Without the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act borrowers cannot get their loans modified. This will lead to increases in defaults and foreclosures at a time when the housing market is still recovering. Please help our neighbors, friends, and communities by urging your congressional representative to get this law extended!

In 2012, the Corrections Corporation of America, the nation's largest operator of for-profit prisons, sent letters to 48 states offering to buy their prisons as a remedy for "challenging corrections budgets." In exchange, the company asked for a 20-year management contract, plus an assurance that the prison would remain at least 90% full. If the state does not maintain the 90% capacity requirement for the next 20 years, taxpayers will be forced to pay for unused prison beds as a “low-crime tax” that essentially penalizes taxpayers when prison incarceration rates fall. For more information, check out this article appearing in Salon.com: 6 Shocking Revelations About How Private Prisons Make Money http://www.salon.com/2013/09/23/6_shocking_revelations_about_how_private_prisons_make_money_partner/

If you have been affected by the American hostage situation that started TWO MONTHS ago on Dec 28th when Congress voted against an Unemployment Extension get out this Tuesday March 4th, 2014!! 1 PM eastern time. Contact local media, get friends and family and be SEEN somewhere! DC would be great but not possible for all so head to your Capital, a local Government office, Office of a Nay Senator in your area. No one in America should be punished for Working, paying taxes and losing their job. For all the assistance we provide for the WORLD I am baffled that our leaders would vote against putting food on their neighbors table. They don't agree with the time frame to recover from the loss. Whats next telling someone with a disease they did not recover in time so no more medical treatment? Understand some may have taken advantage. All should not be punished because of some! I will never believe if one of their children came home from school stating cafeteria is closed until further notice due to some children stealing, they would send them to school the next day. No they would fight for them to eat as they deserve! They forget the 2 million Individuals effected are a part of a family. Making that number so much higher, INCLUDING CHILDREN. Those children now feeling their parents worry, seeing them sick with stress, selling items from their home because its the only choice to get a couple dollars. No internet for school work. Its been turned off. No phone to make emergency calls when someone falls over with a panic attack its been disconnected. The car is gone! Family pet has been turned over to a shelter because they can't be taken care of either. The list goes on and on and in American this should not be happening and definitely not this long. This is real, we are human lives, that live in a Country that Pledges we are ONE NATION and there is Liberty and Justice FOR ALL but we haven't seen it so they need to see us and see how real we are!

Administration of this meaningless test means students will lose hours of valuable classroom instruction time, disrupting as many as ten school days. The ISAT is not used for any valid purpose and will not be given after the 2013-2014 school year. CPS plans to force this test on students at the same time that students also are required to take NWEA MAP tests, new Interim Benchmark Tests, REACH Performance Tasks, ACCESS tests, NAEP tests, pilot Common Core tests and more. Over-testing of students has come with real costs to their education. Students need fewer tests and more access to arts, languages and a broad, rich curriculum. Students need meaningful and educationally appropriate assessments, not more standardized tests. The concerns of parents and educators have been ignored for too long! We support the parents, teachers and students who have taken action for better schools and against over-testing.

Don’t let South Dakota pass a racist anti-Asian abortion ban! Last week the South Dakota House voted 60 to 10 to pass an abortion ban which they say is necessary because of Asian immigrants in the state. Stace Nelson, one of the Representatives that voted in favor of the bill, warned of an invasion of abortion-seeking Asians in South Dakota: “Let me tell you, our population in South Dakota is a lot more diverse than it ever was. There are cultures that look at a sex-selection abortion as being culturally okay. And I will suggest to you that we are embracing individuals from some of those cultures in this country, or in this state.” This measure, like other similar measures we are seeing across the country, are nothing more than a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The people behind these bans have never been friends to women and they are simply trying to underhandedly pass an anti-choice measure on the backs of Asian American women. Don’t let this kind of racist, anti-immigrant rhetoric go unanswered. Tell the South Dakota Legislature NOT to pass HR 1162.

