Don't you want to hear The Donald argue for "Firing a rifle into the air while balls deep in a squealing hog"? Can Scott Walker read "Not giving a [hoot] about the Third World" with a straight face? And we all want to know who's got the cojones to throw in "inappropriately timed Holocaust jokes" (my money is on Ben Carson). I'll be catching the actual debate highlights on Comedy Central, but GOP CAH? I'd tune in for that.

GOP's "Pay to Play" Congressional Campaign Contract Condemned Across America WASHINGTON: As controversy continued to grow regarding a contract signed by numerous vulnerable Republican legislators with the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), promising to supply detailed information about their "legislative agenda" and "political justifications" to national Republican donors in exchange for financial support, numerous state affiliates of ProgressNow, one of the nation's largest and most influential progressive advocacy organizations, called on Republican candidates to withdraw from the program and disclose all correspondence with the NRCC. Rep. Ryan Costello (R, CD 6, Berks, Lehigh, Chester, Montgomery) is the only Pennsylvania Member of Congress who has agreed to this "pay to play" scheme. "Shame on Rep. Ryan Costello for selling Pennsylvania out to the same Washington, D.C. special interests he said he was running for office to fight," said Keystone Progress' Michael Morrill. "The voters won't forget this in the next election. If Costello really wants to put the people of Pennsylvania first, it's time to exit the 'Patriot Program ' and come clean about what he promised big donors and Republican Party bigwigs. If he doesn't, he'll be held accountable at the polls in 2016." According to the Washington Post: Two dozen House Republicans have agreed to privately detail their “legislative strategy” to party operatives, promising to offer “political justifications” for their goals in Congress. The Daily 202 obtained a copy of the three-page contract that the National Republican Congressional Committee requires members to sign if they want to participate in its Patriot Program. The initiative, designed to protect potentially vulnerable incumbents, brings with it special attention and access to mounds of campaign cash. But strings are attached. One of the 13 requirements is to submit an off-year “campaign plan” that includes: “Detailed, written legislative strategy that provides short-, intermediate-, and long-term legislative goals, including political justifications for those goals.” “Be sure to include local issues unique to the district or region,” the contract says. “Complete a Patriot Policy Priorities worksheet to be used by NRCC staff to evaluate legislative priorities for the current Congress and to promote and advocate for those priorities where appropriate.” The closely-held document offers a window into how much autonomy lawmakers often must forfeit to unelected Washington insiders.

Innocent man on Death row / Richard Glossip

My child attends Yellville-Summit High School, and I recently became aware that homecoming maids are elected solely by the sports teams (football team for football homecoming and both the female and male basketball teams for basketball homecoming). This is discriminatory and inequitable. Please sign this petition if you are a parent, student or community member and would like the School Board to adopt an official policy that allows for every student in a class to choose their homecoming maids.

It has been estimated that more than half of Syria’s 23 million people have had to leave their homes due to the ever-growing conflict devastating their country. Of this number, at least 4 million are currently listed as refugees and these people – men and women, children and grandparents – are in desperate search of safety and a new home. As one of the wealthiest and stablest countries in the world, it is our responsibility to help and lead by example.

Let's get the federal government to stop using a racist name. Eight years ago Washington State officially changed the name of Coon Lake, a 15-acre lake located in the North Cascades mountain range, to Howard Lake. The state acted to honor Wilson Howard, a Black prospector who staked mining claims around the lake 125 years ago. In enacting the name change, Washington State recognized Howard’s direct and historically significant contribution to the area, and removed any possibility that the former name represented a racial slur. (There are no raccoons in the area.) But the federal government has refused to ratify the state’s decision – normally a pro-forma matter. Howard Lake lies within the Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, which is administered by the National Park Service (NPS). Since 2007, the NPS has steadfastly opposed the change from Coon Lake to Howard Lake, and has effectively blocked action within the U.S. Department of the Interior. Crosscut.com recently spotlighted this injustice: http://crosscut.com/2015/09/racism-and-the-public-lands-the-case-of-coon-lake/ Today the NPS trail signs and maps in the North Cascades National Park point to “Coon Lake.” In continuing to oppose the name change, the Park Service is failing to recognize Mr. Howard’s historical contribution to the area and is perpetuating a geographic name that is widely seen as pejorative and racist. The federal government can right this wrong by adopting Washington State’s decision to honor the miner Wilson Howard.

