Without the pretense of an interest in an independent judiciary, Republicans should no longer be permitted to debase the federal courts to the detriment of all Americans for generations. Their appalling suggestion that judges should be Republicans is consistent with the party’s conviction that it should rule rather than govern. And they want to do so on behalf of less than a majority of Americans: primarily white, primarily male voter base. Carl Hulse (March 16, 2020 edition of The New York Times: McConnell Has a Request for Veteran Federal Judges: Please Quit) says: “Republicans are reminding the judges that it could be another eight years — 2029 — before they could leave under a Republican president.” I therefore urge every Republican Senator to publicly and irrevocably state he or she that – until after Inauguration Day January 2021 - will not sit on any confirmation hearings or, if not on the Committee, will not vote to approve any nominee to a federal court.

This is important because education is the foundation of society. If we're going to make real change in fighting racism, it needs to start in our public schools. This is important for all children, no matter their race. Children are open to learning from their beloved teachers. It's not enough for teachers not to be racist, they need to be anti-racist. They need to give in-depth lessons about America's shameful history and how systemic racism has lead to the current violence against black people we see today. Moreover, it's crucial that children see themselves in their teachers. More black and brown people need to be hired in Framingham schools to represent our diverse community but also to allow children to interact with a wide-range of backgrounds and experiences that those educators bring with them.

This is very important that this gets extended because still so many people are with out work. Jobs for everyone aren’t gonna come as easy as you think just because you didn’t extend the 600. Families are far behind and depending on this money for them to make it through. I know people who get unemployment who are constantly looking for work and can still not find it. Louisiana rate for the covid-19 are still going up. We need this help

Voting needs to be accessible to as many people as possible in order to boost voter turnout. Most people use and have access to personal electronic devices, and are willing to use these devices to vote in elections. Increasing voter turnout in this way, will provide a greater reflection of whom the people want to be their leaders moving forward. Election results would also be more efficient and effective. It is time to do away with our current antiquated voting process, and act as we are in the present, so that we can improve upon our future.

This is vitally important to the survival of our democracy. Four more years of a Trump administration will further erode the basic principles of our society and endorse the authoritarian character of his governing style.

The Town attempted to fly the Gay Pride Flag and DCR removed the flag and will not allow the Town of Nahant to fly the Gay Pride Flag during the month of June.

Over the past week, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) has disregarded the right of the people to petition their government for change and brutalized peaceful protesters asking for justice for the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. But this comes to no surprise to us -- the CMPD used teargas, a chemical agent banned in warfare by the Geneva Convention, to assault fellow citizens asking for better treatment. CMPD is also in our schools criminalizing Black and brown youth and further strengthening the school-to-prison pipeline. It’s time for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District (CMS) to provide real safety to students and immediately remove police from all of its schools. This demand may seem shocking to some, but it is the best way to create supportive environments for CMS students. Policing has its background in slave-catching and slave patrols. CMS, therefore, cannot have a relationship with such a system especially due to the fact that 36% of all students in this school district are Black. With your help, we can force CMS to end CMPD’s multi-million yearly contract and move to #PoliceFreeSchools immediately. CMS should use those funds to provide more mental health resources for students and staff, and invest in the students academically and socially. We know that the staff and police in our schools have racially profiled, and harassed Black and brown youth. School Resource Officers are unnecessary and not vital to promoting a healthy and safe environment in our schools. “What we’re asking for is not just reasonable and responsible, but entirely possible. Following the murder of George Floyd, the Minneapolis Public Schools system saw the real danger that police officers posed to children, and passed a resolution to end their contract with the Minneapolis Police Department.” (https://grassrootscollaborative.salsalabs.org/policefreeschools2020/index.html) You can help get police out of our schools by sending a message to the Superintendent, CMS School Board, Charlotte City Council, and Mayor Lyles. Ask them to remove police officers from our school and invest into the mental health and intellectual growth of their students instead. You can also sign our petition at MoveOn.org

Our current flag is a painful reminder of a sordid past. We need to remove this symbol from our state and replace it with a flag that unifies our people and represents all of us.

Art critics can serve as reproducers of racist ideology or as agents of change. As Ibram X. Kendi's work suggests, there can be no such thing as a nonracist art critic. There are only racist art critics or anti-racist art critics. Some of AICA-USA's membership has deployed racist, hateful speech masquerading as a legitimate debate about the role of race in the discipline. AICA-USA must stop using its infrastructure to give voice to this thinly veiled white supremacist hate speech. It is time for AICA-USA to reimagine itself as an agent for equality, equity, and anti-racist change.

If we can afford 5 trillion dollars for the wealthiest thousand citizens and endless wars, we can afford college for lower to lower middle income families as an investment in our collective future. All of the things are and more are possible........Let’s do them!!!

Washington DC recently renamed a section of Lafayette Park in honor of the Black Lives Matter movement to show support for the movement that has been embraced by so many of our citizens. We request that the New York City Mayor and City Council do the same by renaming a block of Fifth Avenue in a similar fashion to honor the memory of those lost and encourage change for the better so no citizen will suffer at the hands of those sworn to "protect and serve."

I am a teacher and believe that the key to reopening the economy is reopening schools and allowing parents to get back to work. Every state in our country is facing a budget deficit, thus we need the Federal Government to help make that gap. In order for states to reopen schools safely will require more money, not less to maintain smaller class sizes that allows for social distancing, to provide necessary PPE to students and staff, and to have health and counseling support that our students need. Most school district believe that they will need an additional 20-30% on top of their normal budgets to safely reopen. Without this Federal support it would be an impossibility to reopen our schools. Therefore, the gap between what schools are losing from state cuts and what they need to safely reopen is over $300 billion across the country. Thus, the Senate must act now!