Any progressive vying to be the Democratic nominee for president should skip the AIPAC conference. Here are four reasons why: #1. AIPAC spent tens millions of dollars in 2015 to defeat the Iran nuclear deal negotiated by President Obama along with our European and international allies––a historic diplomatic agreement that Trump has tried to derail since taking office. #2. This year's AIPAC conference is headlined by Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, under whose leadership, according to the U.N., Israel may have committed war crimes in attacks on Gaza. Netanyahu has also been indicted on bribery and fraud charges, and he recently made a deal to bring the "Israeli KKK" ultra-racist party into the next government. #3. AIPAC has been known to peddle anti-Muslim and anti-Arab rhetoric while giving platforms to Islamophobes. #4. AIPAC has refused to condemn the antisemitism of Republicans, such as Trump’s friend and advisor Steve Bannon. Bannon’s wife reported that he had their kids removed from a school because of “the number of Jews that attend”, and that “he didn’t want the girls going to school with Jews. While many groups condemned Bannon, Politico reported that AIPAC “declined to weigh in." Many candidates have now confirmed they are not attending the conference. And it is time for others to join them!

Trump's latest budget proposal would increase Pentagon spending to an inexplicable $750 billion next year, while cutting Medicare and Medicaid. Last year, the Pentagon spent $22 million of taxpayer money on lobster tail. The Pentagon also failed its first-ever comprehensive audit in November. A department that has spent trillions of dollars in the past decade can't explain where all the money has gone. Spending billions of dollars on war (and lobster tail apparently) is seen as perfectly acceptable while those in power try to count every penny when it comes to comprehensive domestic programs like Medicare for All or free college. It's time to set our priorities straight. And progressive leaders, those currently in power and those vying for president, must make it absolutely clear that our priorities are to invest in programs that make the world a better place––from international initiatives to stem climate change to domestic programs providing Medicare for everyone. Sign the petition to let current and future elected progressives know they must commit to reallocating the excessive Pentagon budget.

As people of conscience residing in Kansas Congressional District 03, we respectfully request that Representative Davids rejects the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)-sponsored trip to Israel and instead accompany Representative Rashida Tlaib on her alternative trip to the West Bank. Israel denies Palestinians their basic human rights. They imprison children in a military court system, demolish Palestinian homes, subject Palestinians to checkpoints, have created a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and ban millions of refugees from returning to their homes and lands. A March, 2019 U.N. report found Israel intentionally targeted unarmed children and journalists during the peaceful protests in Gaza. Anyone who travels with AIPAC to Israel will not see the reality of Israel’s military occupation. Instead, they will see only and exactly what Israel wants them to see. The purpose of AIPAC-sponsored trips is to cover up Israel’s human rights violations and continue unchecked U.S. financial and diplomatic support for Israel- all at the expense of Palestinians. Two members of Congress, Rashida Tlaib and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have already announced they will be skipping the AIPAC trip. Please do the right thing and join them. Stand up for justice and against apartheid. Skip AIPAC’s trip to Israel and travel to the West Bank with Rep Tlaib.

As an American watching this country's acts of imperialism for so many decades, I am outraged at what I'm now seeing in Venezuela, a blatant usurpation of a sovereign country, a democratic people, a duly elected President. who we would attempt to replace with a US sycophant. We have no right to override the will of the Venezuelan people to satisfy our own greed and desire for riches and power. It is time to speak out! We can not be silent participants. We must be better than this!

Otto Warmbier death needs to be truly told and our president of the united states to stop taking other dictators words over our own intelligence agency's

We have been killing people all over the world (Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan to name a few) and now our government wants to kill Venezuelans. They've already said that Cubans and Nicaraguans are next. They do this in OUR names, and we do not accept this!

Let's be clear: Only Congress can declare war. And, under an administration being run by war hawks like John Bolton, that authority is even more important. Donald Trump can't go to war without asking for permission from Congress. And when he does ask, Congress must categorically refuse. After recognizing an opposition leader, Juan Guaidó, as the president of Venezuela, the Trump administration has said that "all options" are on the table. John Bolton, a know war hawk and Trump's National Security Advisor, was also caught on camera with a note that read "5,000 troops to Colombia," which is a country neighboring Venezuela. The Trump administration's actions are seeming more and more like a dangerous ploy for regime change and military intervention that we've already seen before. In Iraq, the attempt to bring "democracy" and find non-existent WMDs has led to rough estimates of hundreds of thousands of civilians killed. As people are trying to estimate the true cost––in lives and money––of the past 17 years of war, there are people in the Trump administration pushing the country toward more wars. If Trump truly cared about the people of Venezuela, along with other Latin and South American countries, he would be easing the pathway to getting asylum and decreasing sanctions. Instead, his administration seems to be creating more harsh environments through sanctions that would detrimentally impact the economy of the country and getting ready to deploy troops. It's up to us to take a bold stand and make sure Congress doesn't relinquish its powers and that Trump doesn't overstep to invade Venezuela. We can't repeat past mistakes and allow the U.S. military to invade and occupy yet another country.

