Our first priority should be keeping everyone as safe as possible, from Covid and from expected violence. Secondly, most Americans believe that expending our human and monetary resources for this event is inappropriate and distasteful in light of what we have been through. We did it beautifully for the convention, why not now? Holding a traditional ceremony is not what the American people want or need.

In light of the tragic and wholly anti-democratic events of January 6, 2021, the creation of this Day of Democracy would help us ensure that actions such as the siege of the US Capitol Building will never be repeated, and that the ideals of democracy continue to be the core values upon which we build a more just, compassionate, and unified nation for all.

The assault on January 6th, 2021 to our Nation's congress and our Capitol Building was an aberration, and a direct threat to our democracy. This violent attack was instigated by Mr. Trump and Mr. Trump Jr.. The rioters attempted to destroy the institutions that make us the strongest democracy in the world. These rioters displayed Neo-nazi, racist, and fascist symbols. As more footage of the incident is brought to light, we all are witnessing the violent nature of the groups that forced themselves into The People's House. A police officer was murdered and four other people died in this violent event. It is one of the darkest days in the history of our country. We must make sure that his name is not glorified in any way, because if we do not act we will have normalized the behavior Mr. Trump and his rioting mob of followers displayed. We Chicagoans and Americans ask you to do what is in your power to remove the sign that is now a stain to a city we are proud to call home. Thank you.

What more evidence do we need than watching him place the stickers? See the video: - https://abc7news.com/society/bay-area-resident-confronts-man-putting-up-swastika-stickers/8262638/ Charge this individual with vandalism, trespassing and hate crimes. Bring him to court, in front of a jury of his peers. These threatening hateful acts belong adjudicated by the criminal justice system. Her explanation is unacceptable: “In this case, documentation of the acts did serve our community as it shed light on the conduct and let the individual know that such behavior does not represent our county." A vandal who sprays graffiti on private property is arrested, charged and fined. This act placing swastika’s stating “we are everywhere” on private property is both vandalism and perhaps a hate crime. Frugoli does our Marin community and Noah Mohan a huge disservice by deciding there is “insufficient evidence” to charge this person. If there is doubt, let the jury weigh in. The DA plans to hold a forum to “stop hate crimes and hateful behavior.” This person needs to be accountable and punished for these unacceptable actions. Restorative Justice would be an option, of course. More than ever, now, we need legal public actions to challenge hateful threatening gestures, not forums. Demand DA Frugoli explain her thought process AND prosecute.

