A local public elementary school I have been volunteering at made the decision to implement school uniforms starting in the upcoming 2013-2014 school year. This is a school with 81% of the students receiving free or reduced-price meals and a diverse student population, including 23% Asian/Pacific Islander, 18% African American, 35% Hispanic, and 16% Caucasian, among other ethnicities.* Making school uniforms mandatory not only takes away students’ independence through restricting free speech, which is a right given to them in the First Amendment, but it increases costs to families who cannot afford to have more expenses. Those who support school uniforms say there are many benefits in doing so, including improved behavior and academic success. However, a study done by David L. Brunsma and Kerry A. Rockquemore shows “student uniforms have no direct effect on substance use, behavioral problems, or attendance” and “the authors found a negative effect of uniforms on student academic achievement.”** With the lack of evidence regarding advantages to having school uniforms and the seemingly obvious disadvantages, I propose we protect the rights of our students and remove the ability of our public schools to require uniforms. *2011-12 School Performance Report, Highline School District. **Brunsma, D. L., & Rockquemore, K. A. (1998). Effects of student uniforms on attendance, behavior problems, substance use, and academic achievement. Journal Of Educational Research, 92(1), 53.

Stop Governor O'Malley and John H. Quigley's plans to move forward with fracking in Maryland. After a bill that would have created a ban on fracking got thrown out by the Maryland Legislators earlier this year, Gov. O'Malley has begun a partnership with Quigley to help develop fracking regulations in MD. Please come forward to ensure the health of our land, water, children, and communities, now and in the future, not be compromised by fracking practices. Join the movement for a ban on fracking in the state of MD and let us stand for no less. We cannot let our government continue to put the people of their own communities in this kind of danger with long term devastating consequences to the air we breathe, water we drink, our land, and our health. Please lets come together in this crucial issue. Plans to issue drilling permits are already in the works-- we have no time to loose. Lets stand 1 million strong and be heard!

Give a chance to the 11 million of people! We love this country

90% of a child's brain development occurs in the first 5 years of life. California has the opportunity to allow early educators to organize a give them a stronger voice to advocate for policy changes that will improve the quality of state supported early education and child care programs.

On July 24th, the Democratic-led Senate voted for a bad deal that would send student loan interest rates into the stratosphere. Under this deal, student loan interest rates would climb as high as 8.25% for undergrads, while graduate students could pay rates as high as 9.5% and parents taking out PLUS loans could pay up to 10.5%. Worse still, Democrats may cave to Republican House-passed legislation that ties loans to "market rates." With California leading the nation in tuition increases (a 300% rise in costs over the last decade), our incoming new University of California President must fight to get a better deal for California's students. Tell Napolitano to speak out for progressive student loan reform that keeps college affordable and to urge her former boss, the President, to veto any bill that doesn't meet these guidelines.

This is a petition to support the passage of H.R. 532 and/or S. 114 to bring back Chapter 7 protection to private student loans which was taken away in 2005. This will allow for private student loans to be discharged through Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Mrs. Viola Reovan-Muhammad is speaking out about her experiences of oppression & harassment while employed at St. Vincent's Medical Center under her direct supervisor, Ms. Helen Krisinsky. The treatment Mrs. Reovan-Muhammad received were not isolated incidents; there are many others who have fallen victim to the discriminatory practices of St. Vincent's Medical Center. Institutionalized oppression and internal conflicts will inevitably have a negative impact on patient care. Mrs. Reovan-Muhammad started this petition not just for herself but for the employees and patients who remain at St. Vincent's Medical Center, and those to come - this petition is dedicated to them!

The petition is in support of funding to improve safety for pedestrians, bicycles, wheelchairs, and transit riders in Gainesville, FL. Several specific projects have been proposed such as mid-block crossings for transit riders, ADA compliant access ramps, new sidewalks, and implementation of innovative bicycle facilities such as bike boulevards, access ramps for cyclists at the traffic circles on SW 2nd Ave. and bike boxes, The total budget is $5 million over five years that will come out of the City of Gainesville budget.

Since TransCanada first applied for a permit to build the Keystone pipeline in 2008, the State Department’s handling of the review has been plagued by conflicts of interest, insider influence and a heavy pro-pipeline bias. Rather than being an impartial judge of whether the Keystone pipeline is in the national interest, the State Department has acted liked Big Oil’s best friend in Washington. Friends of the Earth is calling on the State Department to halt the environmental review of the Keystone pipeline until the Office of Inspector General can determine how ERM, a firm with ties to TransCanada and the oil industry, was allowed to write the U.S. government’s environmental impact statement on Keystone XL and why no one at State investigated the company’s claims to have no such ties. We are very concerned that, in hiring ERM to write the bulk of the draft environmental review of the Keystone XL, the State Department: •Hired a company (ERM) that has worked for TransCanada in the past three years, despite signing a declaration that they had not done so. •Hired a company (ERM) that has done extensive work for many of the oil companies that stand to gain if Keystone XL is built, despite claiming on their official forms that they had no such ties. •Hired a company (ERM) that is a dues-paying member of the American Petroleum Institute. •Concealed evidence of ERM’s close connections with Big Oil, by redacting contractors’ biographies from ERM’s technical proposal. •Failed to use the thorough conflict of interest vetting processes recommended by State’s own Office of the Inspector General in 2012. Send a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry demanding that he halt the Keystone XL review process until he gets to the bottom of this blatant conflict of interest.

The banks have been paid for its mortgage loans. No one is on the hook for this money. Find a team of lawyers that can prove this point in a court of law.

(To be clear, I have no idea who Phillip Ranly is, but I'll stand up for any man or woman's right to grow their hair the way they like it. No matter the aesthetic cost.)

This spring Christie-appointed Superintendent Cami Anderson pushed through a school budget that cut $56 million from Newark schools, slashing funding for some schools by as much as 15%. Nearly 1,000 Newark students walked out of class in protest. The Newark Board of Education gave her a vote of no confidence and the City Council unanimously called for a moratorium on any more of her ‘reforms.’ But like the CEO of a bailed out bank, Anderson is somehow still up for as much as a $50,000 bonus. Giving Anderson a massive bonus while Newark schools bleed is cronyism at its very worst, and it's an insult to New Jersey students, educators, and taxpayers.