Biden has been making alarming compromises with his federal judge appointments recently— like cutting a back-channel deal with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and nominating Chad Meredith, an anti-choice member of the Koch-brothers funded Federalist Society, to a Kentucky federal judgeship. President Biden’s decision to put forth an anti-abortion judge in the wake of the Dobbs ruling is indefensible. As progressive advocacy group Indivisible said in a statement, “Republicans have already stacked the federal judiciary with far-right partisans — we don’t need Democrats helping them do it.” President Biden must pick up the pace on nominating federal judges. With a Supreme Court consistently tearing down our fundamental rights, the federal courts are one of our few available protections. August recess is right around the corner. President Biden must make nominating federal judges a top priority in the next two weeks—and the Senate must swiftly confirm these nominees.

Water is a basic human right. At a school that demands academic excellence, it is hypocritical that no water is provided for paying students. Dehydration negatively impacts academic performance and focus. How can we perform if we are not given the basic tools in order to do so. We are also in school for the HOT summer months with no AC in the classrooms as well. Water is something that should AT LEAST be provided considering the tuition we pay to attend this institution.

The Luther Burbank Center for the Arts claims, on paper, to be committed to serving Sonoma County’s diverse community, “taking meaningful actions to welcome and center the voices that often need to be heard, [and] furthering the community dialogue around equity, oppression, active inclusion and privilege in everything we do.” [Source: https://lutherburbankcenter.org/about/general-information/diversity-equity-inclusion/] If any place, particularly a nonprofit, commends itself for its upstanding diversity, equity and inclusion, it should be held accountable by those standards in all its actions within the community it serves. By allowing performers like Dave Chapelle to use their space as a platform for blatantly transphobic and harmful content, the LBC contradicts the values asserted in their DEI statement and directly contributes to the violent rhetoric LGBTQIA+ people are forced to deal with every day. By giving discrimination the stage, the Luther Burbank Center sends a message to all of Sonoma County that prejudice, harmful language, and stereotypes are cause for laughter and celebration. On Wednesday, July 20th, Minneapolis’ First Avenue theater listened to community outcry and relocated Dave Chapelle’s performance to another venue. By aiming to move Chapelle’s Sonoma County performances, we build upon the message which First Avenue has sent: transphobia will not be tolerated in our community or beyond. The LBC is supposed to stand for our community, not for profit! By signing this petition, you raise your voice against the normalization of transphobia in our county and stand as an ally to the LGBTQIA+ community.

As I write this, the clock that indicates how much time we have left to avoid a 1.5 degree temperature increase is about to roll over from 7 years, 0 days, 00:00:00 to 6 years, 364 days, 23:59:59. In spite of this, and the fact that the majority of Pennsylvanians want to see their government act on climate, our state government continues to take us in the wrong direction, approving more fossil fuel and petrochemical development while pushing for huge investments in false climate solutions promoted by the fossil fuel industry. Among them are technologies like Carbon Capture and Storage and Blue Hydrogen, initiatives like turning western PA into a Hydrogen Hub, and specific projects like Nacero, Encina, and KeyState. Our clock must serve as a permanent reminder that our government needs to break its ties with the industries responsible for the ever-shortening amount of time it counts down and take swift, bold, and just action on climate.

The overturning of Roe v. Wade requires bold action. It is important for the Surgeon General to issue a letter to every American household giving them complete and accurate information about medication abortion, to increase knowledge and availability of this safe and effective process.

Manchin should immediately be stripped of his position as Chair of the energy and natural resources committee. He clearly has too much of a personal and financial stake in that sector to be making any decisions about energy and our environment. Show Senator Manchin that you will not stand for his plot to make himself richer at the expense of everyone else's livelihoods. Sign Common Defense's petition right now and let Congress know that we will not stand for this enormous conflict of interest.

This has to stop! The emergence of these allegations is the last straw. Chair Hentschel's abusive conduct toward fellow commissioners and members of the public with whom he disagreed along with these serious allegations show that he is unfit for office. This demands action. That any woman in our county asked local authorities for protection against a powerful, elected leader, and was shut down should worry us all. That this was known since 2020 but kept quiet is of further concern. NOW is the time to act! Hentschel is running for another term and all of us deserve better. Regardless of party affiliation, join us in signing this important petition. READ THE PETITION FOR PPO BELOW! WARNING - reading the petition for PPO can be traumatizing for anyone who has experienced domestic abuse, sexual assault, or other abuse. Link to the petition for PPO = https://1drv.ms/b/s!AhZ5YtkhibW4gqR8RzIfvP-5Dyk4Qg?e=q5BoEi Further, here is a link to a related police report: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AhZ5YtkhibW4gqR9wKO2YIRiJ4TRsw?e=NQBoWb And, here is another to a related 911 call: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AhZ5YtkhibW4gqUn0_A0TrVdKiNPhg?e=o25InL

Tattoo's are a reflection of individuality, and should not be hidden. Tattoos do NOT hinder performance and our Policy should be updated to reflect todays workforce. The ARMY and the NAVY have updated their policy to reflect the changing perspectives. Tattoos that are prejudicial, or offensive should be dealt with on a case by case basis. There is a large number of current staff as well as prospective employee's with tattoo's that are willing and excited to work for our organization, but feel the tattoo "bias" interferes with their ability to perform their duties to the highest degree.

The language the media uses requires accuracy.

It’s not enough to hit pause on human rights violations Did you know the Biden administration has asked Israel to pause “actions in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem that could create tensions” ahead of the president’s visit to the region this week? That means they’ll play “nice” while the diplomats meet, but once the president is gone, it’s back to business as usual: occupation, evictions, bulldozers, and violence. Take Masafer Yatta — just weeks before President Biden’s first official visit to the Middle East, Israel began the largest forced eviction in the West Bank in DECADES. At least 1,000 Palestinians living in the villages of Masafer Yatta are facing eviction as the Israeli government continues its strategy of illegal encroachment in the West Bank. It’s not enough for the Israeli government to simply pause their human rights violations, and we can help put a stop to them once and for all. Usually, this kind of aggression by Israel’s government would be overlooked by the United States. But with President Biden touching down in the region today, and members of Congress already speaking out, we have a unique opportunity to push for more and to STOP the evictions and demolitions before it’s too late.

Ask yourself, would you want a slaughterhouse next to you home? Bottom line is that this slaughterhouse/meat processing facility does not belong in a residential neighborhood. It is a commercial operation and belongs in a commercial setting.

Ben & Jerry’s is in court protecting their decision to stop selling ice cream in occupied Palestinian territories, after a betrayal by their parent company, Unilever. To appease the Israeli government, Alan Jope, CEO at Unilever, authorized a backroom deal to sell the franchise to an Israeli company – essentially overriding Ben & Jerry’s decision. Sign the petition: tell Unilever to stop its betrayal of Ben & Jerry’s and Palestinian human rights. Ben & Jerry’s made the human rights-affirming decision in 2020 to stop doing business in occupied Palestine, following a decade of grassroots organizing and campaigning by Palestinians and allies across the globe. In 2021, Ben & Jerry’s finally went public with their decision — after a particularly brutal Israeli military assault on Gaza which killed over 200 people — and during a huge surge of international support for Palestinian freedom. Now, a year after Ben & Jerry’s public announcement, their parent company, Unilever, has made a backroom deal to sell ice cream operations to the Israeli licensee rather than honor Ben & Jerry’s decision to respect Palestinian lives.