"Citizen Koch" is a documentary of the billionaire, David Koch, and his Super PACs which perverts American elections and politicians. David Koch is a major contributor to and board member on PBS. PBS pulled the documentary fearing upsetting Koch. Middle class Americans need to see this important documentary. Will you join the call for a national broadcast of "Citizen Koch" on Independent Lens?

I am a current senior at Cal State University Dominguez Hills and for the past three years, my aid has been held up by the Financial Aid Department and Student Financial Services Department. Every year, it has been a struggle to receive aid before classes begin which has put me behind in purchasing books, school supplies, and preparing for the upcoming school year. Thousands of financial aid students struggle academically and financially due to the incompetence of these two departments.

After Dr. George Tiller was gunned down in his church by an anti-choice terrorist, Operation Rescue turned to harassing his colleague, Dr. Ann Kristin Neuhaus. Dr. Neuhaus provided the second opinion required by Kansas law to verify medical need for third-trimester abortions, for patients that included a 10 year old girl raped by her uncle. Knowing that her records might be made public in Kansas' hostile regulatory environment, Dr. Neuhaus left many identifying details out of her patients' documents. Her concern was well-founded. Details from patient records shared with the office of Kansas District Attorney Phil Kline were later broadcast to a national audience by conservative TV host Bill O'Reilly. It got worse. A convicted terrorist working for Operation Rescue sued to have Dr. Neuhaus' medical license revoked based on the sparsity of her wrongly released records, and a Kansas medical board that included a former Operation Rescue attorney [1] agreed that Dr. Neuhaus should no longer be allowed to practice medicine. The state fined Dr. Neuhaus $93,000 to cover the costs of her persecution. The Neuhaus family is on the verge of bankruptcy now, struggling to provide medical coverage for their diabetic son. Dr. Neuhaus, we haven't forgotten you, or your many years of service to your patients. [1] - "Kansas Board of Health Revokes License Of Doctor For Not Forcing 10 Year Olds To Give Birth" by Robin Marty, RH Reality Check, June 25, 2012. http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2012/06/25/kansas-board-health-revokes-license-doctor-not-forcing-10-year-olds-to-give-birth/

Pennsylvania nurse and loving daughter Barbara Mancini faces up to 10 years in prison for allegedly "assisting suicide" in the death of her 93-year-old, terminally ill father, Joe Yourshaw. Joe was receiving hospice care because he wanted to die peacefully at home. Barbara was caring for her father in his living room when he took morphine to relieve his severe pain. An ambulance took Joe to the hospital, and a police captain arrested Barbara. This is a chilling example of government authorities criminalizing a family’s most intimate, personal decision. Would you want them to question yours? Sign our petition and stand with Barbara.

Recently 18 yr old grafitti artist , Israel Hernandez , was apprehended after being chased by over 20 police officers for painting graffiti on an abandoned building in Miami Beach, Fl. Upon being apprehended a taser gun was excessively and irresponsibly applied, that resulted in the DEATH and KILLING of this young man. We deplore any more excessive use of force and police BRUTALITY in our country .

Climate change is real. It is urgent. Its devastating effects are already being felt the world over, and threaten to escalate into potential catastrophe for our children and grandchildren.

The SEC is dragging its feet on a proposed rule that would require publicly-held corporations to disclose their political contributions. Shareholders have a right to know how their money is being used politically.

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter has two votes on the School Reform Commission—votes he hasn’t been using to defend Philadelphia’s public schools. He and Gov. Tom Corbett have failed Philadelphia students and families and now they are holding schools hostage for $130 million in concessions from teachers. As it stands, these massive education cuts will result in huge losses for teachers and students, including: * 13% percent pay cut and longer hours for teachers * One nurse for every 2500 students * Most guidance counselors will be laid off * No more teacher preparation periods * Later school start dates All while partial or full union strikes loom. Now, organizers on the ground are saying that, with large layoffs and school closures hitting the city’s schools, public pressure is beginning to make him nervous. We need to pile on. Tell Nutter to not let Corbett make Philly the next Detroit. Defend families, teachers, and public schools.

Public broadcasting is the last bastion of unadulterated and non-sponsor filtered content left and as a contributor and viewer I want it to stay that way. David Koch is can contribute as he likes but regardless of the amount he cannot be allowed to control content, If he doesn't like the way he is portrayed then maybe he should reflect on his behavior and change the way he does business, otherwise why deny it?

If you'd like to work for a small construction firm, but the firm finds it impossible to provide you with workers' compensation insurance, should you not work at all, instead?

Riders of the Illinois Prairie Path confront a decidedly Bicycle-hostile start at First Avenue, and shortly thereafter at Mannheim Road. Both multi-lane streets should have traffic lights that bike-riders could activate, or pedestrian/bicycle overpasses. Instead we face a death-defying gauntlet of traffic.

Millions of Americans remain unemployed but are no longer being counted in the common unemployment numbers typically broadcast. By looking instead at a more reliable statistic we see a drop of 5 percentage points in the percentage of the population EMPLOYED (over age 16) occurred with the economic meltdown. That percentage dipped from 63.4% to 58.5% and has only improved about 0.3 percentage points in about the last 3.5 years. In other words, we are not making progress in re-employing millions of Americans, we are only keeping pace with population growth with our limited level of job creation. Economists Paul Krugman and Dean Baker note that our unemployed or underemployed friends and family and other fellow Americans won't get full-time jobs back for even many more years without massive fiscal stimulus to restore normal demand levels in the economy. [Further explanation added 8/23/13, 8/28/13:] We need a wide range of (non-off-shorable) investments: from infrastructure construction (roads, bridges, rail, airports, harbors, canals); to rehiring of laid-off state and local employees foolishly laid-off (due to lack of federal emergency support to states); to design and manufacture of trains, spacecraft, and defense hardware; to broad-ranging scientific and technical research. The point is to get people back into productive work in the economy, spending money to fuel an upward spiral of increasing demand in the economy as more people can then buy more goods and services to fuel hiring of more and more people to meet the increasing demand. We have a skilled, energetic, intelligent citizenry to put back to work productively.