Since the disastrous Citizens United ruling, corporations and ultra-rich donors have been having a field day. Billionaires like the Koch brothers and Sheldon Adelson have poured unprecedented millions into elections, drowning out the voices of every day Americans. Rep. Sarbanes (MD) and Rep. Larson (CT) are introducing legislation to create a system of public financing of elections for Congress. Public financing of elections means ending the control of big money on our politics and guaranteeing that every voice can be heard. And with public financing, candidates could run for office without having a rolodex of millionaire special interest supporters. Democracy means one person, one vote -- not one dollar, one vote. Picture what Congress would look like if each of us had as much of a say as David and Charles Koch. Like what you see? Join us by signing up as a Citizen Co-Sponsor of the Government by the People Act.

If you are not content to allow the Congressional Republican Conspirators and their co-conspirators in the Senate to blithely serve out their terms unpunished--who met in secrecy to conspire against President Barack Obama and who, in the worst display of one-party political brinkmanship and un-American, un-Patriotic activity in the history of the United States; who proudly announced their intent, via Mitch McConnell, to make every concerted effort to undermine President Obama's Presidency, his Administration, his agenda, and the will of the people of the United States who voted for him--then sign my Petition demanding that they all be impeached.

TOM HOUGHTON will deliver this petition to Rep. Joe Pitts demanding he give 855,000 Pennsylvania residents a raise by supporting a minimum-wage increase. Can you sign this petition? From Tom: I support the growing movement to raise the minimum wage above $10. Next week, I’ll deliver this petition to Rep. Joe Pitts challenging him to join me in standing with families across Pennsylvania and across the nation. I am running for Congress because I believe in investing in American families and creating opportunities for people to build a better life. As a former township supervisor and former state representative in Pennsylvania's General Assembly, I have a proven track record of working across the aisle to support legislation that made life better for the people I represented. As your Congressman, I will go to Washington to do the same thing. I do not stand behind radical ideologies, I stand for common sense legislation that improves the lives of American families and makes our nation stronger. Creating opportunities for American families is something on which we all used to agree. I believe it still is. That is why I support raising the minimum wage. Increasing the minimum wage above $10/hr would benefit approximately 1,229,000 hardworking Pennsylvanians either directly or indirectly. Nationwide, the minimum wage increase would benefit a whopping 30,294,000 Americans. This is an investment in the American people and in our nation's economy. For these reasons and more, this idea is popular among many Republican, Independent, and Democratic voters.

In his State of the Union, President Obama called on Congress to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 – an idea popular among many Republican, Independent, and Democratic voters. Leslie Endean-Singh will deliver this petition to Rep. Steve Pearce demanding he give 150,000 New Mexico residents a raise by supporting a minimum-wage increase. Can you sign this petition? We’ll invite the media to our petition delivery. The more signatures we have, the more likely the media will cover our fight on this issue – so please tell others too.

Our Borough Manager has resigned his position and is cooperating with the District Attorney of Pittsburgh and Agents of the FBI. The corruption and lying within our Borough must stop now! Everyone, from the Mayor down to and including all councilors, must go. We demand that they step down immediately! Please remember, this petition is for MUNHALL RESIDENTS ONLY! Please do not sign if you do not reside in Munhall! Your cooperation is requested.

My name is Demetrius DeBaise, and for the last five years I have worked as a baggage handler at Newark International. Every day I lift overweight bags for hours on end for just $8.25 an hour. The stress of trying to provide for my family on so little income has nearly broken me. And now, Governor Chris Christie and his cronies in the Port Authority just blocked my raise. This week the director of the NY/NJ Port Authority ordered raises for low-wage workers like me at JFK and LaGuardia airports. But Newark workers were left out. The reason? Chris Christie and his top person at the Port Authority refused to go along. Christie’s cronies at the Port Authority punished an entire town by closing down bridge lanes. Now they are bullying me and my co-workers to protect the profits of major airlines. Punishing working people while protecting the powerful is classic Chris Christie. This isn’t even the first time Governor Christie has tried to stop me from getting a raise. Last year he actually vetoed a minimum wage increase for New Jersey workers. We want a wage that lets us pay the bills and support our families, and it’s not fair that we may be denied the raise other workers over the Hudson will get just because we’re unlucky enough to have Chris Christie as our Governor.

