On April 14th, the Trump administration announced that it would cut funding to the World Health Organization (WHO). This is a horrible move: The WHO coordinates initiatives to improve the health of communities around the world. President Trump is criticizing the WHO in order to distract the U.S. public from his own profound failure to address the Coronavirus pandemic. President Trump has repeatedly disregarded the advice and counsel of public health experts. The United States now has more infections and deaths than any other country on the planet. Tens of thousands of people in the U.S. have died. By cutting funding to the WHO, we're putting millions of people worldwide at risk to contract this deadly disease. And as long as health resources are underfunded, this Coronavirus will continue to spread, and our country and its people will remain in grave danger. Instead of spending vast amounts of money on wars and weapons for dictators, we should invest in the WHO and ensure our national security by protecting the health of all people. Tell the Trump administration and leaders in the US Congress: Restore full funding to the WHO now!

We are currently living through a global pandemic. The CDC recommends avoiding large gatherings and staying physically distanced from each other. These social distancing guidelines would be undermined if voters gather in crowds at polling locations to vote. As of the time that I am writing this petition(4/14/20), Rhode Island currently has 2,976 total confirmed cases of covid-19 and 73 confirmed deaths. These numbers have been retrieved from https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/. Our social distancing efforts would be undermined by holding elections as normal and forcing people into groups in confined spaces such as polling locations. In addition the votes that would be collected if the voting was held as normal would be significantly depressed as many polling workers/ volunteers and voters would opt to stay at home versus risking their lives or the lives of their loved ones to have a say in the democratic process. This is unacceptable when we have an alternative solution that will allow Rhode Islanders to vote while allowing them to stay safe at home.

As an ordained clergy person and seminary professor, I am witness to the stories of many colleagues in ministry during the COVID-19 pandemic. Clergy of many faiths have shared stories of mourning that has been interrupted by isolation and disrupted by distancing. Clergy are doing their best to provide funerals when no one can gather, and comfort families who have had to let their loved one die alone. Still, it is becoming more clear all the time that our country as a whole will need an opportunity to grieve the losses we have all felt. We especially need to honor those whose lives were taken by the virus while they were serving the common good as doctors, nurses, first responders, and other public servants. We call upon congress to provide leadership, making time and space for the nation to grieve together when the time is right. We call upon congress to close all government offices on that day, and ask other institutions to close as well. Let us be a nation that mourns together, even as we affirm the value of serving the common good. (photo: Mark Zastrow - creative commons)

The response for handling the coronavirus outbreak has put a lot of responsibility on states. This needs a Federal response way beyond the ability of any one state. It is the Federal government who can take critical steps to ensure we gain control over this pandemic. Right now our Healthcare system is stretched to the brink. Frontline Workers are walking into dangerous work conditions. These are healthcare workers, transit, grocery, janitors, childcare workers, domestic, delivery, and food processor workers. They do not have proper protective gear, and are not being compensated for working in unsafe conditions. And if they aren't safe, we aren't safe. Huge portions of communities of color are being more hard hit than any other communities. Many of these communities already have high incidents of compromised health and live in communities that are economically devastated. This crisis will widen that gap if we don't make structural changes. We are at an unemployment rate near Depression Era levels. Debt is going to mount high for workers and students if we don't' make large scale policy changes. This is why this isn't just a health issue. This is a moral issue, a medical issue, an economic issue, a legal issue and a voting rights issue. More people will die needlessly if we don't have an immediate federal surge in testing capacity. The Defense Production Act can ensure this happens. We need to manufacture tens of millions of tests, personal protective equipment, drugs that are in shortage, and any future vaccines and treatments when markets fail to do so. This dramatic surge is critical not only to test the sick, but test persons who appear to be healthy but may be asymptomatic and keep detecting it in the population and identify hotspots. This plan is asking for suspending consumer debt collection, moratorium on eviction and foreclosures, stop utility and water shutoffs, student loan debt cancellation, free healthcare for persons who have none, increase Social Security and Disability Benefits. Passage the Essential Workers Bill of Rights that will provide paid family and medical leave, give workers PPE to do job safely, give hazard pay, and all workers kept on payroll even if the need to stay home. Pass federal price gouging and conflict of interest laws. Require full disclosure of lobbying. Lastly, adopt mandatory reforms to ensure everyone can vote safely. Medical Needs, Economic Needs, Protection of Frontline Workers and Workers, Laws to Protect us from Carpetbaggers, Protection of our Voting Rights. These are all the Moral Issues of our time. Tell Congress to take the right path to recovery and a better future for us and future generations by signing Senator Warren's Coronavirus Recovery Plan.

