A distressing incident occurred at Meadowlawn Middle School yesterday, when Principal Claud Effiom chose to interpret policy through the lens of his own ignorance, missing an opportunity to teach tolerance by example. My son was penalized for wearing makeup at school by Principal Effiom, who expressed his own belief that boys wearing makeup is ridiculous, unnecessary, and distracting. My son has endured vicious bullying for the last several years, and unfortunately, he is not the only one. These attacks are terribly damaging to young people, who are already struggling to find their identity. Incidents like the one yesterday only serve to further isolate these kids, who feel abandoned by the educators that are charged with their safety and well-being. It is unacceptable that these things should be allowed to occur anywhere, but most especially in a community as diverse and accepting as Pinellas County.

BREAKING: The Guardian's Glenn Greenwald reports that the government is monitoring millions of Americans' phone calls "indiscriminately and in bulk – regardless of whether they are suspected of any wrongdoing."

BREAKING: The Guardian's Glenn Greenwald reports that the government is monitoring millions of Americans' phone calls "indiscriminately and in bulk – regardless of whether they are suspected of any wrongdoing."

BREAKING: The Guardian's Glenn Greenwald reports that the government is monitoring millions of Americans' phone calls "indiscriminately and in bulk – regardless of whether they are suspected of any wrongdoing."

It's time to stop discriminating against those who have made mistakes 5 years in their past. People change, and once your debt is paid to society, one shouldn't have to continue paying that debt for the rest of their life! With out good equal paying jobs, and equal opportunity to get those jobs, then we're just pushing them back into a life of crime.

On May 22, seven brave women - six of them grandmothers and all victims of the foreclosure crisis - conducted a peaceful sit-in at the entrance to the office of the Covington & Burling law firm, one of the major representatives of Wall Street banks in Washington, DC. The Covington law firm represents mega-banks like JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America and maintains a “revolving door” with the government officials who are supposed to hold Wall Street accountable. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who testified before Congress that the banks’ huge wealth made them too difficult to prosecute--is a former partner of the Covington law firm. And, after years of failing to bring charges against a single executive at the big banks that crashed the economy and threw millions into foreclosure, Lanny Breuer, the top prosecutor at the Department of Justice Criminal Division, returned to his former employer, Covington, where he will make $4 million a year representing these very same banks. The big bank executives who wrecked the economy and stole millions of homes through illegal foreclosures continue to walk free. Hard hit homeowners and communities still wait for relief. But this coming Tuesday, June 11th, the U.S. Justice Department is set to press charges against the grandmothers and home defenders who momentarily blocked the revolving door between their government and the Wall Street’s favorite DC law firm. Please tell the Justice Department to prosecute Wall Street, not the Covington Seven Home Defenders.

On May 22, seven brave women - six of them grandmothers and all victims of the foreclosure crisis - conducted a peaceful sit-in at the entrance to the office of the Covington & Burling law firm, one of the major representatives of Wall Street banks in Washington, DC. The Covington law firm represents mega-banks like JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America and maintains a “revolving door” with the government officials who are supposed to hold Wall Street accountable. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who testified before Congress that the banks’ huge wealth made them too difficult to prosecute--is a former partner of the Covington law firm. And, after years of failing to bring charges against a single executive at the big banks that crashed the economy and threw millions into foreclosure, Lanny Breuer, the top prosecutor at the Department of Justice Criminal Division, returned to his former employer, Covington, where he will make $4 million a year representing these very same banks. The big bank executives who wrecked the economy and stole millions of homes through illegal foreclosures continue to walk free. Hard hit homeowners and communities still wait for relief. But this coming Tuesday, June 11th, the U.S. Justice Department is set to press charges against the grandmothers and home defenders who momentarily blocked the revolving door between their government and the Wall Street’s favorite DC law firm. Please tell the Justice Department to prosecute Wall Street, not the Covington Seven Home Defenders.

This petition is to stop religious practices in state funded shelters in Albuquerque, NM. The First Amendment-Freedom of Religion is violated when homeless and day shelters force the Christian religion onto shelter residents. Some shelter residents are of other religions which do have different practices. Even if only $1 is donated from a government entity, the shelters should recognize the religious freedoms of its habitants.

When Exxon merged with Mobil in 1999, the newly merged company ended Mobil's domestic partner benefits program for gay employees. Today, Exxon Mobil denies spousal benefits to all legally married gay employees. The Human Rights Campaign has given Exxon Mobil a score of negative 25 in its Corporate Equality Index -- a scorecard that rates 1000 companies on criteria ranging from diversity training, transgender-inclusive medical coverage to non-discrimination policies. It's the first time they've ever awarded a negative score to a company. It's 2013 and as the Supreme Court prepares to rule on whether the federal government will recognize legal marriages, it's time for Exxon and other employers do the same. Let's tell Exxon Mobil to stop discriminating against gay employees.

The constant, crippling fear of being killed by a sky robot.

Under current law, personal emails, contacts and chats can be shared by the provider without your knowledge. This means every email you send could make it to a government office, and you could never know about it. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want anyone, let alone the government, reading through every email I send without even notifying me. In many states, employers go as far as demanding access to email and social media accounts of candidates applying for jobs. Current laws are outdated and don't protect the online content that we all use daily. Sign the petition to the Senate now and urge them to support S. 607 and protect Internet privacy for all.

Our gay son, Marcel, is 11 years old and lives in Tennessee representative John Ragan's district. Marcel was severely bullied in fifth grade and despite our support, contemplated taking his own life. That year the "Don't Say Gay Bill" was introduced in the Tennessee state legislature to prevent teachers from talking with kids like Marcel about being gay. If Marcel had returned to public school under those circumstances, we feel certain the consequences would have been deadly. Now Marcel would like to ask for your help. Here's what he wrote: Over a year ago StudentsFirst named state representative John Ragan their Tennessee educational “Reformer of the Year.” StudentsFirst continued supporting John Ragan with donations and fundraising on his behalf. In February of 2013, Representative Ragan introduced the “Classroom Protection Act” which the Tennessee American Civil Liberties Union called “disgraceful” and an even “harsher version” of Tennessee’s notorious ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill. On April 29, 2013, StudentsFirst made a statement which they felt addressed the situation. While StudentsFirst made it clear they do not support the bill, they declined to rescind the award. Additionally, they did not specify if they would support John Ragan and his efforts in the future. They also gave no indication that they were sorry for donating to and fundraising for the bill’s sponsor. There was no mention that they hoped to help repair the damage their advocacy inflicted on bullied students in Tennessee. The concept of changing the education system to put students first is noble. However, honoring John Ragan, and by proxy his “Classroom Protection Act,” runs contrary to the very concept the name StudentsFirst suggests. For more information, see Salon: http://www.salon.com/2013/04/30/michelle_rhees_group_stands_by_anti_gay_honoree/ Read Marcel's article on HuffingtonPost here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marcel-neergaard/taking-a-stand-against-anti-gay-bullying_b_3368922.html Join us on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/WeStandWithMarcel