Lucky the elephant, held at the San Antonio Zoo, is to be kept in solitary confinement for the rest of her life, despite the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' bylaw that states that elephants in captivity must be kept with at least two other elephants, which will be active in 2016. The Tennessee Elephant Sanctuary has offered to take Lucky in, but Steve McCusker, the former director of the San Antonio Zoo, claims that she is "weird" and too old to be moved into a sanctuary with other elephants. The San Antonio Zoo has been rated by In Defense of Animals as the No. 1 WORST zoo in the country, and Lucky's circumstances are proof of just that.

Freedom and equality depend on each citizen having free and equal influence on the government they live under. The only way that is possible is for each citizen to vote directly on the laws and not for representatives that make and vote on the laws. See T. Paine and T. Jefferson statement on assosactualdemocracy.com.

1. Cannot manage clients or employees (add, delete, edit). 2. Difficult to manage visit maintenance (using Santrax or agency management software). 3. Provide 3rd party software with better integration features. Please share your experience in the comments. We will continue to update this petition with your feedback. More to come...

China is killing our precious cats and dogs by skinning them alive for their fur!!! I feel I have to share this in order to put a stop to fur trade in China, you may ask yourself "what can I do? I am only one person and how can I make a difference?" yes you can make a difference, don't buy any fur coats or coats with fur trimming, get a petition going, send it to your politicians, if enough people are involved and are aware of what's going on this atrocity will eventually stop!, our precious dogs and cats were given to us from GOD for love and companionship, they are a gift and we must do everything in our power to help them! even if you are not an animal lover you will agree that this is just simply wrong! and that you will try to help in some way or another! remember this quote: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing"

After wasting millions suing the Obama administration and dissing Texas women, Abbott collected $100+ THOUSAND in donations from Farmer’s Insurance while negotiating a “sweetheart deal” with the company that hurts homeowners. Abbott accepted $100 THOUSAND from the Koch brothers, who have chemical interests in Texas, while ruling that explosive chemical locations can be kept secret from parents and all Texans, Abbot took $1 MILLION from law firms while approving $20+ Billion in contracts that financially benefitted those firms. Abbott harvested $300 THOUSAND from payday lenders while letting them prey on hardworking Texans. Abbott deposited $500 THOUSAND from his donors while letting them take $42 MILLION in taxpayer money meant for cancer research.

Just recently the city of west Chicago, slammed a note on my door saying REMOVE CHiCkENS aND ROOSTERS, after 5 years or raising and breeding chickens, this happened. Our chickens are more than just animals and food supply their our pets!! We are very saddened by this news, but if you help myself in signing this petition, we can work on getting the ordinance changed allowing myself and others to own and raise chickens!!! Sign below!! Please share!

The Democratic National Committee is deciding where to hold the 2016 Democratic National Convention, and five cities are still under consideration—including Phoenix. Phoenix is unacceptable. Arizona’s SB 1070 is still on the books, and police continue to profile and harass Latinos because of the way they look. It would be a very divisive move, and disrespectful to a growing constituency in the Democratic Party. Other cities would unite our party and allow us to focus on the task at hand in 2016—retaining the White House, expanding our Senate majority, taking back the House and finally enacting comprehensive immigration reform. Sign the petition to the DNC: Say “no” to Phoenix in 2016.

I don't think the major shareholders understand the true loyalty we feel toward Market Basket. If they think they can sell the name and the brand to just anyone, they are wrong and misguided. This petition was started to show them just how wrong they may be.

