Unexpected awesomeness happened last week: Gwyneth Paltrow, after ending her food stamp challenge, urged people to fight for fair pay & increased access to healthy food through.... MomsRising!!! [1] Gwyneth tried (and failed) to live on a $29 weekly food budget, the average per-person benefit level provided by SNAP (food stamps). Should she have bought seven limes? Probably not ... but the online discussions have created an opportunity to raise awareness about the importance of protecting SNAP from further cuts. Thank you, Gwyneth. Help us channel coverage of the food stamp challenge into action on our "Hands Off SNAP” message to Congress. Sign on to MomsRising's petition and message below, which we'll deliver to Congress. _________________________________________ Dear Member of Congress, The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is one of the strongest tools our country has in combating hunger and poverty. I strongly urge you to reject current proposals to make massive funding cuts to SNAP. In addition, I ask that you vote against any measures that would restrict access to the program for qualifying individuals or change the successful structure of the program, including block granting and allowing states to shift funds away from food assistance to other purposes. Forty-six million people—including one in five children, the elderly, and people with disabilities—rely on SNAP to feed themselves each day. Cutting funding or changing the structure of SNAP puts millions of our children and families at serious risk. Moreover, a 2013 USDA study found that SNAP is a key public benefit program, which also serves as an economic stimulus, creating an economic boost that ripples through the economy when new SNAP benefits are redeemed. I hope you will stand up for our economy and families who are struggling to feed their children by protecting SNAP and rejecting any funding cuts or structural changes to the program. Sincerely, [1] Goop, My $29 Food Stamp Challenge—and the Recipes (& Brouhaha) That Ensued

This petition is important so our state troopers have the resources needed to protect the state.

According to Valerie Strauss writing in the Washington Post newspaper, ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council) is an organization that writes model laws for state legislators. According to Strauss, "What it actually is is an organization that writes "model legislation" ...that... legislators use in state after state to make new laws that promote privatization in every part of American life: education, health care, the environment, voting rights, etc." and "its efforts to privatize public education, for example, have resulted in the expansion of voucher programs in a number of states." The purpose of the voucher systems, like the one pushed through by Louisiana Governor Jindal, is to gut public education institutions in order to produce profits at private for-profit schools and for their corporate owners. ALEC is an organization funded by large corporations which meets to produce legislation favorable to the profit-making interest of large corporations. ALEC is corporations dictating legislation to its legislative and gubernatorial dupes. It is voraciously greedy corporations trying to wring the last drop of profits from citizens by undermining state institutions and regulations. ALEC has an education task force that represents for-profit higher education corporations. This anti-public-higher-education task force dictates to state legislators, from Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. According to Robert Mann, who has a great deal of experience in journalism and politics in Louisiana and who holds the Manship Chair in Journalism at the Louisiana State University (LSU) Manship School of Mass Communication, writing at his blog bobmannblog.com, "(Louisiana Governor Bobby) Jindal...is a committed ALEC disciple...(and) received a prominent award for his adherence to ALEC's principles." One of ALEC's principles is cutting taxes. Especially on corporations who run the show. No taxes, more profits. Jindal cut taxes so much for his corporate dictators that Louisiana can no longer afford a system of higher education. LSU, and its statewide system of universities, is about to declare bankruptcy. Gutting Louisiana's and other state's public higher education institutions will increase profits at for-profit colleges and universities and reap profits from students and their families who will have to pay through their noses. Students and their families will pay (in higher fees for education) the taxes that Jindal exempted his corporate dictators from paying. Tell Bobby Jindal, big corporations' majordomo in the Louisiana governor's mansion, to fund Louisiana's system of public higher education and prevent LSU from going bankrupt.

We believe it is wrong to spend $84 M+ to create a 6- or 7-lane highway amidst Emerald Necklace parklands, add up to 5 new traffic lights, impair vehicle, bus, bike and foot travel, and disenfranchise Boston’s least affluent neighborhoods to relieve MassDOT of bridge maintenance at Forest Hills. The Casey Overpass was built to alleviate gridlock due to mixing of local and regional traffic in this already busy transportation hub. MassDOT’s at-grade plan reverses that. It’s not only a bad idea, but also tragic, maybe criminal, lethal, and at minimum a gross disservice to tens of thousands of citizens impacted by this decision.

