The 2016 presidential campaign is unique in the history of our nation in that it is the first time that the sanity of one of the candidates has been called repeatedly into question based upon documented statements and actions. The American people have been exposed to a barrage of messages both online and in other forms of media which blurr the lines between entertainment and news. I believe many voters are no longer able to judge the mental fitness of a candidate due to prolonged exposure to an unprecidented amount of biased, inaccurate, and deliberately deceptive information about both candidates. When faced with what we now know is the very real possibility that we could elect a mentally unstable person to the office of president, it is only prudent that we take steps to prevent this now and going forward. The future of our Democracy and our very lives is at stake.

As a Peace Corps volunteer I learned that helping others for a significant period of time and learning to speak a foreign language increased my understanding of the world and my own country making me a better citizen. A leader who is responsible for sending others to defend their country must have personal experience of having done the same to fully understand the consequences of that action.

Recent newspaper and magazine articles as well as comments by Russia to UN make it clear that there are national security concerns regarding his business ties. Voters should be aware of such ties prior to election. Congress and senate took the oath to protect against powers both foreign and domestic. Do your job

Just as we're gearing up for the second presidential debate, Hurricane Matthew is set to be the first major hurricane to make landfall in the United States in 10 years--and its rapid intensification, sustained strength, and torrential rainfall are all consistent with climate change caused by fossil fuel pollution. It's time to make climate change a top priority of the debates and check in on the climate policies and positions of the presidential candidates. Tell the Commission on Presidential Debates to ask the top-ranked internet question on climate change: "As president, what are the steps you will take to address climate change?" This question has received the most environmental votes and it is top 10 overall on PresidentialOpenDebates.com—a site that ABC and CNN moderators have agreed to consider as a source for questions for the upcoming town hall presidential debates. Hurricane Matthew reminds us, yet again, that catastrophic weather events are no longer infrequent occurrences—they are the new normal. We know Donald Trump has denied climate change is even real, tweeting: "The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive." Will he stick with his climate denialist stance or will he concede that scientists are correct? Alternatively, we know that Hillary Clinton understands the science that shows us climate change is a pressing issue that must tackled. However, we need to hear more on the specific steps she will take to address the issue. Will you join me by signing and sharing the petition change the latter part to the Commission on Presidential Debates to make sure that the top-voted internet question on climate is asked during the upcoming debate?

A provision in the Senate’s defense authorization bill (S 2943) would limit the information the Pentagon is required to report about its use of private contractors. [1] If the Senate's provision were passed, the Pentagon's reported figures for the number of private contractors it is using would be so underestimated as to be useless. A House-Senate conference committee is now writing a final version of the bill. Whatever emerges from that conference will almost surely become law. An unaccountable army of private Pentagon contractors doesn't just waste taxpayers' money - that's bad enough. According to one estimate, the Pentagon could save more than $20 billion per year just by reducing its contractor work force by 15%. [2] But just as privatized prisons establish an unnecessary financial incentive for creating more prisoners, privatized Pentagon services establish an unnecessary financial incentive for wars of choice - like the current U.S. participation in the civil wars in Yemen and Syria. Urge your Senators and Representative to oppose any provision in the defense authorization bill that would reduce the transparency and accountability of the Pentagon's use of private contractors by signing our petition. References: 1. "Pentagon Reports Sharp Drop in Use of Contractors," John M. Donnelly, CQ Roll Call, Oct. 4, 2016 2. http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/world-report/2015/10/08/pentagon-needs-to-cut-shadow-contractor-work-force

Every year, taxpayers are subsidizing giant bonuses to CEOs. That’s because corporations can deduct unlimited amounts of executive compensation from their taxable income — as long as the pay is “performance-based.” Under the leadership of CEO John Stumpf, Wells Fargo created 2 million accounts that customers never asked for. But in the years while this was happening, taxpayers were effectively subsidizing the fraud, as Wells Fargo cashed in on $54 million in tax subsidies for Stumpf’s “performance-based” compensation! This egregious loophole costs taxpayers more than $5 billion dollars a year. Thankfully, there is already a bill in the Senate to close it, S. 1127, introduced by Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT). But we need as many Senators as possible to co-sponsor this bill, so that companies like Wells Fargo no longer get to turn big CEO bonuses into big tax breaks. Learn more: The Institute for Policy Studies, Executive Excess 2016: The Wall Street CEO Bonus Loophole, ips-dc.org/executive-excess-2016-wall-street-ceo-bonus-loophole-2/ Senator Reed Urges Congress to Responsibly Offset Tax Cuts by Closing Tax Loopholes, reed.senate.gov/news/releases/reed-urges-congress-to-responsibly-offset-tax-cuts-by-closing-tax-loopholes/

