American civil liberties and my Constitutional rights are being threatened because political rhetoric cannot address a key social-environmental issue, namely the de facto subsidy of alcohol consumption. The CDC report at http://www.cdc.gov/features/costsofdrinking/ presents the facts at hand. guns & alcohol KILL cars & alcohol KILL pills & alcohol KILL sex & alcohol KILL What Is So Hard To Understand? Distributed Beverage Alcohol is simply not paying the social cost incurred by its distribution. This is a key social-environmental issue. There will be plenty of money to fund universal health care, public schools, judicial matters, police, parks, and infrastructure maintenance if the USA makes beverage alcohol pay its way in real dollars. This is no more to ask of drinkers and of the beverage alcohol industry than what voters have insisted smokers and tobacco companies pay for the damage caused by distributed tobacco products. The CDC estimates the real cost of drinking beverage alcohol to be $2.05 per serving. [see http://www.cdc.gov/features/costsofdrinking/ ] . To know this cost of use exists and yet to not tax it commensurately constitutes a de facto subsidy for public intoxication. This cruel absurdity is fostering violence, including gun violence. The States and the Federal Government share equally in this blind duplicity. A majority of gun violence in America, including domestic violence, is caused by alcohol intoxication. Consequently, taxing beverage alcohol use is gun control. This petition calls for the Federal Government to institute a $2 per serving excise tax on distributed beverage alcohol to be shared equally by the States and the Federal Government, and includes this caveat: If convicted of Driving Under the Influence, one loses their right to keep guns in their possession during that correctional period. Clearly, if you can not be trusted to drive a car, you cannot be trusted with an arsenal. Sex & alcohol are likewise a recipe for tragedy because intoxicated sex produces so many unintended pregnancies which lead to abortion. Americans have the right to drink alcohol and the right to use tobacco just as they have a Constitutional right to own guns. These options can co-exist if and only if each pays its own way. The governments do not have any obligation to subsidize these activities. However, any government concerned with public well being and sustainability is obligated to hold in check choices known to have a negative impact. Keep a simple fact in mind: A distributed beverage alcohol excise tax would be a tax no one has to pay because you have the right to make your own beverage alcohol or you can simply abstain. Taxing beverage alcohol use is gun control.

Just yesterday a horrible injustice was committed . A loving pet dog was brutally stabbed to death...Nothing was done to this person for this horrible heinous act! No fine, no court date , no slap on the wrist!!! It is an educated fact someone capable of such an atrocity is just as likely to commit such an act on a person, perhaps even a child. Animals have absolutely no voice and no defense up against morality, that is strictly the territory of humans. Numbers are growing more and more everyday, with reports of cruel and hate filled cases, and yet they go unpunished or given ridiculously low fines . Why does a living, feeling creature of God, innocent of a single sin endure gratuitous suffering devoid of reason and justification when we, as overseers to their dominion, could put laws into place to protect them from cruelty? Please help justice be served in this case as well as so many other animals that have died cruel and senseless deaths vulnerable to criminal aggression.

Limiting Gun Magazine Capacity (the number of bullets in a gun) will help to reduce the number of deaths in mass shootings and greatly help potential victims at a massacre to escape or stop the shooter.

The Cayadutta Creek, one of the most polluted streams in New York during much of the 20th Century, is now supporting trophy-sized brown trout in the lower portion of the stream below the sewage treatment plant to the Mohawk River (where NYS has not been stocking). These fish are now being threatened by overfishing and need to be protected by a "Catch and Release Only" zone.

