Many people are still in shock that, defying all the predictions, Trump and the Republicans won the White House, the Senate and the House. At least one can hope for some relief in two or four years if Democrats, Independents and disillusioned Trump supporters ‘throw some of the bums out’. The much bigger threat lies with the Supreme Court where Trump will certainly nominate an extreme right judge to fill the Scalia vacancy. This and a likely Ginsburg replacement during Trump’s term will drastically alter the Court for decades to come. We can expect this Court to repeal Roe v. Wade; weaken the rights of women, immigrants and the LGBTQ community; further disenfranchise blacks, Hispanics and all minorities; favor big business over workers and unions; continue Citizens United and facilitate the buying of elections by the rich; support fossil fuels, hinder alternate energy and ignore the threat of climate change…. to name a few! This threat should not have happened. Antonin Scalia died on Feb 13, 2016 at the age of 79. In March President Obama nominated Merrick Garland, the Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals, to fill the vacancy. However, Republican Senate leaders, in an unprecedented move, refused to hold a vote on the nominee until a new president was elected. Mitch McConnell said, "The American people are perfectly capable of having their say on this issue, so let's give them a voice. Let's let the American people decide.” Republican control of the Senate means that, unlike Garland's nomination, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold hearings and the Republican-controlled Senate will schedule a vote. As long as Republican senators remain loyal to the party, the thin majority they hold should be able to confirm Trump's nominees. That leaves Democrats with one alternative - a filibuster. If the Democrats do resort to this parliamentary tactic, which hasn't been employed against a Court nominee since 1968, they will be able to block a nomination, again assuming that they have the party discipline to hold on to their members and prevent the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster. We must urge Democratic senators to immediately state their intention to block, by filibuster if necessary, any right wing Trump appointment to the Supreme Court. This stance is easy to explain using the very logic the Republicans used to block Obama’s appointment. While Trump garnered the most Electoral College votes, he did not win the support of the majority of Americans. He lost to Clinton by almost 3 million votes (48% to 46%). Americans have spoken, and Trump’s support does not meet Mitch McConnell's and the GOP’s standard. Note that at the time the Republicans said Obama lacked popular support to make the appointment, he had beaten Romney by 5 million votes (51% to 47%) and had an approval rating of 55%. We call on Democratic senators to immediately state their intention to block, by filibuster if necessary, any right wing Trump appointment to the Supreme Court. We have your back. We will strongly support you in this critically important action.

It is time for MSNBC to bring Fernand Amandi to television not as a guest but as a host. MSNBC has been the network offering all views and no one does that better than Fernand Amandi. It is time he is brought to a national home.

Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) recently investigated a large pig breeding farm in North America and discovered horrifying conditions. The investigators found dozens of dead and rotting piglets. Each of the mother pigs was confined to a crate so small she could not turn around or move her head. At pig breeding facilities, piglets are taken away from their mothers at just 17 days, well before they are weaned. Many become sick and injured and die slow, painful deaths. In the course of the investigation, DxE rescued a young piglet and named her Madison. Watch Madison’s video at www.TakenAt17Days.com Companies like Costco claim to be progressive yet they sell products from farms just like the one DxE investigated. Sign the petition and ask Costco to cut ties with all animal-abusing companies.

To get Farrah off the show

When Twitter suspended white supremacist Richard Spencer’s account, in defense of its actions the company issued the following statement, "The Twitter Rules prohibit targeted abuse and harassment, and we will suspend accounts that violate this policy." With his attack on United Steelworkers Local 1999 president, President-elect Trump has crossed the line. He has attacked an individual for speaking out and as a result, this individual has now become subject to the wrath of Trump’s loyalist’s. This from USA Today November 16, 2016 with regard to Richard Spencer: As a private company, Twitter has no obligation to provide a forum for white nationalist views and "can do what it wants," said James Grimmelmann, a law professor who studies social networks at Cornell University. "The case for saying Twitter ought to leave these accounts up is that free speech has purposes and those purposes would be served by having private companies be compelled to be more neutral platforms," Grimmelmann said. "This is not a constituency in imminent danger of having its viewpoints shut down by the powers that be in the United States. We just had an election that proved that there are really ample chances for people espousing strong right-wing racist views to get their views heard." This observation can be carried one step further to apply to the president-elect who is about to step up to the ultimate bully pulpit. We the undersigned request that Twitter suspend the account of Donald J. Trump

No internet service provider (ISP) shall not discriminate the flow of traffic to any and all websites. We ask for the internet to remain open and free from censorship and pay to play systems that benefit the wealthiest of online companies while hindering the competitive market that the internet currently is. Moreover, Net Neutrality should be protected like water rights for the internet is the largest collection of knowleged ever gathered together. A persons thirst for knowleged can not be quenched when they are limited to taking in the biased avenues of information forced upon them by profit driven coporations.

If a private citizen's fire alarm goes off, we are sent a bill, if a paramedic is called we are sent a bill. Donald Drumpf is still a private citizen. Why should taxpayers or the city of New York be responsible for paying for his security? The cost is over $1 million dollars a day! He is NOT a public servant...yet. Even big celebrities, Including the POPE, have their own security details. The public should not foot the bill for his outlandish lifestyle. Let him be responsible for that. He has even admitted to NOT paying ANY taxes! Let Taxpayer money go towards Taxpayer services, not 1 private citizen and his entourage. There should also be a cap on how much is spent on other services he uses and/or curtails others from receiving, and let him budget himself accordingly.

The original design and intent of the Colonnade Apartments is not to be fenced in. The grounds surrounding perimeter of the building is filthy and has needed industrial cleaning for several years. Security problems, maintenance and cleanliness of the building need to be addressed and resolved from the inside out. A fence in the front is contrary to the interests of the tenants.