Chained dogs suffer from the weather, from boredom and loneliness, lack of socialization and other neglect. Chained dogs become twisted around stationary objects and are at risk of attack from other free roaming animals. Dogs are social animals and they should not be chained outside 24/7.

We are tired of the corruption in our politics. We need to do what we can in the streets and online to return control of the government to the people where it belongs.

Wisconsin’s discriminatory voter ID law has already caused chaos at polling places during the primary election with confusing and restrictive requirements. Now, in violation of a mandated court order, the state is "systematically denying" registered voters the specific documentation they’ll need to vote. The result? Thousands of Wisconsin voters - mostly Black and low income - will be disenfranchised due to needless barriers on the right to vote. In August, a federal judge ruled that “Wisconsin may adopt a strict voter ID system only if that system has a well-functioning safety net,” ordering the state to provide valid ID promptly and free of charge to any eligible voter who requested one. We’ve already seen other states, like Alabama, put up obstacles for voters trying to comply with voter ID requirements. Now, a new report in The Nation magazine reveals how Wisconsin is making eligible voters jump through needless and costly hoops to get the ID they’ll need to vote. Voter ID laws are already controversial for their disproportionate impact on poor voters and voters of color. Now, it’ll be even harder for the nine percent of registered Wisconsin voters without required ID to get the documentation they’ll need to vote this November. Voting is our greatest right and responsibility, and every American deserves to make their voice heard at the polls. If Wisconsin can’t make sure that every eligible voter has an ID, then they have no business requiring it to vote.

As a Widow of a Vietnam Veteran exposed to Agent Orange/Rainbow Herbicides who died of Esophageal Cancer, which I believe was caused by war time exposure to Agent Orange/Rainbow Herbicides, I can confirm that Vietnam Veterans and their survivors are still suffering the latent and delayed effects of Agent Orange (Rainbow Herbicides and components of Rainbow Herbicides). While other Veterans with similar maladies (like those at Camp Lejeune) suffer maladies and are covered by the VA, Veterans exposed to Agent Orange still fight for the same benefits, even though Rainbow Herbicides are made from" benzene" which is the same toxin found in the water at Camp Lejeune. We believe that the data identifying this and other maladies is being kept from public access in order to keep maladies like Esophageal Cancer off the presumptive list. This act is meant to fully address and provide reparation for the travesties these veterans and their families have perpetually suffered when the Admiral Zumwalt Report, the only "Time Relevant, HUMAN study (on exposed veterans)", that was ever performed, became a classified document kept from the public and from use in determining AO claims, thereby resulting in proliferated injuries by the Veterans and their families.

John Chiang, California's state treasurer, just suspended all state business and contracts with Wells Fargo after details of the bank scamming millions of dollars out of customers came to light. If California charters its own public bank, it could not only permanently avoid the risk of doing business with shady private banks like Wells Fargo, but it could avoid losing billions in bank fees and interest every year by storing public dollars in a public bank that exists solely for the purpose of investing in public infrastructure, small businesses, pensions for public workers, public K-12 and higher education, and other dire public needs. North Dakota has successfully managed its state finances with a public bank for over a century. It's time for California to do the same.

I am a disabled corrections officer asking all officers to enforce the law by protecting and preserving the right to life, due process and property. I am witnessing police officers use of shoot to kill, violating citizens rights to life, denying access to due process and property and am called to take this action.These avoidable deaths seem levied disproportionately on Black America, and in my experiences within and outside of the structures of public safety, are unacceptable so I am obligated as an American and former officer subjected to permanent injury in the line of duty who supports only non lethal uses of force to be practiced uniformly in the compliance of the law. I demand all officers hold themselves and their partners to the highest standard of law enforcement as a matter of justice and moral conduct that be consistently followed as a matter of national professional policing protocol that will save lives of citizens, officers and rebuild the public trust.