This country cannot move forward while Blue and Red continue infighting. Something must be done. Republican Senate leaders have been known to say they will not vote for anything just because the Democrats put it forth. This, coming from a man as old as Mitch McConnell, and being agreed to by the others in the same party, is ludicrous. We did not elect them to play games. The censuring of senators for not voting the way they want them to (for having minds of their own) is also a very telling indicator that the Republican party is more concerned that their members play "follow the leader" than think for themselves. The people who voted for each senator did so for the purpose of looking out for their interest... Not so they can sit around, smoking cigars, drinking whiskey, and thinking about how they can get back at the unpopular members of their group, or play tit-for-tat with the Dems. Pointing fingers, blaming each other, and threatening "if you do that, we'll do this" makes every single one of you look like a playground bully!

Women and anyone with a uterus deserve the right over their own bodies as much as any man. Human Equality doesn’t stop at equal pay, equal voting and equal treatment, but extends into our homes, doctor’s offices and our own minds. * * * Mujeres y cualquier persona con un útero merece el derecho sobre su propio cuerpo al igual que cualquier hombre. La igualdad humana no se limita a la igualdad de remuneración, la igualdad de voto y la igualdad de trato, sino que se extiende a nuestros hogares, consultorios médicos y nuestras propias mentes.

WHAT IF YOU NEEDED POWER TO LIVE AND YOUR POWER WAS DISCONNECTED OVER $79. Then your utility distributor refused to restore service unless you paid an additional $75 in reconnect fees (while knowing you need power to live)! We are NOT asking not to pay. We are only asking for adequate reasonable accommodations or protections to Griffin Utilities policies and procedures so customers who need power to live are NOT AT RISK of disconnection; or Risk LOSS OF LIFE DUE TO DISCONNECTIONS. THE RESOLUTION ADA Reasonable Accommodations and/or Protections to Griffin Utilities Policies & Procedures to Protect Power-dependent Patients (PPP). A. Payment Extensions - Consider offering Payment Extensions prior to an account becoming delinquent for power-dependent individual customers. B. Grace Period - there are NO grace periods. Consider establishing a delinquent payment grace period. Provide this delinquent account Grace Period prior to sending a disconnect notice or warning of disconnection to power-dependent individual customers. C. Late Fees - Waive Late Fees or allow fees to be distributed over time without fear of disconnection for power-dependent individual customers. D. Reconnect Fees - Waive Reconnect Fees or allow fees to be distributed over time without fear of disconnection for power-dependent individual customers. E. Budget Billing - Consider the establishment of Budget Billing for power-dependent individual customers. F. Advance Notice of Disconnection - Provide a 24 to 72 hour advance notice of disconnection. G. Priority List - Maintain separate data or a Priority List of Griffin Utilities power-dependent individual customers. Consider adding Power-Dependent Individual Services to the current Priority List; and at a heightened state such as major medical facilities, nursing homes, and hospices. H. Scheduled Outages - Advance notice of scheduled outages/rolling blackouts for power-dependent individual customers. Help us advocate to PPP (PROTECT POWER-DEPENDENT PATIENTS); for some of the most vulnerable on local and state levels. Please sign this Petition.

The mask policies are working to limit the spread. In Ohio school districts where masks are optional, case rates are higher than in districts that require some masking, and we see better week-to-week trends in schools where everyone wears a mask. Most importantly, there have been fewer quarantines in schools where everyone wears a mask, helping us towards meeting the goal of keeping Ohio children in the classroom.

New state laws restricting voter access, and gerrymandered districts both suppress voting and threaten democracy. Overly restrictive abortion laws make access to abortions unjustifiably difficult, threatening women’s right of choice. Overpriced drugs and medications and the inability to reduce their prices through government negotiations, together with other medical services, maintain a severe financial burden for millions of Americans. Tax loopholes and havens inaccessible to all but the very rich allow the wealthy to avoid paying their fair share of taxes. This places an unfair burden and financial hardship on the poor and middle classes as they are forced to pay in taxes what the rich should be paying.

