This is important as people are dying everyday and the numbers are spiking yet the hospitals again are brining in non-emergent patient which take up beds. We only have a finite amount of hospital beds and why are we using them in ways that work against the pandemic and resources needed.

It doesn't matter what city or state you are in, nurses all deal with the same day-to-day challenges. When we encounter people at the hospital its when they are feeling their worst, they're scared, and some don't know how to express what they want so nurses are their advocates. The state of TN's average wage for a nurse in the hospital setting is 32% below national average (mind blowing). When I make this point people say "well the cost of living...". In reality, yes there's no state tax and the cost of buying a home is cheaper. Everything else is relatively the same. Another point I'd like to point out is the minimum wage in TN is $7.25 and a new grad nurse (in the Knoxville area) is started at $19.05/hour. That's a $11.80 difference. The state of CA's minimum wage is $13 hour and starts their nurses around $54/hour - a $41 difference. How are you going to justify that being equal due to the "cost of living". How do you justify a Target employee in Knoxville starting at $15/hour to a Registered Nurse starting at $19.05?? On top of the pay not being justifiable, we don't get holiday pay nor compensation if we end up getting COVID-19. Things need to change, nurses need and should to be paid much better than they are in the state of TN. Please help support us in making efforts to change this and receive the compensation we deserve.

Rahm Emanuel‘s decisions and policies as mayor had a disproportionate and racist impact on Black communities, and his agenda aided corporations and the wealthy at the expense of working Chicagoans. To aid his re-election campaign in 2015, he suppressed video footage of the 2014 murder of a 17-year-old Black child, Laquan McDonald, by Chicago police. He made history by closing 50 public schools across Chicago, primarily in the majority-Black South and West Side communities of the city—the most school closures at one time in any school districts in the nation. During his first year in office, his administration shut down half of the public mental health clinics across Chicago. Soon after taking office, he eliminated the city’s Department of Environment, and as a result, environmental regulation dropped considerably. Communities of color throughout Chicago have borne the brunt of this decision, and thousands of people (primarily Black families) have been exposed to chemical hazards and irritants as a result. And while his administration was consistently slashing public services and utilities, the city funded the construction of a brand-new, $95-million police academy on Chicago’s West Side. The Department of Transportation has unions representing over 38,000 employees at the federal and national level. As mayor of Chicago, in addition to closing 50 schools, Emanuel repeatedly attacked public unions by supporting legislation that would make it harder for teachers to strike, laid off hundreds of school staff, and threatened to lay off hundreds of city employees in order to privatize some city services. Emanuel served big business and corporate interests throughout his time as mayor, and his decisions disproportionately harmed working families and communities of color. We have no reason to believe that he’d act any differently as a member of President-elect Biden’s Cabinet. President-elect Biden is taking office during a time of deep, overlapping crises. His administration will need to be bold, ambitious, and transformative and will need to speak to the needs of everyday people, and he needs to stand up for Black communities, as he said he would last month. His appointees must reflect that vision. Rahm Emanuel's track record is an affront to everything we voted for—especially to Black Americans—and he should have no place in the new administration.

I am a parent of two Denver Public Schools middle and high school students. My children’s health, happiness and social and academic successes are important to me as they are for all parents. Transitioning into the teenage years, their bodies naturally adjust to staying up later and sleeping in (when given the opportunity) yet they still need 8 to 10 hours of sleep each night.  The current early morning start times in DPS are detrimental to their success as students and threaten their overall health.   Quality and quantity of sleep matter at all ages, but sleep is especially critical for teens. Growth and development occur during sleep and adequate sleep leads to improved attention span, attitude and overall improved health and wellness. What’s more, lack of sleep or poor quality sleep can have detrimental effects on the immune system and are tied to higher levels of stress. According to sleep specialist Wendy Troxel, a behavioral and social scientist with Rand Corp., “Research consistently finds inadequate sleep in teens is associated with increased risk of mental and physical health problems, including depression, suicide and obesity. It also creates problems with their concentration, memory, and ability to learn.” I understand that transportation logistics propose a hurdle to making schedule changes. However, we know that several other large, metro-area districts, as well as large school districts across the country, have successfully transitioned to a later start time for teens. During this unprecedented time, we have the opportunity to work solve these logistical problems and to create transportation schedules that support later start times for our middle and high schools when they return in-person learning. This petition requests that DPS create a new schedule for middle and high school students by implementing later start times to begin in the 2021-2022 school year. The science and social benefits are well documented, but here some articles that highlight important aspects of changing to a later start time:     https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/features/schools-start-too-early.html https://www.rwjf.org/en/blog/2018/02/three-reasons-to-consider-later-school-start-times.html https://www.nationaljewish.org/conditions/health-information/multimedia/facebook-live/why-do-teens-sleep-later https://www.rand.org/blog/2019/08/im-a-sleep-specialist-heres-how-i-prepare-my-two-teenagers.html https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2015/10/among-teens-sleep-deprivation-an-epidemic.html Show your support to implement later start times by signing this petition!

