The NRA is at it again, accusing Obama’s nominee of Surgeon General of being a dangerous “radical” for daring to point out that gun violence like the tragedy at Sandy Hook is a health care issue. Forget that studies clearly support Dr. Vivek Murthy's claim — firearm suicides are the second leading cause of death for Americans under 35, and highest in states with high gun concentrations — Democratic Senators are already cowering in fear of the NRA's political clout even though most Americans disagree with the NRA's positions on every single issue! We have to tell these Senators to represent the interests of the majority of Americans - not this one radical special interest. Call on Senate Democrats to stop kowtowing to the radical pro-gun lobbyists and confirm Dr. Murphy as our next Surgeon General!

We knew Hobby Lobby was suing the government so it could put its "corporate religious beliefs" over its employees’ right to contraceptive coverage. Apparently it wasn't enough to make female employees pay out of pocket for their birth control. Now Hobby Lobby wants to ban their employees from even talking to their doctors about contraception! If Hobby Lobby wins their case in court, it won't just set back women's right to affordable health care, it'll be a major victory for the concept of "corporate personhood" over workers’ rights. Corporations shouldn't have greater constitutional rights than people, and Hobby Lobby's "religious rights" shouldn't trump the free speech and privacy rights of their employees. Tell Hobby Lobby to stop micromanaging their employees’ private lives and drop their demands for a birth control "gag rule."

Chevron and the FEC just created a loophole big enough to navigate an oil tanker through. It starts in 2012, when Chevron made a $2.5 million donation to a super PAC called the Congressional Leadership Fund, that is reportedly connected to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and the National Republican Congressional Committee. This should be a big no-no for a corporation that has hundreds of government contracts, because our "pay-to-play" laws prevent companies from obtaining government work by influencing elections. Supposedly. But Chevron wasn't slowed down by pesky campaign laws. Chevron asserted that the entity that made the donation, Chevron Corporation, is separate from the one that holds the contracts, Chevron U.S.A. But Mother Jones explains why that's just slight of hand: "By any normal sense Chevron Corporation and Chevron U.S.A. look like the same company. Chevron USA is a subsidiary of the brand name company. Chevron Corporation owns a 100 percent stake in Chevron U.S.A. They share the same CEO and list the same mailing address." The commission knows the facts. And yet, they bought Chevron's outrageous argument. The FEC must re-evaluate its decision and admit the truth: Chevron broke the rules.

Microsoft announced that it was discontinuing support of Windows XP, one of its most successful and popular products, as well as Office 2003. It warns of possible risks without this support, without specifying the risks or the likelihood of their occurring. Microsoft's solution: buy Windows 8 (which has gotten terrible reviews) and Office 2010. Windows XP is about 12 years old. Would any appliance or car manufacturer discontinue producing parts for used cars or appliances in such a short period of time? Would any large corporation proclaim that it is incapable of continuing to support its older products, because it needs to concentrate on supporting newer products?! Of course not! Nonetheless, this hugely profitable corporation (net worth estimate: almost $70. billion) says it does not have the ability or wherewithal to continue to support its products. Computers are no longer luxury items. In fact, Microsoft was one of the companies that helped to make PCs first ubiquitous and then indispensable. However, not everyone needs the latest model or many of the additional features of newer versions, and spending hundreds of dollars on new models that are unnecessary can be really a blow to many people. I urge Microsoft to reconsider, and allow those of us who happily utilize this excellent product to continue doing so, without threats of risk, or actual risk, just to add to its profits.

Millions of people cannot find work through no fault of their own; they are falling into poverty and losing their personal savings, homes, and retirement plans. It is absurd that we would let people fall into poverty because our economy cannot create enough jobs for everyone, when we have the resources to prevent it. It's time to enact MLK's vision of a society where everyone has the right to a job that can support themselves, and enact a federal Job Guarantee. Article by L. Randall Wray in The Nation, 6/27/2011: http://www.thenation.com/article/161249/job-guarantee-government-plan-full-employment Interview with Pavlina Tcherneva on job guarantee programs, 1/21/2014: http://neweconomicperspectives.org/2014/01/guaranteed-income-guaranteed-job.html This petition is part of the Unemployment Project, building a movement to make unemployment obsolete: http://oaklandwiki.org/Unemployment_and_Underemployment_Project

Where is California going to find the money to expand preschool, fund public transportation or protect our environment? Well, we can start by looking at the Cayman Islands. Corporations dodge taxes by booking profits made here to offshore tax havens that levy little to no tax. It’s about time that these corporations start living by the same rules as the rest of us. It’s time to close these loopholes and invest in an economy that works for everyone. And the best part is, we don’t need to wait for Congress -- but we need California legislators to act. Montana and Oregon have already passed laws recoup money stashed in offshore tax havens -- with broad bipartisan support. If we enacted the same policy here in California, it would generate $246 million dollars. Our legislators have so far failed to advance this measure in California. Help us show them it's time to close this loophole and make taxes more fair.

