Predatory lenders disproportionately target service members, but according to recent news reports, Trump’s Director at the Consumer Bureau is planning on no longer supervising them. The Military Lending Act works to ensure that servicemembers and their families are not a target for abusive financial practices. Trump and his choice for the CFPB, Mick Mulvaney, no longer want to monitor if payday and other lenders are complying with this important law. With this action, the administration is siding with predatory lenders over servicemembers, and threatening harm to them, their families, and the readiness of the armed services. Sign our petition to tell Trump to protect our troops from payday predators. Don’t throw our servicemembers to the loan sharks.

We are coming together to show that we oppose the appointment of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. We believe him to be unfit in every way for this position. His record shows a consistent pattern of siding with big money and corporations over the interests of the American worker. He has expressed dissent against the Affordable Care Act. He has a history of blocking access to abortions. He lied during the confirmation hearings for his current position on the federal appeals court about his involvement with the terrorism policy following 9/11. And he has consistently sided with arguments that favor broad executive authority during his 12 years on the bench in Washington. His most shocking stance is that a sitting president should not be subjected to criminal investigation. Many are in support of Kavanaugh’s appointment simply because they believe he will help overturn Roe v. Wade. The desire to have it overturned is due to their belief in the sanctity of life. But we believe in sanctity of life too! We believe in the sanctity of women’s lives, that they should have access to local, safe, and comprehensive reproductive healthcare and have the right to make decisions about their own bodies. We believe in the sanctity of Black lives, that they should not live in fear of police brutality and being killed by those who are sworn to serve and protect. We believe in the sanctity of Flint lives and the lives in our own East Chicago, Indiana, that they should have access to safe drinking water in their cities. We believe in the sanctity of Puerto Rican lives, that they should be given the aid due to American citizens to restore electricity and help rebuild their lives. We believe in the sanctity of Indigenous lives, that they should be remembered, respected, and represented on this land of theirs. We believe in the sanctity of immigrant lives, regardless of whether they are documented or not, that they should be welcomed and given a chance to build a safer and more prosperous life alongside all of us. We believe in the sanctity of Muslim lives, that they should not be discriminated against or harmed due to their religion, and we say NO to the Muslim ban. We believe in the sanctity of Jewish lives, that they should not still face anti-Semitism in the twenty-first century. We believe in the sanctity of children’s lives, that they should be able to go to school without the threat of guns disrupting their learning and their very lives. We believe in the sanctity of LGBTQIA+ lives, that our Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex and Asexual siblings should not face violence or discrimination because they are true to themselves, and they should be allowed to live in peace — and if they desire it, in matrimony — with whomever they love. We believe in the sanctity of the life of this earth, that it should be taken care of and used with respect and not exploited for gain. We believe in the sanctity of military lives, both actively serving and veterans, that they should be afforded the best healthcare and every amenity we can provide in gratitude for their service and sacrifice. We believe in the sanctity of the lives of the average American, that they should be able to work at an honest job and make a living wage with margin to provide for their futures, and that they should have access to affordable healthcare regardless of pre-existing conditions. We believe in the sanctity of life, every life. And we demand a government and a court that reflect and uphold these same values. This is why we say NO to Kavanaugh. This is why we tell our senators, Joe Donnelly and Todd Young, to stop Kavanaugh by voting against his appointment to SCOTUS. This is why we unite – for justice, for all.

To demand that legislators remove Donald J Trump from office and rescind his election by making null and void all appointments, legislation, executive orders, agency rules and other actions resulting from the illegal and improper conduct engaged in to take office. All Americans now and in the future will suffer for decades if the election is not reversed.

