As the whole world grapples with the escalated violence in Israel and Palestine, the Israeli government has stopped all food, fuel, water, electricity, and humanitarian assistance from entering Gaza, which has already had devastating impacts on over 2 million people, half of whom are children. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees just announced that “Gaza is running dry,” and hospitals in Gaza reported that their backup generators would run out of fuel last night, cutting off life support and vital systems. This action has exacerbated the existing humanitarian crisis caused by the Israeli government's air, land, and sea blockade, and will likely result in catastrophic loss of life if continued. Nearly half of Gaza is under the age of 16, and 65% under the age of 25, effectively meaning that Palestinian children are bearing the brunt of the Israeli government's collective punishment. It’s unacceptable, inhumane, unjust, collective punishment, and is also a violation of international law. It must end now. President Biden and our leaders must publicly call for an immediate ceasefire and deescalation, demand the protection of all civilians including securing the release of hostages, and tell the Israeli government to turn on electricity in Gaza and to allow humanitarian aid for Palestinians to enter! While the Biden administration is close to an aid agreement with Israeli government officials to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza and establish ‘safe zones,’ there is still no action or plan in place. The United Nations and aid organizations are sounding an alarm that conditions in Gaza are dire right now. There is no time to spare. A military response from Israel will not secure the safety of those currently hostage or trapped, some of whom are Americans, and instead punishes a generation of young Palestinians living in Gaza. Netanyahu, facing mounting pressure and polling the lowest among Israeli voters, has led decades of policies that have resulted in no more peace or safety for Israelis. The Biden administration must call for a ceasefire and urge Netanyahu to do everything in his power to reunite hostages with their loved ones without putting more lives in danger. Israelis and Palestinians must not be bargaining chips, and their lives must be protected through diplomacy and new solutions. The Israeli government is preparing a massive ground invasion of Gaza as you read this, and they have already been targeting and bombing civilians in their attacks, which is an egregious violation of international law. This comes as the Israeli government dropped tens of thousands of leaflets from the sky to issue an evacuation order to Gazans living in the northern Gaza Strip, telling 1.1 million Palestinian residents to evacuate south within 24 hours, which the UN said would be impossible without devastating humanitarian consequences. Then, despite naming which routes would be safe for evacuation, the Israeli government bombed Palestinians evacuating. Humanity and millions human lives are at stake here. We must collectively act now to stop loss of life. United States leaders have the massive power to step in and stop it. And the time is NOW to come together and demand it end. The people of Palestine and Israel deserve to live their lives without fear of violence and mass death. Will you join in solidarity and sign the petition?

Over an average of 800,000 people tune in to MSNBC’s prime news every day. It is unacceptable for a trusted news source to sideline, silence, or censor their Muslim broadcasters. And because the area of expertise of Ayman Mohyeldin, Ali Velshi, and Mehdi Hasan are related to the unfolding crisis, this blatant discrimination against MSNBC broadcasters affects the public’s ability to access fair and balanced reporting. Bias in media coverage on Muslims and Muslim Americans is well-documented and researched—and that bias can perpetuate and exacerbate existing stereotypes and discrimination against Muslims in our country. Both Jews and Muslims are often the targets of religiously-motivated hate crimes in the U.S., making the need for fair and balanced media reporting even more dire. Over an average of 800,000 people tune in to MSNBC’s prime news every day. It is unacceptable for a trusted news source to sideline, silence, or censor Muslim broadcasters. And because the areas of expertise of Ayman Mohyeldin, Ali Velshi, and Mehdi Hasan are related to the unfolding crisis, any silencing has a direct affect on the public’s ability to access fair and balanced reporting. Bias in media coverage on Muslims and Muslim Americans is well-documented and researched—and that bias can perpetuate and exacerbate existing stereotypes and discrimination against Muslims in our country. Both Jews and Muslims are often the targets of religiously-motivated hate crimes in the U.S., making the need for fair and balanced media reporting even more dire. MSNBC values their reputation for having journalists who bring diverse backgrounds to news production and news coverage. Journalism and news media have an immense amount of public influence, and that’s why networks should take their responsibility seriously and be held to high standards of ethics. We’re calling on MSNBC to live into their values, affirm their commitment to fair and unbiased reporting, and commit to amplifying the voices of their Muslim hosts!

