While attending Edgewood Student Services, Montravious Thomas was slammed on the floor, as a result his leg had to be amputated. No medical personnel was contacted to have him checked. He was unable to walk and had to be carried to the bus, which was shown on a video that has been released. His mother took him to the emergency room and he had to be air-lifted to Atlanta due to the severity of his injury. The person that slammed him was a contract worker, however, that should not negate accountability. It is important that parents know that their children will be safe and cared for while at school. The members of the Board of Education are our representatives and are to act in the best interest of their constituents. In this case it would be to request the GBI conduct an investigation of Montravious Thomas' injury.

I just found out about impending funding cuts to the USDA in October. This will negatively impact the opportunity for home ownership in America. It will also impact farmers and rural communities. We need to protect our rights to strong rural communities and home ownership.

I was cheated and it's not fair for him to stay in office.

Defeating this bill is critical to the protection of our First Amendment rights. It criminalizes free speech and non-violent political activism that is fundamental to American democracy. That Democrats are endorsing this anti-democratic legislation is contemptible. The failure of almost all of these senators to even acknowledge sponsorship or the existence of S.720 on their websites attests to their awareness of the bill's repugnancy. Find the co-sponsors at www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/720/cosponsors

I recently read that the DCCC was drafting candidates that did not have to pass a litmus test for a pro-choice position. We already had a SCOTUS position stolen from us, and the Democratic Party cannot backtrack on a woman's right to control her own body.

From his first days in office, Trump has worked to sabotage the ACA. At the start of his presidency, Trump signed an executive order weakening the individual mandate that is central to functioning ACA marketplaces. Now that the Senate rejected his repeal plan, he is looking to punish the most vulnerable Americans by ending ACA cost-sharing subsidies. These subsidies are not, as the president likes to say, insurance bailouts. They provide vital assistance to people at or near the poverty level, allowing them to afford out-of-pocket costs like copays and deductibles. And the uncertainty about whether the subsidies are going to continue from month to month is clearly contributing to the destabilization of the insurance markets. This needs to end. People must understand that ending the subsidies would make health insurance unaffordable for millions of low-income Americans.

The House of Representatives has voted on a spending bill that includes $1.6 billion for initial construction of the wall. This is only a downpayment on the wall, which is estimated to cost over $20 billion. Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto has made it clear that Mexico will not pay for the wall, and the idea of using a border tax on imports from Mexico is dead. In short, American taxpayers will foot the bill. Instead of wasting our money and grandstanding on this issue, the government should enforce and maybe bolster the existing laws against hiring undocumented workers. This would not only cut down on people crossing the border illegally to seek employment, it would also cut down on people who overstay their visas, which a report found represented 66% of undocumented residents. Separately, the government should work on a guest worker program, so farmers and other business who rely on the undocumented workforce can find the employees they need without resorting to illegal activity.

Because of Saudi Arabia's war and blockade, Yemen is on the brink of famine [1] and a million malnourished children in Yemen are at risk from cholera. [2] Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen is also helping Al Qaeda, [3] as even the State Department acknowledged in a July 2017 report. [4] U.S. arming of Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen could make the U.S. a co-belligerent in international law and make U.S. officials liable for Saudi Arabia's war crimes. [5] On June 13, only five Democratic Senators voted to keep arming Saudi Arabia's famine-inducing war in Yemen: Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Mark Warner of Virginia, Bill Nelson of Florida, and Joe Manchin of West Virginia. The vote was 47-53. If these five Democrats had voted with the Senate Democratic leadership and the majority of Senate Democrats, the Senate would have voted to block the Saudi arms deal. [6] Senator Todd Young [R-IN] and Senator Jeff Merkley [D-OR] have introduced amendments on the National Defense Authorization Act [NDAA] which would block the arming of Saudi Arabia's war crimes in Yemen. Senator Young's amendment would prohibit any arms transfers to Saudi Arabia until the Saudis stop bombing civilian infrastructure and stop blocking humanitarian aid. [7] Senator Merkley's amendment would prohibit the transfer of cluster bombs to Saudi Arabia. [8] Urge Claire McCaskill, Joe Donnelly, Mark Warner, Bill Nelson, and Joe Manchin to publicly back the Young and Merkley amendments to stop arming Saudi Arabia's war crimes in Yemen by signing our petition. References: 1. https://maritime-executive.com/article/un-blockade-threatens-to-push-yemen-into-famine 2. http://www.npr.org/2017/08/02/541181026/one-million-malnourished-children-at-risk-of-cholera-in-yemen 3. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/al-qaeda-group-leader-claims-fighting-alongside-us-backed-coalition-forces-yemen-a7713321.html; http://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/yemen-aqap/ 4. https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/272488.pdf 5. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-saudi-yemen-idUSKCN12A0BQ 6. https://theintercept.com/2017/06/13/saudi-arms-sale-senate-opposition-rand-paul-chris-murphy/ 7. https://www.congress.gov/amendment/115th-congress/senate-amendment/585/text 8. https://www.congress.gov/amendment/115th-congress/senate-amendment/661/text

