In a 1957 speech titled "Give Us The Ballot," Dr. King made a vivid case for why voting rights are so critical in our society: "So long as I do not firmly and irrevocably possess the right to vote I do not possess myself. I cannot make up my mind — it is made up for me. I cannot live as a democratic citizen, observing the laws I have helped to enact — I can only submit to the edict of others." Senator Margaret Rose Henry is advancing voting rights in Delaware. She has introduced a Same Day Registration bill that allows eligible Delaware voters to register to vote on Election Day and then immediately cast a ballot. Please help advance Dr. King's vision in 2015.

I am a taxpaying citizen of the state of Louisiana. Please join me in letting our state officials know that every citizen in Louisiana deserves health care.

I know families that are really hurting because our state of Louisiana decided to opt out of expanding Medicaid for families that need healthcare. We see these are families everyday in our community that are working and can't afford to pay for healthcare.

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act is now nearly eight years overdue for an update. The Senate has made important progress by drafting a bipartisan bill that may be voted on in June. Unfortunately, the House of Representatives has made much less headway. Our education system is critical to our children and our economy. We need to reimagine what education can be, to give all kids the opportunity to learn academic content as well as life skills such as problem solving, creative thinking and perseverance. To do that, we need to move away from “test-and-punish” accountability systems that turn kids into test scores and teachers into algorithms, and get back to project-based learning and rich curricula that create a joy of learning and teaching. We need to ensure that federal help is being used wisely to give all kids a chance to get a great public education. With proper targeting, we can ensure all kids have access to educational opportunity, no matter where they live or how much money their parents make.  We need the federal government to stop creating one-size-fits-all models for school improvement. And school districts, as well as state and local elected officials, should be held accountable for helping struggling schools gain the resources and supports needed to succeed. Send your representative a message: Ask them to help reclaim the promise of public education by passing an ESEA reauthorization bill that addresses these key priorities.

In February, teachers and staff at Chicago's Urban Prep Academies announced that they were forming a union. They stood up to improve teaching and learning conditions in their schools, and asked CEO Tim King to respect their decision and their dedication to the schools. At the time, Mayor Emanuel publicly expressed his support for these educators. Now, unfortunately, Urban Prep administrators are responding by requiring teachers and staff to listen to anti-union speeches, cutting into valuable work time. One speech made misleading claims about the union that the teachers and staff seek to join, Chicago ACTS. These speeches aim to sow fear and misunderstanding about how unions work. Until educators vote on June 3rd in the union election, they may continue to be bombarded by administrators’ claims that having a union could result in worse teaching conditions and that a union would not be true to the mission of Urban Prep—a mission that these educators take very seriously and would use their union to uphold. The teachers and staff have discovered how much their administration spends on consultants, lobbyists, and outside events, while seeing the challenge of meeting their students needs despite continued turnover of staff each year.They have discovered how much their administration spends on consultants, lobbyists, and outside events, while teachers keep striving to meet their students’ needs, despite high staff turnover. The teachers and staff at Urban Prep are dedicated to their schools’ long-term success and are organizing to bring greater accountability and stability to their schools and their students. Public schools like Urban Prep should remain neutral when educators seek to form a union. Mayor Rahm Emanuel should live up to his pledge of support for teachers at charter schools, by telling Tim King to respect the educators at Urban Prep and to stop using anti-union messages to discourage them in their upcoming election.

Too many people believe that the lies of Bill O'Reilly represent factual news. He is damaging to democracy, a spiteful liar who must be taken off the air.

The U.S. Endangered Species Act has served as one of the world’s strongest and most effective wildlife protection laws for more than 40 years. Take action now to ensure this landmark law is not weakened by political attacks. Anti-environment interests and their friends in Congress are currently orchestrating some of the most serious threats ever posed to the Endangered Species Act. Already this year, dozens of legislative proposals have been introduced that would put imperiled species at greater risk by: Establishing arbitrary land boundaries where species protections would not apply Imposing limitations on citizens’ ability to help enforce the Act Undermining the use of science under the Act Declaring open season on individual species by blocking federal protections or denying existing protections And more… Anti-environment lawmakers and their supporters in destructive and polluting industries have made it a priority to roll back protections for our wildlife, fish and plants, and the habitats upon which these species depend. If they get their way, the Endangered Species Act’s vital protections will be cast aside. Tell your congressional representative and senators to oppose any legislation that hurts imperiled wildlife! Some of America’s most iconic species—from the bald eagle to the gray whale to the American alligator—were rescued from the brink of extinction thanks to the Endangered Species Act. Earthjustice and supporters like you have been fighting to stop political attacks on the Endangered Species Act for decades. We can’t do it without you—we need your help to urge your members of Congress to defend this important law by opposing all anti-wildlife legislation.

