Congress has acted forcefully to bail out Wall Street from the ravages of the Great Recession, but little has been done to help Main Street. Meanwhile, our education ranking has fallen to #33 in the world, income inequality is #44, infrastructure is #23, and labor participation has declined to 63.2%. Just as we outlawed cartels that monopolized competition in 1890, it is time to outlaw dodgy tax haven practices that allow corporations to evade billions in taxes and have beggered communities across the land.

I work in a healthfood store and I still see a tremendous amount of plastic bags used and wasted. The chemicals these bags leach into our water supply and into the water supply of our marine life is toxic. Our land fills are overcome by so many non-biodegradable plastics that this is a first step in a long line of things we must do to start making a difference.

The reasoning for the ordinance proposed by this petition is that neonicotinoid pesticides have been shown to harm bee populations more than other pesticides, in that neonicotinoids continue to be toxic to insect populations such as bees long after the initial application, in a manner that has been compared by scientists to that of the chemical DDT. Bee populations are necessary pollinators of plants that humans depend on for food and an environment conducive to the health and well-being of themselves and other life.

Over two years ago, we came together around our shared dedication to building alternative philanthropic models, specifically those that support New Mexico’s most culturally and economically vital nonprofit arts organizations. We incorporated as Catalyst Club and began work on our first project: ArtBar – a membership-based nonprofit club in Downtown Albuquerque that would generate grant funds through the sale of alcohol. We are incredibly saddened to report that we will be closing ArtBar in July of 2014 after an incredible year of operations. The State of New Mexico’s Alcohol & Gaming Department has, through subjective and arbitrary interpretation of regulations, made it impossible for us to continue this enterprise. We are, of course, upset by the loss of ArtBar and of the beautiful micro-community that blossomed around it. We are most distraught, though, by the circumstances surrounding its closure. We want to treat this as an opportunity for meaningful dialogue and change. Please join us.

This bill is the best way for us to strengthen the voting rights that are fundamental to a healthy, vibrant democracy.

Nearly 90 percent of abortion providers have had patients fear for their safety, and 80 percent have had to call the police because of safety concerns.

Before we push through a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United and McCutcheon, we're going to need a transparency bill to reveal just how much money is corrupting our politics.

Harry Reid needs to stop hanging out with lobbyists, and spend more time talking to the voters.

On June 19, the House took an important step by prohibiting the transfer of MANPADS (shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles) to actors in Syria. [1] House passage of the bipartisan Conyers-Yoho-Welch-Amash-Grayson-DesJarlais-Nolan amendment showed that Members of the House understood that these are particularly dangerous weapons due to the possibility that they could be used by terrorists against civilian planes in Israel and elsewhere. [2] [3] [4] Recent events in Iraq have shown that there is no border separating Sunni insurgents fighting the government of Syria from Sunni insurgents fighting the government of Iraq, nor any boundary between different groups of Sunni insurgents. Members of the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee are in a unique position to advance this legislation. They could virtually ensure that the House provision becomes law by including it in the Senate’s Defense Appropriation. References: 1. House Votes to Ban Some, but Not All, Weapons for Syrian Rebels http://blogs.rollcall.com/five-by-five/house-votes-to-ban-some-but-not-all-weapons-for-syrian-rebels/ 2. 19 Reps say NO to MANPADS in Syria http://fcnl.org/issues/middle_east/19_reps_syria_manpads/ 3. JFP stmt: House bars transfer of MANPADS to Syria http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/node/1527 4. 14,000 at MoveOn - Congress: Back Welch-Jones-Mulvaney-Conyers Against Syria Manpads http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/Welch-Syria-no-manpads

I am a New York State Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC). The current exclusion of LMHC's from treating Medicaid beneficiaries results in denial of vital mental health services for those in need. With the rise of adolescence and young adult crime and psychological problems, many beneficiaries suffer with a lack of mental health providers in their communities for treatment accessibility. Some beneficiaries are fortunate and find Medicaid eligible providers in their communities; many never receive needed care. LMHC represents over 40% of todays NYC licensed practitioners. Unfortunately, Medicaid has not been modernized to recognize our essential role in today's health delivery system. Our adolescence and young adult psychological problems should be our top priority, and Medicaid should utilize LMHC's to treat mental health disorders before they exacerbate into more serious mental disorders. Our children are suffering with mental health risk behaviors and harming others. Many children are being killed by their peers who have mental disorders. There needs to be more interventions to help these individuals manage these risk behaviors and psychological problems.

