Veterans are not receiving the medical care and benefits they’ve earned. Stop sending vets to rubber stamp clinics and provide exam results.

There is a reason the Center for Disease Control made the guidance for Phase 1C of the COVID-19 vaccine roll out to include people aged 16 - 64 years with underlying medical conditions and disabilities, which increase the risk of serious, life-threatening complications and death from COVID-19. However and despite this guidance, in recent weeks thirty states de-prioritized these people in COVID-19 vaccine distribution in the name of efficiency and equity. It is common sense to prioritize vulnerable Americans. In the past twelve months, over half of a million people have died from COVID-19 in the United States. 94% of these were Americans with comorbidities. The guidance is not just that of the Center for Disease Control. An analysis by FAIR Health, in collaboration with the West Health Institute and Johns Hopkins' Marty Makary, found that COVID-19 patients with developmental disorders are the most at risk of dying, followed by those with lung cancer and intellectual disabilities, regardless of age. And now, recent studies from leading immunologists in Boston show mutations are incubated in autoimmune disease patients, creating strains that are sometimes undetectable to testing and impervious to current COVID-19 treatments. Studies from John Hopkins found that people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s can catch the virus. Some develop severe and lasting symptoms, particularly if they have comorbidities or underlying conditions (such as obesity, diabetes, or high blood pressure (hypertension)). Data from one study shows that of more than 3,000 adults ages 18 to 34 who contracted COVID-19 and became sick enough to require hospital care, 21% ended up in intensive care, 10% were placed on a breathing machine, and 2.7% died. The majority of these patients had comorbidities. This in-hospital mortality rate is lower than that reported for older adults with COVID-19, but approximately double that of young adults with acute myocardial infarction. And the data is there in other parts of the world—the United Kingdom recently announced that sixty percent of their COVID-19 deaths were those with disabilities. In Australia, disabled people are five times more likely to die. Unlike the UK and AU, the United States does not collect data the same way it collects data on race or gender identity, meaning the 94% could be a low figure. Unfortunately, the majority of state vaccine rollout plans are based on state data. However, many states do not track numerous underlying conditions and disabilities within their health departments as they do other demographics such as race, age, and gender. But we know now that these are individuals at risk for bad outcomes and death from COVID-19; second to age is an underlying condition and disability such as developmental disabilities. To make matters worse, “disability activists, chronic illness advocates, and people with disabilities and underlying conditions have pointed to three main failures in inequitable vaccine rollouts: eligibility lists that do not include all those who are considered high risk; states that have not prioritized people with disabilities; and websites or vaccination sites that are not accessible, as author Cecilia Nowell wrote in her article "This women-made tool could help get more disabled people vaccinated" in The Lily. We implore the National Governors Association to re-prioritize those in thirty states who are vulnerable and have a disability. We demand vulnerable and disabled people are included in phase 1C of ALL states' vaccine rollouts, that vaccine sign-up and sites are accessible, and that states provide a choice of vaccines to those with conditions or disabilities who require choice due to their unique medical needs. Sign our petition to tell the National Governors Association to stop ignoring the vulnerable and disabled Americans and demand equity in COVID-19 state public health plans. Re-prioritize them for vaccination in the thirty states that have de-prioritized them by including them in Phase 1C. We will update you on our upcoming letter to the National Governors Association that will include this petition and other actions you can take as the campaign develops. Please stay tuned. Sincerely, Vulnerable Advocates Collective https://bit.ly/vacpact The Vulnerable Advocates Collective, or VAC Pact, is a group of activists dedicated to amplifying the voices of the vulnerable people and disabled people erased from the equity conversation. Full Plain Text Petition with Works Cited: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Bma65ujyZAygUQcJ11ZEtHDi1Soh7Wc9_zKJtmT8J4M/edit?usp=sharing

The "war on drugs" has led to a the incarceration of millions of Americans with at least a million more incarcerated every year. Many of these people are drug users with an addiction and punishing them with jail or prison time will not break the addiction, but treatment might. In some states, a first time offender can get 10 years in prison for simple possession while in other's, one can get a 20 year sentence for possession. A decade in jail for having an addiction is not the right answer. Our families are being torn apart by drug addiction, and harsh prison/jail sentences are not helping to resolve the problem. Addiction can be defeated with treatment, not prison.

