Donald Trump's racism and bigotry is being welcomed with open arms by Florida Republicans. Right now, Republican legislators are trying to enact two pieces of legislation inspired by Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric - further spreading fear and xenophobia across Florida. Both of these proposals are nothing more than attacks on immigrant families, and would place undue burden on local governments, school districts, and law enforcement across the state of Florida. One of the proposals, sponsored by Republican Representative Carlos Trujillo of Miami, would charge immigrants with a third-degree felony if they violate a deportation order. The second proposal, sponsored by Republican Representative Larry Metz of Yalaha, would fine local government, law enforcement and school personnel who do not report undocumented immigrants. I am sick and tired of politicians attacking immigrant communities! Neither of these bills seek to find a common sense solution to address our nation’s broken immigration system, and would only undermine the trust between immigrant communities and local law enforcement. An editorial from the Tampa Bay Times recently called these proposals “burdensome” and told the Florida Legislature that immigration policy “should be addressed by Washington,” not Tallahasse. Florida politicians should not get a free pass as they attack immigrant communities. Please join me and tell Florida Legislators to reject anti-immigrant legislation inspired by Donald Trump.

I started this petition not because of my own interests, but because of those around me who are directly impacted by the ongoing budget crisis that Rauner has perpetuated. The state can't pay it's bills. Tax refunds won't process until March (if they actually do process) which negatively impacts the people who count on those refunds to help pay bills. We voted for the right to recall our Governor and it a think it is high time we exercised that right. Here are the details of the vote below. The Illinois Governor Recall Amendment, also known as House Joint Constitutional Amendment 31, was on the November 2, 2010 ballot in Illinois as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment where it was approved. The proposal allowed voters to recall the governor and required that at least 20 state representatives and 10 state senators, equally balanced from each party in each chamber, sign a notice of intent to recall the governor before a petition can begin to be circulated. So contact your state Senator and state Representative and ask them to create and sign the required notice of intent to recall the governor. I don't want to wait an additional three years to see what kind of mess our state is in should Rauner serve out his term.

The traffic court system disproportionately impacts low-income and people of color in San Francisco by creating an endless cycle of court-ordered debt that is difficult to break. Current policy in San Francisco uses driver’s license suspensions as punishment for people who cannot pay exorbitant fines and fees. “Quality of life” citations, such as jaywalking or sleeping in a public place, also lead to bench warrants and driver’s license suspensions. Unpaid fines and fees then get transferred to a private debt collection agency that aggressively pursues any outstanding debt. Due to exorbitant fine amounts and reduced access to courts, driver’s license suspensions create barriers to sustainable employment, harm credit, and keep people in long cycles of poverty that are impossible to overcome. License suspensions and attempts to collect these fines and fees from low-income people have no positive impact on public safety. In reality, these practices undermine public safety by limiting the ability of low-income people to access living wage employment, social services, and pay for essentials such as food, clothing, and shelter. Debt Free San Francisco is a coalition that includes Community Housing Partnership, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, All of Us or None, and the Coalition on Homelessness San Francisco. We are working to eliminate the impacts of court-ordered debt on our communities, and urge the City and County of San Francisco to end practices that result in crippling debt for its residents.

The Flint water crisis has once again drawn this law's fatal flaw into the spotlight. What good is a Freedom of Information act if the very arms of government that often need investigating the most are protected from any form of legitimate recourse to find out "who knew it, and when did they know it?" A CEO I knew once said, 'if a policy is stupid, send me a memo with the subject line of "this is stupid." Well, let's send both the governor and our legislature a "this is stupid" memo that will resound through the halls of Lansing so loudly, they'll have no choice but to change it.

Bipartisan legislation has been introduced in Congress to repeal provisions of the recently passed visa waiver program reform bill that categorically barred European citizens from the program who happen to be dual nationals of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Sudan. Different countries have different laws about nationality, which means, for example, that some European citizens are "nationals" of Iran if their father happened to be Iranian, even if they never set foot in Iran in their entire lives. [1] Reps. Justin Amash (R-MI), John Conyers (D-MI), Thomas Massie (R-KY), and Debbie Dingell (D-MI) have introduced H.R. 4380, Equal Protection in Travel Act of 2016. [2] Similar legislation is also being introduced by Senators Jeff Flake (D-AZ) and Dick Durbin (D-IL). [3] The Obama Administration supports the legislation. [4] Because the visa waiver program is reciprocal with Europe, passage of this legislation will protect US citizens who are dual nationals from discrimination when they travel to Europe. Urge Members of Congress to co-sponsor this legislation to repeal discrimination by signing our petition. References: 1. http://www.politico.com/story/2016/01/congress-visa-waiver-iran-iraq-syria-sudan-217714 2. https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/4380 3. http://www.niacaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Flake-Visa-Waiver-Bill.pdf 4. http://www.politico.com/story/2016/01/congress-visa-waiver-iran-iraq-syria-sudan-217714

Strong encryption: * protects us from malicious hackers * will protect privacy against surveillance-state governments across the world * will be important for 21st-century democracy

"WE THE PEOPLE " NALEO O' KA'AINA (Voices of the Land), come now to enjoin all people together. This Petition signifies the wrongdoing of our Governor and State Attorney General, both to whom have violated Federal Constitutional Rights of the People of Hawai'i, Hawaiians and Non-Hawaiians. But not only our rights have been violated. Our lands have been illegally sold for development, making Hawai'i a concrete jungle, with loss of our natural lands, agriculture destroyed, and historic sites damaged. Remove the target of " Corruption " and its entities will follow suit. This petition begins, " Now ".

