Water quality is crucial to all life on Earth. Amendment 1 and HB 937 would take away the voice of the people to help protect MO water.

The White House announced today that President Obama will be the first sitting US President to visit Hiroshima - a historic event, and one that will strengthen our all-important relationship with Japan. I am a member of the filmmaking team of Paper Lanterns, a documentary by Barry Frechette, which tells the stories of the 12 Americans who died in Hiroshima, and the man who was responsible for getting their names into the Hiroshima Peace Museum. For 40 years, these brave American soldiers were neglected and forgotten, but thanks to the perseverance of A-bomb survivor, Shigeaki Mori, they are now immortalized in a small memorial at the site of the Hiroshima Military Police Headquarters. The 12 Americans, and Mr. Mori, are deserving of Presidential recognition, which will take President Obama a mere 15 minutes or less, as part of his visit to Hiroshima.

Senator Lindsey Graham has stated that he will not support Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, and has had harsh words about Trump's fitness for the presidency. Yet by being part of the Republican blockade of President Obama's nominee to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court, Sen. Graham is gambling that a "President Trump" will get to pick the next justice. Donald Trump cannot be allowed to get his hands on the Supreme Court. We ask that Senator Graham reconsider his stance and call for a timely hearing and up-or-down vote for President Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Judge Merrick Garland.

On April 21, 2016, CBS's new show, “The Odd Couple” aired an episode containing a scene that was offensive, inappropriate and a direct insult to the victims and survivors of the Bosnian war, and in particular, the Srebrenica Genocide. In the aforementioned scene, a male character, played by actor Thomas Lennon, asks a female character, played by actress Lindsay Sloane, out to the “new Serbian restaurant called A Taste of Srebrenica” and in the same breath makes a sexual innuendo about the “meat sticks” of that restaurant. Since Bosnia and Herzegovina declared its independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1992, it has faced some of the greatest challenges seen in Europe since World War II. The war of aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina left over 100,000 dead, over 2 million displaced and according to the United Nations (UN), between 20,000 – 50,000 Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) women and girls victims of sexual violence. On April 16, 1993, the United Nations Security Council declared Srebrenica a "safe area" in Resolution 819, placing the Bosnian town of Srebrenica under the protection of the UN. However, on July 11, 1995, over 8,372 innocent Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) men and boys were systematically separated from their mothers, sisters, grandmothers and slaughtered by Serb forces within a five day period - the youngest victim being a newborn baby who in 2013, was buried next to her father, also a victim of the genocide. Srebrenica marked the final act of brutal genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina. While the Srebrenica Genocide continues to be denied by Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Serb leadership as well as neighboring Serbia, it is important to note that in 2004, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), a UN court of law dealing with war crimes that took place during the conflicts in the Balkans in the 1990's, was the first international criminal tribunal to enter a conviction for genocide in Europe when it ruled that the Bosnian Serb forces committed genocide against Srebrenica’s non-Serb population. Moreover, in March of 2016, the ICTY ruled that Radovan Karadzic, Bosnian Serb wartime leader committed genocide in the Bosnian town of Srebrenica against its non-Serb population. Further, the United States Congress unanimously adopted H. Res. 199 which was introduced by Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) and S. Res. 134, introduced by then Senator and now Vice President, Joseph Biden which states that "the policies of aggression and ethnic cleansing as implemented by Serb forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992 and 1995 meet the terms defining the crime of genocide in Article 2 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, created in Paris on December 9, 1948, and entered into force on January 12, 1951." Despite the fact that it has been twenty years since the genocide occurred, widespread genocide denial and the revision of history continues to threaten peace, progress and reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region. On July 11th of each year, the surviving family members of the Srebrenica Genocide along with supporters from the local and international community gather in Srebrenica for a burial ceremony. Last year, 136 newly identified victims were laid to rest but countless remain missing, their body parts hidden in mass graves as their surviving family members painstakingly wait for their bones to be discovered so they can give them a proper burial. According to the International Commission for Missing Persons (ICMP), which deals with DNA identification, there are approximately 1,200 people left to find. According to the numerous associations within Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as multiple research and studies done, it is estimated that the PTSD rates in Srebrenica survivors are at 70% (Hasanovic, 2012) and that PTSD is prevalent in a minimum of 50% of the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina, although some studies estimate that number is as high as 70%. Given the above facts, it is incomprehensible that CBS would attempt to make the Srebrenica Genocide into a joke. Today, there are over 250,000 Bosnian Americans living in the United States as a result of the war and genocide that happened in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992-1995 and CBS's insensitive joke dehumanizes genocide survivors and minimizes the pain they have experienced. We demand a public apology from the CBS television network itself and request an apology from the show’s writers. We ask that the person who wrote this inappropriate joke be immediately dismissed as Srebrenica is a painful topic for all Bosnians and we deserve more than to let the crime of genocide, where innocent people are still searching for the bones of their loved ones be the butt of a TV joke. I, alongside the hundreds of thousands of genocide survivors, demand a public apology issued on all of CBS's social media platforms. As an act of good faith, we demand that CBS and their TV show “The Odd Couple” donate to the "Movement of Mothers of Srebrenica and Zepa Enclaves", a non-profit organization in Bosnia and Herzegovina that works with survivors and family members of the victims, who have disappeared or been killed in Srebrenica and Zepa during the fall of UN "Safe Haven" in 1995.

