On July 15, there was an attempted military coup in Turkey. During the attempted coup, the White House put out a statement that said: "The President and Secretary [Kerry] agreed that all parties in Turkey should support the democratically-elected Government of Turkey." [1] Turkey's main opposition parties condemned the coup attempt. [2] It's a crucial principle of a just foreign policy that when there is an attempted coup against a democratically-elected government, the United States should oppose the coup and support the authority of the democratically-elected government against the attempted coup, regardless of whether the democratically-elected government threatened by an attempted coup is a purported "U.S. ally" or purported "U.S. adversary," "pro-U.S." or "anti-U.S.," regardless of whether we like or dislike the democratically-elected government in question or its policies. The United States government has violated this principle many, many times in the past, but that's no excuse for violating it in the future. "Supporting democracy," if it's real and not merely a slogan to mask other agendas, is like opposing torture: if it's a principle, then it applies every time. This principle is crucial for preventing coups, because when an attempted coup is unfolding, there is very likely to be some group of people demanding that we reserve judgment, that we not be "knee-jerk," that we wait and see whether the coup is "good" or "bad." This happened in Egypt in 2013 [3], in Honduras in 2009 [4], in Venezuela in 2002. In addition to being unprincipled, this demand that we reserve judgment on a coup can be very harmful because there is usually a narrow window to stop an attempted coup. By the time everyone who was demanding that we reserve judgment has to admit that in fact, this coup is a "bad coup" like all the others, it's usually too late to stop the coup, the coup has already been consolidated. This happened in Egypt in 2013 and in Honduras in 2009. Just as we rely on the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution to help us stop a rush to war "before all the facts are in," we rely on the principle that "coups are bad" to stop coups from being consolidated "before all the facts are in." The attempted coup in Turkey was defeated. But this is a "teachable moment" - coups are bad, regardless of how we feel about the democratically-elected government that someone is trying to overthrow - and we should use this moment to nail this principle to the wall for all time. Thank President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry for standing up against the attempted coup in Turkey by signing our petition. References: 1. https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/07/15/readout-presidents-call-secretary-john-kerry 2. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-07-15/turkish-premier-says-elements-of-army-attempt-to-seize-power 3. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/jackson-diehl-egypts-misguided-coup/2013/07/04/64bd121c-e4b4-11e2-a11e-c2ea876a8f30_story.html 4. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/wikileaks-honduras-state_b_789282.html

This petition is being sent due to the lack of urgency and pressure being applied to the Peoples Republic of China to release an innocent U.S. citizen.

Under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regulates the export of animal pelts. The Service has illegally failed to evaluate the export program, resulting in the trapping and killing of native and endangered species. Western Environmental Law Center is a nonprofit, environmental law firm whose expert attorneys are dedicated to defending the wildlife of the American West. WELC attorneys filed suit against U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in May.

One year ago, on July 17, 2015, Eric Garner, was killed by numerous police. The murder was recorded on camera. His words, "I can't breathe" were heard around the world and further compelled the movement for justice in our country. But the Department of Justice investigation has not yet resulted in charges against the officer who took Eric Garner's life. As the anniversary approaches, it is important to note that Erica Garner, Eric's daughter and her family have not had any closure. Activist Erica Garner was invited to the ABC's Presidential Town Hall with the promise that her voice would be heard—that she and other family members who have lost their loved ones to police violence would be able to ask the important questions our country must face in order to heal. But ABC broke its promise, and denied the invited family members of police violence the opportunity to speak. The Garner family grieves along with the families of Mike Brown and all other victims of police violence. They deserve to speak and air their grievances just as the families of the fallen Dallas officers and police authorities had a chance to do. Their lives matter and the town hall with the President of the United States was a disrespectful step backwards for all the families working to achieve justice. This is why we say #BlackLivesMatter.

We have all been deeply affected by the racial tensions ongoing since the time of slavery. Our country needs the Truth and Reconciliation program to heal the PTSD that has been passed down for centuries, and to educate the communities of both victim and perpetrator as to how trauma and PTSD is healed. Tutu set up a panel of nonjudgmental empathic listeners to hear the trauma stories, which began a healing process that has led to forgiveness and reconciliation. The program is deep and wide and needs to be studied in-depth to be implemented in the way Tutu chose, which has been successful in its scope and application. Just imagine what it would be like to live in this country without the tragedies caused by racial tensions, to be free of the fear, hatred and violence, to experience forgivness, reconciliation and unity for the first time ever!

Our family loves Annie's Mac and Cheese! But we need more cheese for our mac and cheese because sometimes there are a few on the side that don't get enough cheese. But if you go into a different box to get the cheese from *that* box, then that box won't have enough cheese, and on and on until you end up with an empty box. If Annie's makes individual cheese packets, then we can have as much cheese as we need in our mac and cheese and not end up with an empty box. --Kennedy, age 9

This petition is in response to the signing of a law to withhold recorded body & dash camera video from public viewing. I'm starting this petition in light of the recent deaths of two African American men in which camera video will provide a pivotal outcome in those two ongoing cases. Also having access to ANY & ALL body & dash camera video in the state of North Carolina will help protect us as citizens as well as the police.

This petition is to put an end to the road side drug testing of motorists. This is a pilot program for 5 counties in Michigan and the state police have not named the counties involved. This testing started 7/13/16 and it will run a year. If somebody is swerving and weaving they already have sobriety testing in place. This is just another attempt to harass motorist and another spin on driving while black. It is a violation of our constitutional rights to be drug tested on the side of the road for weed, cocaine and heroin. Please help put a stop to this harassment .

Washington State Ferries is about to shut down at least 3 local women- and minority-owned businesses and replace them with an out-of-state, multi-national corporation. More than 100 jobs could be in danger. This process needs to be STOPPED. Revenues and jobs need to STAY IN WASHINGTON!

We want a new trial and new venue. We want to be able to question the jurors and we ask that the Federal Judge be dismissed for practicing institutional racism.

Americans should have access to acupuncture as a healthcare choice. Acupuncture can help with the side effects of PTSD and possibly reduce the 22 veteran suicides per day. Help the 50 million Americans that wake up every day with chronic pain and improve quality of life for seniors by providing an alternative to opioid use. Acupuncture can help reduce healthcare costs and increase workforce productivity. Please ask your congressperson to sign-on as a co-sponsor of HR3849. Please find you congressional representative and forward them this petition by going to: http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

More than 20 million Americans have been made second-class citizens for LIFE because of a fraudulent arrest for marijuana. The rest of the country is terrorized by this insane war. - Promises mean nothing now. We need ACTION before the election or we will choose Gary Johnson or Jill Stein.