The IA and NH contests are coming up fast. Bernie is competitive and O'Malley's supporters could ensure a win for Bernie over Hillary. That momentum would be invaluable for Bernie's campaign...

Billionaire donors Charles and David Koch are reeling from a new report that their father worked with an American Nazi sympathizer to build an oil refinery for the Third Reich. With such a tainted history, it’s no wonder that the Kochs love secrecy. Their multi-billion network of secret money groups and think tanks rivals the GOP itself in terms of spending and influence. Worse, the Kochs have actively lobbied to make it easy for billionaires like them to dominate our democracy -- pushing against common sense campaign finance rules, and for restrictions on voting rights. That’s not fair -- if the Kochs want to influence public policy and take such a huge role in shaping the debate, they should do so out in the open with full transparency. But because it all happens behind closed doors, voters have no way of telling who’s taking Koch money. Today’s revelations put pressure on every candidate in 2016 to take a strong and active stand against the Koch Brothers and their anti-democracy agenda. That’s why we’re calling on everyone seeking elected office this year to publicly rebuke the Koch Brothers and refuse to accept contributions or support from their network of secret money groups -- or from anyone else who doesn’t practice full transparency. But more importantly, they should make full disclosure of campaign spending a centerpiece of their campaign, so that voters are able to hold accountable those candidates who do take money from the Koch Brothers and other big spenders.

Ask yourself, who keeps secrets? The simple answer -- people with something to hide. People who don’t believe your vote is worth as much as theirs, or that free speech rights really matter unless you buy political ads. A bombshell in the New York Times, citing a new book from investigative journalist Jane Mayer, exposes how the $350 million dollars Charles and David Koch each inherited at birth, included profits their father made helping to build a major refinery instrumental to the Nazi war effort in World War II. The Koch Brothers have used their family fortune to build a multi-billion dollar network of secret money groups that’s bigger -- and possibly more influential -- than even the Republican Party. The Koch brothers alone will spend nearly twice as much as the GOP in 2016. But because the Koch’s influence buying happens behind closed doors, there’s no way for you and me to know what candidates and lawmakers are receiving their money -- and what they might be getting in return. Voters deserve full transparency from everyone who seeks to influence our democracy. That’s why it’s critical that Congress pass the DISCLOSE Act -- and why the Koch Brothers are lobbying against it. The last time Congress got to vote on the DISCLOSE Act, a few senators killed it with parliamentary trickery. But today’s report proves how necessary disclosure is for our democracy -- to make informed decisions, we need to know exactly who is bankrolling candidates. This report should be the moment for members of Congress to prove where they stand -- with secret money billionaires like the Kochs, or with voters who deserve full transparency about who is trying to buy elections.

Trump's anti-immigrant and refugee rhetoric harms all immigrants and demeans the reputation of the United States around the world. I believe in equality and respect for all. Let's support and respect the workers redeveloping this majestic property (many of whom are immigrants) and pressure the U.S. government to do the right thing and Dump Trump as developer of the Old Post Office on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C.

The California Supreme Court ruled overwhelmingly (6 to 1) that Prop 49 has every right to be on the ballot, but they didn’t put it back on. They certainly should have. The only reason The Overturn Citizens United Act wasn’t on the November 2014 ballot was because the Court made the mistake of taking it off. The Court was wrong and the Chief Justice told them at the time that they were wrong. She wrote in her dissent from the 5 to 1 majority on that point that she did not see “such a clear showing… warranting this court taking the extraordinary step of removing the measure from the ballot, thereby disenfranchising voters.” She also reminded her colleagues that the court’s own precedent would direct them to not interfere with an election, but to consider ballot measure questions after the vote. They didn’t listen. The court was wrong, but they didn’t admit it in their ruling. Putting Prop 49 back on the ballot would have been the court’s “my bad.” They need to own up to their mistake and they need to correct it. They can have that opportunity. Secretary of State Alex Padilla has until January 19th to file for a rehearing to make the case that the court has repeatedly disenfranchised the voters of California and should restore Prop 49, The Overturn Citizens United Act, to the November 2016 ballot. Call today: 916 653 7244. Tell him it’s his job to defend our right to vote on Prop 49. Tell him the people of California are depending on him. Ask him when he’s going to file. Those who sued and who want to keep The Overturn Citizens United Act off the California ballot and continue to delay our efforts are celebrating. When the guys who lost are still winning, that’s not justice. Thank you so much for taking action. If our opposition were not so scared of a California vote, they would not be working this hard to keep The Overturn Citizens United Act off the ballot.