After recognizing an opposition leader, Juan Guaidó, as the president of Venezuela, the Trump administration has said that "all options" are on the table. John Bolton, a know war hawk and Trump's National Security Advisor, was also caught on camera with a note that read "5,000 troops to Colombia," which is a country neighboring Venezuela. Let's be clear: Only Congress can declare war. And, under an administration being run by war hawks like John Bolton, that authority is even more important. Donald Trump can't go to war without asking for permission from Congress. And when he does ask, Congress must categorically refuse. The Trump administration's actions are seeming more and more like a dangerous ploy for regime change and military intervention that we've already seen before. In Iraq, the attempt to bring "democracy" and find non-existent WMDs has led to rough estimates of hundreds of thousands of civilians killed. As people are trying to estimate the true cost––in lives and money––of the past 17 years of war, there are people in the Trump administration pushing the country toward more wars. If Trump truly cared about the people of Venezuela, along with other Latin and South American countries, he would be easing the pathway to getting asylum and decreasing sanctions. Instead, his administration seems to be creating more harsh environments through sanctions that would detrimentally impact the economy of the country and getting ready to deploy troops. It's up to us to take a bold stand and make sure Congress doesn't relinquish its powers and that Trump doesn't overstep to invade Venezuela. We can't repeat past mistakes and allow the U.S. military to invade and occupy yet another country.

There is no reason except interest group driven domestic politics that Cuba should be the only non-conflict country in the world for which the US government requires its citizens to have a license to travel. While the door has opened considerably, too many Americans fear they do not qualify to explore Cuba independently or cannot afford the high costs of group travel. The emerging private sector in Cuba has been badly damaged by the decline during the Trump Administration of self-directed visitors from the US. Polls show as many as 81% of Americans, including 57% of Cuban Americans, favor normal freedom of travel. Bipartisan majorities in both the Senate and House are also in support, but it has been a low priority issue that faces opposition from a few powerful politicians. The removal of virtually all US Consular staff from Havana has crippled normal visa procedures for Cubans, requiring they make expensive and time-consuming trips to third countries that are uncertain of success. The US obligation to provide 20,000 migratory visas annually is far from fulfilled. Educational, professional and cultural exchange and business missions have become impractical for most Cubans who want to visit the US. Greater travel in both directions is essential for mutual understanding and trust building to achieve real normalization of relations.

My goal is to help Danni Askini to safely return to the US, without being detained in a men's prison. She is a US citizen, and has supplied proof to the US State Department, who for whatever reason does not accept her proof, all because she transitioned at a young age.

This story is absolutely heartbreaking. Trump's Muslim Ban is preventing the mother of a 2-year-old boy on life support from coming to the country to say goodbye to her son. Abdullah Hassan is currently being kept alive at a children's hospital in Oakland. But because his mother, Shaima Swileh, is a Yemeni national, she can't get a visa to come to the U.S. to spend time with him during his last few days. This is cruel, inhumane, and unacceptable. The U.S. State Department has the authority to grant waivers to the Ban, and it would be the height of cruelty for them to continue to deny one to Abdullah's mother. Click here and send a message to the State Department and the Embassy in Cairo—when Swileh is currently living—and demand that they immediately grant her a visa to see her dying son. There's only one reason that Shaima Swileh is being prevented from seeing Abdullah: Trump's bigoted plan to keep Muslims out of the U.S., which was upheld this past summer by right-wing justices on the Supreme Court. One of the arguments that the administration used in court was that the Ban's waiver process supposedly provides relief for banned individuals to get visas. In practice, the waiver process has been a sham—with less than 2% of applicants being granted waivers. But, there's precedent that shows that, if we make enough noise, the State Department will grant waivers in exception to the Ban. This past summer, lawyers challenging the Muslim Ban in the Supreme Court highlighted the case of Shaema Alomari, a 10-year-old with cerebral palsy who was banned because she's Yemeni. Weeks later, the family received waivers and was allowed to the enter the U.S. Let's make enough noise that the State Department is forced to address this travesty and reunite Abdullah with his mother. Sign here to send them a message. Let's get this done #ForAbdullah, his mother, and their family. P.S. After you've signed the petition, please make sure to share it! Let's get enough buzz going on social media that the State Department is forced to address this.

Jamaica has been under a debt burden since the mid-1970s, often paying back more than they receive in any given year. Jamaican people are suffering, violence is rampant, and repayments prevent development on many social indicators.