The National BSA needs to remove the ban on gay adults in scouting. There is no reason for it. Scouting allows a boy who is gay to be in scouting, but as soon as he turns 18 he is no longer allowed. Quoting BSA President, Robert Gates (5/21/15) the “status quo in our movement’s membership standards cannot be sustained,” He then called on the organization to end its ban on gay adults. He also went on to say that the BSA would not revoke the charters of Boy Scouts Councils that defied the organization’s ban on gay adults, explicitly mentioning the Denver Area Council and the Greater New York Council

New Mexico needs to keep jobs and create new jobs. If the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission rejects PNM’s request for a Conditional Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for San Juan Unit 4, more than 700 New Mexicans will lose their jobs at the generation plant and coal mine. This equates to a loss of $100 million in annual payroll to our state, and take a toll on the service-based businesses that rely on PNM’s employees and the company’s purchases. Additionally, it’s a potential loss of more than $31 million annually in state and local taxes. The negative consequences of rejecting PNM’s request for the Conditional CCN reach far beyond direct job loss in the Farmington region, however. It would also damage our state’s efforts to put New Mexicans back to work and negatively affect the future of the Albuquerque metropolitan area. For the last few years, New Mexico’s Governor and Legislature have worked together to pass a series of laws to improve New Mexico’s ability to recruit manufacturers and other employers. For example, legislation enacted in 2015 allows utilities to offer an economic development incentive rate to expanding employers, an important tool that other states have used against us to create jobs for their residents. Rejection of PNM's request would render worthless this critical legislation, designed to boost the state economy and get New Mexicans back to work. In addition to higher commercial electric rates, it is anticipated that PNM's residential electric rates will increase more than double what they would under PNM's plan if the PRC rejects PNM's request. It could unnecessarily raise PNM's costs and could prevent PNM from being able to offer discounted rates, which is critical to economic development and the recruitment of new employers. It also will likely lead to a shutdown of all San Juan generation, which is the backbone of PNM's system and its cheapest source of power. The company will have to replace coal generation with expensive generation sources. This will mean much higher electric bills for Albuquerque businesses and create financial hardship for many residents. I urge you to protect job creation in Albuquerque and New Mexico and grant PNM’s request for a Conditional CCN for San Juan Unit 4. Supported by: Albuquerque Economic Development, Inc. Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce Associated Builders and Contractors of New Mexico Associated General Contractors of New Mexico Commercial Association of Realtors of New Mexico Commercial Real Estate Development Association – New Mexico Economic Forum of Albuquerque Estancia Valley Economic Development Association Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce Home Builders Association of Central New Mexico NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association New Mexico Association of Commerce and Industry Realtors Association of New Mexico Sandoval Economic Alliance

Worker wages have been under attack in Indiana based upon a false belief that lower wages are good for business and taxpayers. There is no support for these positions. In fact, workers making a living wage are more productive and also contribute to the building up of the local economy thereby creating a better business community.

A Texas company has proposed building a high speed rail line linking Dallas and Houston using no public funding, but opponents succeeded in adding a "rider" to the state budget which would prohibit the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) from even engaging in safety and engineering oversight of the project. That oversight is required, so the rider would effectively kill the high speed rail line. High speed rail will help take cars off the road, reducing pollution and traffic, and provide an alternative for travelers. The state should be expediting the project, not putting up barriers. The budget conference committee should remove the rider from the final budget and let plans for high speed rail proceed.

I had read an unbelievable message board post that trolled forty people. And then Jeff Rubin's response made me feel like I had just put sand in my mouth. Rubin needs his keyboard taken away.