Americans need to learn from the mistakes of nearly 80 years ago when this country, like nearly every other country in the world, slammed the door on Jewish refugees trying to escape Nazi persecution throughout Europe. The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum has called today's conflict in Syria "a humanitarian catastrophe of staggering proportions" with "grave implications for security and interests throughout the world." The violence has claimed the lives of some 20,000 children, and has displaced more than 11.6 million people (http://www.ushmm.org/confront-genocide/cases/syria). Indiana alone cannot solve the world's refugee problems, but we can play a small part in alleviating world misery and catastrophe by making sure that we never again turn away men, women, and children fleeing widespread atrocities and crimes against humanity. Tell Governor Pence and the Indiana State Legislature to remember Holocaust history, and do the right thing in stepping up to help Syrian refugees in need today.

We are a community school that serves children in the west Philly and surrounding area with good teachers and staff and we deserve a chance to be heard.

It is unworthy of us as Americans to refuse asylum to individuals simply because their country of origin is Syria or because they are Muslim. There is some risk in ANY action, but we are certainly capable of offering safety and comfort to those innocents who desperately need to shelter in New Hampshire.

Mayor de Blasio has his own special interest group, the Campaign for One New York - and it is setting a dangerous precedent. As a non-profit organization, One New York collects millions of dollars in large checks from businesses and individuals directly doing business with the City. Using this cash flow, One New York then hires expensive political and PR consultants to promote the mayor’s policies and initiatives. This cycle makes a mockery of our campaign finance laws - which are designed to prevent corruption and conflicts of interest. Tell Mayor de Blasio that NYC residents find this unacceptable – we need to end to One New York now!

North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory equates terrorism with Syrian refugees and is refusing to allow Syrian refugees into the State of North Carolina. Let him know you do not support this racist view and stand with the rights and safety of Syrian refugees by signing this petition against Governor McCrory's stance. Let him know he does not speak for North Carolina.

Connecticut’s Democratic legislative leaders have proposed cutting off $11.7 million in funding to the Citizen’s Election Program in order to fill in a budget shortfall. This effectively eliminates the nationally acclaimed Citizens’ Elections Program, of publicly financed elections in Connecticut. Please save our Citizen's Elections Program! We must stop this reversal of years of successful campaign finance reform legislation.

College should be affordable for people of all financial backgrounds to attend and leave with a degree. Expenses (tuition, housing, etc.) should be made cheaper, not free, so students and people can earn a college education.

Earlier this year, Delaware’s Senate voted to repeal the death penalty, but the bill has been stuck in the house Judiciary Committee since May, and several legislators have refused to allow the bill to go to the House floor for a vote. An issue as serious as the death penalty deserves an up or down vote in front of the full House! Here are a few reasons why Delaware’s death penalty is fatally flawed: -->In Delaware, Black defendants who kill White victims are seven times as likely to receive the death penalty as Black defendants who kill Black victims. -->155 men and women have been released from death rows across the country after evidence of their wrongful convictions emerged. Delaware remains at risk of executing an innocent person. -->Study after study shows that the death penalty costs far more than sentencing individuals to life in prison without parole. -->The death penalty traps victims’ families in a decades-long cycle of uncertainty, court hearings, and waiting. In contrast, a sentence of life in prison without parole is a severe punishment that begins immediately and avoids the delays and media circus that come with a death sentence--allowing victims’ families to move on rather than forcing them to endure years of waiting for an execution that may never come.

Connecticut’s Citizens Election Program has increased participation, diversified the donor pool, helped more candidates of color run for office, and led to policy outcomes more responsive to the needs of the general public than the elite donor class. In bipartisan interviews with public officials, Demos has shown the state’s public financing has helped Connecticut—in policy, representation, and process. Once candidates were no longer exclusively dependent on wealthy donors and businesses, the influence of lobbyists decreased, and elected representatives became more responsive to the public will and passed popular programs such as guaranteeing paid sick leave to workers and raising the minimum wage. And participation in the Citizens’ Election program is extremely high. The 2012, 77 percent of elected legislators participated in the voluntary program and all current statewide offices are held by public financing participants. That’s why this really makes no sense. Let the Connecticut legislature know this is unacceptable.

I am a Lebanese American who fled the civil war in Lebanon 30 years ago, but I was fortunate that my dad could pay our plane tickets and provide us with a home here. It aches my heart to see the drownings happening in the Mediterranean while there are ships around !!

Walker does not exemplify the "Wisconsin spirit!"

"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" Nearly every school-age child in America has been taught these words and what they stand for. We are told glorious stories of escape from religious persecution and intolerance. We are shown images of those who have traveled long and arduous roads to reach our shores. We are taught these words and we should stand behind them. Let us demonstrate to the world that we not only know these words, but that we believe in them. Let us lead the world not in defense spending but in humanitarian effort. And let us prove to the rest of the world that we are indeed a part of it.