Inclusion We first urge you to approach the problems that face our country using an intersectional equity lens. Challenges compounded by race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, and ability are present at every level from health care to housing to climate change to education. Addressing these needs must be at the center, not the sidelines, of our government’s policy goals. We also point to Senator Warren’s—and Secretary Castro’s—practice of bringing activists with direct knowledge of and experience with these needs to the table. We ask that you not only follow that example and use these on-the-ground experts to help shape your policies, but also that you appoint them to key roles in your administration. Personnel is policy. Corruption Senator Warren framed her campaign around dismantling the corrupt channels that perpetuate structural inequity and prevent any meaningful reform. Your plan to establish the Commission on Federal Ethics aligns with Senator Warren’s proposed U.S. Office of Public Integrity, which would oversee efforts to restore transparency to our government. We ask that you go further: support a ban on professional lobbying by any former president, vice president, cabinet secretary, federal judge, or member of Congress. We ask also that you make passage of a constitutional amendment to limit campaign contributions—nullifying Citizens United—a top priority. We must have trust in our government, and that begins with ensuring our officials and elections cannot be bought. Immigration We applaud your commitment to a moratorium on deportations during your first 100 days as president, but further action is needed to eliminate the cruelty and abuse perpetrated in the name of immigration enforcement. We need comprehensive reform of our immigration justice system, and we must start with decriminalizing immigration. To prevent future abuses, we urge you to commit to the establishment of professional, independent Article I immigration courts, and to provide access to counsel in all immigration courts. You have condemned the horrific actions of the Trump administration at the border. We urge you to adopt Senator Warren’s plan for a Department of Justice task force to investigate and prosecute all reported crimes committed against detained immigrants. Student Loan Debt The rising cost of tuition across the country means that many students are crushed by student loan debt—and it’s impacting our entire economy. Black students are particularly affected: they are more likely to have federal student loans and owe more than their original debt 12 years after finishing college. We are supportive of public service, but strongly believe that across-the-board college loan debt reduction is the best approach, especially for those with increased barriers (poor and working-class students, students with family obligations, and working students). We ask you to adopt Senator Warren's approach and cancel student loan debt through executive action, immediately enabling 95% of student loan debt holders to pursue their dreams. Universal Child Care Universal child care is an investment in working parents. It provides millions of children with access to quality care and early learning. It also creates millions of well-paying jobs for child care workers and early education teachers, many of whom are women of color. Research shows that every dollar spent on quality early education saves seven dollars in the long run. We encourage you to adopt Senator Warren’s plan, which mandates that universal child care be free to any family that earns less than 200% of the federal poverty line. Crucially, the plan also establishes a partnership between the federal government and local providers to offer a network of early childhood options—including child care and preschool centers—to every family. Equality for Americans with Disabilities You have a strong history advocating for Americans with disabilities through your work on the ADA, the ADAAA, IDEA, and VAWA. It is critical that you collaborate with disability rights leaders and advocates moving forward to form a comprehensive disability rights plan. We ask that you use Senator Warren’s plan for Protecting the Rights and Equality of Americans With Disabilities as a model. This includes our ask that you to commit to combating discrimination in the labor market and workplace, ending the subminimum wage, fully funding the Office of Disability Employment Policy, improving SSI and SSDI programs, breaking down barriers to marriage, providing national paid family and medical leave, improving critical elements of the long-term services, and supporting coverage to enable the right to live in the community. We also urge you to protect the civil rights of all Americans with disabilities, including decriminalizing poverty, addressing language deprivation for Deaf and hard-of-hearing students, and enforcing the ADA everywhere that it is applicable. We urge you to work with the disability rights community to incorporate key priorities relating to employment, housing, opioid medications, disaster preparedness, healthcare, education, equity in criminal justice, deinstitutionalization, and other key civil rights issues into your platform. Wealth Tax These plans have a price tag. We believe in fiscal responsibility—every American should pay their fair share. We believe ultra-millionaires, who benefit most from our country’s infrastructure, should invest a little more in our country. Therefore, we ask you to adopt Senator Warren’s two cent wealth tax, which requires those Americans lucky enough to have vast fortunes to pay a two cent tax on every dollar of net worth above $50 million. Over 10 years, this tax will raise an estimated $3.75 trillion that we can reinvest in working families by supporting education, childcare, family leave, and more. --- We invite you to join us in signing this letter to Democratic presidential frontrunner Joe Biden.

It is our responsibility to come together to protect the lives of those around us by limiting the spread of this disease as much as possible and caring for the tens of millions whose health, jobs, families and communities will be impacted. Utility companies must not cut off essential resources including water, power, and gas to ensure everyone has the ability to take care of themselves and their families. There are thousands of people already hit with the financial burden of missing work for a quarantine, to care for a loved one or children when school is cancelled, being laid off, and many more as this crisis grows. COVID-19 has revealed the interconnectedness of our country and our world -- that the health and well being of one is intimately bound to the health and well being of all. Now, we must rise to the occasion and care for each other and support one another.