CVS Health is a Fortune 4 Company and integrated into every aspect of the US Healthcare System. CVS Health is the parent company of CVS Pharmacy, Aetna, Caremark and many others according to their SEC filings. https://twitter.com/BATransAdvocate https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/equality/558610-cvs-att-comcast-and-others-donated-to-anti-lgbtq https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/14/corporations-anti-lgbtq-politicians-donations-study https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2021/04/02/the-pro-lgbtq-companies-that-helped-elect-arkansas-anti-trans-bill-sponsors/ https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2021/04/16/businesses-and-trade-groups-bankrolled-sponsors-of-texas-cruel-anti-trans-bill/ https://upriseri.com/the-women-project-v-cvs/

Dear Storm Lake Community School District Board and Superintendent: We, the concerned community members, teachers, and parents of Storm Lake Community School District urge the SLCSD school board to mandate masks for ALL people in Storm Lake Community School District buildings and crowded outdoor spaces, regardless of vaccination status for the following reasons: -The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend UNIVERSAL masking in schools.(1) (2) -Since Iowa is a place of high coronavirus spread, as identified by the CDC (3), it is actually recommended that ALL people wear masks, regardless of vaccination status, in all indoor public settings as well as crowded outdoor settings. So, everyone should be masking, not just those at schools. -There are teachers who are unvaccinated AND refusing to wear a mask. These teachers are endangering up to hundreds of students daily, as well as the family members of those students. If you ask everyone to mask, it is much easier for people to know if someone is not complying. -Vaccinated people can get sick with Covid-19, and they can spread coronavirus at the same rate as unvaccinated people at the beginning of their illness according to the CDC: “For people infected with the Delta variant, similar amounts of viral genetic material have been found among both unvaccinated and fully vaccinated people. However, like prior variants, the amount of viral genetic material may go down faster in fully vaccinated people when compared to unvaccinated people. This means fully vaccinated people will likely spread the virus for less time than unvaccinated people.” (4) -Some staff, especially the vaccinated, are getting minor symptoms of illness consistent with the symptoms of Covid-19, but believe it is “just a cold”, so they are not getting tested. They continue to go to work, potentially infecting people with Covid-19. -Our district has been asking unvaccinated people to wear masks all school year, which means all children under the age of 12 should be masking. This is not what we are seeing; very few children are masking. We need more children masking to get this under control and to make school a safe place for all. Simply asking is not working. A mandate is what we need. -This month we have had two reported Covid-19 deaths in our county, the first reported deaths in BV County since April. (5) -Our healthcare providers in Storm Lake are urging children to wear masks in school. In an interview with local media, two local doctors noted that although we have beds at BVRMC, other ICUs are full enough that sometimes people have to wait to be transported for a higher level of care. If we mandate universal masking at our schools, that is a very real way to lessen the burden for our healthcare providers. (6) Furthermore, we request that the school district follow the other recommendations as outlined in the American Academy of Pediatrics’ 2021 school guidelines, including mental health support, and testing resources. We should be spreading the word that BV County Public Health has free tests through Test Iowa. We understand that many people have pandemic fatigue, and that some people would be upset by a mask mandate, but the board has said it stands by science. The board is doing a great job of supporting the cause to vaccinate. Public health officials are also recommending masking. We ask that the board would listen to science in all aspects of the pandemic, rather than picking and choosing. In the August board meeting, the school board said their hands were tied due to the mask mandate ban. Well, the board’s hands have been at least momentarily untied. Please do what is BEST, not what is easiest, for our community, and mandate masks for all people at Storm Lake Community School District. After a federal judge blocked the mask mandate ban on Monday, September 13th, the district sent out an email stating they were seeking legal council, leading us to believe there will not be a timely decision. Two Iowa school districts have already announced they will be enforcing a mask mandate starting Wednesday, September 15th. If they can do it, so can we. We ask for a mask mandate vote to be made at the regular school board meeting on Wednesday, September 15th. Taking additional time to make this decision could cost us more lives in our community. We don’t want to live the rest of our lives in masks. Somewhat soon, we are hopeful that vaccines will be available for children under 12, and hopefully then (or maybe even before then!) we will see cases decrease dramatically in our county, state, and country, and we can all move on with our lives! But, as long as we are legally able, and until deaths and hospitalizations of Covid-19 are no more common than those of influenza in a usual year, we ask that the Storm Lake Community School District mandate masks for all people in schools and outside where distancing of 6 feet is not being practiced. Sincerely, and with great concern, The people of Storm Lake Community School District 1. https://www.aap.org/en/news-room/news-releases/aap/2021/american-academy-of-pediatrics-updates-recommendations-for-opening-schools-in-fall-2021/ 2. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/k-12-guidance.html 3. https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view 4. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/variants/delta-variant.html 5. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/buena-vista-iowa-covid-cases.html 6. https://www.stormlakepilottribune.com/story/2902601.html

We urge President Joe Biden to cancel all federal student loan debt for all nurses and nursing students. In doing so, he can help solve the nursing shortage as more people will be inspired to go into nursing as a profession.

As Catholics, we know that religious leaders cannot separate us from the love of God, and we will not let them abuse their power to score political points with the right wing.