This is very important because our loved ones are possibly going to get sick and not make it home to their families, wife’s and children by the prison spreading the virus and treating them as if they are not human.

This is important because people are dying from the out of control spreading of Covid-19 and there is no plan to recover set in place.

If Trump is re-elected, many more people will die. If Biden is elected there will be a Federal response to the pandemic that will be based in science and thereby effectively save people that Trump's malignant neglect will condemn to death. Your current position on the Task Force leaves you beholden to the President and forces you to blunt your warnings to the American people. But as in other epidemics, silence = death! As directed by the Hippocratic oath, by basic ethics, and by your evident compassion for the plight of all peoples, you cannot continue in this compromised position. You can't control Trump, but plain speaking directly to the American people will save thousands of lives. We call on you to resign and speak your mind plainly and without equivocation.

We alumni, faculty and current students of University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, wish to make it known that we believe that medical science conflicts with several claims made and opinions expressed by Scott Atlas, class of 1981. At Pritzker, when we shift from lectures to clinics, a White Coat Ceremony is held, emphasizing honesty, integrity, ethics, compassion, and scientific rigor. These values are instilled in us throughout our tenure in medical school, and without them it seems one would neither be admitted nor permitted to graduate. For this reason we are shocked and dismayed to see an alum acting in such a way as Dr. Atlas. We do not support his policy recommendations that he says are backed by science. It is difficult to come to a positive conclusion about his motives when his incorrect statements fall so directly in line with a president that flouts science on a regular basis. Specifically, based on current scientific data, we support: 1) The use of masks to decrease the spread of SARS-CoV-2; 2) The use of extensive testing/tracking/surveillance strategies as a way to track COVID and prevent spread; 3) The closing of schools, institutions, or communities in cases where the spread exceeds the ability of the hospital system to care for those falling ill; 4) The use of personal and community-wide measures in addition to vaccines (if approved) to control spread as opposed to allowing spread without such measures. In all, we feel abandoned by our colleague, who is spreading false information to the world through the willing platform of news agencies and the president. We seek a future where science will stand for itself, unpoliticized, for the greater good of the people. Sincerely, The Students, Alumni and Faculty of the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine

People’s lives are important! The trust that the vaccine development has been free from political influence is essential to get people to take the vaccine. People need to take the vaccine to curb the pandemic once and for all.

Chris Wallace, the moderator of the first presidential debate of the 2020 election, said that Donald Trump was not tested for COVID-19 before participating in the debate because he didn't show up on time. In fact, presidential candidates were accepted on the honor system and were not expected to show their coronavirus tests results to anyone. This is unacceptable and dangerous. Three days after the debate, Trump tested positive for COVID-19, and it's not clear whether he had already been infected at the time of the debate. Despite Trump’s positive test, and hospitalization, Trump nor the White House will release any information about his tests prior to Thursday’s positive test. Including when his last negative test was. And now, Donald Trump, who is currently infected with the coronavirus, is stating that he is ready to debate Joe Biden again.The CDC recommends that anyone who was admitted to a hospital and needed oxygen should stay in isolation for up to 20 days after their symptoms first appeared due to the risk of infection for others and should have 2 negative coronavirus tests in a row to be in the clear. No one should be put at risk again or have their word accepted on the honor system when it comes to a global pandemic, especially after Donald Trump has already potentially exposed numerous people to the coronavirus as a result of his irresponsible behavior. As a safety precaution, the Commission on Presidential Debates, the organization tasked with coordinating the general election debates, must take immediate action to ensure the safety of candidates and everyone attending the upcoming vice presidential and presidential debates. The vice presidential debate is scheduled for October 7, and the two remaining presidential debates are planned for October 15 and October 22. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the debates have become a life-or-death situation. The health of the presidential and vice presidential candidates and the safety of all involved in the debates are on the line. We cannot take this lightly.

There can be no true justice in America until there is actions coupled with the apologies for the North America slave trade.

We should not have a defeated President naming a Justice for life in the last few months of his term. McConnell blocked Obama’s Garland appointment in Obama’s last YEAR.