I fear for our country and its democratic institutions if a known criminal who has committed fraud is permitted to assume the highest office in our government without in any substantial way being held accountable.

We should be very concerned about the fact that Russia hacked our 2016 Presidential election. This would make the results invalid and therefore Mr. Trump should not be President!!

I'm Benard Simelton, the Alabama State Conference president of the NAACP. Earlier this week, I was arrested while performing civil disobedience for sitting in Senator Jeff Sessions' state office in Alabama in opposition to his nomination for attorney general. He is wholly unqualified to be the nation's top law enforcement official, as demonstrated by his long and troubling record in opposition to civil and human rights. As the highest law enforcement official, the attorney general has the responsibility to protect the civil and human rights of all races, colors and genders. Senator Sessions is not that person and presents an extreme danger to the equality, diversity and inclusiveness that the U.S. has achieved over the last decade. There are just days left to urge your members of Congress to block the appointment of Sessions. Click here to sign the petition. There are many reasons for Congress to block the appointment of Jeff Sessions: * He has a long history of opposing civil rights enforcement and making racist statements. * He has championed voter suppression. * He opposes hate crime legislation. * He has opposed multiple efforts to address pay equity for women. * He is a staunch opponent of legal immigration. ...And so much more. In the words of U.S. Rep. Luis V. Gutiérrez, "If you have nostalgia for the days when blacks kept quiet, gays were in the closet, immigrants were invisible and women stayed in the kitchen, Senator Jefferson Beauregard Sessions is your man." Diversity, equality and compassion make America stronger. We must stand together and resist any effort to divide us up and strip away the progress that we've made.

With the rise and election of Trump, anti-Semitism is appearing in mainstream U.S. discourse in an unprecedented way. At the same time, false and grossly exaggerated accusations of anti-Semitism remain a potent political weapon in U.S. politics. Now, more than ever, we need organizations that can serve the public as principled, credible, unbiased investigators and referees of allegations of anti-Semitism in the U.S. The Anti-Defamation League would be ideally positioned to occupy this role, but unfortunately it currently suffers from a perceived conflict of interest. In addition to advocating against anti-Semitism, the ADL also advocates for the unfettered expansion and legitimation of settlements in the West Bank. The ADL's entanglement in the settlements issue diminishes the ADL's credibility on anti-Semitism in the eyes of many Americans. If the ADL accuses an American who opposes the settlements of anti-Semitism, many Americans will wonder, rightly or wrongly, if the ADL's advocacy for settlements is coloring the ADL's judgment. Thus, the ADL's settlements advocacy undermines its ability to combat anti-Semitism. Urge the ADL to divest itself from advocacy for settlements to maintain its credibility on allegations of anti-Semitism by signing our petition.

Low voter turnout helped Donald J. Trump win the election. It hurt Democrats up and down the ballot. A big part of the problem: We make it way too hard to vote. Voter suppression laws are part of it. Long lines, too. Confusion about polling places and buggy voting machines don’t help. Or the fact that Election Day is a work day. Illness, travel, transit troubles, and child care conundrums can all conspire to keep people from the polls. And sometimes, voter intimidation. The solution: Vote by mail for all – just like we’ve had in Oregon for nearly two decades. Sign the Petition: Let’s make Vote By Mail available to all American voters! For many years, Oregon has consistently had much stronger voter turnout than the rest of America -- and this year, more Oregonians voted than in any previous election. Why? In part, we make it easy to vote. Oregonians are now automatically registered when we visit the DMV, and it’s easy to register or update your information online. We get our ballots delivered three weeks before Election Day. We have plenty of time to study the issues and candidates and make informed decisions, on our own time, in our own home, with our ballot in hand. Nobody can intimidate you, threaten your eligibility, or tell you you’re at the wrong polling place. Nothing gets in the way of you exercising your right to vote. And that’s how it should be for every voter in America. My proposal in the U.S. Senate will make vote by mail a reality for all. Add your name right now and let’s make this the last election where Americans are kept from exercising their right to vote! -- Senator Ron Wyden

Freedom of religion is enshrined in the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. For 240 years, our country has welcomed, embraced, and protected people of every faith. American Muslims have been part of the fabric of America since our founding. President-elect Trump has said that he would “absolutely” required Muslims to register in a government database. “They have to be. They have to be,” he said. We will not stand idly by while our fellow Americans are targeted by our government, in violation of their First Amendment rights and our deepest freedoms. Whatever our religion, ethnicity, national origin, or background, we pledge to sign up on the first day the registry is open.

Nobody listens to the working people, Fox News has finally elected a president, the government has allowed big corporations to write laws they want, the only power left to citizens is their spending, so spend less. Make this an unhappy xmas season. The popular vote was not for trump so we are not happy. if the politicians won't listen big business will if we slow down spending. It's easy to join, slow your spending. No need to sign on just spend less, tell a friend, lets hit big business shop locally.

We must send a STRONG message whenever hate or racial prejudice is exhibited. Tell your students and the country that Texas does not condone such divisive behavior. Protect our country from hate and division. Our country is called the UNITED States for a reason. Let's show them what unity is. Say NO to racial prejudice and suspend these students for their hateful display. Sports are about community; not hate.

