On August 21, U.S. citizen Chelsea Manning - formerly Bradley Manning - was sentenced to 35 years in prison for leaking classified information to the public about the killing of civilians in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; drone strikes in Yemen; torture in Guantanamo, Iraq, and Egypt; the coup in Honduras; corruption in Tunisia, the U.S. use of cluster bombs, and the blockade of Gaza, Manning has already served more than three years in pre-trial detention, including 11 months in conditions described by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture as cruel and inhumane. Join Amnesty International in calling on President Obama to commute Manning's sentence to time already served. References: Amnesty International, "USA: Commute Bradley Manning’s sentence and investigate the abuses he exposed" http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/usa-commute-bradley-manning-s-sentence-and-investigate-abuses-he-exposed-2013-08-21 Greg Mitchell, "What Manning Revealed" http://gregmitchellwriter.blogspot.com/2013/06/as-debate-continues-what-manning.html The ACLU said: "When a soldier who shared information with the press and public is punished far more harshly than others who tortured prisoners and killed civilians, something is seriously wrong with our justice system. A legal system that doesn't distinguish between leaks to the press in the public interest and treason against the nation will not only produce unjust results, but will deprive the public of critical information that is necessary for democratic accountability." https://www.aclu.org/free-speech/aclu-comment-bradley-manning-sentence There is also a petition at the White House website: http://wh.gov/lgG58

Now that PFC Bradley Manning has been tried and sentenced to 35 years, it is time to begin the process for a Presidential pardon.

Petition to increase minimum wage in Florida will help raise families and individuals out of poverty. Reduce public assistance.Save taxpayers dollars. Increase consumer spending.Create jobs and restore the dignity of work.

With all the recent violance in Fitchburg and the number of officers on each shift each day doesn't begin to cover the need

Yelp, the popular San Francicso-based site for restaurant and other reviews, has recently crawled into bed with ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council, which develops and promotes model legislation all over America--legislation that is detrimental to the lives of consumers, voters, workers, and their families; in other words, to us, Yelp's customers. Yelp, we've been your neighbors, your friends, your foodie fanatics -- and we've helped you build your brand all these years. Surely you know that your joining ALEC (whatever the reason) means that part of your money goes to fund their anti-voter, racist, anti-worker, anti-women activities. Yelp, your credibility depends on trust. We can't trust you as long as you are in bed with ALEC, which is nothing but a mouthpiece for greedy corporations and their anti-people right-wing agenda. Read the truth about Yelp and ALEC here on Huffington Post: http://tinyurl.com/Truth-about-ALEC Learn even more about ALEC, including their ties to the Koch brothers, here: http://tinyurl.com/ALEC-exposed-wiki

Oscar Perez-Vasquez, (A-093-460-970) is a father of two U.S. citizen children: 10-year old Jazmine and 7-year old Adrian. Oscar has lived in the United States since 1996, and in 2002, Oscar met his now loving wife, Amanda, who has petitioned for Oscar’s legal status, but due to bad legal advice, the Perez family has suffered uncertainty instead of hope. The Perez’ have made Arkansas their home for the past 13 years. Throughout his American journey, Oscar has worked hard to contribute to his community, provide for his family, and be a part of the American dream. He has been actively involved in his community of Rogers, who has embraced him as their own. Oscar was picked-up by ICE in 2008, and has had two appeals, which have been denied twice. The Perez family has gone through two immigration attorneys, and both times have been victims of inaccurate legal advice. The court system also did not offer Oscar due justice, where procedures were not followed, and Oscar’s legal case was not fairly considered. Oscar is now facing deportation and forced family separation, only because of third party negligence. Being separated from his loving wife and children due to the mistakes of others is NOT acceptable. Oscar represents absolutely no threat to his community or to this nation, and needs to be with his family. Amanda, a stay-at-home mom, would have to put Adrian in daycare, where his disabilities would not be addressed, and would be forced to rely on the state to be able to provide for their two children. Jazmine and Adrian need their father here, with them, at home in Arkansas. Amanda needs her husband by her side to be able to watch their children grow and become productive citizens of society. Hear the Perez’, in their own words, express why their father means so much to them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmE3_iUPDJY Please stop the deportation of Oscar Perez-Vasquez (A-093-460-970), and grant him stay of removal, so he can go back to his family and Arkansas community.

