We must ban conversion therapy in Nebraska! This harmful 'therapy' is a set of practices that intend to change a person's sexuality or gender identity to fit heterosexual or cisgender standards and expectations, and it is usually religiously motivated. According to TC, a 19-year-old gay man who spoke to the Huffington Post anonymously to protect his safety gave the following depiction of his experience of conversion therapy in 2012 (he was 15 years old at the time): "they deconstruct us as a person. Aversion therapy, shock therapy, harassment, and occasional physical abuse. Their goal was to get us to hate ourselves for being LGBTQ, and they knew what they were doing . . . The second step, they rebuilt us in their image. They removed us of everything that made us a unique person, and instead made us a walking talking, robot for Jesus." Currently, 15 states and Washington D.C. have banned conversion therapy. Those include Connecticut, California, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Illinois, Vermont, New York, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Washington, Maryland, Hawaii, New Hampshire, and Delaware. The following medical and mental health professional organizations oppose conversion therapy: - American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry - American Academy of Pediatrics - American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy - American College of Physicians - American Counseling Association - American Medical Association - American Psychiatric Association - American Psychoanalytic Association - American Psychological Association - American School Counselor Association - National Association of Social Workers - Pan American Health Organization

Trump is responsible for the longest government shutdown in our nation's history, and while federal workers saw some reprieve getting back-pay, millions of lower-wage hourly federal contract workers who were furloughed have no guarantee of back-pay for the time they were unable to work. The contractors were expected to go into debt in their paid time off or were simply without work and pay for weeks on end. As a former hourly hotel worker, I understand all too well the reality of living paycheck to paycheck and the struggle to make ends meet. This shutdown has further exacerbated these challenges for the millions of lower-wage service workers and their families across the country who have had to take on second and third jobs just to keep the bills paid and food on the table. This is unacceptable, because this primarily affects women, people of color, immigrants, and low-income folks. Furloughed federal government contract service workers should not have to pay, feel financial strain, and worry about their very livelihood because of the government was held hostage to promote ineffective, racist policies. I introduced The Fair Compensation for Low-Wage Contractor Employees Act of 2019 in the House of Representatives (H.R. 678) in partnership with Representative Holmes-Norton (D-DC) along with fellow co-sponsors Representatives Don Beyer (D-VA), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Jesus "Chuy" Garcia (D-IL), Alcee Hastings (D-FL), Steven Horsford (D-NV), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Joe Kennedy III (D-MA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Gwen Moore (D-WI), Seth Moulton (D-MA), Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Joe Neguse (D-CO), Don Norcross (D-NJ), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Kathleen Rice (D-NY), John Sarbanes (D-MD), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Bobby Scott (D-VA), Terri Sewell (D-AL), Albio Sires (D-NJ), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Lori Trahan (D-MA), David Trone (D-MD), Jeff Van Drew (D-NJ), Nydia Velasquez (D-NY), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ). This is the companion bill to S. 162, introduced by Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN), which was introduced in the Senate and has 36 sponsors currently.

We the undersigned residents of Montville Township, do hereby request the Montville Township Committee to acquire the land commonly known as 205 and 207 Changebridge Road with the use of Open Space funds. The land in question is in immediate danger of high-density business development. As there has not been an Open Space purchase in the last 7 years and an Open Space tax collection in this time period of over $12 million, we insist that the Township acquire one of the last upland parcels left in lower Montville. Besides protecting wetland habitat and greenspace, this farmland is ideally suited for any number of uses which would be beneficial to all Montville residents. One such use would be community gardens. This would free up land at the Community Park for other active recreation such as tennis along with sorely needed additional parking. Montville Township is renowned for its dedication to the preservation of open space and natural habitats. We implore you to act swiftly on this matter and maintain the rural nature of our Town that we all have come to love and enjoy.

Many suburbs surrounding DeKalb allow residents to raise a small number of chickens for a healthy source of eggs (including Naperville, St. Charles, and Batavia). Everyone should have the right to know that their eggs come from healthy and cared for chickens that are free from hormones and antibiotics if they choose.

There are stories everyday about Afghani women being abused and even murdered for living the life they choose. This has to stop!

