It's official: the state of New York banned fracking! Maryland could make a decision on fracking soon, so we're calling on Governor Hogan to follow New York's lead. This victory is because of the years of education, mobilization and advocacy work to build the political power for holding Governor Cuomo accountable to the people, not the Oil and Gas industry. New Yorkers Against Fracking, a coalition founded by Food & Water Watch, and the strong network of allies and grassroots activists are directly responsible for this victory. After activists demanded that the health effects of fracking be studied, a two year investigation by the state's own commission confirmed what the movement has been saying all along, that fracking cannot be done safely. New York has set an example that the rest of the country should follow to make sure that families in every state are protected from fracking.

Following successful diplomacy to secure the release of U.S. citizen Alan Gross, President Obama has called on Congress to end the U.S. embargo of Cuba. [1] President Obama is right when he says that the 50-year U.S. embargo on Cuba has been a failure. [2] The embargo hasn't improved the lives of Cubans or Cuban-Americans; the embargo has imposed unjust hardships on Cubans and Cuban-Americans. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, President Obama moves to improve U.S. relations with Cuba and ease the embargo are already under attack by Republicans like Senator Marco Rubio. [3] Show your support for normalizing U.S. relations with Cuba and ending the embargo. References: 1. “Obama Calls on Congress to Lift Embargo,” New York Times, 12/17/14, http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2014/12/17/obama-cuba-embargo/ 2. “Obama Calls Cuba Embargo a Failure,” New York Times, 12/17/14, http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2014/12/17/obama-calls-cuba-embargo-a-failure/ 3. “Rubio Calls Obama ‘Willfully Ignorant’ on Cuba,” New York Times, 12/17/14, http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2014/12/17/rubio-calls-obama-willfully-ignorant-on-cuba/

Many USAA members want to invest in socially and environmentally responsible ways. We don't want our money to help fund industries that pollute the Earth, companies that have inhumane or unjust labor practices or that produce harmful products, and corporations that support oppressive governments. USAA's website claims: "We have made sustainability a strategic priority, working to further reduce our effect on our planet without sacrificing fiscal responsibility. We are continually adopting greener practices and tapping into new energy resources and technology." Please adopt the greener practice of allowing your members to make choices about investing their money in funds that support sustainable companies.

Many citizens of Rockville are very concerned about the rush, on the part of some Council members, to weaken the City's Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance/Standards (APFO/APFS). This is an issue about which many in the community feel passionately, because our APFO is essential for the protection of the education of our children. In Rockville, the APFO stops developers from building more apartments and adding more children to schools already well over capacity. Weakening it will have adverse consequences for the quality of life in our neighborhoods, including forcing the Montgomery County school system to teach children in portables, not classrooms. Montgomery County is already behind by 22 schools - how many more schools will be needed if the APFO is trampled by development interests? In the recent past there have been numerous attempts by development interests to water down or eliminate our APFO/APFS, but everyone who has studied the issue, including the APFO task force, the Planning Commission, and previous Mayor and Councils, have kept our strong City standards in place. But now our APFO is in jeopardy, due to the unfortunate efforts of several City Council members. This most recent proposal would weaken the current APFS standards by changing them to Montgomery County's standards, the most lax in the State of Maryland. Three inadvisable changes are being proposed: first, weakening the school test to allow 120% overcrowding in our schools; second, permitting "averaging" of overcrowding across an entire school cluster to water down the statistics from highly overcrowded individual schools; and finally, changing the "test period" from 2 to 5 years, which essentially allows developers to get credit for new school capacity which may never be funded or built. We believe that the proposed changes will severely diminish the quality of education our students will receive. Overcrowded schools are already a huge problem, and now is not the time to make the problem worse. Rockville's current strong APFO is a vital planning tool at the City's disposal to make sure that new residential development does not overwhelm our schools and roads. Please join us in standing up and making our collective voice heard. Tell the Mayor and Council to keep our City's APFO strong!

From civil rights oppression to sexually assaulting children, the moral elite and privileged have been running the empire of evil for too long. Time to bring back equality, justice and boils. Release Satan from Hell and reinstate his license to prosecute the wicked.

It's about getting sidewalks and street lights on some of the side roads where there are none and need to be, as well as stricter speed enforcement. My other half and I have been affected by there not being any lights or sidewalks on some of the roads. I got hit by a driver on King's Estate in November; two days after my accident, a guy got killed on Hilltop Road. We ride our bikes and walk these roads to get to and from work and stores as well as other places.. Pedestrians are disregarded by drivers on those roads, and feel unsafe walking, let alone riding bikes on the roads out of fear of being hit.

We seek transparency in the Eric Garner case.

It has gone too far and it's time to take back images of women particularly women of color.

The holidays should about spending time with family, and holiday traditions—but noise, pollution, and the health threat of fracking may spoil Gary Baumgardner’s holiday plans. It’s so bad that doctors have made it clear his 9-month old granddaughter should stay away from the house, even during the holidays. In a perfect world, fracking should be ceased every day and Gary and his family should never have to breath the toxic air, put up with the disruptive noise, or fear for their health because of this unwanted neighbor. And we’re working to make that happen. But, in the meantime every family family deserves a quiet few weeks around the holidays to uphold the holiday traditions. Sign our petition demanding EQT shut their operations this holiday season so that Gary’s family can spend the season together and they can have a little peace and quiet.

Just six years after a financial crisis that was caused by Wall Street, Congress has begun rolling back Wall Street reform, raising the risk that taxpayers will once again have to bail out the big banks. Instead of passing laws that create new bailout opportunities for banks that have been deemed "Too Big to Fail," Congress should end the idea of "Too Big to Fail" once and for all. Elizabeth Warren has proposed strengthening Wall Street reform by bringing back provisions that Wall Street successfully fought against -- including rules that would break up big banks instead of using taxpayer money to bail them out. Financial institutions have become so big and so powerful that they can hold the entire country hostage. That alone is a reason enough for us break them up. Enough is enough. Read more here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/miles-mogulescu/the-speech-that-could-make-elizabeth-warren-president_b_6319142.html

I am from the Pacific Northwest where we suffered the loss of the 25th infantry division on Guadalcanal. We fight but God damn it: we fight with honor or we go home.

Tito and Seiger were taken from their home and ordered to be destroyed by an ignorant system that failed to investigate. Also known as Breed discrimination. This has to be stopped. We have ONLY a short time to get this order reversed. Help to bring these sweet family members home.