Every American is affected by this issue because many judiciary positions have been vacant for years, the President's budget is not being addressed, a climate agreement is languishing. It's a disgrace!

This petition will go to all of the U.S. Senators who are in the last year of their six-year term and who have said they will not allow a vote to fill the Supreme Court vacancy because President Obama is in the last year of his term. From the Huffington Post: President Barack Obama is in the last year of his second term, Republican senators argue, so he should no longer have a say in something so important as who sits on the Supreme Court. Let's wait for the voters to weigh in this fall, they say. But Obama isn't the only elected official in the last year of his term who has a key role in choosing the next justice, whose party may or may not hold onto his power post, and who generally makes consequential decisions. The GOP logic seems to be that voters may have changed their minds about what sorts of leaders they want over the past three years, so rather than let Obama function for his full four-year term, the Senate should stall him. Beyond the Supreme Court vacancy, Republicans have also refused to hold hearings on Obama's budget, and one senator had himself recorded throwing Obama's final proposal to close the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, prison base into the trash. If after a mere three years, however, Obama has lost his mandate, what about those other elected officials who haven't gone before the voters in five years? There are 34 senators serving the final years of their six-year terms. Ten of them are Democrats, and 24 are Republicans, including at least seven facing difficult re-election fights. One of those going before the voters this fall is Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which in theory holds hearings on Supreme Court nominees. The logic that says a president shouldn't be allowed to make a consequential appointment in his final year would seem to indicate those "lame duck" senators shouldn't be allowed to cast consequential votes. One might even suggest that argument is stronger against senators, who are one among one hundred, than against the singular president.

We are in the midst of an historic election, a battle of two different visions of America just like we were in the last two elections where the American voters overwhelmingly voted for President Barack Obama. In this nomination you can help shine a light on what is at stake again, from acting as good stewards of Mother Earth protecting future generations from Climate Change, to the corruption of our representative form of democracy through the disastrously wrong ruling of Citizens United, to securing humane immigration policies, to protecting reproductive freedoms, defending the right to collectively bargain for workers rights, to restoring the now gutted Voting Rights Act and protecting Marriage Equality and the next generations struggles as yet unseen struggles for equality and freedom! Now is the time Mr. President to use your eloquent voice to rouse the American electorate once more to go to the ballots and choose hope instead of fear, to choose love for our neighbors as the wisdom of the ages said, "love thy neighbor as thyself" as our Golden Rule and reject the idea that he or she with all the gold makes the rules. Please Mr. President we the American people beseech you to nominate someone who will fight for the vulnerable among us! "Promoting active liberty does not mean allowing the majority to run roughshod over minorities. It calls for taking special care that all groups have a chance to fully participate in society and the political process. -- Ruth Bader Ginsburg" We put our faith in not just our system of government but in the deep yearning for a just society that the people we elect to lead us like yourself Mr. President! Please nominate someone to inspire us all. Thank you!

The headline in Politico says it all: "Shuster lounges poolside with airline lobbyists as he pursues FAA bill "It's the latest example of the Transportation Committee chairman's coziness with the airline industry." (http://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/bill-shuster-faa-bill-airline-lobbyists-219666#ixzz41BxPY6Ls) On Feb. 10, Nick Calio, head of the nation’s top airline trade group, Airlines for America, testified before Rep. Bill Shuster’s House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The topic was a top priority for both men: A bill to overhaul the Federal Aviation Administration, most controversially by putting air traffic control in the hands of an entity favorable to the airlines. Two days later, Shuster’s committee approved the measure. And the week after that, he and Calio escaped to Miami Beach, Florida, with Shelley Rubino, an Airlines for America vice president who is Shuster’s girlfriend. The three lounged by the pool and dined together during festivities tied to Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart’s (R-Fla.) annual weekend fundraising trip. Attendees said it they looked as if they were traveling in a pack. It’s the most recent example of Shuster’s cozy relationship with the powerful airline association. His panel has jurisdiction over the $160 billion U.S. airline industry. The FAA bill is critical to the Pennsylvania Republican’s legacy, and to Airlines for America’s members, which include every major airline and cargo carrier in the country except Delta Air Lines. Calio testified that modernizing the air-traffic control system would provide an “immense benefit” to the airlines and their customers. The bill would spin off the nation’s air-traffic control apparatus into a nonprofit company. The airline industry would have more representation than any other industry on the entity’s board. Pilots would also get a seat, handing the airlines effective control of the air-traffic control system. Regional airlines, which operate roughly half of the nation’s flights, would have no representation on the board.