The G20 is the annual gathering of representatives of the world's largest economies. It is shocking that the Saudi dictatorship is hosting the G20 summit this year. Saudi Arabia is using this year's G20 to hide its horrible record of war, repression, and climate destruction. No one should participate in the Saudi G20 or any other Saudi-led event until the Saudi dictatorship fully embraces the following demands: 1. Freedom at home: Saudi Arabia must free women’s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul, end all internal repression, and release all prisoners of conscience. 2. End the Yemen war: Saudi Arabia must stop killing Yemeni civilians, lift the blockade on Yemen, and endorse a full ceasefire. 3. Cease its global repression: Saudi Arabia must stop targeting global dissidents and allow a full investigation of Saudi crimes, including the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. 4. Stop creating Middle East instability: Saudi Arabia must stop pushing for war with Iran, end its war in Yemen, and stop opposing democracy movements in the Middle East. 5. Climate crisis: Saudi Arabia must stop driving the global climate crisis through its destructive fossil fuel exports. No one should participate in the Saudi G20 or any other Saudi-led event until the Saudi dictatorship endorses and implements these demands.

The coronavirus is threatening to become a major global pandemic, with the number of confirmed cases growing inside the United States. So who are Donald Trump and his administration’s top officials most concerned about right now? Giant corporations. When asked by Congress if a future vaccine will be guaranteed to be affordable for all Americans, Trump’s head of Health and Human Services, Alex Azar--a former drug company lobbyist--refused to commit. Instead, he suggested that private pharmaceutical companies’ ability to profit would come before the health needs of the people. This is outrageous and the Senate must act immediately to ensure that all of our families will be able to access and afford any future vaccine. .

The coronavirus is threatening to become a major global pandemic, with the number of confirmed cases growing inside the United States. So who are Donald Trump and his administration’s top officials most concerned about right now? Giant corporations. When asked by Congress if a future vaccine will be guaranteed to be affordable for all Americans, Trump’s head of Health and Human Services, Alex Azar--a former drug company lobbyist--refused to commit. Instead, he suggested that private pharmaceutical companies’ ability to profit would come before the health needs of the people. This is outrageous and he must resign.

As NBA superstar Kevin Durant recently said, "[M]arijuana is marijuana... I feel like it shouldn’t even be a huge topic around it anymore.” But it is if you're an NBA player. Players face a 5 game suspension for using marijuana -- even if the player lives in one of the 11 states (plus D.C.) who've legalized recreational usage or the 33 states (plus D.C.) where medicinal use is allowed. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver takes pride in being the most progressive sports league in the U.S., but suspending players for using marijuana--medically or recreationally--is out of sync with that forward-leaning image. NBA players generate $8 BILLION for the league's owners, and the players deserve the right to use marijuana without being punished for it. League commissioner Adam Silver can -- and should -- change this immediately. Sources: 1. "Kevin Durant thinks weed ‘shouldn’t even be a huge topic’ for NBA anymore," New York Post, Feb. 27, 2020 https://nypost.com/2020/02/27/kevin-durant-thinks-weed-shouldnt-even-be-a-huge-topic-for-nba-anymore/ 2. "How the NBA Makes Money," Investopedia, updated Sep. 24, 2019 https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/071415/how-nba-makes-money.asp

Bernie is looking more and more like he will be the Democratic nominee, and while many are just disgusted and paying no attention to the hate spewing from Chris Matthews at this point, having a network so biased against one candidate that it continues to employ such an unprofessional "journalist" is just wrong.

