I am a survivor of institutional abuse and aversive therapy. I believe no public money should be used to abuse, falsely imprison, and torture Americans. I am the co-founder of HEAL and I work with many individuals diagnosed with eating disorders who have been tortured in behavioral health facilities. This bill, introduced by Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-MN) will divert public funds to fraud and abuse and must be rejected by the House, Senate, and vetoed by the President if it reaches his desk. You can read the full text of the bill here: https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1953/text

The New York City Economic Development Corporation is attempting to take away public land that was mapped and promised as parkland in The Bronx. Known as Pier 5, the 4.7 acre is immediately adjacent to Mill Pond Park directly to the south and was planned as an expansion. NYC Parks Department included the acreage of Pier 5 into the total of Mill Pond Park until recently when they deleted all online evidence of it. We the people of The Bronx and NYC will NOT sit by while land is taken away from the public, land that was not only promised as parkland but mapped out as such as evidenced by our documentation. If the city is allowed to do this, this will be a precedent for the NYC to do this to any parkland in ANY borough. This is why we need you to sign this petition and let it be known that this is unacceptable and also illegal in the State of New York to take away land once it has been alienated as parkland. According to an attorney familiar with such cases: “In order to convey parkland to a nonpublic entity, or to use parkland for another purpose, a municipality must receive prior authorization from the State in the form of legislation enacted by the New York State Legislature and approved by the Governor. “Once land has been dedicated to use as a park, it cannot be diverted for uses other than recreation, in whole or in part, temporarily or permanently, even for another public purpose, without legislative approval.” United States v. City of New York, 96 F.Supp.2d 195, 202 (E.D.N.Y. 2000). This clear law has been applied consistently since 1871. The question is: what is parkland? The term “dedicated” is often used in referring to municipal parkland subject to State alienation requirements. Common phrases include “lands dedicated for park purposes” and “dedicated parklands.” The dedication of parkland may be formal through an official act by the governing body of the municipality. Dedication can also be implied. This may occur through actions which demonstrate that the government considers the land to be parkland or the public used it as a park. Examples include: a municipality publicly announcing its intention to purchase the lands specifically for use as a park, “master planning” for recreational purposes, budgeting for park purposes, or “mapping” lands as parkland. Kenny v. Board of Trustees of Village of Garden City, 735 N.Y.S.2d 606, 607 (App. Div. 2nd 2001)(property acquired for recreational purposes and used for recreation was instilled with public trust even though never officially dedicated). Here is the State’s handbook on alienation: http://nysparks.com/publications/documents/AlienationHandbook.pdf

We call for an investigation to determine whether Rep. Frelinghuysen violated House ethics rules by using his position to intimidate a citizen exercising her constitutionally guaranteed rights. No American should fear intimidation by an elected official for expressing his or her views.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary, John Kelly, has until Tuesday, May 23, to renew an immigration program that shields thousands of Haitians from deportation. Known as Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, the program currently allows some 50,000 Haitians to work in the United States while keeping them safe from Donald Trump's deportation force. If Secretary Kelly does not renew TPS for Haitian families, then thousands of families would be forced to return to a country that is dealing with a severe food crisis and the aftermath of two major earthquakes. We cannot allow Secretary Kelly and Donald Trump to continue to terrorize immigrant communities across the United States! Please join me in demanding that Secretary Kelly take immediate action and renew Temporary Protected Status to Haitians.

As someone enrolled in both income-based loan repayment and the PSLF, my financial sustainability - and that of hundreds of thousands of other former students - is in jeopardy. Please join me in honoring public-service jobs, standing up for students, and bringing attention to this critical program. (To learn more, please visit http://studentdebtcrisis.org/trump-education-budget-eliminates-student-loan-programs/.)

News broke earlier that, according to a memo written by former FBI Director James Comey, Donald Trump tried to pressure him to stop the investigation of Michael Flynn's ties with Russia. If the reports are true, then Trump obstructed justice and should be impeached. According to additional news reports, Michael Flynn also told the Trump transition, led by Michael Pence, that he was under investigation before he joined the administration as National Security Adviser. If these reports are true, Vice President Pence was complicit in giving a foreign agent, Michael Flynn, access to the president and nearly every secret held by American intelligence agencies. He must be investigated along with Trump for collusion with Russia and obstruction of justice. And if found guilty, he must be impeached along with Trump.

