Every 15 minutes an elephant is killed for its ivory. That’s over 30,000 a year. The illegal ivory trade is a cruel business. But it’s much more than that. Illegal ivory generates up to $10 billion a year for criminal and terrorists organizations. Crime syndicates involved in gun, drug, and human trafficking reap huge profits from the ivory trade. So do dangerous terrorist groups, including Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army and al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Shabaab. These terrorists threaten the safety and stability of Africa and the national security of the United States. Ivory smugglers thrive with the complicity of local authorities who have little incentive to stop them. Although the trade is outlawed, lax enforcement and bribes make it easy for smugglers to operate. It’s time for America to send a message: any country that facilitates the ivory trade will pay an economic price. I’ve introduced legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives that would do just that, and I hope you’ll lend it your support. The Targeted Use of Sanctions for Killing Elephants in their Range (TUSKER) Act would impose trade sanctions on countries found to be complicit in facilitating ivory trade. With the TUSKER Act, local authorities would face a new calculus when dealing with ivory smugglers: either you enforce the law, or you face the fallout of tough economic sanctions. Sign the petition: tell Congress it’s time to pass the TUSKER Act and shut down the ivory trade! Thank you for taking action. Peter DeFazio

Luis Bravo a DREAMeR, community leader and immigrant rights advocate was picked up by the Department of Homeland Security during the early hours of September 18th. Thanks to quick community response Luis was released just 6 hours after being detained, but his release just serves as a testament to the power of the people united. Luis might be out now, but the fear is still very much real; he can still be deported at any moment. We still need your help to show that the community doesn't want him taken unjustly away from his family and community. We are still waiting for more information on when he will need to appear in front of a judge, but it will appear here as soon as we receive it. For those of you who don't know him, his name is Luis Israel Bravo Chamu. He is 22 years old and has lived in Costa Mesa, California for over 17 years. He, along with his family, have dedicated the last few years of their lives advocating for immigrant rights and trying to get the community to actively participate. Please sign and share this petition. Watch the video below to see the call to action that Luis' sister Jessica made out to the community just shortly after he was taken. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YArrHFKqdug&feature=youtu.be

My name is Kathy Henry. I am currently an unemployed college graduate. I have over twenty years of experience as an administrative support professional but I cannot find a job. My only source of income is food stamps. There are a lot of Kathys and Kevins in my position, older workers who cannot find employment. We need to feed our families. We are not lazy. We want to work but our current crop of politicians do not care. They tell us to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, but suppose you do not have any boots. We have paid taxes into the system and do not deserve this type of treatment. Something needs to be done.

I was born in NH, and live in NH. I want to hear what Representative Garcia's solution is, for residents of New Hampshire, to continue to have access to "affordable"health care.

We support keeping the Shrewsbury MA mail processing plant open and maintaining the strongest public post office in Massachusetts.

It's been over 30 years since Wayne Williams went to prison for crimes he did not commit. Please help us in our efforts to free Wayne and bring justice to all those impacted by this horrific tragedy. Go to www.waynewilliamsfreedomproject.com for more information. Thank you.

At the Boston School Committee meeting on September 17th, Interim Superintendent McDonough recommended that all students in grades 3-8 and in grade 11 take the PARCC this year in order to better prepare for the potential transition from MCAS to PARCC. Tenth graders will still be required to take and pass the MCAS as a graduation requirement. As teachers, students, family members, and administrators within Boston Public Schools, we do not support this recommendation. We refuse to subject ourselves to yet another high-stakes standardized assessment that negatively impacts our curricular and instructional choices. We have serious concerns about the increase of testing in all of our schools. To be clear, we do not necessarily believe that the MCAS is a better assessment than PARCC. As Lisa Guisbond, the executive director of Citizens for Public Schools, has stated, “With PARCC versus MCAS, districts have been given a false choice. They have to pick which of two flawed punitive systems will do the least harm to their efforts to engage and educate their students.” We, the undersigned, believe that using test scores to evaluate teaching and learning is unjust and inequitable. Rather than pouring time, energy, and money into a new testing program, we demand that the district and the state reevaluate the ways in which it measures school and student achievement. Boston students deserve better. For more information, check out the resources compiled here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vjg5BPfUWjBnttfbv-vqfbaNnT307BJaoDQoIaDjglA/edit?usp=sharing

Our government officials should be looking for ways to include every citizen in the voting process and not working to eliminate voters by making it harder for them to get to the polls by adding restrictions on early voting. When they demonstrate this kind of behavior they need to held criminally liable.

My children were taken from my home for domestic violence and drug use August 3rd 2013 and even tho I have completed my case service plan successfully I was told by the department and casa and the cps appointed therapist that I will have my parental rights striped from me on my final court date which is on October 10th 2014 in the llano county court house at 9:00am.

Do you like owning over 1/3 of America's real estate? The public lands of Montana - our national forests and rangelands - are owned by the People of the United States of America for the benefit of present and future generations. No other nation on earth has bestowed such a vast estate upon its citizens. America's public lands represent one of the world's greatest legacies to the citizens of any nation. Please sign the petition. Send it to friends. Meet with your local legislators and ask them to sign the petition to protect public ownership of public lands. Please act now!

In the interest of public safety of pedistrian and motorists alike, and to avoid any unnecessary injury or harm from negligence wilful or otherwise.

The American Federation of Teachers New Mexico and the Albuquerque Teachers Federation are taking back New Mexico on the first day of early voting, 10.18.14. We are taking back New Mexico from Governor Susana Martinez because she is: -Working to eliminate payroll deductions for public employees. Susana stated “The state collects them (dues) for the unions, and then we cut a check to the unions who then use that money against reform.” This is a union busting technique used by politicians such as Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. - Underfunding our public schools and increasing class sizes. - Diverting money to special schemes and projects. - Demoralizing students and teachers with high stakes testing and blame and shame reforms.