For many trans and non-binary students, being forced to use a labeled, gendered restroom is extremely uncomfortable. We should not have to experience any more struggle or discomfort than our cisgender peers. Gender-neutral restrooms should be accessible and available to students without them having to ask to use a staff restroom or be forced to one or two options that are often far away from classes.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shaken the global oil market, landing us at a crossroads. The US must seize this opportunity to finally break free of our fossil fuel dependence. But the fossil fuel lobby, led by Joe Manchin, is trying to leverage high gas prices to double down on domestic drilling. Congress must stand up to Joe Manchin, and finally enact sweeping climate policy!

By taxing just 0.01% of American households, experts estimate the tax will raise around $360 billion over the next decade. That’s federal money that can go towards public programs that help us all, including education, healthcare, childcare, climate resiliency, and more. A billionaire’s tax is the only way to rein in the American oligarchy, and reallocate funds to where we sorely need them: healthcare, housing, the Child Tax Credit, and government initiatives to counter the runaway corporate power that enriches billionaires in the first place. It’s the ideal time to slap a tax on Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and the rest of the billionaires. Congress needs to hear from you — President Biden’s new billionaire’s tax proposal must pass! Sign the petition: Congress must approve President Biden’s new billionaire’s tax!

Last month, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioners Noah Phillips and Christine Wilson blocked an investigation into Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) – the pharmaceutical industry’s giant corporate middlemen that result in higher prices across the country. Now we have a chance to fight back against these prescription drug middlemen, but we need your help. 77% of all prescriptions filled nationwide are controlled by three PBMs, all owned by the largest health insurers: Caremark (owned by CVS), OptumRx (owned by United Health), and Express Scripts (owned by Cigna). PBMs decide what pharmacies you can use, which of your medications are covered by insurance, and how much you, the pharmacy, and your insurance company must pay, giving them immense control over drug prices in the United States. Defenders of Big Pharma would tell you PBMs aim to lower drug costs and help patients efficiently access medications. In reality, PBMs work to jack up the price of life-saving drugs like insulin, steal from community pharmacies until they go bankrupt, and turn pharmacy care -- one of the most important (and often only) sources of health care for rural patients -- into a living nightmare. When FTC Chair Lina Khan first pushed to investigate PBMs’ role in sky-rocketing drug prices and illegal monopolistic practices, Commissioners Noah Phillips and Christine Wilson blocked the investigation. Chair Khan can call for another vote, but Commissioners Phillips and Wilson must hear from Americans demanding that they reconsider their vote and allow the FTC to conduct this essential study. Together our voices can be louder than the pharmaceutical industry’s.

Over the last two years, since the pandemic began, America’s roughly 700 billionaires grew their fortunes by $1.7 trillion, or 57%. They are now worth a collective $4.6 trillion―one-third more than the bottom half of American society. A billionaires income tax proposed by President Biden in his newly unveiled budget and also by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), would tax billionaires’ wealth gains each year, just like workers’ wages are taxed each year. The President’s plan would raise at least $360 billion and Sen. Wyden’s plan would raise at least $550 billion. This new revenue would help working families afford healthcare, childcare, eldercare, education, housing and more.

Just when you thought Amazon couldn’t get any bigger, it did. Amazon just closed its merger with entertainment conglomerate MGM, a $8.45 billion deal that will hugely consolidate the streaming industry — and Amazon’s already absurd market power.1 The deal raises serious questions for our economy. Federal investigators are investigating, but have yet to reveal their opinion on the merger. Meanwhile, Amazon is forging ahead with its media empire. It’s time to get Amazon — and the other massive tech companies — in check. Congress must pass antitrust legislation now!

With more support It would increase the overall student’s ability to do anything they want after high school. We need support from the community and anyone else to make this goal a reality.