The next FBI director must be someone who has the trust and respect of Americans across the political spectrum, and it is critical that this person be seen as above political in-fighting. Joe Lieberman is not that person. The job of FBI director should not go to a politician, but rather to an experienced professional who can help steer the agency in their tumultuous time. Furthermore, Lieberman has show repeatedly during his political career that he lacks the fortitude to do what is right in challenging political times. It is critically important to fill the vacant FBI Director post, but Joe Lieberman is the worst possible candidate for this role. Tell your Senators to vote "No" if Lieberman's nomination ever comes before the Senate.

The U.S. military launched airstrikes against government forces in Syria on May 18. [1] Under the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution, Congress has the sole authority to decide when U.S. military force will be used if the U.S. has not been attacked. Congress never authorized Trump to attack Syria, which has not attacked the U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu [D-CA] stated: "If true, this is FRICKIN ILLEGAL. Trump does not have Congressional authorization to attack Syria, a country that has not attacked US." [2] In January, Obama deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said part of why Obama didn't attack Syria unilaterally - without Congress' approval - was fear of impeachment. "[W]e had no domestic legal basis. We actually had Congress warning us against taking action without congressional authorization, which we interpreted as the president could face impeachment," Rhodes said. "They laid down markers that this would not be constitutional. If we got drawn into a conflict in Syria without congressional authorization, without international authorization, without international support, you can see very clearly how that could have completely derailed this entire presidency." [3] When Trump attacked Syria in April without Congressional authorization, Sen. Tim Kaine [D-VA] said it was "unlawful" and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi [D-CA] and Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin [D-IL] said any escalation would require the approval of Congress. [4] Urge Members of Congress to say that Trump's Syria strike is illegal and impeachable by signing our petition. References: 1. https://www.buzzfeed.com/nancyyoussef/the-us-launched-new-airstrikes-against-pro-assad-forces-in 2. https://twitter.com/tedlieu/status/865252746571788290 3. http://www.npr.org/2017/05/17/528743744/the-president-the-comey-memo-and-the-elephant-in-the-room-impeachment 4. http://www.politico.com/story/2017/04/trump-syria-congress-reaction-republicans-democrats-236975

Trump has clearly shown that he has no interest in upholding the U.S. Constitution. He has not read it and has NO desire to -- his attention span is way too short to do so. He despises anything that he can't control.

This is a serious target to hard working immigrants. I have worked with many in the Haitian community over many years.

Dear State Sen. Felder, We, your constituents in New York State’s 17th Senate District, submit this petition to you in the hope of promoting regular and public discourse concerning your work in Albany and matters of concern to us at home. (Not sure which State Senator is yours? Find out here: https://www.nysenate.gov/find-my-senator) As a long-standing New York elected official, and as an established and influential member of the Senate, the stances you take and the legislative initiatives you push have a direct impact on us and on people throughout New York State. For that reason, we respectfully request the following: We request that you host regular, public town hall meetings within SD17. These town halls would have an agreed upon length and structure, one that would both allow you to speak about your work and explain its impact on your constituents, and permit constituents to raise issues they care about and ask you for responses to questions. Additionally, recording would be permitted at the town halls, so that their content could be viewed or heard by those not in attendance We are requesting town halls to take place every two months when the Senate is out of session, and every month when the Senate is in session, for a total of nine meetings per year. We are requesting the first of these town halls to take place in June, 2017, with subsequent meetings in August, October, and December. Ideally, the June town hall would be a re-cap of the ending Senate session while the December one would be a preview of what you hope to accomplish and expect to happen in the upcoming Senate session Those meetings would be followed by monthly meetings starting in January 2018. We look forward to discussing this proposal with you as soon as possible, and to starting a new tradition in the 17th that will serve all of its residents.

Out of control rents causes family instability and senior homelessness. We tried it their way (Corporate for-profit) and it's not working for the people of this State! Now let's try the method used by other Countries successfully to control runaway inflation and ensure everyone has a decent place to live.