In the midst of multiple social, political, and environmental crises, Sen. Cruz and other conservative members of the GOP have decided to use their platform to oppose…the new Barbie movie. Sen. Ted Cruz called it “Chinese communist propaganda” due to a crudely drawn map briefly shown in the film, and Rep. Matt Gaetz's finacee called for a boycott of the film. While we recognize the impact that glib and careless representations of geography can have within larger historical and sociopolitical contexts, let's be clear: A man whose actions contributed to a violent insurrection isn't concerned about geopolitics or democracy. We suspect Sen. Cruz and MAGA Republicans just don't like a movie that actually passes the Bechdel test and where a Black woman was elected president. Sign the petition to let Sen. Cruz and MAGA Republicans know that they are no more welcome in Barbie Land than they are in Congress!

The West County Road Ops Yard is an industrial operation that houses many large trucks and hazardous materials that are inconsistent with the surrounding residential communities. The development will require significant deforestation and destruction of the environment and the natural buffer between the communities and the landfill. It will cause additional traffic to an already heavily congested single lane road and creates a safety risk for the children's bus stop at the entrance to the community. The community was not consulted during the planning of the relocation and it has been hidden from the public view due to loopholes used by the county. The county needs to halt the relocation planned, and find a suitable location that does not negatively impact the community residents. A proposal was made and submitted to the county with little to no response on several of the issues outlined. To find out more information and see the proposal you can access the google drive linked here. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1nWtu3i8NY5NB7pXFsLh3vfiQOSI6wTxE?usp=sharing

Many lives are at risk.

We cannot jump from one mishandled, corrupted social platform to the next. Meta needs to listen to the public, establish trust, and address serious concerns from the start if they want to grow this new platform. Sign the petition now.

Social media companies have turned the community power of social media into a blizzard of distraction. Instead of bringing us together, social media CEOs keep making decisions that make matters worse. Now Facebook is flooding its users with irrelevant posts that we didn't sign up for. CEO Mark Zuckerberg must reverse this decision and stop Facebook from becoming a total junkyard of useless distraction.

You can visit our website for more information, at www.4APDF.org. Please support HB 5373 to protect pain patients and their doctors. It was passed in the House, but we need your help for the Senate! Sign this petition to help get this bill passed! The CDC’s data puts the rate of substance use disorders among the chronic pain community at .23%. The DEA admitted it’s less than 1%. When compared to 88-90% of fatal “overdoses,” which are in reality, poisonings from illicitly manufactured fentanyl (IMF), coupled with the fact that the last 12-month period has set a record for overdose (or poisoning) deaths, it’s clear that depriving chronic pain patients of their medication only exacerbates the problem. The overdose/poisoning rate has more than doubled from 2012, when pain medicine prescriptions peaked. This crisis is not about chronic pain medicine.

Moms for Liberty's national convention will bring hundreds of dangerous extremists to Philadelphia and feature right-wing politicians who are a threat to our democracy, including Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. The Museum of the American Revolution should never have agreed to host the Moms for Liberty national convention welcome reception. Employees and patrons of the museum agree and have called on the museum to cancel, with over a third of staff signing an internal petition against hosting. The rest of the convention will take place at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown hotel. And unfortunately, this isn't Marriott's first go at enabling Moms for Liberty—they also hosted their convention last year in Tampa, Florida. Our freedom to learn—and to make decisions about what our students and children can learn—is being stripped away by concerted attacks from right-wing parents like Moms for Liberty and Republican legislators dead set on politicizing our schools. It’s no surprise that Moms for Liberty targets LGBTQ+ books and books about race and racial diversity. It's the right wing's latest tactic designed to eradicate conversations students have in the classroom around genocide, white supremacy, gender, and sexuality. The Museum of the American Revolution and Marriott must do the right thing and refuse to host Moms for Liberty.