As we are sure you have been reading about in the news, Erie County Council has been asked to consider an Ordinance guaranteeing upwards of $35 million worth of bonds to be issued by Erie County Convention Center Authority to fund the construction of a hotel at the Bayfront Convention Center. In addition, it is important to note that the county has already guaranteed the initial $100 Million Dollar investment for the development of the Convention Center and the Sheraton Hotel. County Council’s action on this matter is imminent and we ask that you take a moment to consider whether this guarantee is in Erie County’s best interests. While the initial investment was controversial, and remains so now as the Sheraton doesn’t pay any property, county, or city taxes, the investment the public made has helped create a demand on the Bayfront for additional retail, entertainment and hotel facilities. Quite simply, the government has done its job. It has created an environment that now makes it attractive for private developers to continue to develop the Bayfront. Now, the Scott family, the largest hospitality developer in Erie County, with a proven track record is proposing a $150 Million Dollar Harbor Place project. This development includes entertainment, retail, office, residential, and the very hotels the Authority is looking for. Also, it is important to note that a privately developed hotel would pay taxes, and the proposed publicly funded hotel would not. In fact, upon completion Harbor Place development would pay approximately $4.8 Million dollars in taxes yearly. Now it is time for private developers, not government, to continue to develop the Bayfront. If the 200 room publicly funded hotel is approved, Harbor Place development will be in jeopardy. The county tax payers should not have to take on the burden of financing another hotel, when a private developer is ready to take this on. I ask County Council to NOT GUARANTEE the financing of a publicly funded hotel on Erie's Bayfront.

Beyonce.

Manor Superintendent Kevin Brackmeyer’s job may be in jeopardy, one year after being appointed to the post. Trustees will meet behind closed doors to discuss appointing an interim superintendent, but any board action must take place in open session. The agenda doesn’t explain why the board is considering replacing the district leader, but previous board meetings hint that trustees have been discussing Brackmeyer for months. Tuesday’s meeting will be the second time this month that trustees have discussed the superintendent in closed session and at least the third time in the past four months. On Jan. 13, the board discussed the status of Brackmeyer’s contract but took no action. In October, the board deliberated in executive session, but took no action, on the “appointment, employment, evaluation, duties, discipline or dismissal of a public officer or employee, including the duties, assignment and responsibility of the superintendent.” Before the October meeting, the last time the superintendent was discussed behind closed doors was in July, when the board conducted the superintendent evaluation, according to board agendas. Brackmeyer’s current contract runs through the end of 2015. He earns a base salary of $168,302 and received a 3 percent raise in July with the other district employees. Brackmeyer and board President Desiree Cornelius-Fisher did not respond to requests for comment. This past January, the board appointed Brackmeyer as superintendent to replace Andrew Kim, who left for the larger, 19,000-student Comal school district in July 2012. Brackmeyer served as interim superintendent for six months before being appointed, and previously was the principal at Manor High School since 2009. During his tenure, the school improved and was rated by the state academically acceptable in 2010, the first time in four years it had not been rated unacceptable. About 86 percent of the Manor district’s 8,600 students are Hispanic and black, and 77 percent of all students come from low-income families. Nearly one-third of all students speak little to no English. The district had academic struggles for years, with multiple under-performing schools, but has seen improvement in test scores and graduation rates in recent years. The success of the district’s second regular high school, Manor New Tech, which boasts a 100 percent graduation rate, has attracted national attention. In 2010, U.S. Secretary Arne Duncan called the school “a model for reaching underserved youth.” More recently, President Barack Obama visited the school in May, recognizing the school for providing largely underprivileged students “the real-world skills they need for college and beyond.

There is only one way We the People can fight back, and we must do it now before voter suppression laws take away our fundamental right as citizens of a democracy to elect our government. My name is Laura Rubalcaba and I believe in Democracy. I believe in the People of this Great Country. We will not go down like this. Take this pledge and ask ALL of the reasonably sane people you know to take this PLEDGE TO VOTE in 2014. This is a @@Petition. As such, all signers will receive regular email updates and opportunities to join collective actions that are computer and/or phone based for as long as the petition is active. You can easily find these email updates by looking for the "@@" in the Subject line of you email inbox. We will NOT email you for donations. ps. you may contact me directly via the link (my name in red text) under the title of this petition.

WTF

As economists Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes have argued, part of the cost of a war is caring for veterans afterwards. Now Senator Bernie Sanders is proposing to use money from the war account to pay for his veterans' benefits bill, including reversing the cuts to military pensions. 18 military and veterans organizations have backed the Sanders bill. [1] Urge Congress and the President to support Sanders' proposal to use war funding to pay for veterans' benefits. References: 1. http://www.govexec.com/defense/2014/01/senator-suggests-using-war-funds-pay-vets-benefits-bill/77381/