It is time to call for an end to the campaign of hate against Obama. Why? Why? Why? Why do they hate this successful President so much? Even when he uses their policies or supports their position they will abandon their own ideas just to continue to hate him; so, what is it that they really hate about him? It is time to face the truth and finally admit that the Republican party has officially become the party of hate towards a man, (our President) because of the color of his skin; and no matter how much they try to deny it… their behavior reveals the truth. Why would almost every Republican Governor deny medical coverage to their poor people who desperately need medical support from a plan based on a Republican Governor’s administration and plan originated by a Republican think tank (the Heritage Foundation)… We all know that just like the nation has had to apologize to its citizens for allowing past transgressions; (Japanese Internment, human syphilis experimentation on African Americans, the Native American trail of tears… etc.)… in the future we will all know that there will be formal apologies to this President from a new generation of American leaders (true Republican leaders). Cut the crap… it is time to stop this outrage right now… and all Americans must stand up to the radical few!

We need to stop the cradle to prison pipeline. Give all kids a chance at meaningful lives. Emphasize prevention of crime.

Hello neighbor! If you live in Strathmore at Appletree point and own your home, I am asking for your support. Some of you I have had the pleasure of speaking with in person, but for those of you I haven't met yet, I'd like to explain why I am asking you to sign our petition to permit residents of Strathmore at Appletree Point to raise hens. Two and a half years ago we embarked on a family adventure. That winter we were buying our Christmas tree at a farm that also sold eggs. Our daughter Sofia (11 at the time) asked if we could raise chickens to have our own eggs. We told her “sure, if you do all the research about it, and agree to take care of them.” Much to our surprise, she did, and Tom (after we checked with our immediate neighbors) found himself building a coop. For two years now we have been enjoying their funny personalities and their delicious eggs. They have become much-loved pets. Several months ago we received notice from the Board that chickens were not allowed at Appletree Point and they would have to go. We knew Burlington allowed residents to raise hens, and we had no idea that the neighborhood rules were any different. Much to our surprise, we discovered Strathmore bylaws, which were drafted more than 20 years ago, prohibit the raising of any number of chickens. We were shocked; our hens are clean and quiet and don’t bother anyone. In fact, most Appletree residents we have spoken with didn’t realize that there have been chickens living amongst them for two years! This rule is sadly outdated. As part of the local food movement, cities and towns across the nation are enacting “hen friendly” legislation. People everywhere are learning about the fun and positive aspects of raising backyard chickens. Help us save our hens, and help change the neighborhood bylaw that will allow us to join this national movement. Therefore, we propose that: Strathmore at Appletree Point’s bylaws be amended to align with the city of Burlington’s current policy regarding the raising of hens. Written approval from each adjacent property owner regarding both existence and placement of the hen’s housing structure (i.e. coop) be required. Animal care will be guided by published “best practice” regulations and education. Hens may not roam free and must be in a secure enclosure allowing up to 10 square feet of space per hen. The hen coop must be screened and not visible from the street. Complaints regarding improper hen raising will be heard by the Board, and will follow the Board’s usual procedure for resolving neighborhood disputes. If you are a resident and own your property, click here to sign the petition: http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/petition-to-allow-residents?source=c.em&r_by=11009232 Do you need more information before you decide? Have you heard negative things about chicken raising? Let me address your concerns. Myth 1. Chickens are too noisy. Fact: Laying hens—at their loudest—have about the same decibel level as human conversation (60 to 70 decibels). Hens are so quiet that there have been cases of family flocks being kept for years without the next door neighbors knowing it. Myth 2. Chickens cause waste. Fact: A 40-pound dog generates more solid waste than 10 chickens. To be more specific, one 40-pound dog generates about .75 pounds of poop every day. Ten chickens generate about .66 pounds daily poop. The advantage to chicken poop is that it can be used as valuable, high-nitrogen fertilizer. Unlike dog or cat poop, chicken poop can be combined with yard and leaf waste to create compost. Just as valuable, about 40 percent of the chicken manure is organic matter necessary for building fertile, healthy topsoil. There is one huge advantage to family flocks that is often overlooked during chicken debates. That is their role and value in solid waste management systems. Chickens, as clucking civic workers, are biomass recyclers and can divert tons of organic matter from the trash collection and landfills. Combine their manure with grass clippings, fallen leaves and garden waste, and you create compost. Composting with chicken helpers keeps tons of biomass out of municipal trash collection systems. All this can save big time taxpayer dollars, which is especially valuable in these times of stressed municipal budgets. Myth 3. Chickens attract predators, pests and rodents. Fact: Predators and rodents are already living in urban areas. Wild bird feeders, pet food, gardens, fish ponds, bird baths and trash waiting to be collected all attract raccoons, foxes, rodents and flies. Indeed, chickens are part of the solution to pesky problems. Chickens are voracious carnivores and will seek out and eat just about anything that moves including ticks (think Lyme disease), fleas, mosquitoes, grasshoppers, stink bugs, slugs, and even mice, baby rats and small snakes. Myth 4. Property values will decrease. Fact: There is not one single documented case that we know of about a next door family flock that has decreased the value of real estate. On the contrary, local foods and living green is so fashionable, that some realtors and home sellers are offering a free chicken coop with every sale. An example of this can be found at www.GreenWayNews.com. And the benefits of raising backyard hens? Hens produce affordable fresh, healthy and delicious home-grown eggs, free of pesticides and antibiotics. They produce rich garden fertilizer via chicken waste by-products, which is high in nitrogen, eliminating the need for petrochemical fertilizers. They reduce backyard pest populations, through the consumption of bugs by hens. Hens make great pets, as their behavior is interesting and entertaining. They are people-friendly, quiet, and unaggressive. What about this cold, cold winter we’ve just been through? Although it’s true chickens don’t love the snow, and would rather sit on a little girl’s head than get their feet in it, they are hardy and don’t require muc...