Our democracy is more important than Facebook’s profits. This year’s US presidential elections are in jeopardy—in part because global tech giant Facebook refuses to take responsibility for the lies, hate, and disinformation that are being spread using its platform. Facebook refuses to take down advertisements by US politicians that feature even the most blatant falsehoods. It freely allows microtargeting that directs disinformation at vulnerable communities that is hidden from everyone else. And its efforts to stop the spread of toxic lies and hate are too little, too late. Please join us to say enough is enough! Facebook must immediately prevent its platform from being used to spread disinformation and divisiveness that could disrupt our elections. We’re urging Facebook to: STOP THE LIES IN POLITICAL ADS Facebook should fact check advertisements placed by politicians and political campaigns. In other words, it should hold these political ads to the same standards it applies to advertisements that are not placed by politicians. As Facebook employees said in an open letter to company leadership, “Misinformation shared by political advertisers has an outsized detrimental impact on our community.” If you or I lied in an advertisement on Facebook, it would immediately be taken down. PROHIBIT POLITICAL AD MICROTARGETING Right now political campaigns can target their ads so precisely that they can pinpoint them to reach specific voters. The problem with this, according to former Federal Election Commission Chair Ellen Weintraub, is that “false and misleading messages may be disseminated in a way that does not allow people with conflicting information to counter those messages, because they won't see them.” Facebook already restricts targeting for industries with a history of discrimination, like housing. They should do the same with political ads. REFUSE SERVICE TO ANYONE TRYING TO DISRUPT THE 2020 ELECTION All businesses can refuse service to a person who violates their policies. Restaurants usually require patrons wear shoes and shirts. Facebook should require that users refrain from using the platform to disrupt the 2020 election. They can do this by implementing terms of service or acceptable usage policies that require users to follow certain rules about how Facebook can be used. AND MORE ... We need to reform Facebook to protect our democracy and our civil society. Facebook’s own employees have put forward an excellent set of recommendations that include spending caps for politicians and observing silence periods free from political advertisements before elections. Another strong set of recommendations was put forward by Change the Terms, which focuses on how the platform can enforce an acceptable use policy to prevent Facebook from being used to incite hate, fear and abusive behavior. Finally, a number of organizations make the case that the Federal Trade Commission should break up Facebook, which now has unprecedented power to decide what news and information billions of people around the world see every day. For more information, go to www.protestfacebook.org.

Our democracy is for sale. Superdelegates may be tempted to take dark money donations to vote for billionaire-sponsored candidates, denying true representational democracy to their constituents.

Higher education creates better paying jobs. Better paying jobs creates a better tax base. How much income tax is generated by a minimum wage paying job, compared to the income tax of an undergraduate degree pay scale? Do I need to go to the sales taxes paid by the two different incomes? Didn't think so. What started as "Trickle up" economics has turned into "Flooding up" economics. History has shown how income inequality turns out. It hasn't been pretty. We are heading, "full steam ahead" in that direction. 1929, 2008 are the years I am pointing to. The quick recovery of 2008 won't happen again. The Federal Government can't afford to bail out numerous industries again. I feel that the current state of affairs in our society are a reflection this imbalance. The political polarization. The mass shootings. The current horrific crimes being committed are a direct reflection of the terrible conditions we are experiencing. Horrific conditions are creating horrific reactions. People are struggling to eat, can't get health care because: 1) wages haven't kept up with the real cost of living. 2) We are out of options to make up the difference. When wages first began to shrink, (1978) "incomes" went from individual to "household". Mom and dad worked. Then they worked more hours. When that didn't maintain a comfortable lifestyle, (1990’s), borrowing filled the gap. We witnessed how that turned out, the 2008 recession. The middle class needs to be able to pay for things, not borrow to get them. Jobs are created when people buy things, (after all, someone has to make the things, deliver and sell them), that is how economics works. Henry Ford figured this out over 100 years ago! I am looking to my leaders to take some action. Be brave and do the right things for the right reasons. If the status quo is not changed, we are all going to be left behind. The people at the top, (the very rich), will continue to get further out of reach and more powerful. I don't think my fellow middle-class citizens are capable of continuing down the current path. The mass shootings for example, started in schools, (easy targets), then to theaters and malls, (bigger easy targets). These shootings haven’t changed what caused them. The next group will probably be politicians. Lack of gun laws is not the problem, more gun laws is not the answer. Lack of financial security is the problem, and all that goes with it. Please stop doing what we are doing, so we stop getting what we are getting. Let’s put a stop to the current state of affairs. Everything I have written here, is a glimpse of what I have observed. Unfortunately, I don’t have many solutions to offer, sorry. Political discussions with my contemporaries don’t happen. Everyone’s feelings get hurt, they stomp off, end of discussion. They are emulating what our leaders are doing. The dialogue needs to be started, so options are thought of and the best options given a chance to work. Please, let’s begin talking.

Chicago House and Social Service agency serves some of the most marginalized populations in Chicago. Communities that are experiencing homelessness, communities that are impacted by HIV and Trans women and Gender expansive communities. Chicago House Chief Financial Officer Andrea Peoples was arrested on January 6, 2020 by Chicago Police Department and Cook County State’s Attorney office charged her with felony theft. Andrea Peoples and two other “high level” employees defrauded Chicago House and Social Service Agency out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. This crime has put the clients, employees and community members at risk for losing access to housing, medical care, HIV prevention, legal, and case management. We can no longer put fiduciary trust in a group of people who did not sound the alarm as this robbery to our communities took place. We need new leadership that can be accountable and transparent to the communities it serves. Former Planned Parenthood Executive Charged With Theft https://www.wbez.org/shows/wbez-news/former-planned-parenthood-executive-charged-with-theft/9a813075-5073-4b83-9900-0b19ae5c867f

It is important because animals are amazing. And at the end of the day they are beings, too. They have feelings and emotions, so for people to abuse animals you can tell they don't know the true value of animals' lives.