Before our eyes, a tide of hatred, violence, and suspicion is rising in America. Just a few months ago, Donald Trump took his hate a step further and called on the U.S. to ban all Muslims—including U.S. citizens who may be traveling abroad—from entering the country. These are not the statements of an isolated demagogue, but the Republican presidential nominee. The United States was founded in part on the core belief that all people should have the freedom to practice their religion. If we don't stop this now—if we don't stand with our Muslim friends and neighbors—then we will be tacitly supporting this new and dangerous wave of hatred and xenophobia. In similarly dire times in the past, Americans have stood together in solidarity—both symbolically and in actual gatherings to show that we will not be divided. We will let members of the media know the number of Americans who are ready and able to resist hateful fearmongering in order to change the current narrative driven by Trump and other demagogues. Then, with a host of partners, we'll begin to organize actions all across the country that demonstrate what Americans really believe and continue a steady drumbeat of solidarity to back up our words. We are a nation at a crossroads. The paths before us are clear: we can choose to be divided by hatred, or we can continue to build a just, inclusive, and safe country, together.

UPDATE: The Legislature passed Senate Bill 13 late at night on December 16th, and it is on its way to Governor Snyder. Tell Gov. Snyder to veto it today: http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/gov-snyder-protect-michigan This idea has been proposed before in Michigan and rejected by a vote of the people. This time, they've added an appropriation so it can't be overturned at the ballot box. The bill has passed the Senate and the House, but the versions are slightly different so this is not yet done. Please take a moment to let your legislator know that you are watching, and want them to work on solutions that will help people to vote (such as no reason absentee, early voting, same day registration), NOT disenfranchise Michigan voters. More about the bill: http://michiganradio.org/post/local-clerks-blast-bill-eliminate-straight-ticket-voting-michigan

Symbols of hate have no place in our military. The Confederate flag is not a symbol of southern pride but rather a symbol of rebellion and racism. Over 600,000 Soldiers dead or wounded and 1 President died defending the United States of America against the Confederate Army, and the U.S. military is still affected by this racist symbol today. It's time to put that symbol of rebellion and racism behind us and move toward healing and a better United States of America! I will leave you with two quotes that explain the intent and legacy of the Confederacy and its symbols. William Tappan Thompson, creator of the Confederate Flag is quoted in the 1872 book, "Our Flag: Origin and Progress" by George Preble, " As a people we are fighting to maintain the heavenly ordained supremacy of the white man over the inferior or colored race; a white flag would thus be emblematical of our cause...Such a flag would be a suitable emblem of our young confederacy, and sustained by the brave hearts and strong arms of the south, it would soon take rank among the proudest ensigns of the nations, and be hailed by the civilized wolrd as THE WHITE MAN’S FLAG." If this is not convincing to you, consider what the Vice President of the Confederate government, Alexander Stephens said in the Cornerstone Address, specifically addressing America’s belief that all men are created equal: " Its cornerstone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition. This, our new government, is the first, in the history of the world based on the great physical, moral, and philosophical truth." If you know these beliefs do not belong in today's US military sign the petition.

Congress is about to pass a government funding bill chock full of ideological riders and special interest favors that makes it even easier for wealthy donors to dominate our democracy. It’s the result of backroom negotiations between lobbyists and lawmakers, using the upcoming must-pass budget bill as a political football, with the American people cut out of the equation. We have until December 11 -- when the federal government’s current funding expires -- to get these riders out of the current budget bill and stop any more last-minute shenanigans. Tell Congress to pass a clean bill to fund the government -- without riders that pay back donors or weaken our campaign finance rules.

Rahm Emanuel has lost the confidence of the people over the cover-up of the Laquan McDonald murder. At this point Emanuel makes claims to media that are widely considered not credible. Toni Preckwinkle, Chuy Garcia & Kim Foxx have the confidence of the people signing this petition. Rahm Emanuel & Anita Alvarez do not.

The bill for medical marijuana should be passed to help with the many medical conditions including Cancer and AIDs. Medical marijuana is needed to help with the pain of these conditions. Also, it helps with neuropathic pain associated with nerve damage and would be beneficial. Another advantage to passing the bill is that it will help lower marijuana crime rates.

I want to run for the office of Senator in Oregon State. I have resided here in Oregon for 37 years. I have seen things in the last 2-3 years that have horrified me, especially about the justice system. It badly needs fixing. Our education system, has no money, because Oregon puts more money into prisons then education. We need more police presence. We need to protect or gun rights. There is so much more that could be done to make Oregon great once again.

How could our representatives allow corporate tribunals to determine the price we owe investors when our health and safety regulations interfere with their profits? Do they really support a global corporate court system staffed by corporate lawyers with no ethical requirements of neutrality and no way to be reviewed, appealed or challenged in existing domestic court systems? How could our representatives support an agreement with laughable enforcement measures for environmental issues when compared with the rights of corporations to profits? 13 leading environmental organizations [Sierra Club, NRDC & more ] have reviewed the TPP, and stand opposed. This agreement only talks the talk, doesn't require walking the walk. Why would our representatives support an expansion of the number of American jobs going overseas? Or an expansion of the race to the bottom by allowing the importing of labor from other countries to the US without our laws and labor rights prevailing. How could our elected representatives believe that an expansion of protection for patent medicines and biologics (and a resultant decrease in the availability of generics) is good for the public and for public health??? We, the voters, will know by your vote on this issue just whom you are representing, the people or the corporations.