The University of California, Berkeley administration, in collaboration with the International and Area Studies Department administration, is employing a set of drastic transitions which are infringing on the Peace and Conflict Studies Program. Born in response to the tumultuous global political climate of the 1980s, the driving force for Peace and Conflict Studies was civic-minded students seeking to make peace a central focus of their academic experience. Focusing on the “peace-side” of Peace and Conflict Studies, PACS allows students the academic space to engage with advanced knowledge, transitioning from conflict to conflict resolution, violence to nonviolence, human rights violations to human security, and most importantly, instead of leaving students feeling unable and inept in a depressing lack of agency, PACS teaches students peace-building strategies to make a better world tangible. Integrating the “peace-side” of Peace and Conflict Studies is by far the most unique and significant facet of a PACS education in that it allows students to realize themselves as potential actors, using applicable knowledge to make effective sociopolitical change. Unfortunately, PACS is being slowly deteriorated, dismantled, and debilitated by greater administrative forces. Below are five central points as to what exactly is being seen within the PACS program and how this minimization has come to occur. 1. Although between 2001-2010 there was over 400% increase in PACS enrollment, between 2010-2014 there has been almost a 40% decrease in PACS enrollment. To keep it brief, due to the massive administrative changes, restructuring, and relocation of International & Area Studies (IAS) into another academic department on campus, a sharp transition in IAS operations occurred in 2010. In the last four years, all majors inside of IAS have experienced severely reduced enrollment except for Political Economy. This shift in IAS administration has begun to propagate, expand, and support Political Economy at the expense of PACS and all other academic programs in the Department as made apparent by the enrollment numbers, resources, and statistics below. Percentage change of enrollment between Spring 2010-2014: PACS - 36% decrease (106 students in Sp. 2014) Middle Eastern Studies - 40% decrease (12 students in Sp. 2014) Latin American Studies - 61.5% decrease (10 students in Sp. 2014) Development Studies - 36.5% decrease (47 students in Sp. 2014) Asian Studies - 53% decrease (15 students in Sp. 2014) Political Economy - 8% increase (385 students in Sp. 2014) 2. The PACS major’s design is being minimized to include only three academic concentrations instead of the previous six. Previously there were the following six concentrations: Conflict Resolution, Culture and Identity, Global Governance, Human Rights, Human Security, and Nonviolence. Now the major is being reduced to offer only three concentrations, homogenizing these vast fields within Peace Studies and disallowing students from opportunities in academic fields unique to Peace and Conflict Studies. 3. The recent loss of two core faculty, Dr. Julie Shackford-Bradley whose appointment was not renewed and former Chair of the PACS Program Dr. Jerry Sanders who has retired, leaves PACS understaffed and unstable. The loss of two core faculty has reduced the total core faculty of the Peace and Conflict Studies program to three part-time lecturers. In comparison to other top ranking universities’ Peace Studies programs, UC Berkeley’s PACS program stands incredibly inadequate. For example, American University’s International Peace and Conflict Resolution School has six core faculty, five professors and one associate professor. In addition, The KROC Institute for International Peace Studies at The University of Notre Dame boasts almost two dozen core faculty members. With other top-ranking university Peace Studies programs having a much larger core faculty presence, in addition to their ladder-rank and professor status as opposed to UC Berkeley’s part-time lecturer positions, the minimal PACS faculty at Berkeley is now an embarrassment. 4. Due to the loss of two core faculty, the PACS program is no longer able to offer the number of courses it traditionally offered, as well as being forced to outsource core PACS courses to instructors outside of the PACS program. Compared to the total number of PACS courses offered previously (36), the number of courses being offered in Fall 2014 stands 64% lower at only 13. This stark reduction in the number of courses available severely diminishes the PACS program as well as eliminates students’ ability to engage with courses on pertinent topics such as Human Rights & Global Politics, International Conflict: Analysis and Resolution, and Global Change & World Order. Not to mention that some of the offered courses still stand in an uncertain “STAFF” status, meaning there is no set instructor for the course and that they could be cancelled. In addition to the reduction of courses, due to the termination of core faculty, we are seeing a shift in who is teaching which PACS courses. Now, lecturers from outside of the PACS program are being brought in to teach core PACS courses, such as PACS 190: Senior Seminar in which students finalize their PACS education by writing a capstone project. By outsourcing PACS education to academics from other fields, PACS students are unable to engage deeply with academic intellectuals who are experts in their “peace-side” of Peace and Conflict Studies fields. 5. PACS no longer has any staff personnel, no PACS-specific advisors, and is therefore incredibly under-resourced. Due to this lack of resources, PACS no longer holds any events and no longer hosts any panels/panelists. Compared to other programs and departments on campus which frequently hold panels, discussions, lectures, and events, PACS’ complete lack of resources disallows the program from engaging in any substantive academic ev...

Hobby Lobby has won the right in court to impose their religious beliefs ontheir female employees by denying them birth control coverage, which is both an attack on their female employees and the ACA. We need to protect women's healthcare and the rights of workers everywhere.