Thousands of Pennsylvanians and public school supporters spoke out after Laporshia Massey died when she waited too long to get treated for an asthma attack -- all because her school did not have a nurse on duty. Governor Corbett was shamed into releasing the $45 million in school funding he was sitting on so that public schools could rehire staff. It was a great win for Philadelphia’s schoolchildren, and it gave me hope that we had turned a corner towards the schools that my child, and everyone’s children, deserve. Then I got the news that Philadelphia School Superintendent William Hite intends to funnel $10 million of that $45 million into charter schools. The $45 million was meant to help neighborhood public schools close their budget gap. What has that lack of funding meant to the district? It means 24 neighborhood public schools have been closed, thousands of teachers and support staff laid off, libraries closed, and enrichment programs cut. Why should charter schools get a cut of the $45 million when they have not been subject to the same staffing cuts? Furthermore, between financial mismanagement, lack of oversight and poor student performance, charter schools aren’t working in Philadelphia, except to drain funds from neighborhood public schools. As SRC member Joe Dworetsky put it, “The average net loss to the district when a student goes to a charter school is $7,000 per student.” When charter schools are already draining resource-starved neighborhood schools of funds, they should NOT get a cut of the $45 million. Tell Superintendent Hite to spend the money where it is most needed: in Philadelphia’s public schools. Teachers, parents and students want to make sure the district uses the $45 million to restore the programs and staff that have been cut from neighborhood public schools -- like the school nurses, counselors, and the clerical support staff that keep schools running smoothly. Education experts agree: every school needs a school nurse and one counselor for every 250 kids. We told Governor Corbett. Now we have to tell Superintendent William Hite: that $45 million should go to rehire staff at Philadelphia’s public schools.

On October 31, Senate Republicans outrageously continued their unprecedented obstruction of President Obama's judicial nominees by filibustering Pattie Millett, the first of three pending nominees to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to be brought up for a vote. With the exception of only two GOP senators -- Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska -- Republicans signaled with this vote that they would use partisan obstruction tactics to keep the incredibly important D.C. Circuit stacked disproportionately with ideological right-wing judges. This is an abdication of senators' constitutional duties fueled by nothing but politics, and it must stop.

The Administration has claimed that its drone strikes in Pakistan and Yemen are legal under U.S. law, but it has never shared with Congress or the American people all of its legal memos purportedly giving legal justification for the policy. The Administration has also not told Congress or the American people who we are at war with - which groups the Administration claims it has the authority to target with drone strikes under U.S. law. By introducing legislation to compel the Administration to share this information with Congress and the public, Representative Conyers will give Americans concerned about the drone strike policy a way to engage Members of Congress on the issue.

Texting while driving has killed thousands of people every year. We need to stop this from killing more people by creating a stricter law.

I use my myopera email for everything! I can't have all of us who hold it dear, lose it!

Animal Cruelty By Couple And They Should Get Maximum Sentence. Anytime Someone Abuses An Animal It Affects Me. IRescue Animals.

My public high school uses an ID system in which each student is issued a certain color of card. Gold and platinum cards are privilege cards and red cards are not. Poorly based off of "grades and attendance" has left many 4.0 students with red cards for missing 1 day to go visit a college.

Our waterways, neighborhoods and parks are littered with bottles and cans and Maryland’s recycling rate is far below the national average. The Bottle Bill would set up a 5 cent redeemable deposit on bottles and cans - we know this works because 10 other states have done it and they’ve all seen major increases in recycling and reductions in litter. We want to deliver 8,000 signatures to Governor O'Malley this fall so he hears loud and clear: We want a Maryland Bottle Bill.

I was banned because i was "hacked" and the hacker got away clean.

They have some amazing talent, but don't have the following they deserve, let's change that! Here's a link to their debut EP: http://youtu.be/f2u77tJOZZM Here's a link to their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TheMedusaSmile

A photo uploaded to Facebook this past Friday has gone viral due to its racist and disrespectful tenor. A trio of young Floridians appear in the image, a woman flanked by two men, with the two men unabashedly wearing handmade Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman Halloween costumes. The Zimmerman costume consists of a black "neighborhood watch" t-shirt while the Martin costume includes black face and a blood stained grey hooded sweatshirt. In addition, the Zimmerman character has fashioned his hand into a gun and is pointing it at Martin's head. Your policies state: •We encourage free speech and defend everyone's right to express unpopular points of view. But we don't permit hate speech (speech which attacks or demeans a group based on race or ethnic origin, religion, disability, gender, age, veteran status, and sexual orientation/gender identity). Hate Speech "Hate speech" refers to content that promotes hatred against members of a protected group. For instance, racist or sexist content may be considered hate speech. Sometimes there is a fine line between what is and what is not considered hate speech. For instance, it is generally okay to criticize a nation, but not okay to make insulting generalizations about people of a particular nationality. ENOUGH is ENOUGH!!!

The Obama Administration is trying to get an agreement with the government of Afghanistan that would keep thousands of U.S. troops there after 2014, constantly exposed to mortal danger. No U.S. commitment to keep thousands of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan beyond 2014 should be allowed without prior Congressional debate and authorization, consistent with the Congressional role in making decisions about war envisioned by the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution. Congress didn’t allow the Administration to bomb Syria without Congressional authorization; Congress shouldn’t allow the Administration to keep thousands of U.S. troops in Afghanistan without Congressional authorization. Urge President Obama to go to Congress for explicit approval before making any commitment to keep thousands of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, and urge Congress to insist on a Congressional debate and vote before any such commitment takes place.