While ALEC's extreme agenda, which includes pushing "Stand Your Ground" and "Voter ID" laws in the states, has caused many of its corporate sponsors to abandon the organization — including Coca-Cola, Kraft, McDonalds, Walmart, and just this week, VISA — TransCanada is still a proud supporter of ALEC. Resolutions urging the President and Congress to approve Keystone XL that were written by ALEC and include paragraphs lifted directly from TransCanada's own public relations talking points were introduced in six states by legislators beholden to ALEC. In Nebraska, Sen. Jim Smith did the bidding of ALEC and TransCanada by introducing LB 1161, the bill that fast-tracked the approval of the Keystone XL pipeline route in Nebraska. Smith is also the subject of an outstanding state ethics board complaint, over his extravagant ALEC-funded trip up to the tarsands of Alberta, where he toured TransCanada's headquarters and was wined and dined by the lobby group at a venue called (we're not joking) "The Petroleum Club." Tell Sen. Jim Smith to represent his constituents, not Big Oil and corporations, and resign as chair of ALEC in Nebraska. Please add your name to the petition. REFERENCES: "ALEC facing funding crisis from donor exodus in wake of Trayvon Martin row," TheGuardian.com, 12/3/13. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/03/alec-funding-crisis-big-donors-trayvon-martin "ALEC stands its ground," The Washington Post, 12/4/13 http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/dana-milbank-alec-stands-its-ground/2013/12/04/ad593320-5d2c-11e3-bc56-c6ca94801fac_story.html "ALEC's troubles continue as VISA leaves ," DailyKos, 12/4/13 http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/12/04/1260186/-ALEC-s-trouble-continues-as-Visa-leaves "Lawmakers lash out at conservative business group ," Lincoln Journal Star, 12/4/13 http://journalstar.com/legislature/lawmakers-lash-out-at-conservative-business-group/article_6296512d-6adb-5cfb-9762-98c7ee0a0ddd.html "Four States Introduce Keystone XL Resolutions, Lifting Language from ALEC and TransCanada Itself," PRWatch.org, 2/5/13. http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/02/11982/four-states-introduce-keystone-xl-resolutions-lifting-language-alec-and-transcana "CMD Calls for Nebraska Ethics Investigation over ALEC Keystone 'Academy'Junket," PRWatch.org, 6/3/13. http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/07/12164/cmd-calls-nebraska-ethics-investigation-over-alec-keystone-%E2%80%9Cacademy%E2%80%9D-junket

Senate Democrats successfully ended the filibuster on judicial nominations, but that alone won’t stop rampant GOP obstruction. The next tactic Republicans can turn to is the arcane procedure of “blue slips.” When the president nominates a judge from a particular state, the Senate Judiciary Committee sends a “blue slip” to the state’s two senators—asking for their opinion. If one or both senators do not approve, it effectively kills the nomination by blocking a hearing. Blue slips are neither in the Constitution nor even an official rule of the Senate. This is a tradition the Senate Judiciary chair can do away with at any time, as Republicans frequently did when they last controlled both the Senate and the White House. Our federal judiciary is in crisis, and most court vacancies President Obama must fill are from red states—including seven in Texas alone. We cannot give Ted Cruz veto power over judicial nominees. Tell Senate Judiciary Committee chair Patrick Leahy: It’s time to end the “blue slips.”

Women in Sudan are being flogged for reasons such as not covering their hair or choosing to wear pants. Article 152 is a vague Sudanese law that disproportionately affects women. Here is the Article in full: "(1) Whoever commits, in a public space, an act, or conducts himself in an indecent manner, or a manner contrary to public morality, or wears an indecent or immoral dress, which causes annoyance to public feelings, shall be punished, with whipping, not exceeding forty lashes, or with a fine, or with both (2) The act shall be contrary to public morals if it is regarded as such according to the standard of the person's religion or the custom of the country where the act takes place." In solidarity with Amnesty International's 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence, please sign this petition to end this barbaric practice and help women in Sudan freely choose what they wear.

Stop the Postmaster General and the US Postal Service from closing any more small town post offices. We believe the financial crisis in the postal service is manufactured, and Americans are suffering because of it. Americans deserve their mail in hours of daylight.

When not under oath, there is no penalty for VA lying to Congress. This encourages VA to lie, and saves Congress the trouble of prosecuting them. This is the root cause of the culture of lies at the VA. Swear them all in, prosecute the ones who lie.

Please sign this recall petition. We only need 300 signatures from registered voters to initiate the recall process. See Virginia Election Law code 24.2-233. "Upon petition, a circuit court may remove from office any elected officer or officer who has been appointed to fill an elective office, residing within the jurisdiction of the court: 1. For neglect of duty, misuse of office, or incompetence in the performance of duties when that neglect of duty, misuse of office, or incompetence in the performance of duties has a material adverse effect upon the conduct of the office," The petition must be signed by a number of registered voters who reside within the jurisdiction of the officer equal to ten percent of the total number of votes cast at the last election for the office that the officer holds. We only need 300 signatures to start the process. Your support is appreciated. This has to stop here and now. We need Bob Middaugh back ASAP.

This proposal would most effectively get special interests out of our government. Our elected officials are there to serve the common good of this country, not just the wealthy and powerfull. It would also make it possible for any citizen to run for public office based on good ideas and not on their ability to get financing.

This holiday season, 2 million people in Illinois, including 886,000 children, will have less to eat because of recent cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps). Now, some in Congress want to cut another $40 billion from an effective anti-hunger program that helps families put food on the table. We need to act quickly so that Rep. Roskam understands that taking food from kids and other vulnerable populations is just wrong.

We live in a Republic and laws are to be for the entire U.S.A.and all of it's Citizens and governmental entities.

Banning commercials is a step to removing money as a factor to political power. US campaigns should be funded solely by the public and restricted to a series of debates which are fact checked before being presented to the public. The status of a fact should be immediately apparent as the debate is watched.

Great news! Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his colleagues just eliminated the filibuster for most presidential nominations! This reform is crucial for a functioning government because a minority in the Senate was using the filibuster to obstruct every recent qualified judicial nominee -- with no end in sight. The New York Times called this reform "the most fundamental shift in the way the Senate functions in more than a generation." With this rule change, nominees for federal judges and executive-office appointments can now be confirmed with simple majority votes. This will really help dissolve the logjam in the courts from vacancies caused by the unprecedented number of filibusters. This change will also prevent outrages like the recent filibusters that prevented the Federal Elections Commission from enforcing basic election rules, and that threatened to block the Federal Communications Commission nominee unless he promised not to require disclosure on political ads. Nearly 6,000 Californians like you signed petitions to Senators Feinstein and Boxer urging them to pass filibuster reform – and they ended up providing the two critical votes. Please sign and share this petition to thank them!

Your Government wants to cut benefits to seniors, veterans and the disabled without making American corporations to stop paying zero income taxes. Please sign this petition.