The majority of Democrats sympathize with Palestinian as well as Israeli political aspirations. [1] But you wouldn’t know this from following the news from Washington, where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who opposes Palestinian political aspirations, expects to get a warm welcome from Democrats without being challenged to change his policies towards the Palestinians. Representatives Keith Ellison, John Yarmuth, and Debbie Dingell are trying to do something about that. They’re circulating a letter among their colleagues, asking them to stand up for a political resolution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, to stand up equally for Palestinian and Israeli aspirations and humanity. [2] Urge Representatives to sign the Ellison-Yarmuth-Dingell letter by signing our petition. References: 1. http://www.gallup.com/poll/181682/americans-closely-split-palestinian-statehood.aspx 2. http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/letters/ellison-yarmuth-dingell-letter-israel-palestine-peace

I am a U.S. Citizen living in America and or Puerto Rico who is concerned with the future of Puerto Rico and its people. 45% of Puerto Ricans on the island live in poverty. Puerto Rico has almost double the unemployment rate of the United States. It is predicted that Puerto Rico will run out of money by the end of the year. The government of Puerto Rico has had to close schools and lay off teachers and government officials. Puerto Rico will not have enough money to ensure vital public services to its residents if it continues in the downward economic spiral that it is in. The dire financial circumstances of Puerto Rico is contributing to high rates of crime and violence on the island. Many Puerto Ricans have left the island fearing for their livelihood. Puerto Rico is a Commonwealth of the United States who has benefitted for many years from the resources it has reaped from the island. As such it is our responsibility to ensure the welfare of our citizens in Puerto Rico.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership has been negotiated in secret with representatives of megacorporations among those who have read the text as it develops and who have been among the designers of its terms. Leaked portions indicate that this agreement will turn over massive amounts of power to big corporations to the detriment of anyone who takes medications or who want to be able to use governmental power to protect the environment, advance working conditions and public health, to name a few. The fact that we know so little about the TPP is a clear indication of how undemocratic the whole process has been whereby it has been created.

Peace will only be possible with direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Demonizing Israel and murdering Jews will not lead to peace.

I have visited Cuba three times, the last in October. Cuba under Fidel and Raul was not an enemy. Their predecessor, Batista, with our support, was. Castro was ostracized in NY and Washington in 1959 and forced to the Soviet Camp. Our treatment of Cuba began with a preemptive war in 1898 based on faulty evidence just as the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq was marketed by the Neocons with their "Project For the New American Century" and endorsed by Bush, Congress and "Patriotic" and uneducated citizens.

Just as determined international diplomacy addressed the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program without the use of force, so too can determined international diplomacy end the Syrian civil war, by pushing the key countries backing various sides of the civil war to support a political agreement to end the fighting. Already, the Obama Administration has helped convene international talks including all the key players: the United States, Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. Connecticut Democrat Jim Himes, who led 55 House Democrats in a letter to President Obama encouraging such talks, has introduced a resolution [H. Res. 508] “Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the President of the United States should use the full authority of his office to convene international negotiations intended to stop the civil war in Syria.” [1] Original co-sponsors of the resolution were John Carney, André Carson, Yvette Clarke, John Conyers, Keith Ellison, Elizabeth Esty, Bill Foster, Mike Honda, Sheila Jackson Lee, Marcy Kaptur, Derek Kilmer, Ted Lieu, Jim McDermott, Jim McGovern, Seth Moulton, Bill Pascrell, Mark Pocan, Mike Quigley, Kathleen Rice, Bobby Rush, and Jan Schakowsky. [2] The long struggle to secure the Iran nuclear agreement showed that it matters what Congress says, even when – especially when - the Administration has begun to lead in the right direction. As Rep. Himes said on the House floor when his letter was released, [3] an agreement that ends the war isn’t going to be “perfect” from the point of view of Washington, just as the Iran nuclear agreement wasn’t “perfect” from the point of view of Washington. The US will have to compromise. The Administration is much more likely to make the compromises necessary to achieve an agreement if it has substantial support in Congress for making those compromises. Urge your Representative to co-sponsor the Himes resolution to end the Syrian civil war through negotiations by signing our petition. References: 1. H. RES. 508, https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-resolution/508 2. https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-resolution/508/cosponsors 3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myg2C3fT3uI

