Despite all the evidence about the reality of climate change and the damage it is causing, Congress has so far failed to do anything about it -- lulled through this crisis by polluting special interests. We need to send a clear message that the American people want Congress to wake up. Monday night, I joined 30 of my colleagues in pulling an all-nighter on the Senate floor to wake up Congress to the importance of taking action on climate change -- and the response has been phenomenal. For nearly 15 hours straight, we controlled the debate on the floor while our Republican counterparts sat virtually idle on the sidelines. But that's not all. In the past 24 hours, hundreds of thousands of grassroots supporters across our country have taken action online to add their voices to our efforts -- with thousands more taking action every hour. Monday’s all-nighter was historic, but it was just the beginning. I am more energized and more inspired than ever by this outpouring of support. This is the first effort of a new Climate Action Task Force that Barbara Boxer and I announced at the beginning of this year – an effort to break through the lies of Big Coal and Big Oil and finally galvanize our colleagues to acknowledge an undeniable truth: Climate change is real. The overwhelming support we have received has heightened our confidence about our ability to get a significant climate bill passed in Congress. We can win, but we have to fight. And in order to fight, we need your voice. Join me and thousands of others today to tell Congress: Wake up to climate change and take urgent action.

Studies now show that providing low-income communities access to full-time, high-quality preschool could entirely eliminate the achievement gap. [1] With 7 out of every 10 PA children lacking access to high quality early learning now is the time to act and support the children of Pennsylvania. [2] An investment in early childhood education is an investment in our future; with an $8 return for every $1 invested. [3] Now THAT is bang for your buck! Don't wait to make a difference. Act now. 1. http://www.minnpost.com/learning-curve/2014/01/new-study-high-quality-preschool-poor-kids-under-3-would-eliminate-achievemen 2. http://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/news/state/pa/report-percent-of-pa-children-can-t-access-preschool/article_bfb11e27-be5a-5796-a24c-30b3d50f2da2.html 3. http://www.ncsl.org/research/human-services/new-research-early-education-as-economic-investme.aspx

Russia's invasion of The Crimea and intent to invade the Ukraine has "Third Reich" written all over it. Millions were brutally murdered, in addition to those killed in the world war which quickly followed Hitler's invasion. The world waited too late before intervening then and this should not happen again. I think citizens in addition to governments can put pressure on Putin and his henchmen to stand down and to let them know the world is against them. La invasión rusa de Crimea y la intención de invadir la Ucrania es exactamente lo que eran objetivos de Adolf Hitler en Europa. Y millones fueron brutalmente asesinados (además el comienzo de una guerra mundial) ocurrió antes de que él fue detenido... Creo que los ciudadanos además los gobiernos pueden presionar a Putin y sus secuaces que se retiren y hacerles saber que el mundo está contra ellos.

I am a life-long cyclist that has ridden in states that have been supportive of cyclists and provided safe routes, as well as states that were hostile to cyclists and did everything they could to get them off of the road. I dream of a day where bicyclists are considered when designing roads, and we create cities throughout the US that support more than just cars.

UPDATE: CPS lawyers are questioning students without parental consent. Yesterday was Drummond. Today Saucedo. This is simply intimidation and an attempt to punish students, parents, and teachers for exercising their rights. Please sign & share to support us! My daughter attends Saucedo Elementary School - where the push to opt of the test started. My daughter's education is a result of good teaching and not standardized testing. We stood up against CPS for the right reasons.

Senate Select Intelligence Committee Chair Dianne Feinstein has publicly accused the CIA of spying on her committee, thereby violating the law and the Constitution and calling into question the Senate Intelligence Committee’s ability to perform its responsibility to conduct effective oversight of the CIA. (1) Behind the dispute over CIA spying is a dispute over the classification of two key documents: the Senate Intelligence Committee’s report on the CIA’s use of torture during the Bush Administration, and an internal CIA review that corroborated the Senate Intelligence Committee’s report’s criticism while the CIA was officially telling the Senate Intelligence Committee that its report’s criticisms were wrong. (2) Under Section 8 of Senate Resolution 400 – the resolution that established the Senate committee in 1976, after the Church Committee’s investigation of abuses by U.S. intelligence agencies - the Senate Intelligence Committee has the power to declassify documents if it determines that is in the public interest, without the approval of the executive branch. If the executive branch objects, under the provisions of Section 8, the declassification can be approved by the full Senate. (3) Urge the Senate Intelligence Committee and the full Senate to move to declassify the committee’s report on CIA torture and the CIA’s internal review, and urge the Obama Administration to fully cooperate, by signing and sharing our petition. References 1. “Feinstein: CIA may have violated Constitution with monitoring of Senate staffers,” Ali Watkins, Jonathan S. Landay, and Marisa Taylor, McClatchy News, March 11, 2014, http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/03/11/220849/feinstein-defends-senate-intel.html 2. “Letter to President Obama on CIA Spying on Congress,” Project on Government Oversight et al, March 12, 2014, http://www.pogo.org/our-work/letters/2014/letter-to-president-obama-on-cia-spying-on-congress.html 3. “Wyden: Intel committee used provision once to release classified info,” Steve Benham, KATU.com, Oct 23, 2013, http://www.katu.com/politics/With-power-to-disclose-classified-info-intel-committee-invokes-it-only-once-ron-wyden-228554661.html. 1976 S.Res. 400 is contained as Appendix A in this document: http://www.intelligence.senate.gov/pdfs/94_comm_prt.pdf

