The Confederate flag is not a symbol of southern pride but rather a symbol of rebellion and racism. On the heels of the brutal killing of nine Black people in a South Carolina church by a racist terrorist, it's time to put that symbol of rebellion and racism behind us and move toward healing and a better United States of America!

On July 2, Hillary Clinton sent a letter to Haim Saban, a major Clinton donor and fundraiser, expressing her “alarm” over the “Boycott, Divestment, and Sanction movement,” which she called “a global effort to isolate the state of Israel by ending commercial and academic exchanges.” Clinton asserted that “we need to make countering BDS a priority.” Clinton’s letter failed to make any distinction between Israel and Israeli settlements in the West Bank. [1] The American Israel Public Affairs Committee is campaigning to erase the distinction in U.S. policy between Israel and Israeli settlements in the West Bank, under the guise of “combatting the global BDS movement.” As part of this campaign, AIPAC recently pushed language through Congress that defines the “global BDS” which the U.S. should oppose as including boycott, divestment, and sanctions against enterprises in “Israeli-controlled territories” – that is, enterprises in Israeli settlements in the West Bank. J Street and Americans for Peace Now opposed the AIPAC provision. [2] The Obama Administration denounced the provision, saying, “by conflating Israel and 'Israeli-controlled territories,' a provision of the Trade Promotion Authority legislation runs counter to longstanding U.S. policy towards the occupied territories, including with regard to settlement activity…The U.S. government has never defended or supported Israeli settlements and activity associated with them and, by extension, does not pursue policies or activities that would legitimize them.” [3] By condemning “BDS” without distinguishing between Israel and Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Clinton is supporting – whether intentionally or not – the AIPAC campaign to erase the distinction between Israel and Israeli settlements in the West Bank. It is unlikely that major media will successfully press Hillary to clarify her position unless the issue is raised by another candidate. A recent study found that 45% of Democratic “opinion leaders” said they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who criticized the Israeli occupation and mistreatment of Palestinians, while only 23% said they would be less likely to vote for such a candidate. [4] Urge Bernie Sanders to say that Israeli settlements in the West Bank are not Israel by signing our petition. References: 1. “Clinton 'alarmed' over calls for Israel boycott, urges bi-partisan action,” Barak Ravid, Haaretz, July 6, 2015, http://www.haaretz.com/1.664694 2. “Inside AIPAC's Quiet Campaign To Blur Israeli Settlement Lines,” Jessica Schulberg, Huffington Post, 5/28/2015, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/28/aipac-israel-settlements_n_7461038.html 3. “White House Blasts Trade Bill Provision That Aims To Protect Israeli Settlements,” Jessica Schulberg, Huffington Post, 6/30/2015, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/30/trade-bill-israel-settlements_n_7700814.html 4. “Israel losing Democrats, ‘can’t claim bipartisan US support,’ top pollster warns,” David Horowitz, Times of Israel, July 5, 2015, http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-losing-democrats-cant-claim-bipartisan-us-support-top-pollster-warns/

The right-wing Mackinac Center for Public Policy has been spreading corporate propaganda by spamming thousands of Michigan teachers at their work email addresses. Tell the Mackinac Center to stop hijacking our schools’ communications systems in order to advance their pro-corporate agenda.

This morning I heard yet another feature 2016 election story on NPR ("Clinton is 'Worried' About Bernie Sanders--But Should She Be?") in which not a single mention was made of where candidates stand on the issues facing America. Not climate change, not gun safety, not national security--only a brief passing reference to income inequality. Our democracy would be stronger if Americans could more easily determine how candidates' stances on the biggest issues match up with their own views, but NPR is not helping to make that happen.

So many bills in Congress now target wolves; our senators and representatives need to be asked to keep up their good work in supporting the Endangered Species Act and other important legislation! Connecticut has no wolves, but America's national parks and forests belong to all of us, and it's up to the rest of the country to control the activities of local special-interest groups (mostly ranchers and sport hunters). If you sign this petition, I want you to imagine howling back to the wolves at the Wolf Conservation Center in South Salem, NY, or having one of their wolf ambassadors look into your eyes. You'll be able to look back into that golden gaze, knowing you did what you could to save their kind from the jagged teeth of a leg-hold trap or the cross-hairs of a rifle like the one that killed Echo, the first wolf to make it back to the Grand Canyon.

There is no dispute--Le'Taxione is serving an illegal life without parole sentence. The courts agreed, but then held that it was too late to fix this error. The only remaining option is to petition the Washington Governor for clemency. No one should be wrongfully imprisoned for even a day. Serving an admittedly illegal life without parole sentence is a nightmare! Please lend your support and help us correct this gross miscarriage of justice.

