All black lives matter. No person shall be discriminated against based upon the color of their gender, sexual orientation, skin tone, economic status, social status, religious beliefs, or location. Everyone deserves adequate resources in order to live and thrive. Speaking out and standing against injustice is an essential human duty. There is a mutual duty to serve and protect between the community and its members. Acknowledge, respect, accept, and celebrate differences as well as commonalities. Believe in the power of words and their impact.

Aurora, Colorado’s police force is clearly dangerous — and it’s enabled by unaccountable police union leaders who prioritize abusive officers over true community safety. It’s time for the mayor, the police chief, and the city council to rein them in. Aurora officers murdered Elijah McClain almost a year ago. A few months later officers mocked and glorified the killing. Then just last month, community members holding a peaceful vigil of violin players — honoring McClain’s life and protesting his murder — were attacked by Aurora police in riot gear, with batons and pepper spray. The police unions’ response? Marc Sears, president of Aurora’s Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) went on offense, dismissing public criticism as completely unfounded and repeatedly attacking the city’s first openly LGBTQ city council member who has dared call for accountability. The Aurora Police Association, the city’s other police union, which has been silent since McClain’s death, finally spoke up last week — only to complain about the firing of one of the officers and launch a barrage of personal attacks on the police chief, not just decrying her actions but questioning her integrity. As these atrocities have come to light, there’s been no contrition, no apology, and far too little accountability. And Aurora’s police unions have been solely concerned with knee-jerk defense of officers and deflecting any honest conversation about the problems with the department and long-overdue reform. Mayor Mike Coffman says he’s committed to stopping police violence in Aurora and creating real change. But that can’t happen through negotiation between the city and Aurora’s police unions. Like police unions across the country, Aurora’s union leaders perpetuate a violent and unaccountable police culture, routinely defend abusive cops, try to win contracts that effectively put police above the law, and do everything they can to block reform. If they’re given influence over the process, they will block any meaningful change. If Coffman and the city council are serious, they’ll follow the lead of the mayor of Minneapolis and stop any negotiations with police unions about accountability and reform. If we can convince the city of Aurora to stop letting the police unions bargain over the policies and reforms that could hold police accountable, it will help pave the way for real change in Aurora, and send a message to other cities that they can break free of the power of police unions and finally have an opportunity for real change.

Statues of mass murderers, Confederate traitors, slave owners, and white supremacists have marred our land for far too long. Thankfully, the time has finally come to remove these material celebrations of racist oppression, and patriots throughout the land have wisely and courageously taken the initiative to do so. However, one official has foolishly called for these rejected statues to find a new home in the small town of America he manages. This effort to create a mecca for racism must be stopped. We the people, Newton Falls residents and/or US citizens, firmly reject the illegal and ill-advised proclamation by a local unelected official to unilaterally declare our town a depository for statues of mass murderers, Confederate traitors, slave owners, and white supremacists. No celebration of systemic racism, genocide, or white supremacy has any place in America The Beautiful. We resolutely reject the proposed denigration of our fair town into a mecca for racists and their ilk, and declare this shameful proclamation null and void. We shall overcome.

We need to prevent President Trump from aligning our country with Russia which has some kind of plan for America. Trump is Putin's stooge as Russia helped get him elected in 2016. Also, it has been reported that Trump doesn't want to hear anyone say negative things about Putin: Trump would throw a fit. We can't risk anymore degradation of our country in favor of Russia and the Taliban.

As San Francisco residents, San Francisco General Hospital patients and staff, and other concerned citizens, we urge the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, SF City Attorney Dennis Herrera, and the San Francisco General Hospital Foundation to remove Mark Zuckerberg’s name from our city’s prestigious public hospital. Mark Zuckerberg’s failure to stop hate, lies, racism, and disinformation from running rampant on Facebook is counter to the values San Franciscans hold dear. He is being pressured to change Facebook’s policies by companies throughout the country that have stopped advertising on Facebook to #StopHateForProfit. San Francisco should support these efforts and remove any mention of Mark Zuckerberg’s name from San Francisco General Hospital until he takes real action to protect the public from lies, hate, and disinformation on the platform he founded.

Hi! I'm Madeline i recently wrote an appeal to get the lgbtq+ panic defense banned What's the lgbtq+ panic defense? “The LGBTQ+ panic defense strategy (also called the ‘gay panic defense’ or ‘trans panic defense’) is a legal strategy that asks a jury to find that a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity/expression is to blame for a defendant’s violent reaction, including murder. It is not a free-standing defense to criminal liability, but rather a legal tactic used to bolster other defenses. When a perpetrator uses an LGBTQ+ panic defense, they are claiming that a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity not only explains — but excuses — a loss of self-control and the subsequent assault. By fully or partially acquitting the perpetrators of crimes against LGBTQ+ victims, this defense implies that LGBTQ+ lives are worth less than others.”So i assume you're pretty horrified something like this exists, well you can do something abt it. You could sign my petition!