NOTHING DOING! will demonstrate the quiet power that is at our command whenever we want it. Business needs us. Let’s show Businessman Trump that we mean business. We boycott ourselves and it sends a simple, peaceful but powerful message: We are the ones in charge. Sign this petition, and then please share and spread the concept. Find out more and make a pledge to contribute nothing to change everything at the website. www.nothingdoingday.com Can we, the American Majority (64 million and counting) and the rest of the world, stop this minority-elected president and his crew from driving us backwards, or even worse, off a cliff? We can change the course of history. How? Maybe we do nothing. Maybe doing absolutely nothing could change everything. In the past, Gandhi defied British colonialism, Mandela broke a century of apartheid, and King inspired a civil rights revolution. Maybe it can work here and now.

The recent election has spurred the fears of many Americans for an assortment of reasons, whether fear for personal safety, for the continued defense of the Constitution, or for the position of Americans abroad. In recent days even outspoken Trump supporters have professed concerns with some of President-elect Trump's actions and appointments. While activism is vital, we must not forget that Congress is the first and most powerful check against the Executive Branch. We must continue to remind Congress that we hold them to their responsibilities towards the American people, regardless of partisanship or party affiliation. Congressional leadership must be reminded that we the people are watching, and we the people expect them to act for the wellbeing of all Americans.

Donald Trump repeatedly tweets out misinformation or outright lies but he is not the only one. There is money to be made by drawing eyeballs to a webpage, whether the information written there is true or not. I ask our Congress to make it illegal to purposefully misinform the American people. You can't yell fire in a crowded theater and you shouldn't be able pass off boldfaced lies as the truth either.

The Palm Springs Vacation Rental Subcommittee (consisting of Councilmembers JR Roberts and Geoff Kors) has completed the draft ordinance changes and will be presenting the proposal to the rest of the City Council this Wednesday, November 30th, 2016 at 5:00pm at the Palm Springs City Hall, Council Chambers. Please attend this important meeting if possible. There are MANY changes being proposed, and I advise all parties to review the document link at the bottom of this petition. After reading the lengthy list of new suggested changes, if you disagree, I suggest you sign the petition to let the City Council know you are dissatisfied. Some of the more controversial changes include (but are not limited to): - Limit the number of contracts to 28 per year. - Non owner occupancy is considered a contract, even if no monetary compensation occurs (i.e. friends and family using a vacation rental will count against the 28 maximum contracts per year). - Only 1 financial interest in a vacation rental allowed per natural person, or trust of a natural person (i.e. only one vacation rental allowed per natural person or trust). - No corporate ownership interest allowed. - EXISTING owners who own multiple vacation rentals and/or corporate owners will only be allowed a 4 year period, to Jan. 1, 2021, to terminate use as a vacation rental (i.e. the grandfathering clause has been given an expiration date!). - Maximum of 2 occupants per bedroom, up to a maximum of 8 occupants per vacation rental. It appears the "plus 2" provision for couches will be eliminated. - 1 car per bedroom, up to a maximum of 4 cars per vacation rental. - Annual building and safety inspections upon renewal of permit. - Increase in annual fees from $234/year to $900/year. The city plans on the formation of a Vacation Rental Enforcement Department, which will have a budget of approximately $1,700,000/year. This will be paid for by the increase in the annual fees noted above. A list of applicable fines is also included in the 48 page document. Additional specific enforcement changes are likely. *I encourage everyone to read the ordinance changes themselves, at the link provided below. My interpretation of these proposals may inadvertently differ.** It is unlikely the City Council will end up with an ordinance change that pleases the entire community. There is rare consensus on this topic as it relates to improved enforcement methods to help reduce noise and associated complaints. Most appreciate the extensive efforts to examine this topic and search for long overdue improvements for families and neighbors negatively impacted. However, many of the provisions included in this draft could be changed in order to reduce the economic and socio-economic threats that will likely accompany this change in policy. Also, many in the community have expressed serious concern that a third party economic impact study, which was shared with members of the City Council during the public comments portion of the recent study session, is not being considered. This economic impact report is set to be completed in December, and yet the City Council is electing to move forward with a potential vote without examining the last but very important aspect of this issue - the economic risks to residents and businesses associated with this possible decision. Contractors, landscapers, housekeepers, pool maintenance persons and many others will see their work levels diminish, yet the city has not provided any documentation of the proposed effects of this ordinance change. Analysis has also not been shared that estimates the short term and long term consequences on the real estate values as a result of increased inventory of sellers choosing to leave the market. Many feel such a study would be the responsible way to wrap up several months of hard work that the Vacation Rental Subcommittee has dedicated to this topic. Lastly, the city appears to be sending mixed messages on its course for the future. Ten "Vacation Rental Objectives" were created the past several months, in which the Subcommittee attempted to vet many of the possible changes through. However, what is the "Mission Statement" or list of objectives for the future of Palm Springs? How do the proposed vacation rental changes match with the long term vision and goals for the city? Does the city have one? The city has succeeded in attracting visitors through the fantastic efforts of events such as Modernism Week. However, how does this change in policy affect our overall brand? Has the Subcommittee examined any studies into how many people visit Palm Springs for the sole reason they can stay in a mid century modern home? Many questions remain, and further research efforts should be made before drastic changes are enacted. Here is the link to the 48 page document/ordinance change created by the city: http://ci.palm-springs.ca.us/home/showdocument?id=48863 If you feel compelled, you can email the City Councilmembers with your specific concerns or suggestions. It is suggested you do so well before the Wednesday night meeting, to give them a chance to read your correspondence: Mayor Robert Moon [email protected] Councilmember JR Roberts [email protected] Councilmember Geoff Kors [email protected] Councilmember Ginny Foat [email protected] City Clerk James Thompson [email protected] Regards, Brian Wilson