I am a Nevadan. The recent Nevada caucus allowed the public to see to the lack of democracy and equality in our state. Anyone who was working during the time of the caucus was unable to participate. The voices of working people were not heard during the caucus. This is unacceptable. The purpose of this petition is to let our leaders know that we are dissatisfied with the caucus process. We want to return to becoming a primary election state.

Donald Trump consistently uses his rallies and public appearances to threaten violence against individuals who challenge his candidacy. His out of control, childish and brutish behavior is unbecoming a Presidential candidate and has the potential to cause physical harm to people exercising their First Amendment Rights. Americans should not have to foot the bill for Trump's Secret Service protection when he purposely endangers them. The Justice Department is charged with protecting the rights of Americans. It's time the Justice Department requires Donald Trump to stop endangering the safety of those who oppose him.

We need a fully functioning Supreme Court and a fully functioning President for the next 11 months. If a missile lands on Iowa tomorrow - shall we leave it to the next president to respond? It is critical that the Supreme Court is brought back to full strength as quickly as possible so that all cases will be resolved rather than tabled or to allow lower court decisions to stand.

Acting at the behest of the FBI, a federal court has ordered Apple to develop technology to help the FBI break the security on an iPhone. Apple has resisted the FBI's demand and is expected to appeal the order. Privacy advocates fear that the FBI is trying to set a precedent in court that will make it easier not just for the U.S. government but also for foreign governments to demand that technology companies comply automatically with broad government requests for citizens' private information. If the FBI has its way, this precedent would be set without a debate and vote by Congress, bypassing the shift in public attitudes on government surveillance following Edward Snowden's revelations. The ACLU and Amnesty International back Apple's legal fight against the court order. The ACLU said: “The Constitution does not permit the government to force companies to hack into their customers' devices...The government's request also risks setting a dangerous precedent. If the FBI can force Apple to hack into its customers' devices, then so too can every repressive regime in the rest of the world.” [1] Amnesty said: "Apple is right to fight back in this case: the FBI's request ... would set a very dangerous precedent. Such backdoors undermine everyone's security and threaten our right to privacy. Undermining mobile security ... threatens privacy and freedom of expression at a time when [it] is a clear lack of checks and balances that prevent[s] authorities from abusing surveillance powers." [2] Urge Congress to debate and vote on the government's power to break encryption and to push the FBI to step back in the meantime by signing our petition. References: 1. https://www.aclu.org/news/aclu-comment-fbi-effort-force-apple-unlock-iphone 2. http://www.theverge.com/2016/2/18/11044642/apple-fbi-encryption-eff-aclu-amnesty-snowden

Mayor de Blasio has his own special interest group, the Campaign for One New York - and it is setting a dangerous precedent. As a non-profit organization, One New York collects millions of dollars in large checks from businesses and individuals directly doing business with the City. Using this cash flow, One New York then hires expensive political and PR consultants to promote the mayor’s policies and initiatives. This cycle makes a mockery of our campaign finance laws - which are designed to prevent corruption and conflicts of interest. The good government group Common Cause New York has filed an official complaint letter with the city's Campaign Finance Board and Conflict of Interest Board. Tell Mayor de Blasio that NYC residents find this unacceptable – we need to end to One New York now!

Mayor de Blasio has his own special interest group, the Campaign for One New York - and it is setting a dangerous precedent. As a non-profit organization, One New York collects millions of dollars in large checks from businesses and individuals directly doing business with the City. Using this cash flow, One New York then hires expensive political and PR consultants to promote the mayor’s policies and initiatives. This cycle makes a mockery of our campaign finance laws - which are designed to prevent corruption and conflicts of interest. The good government group Common Cause New York has filed an official complaint letter with the city's Campaign Finance Board and Conflict of Interest Board. Tell Mayor de Blasio that NYC residents find this unacceptable – we need to end to One New York now!

He's a hateful, fear mongering jerk. He's banned from half the world's countries, he's nothing but a corrupt business owner. Let's stop the next Hitler, let's stop trump from ruining this country.

8.5 million Americans are left without representation in Washington. Countries such as Italy send delegates abroad to represent their citizens. These delegates then go back to the respective countries to state their needs. We should have the same.