Maine Democrats have voted to require that, beginning in 2020, the state’s total delegate votes at the national convention must be awarded proportionately to the results of the state’s presidential caucus or primary. The proposal would urge but not require this year’s superdelegates to honor the outcome of the Democratic caucuses in March. Finally, it calls on the national party to eliminate the superdelegate system altogether. [1] Urge Illinois Democratic Party leaders on the State Central Committee [2] to follow Maine's lead by signing our petition. 1. http://www.pressherald.com/2016/05/07/maine-democrats-vote-to-change-superdelegate-system/ 2. http://ildems.com/illinois-democrats/state-central-committee

Human Rights Watch has reported that Israeli security forces are abusing Palestinian children detained in the West Bank. "Israeli security forces are using unnecessary force in arresting and detaining children, in some cases beating them, and holding them in unsafe and abusive conditions," HRW said. [1] Minnesota Democratic Representative Betty McCollum is now circulating a letter to President Obama, urging him to appoint a Special Envoy for Palestinian Youth to travel to the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Israel to hear directly from Palestinian youth, human rights and legal experts, NGOs, and Palestinian and Israeli officials, including police and military leaders, about the conditions of children in military detention and what steps can be taken to guarantee the internationally-recognized human rights of these children. [2] Urge your Representative to support Rep. McCollum's letter by signing our petition. References: 1. https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/04/11/palestine-israeli-police-abusing-detained-children 2. http://fcnl.org/issues/middle_east/standing_up_for_human_rights_in_palestine/ For more information on the "No Way to Treat a Child" campaign, see: http://www.nowaytotreatachild.org/

The question of whether we allow or do not allow an outside developer to come to the city exclusively for the purpose of establishing local gambling is an issue that should not be made by the city council alone.

Judge: State should grant Clean Harbor permit, with caveat • By MARISSA BARNETT The Daily News • http://www.galvnews.com/news/article_73e95ea6-1797-5681-a9af-37f352a94b2d.html#comments SAN LEON A company seeking to dump treated wastewater into a tributary flowing in Dickinson Bayou failed to include certain testing required by law in its permit application, a state administrative judge ruled. The application should be granted by the state’s environmental agency, but only if the state inserts a legally required request for testing and monitoring of the discharged waste, Administrative Judge Joanne Summerhays said. Clean Harbors San Leon Inc. in May 2015 applied for an amendment to its existing permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to discharge up to 105,000 gallons of treated wastewater and treated stormwater each day into a tributary on its property that flows to Dickinson Bayou. The proposal quickly drew the ire of neighboring property owners and residents, particularly in San Leon, who worried the company’s plan will further pollute the bayou. A coalition of residents, including local oyster company owners and representatives of the San Leon Municipal Utility District, protested and sought a hearing from the State Office of Administrative Hearings, which considers disputes over permits. In a proposal for decision published April 24, the administrative judge ruled the draft permit had not required Clean Harbors to conduct whole effluent toxicity testing, or WET as it’s called, on its discharged wastewater, which is a violation of state code. The judge recommended the amendment be accepted, but with the requirement. The environmental commission will ultimately make the call on the amendment to the permit, but it weighs the administrative judge’s proposal. The state had almost allowed a company to dump more wastewater into unnamed waterways with little oversight or regulation over how it affects the environment, said Lisa Halili, an owner of Prestige Oysters in San Leon. People who protested the plan celebrated the move as a step in the right direction because it requires hazardous waste companies doing business in Galveston County to have some accountability in protecting the waterways. “The recommendation to include WET testing is a very big win because it will require Clean Harbors to constantly monitor potential toxicity in receiving waters,” said Joe Manchaca, president of the San Leon Municipal Utility District. The testing measures the toxic effects of pollutants on species specific to the area where it’s dumped, Summerhays said. “WET testing is an integral tool in the assessment of water quality for the protection of aquatic life because it can measure both chronic and acute impacts on the survival, reproduction, or growth of test organisms,” Summerhays wrote. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality will review the proposal for decision and submit responses if there are any concerns or disagreements, agency spokeswoman Andrea Morrow said. Once the process is complete, it will be scheduled for a monthly agenda meeting, Morrow said. The commissioners will then decide on the application, Morrow said. Marissa Barnett: 409-683-5257; [email protected] The San Leon community is opposed to this permit because we do not want Dickinson Bay poisoned by Clean Harbors. In San Leon everyone loves this area to fish, catch shrimp and oysters and enjoy all aspects of water recreation in this bay. The pollution from this project will ruin our way of life, poisoning our seafood and must not be allowed. We can not allow Clean Harbors to dump 12,000 pounds of oily grease in our bay each year. We are a small unincorporated area easily taken advantage of by corporate bullies who look to prey on rural areas such as ours. It is time to take a stand for communities and families and stop poisoning our water. The state of Texas needs to be held accountable for the decisions made on behalf of its citizens. Tell the TCEQ do not rubber stamp this Clean Harbors San Leon permit. There are so many people now entering this cause that I believe that the folks fighting for Dickinson Bayou have a good fighting chance of winning. People, we need you now more than ever in this cause to protect Dickinson Bayou. Please email Ann Bright of Texas Parks and Wildlife at [email protected] and let her know that you do not want any more harmful chemicals dumped into our bayou. You do not have to live here to support this cause. If you eat shrimp, crabs, oysters or fish, or like fishing, boating or water recreation, you need to support this. It only takes a minute or two to email Texas Parks and Wildlife to help save this bayou. http://www.coastmonthly.com/2016/12/accidental-activist/ http://seabreezenews.com/issues/2016%20issues/1216%20-%20December%202016/Page_01c.pdf