After finding out about banfield I thought it was a good idea to get the wellness plan for my 2 year old husky who was perfectly fine, probably the healthiest dog in the world. After he got his vaccines, which were for the lepto, rabies, parvo and bordetella, he started feeling weak and lost his appetite a month after that. I took him back to find out what it was and they thought there was something wrong with his stomach, I knew there wasn't anything wrong with his stomach because when you felt up his abdomen he didn't complain or anything but since I'm not an expert I trusted what the doctor said. He gave him antibiotics for an infection, to control diarrhea and throw up which was $300, I didn't mind the cost because I thought I was saving money with the wellness plan plus it was going to my dog who was my best friend. After he was done with the medication he was feeling worse and didn't eat AT ALL, he was loosing weight so fast and didn't have any energy. I took him back and they thought it was either parvo or endocrine disease so I paid for more test which were $500. They told me it was parvo virus so I bought antibiotics for parvo which were $200 and I did my own research of things i could do to fasten the treatment so he could get better. Another month went by and he was worse than ever, he went from being 70 pounds to almost 30, he still tried to run but he barely had any muscle, fat or energy left. I called them to make an appointment because the treatment wasn't working and they told me it was actually leptospirosis. After a month of trying to fight parvo they told me it was another thing. I did more research on it so i could help my dog out and i saw an article about a woman talking about her dog dying because of the vaccines so I started to look more into it. I learnt that a dog should NEVER get more than one shot at a time because animals have different immune systems and that it takes at least one or two months to recover, Bear had 4 on the same day. On the same page I saw a comment about a girl who was a vet tech and worked at banfield but quit because she saw so many dogs overdose and when a dog gets more than 1 shot their immune system can get so low that they actually get the diseases they got vaccinated for. The leptospirosis shot Bear got is supposed to be an independent shot but banfield gave him 3 more shots along with that and made him suffer without helping him. Bear passed away yesterday and I am frustrated i can't do any justice for him because its their policy. I advise anyone that is looking into going to banfield to go to another vet, don't think your saving money because of the wellness plan since it's a year contract I have to finish paying off for my dead dog. I'm not the only person this has happened to, it's not fair for animals to suffer because of this chain that's in it for the money. Please help me do justice for bear.