I support the Massachusetts Lobstermen's Associations letter of comment that states: "Commercial lobstering is one of the most historic and iconic fisheries, employs thousands of people and now more than ever, the commercial lobstermen of the Commonwealth need your help to survive. Over the last several years the commercial lobstermen, here in the Commonwealth, have been at the forefront of conservation for Right Whales. Over 11,000 square miles of closed waters and with no State waters left open in February, March, April up until May 15th. These closed months are not the only time commercial lobstermen are restricted from earning a living because it takes them one month to set gear and one month to remove that same gear. This extends the loss of lobster harvesting to five months. 750 active commercial lobstermen in Massachusetts landed 14,608,443 pounds of American Lobster with an ex-vessel value of $81,793,467 in 2022. Given that the cost of doing business today has increased an estimated 300% and, the average price per pound in 2022 was comparable to the price received in the 1990’s. Established in 1963, the MLA is a member-driven organization that accepts and supports the interdependence of species conservation and the members’ collective economic interests. The MLA continues to work conscientiously through the management process with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF), Atlantic States Marine Fisheries, New England Fisheries Management Council, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration to ensure the continued sustainability and profitability of the resources in which our fishermen are engaged in. This Act will establish a program that will be administered by the Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA). This program would be a similar program to the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program. The MLA will be available to assist and answer any questions with this program in anyway possible to ensure the programs success. The MLA does not see this Act relative to lobstering closure mitigation as a forever fund. This Act is meant to help those commercial lobstermen who are not yet incorporated to, become incorporated. The MLA will work with commercial lobstermen over a three-year period to become incorporated through a series of seminars once the Act is passed. Now, more than ever the commercial lobstermen of the Commonwealth need the passage of S552 An Act relative to lobstering closure mitigation. The passage of this Act is an investment in the survival of the survival of the commercial lobster fishery to ensure it will be here for generations to come."

No one should have to bury their loved ones because of someone else’s lack of concern.

Housing can be a particularly cruel method of racial oppression and Home Owner Associations (HOAs) are often the tool. Green Valley Ranch HOA -- and many other HOAs -- have far too much power over residents and are motivated entirely by profit, often on the backs of low income people of color looking for the American dream of owning their first home. HOAs should never restrict anybody's right to shelter. Nowhere is this more clear than in Denver at the Green Valley Ranch properties. We can stop Green Valley Ranch and other HOAs by joining together and making change on the local, state and national level. The Redress Movement works in deep partnership with local communities to repair the harm caused by intentional policies to segregate communities and we do our work by educating, mobilizing, shifting the narrative, and winning redress victories. Our starting point is housing but we work in solidarity with others who are facing the facts of history, redressing harms of the past, and healing our nation by dismantling the barriers that divide us.

Vaccines don’t just protect you - they protect your family, your friends, your neighbors, and your world.

President Biden has the power to fire Trump-appointed head of the U.S. Postal Service Louis DeJoy, but he still hasn’t done it. Since being put in his role by Trump, DeJoy has been on a crusade to privatize the USPS, slash worker hours and pay, slow down mail delivery, and raise the costs for consumers. So why hasn’t he been fired yet? Sign the petition: President Biden must act and fire Trump crony Louis DeJoy from the USPS. President Biden can fire DeJoy by appointing two new people to the Postal Board of Governors who are committed to a strong USPS, worker safety, effective mail delivery, and firing Trump’s Postmaster General. 1. DeJoy’s tenure has been a disaster for USPS workers. Trump appointed DeJoy in 2018 to oversee privatization of the postal service. Since then, DeJoy has cut postal worker staffing by over 30 million hours just this year, and dramatically reduced wages for two thirds of rural mail carriers. 2. Overworked, underpaid carriers are currently working through record-breaking heat waves, often in trucks that lack air conditioning. Multiple USPS workers have died in the past two years from heat related illness, including one in Texas this summer. 3. Mail prices have gone up, and delivery has slowed down. Service cuts have been felt especially hard in rural and Indigenous communities, where broadband is scarce and for-profit delivery companies often don't provide service. 4. DeJoy has plans to keep cutting the USPS, and to make life more miserable for workers. President Biden must nominate Postal Board of Governors candidates who will fire DeJoy for his failed leadership, and advocate strongly for the expansion of USPS services already authorized by Congress. Add your name: Urge President Biden to fire Trump-appointee Louis DeJoy and save the USPS! Sources: Government Executive, “USPS continues to lose more money than expected,” August 9, 2023. ABC, “Family, friends mourn loss of Dallas USPS mail carrier who died on this route,” July 1, 2023. Vox, “If the US Postal Service fails, rural America will suffer the most,” April 16, 2020. Truthout, “DeJoy’s 10-Year Plan Could Gut USPS. He Doesn’t Want You to Know the Details,” August 7, 2023.

