Our democracy is for sale. Superdelegates may be tempted to take dark money donations to vote for billionaire-sponsored candidates, denying true representational democracy to their constituents.

Amazon wants to use your taxpayer dollars to fund the expansion of their private surveillance network known as Ring. It's already started in cities like Baltimore, but it’s not too late for you to stop handing public funds to Amazon and its creeping surveillance system. Amazon has already built Ring partnerships with around 400 US cities. But now they’re going even further by expecting local governments to use taxpayer dollars to subsidize their corporate profits -- and spy on your neighborhood. When paired with Amazon’s facial recognition service, Ring cameras will be able to identify anyone simply walking down the street, and then storing and sharing that data with law enforcement. Such as ICE agents. We need Congress to step in and stop this.

We are entering an incredibly perilous time for our democracy. The signs of creeping authoritarianism, and indeed, fascism, are everywhere. Robert Reich has pointed out that anti-democratic leaders and forces control every branch of government. In the last several days, we had, 1. Trump order the firing of Vindman and his brother; 2. Trump boast that he did this in retaliation; 3. Trump tweet suggest that the military consider disciplining Vindman; 4. Trump influence the Justice Department to change a sentencing recommendation for a Trump friend; 5. 4 AUSAs resign over the politicization of DOJ; 6. Trump boast about his power over DOJ; and 7. Trump intimidate and threaten an Article III Judge. I may be missing more, but each one of these is, in my view, a "triggering event" that should prompt an immediate and vitally necessary response to defend our democracy. As Masha Gessen teaches us, we cannot count on our institutions to save us. Instead, we must save them. There are no guardrails as our democracy careens toward the abyss, and we the people are the ultimate bulwark. The frog is nearly boiled, and the temperature is ratcheting up fast. We need leaders who have the megaphone, the institutional clout, and the organizational heft to help us take to the streets. We need MoveOn to do the thing it has done so well in the past and for which it is so well-suited: mobilize us before it's too late!

We need a presidential candidate running who will end the atrocities of citizens of the United States being stripped of their human and civil rights.

Donald Trump has already shown that he thinks he's above the law, and will act accordingly. But the Justice Department showing preferential treatment for Trump's criminal accomplices is a threat to the country. This turn has come within a week of the Senate GOP refusing to hold Trump accountable for his impeachable offenses. If the Department of Justice's Inspector General and the House Judiciary Committee don't act now, Trump will be shown that he is free to bend the law to his whim.

The very foundation of our democracy relies on the rule of law. We have an adversarial legal system, but when attorneys lie in court it distorts the entire process. Process is important! Many of the attacks on our system of government we have witnessed in recent years, have been attacks on process. This must stop.

If President Trump continues his retribution against individuals who followed the law, in good faith, to report suspected wrongdoing regardless of the outcome, it will send a chilling message to all workers that they could face job loss, loss of prestige, and life-long discord in addition to whatever monetary funds that they could have earned, if terminated by someone in power over them done so in retaliation. The Whistleblower Protection Act is in effective even for Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman. What TRUMP did to Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman was reprehensible, and WRONG.

With a blank check from the Senate’s sham impeachment trial in hand, Donald Trump is out for revenge. He’s starting to lash out against anyone who put their loyalty to the country ahead of their loyalty to him. His latest target? Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the top Ukraine expert who was on the fated July 25th phone call where Trump tried to extort an investigation into the Bidens from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Vindman later testified before the House about what he heard on the call. Vindman did this country a great service. He felt, in his words, a "sense of duty" to tell Americans the truth -- and now, that honorable act has cost him his job, his career, and his privacy. Vindman needs to know that Americans are thankful for his courage -- and that Trump's attacks can't change the important truth that he told. And the White House must be met with a nationwide outcry -- thousands and thousands of us speaking out and condemning Trump's abhorrent decision to punish Vindman for his patriotism.

