You may be surprised to learn that a quietly moving bill, the Israel Anti-Boycott Act (S. 720/H.R. 1697), would make it illegal to boycott companies from certain countries for political reasons – a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Even more concerning, the bill has 43 co-sponsors in the Senate – including more than a dozen Democrats – and a majority of the House has signed on.1 It is already illegal for U.S. residents and companies to join a boycott of any country friendly to the United States if that boycott was launched by a foreign country.2 The Israel Anti-Boycott Act would expand this law to criminalize participation in boycotts launched by intergovernmental organizations, such as the European Union or United Nations. This is about the fundamental right to free speech and political dissent. J Street, a prominent Jewish advocacy group and an ally of CREDO, is opposing this bill in part due to First Amendment concerns.3 CREDO's friends at the ACLU have called on Congress to reject the bill because it "would impose civil and criminal punishment on individuals solely because of their political beliefs..."4 Restricting our freedom of expression and imposing criminal penalties for holding specific political views is unconstitutional. Any version of this bill that restricts Americans' rights to boycott and express dissent is unacceptable. We need to stand with our friends at ACLU and J Street to make sure that Congress forcefully rejects this bill and any other legislation that would limit our First Amendment rights. Tell Congress: Oppose S. 720/H.R.1697 and any other bill that would criminalize free speech. References: Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin, "Israel Anti-Boycott Act," 115th Congress, introduced March 23, 2017. United States Code, "50 USC 4607: Foreign boycotts," accessed July 26, 2017. Zaid Jilani, "J Street, a reliable foe of BDS, urges Congress to oppose Israel anti-boycott act for now, The Intercept, July 20, 2017. Faiz Shakir, "ACLU letter to the Senate opposing Israel Anti-Boycott Act," ACLU, July 17, 2017. Glenn Greenwald and Ryan Grim, "U.S. lawmakers seek to criminally outlaw support for boycott campaign against Israel," The Intercept, July 19, 2017. Ryan Grim, "Senators promise to amend Israel boycott bill after backlash," The Intercept, July 25, 2017.

When Trump gave a speech encouraging police to brutalize suspects, the crowd of officers laughed and cheered. Police departments and law enforcement officials across the country responded by condemning Trump’s comments. But the Fraternal Order of Police -- the largest police union in the country -- defended Trump. So did the leader of Cleveland’s police union. Dozens of police unions across the country have remained completely silent, while their police chiefs speak out. Only two police unions have said anything that even comes close to disagreeing with Trump’s comments -- and their statements were weak and made excuses for Trump. Police unions have a long history of defending cops who brutalize, kill, and abuse their power. They fight against common sense reforms and any kind of accountability for police. Now, on top of that, they’re sending a dangerous message to the police officers that make up their membership -- that cops should be even more violent than they already are. It threatens the communities that police are sworn to serve and protect, and it puts officers themselves in more danger by further eroding trust in police. By calling them out, we can expose how police unions are cheerleaders and enablers of police brutality, and one of the biggest enemies of police accountability and reform. It’s the first step to reducing their political power, their ability stop the common sense policing reforms we desperately need, and their practice of shielding officers who brutalize, kill, and break the law.

On January 1, California, Maine, and Massachusetts joined the growing list of states that legalized recreational marijuana. Yet, Attorney General Jeff Sessions just announced that he will end the current policy of federal non-interference, so that the Justice department could crack down on marijuana in states where it has been legalized for recreational use. For decades, the failed War on Drugs has locked up millions of nonviolent drug offenders, especially for marijuana-related offenses. This has wasted human potential, torn apart families and communities, and squandered massive sums of taxpayer dollars. That's why I introduced the Marijuana Justice Act to call for the legalization of marijuana at the federal level. If passed into law, the Marijuana Justice Act would have an immediate impact on our criminal justice system, policing, our communities, and even the economy. This legislation would remove marijuana from the list of controlled substances, making it legal at the federal level. The bill would also incentivize states to change their marijuana laws if those laws are shown to disproportionately affect low-income individuals and/or people of color. The Marijuana Justice Act would be applied retroactively for those already serving time for marijuana-related offenses, providing for a judge's review of marijuana-related sentences. That means that we could reduce our prison population—a goal that Democrats and Republicans alike have claimed to support. Add your name to show your support for national marijuana legalization. State governments have, so far, led the way in reforming our failed drug policy and in beginning to fix our criminal justice system. Unfortunately, the federal government isn't doing its share—and Sessions, among his many offenses, is working actively to undermine the progress in this area. We can't let Sessions roll back our progress, criminalize more Americans, and terrorize our communities by doubling down on failed drug policy.

Sen. McConnell has ignored his constituents for decades. His White House office has been unable to handle phone calls from constituents to express their concerns about Trumpcare.

My husband and I, and millions of other hard-working Americans, will once again be denied access to affordable healthcare due to pre-existing conditions and outrageous premiums if Congress allows the White House to stop ACA subsidy payments to insurance companies. Let's act now and remind our representatives that they work for us, and that their healthcare is paid for by our tax dollars. Denying us the same level of coverage is nothing short of a death sentence for millions of Americans. Tell them that you will remember their vote in 2018 and 2020 - if they want to keep their seats, they will do right by their constituents and stand up to the White House or lose their jobs!

