The mayor closed 49 public schools. The mayor closed 6 public health clinics. The mayor has curtailed CTA services. Park District fees have shot up. The mayor pushed through the City Council a $500 million+ hike in property taxes and fees. The mayor is sitting on $1.4 BILLION in property taxes in the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) accounts. Say "No!" to the latest give-away to Loop/South Loop based large insider fueled construction projects that shower literally hundreds of millions of public dollars on private interests. Costs are already soaring for the arena and hotel project attached to the Chicago Convention Center. See http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20141118/BLOGS04/141119802/cost-soaring-for-proposed-depaul-arena. The mayor has approved $55 million in TIF (property tax funds) for the hotel construction and the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (a public body) will provide $164 million funding for the arena. WHY re these projects needed? Could it be for the much desired CASINO the mayor has repeatedly said he wants for the convention center? In any case - if DePaul wants a new stadium and Marriott's wants a new hotel - let them buy land on the open market and use THEIR OWN MONEY to build what ever they want. We are not broke. Say "NO!" to this terrible use of public dollars. We need #MorePublic!, not less.

I am starting this petition due to the massive discrepancy in concern and sympathy from the media and politicians for when atrocities like the one in Paris are chiefly happening in parts of the world where the populations are non-western and people of color. We need to change that mindset here and now.

Samantha Power, We, trans and gender nonconforming people, are asking that you do not in any capacity grant Caitlyn Jenner's request to "work with the UN to promote transgender rights around the world" (The Washington Blade). The U.S. trans and gender nonconforming communities are full of leaders far more adept at this task. It is insulting that our expertise at advocacy, organizing, and politics is being looked over for the petty celebrity star power of a former Olympic athlete. Jenner could actually be detrimental to the rights and well-being of trans people across the planet since she shares so few of our communities' experiences with homelessness, unemployment, and violence. Those experiences are especially prevalent internationally and among trans people of color at home: Jenner will never understand what it means to live at this intersection of racism and transphobia. Removed from the realities of her community by a mountain of wealth, Jenner has previously stated that she's not one of the trans people who speaks out against discrimination and has shamed other trans people for using state welfare. In the words of a recent protest against Jenner: “Who, you may ask, did they select to speak on the issues facing trans people and especially trans women in our city? Caitlyn Jenner, who lives in a mansion and has a net worth of millions of dollars, while the average trans person has a 41 percent chance of experiencing homelessness and a nearly 50 percent chance of living off less than $10k per year." Please take a look at this list of just a few people more qualified than Jenner: http://www.buzzfeed.com/saeedjones/100-amazing-trans-americans-you-should-know#.qree9vqAE Sources: http://www.washingtonblade.com/2015/11/13/caitlyn-jenner-seeks-to-work-with-un-on-trans-rights/ http://www.inquisitr.com/2300839/caitlyn-jenner-under-fire-from-friends-over-views-eager-to-look-more-like-angelina-jolie/ http://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/celebs/news/a46024/caitlyn-jenner-halloween-costumes-interview/ http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/caitlyn-jenner-confronts-protesters-who-call-her-an-insult-to-women-20151311 http://www.newsmax.com/TheWire/ellen-degeneres-caitlyn-jenner-gay-marriage/2015/09/09/id/681030/

Carolina students and Chapel Hill community members need to feel safe in all public spaces. Transgender individuals experience discrimination on a daily bases in our stores and offices that conform to the gender binary and marginalize gender non-conforming folks. Help us change that. Demand that Chapel Hill businesses become inclusive by creating gender-neutral bathrooms.

I am a Native American student who attends Norte Vista High School in Riverside, CA. Seeing the misrepresentation and dehumanization of my culture is demeaning and morally inappropriate. This mascot falsely iconizes Indigenous people and treats us as if race is a logo. Let's settle this once and for all; this is the first step in recognizing Natives as actual people not a mystical joke. Next Thursday I will be going in front of the Superintendent of the District and the other Board Members to present my proposal of a Mascot change for my high school Norte Vista. Though our mascot isn't the Redskins, it is still a Brave. The portrayal of the two are still the same just with a different name. According to "Missing the Point Center for American Progress": Research shows that these team names and mascots can establish an unwelcome and hostile learning environment for American Indian/Alaskan Native students. It also reveals that the presence of AI/AN mascots directly results in lower self-esteem and mental health for AI/AN adolescents and young adults. And just as importantly, studies show that these mascots undermine the educational experience of all students, particularly those with little or no contact with indigenous and AI/AN people. In other words, these stereotypical representations are too often understood as factual representations and thus “contribute to the development of cultural biases and prejudices.” Racist team names and mascots provide a misrepresentation of AI/AN people that masks the very real and continuing hardships that these communities endure today. " It's sad to say, but we need the US government's help in some way when it comes to bettering our communities. This is all due to the point in history where the US intentionally wanted to make the Natives reliant on the government in a way to get rid of us and assimilate us (Termination Era, Allotment, Federal Indian Law, Federal Trust Responsibility etc etc). Up until President Obama, no US president has paid any attention to the sovereign nations. They pushed us to the side and paid no attention to us. How can we expect to work with the US when it is filled with people who think of us as a joke, as something of the past because of these mascots and Hollywood portrayals and being cut out of the History curriculum (which is another thing I want to change, but one step at a time). The change of mascot is one step in the right direction. Adidas even said they're willing to help out financially, so what's stopping us? Thank you for your time and your support. It would mean a lot if you shared this link with everyone you know, Native and Non-Native. Wopila!