In the United States Constitution, it states that only a natural-born citizen or a citizen of the United States at the time of adoption of the constitution may assume the office of President. This law was created in order to prevent a British colonialist from becoming President and making the newly formed America a British colony again. Today, this is no longer a threat and the American people know better than to elect a candidate who does not have America’s best interest at heart, consequently making the law redundant. The law prevents over five percent of otherwise legible U.S. Citizens from having the right to become President. We do not believe it is right, that someone should be denied the right to be elected to public office, simply because of their place of birth. Many immigrants have served in the U.S. military, made scientific and medical advances for the United States, brought money to the U.S. in the form of businesses, and even served America in other forms of public office. Many immigrants are just as patriotic, if not more so, than many natural-born citizens, and we believe that denying them the right to candidacy to the Presidency is morally unjust, and decreases the number of able candidates, potentially denying America a better leader. Many able politicians who would have been strong Presidential candidates have not had the opportunity to run, and consequently the people have not had the right to elect them, simply because of the country they were born in. We believe that country of birth is irrelevant, and that what matters is the country you have allegiance to. It is foolish to believe that someone born in the United States, but who has lived abroad all their life, has more allegiance to the United States, and more right to become President, than someone who was born abroad, but has chosen to leave their home and past behind them and make a new life in the country they have always dreamed of living in. We believe that the foundations of democracy are that the people have the right to elect the leader they wish to be led by, and that they should be able to vote for whoever they wish provided that person wishes to be President. We believe that the people should have the right to choose their leader, whether the candidate was born in the United States or not. Consequently, we ask that an amendment to the Constitution is proposed to repeal the natural born citizen clause, and allow foreign-born citizens to assume the role of President provided they fit the remaining criteria and have been a citizen for at least twenty years; and so we propose the Equal Opportunity to Govern Amendment that: “Section 1: A person who is a citizen of the United States, who has been for 20 years a citizen of the United States, and who is otherwise eligible to the Office of President, is not ineligible to that Office by reason of not being a native born citizen of the United States. Section 2: This article shall not take effect unless it has been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States not later than 7 years from the date of its submission to the States by the Congress.” Consequently, we urge Congress to propose and pass this amendment, so that there truly are equal opportunities for all Americans to govern the United States, and the President, truly is the person considered by the people to be the best person for the job. For more information visit the Equal Opportunity to Govern Campaign's website at www.eotg.org

The next U.S. President will be faced with unprecedented and extremely difficult issues, both here at home and around the globe. We need someone we can trust, a candidate that speaks the truth and will offer concrete solutions that they firmly believe in and plan on implementing. Which U.S. Presidential candidate has the courage, confidence and integrity to face a lie detector test? More importantly, which ones don't?

My piece speaks for itself. No, it's not a petition. It's a fervent desire.

Tom Byrne, Jr., the son of a former New Jersey governor, chairs the NJ State Investment Council and is charged with managing pension fund investments for public workers, teachers, firefighters, police officers and other dedicated workers that make New Jersey great. For years Tom Byrne and the State Investment Council funneled investments into politically connected hedge funds, private equity firms and other Wall Street entities. As the State’s pension crisis grew, so did scrutiny on these investments. In fact, NJ Hedge Clippers - a coalition of progressive organizations and community activists – released a report in July which found hedge fund investments cost New Jersey’s public workers more than $1 billion in fees and bonuses since 2007. Since then, NJ Hedge Clippers, public worker unions, pension boards, elected leaders, community organizations and academics have been pressing Tom Byrne and the State Investment Council to do a full audit of the fees being charged by politically connected Wall Street firms. But Mr. Byrne dug in his heels – like a true Wall Street apologist – and refused to authorize an audit of the fees and bonuses being taken from the retirements of public workers in New Jersey. Under pressure from all sides, Mr. Byrne claimed that it was an attack on the State Investment Council by people who simply don’t like Wall Street. Then he claimed that hedge fund and private equity managers “work really hard” and deserve to rake in millions of dollars of fees and bonuses. Finally, he relented – kind of – and agreed to issue a report on Wall Street fees and bonuses going back five years, all while continuing his defense of this outrageous Wall Street grab. By signing this petition you can send Tom Byrne a clear message: Protect Pensions from Wall Street Greed! Simply issuing a report isn’t enough. The taxpayers of New Jersey and the public workers who earn every penny of their pension deserve a FULL FORENSIC AUDIT of these Wall Street fees and bonuses going all the way back to 2007. It doesn’t matter if his critics like Wall Street or not. And it certainly doesn’t matter that he thinks wealthy hedge fund managers work hard. The real hard work is done by dedicated public workers who spend their days teaching and caring for our children, protecting us from danger, and responding to life & death emergencies. Public workers are the definition of “hard work” – and it’s time for Tom Byrne to honor the hard work of teachers, firefighters, police officers and other public workers who entrust their retirement security to the NJ State Investment Council.