Rule 534 will apply to all mental health-related communications between clients and their licensed counselors, alcohol and drug counselors, social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists and doctors, nurses, psychoanalysts, physician assistants, and midwives, the vast majority of which are totally unaware of the contents or import of Rule 534. Rule 534 will deter people from seeking mental health or addiction treatment, from confiding in their treatment providers, and creates terrible national precedent for all mental health providers and clients. Rule 534 creates a complex scheme containing 13 exceptions to mental health provider-client confidentiality. Its four pages of legalese will confound therapists’ ability to obtain their clients’ informed consent for treatment. The Rule 534 confidentiality exceptions will undermine mental health providers' ability to establish therapeutic trust and chill mental health providers' ethical obligations to advocate on behalf of their clients. Rule 534 was praised by lawyers and condemned by mental health providers. In written testimony to the NJ Supreme Court, Professional Mental Health Counselors and Clinical Social Workers uniformly condemned Rule 534: "would 'compromise client confidentiality' and deter people from going to social workers;" "if a therapist told a patient all of the legally required exceptions, the patient would terminate the counseling session;" "would discourage mental health treatment;" "creates a 'confusing array of additional exceptions that are not currently in place;'" "will be interpreted 'very loosely' so as to allow confidential information to be disclosed;" and, ""it will create more lawsuits." One of the most egregious provisions causes a client to lose confidentiality for all time if the client asks the provider to provide written or oral testimony in any proceeding, such as an unemployment, benefits, child protection, or disability proceeding. Clients will lose all confidentiality protection in a civil suit for damages that resulted from conduct that constitutes a crime. This will chill, for example, people with gambling, drug, or alcohol addictions, that have stolen from their employers, families, stores, or other third parties, from seeking mental health help to curb their dysfunctional behaviors. Clients may also lose confidentiality if they have ever told a third, non-spouse, party about their mental health condition or treatment. The beneficiaries of Rule 534 will be the lawyers who will be able to obtain adverse parties’ mental health information and use that mental health information in settlement negotiations or in courtroom trials. Please share this petition with friends, family, professional and consumer organizations, and anyone else that has an interest in promoting access to confidential mental health and drug and alcohol treatment. Advocate for health clients and professionals by contacting your NJ State Senator’s, NJ State Representative’s, and Governor Christie’s offices.

I never worked in DuPont’s factory. I never knew I was being exposed to harmful amounts of C-8. But DuPont knew, and DuPont did nothing to stop it. I was exposed to C-8 because the company dumped it into the Ohio River and landfills, where it leached into the water me and my family drink every day. After decades of lies and delays, it’s time for DuPont do the right thing and clean up our drinking water NOW.

C-8 is a byproduct of Teflon, which DuPont manufactured in Parkersburg, West Virginia since the 1950s. The company knew the chemical was harmful since the 1960s, but they never told anyone, including the thousands of West Virginia and Ohio residents that were drinking it in their water every day. Now I and thousands of others are dying from C-8, and DuPont is delaying compensating us and cleaning our water in order to save money for Wall Street investors. Why are our lives worth less than theirs?

DuPont used the harmful chemical C-8 in the production of Teflon, and the chemical is linked to cancer, ulcerative colitis, and other deadly diseases. The chemical can be found in the blood of 99.9% of Americans, and I can almost guarantee you it’s in yours right now. DuPont was found guilty of contaminating drinking water in 2005, but they’ve dragged their feet for over a decade and done everything possible to delay helping the people harmed by its chemical C-8. Tell DuPont: No more delays. Help the people you poisoned with C-8.