. 6. Reform police unions so they cannot block the termination or indictment of bad cops. 7. Raise the pay and training of officers to attract the best and brightest to the profession. 8. Abolish voting ID laws and voting registration purges. Expand same day registration, early voting, vote-by-mail, and make election day a national holiday. Require employers to give employees time off to vote as a matter of law. All voter suppression must end to give the public a voice in their government. The failure of democratic mechanisms is a key cause of violent riots and protests. 9. Require all police to keep on body cams during any interaction with civilians 10. Require all police, as a matter of law, to use non-lethal force in every interaction, save an active shooter situation. All police must have non-lethal tools and orders to deescalate any situation.

UMass Dartmouth choose to close the budget deficit for FY20 by furloughing the lowest paid workers on campus, the clerical staff (AFSCME members) and the maintenance and trades staff (Maintainers).  The members of these unions were told by the administration that they would be "made whole" or better by filing for MA State Unemployment Insurance and receiving the $600 Federal bonus.  The members agreed to furloughs to assist campus in this time of financial need. The campus was assured by the Chancellor in a Town Hall that this was "shared sacrifice" and the the members of the administration (who earn 5x's or more what AFSCME and Maintainers earn) would be taking either 5 day furloughs or 8 day furloughs for FY20.   Now we learn that due to widespread fraud, members of the University community filing for UI are having their applications blocked while the fraud is investigated.  This means that some earning $40,000 per year have had their hours cut by 60% on "partial furlough" and were to make up the difference in lost wages through UI will not be able to even begin the filing process for UI until an unknown date in the future and attempt to live on less than $1700 per month.  Then they must wait for benefits to be funded.  This is NOT what the University promised these hard working members of our community.   We call on Chancellor Johnson to do the humane thing and bring these workers back to campus and make up the hole in FY20 with the promised administrative furloughs that were being delaying to FY21.  The AFSCME and Maintainer furloughs need to be delayed until such time when the University and the State UI have made arrangements for our employees to efficiently file and get their benefits as promised to make them whole.

 RFK Jr. has proposed creating a list of all American citizens with autism—a move that is not only invasive but deeply dangerous. This proposal threatens civil rights, invites discrimination, and dehumanizes an entire community. We, the undersigned, say no to fear-based policies and yes to dignity, privacy, and respect for autistic people. Why We Oppose RFK Jr.’s Proposal to Create a National Autism Registry 1. It's a Civil Rights Violation Tracking people based on their neurological status is a serious violation of privacy and personal liberty. No one should be cataloged by the government because of how their brain works. 2. It Invites Discrimination A national registry of autistic individuals could easily be misused—by employers, insurers, schools, or law enforcement. This kind of list increases the risk of profiling, exclusion, and harm. 3. It Echoes Dark Historical Precedents History shows us the danger of government lists targeting specific groups. From eugenics to surveillance programs, tracking people has led to abuse—not protection. 4. It's Based on Ableism, Not Science There is no medical, ethical, or scientific reason to create a registry of autistic people. Autism is not a disease. It does not need to be "contained" or "watched." This proposal spreads fear and misinformation. 5. It Erodes Trust Instead of building support systems, this kind of proposal drives people away from diagnosis and care. Families and individuals may avoid seeking help out of fear of being tracked or punished. 6. It Silences the Community Autistic people have consistently opposed ideas like this. Instead of listening to self-advocates, this plan ignores them completely—reducing real people to numbers.

The STAAR system creates unnecessary barriers to graduation, takes valuable classroom instruction time and diverts significant public funding from Texas classrooms to a for-profit testing company. In addition to its economic costs, STAAR imposes other significant costs: teaching to the test, numerous benchmarks and practice tests, and remediation classes replacing electives. We want to seize this opportunity to work together to implement a more reasoned approach to student assessments. TAMSA advocates for the use of national norm-referenced tests in grades 3 through 12 and limiting the use of expensive state-designed STAAR and End-of-Course (EOC) exams. Specifically we advocate for: - Decreasing the number of End-of-Course (EOC) exams to no more than 3 in the foundation subjects of math and language arts. - Utilizing SAT & ACT tests to determine college readiness, since these are the only tests that colleges - including Texas universities - consider in admissions. - Changing elementary/middle school STAAR testing to grades 3, 5 & 8 only for reading and math; grades 4 & 7 only for writing. - Allowing nationally recognized tests in lieu of STAAR for grades 3-8; such as Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS), STANFORD, ReadiStep (pre-SAT), or EXPLORE (pre-ACT). - Eliminating the requirement that EOC exam scores count for 15% of a student's final grades - Eliminating performance level requirements for English III and Algebra II EOC exams. - Making the Cumulative Score requirement optional. The current STAAR testing regime needs to be changed THIS legislative session as 3 million Texas students have started taking 10 million tests in April 2013.