Whereas our U. S. Supreme Court in Katz v. U.S. (1967) held that warrant-less electronic surveillance is unconstitutional because it violates an individual's right to be protected from unreasonable searches and seizures; and, Whereas the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA), operating in secret, authorizes the scrutiny of more Americans than foreigners; and, Whereas the evidence presented to that court presently lacks any real challenge; and, Whereas only a handful of FISA warrant requests have ever been turned down; and, Whereas most federal judges are predisposed to defer to executive claims of national security; and, Whereas these judges are generalists with little experience in evaluating intelligence; and, Whereas these same judges are reluctant to hamper government operatives sworn to defend the nation; and, Whereas the same reluctance is evident among members of Congress who pose as watchdogs but melt when they hear appeals to patriotism from the managers of the intelligence services; and, Whereas the data hauling by our government's intelligence services has gone on for years without real challenge or even question; and, Whereas much of this government snooping is farmed out to profit-seeking corporations that have great appetites for government contracts, secured through executives who enrich themselves by shuttling between agency jobs and the contractors' board rooms; and, Whereas it is widely reported that an estimated 483,000 contractor-employees now hold U.S. Top-Secret Security clearances for this work and such a large number is clearly a security risk in itself violating ‘Need-To-Know” best practices; and, Whereas such a radical challenge to our freedoms demands serious and skeptical oversight: We Now, therefore submit the above petition.

If we do not protect voting rights, who are we?

Eating ice cream cones, Zimmerman defense attorney Don West posed for a selfie with his daughters, joyously posting on Twitter: '"We beat stupidity celebration cones #zimmerman #defense #dadkilledit."' The bullies came out in force last week as Rachel Jenteal, a 19 year old teenager from Miami, FL, gave testimony in the murder trial of George Zimmerman. The neighborhood watch captain stands accused in last year's shooting of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. Born into a multicultural home where English is not her first language, Rachel spoke in the language of her community, recounting her cellphone conversation with Trayvon, not knowing that moments later, his life would tragically end. Why, then, has Rachel suffered such vicious, personal attacks? WELL BULLIES: TAKE NOTE Today we take a stand against bullying -- discrimination, sexism, and racism! Rachel Jeantel was thrown into the national spotlight not of her own choosing. Her friend was killed. She could have made a choice that many people make in communities where the perception exists of a broken justice system, a system they view as designed to criminalize the working class and the poor -- stay silent, keep out of the public eye, mind your own business. But instead of choosing a path that would allow her to avoid the harsh, public spotlight, Rachel Jeantel chose to speak up. And it is for that decision that we stand by Rachel and for our nation's democratic process, a process created to provide equal justice -- FOR ALL AMERICANS! NOTE: This petition is a show of our support for Rachel Jeantel and for the millions of Americans disenfranchised by our current political climate. We will deliver this petition to Rachel Jeantel through her attorney Rod Vereen in Miami, FL. We all should possess the freedom to speak up and to speak out regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, economic or social status. Justice, in order to be moral, MUST be blind!

From coast to coast, church bells rang out to celebrate when the Supreme Court announced its decision overturning the so-called Defense of Marriage Act. But CNN once again turned to a hate-group leader to speak on behalf of America's Christians. Less than an hour after the decision was announced, they interviewed Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, who falsely warned that the court decision would lead to "religious organizations losing their exemption." CNN host Wolf Blitzer failed to challenge Perkins' lies, nor did his segment feature any Christian leaders with a different point of view -- despite polls showing that a majority of Christians actually oppose the Defense of Marriage Act. In fact, CNN has a long history of inviting Perkins to represent the Christian point of view, without disclosing to their viewers that his organization has been officially designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center -- largely because he has falsely claimed that gay men molest children. With America moving decisively towards full equality, it's time for CNN to stop portraying Christians as voices of anti-gay hate.

After more than 16 years, the United States Supreme Court has overturned the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)! Denying committed couples the right to marry is unacceptable -- end of story. So as we celebrate this historic ruling in favor of basic civil rights, I hope you will also join me in calling on the Hawaii state legislature to pass marriage equality.

The Supreme Court determined that Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act is seriously outdated. Tell the House of Representatives to fix the problem now.

The United States Supreme Court has announced their decision in Shelby County v Holder, a critical case in the fight for voting rights. At issue in the case was the preclearance provision of the Voting Rights Act (Section 5) which requires states with a history of discrimination to get approval from the federal government before enacting new voting laws. The court in its decision did not directly address Section 5, the preclearance provision, but instead strikes down Section 4, the coverage formula, thereby placing the responsibility on Congress to create a new formula. This means the country will be effectively without the preclearance provision until they do. This is a devastating blow for voting rights. Within hours, the Texas Attorney General announced that the discriminatory photo voter id law was effective immediately. Congress must act immediately to develop a new coverage formula and protect the right to vote! More info at http://www.empowerthevotetx.org/Shelby_County_v_Holder.html Also, like us on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/EmpowerTheVoteTexas - and follow us on Twitter - @EmpowerTheVote

The far right is attacking the voting freedom of Black people, women, young people and other people of color. It is clear that far-right politicians are trying to keep the rising American majority of young people, women and people of color away from the polls.

The Supreme Court just struck down the heart of the Voting Rights Act -- invalidating a key achievement of the Civil Rights Movement, that protected voting rights for people of color in areas with long histories of voting discrimination. The right to vote is the foundation on which our democracy was built -- yet our Constitution does not guarantee that right for all eligible citizens. In the court decision, Chief Justice John Roberts said that “things have changed dramatically” since 1965. Yet with increasing Republican attempts to limit voting rights through voter ID and other measures, it’s hard to see what’s so changed. Tell Congress to strengthen our democracy and pass a Constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to vote.

On June 20, 2013, a group of women went to Rep. Issa's district office in Vista, California for a scheduled meeting with the district director. Three of the women were from Mexico (two mothers - one of whom studied law in Mexico and the other pursuing her Bachelor of Arts now - and one youth attending college), and the other three were American ladies from the faith community. At the beginning of the meeting, the district director interrupted and said that if anyone was "illegal," they would all have to leave the office, because it is the office's duty "to uphold the law." After trying to reason with the staff member, the group of women left the office, feeling very afraid. Elected leaders in our country should not use their power to bully and intimidate constituents, and the color of a person's skin should never make them targets for such discriminatory behavior. Democracy is not built on fear and hate, and Rep. Issa's office should be reminded of this.

SCOTUS dismantled the Voting Rights Act today, vacating nearly 50 years of civil rights advancement. And this comes hard on the heels of the shocking attempts at voter suppression attempted for the 2012 election, which were only stopped because of the VRA.

After striking down Section IV of the Voting Rights Act, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts wrote, "...any racial discrimination in voting is too much, Congress must ensure that the legislation it passes to remedy that problem speaks to current conditions." The duty of preventing discrimination in voting now falls to Congress, and our state doesn't have time to wait. Virginia's Congressmen must fix the VRA coverage formula immediately to protect the voting rights of all Virginians.