UPDATE: The House of Representatives has passed the Women's Health Protection Act! Call on the Senate to do the same. SCOTUS has let the most extreme abortion ban in the nation go into effect in Texas. This law bans abortion at 6-weeks before most people even know they are pregnant and puts a 10k bounty on those who seek to help people receive the abortion care they need. If SCOTUS won't step up, we need Congress to act. Congress must immediately pass the Women's Health Protection Act. The Women’s Health Protection Act, which was just reintroduced in Congress, would stop the Republican onslaught of anti-abortion and abortion-restrictive legislation coming out of state legislatures across the country. It would block states from creating barriers to care and would protect health service providers' ability to offer abortion care. Sign our petition now and tell Congress to protect an individual’s right to choose.

Florida is facing a public health emergency, and DeSantis is doing nothing to protect our families. The State Board of Education and the Governor have nevertheless ruled that private school vouchers will be expanded, and districts that violate the mandate will lose state funding. This is how our state's governor plans to enforce his mask mandate ban in schools. The truth is that the governor seems to be merely playing politics. In collaboration with county health professionals, schools and students must determine the optimal procedures for safeguarding students and ensuring they receive the necessary support. The absurdity of DeSantis is on full display with recent news. DeSantis signed an executive order allowing parents to decide whether or not their children should wear masks, many Florida school districts still insist that students wear them. And now, Broward and Alachua school districts were sanctioned by the Florida Board of Education for violating Governor Ron DeSantis' order banning masks in schools. As a result of the decision, districts that mandated the use of masks early in the school year faced their first round of consequences for mandating them. Richard Corcoran, the state Education Commissioner, announced Monday that state funds have been withheld from Alachua and Broward county school districts. The ways in which DeSantis is strapping educators' hands in protecting our teachers and students is unacceptable. Even more troubling is DeSantis' claim that Regeneron is the solution to Covid-19, instead of effective social distancing and mask usage. But this just further highlights DeSantis’ ulterior motives. Among DeSantis' largest benefactors is Citadel, a Chicago-based hedge fund that owns 15.9 million Regeneron shares. Ken Griffin, CEO of Citadel Investment Group, has donated $10.75 million to a political party that supports Ron DeSantis - $5.75 million in 2018 and $5 million in April 2021. Regeneron was promoted at four events by DeSantis in one week. Since announcing the vaccine passport ban in May, he has failed to hold a public event that explicitly promotes vaccines. DeSantis' ulterior motives are clear. It's time to tell DeSantis not to use our children and our communities as political pawns. Florida needs a mask mandate in every county that is experiencing a positivity rate above 5% and/or a hospital bed occupancy rate above 85%. Putting these safeguards in place will help our state move on from this crisis. Sources NBC News, Florida sanctions school districts for mandating that students wear masks. (2021, August 17). https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/florida-sanctions-school-districts-mandating-students-wear-masks-n1277031 NPR, Some Florida School Districts Will Require Masks. The Governor May Cut Their Funding. (2021, August 6). Some Florida School Districts Will Require Masks. The Governor May Cut Their Funding. https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/08/06/1025192746/some-florida-school-districts-will-require-masks-the-governor-may-cut-their-fund Salon, Ron Desantis and Regeneron: Fl governor stops vaccine promotion in favor of treatment used by Trump. (2021, August 18). https://www.salon.com/2021/08/18/ron-desantis-and-regeneron-is-a-gop-donor-the-reason-why-floridas-governor-wont-promote-vaccines/ West Palm Beach News, Florida's State Board of Education to consider mask mandate ban enforcement rule. (2021, August 5). https://www.wptv.com/news/education/floridas-state-board-of-education-to-consider-mask-mandate-ban-enforcement-rule

For LWSD Families, teachers, staff, and community members: If you feel this initiative aligns with your preferences, we strongly encourage you to consider signing this petition to demonstrate your support. Additionally, by signing this petition, you help articulate to school leadership the level of interest for the rain or shine outdoor eating option and the importance of 6-feet spacing for indoor lunches. LWSD Teachers & Staff We fully support our outstanding LWSD teachers and staff and applaud the dedication and work each has done to provide the best possible learning environment for our students. This option serves to keep teachers and staff safe while elevating the unique LWSD student experience. LWSD Leadership Please help us. Indoor, 3 feet or less spaced, unmasked eating is a dangerous proposition. Science tells us this. Our local laws and federal government underscore this (pre-vaccine) by limiting and temporarily closing indoor dining when community spread rates were high. Implementing new and sudden protocols may be inconvenient - and even expensive, but in the final analysis, it is the right thing to do for the health of our students, our schools, and our community. * There are elementary school principals fully on board and supportive of this effort and for that, we are encouraged.