Any day now, Special Counsel Robert Mueller could wrap up his investigation into Russia’s attempts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election -- and whether Trump’s campaign colluded with them or the President obstructed justice to cover it up. The investigation has already delivered indictments of or guilty pleas from 34 people -- including Trump confidant Roger Stone’s arrest just days ago. Yet at every turn, Trump and his loyalists have attempted to politicize and derail Mueller’s efforts to uncover the truth. The results of Mueller’s investigation are a matter of grave national importance -- and Americans have a right to the full truth. But, there’s a serious risk that Trump’s Attorney General -- or other members of his Administration -- might try to hide Mueller’s findings from the public. That would be an unacceptable abuse of power by the Trump Administration -- we must act now to prevent this from happening. We’re calling on both chambers of Congress to pass the bipartisan Special Counsel Transparency Act -- which will guarantee a public report of Mueller’s factual findings, as well as his reasoning behind whether or not to press charges. Donald Trump has, at every step along the way, tried to impede and derail Mueller’s investigation. We absolutely cannot let Trump or his Administration bury Mueller’s report. Sunlight is the best disinfectant, and We The People have the right to know the full truth. Please add your name and demand that Congress pass the Special Counsel Transparency Act.

Nationwide, preliminary indications are that the total turnout for the 2014 elections was only 36.6 percent, according to the United States Elections Project at the University of Florida. In America, we should be celebrating our democracy and doing everything possible to make it easier for people to participate in the political process. Election Day should be a national holiday so that everyone has the time and opportunity to vote. While this would not be a cure-all, it would indicate a national commitment to create a more vibrant democracy. We should not be satisfied with a "democracy" in which more than 60 percent of our people don't vote and some 80 percent of young people and low-income Americans fail to vote. We can and must do better than that. While we must also focus on campaign finance reform and public funding of elections, establishing an Election Day holiday would be an important step forward. Currently, there is a House Resolution on the table in Congress which would expand transparency and voting accessibility across the country. In HR 1, Election Day would become a national holiday for all folks, increasing people's ability to vote by being able to take time away from work to perform their civic duty. Mitch McConnell is arguing that this is a power grab by Democrats, but that is simply because he is scared of what happens when we increase access to voting. Republicans know that the only way they have access to power is to limit accessibility of voting. That is fundamentally undermining our core democratic values. There is no question that we have to fight back against Mitch and his party and pass HR 1 to make Election day a national holiday.

News just broke that Arizona State Rep. David Stringer was charged with multiple sex offenses, including child pornography, in Maryland in 1983. Stringer was charged with five counts and pled guilty to three counts. The other two were dismissed after he successfully completed a 5-year probation and attended a clinic for people with sexual disorders. His record was then later expunged. https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/court-records-arizona-lawmaker-david-stringer-charged-child-porn-1983-11183294 Last year David Stringer was also exposed for making a series of racist comments, before and after his reelection to the Arizona Legislature in the midterm elections. Among other remarks, the lawmaker said, "African-Americans and other racial groups don't … blend in" after coming to the United States and that, unlike immigrants of European descent, they "always look different." He said such differences create "tensions" and "burdens on our system." https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/419168-arizona-state-lawmaker-african-americans-dont-blend-in In June 2018, he came under fire after he was filmed saying immigration is an "existential threat" that will change the face of the United States because "there aren't enough white kids to go around" in public schools. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2018/06/13/arizona-rep-david-stringer-criticized-remarks-immigration/699163002/ Several of his colleagues as well as the Prescott city council (where he represents) have called on him to resign, but he has refused. Tell your AZ Representative that enough is enough. Call on them to expel Rep. David Stringer

If he is the kind of man who will call our children weak because they didn't get hypothermia or frost bite. What other dangers will he put our kids in? We shouldn't risk it.

Wednesday, January 30th students of SIUE were exposed to below zero temperatures when most other colleges and schools closed. The health and safety of students at SIUE should be a top priority to staff, making sure the campus closes whenever the weather gets to be too cold.

to make learning about fish more entertaining.

You have probably heard of Steve King. The nine-term Congressman from Iowa is one of the most racist members of Congress. Here are some of the things Steve King has said: - "White nationalist, white supremacist...when did that language become offensive?" - “You can’t rebuild your civilization with someone else’s babies.” - Dreamers aren’t good people because "for every one who's a valedictorian, there's another 100 out there that weigh 130 pounds and they’ve got calves the size of cantaloupes because they're hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert." There’s a lot more. Just this week we found out that his government website links constituents to a white nationalist blog! It’s time to take action. We have spent too much time over the years blasting King for his head-in-the-sand racism and we should not just denounce him and move on. It’s time to take King’s platforms away. Steve King hosts his campaign website (steveking.com) on Squarespace. Please sign our petition telling Squarespace not to host hate on its platform and to kick King off! There is precedent for this: Squarespace in 2017 gave white supremacist Richard Spencer and a number of other alt-right organizations 48 hours to find a new website host. Other platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have deleted accounts belonging to extremists like Alex Jones and Milo Yiannopoulos. Media reports subsequently found that those actions dramatically cut down on their audiences. De-platforming works as a way to fight hate. Please SIGN and SHARE our petition telling Squarespace to kick off Steve King!