UPDATE: The NYT published a correction, which is why we have flagged this campaign as a victory. FAIR wrote up the story here: http://www.fair.org/blog/2014/02/27/nyt-corrects-venezuela-tv-falsehood/ ======= In the lead paragraph of an article on protests in Venezuela, the New York Times falsely reported: "The only television station that regularly broadcast voices critical of the government was sold last year, and the new owners have softened its news coverage." Evidence demonstrating that voices critical of the government are regularly broadcast in Venezuelan media is a matter of public record. The New York Times should run a correction of its false report. Urge New York Times editors to run a correction by signing our petition. On February 24, CEPR Co-director Mark Weisbrot noted [2] that data on television coverage during last year's presidential campaign published by the Carter Center [3] indicated that the two candidates were fairly evenly represented. Weisbrot also noted that there are plenty of examples in the recent coverage of Venevisión, the biggest broadcast television station, where “voices critical of the government” have been “regularly broadcast.” In particular, there was an interview on Venevisión news with Tomás Guanipa, leader of the opposition Primero Justicia (Justice First) party and a representative in the National Assembly, who defended the protests. [4] Weisbrot also noted that Globovisión, the station that the Times report complained had “softened its news coverage,” recently broadcast a long interview with opposition leader María Corina Machado in which she argued that the opposition has the right to overthrow the democratically elected government. [5] Given the current situation in Venezuela, falsely claiming that mass media are closed to critics of the government is a dangerous mistake, similar to reporting that "we know that Iran is building a nuclear weapon." The false claim about Venezuela emboldens the faction of the opposition—and its supporters abroad—that is advocating the use of violence to oppose the government. Urge the New York Times to fulfill its responsibility to publish a correction to its false report. References: 1. "Protests Swell in Venezuela as Places to Rally Disappear," William Neuman, New York Times, February 20, 2014, http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/21/world/americas/protests-swell-in-venezuela-as-places-to-rally-disappear.html 2. "Does Venezuelan Television Provide Coverage That Opposes the Government?" Mark Weisbrot, Center for Economic and Policy Research, February 24, 2014, http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/the-americas-blog/does-venezuelan-television-provide-coverage-that-opposes-the-government 3. "Carter Center Issues Report on Venezuela Election," July 3, 2013 http://www.cartercenter.org/news/pr/venezuela-070313.html 4. “Entrevista Venevisión: Tomás Guanipa, secretario general de Primero Justicia,” Venevisión, February 20, 2014, http://www.noticierovenevision.net/politica/2014/febrero/20/89967=entrevista-venevision-tomas-guanipa,-secretario-general-de-primero-justicia 5. “María Corina Machado: El pueblo ha salido a la calle a expresar su derecho a la justicia,” Globovisión, February 17, 2014, http://globovision.com/articulo/maria-corina-machado-ofrecera-detalles-sobre-convocatoria-para-este-martes