I am a resident of Oleander Drive and believe that a development on this scale does not fit on Oleander Drive. I am concerned about the impact of construction, added traffic congestion, environmental effects on wildlife and the Yellow River and overcrowding at our schools. Please don't let the greed of developers destroy a beautiful street. Visit www.save-oleander.com for plans and updates on meetings to voice your opinion on the development.

My reason for starting this petition is entirely personal: if the roles were reversed, and I was forced by civil war to flee my country with my children, I would want other nations to help me. One of the things I love about the U.S. is that we are, as individuals, extremely generous. I cannot stand by silently while our government acts in such a miserly, halfhearted way. We can afford to take in more than 10,000 refugees, and we should.

Republican and Democratic debates need to be scheduled on weekday evenings if they want maximum exposure. Many people are out and about on Friday and Saturday nights, yet the DNC has scheduled three out of four on Saturday evenings. Help support the democratic process by urging the parties to debate on weekday nights.

Just off the shores of New England, a fragile undersea mountain range brimming with rare marine wildlife—critically endangered North Atlantic right whales—is threatened with destruction. But there’s a chance to save it. Tell the Obama administration to make history and create the first-ever marine national monument in the Atlantic Ocean. New England’s “Grand Canyons,” sea mountains, and Cashes Ledge are national treasures. These precious ecosystems provide refuge for hundreds of species of rare and unique marine wildlife. These areas are also critical to the health of our ocean fish, the lifeblood of Atlantic coastal communities. Earthjustice has been fighting to protect our ocean ecosystems and we need your help! Unfortunately, these fragile undersea places are threatened with destruction from overfishing and industrial exploitation, as the deep ocean has become more accessible to drilling, mining and damaging commercial fishing. Leading scientists agree, now is the time to protect New England’s Grand Canyons, sea mountains and Cashes Ledge before it’s too late. Overwhelming public support is needed to persuade the Obama administration to protect these special places with a marine national monument designation. Send a message now to weigh in on this important decision.

Our food system is broken thanks to a handful of powerful Big Ag companies that are driving climate change and human rights abuses. For years, RAN has profiled Cargill's role in this flawed system, but there are other US Food Giants that are responsible for some of the worst food system impacts, and Tyson Foods is one of them. Tyson is known around the world for its massive poultry operation, and recently RAN exposed the company for its link to Conflict Palm Oil via one of its leading brands, Sara Lee. Tyson Foods and its global subsidiaries are one of the world's largest producers of chicken, beef, pork as well as prepared foods containing Conflict Palm Oil. It's leading brands include Tyson®, Jimmy Dean®, Hillshire Farm®, Sara Lee® Frozen Bakery, Ball Park®, Wright®, Aidells® and State Fair®. Tyson Foods is one of the largest meat producers in the world with recently reported record profits over $37 billion in revenue. The food giant has unprecedented control over the U.S. meat supply and is the biggest poultry producer in the world. The system of chicken production that Tyson has built keeps farmers in a state of indebted servitude, living on the edge of bankruptcy, and takes a huge toll on the climate. Altogether, our industrial system of agriculture is driving roughly one third of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, largely from tropical deforestation/land conversion for livestock and commodity feed crops, methane emissions from the prevalent industrial/factory farming model of animal production, and food sector emissions like manufacturing processed foods. Corporations like Tyson Foods, through its factory farm industrial model of production, is driving runaway climate change, increased levels of corporate control, high levels of food waste, forest loss and fragmentation, soil erosion, water scarcity and pollution, loss of biodiversity - both genetic diversity of crops and threatened extinction of key species, food insecurity, and racial inequity. Take action with RAN to demand that the biggest and most egregious global food producers, starting with Tyson Foods, adopt a comprehensive palm oil and meat sector policy. Tyson Foods must transparently report on its efforts to curb its impact on people, wildlife and the planet. It must publish data on its contribution to rainforest destruction, carbon pollution, biodiversity loss, human and workers rights abuse and its impact on global water supplies.

The science couldn't be more clear. We must take swift action to end the dangers that fracking and extreme oil extraction pose to California's future. Fracking and these other dangerous forms of drilling and extraction are a direct threat to our water, air, food and environment. Governor Brown and the Legislature must act now to keep our families, communities and planet safe by banning all dangerous forms of drilling and extraction immediately.