The American Legislative Exchange Council is an organization consisting of global corporate interests and state legislators that collaborate secretly to draft thousands of model bills that are then introduced simultaneously, in state capitols throughout the country. Meeting in backrooms, wined and dined by corporate lobbyists like the Koch Brothers, Geo and Corrections Corporation of America (the private prison industry) the NRA, and the lobby to privatize our once great public school system, is not democracy of, by and for the people. When you have government by the private prison industry, The NRA, or by the Koch Brothers, you have a culture where prison is encouraged by the school to prison pipeline, young black men are shot down with impunity, and a world where environmental degradation and climate change are the price we all must pay for business as usual. Some ALEC bills you may recognize: "Stand Your Ground Laws," promoted by the NRA; "Right to Work Legislation" supported by the Koch Brothers and other corporate interests, designed to kill living wages, and public pensions; voter ID laws, to kill democracy; bills to kill meaningful healthcare reform; the Parental Choice Scholarship Act that promotes vouchers and sends our tax dollars to for-profit schools and phony online degree programs. According to Progress Florida, out of 160 state legislators, at least 60 have known ALEC ties. It’s well past time to stop the flow of dirty money into our state legislatures. We must demand our elected officials stop subverting democracy and drop their memberships in ALEC-let’s have government of, by, and for the people once again.

Daytime TV talk shows are saturated with celebrities voicing their opinions and views on the world and society. I think it's about time we have a regular everyday person who can connect with the viewers. Having not been born into privilege, managing to go from below the poverty level to middle class in a couple of decades with motivation and hard work is proof that anyone can fulfill the American dream if they stay committed. True diversity and reality is rare on TV and with the recent departure of the majority of the View's cast, I believe I would make the perfect addition to the cast.

Egyptians are currently being jailed, murdered, raped and victimized simply for advocating for democracy, freedom, and human rights. We are signing this petition to stand with the pro-democracy Egyptians and stand against Egypt's military regime that is responsible for the atrocities and enabled in large part by our U.S. Tax Dollars which are being sent to Egypt as more than $1.3B in annual aid.

Solar energy is the most practical renewable energy source available in Arizona. In the past, the Arizona renewable energy standards led utilities to provide incentives to customers to install solar energy for their homes and businesses, and to build solar power plants such as Solana in Gila Bend. However, the renewable energy standards set by state regulators are so low that not only is Arizona last among the eight most populous Western states in its commitment to renewable energy, but Arizona can meet the standard for 2016 without adding one new additional array. The standard for solar on businesses has been met through 2020. Because the standard has been met, APS no longer offers customer rebates for the installation of solar energy systems. APS further discourages business customers from installing solar energy systems by an outdated rate plan that fails to take into consideration the value of solar energy produced by the business. Other states have rate plans that encourage businesses to use solar power, and there is no reason why APS cannot do the same. APS complains it would be too complicated to figure out how to incorporate additional solar capacity into their system, but neighboring states such as California have managed to do so, and some utilities are getting almost 25% of their electricity from renewable energy sources.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/07/03/gordon-college-president-signs-letter-asking-for-religious-exemption-from-order-banning-anti-gay-discrimination/79cgrbFOuUg7lxH2rKXOgO/story.html

Regulators and executives are going to have friendships with each other. But when a corporation like Comcast is about to make a multi-billion merger, it's hard to view antitrust officials' cozy emails to high-up execs as impartial.

By vetoing the "72-hour waiting period" bill, Gov. Jay Nixon supported the rights and health of Missouri women over the interference of anti-choice lawmakers.

Dr. Sue Sisley's termination has effectively terminated the U.S. marijuana research that received approval from federal authorities, period.

The facts are simple: You don't need big magazines for self-defense or hunting, and less bullets at a time means more possible lives saved.

This was the situation that constituted their arrest, trial and sentence to prison. . . . . . Early on the morning of July 28, 2012, the three “veteran activists” hiked over a ridge and cut through four fences to reach the United States “new” storehouse for bomb-grade, highly enriched uranium at the Y-12 nuclear weapons complex. Their arrest led to a temporary shutdown of Y-12 operations, oversight hearings in Congress, and an on-going security overhauls throughout the nuclear weapons enterprise. Before you sign this, you’re probably asking yourself a couple of questions: #1. Why do these people do what they do? It’s to draw your attention to exactly what is going on in our country. It’s the nuclear build-up of weapons that are beyond most of our wildest imagination. Each one of America’s 14 nuclear subs has 24 missiles and each missile has 4 to 8 independently targeted warheads. Each of the individual warheads on a missile is now 30 times more powerful than the bombs used on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. It takes only one of American’s 14 submarines to ruin Europe as a civilization and the definite possibility of becoming the means of eliminating all life on this planet. Now ….. Let’s work a little with these numbers. We’re producing a weapon that is 30 times more powerful than Nagasaki. 150,000 died at Nagasaki so 30 X 150,000 = 4 million men, women, children and the environment around them becomes ashes.. In actuality, these three, labelled terrorists, by attempting to make us aware of this, should be crowned as saints, because what we’re talking about here is really insanity. If you think these statements are off the wall, add the price tag of a 100 billion to build 14 new nuclear subs all this and then make the claim, along with our government that we need all this to protect ourselves. So….. The reason for you to sign this is, the way we’re heading with the improved nuclear systems, you could possibly become one of the 4 million to experience the fruits of America’s thirst for power. #2. Why should I get involved with all this? The second reason why you should sign this petition is because of our morally bankrupt court system. When they label and convict an eighty-five year old nun of being a terrorist and no one objects, it means that we’ve accepted a rotten process. So…. are Sr. Megan, Michael & Gregg terrorists? Are they saboteurs? When we, as a people, accept untruths as truths, then it’s not long till the government can bring you in calling you something you’re not and when our high courts cannot distinguish right and wrong then we’re all in trouble. They had a great saying in Germany. “When they came for the journalist, I said nothing. When they came for the labor leaders, I said nothing. When they came for the teachers, I said nothing and finally, when they came for me there was no one left to speak for me. The evil of nuclear weapons is present and along with it the forces that keep it operational. We appreciate your willingness to engage with us to keep real freedom alive which is always founded in truth. So…. Keep this in mind. You are signing this as much for ourselves as the three righteous and courageous people in jail.

The Culver City Public Works Dept is proposing a drastic and unnecessary bulldozing of the Culver Median Park from a planted and pleasant 60 feet to 44 feet while pushing it into and narrowing the north side service road, bringing the traffic - and its noise - 32 feet closer to the North side residents of Culver Blvd.

The Supreme Court has gutted more than one hundred years of campaign finance laws and given corporations and the rich even more power over our government -- with the outrageous rationale that limiting spending on elections limits speech. If our democratic system of representative government is to survive, these deeply damaging rulings must be overturned. SB 1272 will put a proposition on this November's ballot that will let California voters demand that Congress create a constitutional amendment to do so. Ask Governor Brown to sign it now!