In California cases of COVID are rising at a rapid and dangerous pace. However, the California Department of Public Health has not published(nor made available to local health departments ) a roadmap to vaccinate outpatient healthcare workers who are not affiliated with a hospital. The vaccine rollout has been slow and unfortunately has left out a very large number of front line workers. These healthcare workers include primary care and specialty physicians, nurses, non-physician mental health providers, dentists-and their staff. Outpatient healthcare providers are often the first to assess and treat patients with COVID-19. They have been working to prevent hospital emergency rooms from becoming overwhelmed during the pandemic. Yet independent offices are being ignored and left to fend for themselves. Outpatient providers who have contacted the California Department of Public Health regarding this issue were told to contact their county, who in turn advised them to contact the state Health Department. Local hospitals when contacted have advised physicians to contact their county and that they can only vaccinate their own staff. Other states have created DOH vaccination sites where any Tier 1A healthcare worker can schedule themselves to be vaccinated without a prior invitation. All California Tier 1A healthcare workers must be vaccinated immediately, regardless of inpatient or outpatient work settings and REGARDLESS of hospital affiliation. We are all exposed to COVID-19 daily and each of our contributions are equally important in combatting the pandemic.

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.

Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has been named Ambassador to Japan, but he hasn't yet been confirmed for the position. Emanuel had an absolutely disastrous record as mayor between 2011 and 2019. His decisions and policies 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 Side 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 and Latinx 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. 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. There's no reason why he should be rewarded with a public office, especially one in which he is representing the United States on a global stage. We are asking that President Biden withdraws Emanuel's nomination—and we're also calling on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to vote to oppose it.

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.

The Climate Justice Committee calls on Biden to turn back Trump's Executive Orders that exacerbate climate change and environmental damage to the world. We call on Biden to sign Executive Orders overturning the damage done by Trump. These are by no means the only Executive Orders that need to go, but this would be a good start for Biden to show the climate justice movement that he takes climate change seriously. To do so requires nothing more than the signing of his pen, which is all it took for Trump to enact them in the first place. We know that is a drop in the bucket for what needs to be done to fight climate change and environmental destruction, so we hope you join the Climate Justice Committee in demanding these Executive Orders are rolled back, and also for real and meaningful action to save our planet. If you would like to co-sponsor this, please do so here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1qk0h4W7FWcu9H_HUFMCLVAaLQRDncWxCXbNpmxMOmyY/edit

We, the people of Ulster County, are facing unprecedented economic challenges in the wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic.The systems we have operated within have been catastrophically disrupted and, in the process, we’ve seen just how tragically broken they were. Returning to the pre-COVID version of “normal” is not an option. In our society, electricity and internet access are basic needs, especially with many working from and schooling from home. Individuals and families are suffering from the impacts of Coronavirus—lost income, added expenses from being home, and stress from a global pandemic. COVID has hurt small businesses in dire ways. Business has slowed due to life-saving safety measures and illness, which has caused small businesses all across Ulster County to close their doors. Particularly, utility costs are crushing small businesses, causing them to make the horrible decision between making payroll for Ulster County residents and keeping the lights on. Meanwhile, Spectrum and Central Hudson are shutting down people’s service for non-payment. For Spectrum, First-quarter revenues increased to $11.7 billion. Profits reached about $396 million and their CEO made 98 million in 2016 while we struggle. Central Hudson’s parent company Fortis had 2019 revenue of $8.8 billion and total assets of $57 billion as of March 31, 2020. In the first two months of the pandemic, community members rallied around their neighbors experiencing financial hardship, by supporting the Radio Kingston Community Fund and raising over $400,000 to provide emergency financial support. Of these donations, $107,000 went directly to Central Hudson & Spectrum to thwart shut-offs. The people of Kingston cannot allow corporations to profit off our pain. We demand a cancellation of all internet and electric charges for Kingston residents.

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