The effects of moving Joni Ernst into congress could be disastrous if she turns the tide on the XL Pipeline, a Koch Brother's scheme to make billions of dollars while we, the whole Midwest US population take the risk of a huge pollution of our aquifer and top soil ... two of the things millions of citizens depend on for survival and agriculture. She has stated multiple things against minimum wage increases as well ... the voice of the million dollar club at the top, no one should have to live in poverty while getting paid minimum wages.

This is a proposal for a ‘Water Consumption Tax’ when purchasing meat, dairy and eggs. A person consuming meat, dairy and eggs is responsible for massive amounts of water usage for the production of the animal products, far more than a person living a plant based lifestyle. In some cities, households are limited to only 50 gallons of water usage per person a day and fined if they exceed that amount. The same should apply to omnivores who eat animal products without consequence for the water crisis. The standard diet of a person in the United States requires 4,200 gallons of water per day (for animals’ drinking water, irrigation of crops, processing, washing, cooking, etc.). A person on a vegan diet requires only 300 gallons a day. It takes approximately 660 gallons of water to produce one quarter pound hamburger patty. At those numbers, it takes 2640 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef. Using that estimate it would take 6,600,000 gallons of water to produce one ton of beef; which would be equivalent to filling a 40 gallon bathtub 165,000 times. It is time for people who are consuming animal products to pull their own weight and to start being responsible for their impact to California's water crisis.

More and more Americans are becoming concerned about their privacy, and the Governor needs to make a commitment to protecting his citizens' rights. Days after rejecting this bill, a bill preventing paparazzi from targeting celebrities with camera-equipped drones was signed by Governor Brown. We don't approve of the general public nor the Government and its agencies to use unwarranted surveillance drones on California citizens.

More and more Americans are becoming concerned about their privacy, and the Governor needs to make a commitment to protecting his citizens rights. Days after rejecting this bill, a bill preventing paparazzi from targeting celebrities with camera-equipped drones was signed by Governor Brown. We don't approve of the general public nor the Government and its agencies to use unwarranted surveillance drones on California citizens.

Exclusionary Discipline is clearly a problem in Portland Public Schools, as it is nationally. Teachers, parents, and community members must come together to demand change, as this problem of institutionalized racism against Black, Latino and Native American students has gone on for far too long. The current system is broken. We must show our unwillingness to operate within the current punitive system and request a new system from our District Leaders. Leaders who wish to maintain the status quo are reluctant to make immediate changes, arguing that these changes will take time; we maintain that they should have taken place a long time ago. Every day that we wait to end punitive discipline systems mean more African American, Latino, and Native American children who are excluded at higher rates than their white peers. We will not stand for this any longer...and request action now to eradicate the discipline referral system in Portland Public Schools.

My 4-month old granddaughter, Harvey Nicole King, laid down to take a nap and never woke up. She was a seemingly perfectly healthy baby. This is a devastating loss. Every hour of every day another baby dies. We must do something to save these precious lives. We want to ensure hospitals provide more information about SIDS to parents of preemies who are often of low-weight at birth. We want to encourage everyone to read about up-to-date crib death prevention measures and follow the safety precautions!

Damiean Wicks was falsely arrested, tried and convicted of Aggravated Assault. Damiean was sentenced on the day of his trial. Damiean's sentence is - 2 twenty year sentences running concurrently with 7 years behind bars and 13 years on probation. No evidence was available.