I’m a veteran like many others facing a problem with a bonus recoupment. I swore in May 2007 trying to follow my oldest sisters footsteps. I completed my training and that’s when I received first half of my bonus. I signed for a 20,000 bonus and knew I wouldn’t get the second half till I completed half my contract of 3 years active. In 2010, I received the second half during my pre mobilization training to go to Afghanistan. I completed my contract of 6 years active and 2 inactive and now have an honorable discharge. I enjoyed my service and had many experiences. Not all of those experiences were fun. On June 29th I received a letter from DFAS stating I owed money back from a recoupment. I did research and got in touch with the state of Iowa. They gave me a contact who was in charge of my case and he never heard of such a thing. I’m having to pay back the money from my bonus due to a date being signed two months after swearing in. The sergeant who signed with me and my old recruiter said they had no idea this would happen. They said they would help me but have had no help from the incentive office. I’ve tried calling lawyers and asking anyone to point me in the right direction and now it’s come to this to spread the word. Soldiers are being asked to pay bonuses promised to them after fulfilling their contracts. We are willing to sacrifice for our country but our government is greedy for money that was promised as a bonus. I’m a mother of three young boys and will end up homeless because of the greed of our government. I did what I asked when I joined and now 11 years later being attacked for money and not even given a chance to fight back for what I feel is right. This recoupment was placed on my credit report before I was given the full 30 days to figure out what to do. I have paperwork to show all this to be true. I need support to spread the word. All Americans need to know the truth of how veterans are being treated. We were willing to sacrifice our lives so let us keep our money.

I pray that there will never be another school shooting like the one we lived through in Parkland, Fla. Even just earlier this year, it never occurred to me that we’d be in a situation where we might have a secretary of education consider diverting resources that are used to support poor kids in order to flood schools with more guns. However, that’s exactly what we’re up against right now, since the news broke that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is considering a plan that would allow states to use federal funds to purchase guns for teachers. As the New York Times reported, such a move would reverse a long-standing position taken by the federal government that it should not pay to outfit schools with weapons. And it would also undermine efforts by Congress to restrict the use of federal funding for guns. As recently as March, Congress passed a school safety bill that allocated $50 million a year to local school districts but expressly prohibited the use of the money for firearms. The $1 billion student support program, part of the Every Student Succeeds Act, is intended for academic and enrichment opportunities in the country’s poorest schools, and it calls for school districts to use the money toward meeting three goals: providing a well-rounded education, improving school conditions for learning, and improving the use of technology for digital literacy. Instead of after-school programs or counselors, which are critical for creating safe and welcoming schools and addressing the mental health needs of kids, DeVos wants to turn schools into armed fortresses and make kids and educators less safe. Educators, students and parents have made clear that they don’t want more guns in schools; teachers want to teach and students want to learn. Rather than disregard the demands and needs of the people who know what our schools require, the Department of Education should use Title IV funding to: ● Provide a well-rounded education (examples include expanding AP courses and access to such courses, arts education, civics education, more college and career counseling, environmental education, expanding foreign language options, STEM, and social-emotional learning); ● Ensure safe and healthy students (including asthma management, bullying prevention, drug and violence prevention, indoor air quality, safe schools, mental health, and suicide prevention); and ● Provide effective use of technology. Arming teachers is a bad idea. We know that states with the strongest gun laws see less gun violence. And we know that educators, students and parents want a safe, welcoming place for students to learn, with adequate resources to make this a reality. Stand with the education community now. Send a message to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos that this plan is reckless, dangerous, and will have long-lasting effects on our students and our schools.

Everyone has been affected by this, even people who voted for #45, some of whom are still in denial. I’m starting this petition because our country, our environment, our children’s futures, our democracy, our freedom from the tyranny of ambitious dictators, and the the delicate balance of world peace hang in the balance. Please sign my petition and help support the bipartisan cause of removing a dangerously unhinged man from office.