Citizen Koch was pulled from the National Public Broadcasting because of fear of upsetting David Koch who has been a major donor to public television but public television station should answer to view is like me not to billionaires like the Koch brothers and I want to see this important documentary will you join the call for a national broadcast of Citizen Koch on independent Lens?

Reduce taxes, improve the economy and better provide for Social Security. The SS payroll deduction is taxable. Reagan's law taxes up to 85% of SS income - an unfair double tax. When employers contribute to SS, they deduct these funds as expenses. Employees should be treated the same way - a TAX-FREE CONTRIBUTION (like an IRA). The increase in take home pay will feed the economy.

This petition is directed to Masahiro Sakurai, who is the creator and developer of Nintendo's extremely popular Super Smash Bros. video game series. Basically, it is a demand that he includes a highly requested character named Ridley, from the Metroid series, into the upcoming Super Smash Bros Wii U/3DS.

In response to a recent decision that denies his office participation in a federal deportation program that is slowly being phased out, Sheriff JJ Jones released an alarming statement on his website. He said: "I will continue to enforce these federal immigration violations with or without the help of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. If need be, I will stack these violators like cordwood in the Knox County jail..." The fact that he was denied is partly because of massive community pressure to keep him from getting additional immigration powers when he already has a troubled past and a poor relationship with the immigrant community. Now he has publicly vowed to unconstitutionally detain immigrants and stack them in his jail. His statements blatantly expose a dangerously hostile attitude toward immigrants and high likelihood of racial bias in his policing. Join Knoxville residents in calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate Sheriff JJ Jones' office for racial bias and patterns of targeting immigrant community members. Our country doesn't need a "new Arpaio" like the one in Arizona - sign today and ask the DOJ to investigate.

Florida governmental entities continue to discriminate against employees, government contractors, and advertisers as a result of their private, lawful, off-duty behavior (e.g., cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, part-time employment choices, etc.). Teachers are being fired merely because of Facebook pictures of them out drinking with friends on their personal time; Fort Myers Beach town manager Scott Janke was fired from his position after city officials learned that his wife had a part-time job performing in adult movies; in separate incidents, Florida teachers Olivia Sprauer and Tiffany Shepherd were fired due to their part-time jobs as bikini models; school district officials in Palm Beach County removed Boca Raton business owner David Mech's banner advertisements for a math education company merely because of his association to another lawful, non-advertised adult media company; and the list goes on and on. It's time to follow New York State's lead and pass a law protecting Florida employees, government contractors, and advertisers from discrimination based on legal off-duty conduct.

If House leaders scheduled a vote on reform with a path to citizenship right now, a bipartisan majority of members in the House would vote for it. There exists a bipartisan majority in the House who support legalization with a path to citizenship, just as there is a bipartisan majority of Americans who want our elected officials to act now. It’s up to House Republican leaders – Speaker Boehner, Majority Leader Cantor, and Majority Whip McCarthy – to give us our vote. Voters want to see immigrants integrated into society, not condemned to a permanent underclass. Faith and law enforcement leaders have spoken out strongly against enacting an Arizona-style “Show me your papers” law nationwide. We won’t stand for any more families being torn apart, or policies that divide members of our communities and charge us as criminals. We’re fighting for fair and just immigration reform for all 11 million aspiring citizens and to keep families together. We want our leaders in Washington to lead. The Senate already passed a strong, bipartisan immigration bill. Now, we need the House to do its job and pass real immigration reform into law. That is why we need Speaker John Boehner and the House Republican leadership to schedule a vote on a path to citizenship when they get back to Washington. Americans are disillusioned with what Congress can achieve because the political parties spend too much time fighting and too little time legislating. Congress has an opportunity to show that they can still get things done, and that requires the House to act. We have an historic opportunity to get it done and get it right, but the House must act. This is the best chance we’ve had in a generation to pass common-sense immigration reform.