The U.S. will default on its debts if the debt limit, or ceiling, is not increased by Congress before Thursday, Oct. 17. In addition, more and more Americans are being harmed because of the closure of the federal government. Fundamentally, we shouldn’t be using the threat of damage to our economy to move things forward. Congress has important work to do.

After being pulled over for a flat tire, Jagjeet was harassed and called a “terrorist” by Mississippi Department of Transportation Officers and falsely arrested for refusing to remove an article of the Sikh faith. But that was just the beginning of the injury to Jagjeet’s faith and rights. As an observant Sikh, Jagjeet Singh wears a turban at all times as a reminder and public declaration of his connection to God. But Judge Aubrey Rimes decided that the American justice system didn’t need to respect Jagjeet or his religion when he ordered Jagjeet be removed from the courtroom and said he wouldn’t let Jagjeet return until he removed “that rag” from his head. The United Sikhs have filed a complaint on Jagjeet’s behalf about Judge Rimes with the Department of Justice. But we can’t let the Department of Transportation officers off the hook for their reprehensible actions. Let’s send a message to Commissioner King and Director McGrath of the Mississippi Department of Transportation that the America we live in respects all persons and religions. Demand that the Mississippi Department of Transportation investigate and discipline the officers for their blatant and unacceptable religious discrimination.

9/25/2013 PETITION: Florida law (Section 1003.21 (a) 2. To whom this may concern, On behalf of our daughter Nevaeh Martin and every other ineligible, but well qualified kindergartners in the state of Florida we petition that the cutoff date to start kindergarten be changed from its current date of September 1 back to the original cutoff date of December 1. On September 24, 2013 we were called in for a meeting at KIPP Jacksonville and during that meeting we were told that our 5 year old daughter Nevaeh H. Martin who had already been attending the school for a period of 8 weeks was no longer eligible to be in Kindergarten and that she could no longer attend the school due to Florida Statue 1003.21 (a) 2. In the state of Florida the requirement to attend Kindergarten according to Statute (1003.21(a) 2. A child must turn 5 years old before or on September 1st. In reality this Statute would set children back a year who does not meet these requirements, whether they are performing on or above Kindergarten level. Unfortunately although our daughter is performing above grade level her birthday falls on September 2nd which makes her ineligible for Kindergarten by one day. Can you imagine how hard it was to tell our daughter that she could no longer attend her school, dress in her uniform with pride, play with her class mates, recite her college chants during community meetings or work with her teachers with whom she not only adapted to but also impacted with her presence and leadership while in class. We are petitioning that Florida Statute (1003.21)(a)2 be revised back to the original 1980 Statute of December 1st which requires a child to turn 5 years old on or before December 1st. We are also petitioning that Florida lawmakers consider that some 5 year olds are more advanced than other children their age and to determine this fact an aptitude test could be conducted to measure the actual comprehension level of all 5 year olds before considering them eligible or ineligible for Kindergarten. In closing, we ask that you consider this petition as it would give all 5 year old children who are performing on or above grade level the opportunity to attend Kindergarten and remain in their rightful grade. We are firm believers that education is the key to success and no children should be left behind or treated unequally. Respectfully submitted, Mr. and Mrs. Sharrieff Martin

Over 80% of House Democrats have shown their support for immigration reform by cosponsoring the new House immigration bill (H.R. 15). Still, Bruce Braley has yet to add his name to the list of supporters. One out of every three new rural Iowans are immigrants and immigration reform is critical to many communities across the state. Until Rep. Braley and House Republicans take action, the suffering in our community will continue. Please join us in demanding that Rep. Braley cosponsor the new House immigration bill with a path to citizenship.

Our community of Roxbury is in dire need of wealth-building opportunities, in particular the opportunity to build wealth through home ownership, which was expressed in the RFP for Bartlett. We see these opportunities as a way to stabilize the community. But Nuestra's first phase of the Bartlett Place development offers only rental and is out of balance with the income mix expressed in the RFP. Tell Nuestra you want a stable neighborhood. Homeownership should be part of phase 1!

This Petition is requesting legal action be taken by the Justice Department, President Obama and Vice President Biden to remove Speaker of the House John Boehner from office and Republicans who (1.) are refusing to fund the affordable Care Act and/or (2.) signed the Grover Norquist Tax Pledge.

It is critically important that we act now, while the breathtaking irresponsibility of shutting down our democracy over disagreements on unrelated issues is on full display, so that this will never happen again. We cannot afford to allow our government to hold our economy hostage and gamble with the livelihood of all Americans to advance ideological agendas.

The problem in Washington DC is related to the amount of money in the Elections trough. Were it not for the Money Power of Special Interests, the elected officials would be free to act according their enlightened Conscience. Instead their thought and action are beholden to the Money that will keep them in Special Interest Powers.

In the current federal budget context, in which federal borrowing is capped under the Budget Control Act, and increased taxes on the super-rich like a Wall Street speculation tax are considered off the table, it's an economic fact that unnecessary Pentagon spending will destroy jobs. That's because with borrowing capped, more Pentagon spending will mean more cuts to domestic spending and higher taxes on working families. That means a "Grand Bargain" which includes cuts to Social Security, higher taxes on the 99%, and turning off Pentagon cuts will destroy American jobs. This fact about unnecessary Pentagon spending is documented in a 2011 study by the University of Massachusetts. More Americans don't know this because our leading Keynesian economist public intellectuals haven't publicly championed this fact. Urge Paul Krugman, Robert Reich, and Joe Stiglitz to publicly champion the fact that in the current federal budget environment, in which federal borrowing is capped, and increased taxes on the super-rich are considered off the table, increased Pentagon spending will destroy American jobs. References: "The U.S. Employment Effects of Military and Domestic Spending Priorities: 2011 Update," Robert Pollin & Heidi Garrett-Peltier, Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, December 2011 http://www.peri.umass.edu/fileadmin/pdf/published_study/PERI_military_spending_2011.pdf "Wall Street Visits Washington, the Grand Bargain Returns and Other Tales from the Kidnap House," Damon Silvers, AFL-CIO,10/03/2013 http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/Political-Action-Legislation/Wall-Street-Visits-Washington-the-Grand-Bargain-Returns-and-Other-Tales-from-the-Kidnap-House "Ask a Keynesian: With U.S. Borrowing Capped, Won't More Pentagon Spending Destroy Jobs?" Robert Naiman, Huffington Post, 10/07/2013 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/ask-a-keynesian-with-us-b_b_4059484.html

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We have to stop these clowns from harming the rest of us.

I have been a resident of the DC area my entire life and have been attending the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg for the past three years. I believe we can speak for everyone who lives or will live along Interstate 95 that something must be done about the incredible amount of car traffic that has become more and more apparent along the highway in the last decade. However, widening the highway or adding an HOV lane or building the Bi-County Parkway is not a long-term solution. Traffic on I-95 is no longer a morning and evening, weekday phenomenon--it happens at all times of the day and night. And it's only getting worse. The best way to prevent this environmental disaster from worsening is to add more cheap, enjoyable train rides by VRE for commuters of all kinds, not just the 9am to 5pm office workers. The MARC Train in Maryland has been providing counter-rush hour service for years now and will begin providing weekend service starting December 7th--so should Virginia!