Trump nominated Peter Wright to lead the EPA’s program that manages more than a thousand Superfund toxic waste sites. Wright is a Dow Chemical lawyer and former Monsanto employee. The Senate can reject Wright’s nomination. But we need your help to convince it to act!

The Trump administration wants to rush in a question [1] about citizenship status during the national census. Guess where they got the idea? From infamous Trump adviser Kris Kobach, who represents anti-immigrant hate groups. Of all the ways democracy is threatened by Donald Trump, an unfair and inaccurate census could have the most dramatic long-term impact on public services and congressional district borders. Inaccurate census counts give an unfair share of funding and representation to low-density, rural areas, which is why a bipartisan group of 161 mayors wrote the administration to plead that they not tamper with the census questions and risk an inaccurate count. [3] The more people who are afraid [4] to talk to a census taker -- either because of their own immigration status or that of someone else in the household -- the fewer congress members, the less federal money for schools and other public services, our bustling urban areas will get. States like Texas [5] and California will be very hard hit, as well as every large city, in any state. Sign today to join the chorus and make them hear us. Tell Wilbur Ross to do his job and serve the American people, all of us, not just extremists in the Republican Party. [1] - “Wilbur Ross Overruled Career Officials at Census Bureau to Add Citizenship Question” - Pro Publica, March 27, 2018 https://www.propublica.org/article/wilbur-ross-overruled-career-officials-at-census-bureau-to-add-citizenship-question [2] - “Trump Got Idea For Census Citizenship Question From Anti-Immigrant Hate Group Attorney” - The New Civil Rights Movement, March 28, 2018 http://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2018/03/trump-got-idea-for-census-citizenship-question-from-anti-immigrant-hate-group-attorney/ [3] - “Nation’s Mayors to Secretary Ross: Don’t Politicize Census. Remove the Citizenship Question.” US Conference of Mayors, March 27, 2018 https://www.usmayors.org/2018/03/27/nations-mayors-to-secretary-ross-dont-politicize-census-remove-the-citizenship-question/amp/ [4] - “Hidden Figures: How Donald Trump Is Rigging the Census” Mother Jones, May/June 2018 https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/03/donald-trump-rigging-2020-census-undercounting-minorities-1/ [5] - “Analysis: Adding a citizenship question to the census could screw over Texas” Texas Tribune, March 27, 2018 https://www.texastribune.org/2018/03/27/analysis-adding-citizenship-question-census-could-screw-over-texas/

The biggest threat to our democracy that nobody is talking about is the real possibility of a rogue Constitutional convention -- empowering the far right to radically reshape the Constitution, our laws, and our country. If just a few more states sign on to a “Article V convention” for a balanced budget amendment, there’s no limit to the damage they can do. By exploiting never-before used provisions in Article V of our Constitution, 28 states have already called for a Constitutional convention, and they only need 6 more to succeed. Once convened, there are no rules on the books to limit or constrain what comes next -- which means unelected, unaccountable delegates, many of them picked by extremist state legislatures, would have free reign to rewrite our entire system of government. No law, no Constitutional provision would be safe. Ending Social Security and Medicare. Blocking a woman’s right to choose. Rolling back marriage equality. Gutting the EPA and labor protections. Repealing Obamacare. Undermining First Amendment protections for free speech and a free press. An Article V convention would let right-wing extremists write their entire agenda into our Constitution, with zero checks and balances. We need your help to stop them. This is the worst possible time to open this Pandora’s Box. Unlimited money in politics and partisan gerrymandering have given Republican extremists total control of a majority of state legislatures. When one party controls the White House, Congress, a majority of state legislatures, and the Supreme Court, it’s hard to imagine a fair process. Even worse, big money interests like the Koch Brothers and ALEC are investing heavily in the push for a Constitutional convention -- which means they’d be calling the shots if one happens. That means the result of any Article V convention would be a not only a massive swing to the right in our nation’s politics -- it would embed these assaults on some of our most cherished rights in the Constitution, creating an incredibly difficult hurdle to overcome, setting us back generations, if not destroying our democracy altogether. With just a few states to go until the two-thirds majority needed, the time to speak out is NOW. Please add your name today and tell lawmakers in your state to REJECT calls for an Article V convention.

It doesn't matter whether you're a working parent, student, senior or service member -- everyone deserves an opportunity to get to the polls and vote when it’s convenient. That's why policies like Early Voting, a common sense solution already enacted in 37 states, are so important. But when it comes to voting rights -- New York lags behind the rest of the nation. Right now, Common Cause New York is leading to bring Early Voting to their state, so that New Yorkers can exercise their basic democratic rights without unnecessary barriers. Now, it's up to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo whether this common sense solution is enacted. He's meeting with legislative leaders are meeting in Albany this week to finalize the state budget, and it's absoutely critical that they commit to to fully fund Early Voting. Gov. Cuomo promised to pass Early Voting earlier this year, and included the money to enact it in his budget. But now, we're hearing reports from budget negotiations that Early Voting funding has been cut -- even though 65% of New Yorkers support it. Eligible voters should be able to cast their ballot on a day that's convenient for them, without worrying about choosing between their work, their family and their vote. So if Cuomo won't fight for Early Voting, we need to make sure he knows the whole nation is watching. Add your name today to tell Gov. Cuomo -- we expect you to stand up and fight for every voter's right to be heard, and make sure Early Voting is fully funded for New Yorkers.

