Corporations, like Google, continue to dodge taxes by shifting profits made here to offshore tax havens that have little to no taxes. It’s time for these giant corporations to start living by the same rules as the rest of us. Montana and Oregon have already passed laws to recoup money stashed in offshore tax havens. If we enacted the same policy here in California, it would generate $246 million dollars that we could use to fund our schools and invest in our economy. Let's show our legislators that it's time to close this loophole and make corporations pay their fair share!

Almost without fail, every mass murderer and serial killer, when captured, has admitted that one of the reasons he did it was that he wanted to "make a name for himself." As someone said, "In their warped minds, it's better to be a terrible somebody than a pathetic nobody." The media has always been happy to fulfill this twisted need for fame at any cost. Charles Manson, who should have been shot behind the courthouse the day he was found guilty of multiple murders in 1971, is still alive and enjoying his fame. He has been interviewed multiple times, always smiling arrogantly while his victims' remain dead and their names fade from memory. Do you see something wrong with this picture? To make matters worse, future killers, seeing the fame their fellow sicko's achieve, are encouraged to embark upon their serial killing career, or plan the mass murder that will make them famous, too. Example: In 1966, a man who I will call RBS went into a beauty parlor, found five women and two children (girls) there, forced them all into a back room at gunpoint, made them lay on their stomachs, then shot them all in the head twice. Yes, even the children. Two miraculously didn't die. When he was arrested, he said, "I wanted to be known. I just wanted to get myself a name." He was disappointed because there were usually 40 women there at that time of day. When the police arrived, he "gleefully" confessed, anxious to begin his 15 minutes of fame. Asked later what he would have done if his mother and sister had been in the room, he said, "I would have shot them, too. I wanted to kill about 40 people so I could make a name for myself. I wanted people to know who I was." We all want a safer world. One of the simplest ways to make it safer would be to stop making murderers famous. After killing children, I want them erased, if not by the death penalty they so richly deserve, then by deleting their existence from society. Basically, the exact opposite of what we're doing in the name of "freedom of the press." The press is already required to not release the names of minors. Not releasing the names of mass murderers would not inhibit freedom of the press. They would still be able to report all the gory details to titillate their viewers and satisfy their sponsors. The only thing that would be omitted would be the name and image of the killer, which doesn't matter to the story, anyway. The blackout should go into effect the second any suspected serial killer or murderer is arrested so that they know they will not become famous, and in fact will lose their name and be issued a number for the rest of their lives (if convicted.) A black hood should be put over their heads to conceal their identities anytime they're in public. Do we really need to know their names or see their smirking faces, anyway? Every bit of notoriety they are given only encourages others to commit similar atrocities in the future, making our world more unstable. There are those who will say we need to make murderers' identities known so we can study them and prevent future atrocities. However, I would argue that they can be studied with a number for a name just as easily. Their personal information can also be given without revealing their identity. If we REALLY want these mass murders to stop, we must take drastic action. Business as usual is not working. Please sign this petition to make the world safer for yourself and everyone you love. We can do better. Of course, there will still be mass murders occasionally simply because there will always be disturbed human beings, but at least we will know that we are not contributing to these events by granting the dearest wish of most mass murderers - fame. Someone said "Evil flourishes when good people do nothing." Signing this petition is your chance to do something - potentially something very significant - to prevent another mass murder. Or we can just sit by and passively watch it happen again and again and again, while the murderers laugh at us from our TV screens, and the news channels line their pockets in the most socially irresponsible and morally reprehensible way possible - with the blood of children and other innocent people.

Mike Michaud has a track record of working across the aisle and years of respected public service in Augusta and Washington, D.C. His election would guarantee health coverage for 70,000 working poor Mainers. And perhaps most importantly, he's the candidate with the best chance of keeping Paul LePage from embarrassing Maine for another four years.