"Even if we could agree on how to avoid offense – and I’ll note that no one around campus seems overly concerned about the offense taken by religiously conservative folks to skin-revealing costumes – I wonder, and I am not trying to be provocative: Is there no room anymore for a child or young person to be a little bit obnoxious… a little bit inappropriate or provocative or, yes, offensive? American universities were once a safe space not only for maturation but also for a certain regressive, or even transgressive, experience; increasingly, it seems, they have become places of censure and prohibition. And the censure and prohibition come from above, not from yourselves! Are we all okay with this transfer of power? Have we lost faith in young people's capacity – in your capacity - to exercise self-censure, through social norming, and also in your capacity to ignore or reject things that trouble you? We tend to view this shift from individual to institutional agency as a tradeoff between libertarian vs. liberal values (“liberal” in the American, not European sense of the word)." - Erika Christakis

Hall Of Infamy Award 2015: Southeast Human Rights Coalition Names DSS As Chief Enemy Of Democracy & Rule Of Law In Nigeria Hall Of Infamy Award 2015: Southeast Human Rights Coalition Names DSS As Chief Enemy Of Democracy & Rule Of Law In Nigeria 07 Nov, 2015 by Global Reporters Print this article Font size -16+ (Onitsha Nigeria, 7th November 2015) – The Coalition of Southeast Human Rights Organizations operating in the Southeast Nigeria wishes to alert Nigerians and the international community concerning the unconstitutional resurrection of Nigerian State Security Decree 2 of 1984 (Detention of Persons Without Trial); otherwise called Decree No 2 of 1984, which allows for indefinite and incommunicado detention of Nigerian citizens without recourse to competent and diligent judicial process. Also unconstitutionally resurrected with Decree No. 2 of 1984 is another obnoxious and anti democracy decree called Decree No.4 of 1984 (Public Officers Protection against False Accusation); extensively used to arrest and clamp media practitioners into indefinite and incommunicado detention for publishing reports deemed inimical to the interests of members of the ruling military brigandage or cabal. The two infamous decrees were promulgated in 1984 by the current sixth civilian President of Nigeria, Retired Major Gen Muhammadu Buhari when he served as Nigeria’s post Second Republic maximum military ruler. It is vividly recalled that a former minister of police affairs and a close ally of President Muhammadu Buhari, Dr. Yakubu Lame had recently disclosed publicly of how uncomfortable the current Presidency is with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 and the Principles of the Rule of Law and called for suspension of same and enactment of and bestowment of special powers on President Muhammadu Buhari to enable him to perform. Our extensive checks have further revealed that the two criminal decrees appeared to have been suspended, but not repealed legislatively when the civilian governance was restored in 1999. Also, of all the State coercive or armed security establishments answerable, by administration and control, to the Presidency, the Department of State Security Services (DSS) is closest and directly controlled by President Muhammadu Buhari. In other words, the DSS performs special duties function for President Muhammadu Buhari, which makes it believe that it is above the law and the Constitution of Nigeria 1999. This is also contained in Section 3 (2) (a) of the Nigerian Security Agencies Act Cap 74, Laws of Nigeria 2004. The DSS is one of the three successor-security intelligence agencies of the moribund National Security Organization (NSO), which was extensively deployed and used by Major Gen Muhammadu Buhari to enforce his two infamous decrees under reference in 1984 leading to countless disappearances, unlawful arrests, long custodial detentions, torture and unlawful killings. Today, just less than 160 days in office of President Muhammadu Buhari, the DSS has already run riot on citizens particularly the dissenting voices already marked out as presidential enemies. From Gordon Obua to Sambo Dasuki; from Rivers and Akwa Ibom State Resident Electoral Commissioners to Hon Justice Muazu Pindigi; and from Sambo Dasuki again to Citizen Nnamdi Kanu, the list of the DSS riotous conducts and operational brigandage in less than 160 days of the Buhari’s Presidency has continuously been on rising. Of all the coercive or armed security establishments under the present Buhari’s administration, the DSS is the most extensively used and deployed by the Presidency to perpetrate and perpetuate all kinds of anti democratic and anti constitutional conducts. These explain our inclusion of the DSS in the hall of infamy award and bestowment of Chief Enemy of Democracy & Rule of Law Award on it. The DSS’s recent statement in which it claimed that it is a respecter of the rule of law and judicial process is vexatious, insulting and a mockery of the country’s constitutional and pluralistic democracy. Our collective questions are: where lies the DSS’s pro democratic and rule of law claims when it autocratically invaded and laid siege on the residence of Sambo Dasuki who is under the protection of a court of competent jurisdiction? What has the so called “failure to honour presidential committee’s invitation on arms procurement” got to do with an interior intelligence security body and its riotous invasion of his residence? Is a presidential committee on arms procurement a court or judicial panel of enquiry? Why did the DSS not arrest former Governor Rotimi Amechi to enforce his appearance before Governor Wike’s panel of enquiry in Rivers State? What is the security rationale behind DSS invitation of Sambo Dasuki’s surety (Boni Haruna)? Has Sambo Dasuki jumped his court bail? Assuming Sambo Dasuki has jumped court bail, is DSS a court and which bench warrant is it executing? In all these, where is the Nigeria Police Force and has DSS taken over the constitutional and statutory functions of the Police? Our speaking out is also strikingly emboldened and gladdened by yesterday’s open and courageous expression of free speech by millions of Nigerian citizens of Southeast, South-south, northern minorities and other Nigerian moderate citizens all over the world; registering in unmistakable forms their contempt and disapproval over the brazen re-introduction by the Buhari’s Presidency of exclusivist, segregated, primordialist, ethnocentric, oligarchic, corruptive, archaic, discriminatory, suppressive and oppressive presidential governing styles in Nigeria. The collective meaning of the thunderous free speech expressed yesterday (6th November 2015) in hundreds of Nigerian cities and foreign capital cities is that Nigerians under Buhari’s administration are not ready to be taken to Kabul (Afghanistan) or Harare (Zimbabwe) and that anything short of them being taken to Seoul (South Korea) or Taipei( Taiwan) ...