Damning new reports show that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has concealed decades of expensive gifts he received from billionaire Republican megadonor Harlan Crow. These new revelations add a new level of corruption to Thomas's profile. We already knew that Thomas has abused his position—from refusing to recuse himself from cases regarding his wife's involvement in the attempt to overturn the 2020 election to crusading on behalf of his right-wing allies to overturn abortion access and so much more. It has become clear that his wife—longtime conservative activist Ginni Thomas—was actively urging the White House to overturn election results both leading up to January 6 and after the deadly insurrection. Thomas' failure to recuse himself from cases about January 6 warrants immediate investigation and heightened alarm. And it's only the latest in a long history of conflicts of interest in the service of a right-wing agenda and mixing his powerful role with his conservative political activism. He has shown he cannot be an impartial justice and is more concerned with covering up his wife's coup attempts than the health of the Supreme Court. Thomas—who sided with the majority on overturning Roe and removing nationwide legal protections for abortions—made it clear in that ruling what the right-wing court could do next: overturn high court rulings that establish gay rights and contraception rights. And while he carries this right-wing agenda, he accepts hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts from a right-wing megadonors.   Ever since his confirmation hearings more than 30 years ago, the public has questioned Thomas's ethics and behavior. His abuse of power, his conflicts of interest, and his secrecy about his financial and political ties make him unfit to serve. He must resign—or Congress must immediately investigate and impeach.

We all heard about war in Ukraine. Millions of people had to escape the war zone , they had to leave behind everything they had in life. They are scared, exhausted, lost, heartbroken. Some of those people have families in US. Family members who are US citizens or permanent residents are able to provide for their loved ones everything they need . Ukrainians need family support more than ever. But It takes years to obtain family based visa. It is very important to be with your family , comfort each other , hope together for a future.

With a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade at the Supreme Court, it is more crucial than ever before that we have lawmakers in Arizona who will prioritize protecting reproductive freedom for every body. ------------------- Causando un desafío directo a Roe v. Wade en la Corte Suprema, más que nunca, es crucial contar con legisladores en Arizona que prioricen la protección de la libertad reproductiva para todos.

DOGS ARE THE CURE TO THE WORLD. NOT ONLY WILL JACK BE SAVING THIS ANGEL FROM THE FOSTER SYSTEM, BUT HIS HOME WILL BE BLESSED WITH THE SWEETEST BUNDLE OF LOVE.

Absent peace in Ukraine, our countries face escalating confrontation, with grievous additional harm to its population and great risk to the world. Peace requires courageous mold breaking cooperation and reciprocity between Russia and the US in accord with the interests of the government and people of Ukraine. Nuclear plants, humanitarian corridors and safe zones must be secured immediately by UN peace keepers. Following a cease fire, President Putin must withdraw with dispatch all Russian forces from Ukraine. President Biden can create an atmosphere for peace by declaring that the US does not support Ukraine’s membership in NATO and stationing of weapons with offensive potential. Following the precedent of the global solution to the Cuban Missile Crisis, President Biden should end the US embargo and other regime change actions in Cuba just as President Putin abandons such pressure and aspirations for Ukraine. Russia should end its claim to the Donbas and the US should return the land of the Guantanamo base and prison to Cuba. Secretary of State Blinken’s worthy sentiments apply as much to the US with Cuba and Venezuela as they do to Russia with Ukraine and Georgia: "the principle that one country can’t dictate to another the choices that its citizens would make about their future; the principle that we’re past the time of spheres of influence where one country subjugates its neighbors to its will. *********************************** The Mariupole Theater pictured above is reported to have sheltered at least 500 civilians and been visibly marked "children". It was attacked on the 54th anniversary of the My Lai Massacre. Local authorities say over 300 people died in the theater; 504 were killed in My Lai. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/25/ukraine-russia-war-mariupol-theater-death-toll/ *********************************** Additional background on the Ukraine-Cuba link is here https://cubapeopletopeople.blogspot.com/2022/02/cuba-and-ukraine-personal-reflections.html