I am a senior of 82 years and I have been in a yoga class for 3 years. It has helped my sore neck and shoulders so that I am no longer in pain. Funding for senior programs has already been cut and are continuing to be cut so that very soon they will be eliminated. We are a growing population, paying taxes, and our population will continue to grow because we are living much longer than previously. It will cost the state more money than they have gained. It will cost the state much money when we need doctors and hospitals because exercise and social programs are eliminated.

Deadline is May 12th. County is to vote to make changes to the local county shelter that will impact the livelihood of innocent animals to the point of death with no other options. 10 day stray hold is not enough time to give an animal a chance at life. Volunteers work countless hours to make sure these animals do get a chance. Right now due to the efforts of the volunteers the county is at a 69 percent save rate with dogs. Save rate numbers would drop significantly, along with discouraged volunteers, kennel staff and some immediate administrative individuals.

Our veterans that have served our country during wartime and have sacrificed so much for this country should not have the state budget balanced on their backs, when large corporations like FedEx get 10 million in tax relief for fuel and continue to make a huge profit every year. Our veterans should be our top priority. These cuts should stop immediately and these benefits should be restored to our veterans.

It is estimated that 190,018 U.S. children under the age of 18 experience homelessness each year. One can only imagine how many homeless youth under the age of 25 reside in Texas because extremely limited data exists on this population. As Texans, we care about our homeless youth and believe that our data should reflect this. We encourage you to join us in demanding that the State of Texas produce an accurate report on its homeless youth population. Please show your support for HB 679, which will require the state to conduct such a report. With this information, state and private organizations will be able to more effectively meet the needs of Texas’ poor and homeless youth. For more information on homeless children under the age of 18 please check-out this handout produced by the National Center on Family Homelessness: http://www.homelesschildrenamerica.org/pdfs/2014/TX.pdf

The Kensington, Windsor Terrace, Ditmas Park, Flatbush, and Midwood areas of Brooklyn are the home of a growing population of dogs and their owners. According to the NYC Department of Health, these areas currently have a combination of 19,756 canines. Many of these dog owners take advantage of the designated areas in Prospect Park during off-leash hours. Off-leash areas offer the opportunity for dogs to exercise and interact with other dogs. This produces well­-behaved, non­-aggressive dogs that add a positive aspect to the community. However, many owners are not able to go to the Prospect Park areas for a variety of reasons. Some work during off-leash hours, some are concerned with going to the park when it is dark, and some are unable to walk far from home. The community needs a fenced-in area for unleashed dogs that is able to stay open during the day. We are proposing an area suggested by the Parks Administration to be assigned as a closed-­in dog run, located in a section of the Parade Ground at Prospect Park. These areas would be maintained by the Kensington Dog Park Association, Inc., a group that will review the condition of the area, plan for upkeep along with the Parks Department, and seek funding from a number of sources. The Kensington Dog Run Association was created to generate community involvement toward creating a new dog run. Our association welcomes all responsible pet owners and supporters. Together, we hope to raise the funding and awareness necessary to build the dog run and maintain upkeep. We ask the community for your support to help make the Kensington Dog Run a reality. For more information, please visit www.kensingtondogrun.com

The town board has begun a costly legal battle with the helicopter community and most of the wealthy homeowners in East Hampton. They believe they can use airport funds to fund the battle. These funds are meant for airport maintenance, not to fund the defense of flawed noise data.

I am starting this petition because I refuse to fall for the scare tactics of the wealthiest 1% in our society attempting to turn people in the 99% against each other. This offensive attempt to distract us from the obscene degree of income inequality and wealth concentration is shameful!

This petition is dedicated to balancing the state budget within our means by examining and setting needs priorities for everyone first.