Silicosis is an incurable disease that results in scarring and inflammation of the lungs. It’s the sort of illness you might contract if you work in construction and are exposed to crystalline silica dust without proper safeguards. Now, why bring this up? Because according to Lawrence Lessig’s new piece in The Daily Beast, sixteen Republican Senators have come out against transparency for industry-funded scientific research that will influence new regulations on silica. And surprise, surprise: these Senators just happen to be beneficiaries of “a modest but significant series of contributions” from the interests who stand to gain from this lack of disclosure. Here’s the backstory: the agency tasked with updating safety regulations for silica, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), requested that any scientific research submitted for consideration around the new rules disclose its financial backers. Not mandated, requested. This was apparently too much for Senator Lamar Alexander. The Tennessee politician submitted a letter to OSHA—along with fifteen of his Republican colleagues—calling into question this request for transparency. “[T]he chilling effect the financial disclosure could have seems counter to the idea of robust inclusion of a diverse set of ideas and views to inform the rule-making," explained a staffer for Alexander. The notion, of course, is ludicrous. As The Daily Beast piece humorously (but sadly) ponders, “What’s the chill? That the shrinking violets of the cement industry will be too afraid to hire lobbyists to present their views about the (non)dangers in inhaling silica?” But in the end, this isn’t a joke. It’s the status-quo of corruption in Washington. Lessig points to an obvious solution to this particular mess: President Obama needs to issue an executive order to mandate that “every agency accepting submissions presenting scientific analysis require the authors to include a statement of financial conflicts of interest.” We agree. Sign on to our action and urge President Obama to make this happen. Transparency is not a cure-all for our politics. But considering how dirty our system currently is, it’s a breath of fresh air.

Rep. Mike Coffman has said he supports immigration reform, but it seems he’s done little to pressure Speaker Boehner to act. We know that if immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship were put up for a vote in the House, it could pass -- but Speaker Boehner refuses to budge. But there's a way to pressure Republicans like Rep. Coffman to act. House Democrats have just started a legislative procedure called a "discharge petition" to force action on immigration reform. If the nearly 30 House Republicans who support reform --- including Rep. Coffman -- join Democrats in signing this discharge petition, we can force Speaker Boehner to bring immigration to a vote, whether he likes it or not. We need Rep. Coffman to start leading and sign the discharge petition. If he really does support immigration reform, Rep. Coffman needs to act now!

Rep. Kevin McCarthy has said he supports moving forward on immigration reform, but it seems he’s done little to pressure Speaker Boehner to act. We know that if immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship were put up for a vote in the House, it could pass -- but Speaker Boehner refuses to budge. But there's a way to pressure Republicans like Rep. McCarthy to act. House Democrats have just started a legislative procedure called a "discharge petition" to force action on immigration reform. If the nearly 30 House Republicans who support moving forward on reform --- including Rep. McCarthy -- join Democrats in signing this discharge petition, we can force Speaker Boehner to bring immigration to a vote, whether he likes it or not. We need Rep. McCarthy to start leading and sign the discharge petition. If he really does support moving forward on immigration reform, Rep. McCarthy needs to act now!

Rep. Paul Ryan has said he supports immigration reform, but it seems he’s done little to pressure Speaker Boehner to act. We know that if immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship were put up for a vote in the House, it could pass -- but Speaker Boehner refuses to budge. But there's a way to pressure Republicans like Rep. Ryan to act. House Democrats have just started a legislative procedure called a "discharge petition" to force action on immigration reform. If the nearly 30 House Republicans who support reform --- including Rep. Ryan -- join Democrats in signing this discharge petition, we can force Speaker Boehner to bring immigration to a vote, whether he likes it or not. We need Rep. Ryan to start leading and sign the discharge petition. If he really does support immigration reform, Rep. Ryan needs to act now!

All students deserve an equal learning opportunity.

Currently, in Shelby County High Schools, there is no comprehensive sexual education. This is a problem, because the teen pregnancy rate among girls 15-17 in Shelby County is 36.7/1000 and that hurts graduation rates.