It's important because we love him and he's served time for his part. He was sentenced to life without parole in 2006; the judge said he knew he was not the actual killer, but someone had to pay.

The name of the Washington team is defined as racial slur going back to at least 1898 printing of Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. But the possibility of a name change is finally within view. American Indian people and tribes have repeatedly called on the team to change the name for decades. Despite a claim that the team name “honors” indigenous people, the name itself is derogatory and comes to front the practice of collecting a bounty for “red skins” or scalps of Native men, women, and children murdered as part of this country’s history of genocide. The traditions of the team and its fans also reveal the racist nature of the name. The team’s logo is a racist caricature and the team fight song calls the players “Braves on the Warpath!” all calling up stereotypes of Indian “savages.” And some of the fans of the Washington team take the continuation of the name as permission to dress in costumes mocking and imitating Native people. The team name, its logo, all of these traditions are dehumanizing and perpetuate racism. According to a new UC Berkeley study, • 65% of Native Youth 18-24 year-olds found the Washington team name offensive. • 57% of people who feel highly connected to being Native American are offended by the Washington NFL team name. • Native American mascots cause higher rates of depression, suicide ideation, self-harm, and substance abuse in Native youth, and increased discrimination in schools against Native students. It’s clear. It is time for the Washington NFL team to #ChangeTheName and end its racist images and practices.

As of July 4th over 132,000 people in the US have lost their lives to COVID-19. Despite being six months into the pandemic, there are still many unanswered questions. However, what we do know for sure is that masking up is an effective way to prevent the spread of this virus. Wearing a mask prevents people with COVID-19 from spreading it to others. This is a crucial line of defense when combatting a virus that can be spread even if a person doesn't have symptoms. Governor Abbott knows these facts and agrees that we must all wear masks in public to keep Texas open. Governor Abbott states that he does not want to suppress Texas voters who may not have a mask. By not extending the mask order to polling locations he will, unintentionally, suppress voters who are, appropriately, fearful of contracting COVID-19. As an emergency room pediatrician I am gravely concerned that we will see increased cases related to this election. As a state we have all sacrificed so much, we cannot allow our elections to further fan the flames of the COVID-19 pandemic. Please, tell Governor Abbott to include election polling locations in the statewide mask mandate.

As of 2016, Norfolk police have killed twice as many people as any other agency in Virginia since 2010, according to a Virginian Pilot investigation. According to The Guardian newspaper, out of the 19 people shot and killed by police in the state of Virginia in 2016, seven of those were killed in the Hampton Roads area, with 5 of those deaths being in Norfolk alone. These issues are not "another place's problem." Members of Norfolk City Council have the ability to make concrete change and address the systematic abuse Black and Brown people experience everyday here in Norfolk.

The Chinese government is not only oppressing hundreds of thousands of members of the minority Uighur population in the Northwest Xinjiang region (placing them in concentration camps and under surveillance), it is also now being reported that they are forcefully sterilizing some of their women so that they may not grow their families and expand their population!! This gross violation of human rights and dignity is beyond shameful and heinous, but beyond any doubt, we as an individual consumers (and business leaders) can put an end to this by discontinuing our support of Chinese industry!! Money talks (and even more loudly among the wicked) and with enough pressure, The Ruling Communist Party will elect to liberate and end their persecution of the Uighurs rather than suffer severe economic hardship!! This boycott of Chinese products may be initially inconvenient and costly for us as consumers and businesses, but indeed, it will prove less costly than allowing evil and wickedness to continue to flourish throughout the earth!! We are all one one family, and as one body, none of us can reach our full potential and live our happiest and most fulfilling lives all the while ignoring the sufferings and hardships of our fellow brothers and sisters. Please be strong everybody!! Buy American, European, Japanese, or whatever, just don't buy Chinese, PLEASE!!

If we want reform we need to have police that are joining for the right reasons. A chief who’s not only a black woman herself but mother to a black son and grandchildren who’s spent most of her life in Richmond in the community making a difference is the leadership we need, not just in Richmond but in every goddamn community. Can you imagine what a police force full of Carols would be like? I can. George Floyd would be alive. Tamir Rice would be 18 right now. The chief of police should be a mother who’s children have grown up in a system that is racist and cruel. Someone who wants, “police need to change their mindset from warrior to guardian; it’s not us (police) Verses them (the people), we as police are part of the community, we are one. “ Richmond, tell Mayor Stoney we don’t need another macho man. We need a WOMAN who truly cares about the community as she’s part of it. We need a chief with a career like Carols. If we can’t truly abolish police then let’s change what sort of people become police. There should be no greater honor then serving your community, we’ve had enough of police ENFORCING their power, we need to flip that to truly serving and working for the people. We need kindness. We need selflessness. We need love. Tell Stoney Richmond should have a say in who is in charge of the folks who SERVE the community. And in my opinion it’s time for a woman to do the job men can’t.