When families expecting a child post to pregnancy websites like BabyCenter, they might not know that ICE is watching them. That’s because ICE contracts a data broker to scrape thousands of social media sites, gaming platforms, and even financial apps like CashApp. Why does ICE need to know when your baby is due, what video games you like to play, or where are you planning your next vacation? ICE doesn’t need this personal information about us, but because there’s a legal loophole, they can and do get access to a lot of our online activity. Congress must act now to close the Data Broker Loophole. Sign the petition: Tell Congress to close the Data Broker Loophole! ICE can reach into our personal online activity because they don’t do the spying themselves. Instead they contract out shady third party data brokers who do their spying for them and then give them wide access to everything they find. You’ve likely never heard of these companies, but they’ve probably already know a lot about you. For instance, ShadowDragon, the data broker ICE uses that scrapes data from BabyCenter. ShadowDragon doesn’t stop at pregnancy websites. According to their own internal videos and events, they scrape data from all the major social media platforms; gaming platforms like Fortnite, XBOX, and Playstation; review sites like Yelp and Tripadvisor; messaging apps like WhatsApp; even financial transaction apps like CashApp. The Fourth Amendment right against illegal government search and seizure needs to apply to the internet. That’s why Congress needs to act now to close the Data Broker Loophole. Sign the petition: Tell Congress to close the Data Broker Loophole! Sources: 1. 404 Media, “Inside ShadowDragon, The Tool That Lets ICE Monitor Pregnancy Tracking Sites and Fortnite Players,” September 18, 2023.

This week, Live Nation announced it would stop taking merch cuts at some of its venues. While it’s a start, there are nearly 100 Live Nation venues this does not apply to and many, many more venues nationwide owned and operated by other companies. Every venue and promoter must follow suit. Venues and promoters—often one and the same, given Live Nation’s effective monopoly on the live music industry—do not design, manufacture, ship, transport, load, or unload, and in most cases sell an artist’s or band’s merchandise. Fans are already price-gouged by junk fees on ticket sales. Taking a cut of merchandise sales from artists not only drives up the cost of merchandise for fans, it also creates a situation for musicians where making ends meet is even more difficult in an already predatory industry. These cuts have such a negative impact on some artists, they are forced to consider leaving the industry altogether because they cannot afford to continue with their careers. The fans come to the venues for the artists, not for the venue owner or promoter. They buy merchandise to support the musicians they love, not because they’re fans of a corporation. Their money should go directly, and entirely, to the artists.

This would mean much to the students because we will be able to see that we are being heard and cared for. We should be able to park our cars freely in the granted areas without having to make room for visitors. When our cars are being towed, some of them end up in a tow yard where we’d have to pay the tow yard’s fee in addition to the $100 ODU citation. This can easily make someone spend $180-$200 out of pocket just to gain their car back. Again, making it unfair to the students that attend the university. If you are a student that has gone through this, as I, you should join my petition by simply signing.

Our neighbors are losing their homes, and sometimes even their lives, to fires, floods, and extreme heat. Cities and states are spending billions to respond to non stop climate disasters and extreme weather events. But instead of paying their fair share for the damage they’ve caused, fossil fuel companies continue to rake in massive profits at our expense. It’s time to make polluters pay for the damage they’ve done. There’s now a growing global effort to use our legal process to hold Big Oil accountable for their climate disinformation and the damage they’re doing. Cases in South Africa, the Netherlands, the United States, and beyond are already making their way through the courts. Together, we can build a global movement that supports these lawsuits and other mechanisms to hold Big Oil accountable. These lawsuits aren’t a solution to the climate crisis – we need governments to do their part – but they’re a powerful tool for us to finally hold this industry accountable. Join us and sign the petition.

In order to distract from twice-impeached, four-times-indicted former President Trump’s criminal charges and their own failing party, Republicans are pushing for impeachment—despite zero evidence or proof of wrongdoing. Impeaching President Biden is part of the GOP’s insidious strategy to distract voters, vilify Biden, and pave the way for Trump to take back the White House in 2024. Trump has even been pushing his close allies to impeach Biden, directing the entire charade from the sidelines. House Republicans have wasted taxpayer dollars combing over 12,000 pages of subpoenaed bank records, reviewing thousands of reports, and conducting witness interviews—without a shred of evidence to back up their false claims. Yet they have continued to mislead, lie, and push for impeachment for their own political gain. MAGA Republicans, including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz, are threatening to hold our government hostage, refusing to vote for funding to keep our government running unless the House moves forward with bogus impeachment efforts, among other outrageous demands. And their corrupt and misguided efforts are being endorsed by the Republican party, which continues to cower and cave to its most extreme, right-wing members at the expense of countless Americans. Speaker Kevin McCarthy has even gone so far as to open an impeachment inquiry—without a House vote.