On behalf of the Amazon personal shoppers, we have have been working diligently at Whole Foods Stores to help put food on the table to thousands of individuals during this COVID-19 pandemic. Sadly, after our hard day's work and end of shifts- we end up going, yet to another supermarket or a 99cents store in the hope of finding food we can afford- as we do not receive the 20% discount that all the whole foods employees receive. We wait in long lines outside with inclement weather, instead of shopping where we work, and go home to get a good nights rest. With your help, the 20% discount extended to Amazon personal shopper employees (as all the Whole Foods employees receive currently), would also have a greater benefit in getting to know the products personally, that we sell to customers. It would mean providing knowledgeable replacements- and that can only happen if we buy the items and try them personally. A great salesperson is the best P.R. person of the products they sell- and customers can tell the difference, Thank you in advance Mr Bezos for your prompt attention and approving the discount to the Amazon Shoppers- your response is urgently appreciated.

Independent Beauty Professionals rely on the income from clients. We cannot perform a haircut online. While the “beauty industry is deemed “Non essential”, the ability to practice our craft and make a living is very ESSENTIAL to our livelihood. A lot of us did not qualify for Unemployment. A lot of us did not receive any business Loans. A lot of us have not received a Stimulus Check yet. We are facing a grave financial hardship.

There is absolutely no need to have all the lights and advertisements going 24/7 when there’s no one there to see them anyway. It’s 100% waste.

Millions of Americans have been asked to stay home from work and school in order to stop the spread of coronavirus. That's hard to do without access to high speed broadband. The United States still has a huge digital divide. Many homes don't have reliable internet or broadband. Some workers are using dialup to connect to their job. Some parents are using cell phones to get access to their children's schoolwork. It's unfair and unjust that millions of Americans are going every day without access to the internet during this pandemic. Congress is debating the next round of stimulus and is considering including billions for broadband. But it's in danger of getting cut out once again. We need your help right now to make sure this passes.

Americans still want to believe in the power and beauty of democracy in our United States. We value the citizens, voters and voices in our communities. We respect and value women, we believe women. So while we also believe that a person is innocent until proven guilty, we cannot in good conscience vote for a candidate who has looming sexual assault allegations. All voters deserve a candidate who is free from such controversies and the DNC needs to take the accusations against Mr. Biden as seriously as its voters do. It is unconscionable that the Democratic Party would support a candidate with so many potential skeletons in his closet, especially in our post-MeToo culture. By supporting Biden as the nominee, the DNC would effectively be saying they don’t believe women. By moving forward with Biden as the nominee, the DNC would also be alienating voters who demand a candidate be not only a smart choice but an ethical one. We need a candidate we can vote for without becoming a party of hypocrites (only outraged when the accused isn't one of our own). If the DNC provides no alternative to Biden as the presidential nominee, they will be degrading their own integrity. The result will be disillusioned voters and fewer people voting for the Democratic candidate in November. We won’t simply “vote blue no matter who” because we will NOT be manipulated by fear of another Trump presidency. The danger of losing our own integrity and of losing strength in the Democratic Party (making way for future Trumps to be elected) is far greater. We won’t “vote blue no matter who” when we haven’t been given a candidate who deserves of our votes. We will vote our conscience for a candidate who represents the honesty and respectability that we want our country’s name to evoke. We will not settle for less. The DNC must not make Joe Biden our nominee. There are alternatives. Please show us that we can still be proud to vote blue, and that the Democratic Party is still a party with integrity. There’s no limit to what we can do with a united party, but we may not be able win in November if we don’t get everyone on board with a candidate we can trust! We know our voices matter: if you want to count on our votes, first be a party we can count on.

Major platforms including MoveOn agree: America's weak and inconsistent emergency response has let the Covid-19 pandemic kill thousands more people than necessary. And it's not over. Trump squandered precious weeks -- denying, delaying and lying about emergency preparedness and the severity of Covid-19. "A hoax," he said, "like impeachment." Let's give credit where credit is due: it's the Trump Virus. This is important for three reasons: 1) Naming is powerful. Trump named this pandemic the "Chinese Virus", prompting hatemongering and random assaults on Asian-Americans. It's time to flip the script. 2) Naming is framing. It frames public policy by telling folks what to think. Under Trump and the GOP, for instance, longtime protections in federal law become "job-killing regulations". 3) To drive out Trump in November, we need to tie him to this disaster in people's minds, welded like steel. It hasn't happened yet: polls reveal lots of folks still think he's doing a fine job. Bringing "Trump Virus" into common usage will help shift public perception, a crucial goal. Thanks for doing your part. Constantly tweet #TrumpVirus, talk Trump Virus, blog and comment about the Trump Virus. And please, urge news media and other public platforms to give credit where credit is due: it's the Trump Virus. For more, see https://TrumpVirus.cc. Thanks again.

Food is the one thing we must leave our homes to get, so food stores are the most likely places for us to pick up the coronavirus. Anyone can have Covid-19 and be asymptomatic. The virus is aerosolized into the air on our breath and yet none of the cashiers or packers at the local grocery store is wearing a mask.

The Coronavirus Pandemic has shined a bright light on food insecurity, and the fragility of our community. During these times, Community Organizations have banded together to deliver meals to children within the Kingston City School District, with more children needing meals on a daily basis. The Kingston City School District needs to take a bigger role in feeding our community.