Just months after passing a massive tax cut for millionaires and billionaires, House Republicans are proposing to reduce food assistance benefits for 2 million people, many of which are low-income working families with children. For more than 15 years, state and federal policymakers have worked on a bipartisan basis to strengthen the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). SNAP is the country’s most effective anti-hunger program, helping 1 in 8 Americans afford a basic diet. More than 6 million people with disabilities are estimated to participate in the program, including 4 million non-elderly adults who receive disability benefits, close to another 2 million who don’t receive disability benefits but have work-limiting health conditions, and many children. The House Republican plan will reduce or eliminate benefits for more than 2 million people through significant cuts to SNAP and expanded work requirements that take benefits away from people who don’t meet them. However, the Senate’s bipartisan bill strengthens SNAP and expands promising approaches to job training and other employment-related activities for SNAP participants and would make targeted investments in SNAP to help seniors and people with disabilities, as well as Native American Tribes. The next step in the legislative process is a “conference” between the House and Senate proposals. During the conference, lawmakers will decide whether to take House Republicans proposal to cut SNAP or the bipartisan Senate proposal to strengthen it. That’s why it’s incredibly important that we push Congress RIGHT NOW to pass a farm bill that would support and strengthen SNAP — not make it harder for people to access crucial nutrition assistance. Please join with us and tell Congress that the 2018 farm bill must strengthen the SNAP food assistance program for low income Americans. ——————————————————————————————— Source: https://www.cbpp.org/research/food-assistance/house-farm-bill-would-increase-food-insecurity-and-hardship

Trump has started a petition against ESPN for deciding not to air the National Anthem during its football telecasts. We need a counter-petition to show him that his rants against respectful protests highlighting the existence of police brutality are not supported by mainstream America.

To submit a comment to almost any elected official these days, the first thing you are required to submit is a title. You’re included in the pre-set list if you’re a Mr., Mrs., or even a Dr., Honorary, Professor, or Dean. But if you’re a non-gender-conforming individual – and chances are that if you’re not one yourself, someone you care about is – the message is clear: you don’t belong. And it is the hundreds of seemingly small exclusionary instances like this that make life so difficult for non-gender conforming people in the United States and around the world. As it stands, organizations such as the Sierra Club, who strongly believe in building a more inclusive country, are still required to cause potential harm to their supporters by requiring titles whenever comments need to be submitted directly to an elected official. We hope to help all senators and House members to realize their obligation to make their constituents feel heard by offering the gender-neutral “Mx.” option on their web forms by the time the next Congress gets underway in January 2019. While momentum to offer gender-inclusive title options on web forms has made progress in recent months, it remains stalled at the moment, and we hope you’ll join us in getting this one over the finish line!

A Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) investigation at a California dairy farm in Stanislaus County found a mass graveyard of cows and calves piled on top of one another. Investigators also documented baby cows confined in hutches smaller than the length of their bodies for months at a time, forced to sleep each night on a hard wooden floor and live on top of their own waste. Baby calves just weeks old were recorded coughing from the toxicity of the ammonia-rich air in the overcrowded wasteland. This is animal torture and criminal animal cruelty in the state of California. Ask the Stanislaus County Police Department to free the baby cows who are confined in filthy crates barely bigger than their own bodies.

Let's look at the facts. Several of the people closest to Donald Trump, including his former personal lawyer (Michael Cohen), former campaign chairman (Paul Manafort), former national security adviser (Michael Flynn), and others, have either been convicted of or have pleaded guilty to a range of federal offenses—including campaign finance violations allegedly at the direction of candidate Trump. Meanwhile, Brett Kavanaugh, Trump's Supreme Court nominee, has argued that a sitting president cannot be criminally indicted or even a subject of a criminal investigation while in office. The consequences of his confirmation could be enormous: Kavanaugh could become Trump's shield against accountability. We must let Special Counsel Robert Mueller complete his investigation before proceeding with any Supreme Court confirmation hearings. No American citizen under criminal investigation is able to choose their own judge. The president shouldn't be an exception. Sign the petition if you agree that consideration of Supreme Court nominees must be paused while the President of the United States is an alleged co-conspirator in the commission of federal crimes.

President Donald Trump is now an unindicted co-conspirator in a criminal investigation. He has been identified - under oath - as a man who willfully violated campaign finance law, and whose staff, advisers and endorsers have been indicted and/or convicted at a breathtaking pace. This man must not have the ability to influence decades of American jurisprudence before the People, newly aware of these troubling allegations and convictions, are able to vote in a new Congress in the midterm elections.