My family was unaware of any law prohibiting what we believed to be a perfectly reasonable pet - a pair of miniature pigs. These pigs were full-grown, and were no bigger than an English Bulldog. A resident in the historic district of Opelika has recently brought new light to an antiquated law which states “no hogs shall be kept within the city limits”, and had made the case that this includes even miniature pet pigs that are kept as indoor pets, and not livestock hogs that are raised for food/sale to market, which in my understanding, was the intent of the law. My family’s beloved pets were taken at the financial and extreme emotional expense of myself, as well as my wife and 3 young children. This is just not right, re-defining a law based solely on the objection of one citizen who had personal issues with another citizen, and simply used this law to enact revenge for other personal matters. It should have at least been put on a ballot and voted on, the same as any other law that would effect the lifestyle and rights of some citizens verses those of another citizen.

I am very concerned with the integrity of our Republic. I am alarmed by members of the House & Senate choosing party over country.

To pay tribute to those who have sacrificed from Woodside Queens, a neighborhood that has produced more then its share of heroes from the military; most highly-decorated service members (Congressional Medal of Honor winners, Silver Stars, bronze medals, Purple Hearts); 9/11 responders; commissioners; district attorneys; cops; firemen; FBI, DEA, and a host of other public servants. Woodside is truly a Neighborhood Of Heroes...

The Trump Administration is launching an extraordinary attempt to hijack the 2020 census for political purposes. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross recently announced that he will add a question asking citizenship status to the 2020 U.S. census. Experts — from former census directors representing both Republican and Democratic administrations, 60 members of Congress, 161 Republican and Democratic mayors, 19 state attorneys general, more than 170 civil rights organizations, and prominent business leaders —agree this is a terrible idea. The inclusion of a citizenship question is likely to scare people of color and undocumented immigrants away from responding. This would result in a severe undercount of newer Americans — even Americans who have lived in the U.S. for decades, whose children and spouses are American citizens — and lead to unfair redistricting that would unduly benefit Republicans making the changes. This hijacking of the 2020 census must stop. Secretary Ross should uphold the government’s constitutional duty to count ALL people in EVERY part of the country — without adding unnecessary and overtly political questions that will scare people away.

Whatever we may think about our current President, our Electoral College clearly failed to perform the function Madison and Hamilton had envisioned for it. Rather than override the will of the people when they chose a demagogue unqualified for high office, the Electoral College did precisely the opposite. It is time to admit that the Electoral College must enter the post-Civil War era.

We have watched Trump cabinet members steal taxpayer funds to finance exorbitant travel, furnishings, doors, and a sound booth for Mr. Pruitt. We must require that we receive proof that these cabinet members (Tom Price, Shulkin, Stephen Mnuchin, Ryan Zinke, Scott Prutt, Ben Carson and any others) have reimbursed the treasury fully for this rampant misuse of taxpayer dollars. Mr. Trump will not ever require this but someone in the White House or some other agency should be sending a collections agency after them for their kleptocracy.

Cambridge Analytica, the GOP data firm in the news for stealing massive amounts of user data from Facebook, might be in even deeper legal trouble for violating campaign finance law -- and so could Steve Bannon, who ran Cambridge at the time. Common Cause just filed official federal complaints with the Department of Justice and Federal Election Commission, based on publicly available data that shows Cambridge and its employees repeatedly violated federal election law -- by letting foreign nationals participate in political expenditure-related decision-making of U.S. political committees in the 2014 and 2016 elections, including the Trump campaign, the John Bolton Super PAC and others. From our complaint: Cambridge "violated the federal law prohibition on foreign nationals 'directly or indirectly participat[ing] in the decision-making process of any . . . political committee . . . such as decisions concerning the making of . . . expenditures'" in connection with U.S. elections. That means Steve Bannon and his benefactor Rebekah Mercer -- who were running Cambridge at the time -- could be exposed to criminal prosecution for conspiracy or aiding and abetting these violations of our laws. We are a nation of laws, and our campaign finance laws must be enforced by the FEC and the Justice Department in order to safeguard the integrity of our elections from foreign interference. These companies and individuals ignored the law, enriched themselves performing millions of dollars of prohibited work for candidates and committees, and then boasted about the effectiveness of their activities in swaying U.S. elections. The laws Cambridge violated are meant to ensure a fair democracy where everyone plays by the rules -- and we must speak up for the rule of law. That's why it's of the utmost importance that the Federal Election Commission and Department of Justice fully investigate Cambridge Analytica's misconduct, and hold any and all wrongdoers accountable to deter future violations. Please add your name today.

The interest rates charged on delinquent property taxes are excessive and a significant cause of homelessness. If circumstances prevent a person from the timely payment of property taxes, the 16% interest rate can put them in a hole from which they can never climb out.