Puerto Rico is in trouble, yes mostly because of bad government deals USA and Puerto Rico politicians, years of bad policies, mismanagement, excessive debt and kept hostage by Congress Its economy has been shrinking or stagnant for a decade and the unemployment rate sits at nearly 12 percent on the book but more than 40% after you take the government bad bookkeeping.. The commonwealth and its utilities have a debt of $73 billion, its public pension funds are woefully underfunded and the government could be forced to shut down soon. Lawmakers in Washington and San Juan are trying to come up with a plan that addresses the financial and economic problems of the territory, which is home to 3.6 million American citizens on the island and 4.4million scattered in the states. The island’s difficulties also affect investors in the 50 states who own the tax-exempt bonds issued by Puerto Rico’s government and utilities and of which they ripe great benefits all throughout these years. Now they want o collect all the eggs, problem is there are no more hens. Once a growing manufacturing center, Puerto Rico began a long decline in the mid-2000s after federal tax incentives for businesses that produced goods on the island were phased out, prompting many employers and tens of thousands of workers to leave, thanks to the USA Congress who took away the benefits Puerto Rican leaders made the situation worse by not investing sufficiently in the economy and by borrowing excessively, all by designed since the two parties are at a 50 year old war designed to make themselves rich and the heck with the people. Investors eagerly extended loans without properly analyzing the territory’s deteriorating financial health, so they took a risk which now they will not renegotiate, less provided a chapter 9 format. They did so in large part because interest earned from Puerto Rican government bonds is exempt from federal and state income taxes One of the biggest and most immediate problems for the island is the roughly $20 billion debt owed by three government-owned companies: the electricity utility, the water and sewer system and the highway authority. Because Puerto Rico is a territory, these businesses are not allowed to restructure their debt in Chapter 9 bankruptcies. Congress should approve a new bill that would allow these and other Puerto Rican government-owned companies, as well as municipalities, to use Chapter 9. Half the problem solved. Analysts and bankruptcy experts say that Congress should go even further and allow the government of Puerto Rico to file for bankruptcy. It is also argued that federal lawmakers should appoint a financial control board to oversee the island’s finances; this drastic step would be an act tyranny since Puerto Rico under the ELA \?USA agreement of self-determination was signed in the 50ties. Today may not be worth it paper and ink. There is a lot that can be done to revive Puerto Rico’s economy. The first order is to get the Congress to proclaim Puerto Rico and independent Nation as we are. Puertorricans, we the people, can build stronger efforts to boost tourism, manufacturing and the services sector through targeted public investments could lead to faster growth. We can exercise trade agreement with our Caribbean neighbors, Central and South American partners, as well as with the European Nations. The government could also improve its finances not by raising taxes, but by balancing tax revenue. Puerto Rico only collects about 11 percent of its gross domestic product in taxes, compared with the 33 percent average for advanced countries. Again fixing its finances is not sufficient, , Puerto Rico has to answer a bigger question about its future: Should it become a state, which in my mind the Gringos will never have. Should the government hold another voter referendum on the issue, hello its not worth the paper and effort used. Again Congress has the last standing word. Congress and President Obama budgeted $2.5 million for the territory to hold another referendum on its political status; Governor Padilla said last year his government will hold a vote by 2016, will never happen, and if it did it will amount o nothing. Puerto Rico is about 1,000 miles from Miami, but it can seem a world apart. And as a matter of fact it is a World apart, we have a different culture, we speak Spanish, we eat Rice and beans and fried chicken, we love the Spanish music and have some to the World best musicians artist and poets. The island’s financial problems are a reminder that benign neglect has had terrible consequences for millions of Puerto Ricans, as for American we are all Americans. To ease everybodys pain I Petition for Freedom

The Pinelands Reserve is under threat from two proposed gas pipelines that could devastate this pristine forest area and drinking water resource. Pipelines used to transport oil and gas pose health and safety risks to New Jersey communities, including leaks and explosions. Building out and laying the pipeline projects would also devastate the treasured Pinelands. It is time for our elected officials to take action to protect the future of the Pinelands. Senator Sweeney has the influence to stop these projects in their tracks.

