Our state senate is going to vote on Chris Abruzzo's nomination to head up the DEP as early as this week. Here's what he told the Environmental Resources and Energy committee when asked about climate change. "Abruzzo told the committee he does believe climate change is occurring and that it seems to be at least partially attributable to human factors, but he does not view it as harmful and sees no reason for Pennsylvania to adopt new policies to address it." And still the committee voted to approve him 10 - 1! Daylin Leach was the ONLY member of the committee to vote NO! Our senators need to know we don't want a climate denier heading up the DEP! http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2013/12/04/corbetts-pick-to-run-dep-does-not-view-climate-change-as-harmful/

just testing, thanks

The current reality is “Out of sight, out of mind, we can then do whatever we'd like with animal kind immediately.” Millions of times per year animals are killed simply because no one knows they are going to be. It is a very quiet big BUSINESS making lots of money for a lot of companies and groups with NO public oversight. Despite a multitude of people trying to help save these animals the time for discovery is always the leading killer. While there is still such a very long road to go towards a world of No-Kill Nation the first step must be raising public awareness of exactly how bad current reality IS. So do we have a right to know how many and how often we, as a country, as a nation, and as a civilization, “euthanize” animals? Demand that right. Sign and share now! p.s. YES petitions WORK, now sign.... no more excuses... :) I promised I'll be proud of you and all the animals will love you for it. Bless you all each and every one.

My parents don't get to see my niece and its not right. They are the best grandparents any child could have and the only thing they want is to be apart of her life. Their are also other grandparents who help raise their grandchildren and without warning they can be taken out of their lives. It's not fare or right when all they want to do is love them and be there for them. A child can never have to many loving parents even grandparents.

Fracking is a dangerous practice that our government has failed to protect the public from. Stop fracking in California.

Everyone should have the opportunity to develop their skills, knowledge and talent and to contribute fully to our nation and to know that their children and grandchildren will have the best possible education.

Too many families are marginalized, bankrupted, and suffer with treatable illnesses. Healthcare is a basic human need. Medical services, like education and corrections, should not be profit driven. Footing out-of-pocket health insurance premiums for coverage that is less than adequate has gone on far longer than it should ever have for many working poor families like mine!

We, The Prospector, have suffered long enough. Now is the time to act, so that we may rekindle the flame of "The Fuse"

The Michigan Legislature is about to pass a major piece of legislation that restricts women’s health care coverage in the state. The initiative would ban all health insurance policies in the state—public and private—from covering abortions, including in cases of rape and grave danger to the mother. Michigan Right to Life used an arcane tactic, known as an “indirect initiated state statute,” to do an end-run around a previous veto of this bill to make it law with a very low bar––they only needed 3.4% of Michigan voters to sign a petition supporting the initiative. The Michigan legislature can either approve the legislation, or let the voters decide next year. Tell Michigan legislators that 3.4% of voters should not make over-reaching decisions about women’s health care choices, and instead to put this on the ballot in November 2014.

Since Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda 1.9 million of Filipinos have become homeless and 600,000 displaced. At the same time, many Filipinos who live and work in the U.S. are a key source of aid for their families in the Philippines and are at risk of deportation. It would only burden an already strained infrastructure for the Philippines to reabsorb thousands of its nationals currently abroad during this national emergency. TPS would stop deportations and provide working authorization that will empower Filipinos here in the US to more effectively aid their own home country. DHS and USCIS acted quickly in a very similar circumstances to designate Haiti and El Salvador for TPS after massive earthquakes. That response can and should be repeated for the Philippines.

Many Congressional Republicans have sharply attacked the historic agreement with Iran to curtail its nuclear program negotiated by President Obama, Secretary of State Kerry, and other members of the UN Security Council. Many leading Congressional Democrats, including Senator Feinstein (chair of the Senate intelligence committee), Sen. Levin (chair of the Senate armed services committee), Senator Boxer, Senator Durbin, and Senator Rockefeller have endorsed and defended the deal. But so far, Senator Elizabeth Warren, a leading progressive voice in the Senate, has not made a public statement about the deal. This is surprising because earlier this year, Senator Warren pushed strongly in the Senate to make sure that U.S. sanctions on Iran would support negotiations with Iran and not undermine them. Urge Senator Warren to add her voice to Congressional Democrats endorsing and defending President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry’s diplomacy with Iran. References: List of Congressional statements in favor of the deal: http://fcnl.org/issues/middle_east/members_of_congress_back_iran_deal/ Senator Warren’s statement in June: Video Release: Sen. Warren Stresses Importance of Structuring Iran Sanctions to Encourage Negotiation http://www.warren.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=144 UPDATE: Senator Warren endorsed the deal. Read about it here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/senator-elizabeth-warren-_b_4437313.html

Senate Democrats successfully ended the filibuster on judicial nominations, but that alone won’t stop rampant GOP obstruction. The next tactic Republicans can turn to is the arcane procedure of “blue slips.” When the president nominates a judge from a particular state, the Senate Judiciary Committee sends a “blue slip” to the state’s two senators—asking for their opinion. If one or both senators do not approve, it effectively kills the nomination by blocking a hearing. Blue slips are neither in the Constitution nor even an official rule of the Senate. This is a tradition the Senate Judiciary chair can do away with at any time, as Republicans frequently did when they last controlled both the Senate and the White House. Our federal judiciary is in crisis, and most court vacancies President Obama must fill are from red states—including seven in Texas alone. We cannot give Ted Cruz veto power over judicial nominees. Tell Senate Judiciary Committee chair Patrick Leahy: It’s time to end the “blue slips.”