There is a solution to Illinois’ budget impasse, but the solution requires unity and a willingness to act. You see, a budget that calls for funding requires sufficient capital. Illinois simply has insufficient revenue to support the necessary funding, but Illinois can quickly generate upwards of ten billion dollars a year without raising any existing taxes. Rather, House Bill 106 assesses transactions not yet being taxed. Each of you pays a 6.25% tax for general merchandise transactions, 1% for qualifying food, drugs, and medical appliances, and wagering starts at 15%. Yet those financially able to gamble at the Chicago Board Options Exchange and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, while utilizing a wide variety of Illinois services, pay no tax at all to Illinois on their transactions. Nothing. The vast majority of trading is done by large banks, hedge funds, large businesses, and very wealthy individuals. There is an average $900 trillion traded per year on those exchanges, more than five billion contracts traded per year. Illinois Representative Mary Flowers proposed House Bill 106, for traders to pay a single dollar contract fee on agricultural futures and futures options traded, and a $2/contract fee on non-agricultural contracts. That averages 0.001 of 1 percent of average contract value. The bill is currently active in committee and subcommittee chaired by Representative John Bradley, and it absolutely needs a huge push by the public. Transactions involving securities held in retirement accounts or mutual funds are exempt. The tax would generate an estimated $10 billion in revenue annually, enough to avoid the currently projected cutbacks for everyone. Fast-track passage of House Bill 106 should be our single greatest imminent priority. The alternative is an ever increasing financial burden placed squarely on the financially weak, on public employees, retirees, students, educators, the disabled and infirm, the homeless, and the rest of us who desire, or depend upon, a state government capable of serving its core functions. People will tell you there is no point to making the effort. There is. Many people’s lives and livelihoods depend on it. People will say these exchanges will move out of Illinois. That is a particularly annoying deception. The exchanges’ owners and operators, the CME and CBOE Groups, are not the ones paying the transaction tax, so they have no incentive to move. The buyers and sellers will pay. Also, many products traded, like the S&P 500 index futures, are exclusively licensed to these exchanges so cannot be traded elsewhere. Critically, millions of dollars are sunk into the computer-based infrastructures in Illinois. The expense of relocating the hard-wired infrastructure would not be economically feasible. The Aurora facility alone spans 7.5 football fields in size. The setup of co-locators to matching engines along straight-line and fiber-optic and microwave transmission is such that major traders position their offices physically in close proximity to these exchanges; whereby, the transmission of information is described by them as almost at the speed of light. Traders would have little incentive to upset that setup as a result of HB 106 because that speed due to proximity substantially increases their profits. Please understand, taxes of this type are successfully implemented in more than 25 countries without causing any exchanges, or a significant volume of traders, to trade elsewhere. When thought through, arguments against passage of H.B. 106 are frivolous when compared to the benefits to every person in Illinois. Again, we all must take the initiative to instruct our legislators. Write a letter and mail it. Make contact with your legislators and the Governor demanding immediate passage of House Bill 106. It is the duty of those who have retained a moral compass and been made aware of this opportunity to solve the budget impasse.

The Poverty State University Campus-Community Fight for $15 is working to unite and coordinate union workers, non-union, and student workers to fight for a $15 minimum wage on the Portland State University campus! Workers at PSU are struggling with food and housing insecurity now. Workers need a raise now, not in six years! We are demanding the following from PSU President Wim Wiewel and the PSU Board of Trustees: 1. We demand a $15 minimum wage for all campus workers, including contract workers. According to the MIT Living Wage Calculator, the current living wage in Portland is $23.11 for one adult with a child. Due to rising housing costs and low vacancy rates, many of our community members are fighting to have basic necessities like food and shelter on low wages. 2. We demand a transparent and accountable public process to ensure economic equity on campus. In the U.S., for every dollar a White man makes, a Black man makes 75 cents, and a Latina makes 53 cents. We demand that the Portland State Office of Equity and Compliance release a statement in support of equal pay, and creates policies and procedures to document, reduce, and then eliminate inequitable pay gaps due to race or gender on campus. 3. We demand that the PSU Administration stop threatening student activists. Students do not lose their rights to free speech when they enroll in college. The right to join with fellow Portlanders in protest or peaceful assembly is critical to a functioning democracy and is at the core of the First Amendment. PSU does not have the right to threaten student activists and must stop these threats immediately. Join us in our fight for a living wage at Poverty State University!

These orcas have suffered enough and will not be abandoned by the community. Holding orcas, Belugas and dolphins captive is a crime against nature and in no way humane. Sea Pen or free them!

The lucrative cannabis industry is a simple solution to our failing Public School System. End the war on weed. Teach our kids to read.