If President-elect Trump carries out his campaign promises, then one of the most crucial policies in the nation is also one of the most endangered: our climate change agenda. Much of President Obama's achievements on this front were achieved by executive orders, meaning President Trump will have the power to gut (or at least not fully enforce) many of these programs. We have one opportunity to exert leverage: the proposed infrastructure bill. Jonathan Chait brilliantly lays out that whiles this bill is mightily tempting Democratic leadership, it is not in their best interest. http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/11/schumer-and-pelosi-have-a-plan-to-make-trump-popular.html Given the deficit busting aspect of this plan, it will likely not pass without Democratic support. So, we are asking Democratic leaders to use this legislation to protect our progress on climate change - a battle that is crucial for preventing illness, protecting the environment, combatting income inequality and avoiding a humanitarian crisis. We are asking Senator Charles Schumer and other Democratic leaders to demand that a pre-requisite for any infrastructure bill is that it requires that any approved project to reduce that sector's carbon emissions to 2005 levels. So a highway expansion that will lead to increased car traffic must offset that traffic and reduce carbon to 2005 levels - possibly by including a mass transit or green energy component or some other off-set. Infrastructure is inextricably linked to climate change. According to the EPA, 26% of greenhouse gases come from transportation. So it would be irresponsible to address infrastructure while ignoring the long-term consequences.

I will explain my story of what had happened to me on 11/11/2016 by a nurse named nancy with short straight blonde hair probably in here 50's they would not give me her lastname but i have pictures and video Hi, my name is April Walp and I'm writing to inform you about an incident at Northside Medical Center in Youngstown. My son took me to the emergency room there because I'm suffering from a large red bump on my left breast. I suffer from a lot of health problems every day, including severe epilepsy and social anxiety. I was sitting in a wheelchair in the emergency waiting room while my son was signing me in and I had a very bad seizure. When I was coming out of the seizure, I couldn't move or speak but I could still see and hear what was going on around me. One of the nurses said to me “April, get up, we're not picking you up”. I still couldn't do anything because I was so weak from the seizure. She then grabbed me and I felt myself being dragged. When they put me on the bed my head flopped over to one side and this nurse smacked me on the side of the head with the bottom part of her hand and left a bruise in the corner of my eye. My shoulder is also red, scratched and lightly bruised. Not only did this nurse put her hands on me, but she also pushed my son out of the room. As soon as he tried to come in the room, the nurse pushed him back out. He started taking video on his phone at this point. When the nurses saw him recording, they said they didn't want to be recorded and they tried telling him that he wasn't allowed to but he told them that he was allowed by law to take video. After that they called security on him and they also tried getting him to stop recording. I made a complaint about all of this while I was there with the nurse manager and the lady who was the head of the hospital there. I also complained to my insurance company about it I would show pictures to show what they did and pictures of the red bump on my breast to show I had a legitimate reason for going to the hospital but i don't see anywhere I post that . The nurse who did all this was Nancy. She's in her late 40s or 50s and has short straight blonde hair. This is wrong for them to treat people like this and it scares me to think what might be happening to other people who are sick and maybe not even able to report it. I think this hospital should be held accountable and this woman should lose her job and be criminally prosecuted.

The Department of Homeland Security and the Office of Director of National Security stated on October 7th that "The U.S. Intelligence Community (USIC) is confident that the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of e-mails from US persons and institutions, including US political organizations. The recent disclosures of alleged hacked e-mails on sites like DCLeaks.com and WikiLeaks and Guccifer 2.0 online persona are consistent with the methods and motivations of Russian-directed efforts. These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the US election process. Such activity is not new to Moscow - the Russians have used similar tactics and techniques across Europe and Eurasia, for example, to influence public opinion there. We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized these activities." On Tuesday, November 15th, Admiral Michael Rogers said a "nation state" (Russia) had meddled in the 2016 election "to achieve a specific effect." And Paul Ryan said that "Russia is a global menace led by a devious thug. Putin should stay out of this election." So why is Rep. Jason Chaffetz, the chairman of the House government oversight committee, asking for more evidence to investigate Russia's interference and to help "ensure the security of American democracy?" Let's not let partisanship usurp the importance of keeping our democracy safe and our elections fair and free from a hostile foreign country's interference. This must be investigated swiftly and vigorously. Please sign the petition to hold Congress accountable and for them to swiftly open an investigation into this matter. And in the meantime, it would be helpful for you to contact Jason Chaffetz's Utah office at 801-851-2500. Thank you.

Rep. Jason Spencer recently attempted to introduce legislation to make it a crime for women to wear a hijab in public. After pressure from within the GA House, he withdrew his disgusting legislation. We need to nip this behavior in the bud and set an example that fear mongering and targeting legislation against minorities will not be tolerated. Not in the United States of America. Not in 2016. Not after we have come this far... I believe it imperative to act NOW before President Elect Trump is sworn in and the resolve of some of the more narrow minded, racists leaders is strengthened. Weeds are easier to pluck before their roots grow deep.