It's time for sustainable solutions to fund our public education system, not last resorts, like bankruptcy. There are many sensible and even promising solutions that have not been tried. We support the following reforms to ensure our children’s future. At the state level: Reinstate the 5% income tax that ended Jan. 2015, costing the state billions, or implement a fair tax structure Add a state sales tax on services to yield additional revenue Close corporate loopholes and end corporate subsidies Contribute toward Chicago teacher pensions At the city level: Immediately shut down TIF districts that no longer meet their original purpose of developing blighted areas Return at least $400 million of TIF surplus to taxing bodies this year Enact a corporate income tax Raise property taxes by a modest amount as a last resort At the CPS level: Stop spending on nonessential items and explore cutting contracts that we’ve shared (http://bit.ly/cpsbudget) Reduce central office departments such as Innovation/Incubation, Accountability, and Family and Community Engagement Stop charter expansion and selective enrollment high school expansion We look to your example of leadership and stewardship during this challenging time. Our children and our schools depend on you. Please act now to raise revenue.

NJ State Senators Ray Lesniak and Loretta Weinberg are planning to introduce legislation that would require Governor Christie, and any future Governor, to resign from office in order to run for president. This is common sense. Christie has been out of the state for more than half of this year. He's making decisions based on what super conservative voters in Iowa and South Carolina want to hear, not what is in the best interests of New Jersey's families. And New Jersey taxpayers are going to continue to be on the hook for the cost of Christie's state trooper protection as he travels around the country running for president. Sign the petition to the NJ State Legislature asking them to pass a bill that would force Christie to resign if he wants to continue to run for president!

Release Marlon Vaz so that he can obtain necessary medical treatment, which ICE has failed to provide for three years despite his diagnosis of Bell's Palsy, a result of a botched dental surgery in an ICE facility that was run by Corrections Corporation of America (CCA). Marlon Francisco Vaz (A#205132331) has been in ICE (Immigration Customs Enforcement) custody since January 21, 2012. On March 12, 2012, while detained at the now closed North Georgia Detention Center, an immigration facility run by Corrections Corporations of America (CCA), Marlon underwent a tooth extraction surgery that has left half of his face paralyzed. Immediately after the surgery, Marlon began to experience droopiness in his right eye, and loss of feeling and muscle control over the right side of his face. Instead of releasing him so that he can acquire medical attention, ICE has ignored the severity of the permanent damage of his condition and has failed to provide proper medical treatment. Less than seven days after the botched surgery, ICE ordered him deported on March 19, 2012, without him seeing an Immigration Judge. ICE has pressured the Brazilian government to issue travel documents, while threatening Marlon with criminal prosecution for "not aiding in his removal." In addition to the denial of medical care, Marlon’s requests for medical release from custody have also been ignored as ICE continues to hold him, and his health continues to deteriorate. We demand that Marlon Vaz is released so that he could receive adequate medical attention.

I'm starting this petition because I'm a single mother, my husband is incarcerated, and my 4 year old has been acting out since he's been gone. She asks for him and cries for him and I see how it has affected her in many ways. She asks to go sleep with her Dad and she wants him to watch movies with her. How can someone deny a child from being with the father regardless of where he is? I hope this petition is passed around and signed.

---------------------------------------- Since 2008 Cindy McGinley has been nursing sick or injured deer back to health before returning them to the wild. As a state licensed wildlife rehabilitator, she’s allowed to provide care and emergency treatment to wild animals in order to release them back into nature. In her eight years of aiding animals though, McGinley has encountered two special cases that have stayed with her long-term. Deirdre and Lily are a pair of white-tailed deer that live on McGinley’s horse farm in Chittenango. Each were brought to McGinley as malnourished and orphaned fawns. Deirdre, now five years old, was just the size of a Chihuahua when she arrived on the farm. "Her mother was hit by a car and she was found beside the body," said McGinley. Lily was so underfed and dehydrated that she lost her ability to see. McGinley believes that neither would be a good candidate for release into the wild and has since raised the does on her farm in their own turnout and stable. But now the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation says the deer must go. While attempting to apply for a license that would allow her to care for the deer long term, McGinley was not only met with a rejection letter, she was also told that her deer must either be released or turned over to the DEC for release or euthanization. In the case of Lily, the blind doe, the DEC gave McGinley a grim choice. "There are only two options available for the one year old: 1) euthanize the animal as non-releasable; 2) surrender the deer to DEC," Joseph Therrien, a DEC Special Licenses Unit member wrote in his denial letter. McGinley believes her application was not given fair consideration. According to her, no one from the DEC came to see her farm or asked any questions to consider the circumstances for these deer. Cindy filed a temporary restraining order to try to buy time for her application to be reconsidered. For now at least, Deirdre and Lily’s future remains uncertain, but Cindy will continue to try to protect them just as she has since they first arrived on her farm.

As a leading manufacturer of neonics, Bayer has contributed to countless bee deaths around the world, putting our very food supply at risk. We need bees to pollinate 2/3 of the food crops we eat every day -- healthy fruits and vegetables matter far more than Bayer's extra profits! So now we need to show Bayer’s CEO that his toxic chemicals are tarnishing the Bayer brand and harming its business.