Three days ago, on June 25th 2016, Shelby County Sheriff's office arrested Samuel Woods III on Rape 2 charges. This is the rapist that impregnated a 14 year old, that resulted in the birth of Baby Braelon. Research and public information is exposing a trend: rapists that target under aged girls to create children that can the be taken from the under aged mothers. This information is not private and should be exposed. The audacity to start a law suit using the child as plaintiff against News Media Outlets that are reporting on this blatant case of mismanagement and incompentence on the part of Shelby Counties DHR is against our First Amendment right to freedom of speech! DHS broke their own law and disregarded their own report that was signed by their own social workers, and they will be held accountable for their negligence. The system that lets rapists go free and continue to rape other minors seems to have a systematic pattern, and this pattern should be exposed and stopped. Instead of admitting guilt on the part of the incompetence displayed by the DHR, they want to try to censor journalist and media attention brought to them. We will be exposing this situation world wide now as Child Protective Services all over the world are under investigation and many are resigning in lieu of the exposure of the crimes being committed against the innocent children and those children that are caught up and become victims of rapist that are set free to visit the the children they created through the crime they committed. Something very wrong is going on in Shelby County Alabama DHR, and we will make an example of what happens when you go against the Constitution of the United States and try to shut out the voice of the people, and try to censor the media who's responsibility is to tell us the truth as has been done here with this kidnapping and leniency given to repeat rapists. We will not stand for this anymore, the abuse of children, the rights given to criminals, and we will never agree to censorship! Hear now the voice of the people from all over the world who know what injustices are going on with Alabama's Shelby County DHR!

My Family property that has been in my family for 50 years is being stolen from me by Richland County Treasurer. This is no isolated incident and this Realestate scam so brazenly exploits despersate property owners.

We Believe: Our City Administration and Police Department are currently housed in 2 separate structures both of which are old, outdated, energy inefficient and frequently in need of repairs and maintenance. Neither of the buildings meet current standards for safety, technology and flow nor can they be converted to current standards. Ad Valorem taxes will not be raised to construct a new building and financing is available with interest rates at historic lows making now an ideal time to invest in the future of Laurinburg. The employees of the City and the Police Department should have a safe, efficient, well designed workplace that is suited for the 21st century workforce. Our citizens deserve the same safety, efficiency and design in the place where they interact with their city government on a daily basis. We trust the intelligence and wisdom of our elected City Council members to make sound, informed decisions that are in the best interest of all citizens.

The U.S. Forest Service has announced they will "cut and leave" AND "burn" 3,600 acres of mature forest in the Mark Twain National Forest, in the Roaring River area. This is a management practice that is being used all over the country. They plan to create a stark "glade," destroying the existing habitat. They will be burning every 3 to 5 years in perpetuity. This will displace or kill all existing animals and plants. Carbon sequestration must be included in the new plan. Our forests are the greatest terrestrial carbon sink on the planet. The trees are already doing the job that scientists are struggling to accomplish. To our Representatives, we ask that you seriously consider “The 2015 Climate Initiative” by Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture and adopt its suggestions into our US Forest plan. The time is NOW to reevaluate the way our National Forests are being managed. (Correction, the old plan isn't 16 years old, it is from 2005 and it is very much outdated.)

Last week, a Supreme Court ruling put approximately five million undocumented parents back at risk of deportation and continued the exclusion of those who wouldn’t have qualified under President Obama's executive action on immigration that Republicans have been trying to defeat for a while. Meanwhile, abusive immigration enforcement agents operate unchecked, raiding refugee families, brutalizing people near the border, and putting our loved ones into detention centers and deportation proceedings. The Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) executive action temporarily relieved parents of DREAMers and lawful permanent residents from deportation and would have provided them with work authorization. But the DACA and DAPA programs aren't the president's only option to protect migrant communities. As head of the executive branch, President Obama directs how and when enforcement resources are deployed. Under his administration, immigration enforcement agencies have expanded enormously but the undocumented people who would've received deferred action or who could someday benefit from legalization shouldn't be subjected to their abuse. While Republicans have been able to block reform and delay DAPA, they can't control how the president uses his executive authority for the implementation of immigration enforcement. He can make sure that families and communities are kept together by declaring a moratorium on deportations immediately.

This petition is about the future of responsive leadership in this country, of not continuing with a status quo which has not been working for most Americans.