More than two weeks after Darrien Hunt, 22, was fatally shot in the back by two Saratoga Springs police officers, the Salt Lake Tribune reported that the department had purchased body cameras sometime in the last year or more, and one of the officers involved had publicly praised the use of the high tech devices in several online journals and newspapers. Two weeks. Were the two officers wearing the body cams on September 10, 2014, the day they killed Hunt? No one knows. “We are still currently unaware if the Saratoga Springs police wear body cams,” said Susan Hunt, Darrien’s mother. “There is a big concern now—that if they were wearing them, did they have them on? Can they claim they didn’t have them on? Can they say they were blocked? They are police officers. They should be held at a higher liability—they have to be more accountable for their actions, and what they do. It should be considered withholding evidence if they do not. Body cameras should be worn by all police to protect both honest officers and citizens.” In lieu of this finding, and the fact that the investigation into Darrien’s death is not transparent and the investigators appear biased, we are launching a new petition asking for the Saratoga Springs police department to be required to answer honestly whether or not their officers were wearing body cameras when they shot and killed Darrien Hunt. We would also request that any videos captured by the bank, or any other business, be made available to the public, or at least to the Hunt family lawyer. We would also like access to the 911 tapes that include the original call to the police station, and any subsequent audio regarding the shooting. In addition, we would like to see: 1. A law passed that all police jurisdictions require their personnel to wear working body cameras during all encounters with citizens. This will help to ensure transparency for law enforcement activities. 2. That body camera video be treated as evidence, and managed the same as other evidence. 3. Local investigators be held accountable for not conducting a valid criminal investigation. 4. The development of a national standardized protocol for officer-involved shootings, so that officer(s), citizen(s), victim(s), families, and communities can trust that the investigative outcomes are fair and just. 5. That all law enforcement investigations be transparent to ensure the facts in evidence are neither hidden nor altered to protect any party from wrongdoing, unethical, or illegal activities. 6. That in the case of an officer shooting where a death results, that the case goes before a citizen review board. 7. That officers, while not treated as criminals, are interviewed promptly and kept apart, as is always done in a criminal investigation. It appears that the Utah County District Attorney's Office has forgotten that Darrien was someone's child. Specifically, Susan Hunt's child. All evidence points to a shooting that was not justified. The nation and world is watching, and so those responsible must be held accountable. Susan Hunt and her family are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as are most of her neighbors in the 95-percent white, Mormon community. But for those with children of mixed ethnic heritage, it is fraught with danger. Susan Hunt does not want to see this happen to someone else's child. Only by changing the laws can we prevent this. She stands behind her claim of racial prejudice. Darrien, who was half black, was too different to fit in. She and many others believe this is obvious. The fact that Darrien died with six bullets in his back shows that he was not a threat. “Too many people have come forward making us aware of complaints brought forward against the police department for racial discrimination, or basically anyone who is different or considered not fitting into the norm for Saratoga Springs,” Susan said. "Until this is fixed, I would tell other parents to be afraid. Be very afraid for your children." She knows, because Susan will never see her child again.

UNM administration has issued an apology for hosting Sex Week, a series of seminars about consent, relationships and sexuality. While well intentioned we feel this apology is misguided. By calling topics of normal adult sexuality "sensational and controversial", University administrators and officials promote fear, shame, and judgement. The prevalence of shame and silence has led directly to the alarming frequency of sexual assault in our society at large and New Mexico especially. "These misguided attacks show just how afraid many people are of frank, pleasure-centered sex education. But that fear fuels violence. When young people don't know what safe, pleasurable sex can be like, we leave them vulnerable to predators who will tell them that abuse is normal." -Jaclyn Friedman, author of "Yes Means Yes: Visions of Sexual Power and a World Without Rape." Events such as Sex Week offer students precisely the tools needed to combat this culture of violence. By expressing regret over the teaching of clear and honest information about sexuality and relationships, UNM does a disservice to survivors of sexual assault. Additionally, UNM undermines the expertise of the members of the UNM Women's Resource Center and their dedication to the needs of the students they serve. Contact the UNM Dean of Students and make your voice heard. The number is: (505) 277-3361.

Yes, our children are getting a horrible education and teachers must work two jobs just to make ends meet. NC is now the worst state in the country for teachers!

Great News! Another BIG WIN for campaign funding transparency this year! More than 11,000 people signed petitions, thousands left comments on Governor Jerry Brown's website, and hundreds called on this issue. This influenced the Governor to sign SB 844. Authored by Senator Fran Pavley, SB 844 will make it easy to see online who's spending money for and against California propositions. It requires the Secretary of State to create an online page listing the total amount raised and the top ten funders supporting and opposing the propositions. Perhaps most importantly, the official ballot pamphlet will include a link to the webpage, so it is easy to find. Please sign the petition thanking Governor Brown and urging him to join the California Clean Money Campaign to pass the California DISCLOSE Act in 2015.

Wisconsin's minimum wage law (Chapter 104) states that the minimum wage must provide a decent standard of living. Wisconsin's $7.25 hourly minimum wage is simply not a living wage. On September 24th, as part of the Raise Wisconsin campaign, 100 low-wage workers filed minimum wage complaints with Governor Scott Walker and the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, demonstrating the daily struggles that Wisconsin's minimum wage workers face. Less than two weeks later, the Walker Administration stated that they found "no reasonable cause" to raise the minimum wage. Well, we find no reasonable cause for Walker's reelection. If Walker won't give Wisconsin a raise, it's time to elect a Governor who will.