The United States has a very low voter turnout compared to other countries. It's important that as many citizens as possible be given the opportunity to participate in our democracy by voting. Making election day a federal holiday will give significantly more people the opportunity to vote. Since it will replace Columbus Day, it won't generate any additional costs.

They have done so many things to not only me but many of my friends and peers at that school. They treat their students like we mean nothing and punish us for anything they “feel” like. It’s such a mentally abusive establishment and for the past 4 years they have put my friends, and peers and I in such a depressive, anxious state. It genuinely sucks and hurts to go there everyday. They don’t help us when we need it and they make it perfectly clear select students don’t mean anything to them by how we are treated. I’m fed up with it because of the things they have done to me for the past 4 years but especially my senior year which is right now. And I don’t want their to be kids who get stripped of the desire to learn because that school ruined it.

We are at a critical juncture in our democratic process of the impeachment trial of President Trump, and the future of our republic hangs in the balance. We must have a fair and open trial in which the witnesses and evidence which have recently become public, and those withheld or blocked previously by the administration, are brought forward and examined by an impartial Senate, and the President provides his defense under oath. He will then either be cleared, censured, or impeached based upon the facts, and our republic will be made stronger by our re-commitment to the rule of law in these partisan times. The Senate Majority Leader has publicly committed himself AGAINST this very process by announcing publicly, “Everything I do during this, I’m coordinating with the White House counsel. There will be no difference between the president’s position and our position as to how to handle this to the extent that we can.” While Senator McConnell is entitled to his personal opinion as to the guilt or innocence of the President based upon the partial case so far, he can NOT be allowed to manage the impeachment process at the direction of the accused President. Leader McConnell, having repeatedly made his intentions to obstruct efforts for an open and fair-minded inquiry clear, must either recuse from any leadership role in the impeachment so that an impartial member may be appointed by the majority, or he must be expelled from the Senate for violation of his oath and blatant obstruction of justice and of the senate. Any impeachment trial conducted "in coordination with the White House Counsel" is a mockery of the rule of law, and if allowed, will mark the end of our Democracy. Please sign and share this petition to tell our senators that they must either persuade Senator McConnell to recuse himself from any leadership role in the impeachment trial of the president, or initiate an expulsion process against Senator McConnell for violation of his oath and for his blatant and self-confessed collaboration with the defendant to obstruct justice in the most important trial in our nation's history.

UPHOLDING THE RULE OF LAW PROTECTS CITIZENS' FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS UNDER THE CONSTITUTION.

The Muslim Ban is a racist and xenophobic policy dividing families and targeting refugees from Muslim nations. This latest expansion is nothing then more of the same.

“This is a bad time to be an Iranian.” That’s what a Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officer said when they were asked why dozens of Iranians and American citizens of Iranian descent were being held returning to the U.S. at the Canadian border with Washington State on Saturday. Sepehr Ebrahimzadeh was held and questioned for hours by CBP when returning from Canada to Seattle with his girlfriend after they spent a week out of town for the holidays. Ebrahimzadeh said the experience made him fear that the United States would prepare for war on Iran by rounding up everyone of Iranian descent, just like the Japanese internment camps during World War II.

My 15 yr old son was stopped by the Police on his way home from school and told to put his hands on the hood of the car and asked if he could be searched. The officer was just doing his job. But did not have my son identify himself, Did not tell him why he stopped him and then told him your the wrong person jumped in the car and told him nothing. When he came home and told me what happened I asked him If he had a name or badge number he said no he didn’t give me anything. I was in disbelief and upset that an encounter like that caused me to call around and go to the police station to find out what happened when I could have just had a number spoke with the officer and know what the circumstance was behind this encounter. This saves time and emotional trauma as well.