I am an insulin dependent diabetic with painful, peripheral neuropathy. My 7 year old daughter has severe Crohn's disease. The Cannabinoids, a specific group of chemicals in the plant, have a vast array of beneficial properties, including but not limited to: Reduction in inflammation, boosts immune systems, helps with the transport of glucose into the cells, controls pain without the risk of respiratory depression, etc. I have tried multiple pain medications for diabetic neuropathy and nausea, with no success. My daughter takes dangerous chemotherapy drugs and steroids to control her Crohn's disease. It is damaging her liver, increases her risk of cancer to 11% and causes sterility in females. The next step for her is intravenous chemotherapy. Cannabis has been scientifically proven to force Crohn's disease into remission. This was proved by several double-blind placebo studies done recently. For more information on the scientific study please visit: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1542356513006046 http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/cannabis/healthprofessional/page3 Please, sign the petition and force our government to listen to America. If it can relieve pain, heal tissue and treat PTSD, then what is the issue? Thousands of years of human use and no recorded deaths related directly to Cannabis. With any medicine, there is the potential for abuse. Morning Glory Flowers are not illegal, yet they do have some psychoactive effects. People are also dying from "Potpouri" and "Spice", which are synthetic drugs, with no therapeutic value. People are turning to these even though it is illegal. Castor Bean Plants, Hemlock, many plants KILL and are poison, but not illegal. Let's end this insanity, Tax, regulate and enforce. It has worked with alcohol and tobacco, which both are FAR more deadly than the plant, Cannabis. It's the 21st century in America. I served my country in the Marine Corps during Desert Storm. I was subjected to all kinds of chemical exposure. Our U.S. Government knows how ineffective prohibition is, that's why alcohol is legal today. One major difference between Alcohol and Cannabis, Cannabis does have medicinal qualities and the studies prove it. I have worked as a RN for years, and have never oberved a patient admitted for soley using marijuana. Let's face it, in today's world, you could consider Robitussin, Nyquil and many other OTC drugs as "gateway" drugs. Alcohol and tobacco are the biggest gateway drugs yet our government doesn't have a problem with these killers. Let's move towards a nation of FREE people instead of a nation of INCARCERATED people! Americans continue to use Marijuana despite the laws. The use hasn't stopped because of the War on Drugs, it has increased! If we actually study history, we know prohibition doesn't work. It leads to deaths, incarceration and innocent people being hurt by the government's decision. Thank you and please SIGN the petition for all those Americans suffering right now. SIGN the petition for the 19-year-old American that has a Felony on their record for using marijuana! Any substance can be abused. Over 1000 people die every year from Acetaminophen over-dose. I have personally observed this as a registered nurse. I have NEVER seen a person admitted to the hospital for ANYTHING RELATED TO CANNABIS in my 15 years of health care experience! Thank you, Laney's Dad "aka" Emery Myers RN, DON-CLTC For more information on the scientific studies please visit: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1542356513006046 http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/cannabis/healthprofessional/page3

Francisco Toro is the author of a viral piece at the blog he co-founded--Caracas Chronicles--titled, "The Game Changed in Venezuela Last Night – and the International Media Is Asleep At the Switch." In it, he outlined a purported "tropical pogrom" and a paramilitary shooting spree that took place throughout the night of February 19. His post accused the Times and other news outlets of complicity in an "international blackout" regarding the supposed "pogrom." However, as any examination of protest-related homicides over the past two weeks shows, there were no deaths recorded on the day or night of the 19th. When confronted on Twitter with the lack of any evidence of his "pogrom," Toro admitted to making an "overstatement in the heat of the moment." Nevertheless, Caracas Chronicles has yet to issue any updates, clarifications or corrections to its now disproved coverage. "The Game Changed in Venezuela Last Night" has received over 370,000 Facebook likes and shares, and 10,000 tweets. Given their influence, Toro and his colleagues at Caracas Chronicles should show greater regard for journalistic standards.

It is time for Arizona politicians to stop embarrassing the citizens of Arizona by acting on the will of the narrow-minded minority and start acting for the good of the majority of the people!

On Feb. 2nd, a coal ash pond belonging to Duke Energy spilled 30,000 to 40,000 tons of toxin-laced ash into the Dan River, coating 70 miles of riverbed with toxic sludge. Yet Duke Energy may be able to evade responsibility for the disaster and for cleaning up its coal ash lagoons because of their cozy relationship with high-ranking McCrory appointees and employees within NC's environmental regulatory agency.

Colorado succeeded in a fight to not let corporate industry pollute our air while developing our state's natural resources. Our experience can serve as a model for other states.

We have been researching garment factories in Bangladesh, and have found that the factories are continuously unsafe and the workers' rights are unfair. The Bangladesh Fire Safety Accord was created to improve factory conditions, and was signed by numerous prestigious companies, yet Walmart was not one of them. Not only does Walmart need to sign the accord as it is an influential corporation, but it also must go further to increase the wages and amount of training of the workers for it will encourage other companies to follow in its lead.