Representative Garcia stated, in a public forum, that "...in the Constitution of the United States (if) they are found guilty of being a socialist member you either go to prison or are shot,” which is neither true nor becoming of a public servant of your stature. "They’re enemies of the free state,” he continued. “What do we do with our enemies in war? In Vietnam, (Afghanistan), all those. What did we do?" With these quotes, he demonstrated that he lacks the critical thinking skills and moral rectitude to represent Montanans in any capacity. Further, he disgraced our state on the world stage. Most seriously, he incited violence among his constituents for political purposes. This is a perilous time for our nation, in which political partisanship has taken priority over good governance and civility at every level. We the people must stand up to those who would see this trend continue, who would brand their constituents, indeed their neighbors, as enemies of the free state for nothing more than expression of their political views. The statements made, and doubled down on, by Representative Garcia are an alarming escalation of this violent rhetoric and he must be held accountable for them. Only pressure from the people of Montana can compel him to take responsibility for his actions, so please join me in condemning him publicly. By acting together in the interests of our state and our communities, we can begin to change the ugly course our politics have taken.

The POST Act addresses the long-unmet need for civilian oversight of NYPD surveillance practices, particularly the acquisition and deployment of novel, highly-invasive technologies. For years, the NYPD has built up an arsenal of spy tools on the public tab while trying to block public notice and debate. These tools not only include the so-called “gang database,”[1] but also items like facial recognition, IMSI catchers (so-called “stingrays”), and automated license plate readers that can monitor a vehicle’s location throughout the city.[2] These tools threaten all New Yorkers' privacy, but they pose a particularly potent threat to our immigrant communities and New Yorkers of color. Unchecked, the growing use of surveillance technology threatens to obscure and automate racial inequalities under the guise of unbiased computer systems. And too often, these systems create a risk of information sharing with federal agencies, including Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”). For example, the NYPD has contracted for years with the private firm Vigilant Solutions, which operates a national database of over 5 billion license plate data points. Shockingly, in recent years, we learned that Vigilant Solutions was not just contracting with local police departments, it was also contracting with ICE. This is the vendor that the NYPD uses to record countless New Yorkers’ license plates per day, and we do not have an accurate understanding of how the NYPD may be sharing license plate data with ICE. Even worse, the NYPD relies on Vigilant Solutions’ artificial intelligence to map out social networks, label New Yorkers as “criminal associates,” and create databases based on the company’s unproven algorithms. This is just one example of countless surveillance tools that requires a systematic solution. The POST Act is not just a comprehensive response, but also a modest one. The NYPD can continue using these tools by complying with limited protections against waste, discrimination, and misuse. In fact, the POST Act would be one of the most limited surveillance reform bills in the country, especially when viewed in comparison to San Francisco’s and Oakland’s oversight legislation, which also contain outright bans on facial recognition technology or to Massachusetts’s proposed state-wide moratorium on facial recognition. Additionally, many of the jurisdictions require legislators to approve each and every surveillance system their municipality buys, unlike the POST Act, which only requires public notice. The measure is not just widely supported by your City Council colleagues, it’s even endorsed by the New York Times.[3] The message is clear: civilian oversight of surveillance enhances the public’s trust in police departments and public safety. After a hearing before the Public Safety Committee in December, thirty-two City Council members and the Public Advocate have now signed on as POST Act cosponsors. The time is now for a vote of the full City Council. [1] https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2019/7/23/the-nypds-gang-database-a-new-age-of-stop-and-frisk [2] https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2019/9/26/domain-awareness-system [3] https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/18/opinion/nypd-post-act-surveillance.html

The 2020 election has started. Do you want to make sure your vote counts when you go to the polls? Sign this petition and tell your Chief Election Official to ensure that elections are secure and accessible, registrations are processed, and your vote is counted. The chaos of voting in Iowa this week caused voters to be confused and doubt their votes would count. The voter suppression in 2018 in Georgia was an election robbed. That is no way to run a democracy. This is a warning to elections officials nationwide: turnout in the 2020 elections will be high and the world is watching. We can blame the Iowa caucus problem on bad technology. But the decision-makers who run elections in other states can avoid such a mess. Election officials must do everything in their power to make sure new tech is working and establish solid back up plans if it fails, well before the first voters head to the polls. 2020 is the election of our lifetime. Turnout will be high. Our democracy may hinge on a single principle: If polls aren't prepared, our voices aren't heard. We can act now to make sure every voter can cast a ballot that counts. This year, voters will be casting ballots on new voting machines for the first time. They'll be voting by mail for the first time. They'll be registering online for the first time. Election officials: don't wait. Act now to make sure those systems have solid backup plans, thorough testing, and paper backups so every voter is heard. Please join with us and demand that your Chief Election Official prepares for the 2020 election, so that every vote can make their voice heard.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is for people who have “an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors." Rush Limbaugh has only been a divisive media host.