On November 10, the Center for American Progress [CAP] plans to host a “conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a range of issues, including Iran, Israeli-Palestinian relations, regional concerns, and ways to strengthen the partnership between Israel and the United States.” [1] Huffington Post reported that the Israeli government and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee successfully pressured CAP to invite Netanyahu to speak, despite Netanyahu’s disavowal of the two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, which CAP has supported. CAP has “long been seen as a mouthpiece of the Democratic Party,” the article noted, adding that CAP founder John Podesta was once chief of staff to President Clinton and is now chair of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. [2] CAP’s Netanyahu event as planned is closed to the public; only “invited” media outlets and reporters will be allowed to attend. [3] Given CAP’s relationship to the Democratic Party, the “conversation” between Netanyahu and CAP is obviously a matter of public interest. Urge the Center for American Progress to open its planned meeting with Netanyahu to all media outlets and reporters and to members of the public by signing our petition. References: 1. https://www.americanprogress.org/press/advisory/2015/10/27/124317/advisory-israeli-prime-minister-benjamin-netanyahu-joins-cap-for-discussion-on-israeli-foreign-and-domestic-issues-u-s-relationship/ 2. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/netanyahu-center-for-american-progress_56301482e4b0631799100532 3. https://www.americanprogress.org/press/advisory/2015/10/27/124317/advisory-israeli-prime-minister-benjamin-netanyahu-joins-cap-for-discussion-on-israeli-foreign-and-domestic-issues-u-s-relationship/

My nephew is trapped in Dubai. He wrote me: "With no passport and no visa it is impossible to find a real job. Normal companies will not hire me. Basically I'm living here as an undocumented alien. People, that I work for, pay me only what they feel like, if they pay me at all."

We need to have our opposition to this war of choice in Syria registered with the President. We have done similar blunders before in Vietnam and we must not repeat the same mistake. It may be good for the Military Industrial Complex but is not good for the country. For the first time we have a diplomatic process to control the situation in Syria and possibly come up with a consensus solution for this killing to stop. All players are on the table and have declared that they would be working towards finding a political solution to the Syrian Civil war. President Obama must put all his energies in seeking a political resolution to the crises instead of doing something this dangerous as inserting US Forces in Syria. Once one of our soldier is killed, both/all sides would blame one another but we would have lost a serviceman and then we send in more to punish the guilty and so on. Let us nip this one in the bud and tell President Obama that this is not a wise move and stop/withdraw any deployment of US Forces from Syria.

Netanyahu's anti-peace rhetoric and actions going all the way back to the early 1990, his pro-settlement policies, on-going siege on Gaza and two assaults on the Strip causing the deaths of thousands and destruction of 90,000 homes, racist campaigning and targeting black African immigrants if taken all together makes the invite to address CAP the most egregious step to be undertaken by a "progressive" institution.

Serious, realistic negotiations with Iran produced a political agreement on Iran’s nuclear program that thwarted the Republican push for war. Now, while most Republican presidential candidates and Hillary Clinton have called for escalating the war in Syria by imposing a “no fly zone,” [1] fifty-five House Democrats, led by Rep. Jim Himes, have called for international talks to end the war, including Russia and Iran. [2] While we work to end the war through diplomacy, helping refugees will cost less money and better protect human life than military escalation. [3] Urge President Obama and Congress to push to end the war through realistic diplomacy with Russia and Iran and do more to help refugees in the meantime by signing our petition. References: 1. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/20/us/politics/gop-candidates-leading-charge-in-call-for-syrian-no-fly-zone.html; http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/04/world/syria-exposes-split-between-obama-and-clinton.html; http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/10/19/us/elections/presidential-candidates-on-syria-no-fly-zone.html 2. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/rep-jim-himes--54-house-d_b_8222622.html 3. http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/10/syrian-refugees-resettlement-us/411178/

Abdul worked as a linguist for a friend of mine during the war. He is trapped because the war in Afghanistan has not ended. Especially for people like Abdul M., employed for six years by the U.S. as a linguist to translate and as interpreter between Afghan citizens and our military forces. After a rigorous screening process, the linguists were placed in positions where they honorably gained the trust of their American comrades and served with distinction. As the Taliban incursion moves in, Abdul M. is trapped, harassed, hunted, and if captured, will surely be tortured and die. He is struggling to survive and save his family. He would need enormous sums of money to smuggle himself and his family out to countries where borders are shutting down daily for desperate refugees such as Abdul and his family. Abdul M. is caught in a legal and bureaucratic nightmare called “administrative processing.” He applied for a Special Immigration Visa (SIV) three years ago. Afghans who worked on behalf of the U.S. Government, who helped U.S. Forces were promised SIVs. Section 602(b) of the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009, authorizes the issuance of SIVs to Afghan nationals who were employed in Afghanistan by the U.S. government. Why is it taking so long to complete Linguist Abdul M’s application? Enough waiting. Our government’s bureaucracy can no longer be an excuse for letting those who helped us get slaughtered. Our linguist Abdul M. needs our protection. Enough procrastination. Abdul M’s application needs to be expedited now. He and his family should be brought safely to the US now.