Unfortunately, the Council Board has denied Social Pioneering Monthly from being chartered for Spring 2016 semester because of lack of "membership.” For those who don’t know, Social Pioneering Monthly is a monthly printed zine that is completely composed of student creative and original submissions regarding the relevant social problems of today. There is total freedom of expression and speech and opens up dialogue amongst the students. Its mission is to empower the students and spread awareness about social issues in order to encourage positive social change. We have been chartered for almost two years and have received a lot of positive feedback. Along with several other consequences, the biggest problem is not being able to receive any funding from the school to print the issues. Membership is a vague concept, but with 212 people who signed up for email notifications, 339 Facebook group members, and 121 total submissions in the 10 issues, "lack of membership" does not seem like a fair reason to deny the club's access to funding. The fundamental requirement to be a member of Social Pioneering Monthly is only to agree and support the mission of this club. By signing, you are saving Social Pioneering Monthly, and by doing so you are saving opportunities for people to promote positive social change.

Working Pennsylvanians know what bad trade deals have done to our economy. Senator Toomey should know too. By supporting the Trans-Pacific Partnership, he is once again helping corporate CEOs instead of working people. This secret agreement is a sham for Keystone State communities and will send even more good-paying jobs offshore and threaten our economic livelihoods. We deserve a senator who stands up for opportunities in our state, not corporate interests that drive them away. Send a message to Senator Toomey now—TPP is wrong for Pennsylvania! Sign on now!

Join the Democracy Awakening movement and take action RIGHT NOW by adding your name to send the below message to Congress – then come join the mobilization April 16-18 in Washington, D.C. To congressional leadership: It’s time to awaken a democracy that is accessible to all and is not beholden to big-money interests. We call on you to support these pieces of legislation: - The Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would restore and increase protections against voting discrimination. - The Voter Empowerment Act, which would modernize voter registration and ensure equal access to voting for all. -The Democracy For All Amendment, which would overturn U.S. Supreme Court decisions like Citizens United and limit the undue influence of money in politics. -The Government By the People Act/Fair Elections Now Act, which would amplify small contributions from everyday Americans. And we call on the U.S. Senate to fulfill its constitutional obligation to give proper consideration to a Supreme Court nominee, including timely hearings and a vote by the full Senate. PETITION BACKGROUND Wealthy special interests are flooding our elections with unlimited, often secret money that threatens to drown out the voice of the people. Voter suppression – targeting communities of color, students, and low-income Americans – is running rampant. Yet Congress sits twiddling its thumbs. Now, the Senate is even blocking the simple fair consideration of a Supreme Court nominee. It’s time to demand action! Threats to our democracy – like the Supreme Court’s decisions in Citizens United v. FEC, which helped unleash unlimited big money in our elections, and Shelby County v. Holder, which gutted a key provision of the Voting Rights Act – can be overcome if Congress acts. But Congress has repeatedly thwarted the will of the people and balked on passing popular measures to address these challenges. That’s why the entire pro-democracy movement is coming together in our nation’s capital this spring, from April 16-18, for a Democracy Awakening to demand that every voice be heard and every vote count. Sign to send the above message to Congress, and continue to stay informed about the Democracy Awakening. We need you in this movement.

The Constitution is being violated for partisan politics. The U.S. Senate should do their job and consider Merrick Garland on his experience and credentials.

Not only is the Central Library Marcel Breuer's final building, but it's considered one of his finest by architects and scholars. Opened in 1980, the Central Library is one of the best examples of late Modernist Architecture. It is the result of an era in which Atlanta emerged as an international center for culture and business. Breuer's Central Library, along with John Portman's Peachtree Plaza Hotel and Richard Meir's High Museum, among other projects, were built not only to serve the people of Atlanta, but to be an expression of the city's unique energy, vitality and sophistication, a role the library continues to play to this day. Preserving the Central Library will ensure that future Atlantans and visitors can experience an important piece of art in the museum of architecture that is our city. Renaming the building for its architect would emphasize Atlanta's reputation as an international center for business, culture and architecture by honoring one of the world's great architects.

Wealthy special interests are flooding our elections with unlimited, often secret money that threatens to drown out the voice of the people. Voter suppression – targeting communities of color, students, and low-income Americans – is running rampant. Yet Congress sits twiddling its thumbs. Now, the Senate is even blocking the simple fair consideration of a Supreme Court nominee. It’s time to demand action! Threats to our democracy – like the Supreme Court’s decisions in Citizens United v. FEC, which helped unleash unlimited big money in our elections, and Shelby County v. Holder, which gutted a key provision of the Voting Rights Act – can be overcome if Congress acts. But Congress has repeatedly thwarted the will of the people and balked on passing popular measures to address these challenges. That’s why the entire pro-democracy movement is coming together in our nation’s capital this spring, from April 16-18, for a Democracy Awakening to demand that every voice be heard and every vote count. Sign to send the above message to Congress, and continue to stay informed about the Democracy Awakening. We need you in this movement.

My children are about to graduate from high school. I am concerned for their futures.

To keep Dietz on the crew team, no matter how many classes he is taking.