Oklahoma legislators just voted to deny K-12 students access to world-class science standards solely because the standards include climate science. An Oklahoma House Committee voted on May 12 to reject the new Oklahoma Academic Standards for Science, which were developed by a team of 59 Oklahoma educators, scientists, engineers, and parents over the last year. More than 500 educators reviewed the standards, which then received extensive public input before being unanimously approved for adoption by the Oklahoma State Board of Education. If this move to censor science education is approved by the full Legislature and signed by Governor Mary Fallin, Oklahoma standards will revert to the current, outdated standards that are in urgent need of upgrading. This would be a tremendous disservice to Oklahoma kids, who deserve access to the highest quality science education available. It’s critical to speak out now against censorship of science education in Oklahoma. The extreme action taken by Oklahoma legislators to deny students a world-class science education -- all to keep them in the dark about climate change -- comes at a time when the new U.S. National Climate Assessment makes clear that climate change is a real, present, and growing danger that poses acute risks to the health and well-being of children. We’re already seeing impacts like intense heat waves, drought and water shortages here in Oklahoma. To be clear, the climate science content in the new Oklahoma standards is uncontroversial, and already watered down from climate science content in the Next Generation Science Standards, upon which the Oklahoma standards are modeled. Here’s an example of what students in upper grades would be expected to learn: "Analyze and interpret data to explore how variations in the flow of energy into and out of Earth’s systems result in changes in atmosphere and climate." We who are Oklahoma parents, teachers, scientists, and science supporters want our kids to learn the best available science, including climate science. It is a dangerous precedent to allow science and other educational standards to be censored by voices hostile to science, rather than upon the research-based recommendations of credentialed educators. Please join us in urging Governor Fallin and Oklahoma legislators to reject the anti-science legislation. Let’s tell them to accept the unanimous decision of the State Board of Education to adopt the new Oklahoma Academic Standards for Science without further political interference. Thank you for taking action for Oklahoma kids! Sincerely, Jim F. Chamberlain, Ph.D., P.E., BCEE Environmental Engineer Norman, OK Nicole M. Colston, PhD Environmental Science Glencoe, OK Mercedes Lackey Author Claremore, Oklahoma Nancy Smart Retired Educator, Mother, Grandmother Norman, OK Michael Sullivan Concerned Citizen Miami, OK

Europe has already fought back against powerful chemical companies and took a big step to protect bees by putting into effect a ban of the top bee-killing “neonic” pesticides. Now it’s our turn! Join Friends of the Earth and our allies in demanding that the EPA take immediate action to protect bees! Bees are critical in producing the majority of our food crops and the evidence is mounting that Bayer and Syngenta’s pesticides are a key contributor to mass bee die-offs. However, the EPA continues to ignore scientists -- even those employed by the EPA -- and has delayed action until 2018. But the bees can’t wait -- and neither can we! U.S. beekeepers have been consistently losing 40-100 percent of their hives. This winter, beekeepers are likely facing yet another season of historic bee die offs. We can’t let the EPA wait another five years to address this crisis. Please take action today and tell the EPA to ban bee-killing pesticides.

Europe has already fought back against powerful chemical companies and took a big step to protect bees by putting into effect a ban of the top bee-killing “neonic” pesticides. Now it’s our turn! Join Friends of the Earth and our allies in demanding that the EPA take immediate action to protect bees! Bees are critical in producing the majority of our food crops and the evidence is mounting that Bayer and Syngenta’s pesticides are a key contributor to mass bee die-offs. However, the EPA continues to ignore scientists -- even those employed by the EPA -- and has delayed action until 2018. But the bees can’t wait -- and neither can we! U.S. beekeepers have been consistently losing 40-100 percent of their hives. This winter, beekeepers are likely facing yet another season of historic bee die offs. We can’t let the EPA wait another five years to address this crisis. Please take action today and tell the EPA to ban bee-killing pesticides.

Europe has already fought back against powerful chemical companies and took a big step to protect bees by putting into effect a ban of the top bee-killing “neonic” pesticides. Now it’s our turn! Join Friends of the Earth and our allies in demanding that the EPA take immediate action to protect bees! Bees are critical in producing the majority of our food crops and the evidence is mounting that Bayer and Syngenta’s pesticides are a key contributor to mass bee die-offs. However, the EPA continues to ignore scientists -- even those employed by the EPA -- and has delayed action until 2018. But the bees can’t wait -- and neither can we! U.S. beekeepers have been consistently losing 40-100 percent of their hives. This winter, beekeepers are likely facing yet another season of historic bee die offs. We can’t let the EPA wait another five years to address this crisis. Please take action today and tell the EPA to ban bee-killing pesticides.