If Sinclair Broadcasting Group's plan to buy Tribune Media, Co. is successful, the reach of its racist news coverage will be dramatically increased. This is about protecting freedom of the press and standing against corporate consolidation of our local news outlets. Sinclair has a blatant history of Islamophobia, allowing its newscasters to make racist statements everyday in its uniform "Terrorism Alert Desk," which has notably used Muslims as synonymous with terrorists in its reports. The Terrorism Alert Desk is a Sinclair "must-run" that is produced centrally by the company and airs every single day across Sinclair outlets, whether or not there is something to report on.

At this point, if a company is sponsoring Sean Hannity's show, they are essentially supporting a Trump propaganda operation. It needs to stop. Sean Hannity has a long record of right-wing chicanery, lies, and vitriol. But his program has morphed into something more dangerous than just partisan hackery -- he’s been exposed as a full-blown propagandist who conspires with the Trump administration to spread fabricated stories, smear detractors, and undercut the rule of law. 21st Century Fox (Fox News' parent company) won't hold him accountable. So, there are two options: 1) Do nothing; or 2) Take action to hold Hannity accountable. Spreading misinformation is Hannity's business model, and now he’s doing it on behalf of the Trump administration. His propagandizing has become so odious that he was condemned by some of his coworkers, who reportedly told The Daily Beast that the host was "'embarrassing' the network" and that "some people need to be fired. It's past time for Hannity to go. If Fox won’t fire Hannity, then advertisers should run as fast as they can, or else they run the risk of being complicit in his deceit and recklessness. Advertisers will get burned if they continue to associate with Hannity -- plain and simple. It's up to this grassroots movement -- individuals, organizations, and hundreds of independent organizers -- to keep up the pressure. Together, their efforts and your participation will have a tremendous impact. --------- Here are a few of Hannity's top advertisers: - DirecTV - Dollar Shave Club - Mercedes Benz - Mitsubishi - NutriSystem Full list here: https://www.mediamatters.org/research/2017/05/23/these-are-sean-hannitys-advertisers/216607

On Monday, I was told by the prestigious all-girls preparatory Ellis School where I work, that I was losing my job and would be replaced with someone making $4 less an hour. As a mother of three, I believe in the school’s mission to “prepare, empower, and inspire each and every girl through an excellent education in an all-girls environment” and I take pride in cleaning for the children and teachers, and maintaining the bathrooms, hallways, auditorium, and other facilities. To make matters worse, I lost my good union job on July 31: Black Women’s Equal Pay Day. Ironically, the Ellis School prides itself on diversity but made the decision to cut their all African American cleaning crew so they can save money. Instead of continuing to work with a contractor that provides me and my co-workers with a union contract that provides living wages and benefits, the Ellis School decided to contract out our jobs to General Cleaning, which pays workers poverty wages of $8.68 an hour. I want to continue to provide the best learning environment possible for our next generation of women leaders—but I have to be able to provide for my family too. The Ellis School Values claim to “seek intellectual, emotional, and physical health for every member of our community.” We are asking the Ellis School to live up its values and look after me and my coworkers so we can continue to provide for our girls and families too. Sincerely, Alyce Toombs

This bill is designed to make a deal with a company that will set up cameras throughout the state to check license plates and find out-of-state drivers who lack insurance or registration. When these drivers are caught and have to pay fines, the company will keep half the money. But since these cameras see the license plates of everyone who drives, companies that process this data can figure out who's driving where and sell that information. The bill doesn't do anything to stop these companies from selling or misusing the information, and it should. When the government decides to have a camera system set up like this, the law should say clearly that it's not okay to abuse the system.