A college education is still the primary pathway to the middle class, yet the average college graduate leaves school with nearly $30,000 in debt. And for students who don’t graduate, even small amounts of debt can be insurmountable. It wasn’t always this way. Just 25 years ago, if a student wanted to attain a bachelor’s degree, it was more likely than not that he or she would be able to do so without borrowing money to pay for it. Now, due to disinvestment in education, borrowing is nearly always required to pay for a four-year degree, particularly for low- and middle-income students. Reversing this trend will require the federal government and states to work together to make college more affordable and return it to the debt-free promise it once was. A federal-state partnership, like the one proposed in the new resolution, would alleviate the student debt burden and address many of the contributing factors of rising college costs.

For almost 14 years, Philadelphians have been unable to elect their own school board, thanks to efforts of corporate backed education privatizers. It's time for the voters of Philadelphia to be able to vote for our own school board. Join me in calling on Gov. Wolf to return local control to Philadelphians now.

Florida needs to expand Medicaid, and the governor needs to stop being an obstacle to helping Florida's working poor.

HB 525, The Cleveland Plan, enables the CMSD CEO to create a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) for the lowest performing schools in the District, known as Corrective Action Schools. In 2013 and 2014, the Cleveland Municipal School District Board of Education adopted the CAPs for these buildings. Corrective Action School teachers and paraprofessionals had to re-interview, be selected, and sign a Commitment Letter in Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the plan. In year three, with little collaboration or notice, the District presented new plans that de-professionalize the staff and do little to address student success. As teachers and paraprofessionals have been following the plan for the past year or two, positive changes can be seen. Instead of starting over, the District needs to stand behind and support their original commitment letters.

Since our government lacks the required morality and integrity to take these war criminals out of circulation within the confines of a civilized society that operates under the rule of law and hold them accountable for their crimes, we the undersigned feel it is our civic duty to do so.

President Obama promised during his 2008 campaign that he would call the massacre of Armenians by the Turkish government during World War I a genocide. Since taking office he has not followed through on this campaign promise. April 24, 2015 marks the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide when 1.5 million Armenians were either brutally executed or forced marched into the desert and starved to death. As stated in April 22, 2015 Wall Street Journal, again President Obama will not use the term genocide when he commemorates this sad anniversary in order to appease the Turkish government. Full disclosure, I voted for Obama so this is not political for me. It is however political for him. Why should Turkey govern our moral standards? Standing up for crimes against humanity should never be a political decision. True leaders don't make popular decisions, they make morally correct decisions. By not speaking out, tragedies and crimes against humanity are repeated, as evidenced throughout history. When Hitler was preparing his Nazi leaders about his idea for the "final solution" for Jews he actually sited the Armenian genocide and told his team that the world never said or did anything then so why would they with what he planned? The Pope, Canada, France, EU and soon Germany have all spoken out and support the historical and fact based claim that there was an Armenian genocide. And today, Christians are being brutally murdered in the Middle East for beliefs alone, and again our President is silent. Its about time President Obama stands up not down to all these cowards, and speaks out! #Silence is acceptance.

As early as noon on Thursday, the Minnesota Senate could vote to legalize silencers and weaken our pistol permit law. Minneapolis has "shot spotter" technology to locate the source of gunshots. Gun lobbyists are claiming, with no evidence, that shot spotters won't be impacted by the use of silencers. At the same time, they want to weaken our pistol permit law to honor permits from any state with a "similar" rather than "substantially similar" law, a vague and lower standard.

Exposure to toxic chemicals and radioactive waste is harming the health of communities exposed to fracking and laying waste to prime agricultural regions, where food is grown. Water is contaminated and air is polluted with VOC, BETX gases and PM. Earthquakes are damaging real estate and the corporations responsible are not being held liable!

Elizabeth Warren gave an important speech last week on the state of Wall Street reform six-and-a-half years after the financial crisis. Let’s a send a message to the entire 2016 field: support Senator Warren’s no-nonsense agenda.

The dramatic increase in the number of undocumented children who are unaccompanied, and the unfair legal process through which they must go in order to stay legally in the U.S., is disturbing. Insufficient access to legal representation in their immigration proceedings practically puts these children from Central America and Mexico, held in U.S. federal custody, at a disadvantage. Eventually this ruthless event practically dictates their deportation. After their undeserved repatriation, they once again face dangers and problems including human trafficking, violence, crime, and the abuse from which they fled from the beginning. Such occurrences are creating a vicious cycle, and the ones who continuously get hurt both physically and mentally are children. As a nation, it is our moral obligation and responsibility to care and protect the rights of undocumented children who come by themselves, but we have failed to do so. Unfortunately, the American values and the “best interest” of children in due process have been undermined. To flip the page, our government must increase its efforts to address the issue. The U.S. government, in coordination with state and local courts, should establish a better mechanism in order to provide free legal support to every single undocumented child. In addition, they should prohibit, and sanctions must be applied to, any legal proceeding that takes place involving an unaccompanied child who has no assistance whatsoever.

Aloha! The same rich folks and corporations have been calling the shots in Honolulu for far too long. It's time for a candidate that is unbought and unbossed to run for Honolulu Mayor. Someone who doesn't just say that they care, but actually does. Someone who has been in politics of all kinds , including elected office, for over 40 years and has never taken a dime from corporations. Not many people can say that. Someone who was Chair of the Hawaii County Council. Someone who puts people first, stands for open government, and has a long track record of working for a just and sustainable society. A Green. Someone who has never given up. She just keeps changing strategies and searching for new ways to make a positive difference. If you want REAL change, and not just smoke and mirrors, and tinkering on the edges while unmet problems continue to worsen, then *please* ask Keiko Bonk to run for Mayor. Or we can continue to expend lots of time, energy, and resources to play defense while special interests dump tons of money into the same old politicians - winning some battles, but losing many more in the long run. We really do need our best candidate to run if we’re going to win the race for Honolulu Mayor in 2016. Getting Keiko Bonk to run is our best chance to get a truly progressive mayor, and to put support for working families and the middle class at the top of the City and County of Honolulu agenda. I hope you’ll join me in saying #RunBonkRun Thanks! Frank DeGiacomo

Governor Walker is using the budget deficit as justification to eliminate scientists from the Wisconsin DNR staff. This will make it very difficult, if not impossible, for Wisconsin to deal effectively with problems such as global climate change, nutrient overloading in lakes and rivers, and chronic wasting disease in whitetail deer. The elimination of the scientist bureau from the DNR seems to be consistent with Walker's overall attack on science.