Europe has already fought back against powerful chemical companies and took a big step to protect bees by putting into effect a ban of the top bee-killing “neonic” pesticides. Now it’s our turn! Join Friends of the Earth and our allies in demanding that the EPA take immediate action to protect bees! Bees are critical in producing the majority of our food crops and the evidence is mounting that Bayer and Syngenta’s pesticides are a key contributor to mass bee die-offs. However, the EPA continues to ignore scientists -- even those employed by the EPA -- and has delayed action until 2018. But the bees can’t wait -- and neither can we! U.S. beekeepers have been consistently losing 40-100 percent of their hives. This winter, beekeepers are likely facing yet another season of historic bee die offs. We can’t let the EPA wait another five years to address this crisis. Please take action today and tell the EPA to ban bee-killing pesticides.

Europe has already fought back against powerful chemical companies and took a big step to protect bees by putting into effect a ban of the top bee-killing “neonic” pesticides. Now it’s our turn! Join Friends of the Earth and our allies in demanding that the EPA take immediate action to protect bees! Bees are critical in producing the majority of our food crops and the evidence is mounting that Bayer and Syngenta’s pesticides are a key contributor to mass bee die-offs. However, the EPA continues to ignore scientists -- even those employed by the EPA -- and has delayed action until 2018. But the bees can’t wait -- and neither can we! U.S. beekeepers have been consistently losing 40-100 percent of their hives. This winter, beekeepers are likely facing yet another season of historic bee die offs. We can’t let the EPA wait another five years to address this crisis. Please take action today and tell the EPA to ban bee-killing pesticides.

Europe has already fought back against powerful chemical companies and took a big step to protect bees by putting into effect a ban of the top bee-killing “neonic” pesticides. Now it’s our turn! Join Friends of the Earth and our allies in demanding that the EPA take immediate action to protect bees! Bees are critical in producing the majority of our food crops and the evidence is mounting that Bayer and Syngenta’s pesticides are a key contributor to mass bee die-offs. However, the EPA continues to ignore scientists -- even those employed by the EPA -- and has delayed action until 2018. But the bees can’t wait -- and neither can we! U.S. beekeepers have been consistently losing 40-100% percent of their hives. This winter, beekeepers are likely facing yet another season of historic bee die offs. We can’t let the EPA wait another five years to address this crisis. Please take action today and tell the EPA to ban bee-killing pesticides.

Europe has already fought back against powerful chemical companies and took a big step to protect bees by putting into effect a ban of the top bee-killing “neonic” pesticides. Now it’s our turn! Join Friends of the Earth and our allies in demanding that the EPA take immediate action to protect bees! Bees are critical in producing the majority of our food crops and the evidence is mounting that Bayer and Syngenta’s pesticides are a key contributor to mass bee die-offs. However, the EPA continues to ignore scientists -- even those employed by the EPA -- and has delayed action until 2018. But the bees can’t wait -- and neither can we! U.S. beekeepers have been consistently losing 40-100 percent of their hives. This winter, beekeepers are likely facing yet another season of historic bee die offs. We can’t let the EPA wait another five years to address this crisis. Please take action today and tell the EPA to ban bee-killing pesticides.

Europe has already fought back against powerful chemical companies and took a big step to protect bees by putting into effect a ban of the top bee-killing “neonic” pesticides. Now it’s our turn! Join Friends of the Earth and our allies in demanding that the EPA take immediate action to protect bees! Bees are critical in producing the majority of our food crops and the evidence is mounting that Bayer and Syngenta’s pesticides are a key contributor to mass bee die-offs. However, the EPA continues to ignore scientists -- even those employed by the EPA -- and has delayed action until 2018. But the bees can’t wait -- and neither can we! U.S. beekeepers have been consistently losing 40-100 percent of their hives. This winter, beekeepers are likely facing yet another season of historic bee die offs. We can’t let the EPA wait another five years to address this crisis. Please take action today and tell the EPA to ban bee-killing pesticides.