The Trump Administration just found a new low in its attacks on science! In July, the top climate policy official at the Department of the Interior, Joel Clement, went public with a whistleblower complaint after he was demoted to an accounting office. Now his career is on the line, and the integrity of one of our Nation’s most critical defenses against climate disruption is at stake. Clement filed a formal whistleblower complaint and Senators on both sides of the aisle are now pushing for an investigation. His story is quickly gaining media attention, but with so much noise in the national conversation, we can help ensure that attention stays focused on Clement and the more than 50 others forced from their jobs at the Department. Sign the petition to Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke demanding that he return Clement to his important work – and we’ll hand-deliver it to Department officials.

United States citizens deserve to have the support of their elected officials in protecting their privacy. As it stands today, everything you type, search, download, view, send and receive online is stored by your internet service provider. In March of 2017, 265 Republican Congressman were each paid an average of $47,908.62 by ISP's to vote "yes" in the matter of repealing internet privacy laws. The vote passed and ISP's now have the ability to sell all of your online information to whoever they please. This is a profound violation of your privacy and rights as a human being. Sign the petition if you support holding Washington accountable for selling out it's citizens. All of the money raised will go towards the purchase of every congressman/woman's private browsing data as well as their immediate family. If we are able to raise enough money to purchase the data, all of the findings will be made public.

Trump and his administration are discriminating against different groups (Muslims, immigrants, transgenders, and women) and now the administration is claiming that civil rights do not apply to gay people. Every being deserves to be treated fairly and without prejudice. When one group is attacked, we are all under attack and should stand up for each other and try to bring some civility back to this nation.

*Este mensaje se repite en Español Alamance County Sheriff's Office Dear Sheriff Johnson, We, community members of Alamance County and allies of the immigrant community, respectfully request that you not bring back to our county the 287g agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It is especially important that Alamance County does not bring back 287g agreement which put our county in the national spotlight for its poor implementation, civil rights violations and decreased trust that immigrants in Alamance County, and surrounding areas, have in law enforcement. Like other programs, agreements and policies that forge a collaboration between ICE and local law enforcement, the 287g program funnels immigrants into a detention and deportation system that does not afford due process rights, and ultimately tears families apart, leaving our communities weaker and more fearful of interacting with local law enforcement. The 287g program costs money, damages public safety, and increases the risks of racial profiling. The 287g program diverts officers from their local work to do ICE’s job for them. Numerous reports and studies have shown the negative human and legal impacts of implementing 287g [1]. Moreover, 287g is not mandatory: only 78 law enforcement agencies in the entire country and 5 in North Carolina have 287g agreements for their officers to act as immigration agents. The Maricopa County, AZ program, run by Sheriff Joseph Arpaio, was the largest 287g jurisdiction until it was terminated following a federal investigation into racial profiling and discrimination. The county of Alamance is home to many immigrants and 287g hurts the trust from immigrant community members. When some of our neighbors are reluctant to communicate with local law enforcement, even when they are victims or witnesses to crime, everyone is our community is less safe. We respectfully request that you do not bring back Alamance County's agreement with ICE. Sincerely, _____ Estimado Alguacil Johnson, Nosotros, miembros de la comunidad de Alamance y aliados de la comunidad inmigrante, respetuosamente solicitamos que no traiga de vuelta al condado de Alamance el acuerdo 287g entre el condado de Alamance y el Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas (ICE). Es especialmente importante que el condado de Alamance no traiga de nuevo este acuerdo ya, que fue el mismo que puso a nuestro condado en el centro de atención nacional por su mala implementación, violaciones a los derechos civiles y porque empeoraria la falta de confianza que los inmigrantes de Alamance y sus alrededores de porsi ya tienen en la policia. Al igual que otros programas de colaboración entre inmigración y la policía, el programa 287g canaliza a inmigrantes en un sistema de detención y deportación que no ofrece un proceso adecuado, y que en última instancia separa a las familias, dejando a nuestras comunidades más débiles y con más miedo de interactuar con la policía. El programa 287g cuesta dinero, daña la seguridad pública y aumenta los riesgos de discriminación racial. El programa 287g desvía a los oficiales de su trabajo local para hacer el trabajo de ICE. Numerosos informes y estudios han demostrado los efectos humanos y jurídicos negativos de la aplicación del 287g. Por otra parte, 287g no es obligatorio: sólo 78 agencias policiales en todo el país y 5 en Carolina del Norte tienen acuerdos 287g para que sus agentes actúen como agentes de inmigración. El programa del condado de Maricopa, AZ, dirigido por el Alguacil Joseph Arpaio, fue la jurisdicción de 287g más grande, hasta que el acuerdo fue terminado después de una investigación federal sobre la discriminacion racial y discriminación. El condado de Alamance es el hogar de muchos inmigrantes y acuerdo 287g perjudica la confianza de parte de los miembros de la comunidad inmigrante. Cuando algunos de nuestros vecinos se rehusan a comunicarse con la policía, incluso cuando son víctimas o testigos de delito, todos en la comunidad están menos seguros. Solicitamos respetuosamente que no traiga el acuerdo del condado de Alamance con ICE Sinceramente,

American taxpayers should NOT be responsible for paying for the Trump family's exorbitant travel/security costs to Trump properties, where they are making huge profits.

Unless we begin now to make significant changes to our election process, we will continue to let wealth rule the country.

One of the first steps in creating a dictatorship is to purge the government of scientists and scientific information. A dictatorship is threatened by the facts and has trouble twisting them. We must not lose the voice of reason, logic and scientific fact. Issues such as climate change, research, and innovation are too important to let anyone remove scientific information from.