As long as a large national platform like Parler is allowed to spread incendiary rhetoric, attacks on our government and country are likely.

~~~Español abajo At the beginning of the school year there was an agreement to close schools if the positivity rate reached a certain number. There is no limit now and we are the highest positivity rate since the pandemic started. This is a public health emergency for everyone: 1. Students being back in schools will continue to spread the virus contrary to Covid-19 prevention measures 2. U-46 is the second largest school district in the state of Illinois which translates into a super spreader situation if students go back to schools 3. Cleaning staff, bus drivers, support staff, teachers, nurses, their families and communities beyond Elgin are also being put at risk 4. We can wait a bit longer now that there is a vaccine and come back to school safely 5. This is at the tail end of the holiday season where people spent time in groups 6. The money being spent on complying with safety measures could be spent on remote socio-emotional support for students 7. Community members of color have been disproportionately affected by Covid-19 8. Students and staff are individually responsible to self-certify. This did not go well back when the schools were hybrid. The safety measures are not being followed leading to safety concerns 9. Families have not been asked for input since August, 2020 Al comienzo del año escolar se acordó cerrar las escuelas si la tasa de positividad alcanzaba cierto número. Ahora no hay límite y tenemos la tasa de positividad más alta desde que comenzó la pandemia. Este es una emergencia de salud pública para todos: 1. Los estudiantes que regresen a la escuela continuarán propagando el virus en contra de las medidas de prevención contra el Covid-19 2. U-46 es el segundo distrito escolar más grande del estado de Illinois, lo que se traduce en una situación de gran difusión de Covid-19 si los estudiantes regresan a las escuelas 3. Pone en riesgo al personal de limpieza, los conductores de autobuses, el personal de apoyo, los maestros, las enfermeras, sus familias y comunidades mas allá de la ciudad de Elgin también corren peligro 4. Podemos esperar un poco más ahora que hay una vacuna y regresar a la escuela sanos y salvos 5. Estamos al final de la temporada navideña, donde las personas pasaron tiempo en grupos 6. El dinero que se gasta en el cumplimiento de las medidas de salud y seguridad podría destinarse al apoyo socio-emocional a distancia para los estudiantes 7. Los miembros de la comunidad afroamericana y latina se han visto afectados de manera desproporcionada por Covid-19 8. Los estudiantes y el personal son responsables individualmente de autocertificarse. Esto no fue un procedimiento exitoso cuando las escuelas estaban en el plan híbrido de aprendizaje. No se siguen las medidas de seguridad, lo que genera problemas de salud 9. A las familias no se les ha pedido su opinión desde agosto de 2020

Thousands of residents work from home (regardless of Covid). Our children are learning from home. Elderly, impaired, and infants are home all day trying to rest. It has become impossible to concentrate on any given day of the week as leaf blowers are used every day at all hours of the day! We have also ceased to hear birds for much of the day, animals run in fear, kids cease playing outside, you can't even walk your dog any longer without being blasted with NOISE & POLLUTION!

Students are already beyond stressed with remote learning and adding more screen time is doing nothing for them. The people in charge don’t know the reality. All this will causing is a decline in mental health for all students.

This is a show that brings happiness to people’s life. We learn so much from the show and it needs to be back up!!!!

[We are no longer seeking signers for this petition based on the Biden Administration's announcement that it will implement most of the requested policies.] Protests in Cuba on July 11th and subsequent trials dramatized the cost of President Biden and Vice President Harris failure to fulfill their campaign pledge to "promptly reverse the failed Trump policies that have inflicted harm on the Cuban people". Substantial majorities of Americans support repairing the Trump Administration's symbolic and substantive damage to our freedom as well as to our national political and economic interest. Sadly the Biden-Harris Administration has allowed the shadow of Trump to dominate US policy on Cuba more than one year after replacing him. It is unconscionable to continue to deny Cuban Americans the ability to provide desperately needed remittances to their families and to ignore the Constitutional right of all Americans to travel. Prompt action is essential so independent visitors and specialized travel agencies can create trips that renew support for Cuba's private sector in the winter of 2022. Cruise lines, tour operators, airlines, universities, cultural exchanges, agricultural producers and businesses require confirmed policy change in order to resume jobs providing engagement in the 2022 season. Organizer: Fund for Reconciliation and Development, Cuba/US People to People Partnership [Every time we add another 1,000 signers, we update a published list organized by zip code. It can be seen here https://cubapeopletopeople.blogspot.com/2021/12/signers-of-cuba-petition.html For an update on the situation after the July 11 and failed November 15 protests, visit https://cubapeopletopeople.blogspot.com/2021/08/evolving-personal-thoughts-about-cubas.html For ideas of additional personal action, go here https://cubapeopletopeople.blogspot.com/2021/01/biden-harris-petition-follow-up.html ]

We understand that herd immunity via vaccination will take months to achieve. Without the steps outlined above many more lives will be lost and many others will become ill, perhaps chronically, per the models. This hurts people, and in the long run, is also expensive across many systems. We have seen what happens when countries work to eliminate COVID. New York State may have more difficulty than a country would, but we can see that the current level of mitigation is not enough. We have seen responses from leaders like Adern, Battulga and Merkel. While they have all struggled with COVID returning, the defining feature of their response is their unwillingness to lose lives. A positive side effect is that their economies have been impacted positively by this approach. COVID Zero NY should be our aspiration. Being better than other states is not enough. It is imperative that our goals be higher because this is impacting our lives, our health, and our livelihoods. We must act, immediately. The WHO’s Dr. Mike Ryan’s statement from March is as relevant today as it was then: “Perfection is the enemy of the good when it comes to emergency management. Speed trumps perfection, and the problem in society we have at the moment is everyone is afraid of making a mistake - everyone is afraid of the consequence of error. But the greatest error is not to move. The greatest error is to be paralyzed by the fear of failure.” Respectfully submitted, Dec 22, 2020 — Sample of Information Utilized Substantial majorities (6 in 10, or more) of Americans support all seven restrictive measures. www.thecovidstates.org THE COVID STATES PROJECT: A 50-STATE COVID-19 SURVEY REPORT #25: PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR MEASURES AIMED AT CURBING COVID-19 USA, November 2020 COVID Zero: https://www.kxnet.com/news/national-news/after-eliminating-covid-19-new-zealand-pm-says-flattening-curve-wasnt-enough/ Economy and COVID: https://indianapublicmedia.org/news/a-false-choice-how-the-coronavirus-married-public-health-the-economy.php?s=09 Lack of transparency undermining response: https://www.wired.com/story/a-lack-of-transparency-is-undermining-pandemic-policy/ Updated COVID risk: https://covid19risk.biosci.gatech.edu/ Closing schools, bars, workplaces, public events reduces R to safe levels https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(20)30785-4/fulltext Additional school information: https://twitter.com/DrZoeHyde/status/1336612124835995648?s=20 Aerosols: https://time.com/5883081/covid-19-transmitted-aerosols/

I am a student in the USA and because of the current Coronavirus pandemic, many schools have been forced to shut down. I am not saying in any way I disagree with the schools shutting down, as I, in particular, think it is the safest option. But that isn't what I'm arguing. As the winter goes on, it is sure to snow at some point. And when it snows on a school day snow days happen. The couple of days that children get a little amount of time to just relax unexpectedly. The strain that school puts on children every day is huge and has only increased during the pandemic. I think these days should just be those unexpected things that children look forward to no matter the state in the outside world.