I am distressed that Missouri ranks so low in education funding. Our children deserve better, and our legislators should know that their constituents demand better.

The politics at the top of our federal government have resulted in a stagnation of our lawmaking process. Hard party lines have destroyed cooperation and compromise. Lobbyists have entrenched current representatives' financial interests and plugged their ears to the voices of the public. It's time to rotate the board!

CrossFit needs to change its policy that allows transgender athletes to compete under their consistent, lived gender identity. Last year, Chloie Jonnson registered to compete in the CrossFit Games, a contest aimed at determining the fittest man and woman. Chloie is a transgender woman, has been living as a woman since her teenage years, and registered as such. Chloie was then anonymously outed to CrossFit as a transgender woman. The response of CrossFit was to invalidate her registration and state that all athletes must register and compete under their birth gender. When pressed further, CrossFit issued a letter that said: "The fundamental, ineluctable fact is that a male competitor who has a sex reassignment procedure still has the genetic makeup that confers a physical and physiological advantage over women. That Chloie may have felt herself emotionally, and very conscientiously, to be a woman in her heart, and that she ultimately underwent the legal and other surgical procedures to carry that out, cannot change that reality. Further, the timing of her sex reassignment surgery (and any subsequent hormone therapy) does not change this discussion. … Our decision has nothing to do with ‘ignorance’ or being bigots — it has to do with a very real understanding of the human genome, of fundamental biology, that you are either intentionally ignoring or missed in high school." An organization cannot rightfully claim to "welcome trans* athletes with open arms" and then create conditions which prevent them from participating. As I have outlined on www.transathlete.com, many athletic governing bodies, including the International Olympic Committee, have created guidelines for allowing trans athletes to compete as their lived gender. It is ridiculous to think Chloie Jonsson would meet the standards for transgender women to compete at the highest level of sports but is not allowed to compete in CrossFit. The policies that CrossFit is employing regarding transgender athletes has damaged its reputation, hurt countless transgender athletes, and need to be replaced with an inclusive policy that allows transgender athletes to compete as their consistent and lived gender. -- Chris Mosier, www.transathlete.com

On June 5th, 2013 a whitehouse.gov petition was created asking the White House to weigh in on Tesla Motors' ability to sell innovative electric vehicles directly to consumer in all 50 states. It's been 9 months and there hasn't been a response despite the petition receiving over 130,000 signatures. The Obama administration owe's the public a response sharing their perspective on innovative green vehicles that the Dept. of Energy funded the development of and whether they think preventing direct sales of cars is or is not in the best interest of consumers. https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/allow-tesla-motors-sell-directly-consumers-all-50-states/bFN7NHQR

QUEST (Quality Education for Every Student) is a group of parents who have come together to fight for quality, equity and transparency in the Boston Public Schools. We can be found on facebook at facebook.com/questbps and can be reached at [email protected].

As Chairman of the Election Law Conference Committee, Rep. Jamie Murphy is a key decision maker in passing a comprehensive bill to reduce voter disenfranchisement. Please sign this petition now urging Chairman Murphy to support comprehensive reform. If Chairman Murphy doesn’t hear from constituents like you, he could favor modest reforms rather than a strong reform package passed by the Senate. We need a giant leap in election modernization, not mere baby steps. As the cradle of liberty, Massachusetts should be at the forefront of expanding voting rights. But right now we’re lagging behind a majority of other states in adopting proven strategies to make voting more convenient, efficient, and accessible to all. Take a stand today for one of the strongest voter rights bills in the country. Thank you for taking a stand for democracy!