Former President Donald J. Trump is facing 37 federal charges, including 31 violations of the Espionage Act, for stealing from and refusing to return top-secret nuclear and military documents to the government. Trump believes he is above the law, and the outcome of this federal case is critical to proving to the nation that he is not. It’s imperative that an impartial, trustworthy judge oversee this high-stakes trial. Judge Cannon is not this person. Last year, Judge Cannon wrongfully intervened in the Department of Justice investigation into Trump’s withholding of classified documents, barring the DOJ from using the seized materials in the continued investigation. Her ruling was ultimately reversed by a conservative court, citing she had no authority to intervene. She claimed to be protecting his reputation as former president of the United States, but the court responded with, “To create a special exception here would defy our nation’s foundational principle that our law applies ‘to all, without regard to numbers, wealth, or rank.’” It’s clear she did not adhere to the mandate of equal justice under the law. Despite federal law requiring judges to recuse themselves when their “impartiality might reasonably be questioned” or when they have “a personal bias or prejudice concerning a party,” she has yet to do so. And with the stakes this high, we can’t wait any longer for a judge with integrity to oversee this trial. Chief Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga has authority under federal law and internal court procedure to reassign a new judge to this case, one who will prioritize equal justice under the law. Photo credit: Illustrated / AP Photo / Southern District of Florida

It will help ease suffering to many families, provide more research opportunities, and give newborns / kids a chance to thrive even with a rare illness or genetic disorder

A recent State Department report details significant human rights abuses that have occurred under Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s near-decade in power, including cases of extrajudicial killings, torture, unjustified arrests, and the targeting of religious minorities, dissidents, and journalists. Despite these alarming trends, the United States continues to seek to strengthen its partnership with India — and the Modi government — to the tune of BILLIONS of dollars in U.S. “security” assistance and weapons deals. We can’t let President Biden ignore India's human rights record, and that’s why we need you to speak up for peace and justice TODAY. The partnership between our two countries cannot come at the expense of turning a blind eye to India's human rights abuses. Prime Minister Modi arrived in Washington yesterday, so the time to speak up is now — and luckily, you’ll be far from alone when you do. Dozens of human rights groups, more than 70 members of Congress including Rep. Pramila Jayapal and Sen. Chris Van Hollen, and activists here in DC and around the country are already speaking out — can you join them to call on the White House to go further toward justice and accountability?

The availability of public restrooms will create a significant change in the patterns of use of our park. While public restrooms are an amenity for those that need them, they also attract a well-known range of problems from substantially increased park usage and noise, graffiti, odors and cleanliness, loitering, potential drug use, and increases in nearby homeless encampments. There are many improvements needed in Carmel Knolls Park that are eligible for the millions of dollars of funds allocated for this purpose. We need to make sure these funds are spent wisely and where they will provide the most comprehensive community benefits for our neighborhood.

It only took one complaint and one week for a school in Miami-Dade County to restrict Amanda Gorman’s book—“The Hill We Climb”—and limit access for younger students. It was one book of several that an individual parent reported, citing that it was “not educational” and contained indirect hate speech. [1] Schools should not so swiftly censor literature based on the whims of individual parents. This is part of a sweeping trend across the country to ban and restrict books, often targeting authors and content from historically marginalized and underrepresented groups. And because of conservative laws being passed on the local and state level, it’s even easier in many places for a small but loud minority to challenge books—and win. In response to the incident, Amanda Gorman wrote: “The Hill We Climb is an inaugural poem for the world. Relocating it to older age group library shelves by its nature bars younger and equally deserving generations from accessing said moment in history.” [2] Amanda Gorman made history when she read “The Hill We Climb” at President Joe Biden’s inauguration—the youngest inaugural poet to date. People of all ages deserve to have access to her work and see themselves not only in the context of that moment, but also in the possibilities of the future. They, too, can make history. We refuse to allow one parent’s opinion to limit our children's freedom to read, learn, and imagine. Join us in calling on the Department of Education and State Education Departments to add “The Hill We Climb” to every associated recommended reading list in the country and to reaffirm the values of equality and access espoused in the mission of the DOE. [3] 1. “1 complaint led a Florida school to restrict access to Amanda Gorman’s famous poem,” NPR, May 25, 2023 https://www.npr.org/2023/05/24/1177877340/amanda-gorman-poem-restricted-miami-school 2. Amanda Gorman [@TheAmandaGorman], Tweet, May 24, 2023 https://twitter.com/TheAmandaGorman/status/1661590069982142465 3. "Overview and Mission Statement," U.S. Department of Education, Accessed June 20, 2023 https://www2.ed.gov/about/landing.jhtml Photo Source: Penguin Random House