Research and time highlighted many errors and wrongs done by actors within the criminal justice system. The system itself is in place for a reason. Many people with violent crimes are being released throughout the country. Drug offenders are also being released. Mr. Morsley has served over 25 years. This length of time is given to murderers. Let’s be clear, there are no murders related to this case or committed by Mr. Morsley. Mr. Morsley is needed at home. His mother has suffered 3 strokes and has developed dementia. His father is currently battling cancer. His children have been without a father. Upon his return, he will dedicate his remaining years to uplift and encourage youth to participate in the community, avoid doors that lead to criminal activity, and to refrain from bullying others into negative activity. So what’s his plan when he gets home? He will link with a newly formed community non-profit “We The Bright Lights of the Future” which will foster community-led events to collect items for impoverished. The goal is to ask people for help without forcibly taking from others. We will advocate for a credible messenger program to be established in the District 29 school system to allow Mr. Morsley to share his life of mishaps in hopes it discourages future offenders from traveling the same path. Mr. Morsley has developed his barber skills and will be working on becoming a licensed barber in NYS. Once he secures his license he will be employed at a neighborhood barbershop in Jamaica, Queens. We have a Master Barber already willing to sponsor this task. While in prison, he was a suicide watch companion and completed his drug education training. He will be instrumental in reducing the rising suicide and drug use in Black teens in the community. We ask for you to please sign this petition to give this person a chance at rehabilitation. He has paid his debt and recognizes his faults as a youth. Having someone with his knowledge of where troubled decisions lead will be instrumental in the reduction of crime in our communities.

Because it was the best sauce that KFC has ever had, and it brought so much joy and happiness to the people.

He most likely will never receive a subpoena and he can change the course of the impeachment proceedings. Either way we will have his truth.

Our democracy faces an existential threat if Donald Trump is re-elected. The damage he has done during his first term, enabled by feckless Congressional Republicans who put party over country, will take years, if not decades, to undo. Trump has already packed federal courts with right-wing ideologues; fully one in four U.S. circuit court judges have been appointed to lifetime seats by Trump. His Supreme Court picks have moved the high court to the right of ultra-conservative Justice Scalia. It's terrifying to imagine what the federal judiciary would look like after another four years of Trump nominees. It’s expected that during the Democratic primaries candidates will attack their opponents’ platforms; at times the critiques have been mean-spirited and personal and no doubt will continue that way as the competition intensifies. Worse, though, is what’s playing out among the candidates’ core supporters. Examples abound on social media of insults being hurled at one candidate or another by the others’ supporters. That doesn’t bode well for the general election. To defeat Trump in conservative-leaning swing states (the only ones that matter, thanks to winner-take-all and the Electoral College), to hold the Democratic House majority and to flip the Senate, Democrats will need a get-out-the-vote effort the likes of which we’ve never seen. To achieve that will require efforts well beyond what the eventual nominee will be able to muster on their own. But to listen to some activists, if their candidate doesn’t prevail, yes, they’ll vote for whomever is the Democratic nominee, but beyond that the effort they make will be much less than what it would have been. Given what’s at stake, that’s not acceptable. If the losing candidates’ supporters just show up to vote, but do no more, we could lose it all. The only ones who can change this narrative are the candidates themselves. And they can’t wait until after the convention. Democrats can’t afford to let the acrimony between the camps build to the point that the ill will causes any Democratic activist to sit on the sidelines (the way it did in 2016 between Hillary and Bernie supporters.) The way to build party unity is for candidates to keep sending the message to their supporters, “I expect you to work as hard to elect the Democratic nominee, whoever it is, as you will if I win the nomination. Nothing less is acceptable. Do I have your promise that you’re all in, whoever is nominated?” Imagine the power of a huge display of unity at the end of every Democratic nominee's campaign rally. We need nothing less.

The report is clear. Our babies are dying, employment opportunities do not exist for us, evictions are at an all-time high, shortages exist in adequate housing, HIV is on the rise and the list goes on for us. Please read below and join us in establishing a new day and a new way. Akron, Summit County African American Leadership Covenant. Vision Statement “We envision a community that values diversity and maintains high standards, in a safe and nurturing environment that builds independence and economic self-sufficiency, while educating our community in the knowledge of self and promoting a healthy quality of life for all throughout the life cycle.” Commitment Statement As a leader in the African American community in Akron, Ohio and the County of Summit, I am committed to secure and promote the financial, legal, spiritual and cultural well-being of the community and to ensure that it fulfills its mission. As a leader, I understand that I share the responsibility to always work collectively in the best interests of the community, a duty to put the good of the community first and avoid any conflicts with other leaders that would hinder the progress of members within the community. In the event a conflict arises, I am committed to reconciliation for the greater good of the community. In furtherance of these commitments and responsibilities I will put forth my best individual effort to: • Participate in and support the African American community with my talents, resources, skills, and abilities. • Lead with integrity, honesty, compassion, and commitment. • Dedicate my efforts towards uniting and uplifting black people • Educate myself, be self-determined to benefit my brothers and sisters • Advocate, sacrifice, and lead by example for our children’s children • Take talk to action in collective work and responsibility • Never give up, never give in and stand on truth