the broken lives of the people who have worked for the mcmahons and ruined them in every way to finally make the company pay for the decades of hell. the body count of there wrestlers who are dead is over three hundred all from steroid and drug overdose. or by neglegance. enouph is enouph. to see the us goveenrment size control of the company to where the mcmahons do not own it anymore. and leave them all in the poor house. how does a wrstling promoter, get away with what they have. enouph is enouph.

I feel the celebration of Columbus Day is an insult to the indigenous people of this country and distorts the true history of the United States.

Because it is a real shame that grandparents can be "terminated" at will. A grandparent/grandchild relationship is beneficial to all involved. The kids are hurt more when this happens. We have to push forward when we are shoved back. I want the laws to reflect that a grandparent who has been involved since their births, helped raise these kids, DOES have a right to maintain that "special" relationship. Something needs to change.

From lying to Congress to start a needless war in Iraq that has destabilized the region, to playing a part in the authorization of state sponsored kidnapping and torture, and then allowing the company he once ran to receive no-bid contracts in Iraq, Dick Cheney deserves prison time rather than any type of national honors! Join me in a unified voice to tell Congress that We the People will not honor Dick Cheney and we do not want the hard earned money we pay to the government to fund this reprehensible folly!

"Demanda a Oregon para restablecer licencias de conducir. Organización sin fines de lucro de Oregon presentó una demanda legal hoy para reinstaurar una ley estatal que permitiría a la gente del estado sin estatus legal en EE.UU. a obtener licencias de conducir. El Oregon Law Center señaló que es ilegal que el estado haga cumplir la Medida 88 del referendo dado que fue por motivos de regular las leyes de inmigración, labor que le corresponde al gobierno federal, indica la demanda. Entre los acusados en la demanda están la gobernadora Kate Brown, al director del Departamento de Transporte estatal, varios miembros de la Comisión del Transporte y al administrador del Departamento de Tránsito de Oregon. La vocera de la fiscal general del estado Ellen Rosenblum, Kristina Edmunson, dijo que el Departamento de Justicia de Oregon representará a los acusados. Edmunson se negó a comentar sobre la demanda pendiente". -Iván García Journalist "Demand Oregon to restore driver's licenses. Nonprofit organization Oregon filed a lawsuit today to reinstate a state law that would allow the people of the state without legal status in the US to obtain driver's licenses. The Oregon Law Center said it is illegal for the state to enforce Measure 88 referendum because it was based on laws regulating immigration, work that belongs to the federal government, the lawsuit said. Among the defendants in the suit are Gov. Kate Brown, the director of the state Department of Transportation, several members of the Committee on Transport and administrator of Oregon DMV." Journalist Ivan Garcia This is the time. Let's BE HEARD AND MAKE A DIFFERENCES NOW. SIGN NOW. Share with friends, family, etc. Firma AHORA para hacer la diferencia...compartan con amigos, familia, etc.