The largest civil settlement with a single entity in American history that happened August 2014 outlined mortgage forgiveness be given to those hurt by Bank of America. According to the Dept. of Justice settlement, Bank of America will be given $2.00 in credit for every $1.00 forgiven in tax relief. Passing H.R.1002 will demonstrate that the U.S. Government serves the interests of the American people and not just the interests of the banks!

Once again, Wall Street hopes to attach dangerous and widely unpopular deregulation measures to a “must-pass” omnibus spending bill. Lobbyists are telling their allies they’re putting the “pedal to the metal” and going “all out” to get their way. As a part of their frenzied push, they’re also taking cheap shots at Senator Elizabeth Warren and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with ridiculously over-the-top attack ads. The banks know the year-end spending bill is their best shot – so they’re working every angle they can. Don’t let them succeed. Tell your representatives in Washington that they need to stand up for consumers, and for the public, and not let Wall Street take the budget hostage.

This is part of an on-going effort to get a small donor matching system in Chicago elections. Last February 80% of City voters said yes they support such a system. This would enable more ordinary citizens to run for office and promote fair elections.

Derrell Odom fought in Iraq and earned a Purple Heart serving our country. Now, he struggles to get by on the minimum wage pay he makes at KFC. Even worse: his bosses are stealing from him. Through illegal accounting tricks like shifting hours on paychecks to avoid paying overtime, the KFC franchise where Derrell works is keeping his wages down to bolster their bottom line. This KFC store needs to STOP stealing from Derrell now - and KFC needs to ensure that no employee ever has their wages stolen again at any store.

Muslims are being attacked in America on a daily basis due to vitriol and hate after the Paris attacks. We cannot allow politicians or public officials to spread a hateful message without push back. We must demonstrate that only love can conquer hate; we must drown out their hateful messages with statements of love and solidarity for those targeted by racist, xenophobic violence.

Post production costs are taken out of royalties, gouging landowners.

This is to urge the LAUSD school board to immediately rescind its contract with TFA for special education services. Our most vulnerable students deserve the most qualified professionals possible. Los Angeles Unified School District ratified a contract with Teach For America to provide trainees to fill 25 teaching positions in special education at its November 10, 2015, board meeting. There was no debate on the matter; it was hidden in the consent calendar with attachments of attachments buried deep. While Board member Dr. George McKenna raised important questions about TFA’s retention rate and its commitment to our students, the answers he was provided were misleading because they rely on unchecked data from TFA itself, according to a report in American Prospect (1/5/15). The truth is 87% of TFA recruits plan to leave teaching after their internships end, according to a recent article in Bloomberg News (3/9/15). LAUSD was only the most recent stop by TFA on a statewide campaign over the last few months making the same claims about the need for special ed TFAers. Most school districts from Chula Vista to Santa Ana resisted the sales job after public outcry. But those districts held actual discussions about the controversial contracts with TFA. LAUSD senior staff needs to go back to the drawing board to create partnerships with reputable teaching programs to recruit teachers who will be qualified on Day 1 and are likely to remain committed to the teaching profession. TFA is one of the tools that Eli Broad is using to attack our schools and undermine the very fabric of the public school system in Los Angeles (his foundation is a top funder of TFA). Our elected leaders just endorsed that by approving this contract. It should be rescinded immediately. We are a coalition of public education advocates that includes: Tina Andres, Santa Ana Unified teacher and special education parent Jameson Brewer, Ph.D. candidate, former TFA Anthony Cody, co-founder/board member Network for Public Education Josh Leibner, National Board Certified Teacher Cynthia Liu, K-12 News Network Ellen Lubic, Joining Forces for Education Carl Petersen, Change the LAUSD Sari Rynew, retired teacher Robert D. Skeels, Juris Doctor Candidate and public education advocate Julian Vasquez Heilig, Ph.D., Cloaking Inequity/Education Chair, California NAACP/board member, Network for Public Education Karen Wolfe, PSconnect Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.

As the Democratic primaries are showing with increasing insistence, it matters where you campaign money comes from. Large corporations do not give millions of dollars without expecting something in exchange. We have also learned that corporate interests are at extreme variance with citizens' interests. There is no time during this cycle to clean up the campaign contributions system, so the candidates must demonstrate their integrity by refusing corporate money.

It's time corporations start allowing their "partners" to have time with their families for the holidays. No more corporate greed!

As a sexual assault advocate, I believe we all have to work together to prevent sexual violence.

2015 has revealed serious problems with the presidential selection process for regional Federal Reserve Banks. First, Federal Reserve Banks rebuffed requests for transparency and public input. Then, vacancies at the Philadelphia and Dallas Federal Reserve Banks were both filled with individuals involved in their own selection. Now, with the Minneapolis Fed’s selection of Neel Kashkari, all three spots have been filled by former Goldman Sachs insiders, an outcome that undermines the Fed’s claim of independence from influence by major banks. Sign our petition now to demand Janet Yellen commit to reforming the presidential selection process by requiring that each regional Fed bank establish: 1. A public list of candidates being considered for the position of Reserve Bank president. 2. A town hall opportunity for the public to ask questions of the current Reserve Bank president and the chair of the board of directors that is leading the process. 3. A commitment to interviewing at least three candidates who are not Wall Street bankers for the position of Fed President.

Dear Friends and Allies, Building off the momentum from the success of the Soil Not Oil Conference, we are reaching out to invite you to support THE SOIL NOT OIL PLEDGE, as part of our ongoing campaign in defense of soils worldwide. (Please forward widely)