Southern state Democrats have been consistently left out of the Presidential campaign trail despite of these being some of the most diverse states in the country. Stacey Abrams is the most prominent national voice fighting voter suppression and advocates for our concerns, particularly affecting people in the South.

Every day millions of patients with medical issues or patients who need necessary procedures are denied proper coverage by their health insurance providers. The patient/s are forced to use less effective drugs or go without due to the fact that they cannot afford the cost. My question is - under what basis do they have the right to tell you which drug or procedure they will pay for? The effective results are the insurance companies are dictating care and practicing medicine without a license. Insurance companies should not be allowed to lessen a persons quality and longevity based on their profitability. Every month the insurance providers take billions of dollars from consumers and then refuse coverage due to their desire to maximize unfair and exorbitant profits. Please help me be David in this David and Goliath fight!!

Without proper regulatory oversight, SD becomes a safe haven for untrained and unqualified practitioners. Patients deserve the right to know that their practitioners have proper training, education, professional ethics, board certification, and ongoing training that ensures that they receive the highest quality care. Acupuncture has been proven to be an effective and affordable treatment option for chronic pain, opioid use/abuse, PTSD/depression/anxiety, and acute pain conditions. The practice of acupuncture is currently being utilized within the Department of Defense, the Veterans Administration, large medical centers, and, most recently, has been adopted into Medicare coverage for the treatment of chronic low back pain. In South Dakota, the VA Healthcare System has already contracted with several private acupuncture practices around the state for many years to provide quality, non-pharmacological treatment to thousands of veterans in need. In states that have recently adopted acupuncture practice acts, the state has seen a nearly immediate increase in the number of professional acupuncturists moving to the state and contributing to commerce, as well as expanding access to treatment for the residents. Acupuncture regulation is good for state economic growth and development, as well as direct patient care. Please tell SD legislators that it is time to save South Dakota acupuncture!

The issue with Gun Violence has gotten out of control and we believe this program will help reduce the numbers drastically. The need for the Prevention of these crimes has become undeniable and we have conducted our own research to get us to the point we could design a program able to make a change. The commitment to change has to come from the individuals in the program and then we can proceed with the transformation. Our research leads us to believe that we must guide each person through the process and take the responsibility to make sure each one makes it through successfully. Obstacles in life always jump up and distract those in the process of changing so it's imperative that we anticipate these things and be there with the necessary adjustments needed to complete their change. Graduating them to a good paying job, life skills and a stable place for them to live and grow will show them they have already made the change from the type of people who would throw it all away to the ones that think things through and value what they have to lose. This is how we create better members of society is from making them proud to be a part of this society. This is how we will Save Our Streets, we must challenge everyone to do their part in making this work. Therefore we are initiating this challenge to everyone in the community from business owners and our corporate community to the volunteers and mentors who plan to be more hands on with the members of our program. We believe it will take a village to solve this matter and we must be committed to our community to change it. Written by: Steven Lamar

More importantly, the Mayor of Durham, Hon. Steve Schewel, has already verbally expressed his understanding, agreement and support for the establishment of such community Facility during his visit on January 15th, 2020. In just a few short years we have had a population growth spurt which has tripled the size of the North section of the City due to aggressive residential Real Estate Development. However, the children and seniors of these tens of thousands of new Residents have no Community Recreational Facility and therefore play in the street which is unsafe, unnecessary and unacceptable.

Taxpayer money is being wasted. The homeless black and white man are forgotten, forced into deplorable situations, and told by the shelter board we are screwed and not a priority. The taxpayer is paying for a system that can change and we can be in jobs, out of the shelter system faster, and not even in subsidized housing, not in section 8, not in assisted living, but in our own homes. We do not have to stand by, wasting hard earned taxpayer dollars, and just accept the norm and say things cant change, we are screwed. Things can change. Perceptions of those forgotten and left behind can be challenged. Help can be obtained. We will not be silent any longer.

Currently, Publix Grocery is the only pharmacy in the nation that allows customers to bring back their consumer pharmacy bottles for recycling. With much success, Publix customers returned more than 8.2 million Publix Pharmacy vials for recycling in 2018 alone. CVS Pharmacy is the largest retail pharmacy in the nation and is estimated to serve over five million customers daily. Join me in urging CVS Pharmacy to allow customers to return pharmacy prescription bottles for recycling, and prevent unnecessary waste from entering our landfills.

President Trump is proposing changes to disability insurance (SSDI and SSI) that would impact an estimated 2.6 million people with disabilities, many of whom are families with children. Families like Kara’s in North Carolina: “My son is on the autism spectrum, he has other health issues that limit what he is able to eat, and he has horrible anxiety. He’s never been able to attend a regular school—we had to pull him out at the age of 7 because he would get so anxious and have hallucinations. On top of that, I have serious health issues. I have had 7 back surgeries and I’m on 19 different prescriptions. I’m a fall risk. I’m in bed a lot. I have blurry vision, narcolepsy and Behcet’s Disease (an autoimmune disease). I worked as a therapist but eventually had to close my practice. My husband works from home so he can take care of us but because of that he can’t advance in his career. I started applying for disability and was denied twice. Then I got a lawyer and it took forever for me to get a hearing and eventually get approved for disability insurance. SSDI got us to the point that we weren’t terrified all the time. We can breathe. If we lose it I don’t know what we will do. I’m terrified by President Trump’s proposal quite honestly.” We'll be submitting our official comment on Trump's proposed federal rule change on disability insurance and we want to make sure your signature is included.

Failure to enforce this law is seen as encouraging the breaking of the law, empowering those who wish to silence protest, thus making the city and police department culpable in the event of injury or death resulting from aggressive action against those who peacefully assemble. Tell our city officials to enforce the law. Demand they make our gatherings safe for all citizens to attend. A city where parents can safely bring their children to rallies to witness the exercising of their First Amendment Rights, without fear of exposing them to violence or foul language .

Update 1/29/2020: SCR 1613 passed the state senate by 2 votes. The house is expected to have a debate it soon, possibly Thursday 2/6. Please call your state house rep. and make sure they know how upsetting this is. This amendment would make it possible for Kansas to set even more restrictions on the right to an abortion, with no regard for a woman’s health. The politicians and organizations behind this dangerous amendment want to ban all abortions -- no matter what. We need to trust women, not politicians. However we may feel individually about abortion, we know that it is better that each woman can make her own personal medical decisions, in consultation with her family, her faith, and the advice of her doctor.

The very integrity of the United States and the Presidency are at stake. Our core values are being challenged and wrong is wrong. Period.

health concerns cannot reject proposals to planning board or code offices right now due to 1996 law according to FCC. they have done no research on how cell towers emitting radiation have adverse or no effect on the environment of human lives. Research has been done by scientists but the FCC rejects this. People in Zurich are marching in the street protesting 5G. people across the country are trying to get their planning board to create ordinances to protect life. very difficult due to FCC ruling.