It is time that we start to ban lead bullets in this country! Many people may not think that lead bullets are a problem, but there's quite a bit of lead deposited into our ecosystems every year, and it's extremely detrimental to our future. My name is Brenden Whitelaw, and I've lived on my family farm for most of my life. There are a lot of things people don't like to recognize, one of which is how lead is destroying the ecosystems of many farming valleys. The main problem that I've recognized while growing up here is a rampant rodent population due to the extermination of natural predators like coyotes, and foxes, for the benefit of local cattle farmers. That's just the start of the chain of problems. The coyote's main food source are cottontails and hares, so when we kill off the coyotes, farmers have to fill their niche as predator. "What's the problem with that?" many people will ask. The problem is that we are not the best replacement. We use lead bullets to squelch the overpopulation of rabbits and hares and most farmers don't dispose of the carcasses left behind. What happens to these lead filled carcasses? For the most part they get scavenged by birds of prey. Many farmers in this valley think that they are doing the birds a service, by helping them get a meal, but they aren't. The lead is building up in their systems, and they are no longer creating viable offspring at a sustainable rate; egg shells are weaker, so the egg gets crushed, lead interferes with bodily functions leading to organ failure in birds of prey. Many of the same symptoms that occur in human lead poisoning are occurring in many avian species. It is our responsibility to help them. The chain of Destruction doesn't end there. With the birds of prey population dwindling, there has been a spike in a few completely different species that are even more destructive than the cottontails and hares to local farmers. The animals are the ground squirrel, known as the chisler where I'm from, Voles, and Gophers, they are the main food source for birds of prey. It is nearly impossible to keep them under control without the help of our flying friends. Most farmers I know shoot these rodents, trying to keep them under control, "with what?" you ask, more lead bullets! The the cycle repeats itself, only to leave more and more lead deposited across the valley, eventually leaching into the soil and causing more problems with soil fertility and plant viability. What can we do about the problem? Farmers aren't going to want the government to stop killing natural predators, so the least we can do is ban lead ammunition, and make non-lead ammunition more affordable and accessible. Please sign this petition and help save our flying friends, that includes the symbol of our great nation, the bald eagle!

I agree with the community coalition, which spent months of meetings discussing the 2000-2070 Bryant Project. This plan creates a "Beauty on Bryant" that includes: - 50% Land Dedication to the City to build affordable housing and community-serving spaces, with those affordable units designated for residents earning up to a maximum of 55% of the Average Median Income, with funding pre-dedicated by the CIty to build these affordable units, with shovels in the ground simultaneously to build the affordable units at the same time as the market rate units next door. - 100% Union Built, with maximized local hires and community apprenticeships - Both buildings would equally share the responsibility of accommodating a 1:1 replacement of 50,000 sq. ft. of affordable PDR space containing at least: · 15,000 sq. ft. nonprofit arts space · 15,000 sq. ft. maker and gathering space · 15,000 sq. ft. fabrication, manufacturing, repair The Beast on Bryant is opposed by the SF Building and Construction Trades Council, the SF Labor Council, the project’s direct neighbors and thousands of community members. The developer has fudged the numbers, providing only 18,000 sq. ft of develop-able affordable housing, although the minimum by law should be at least 22,750 sq. ft. He has replaced the 50,000 sq. ft. of PDR space with only 3,983 sq. ft. Should the project proceed, it will cause significant economic and social changes in the immediate area that will result in physical changes, including impacts on air quality, traffic and transportation, as well as negative impacts on the Calle 24 Latino Cultural District. (See CEQA guidelines, 15604 (e)). We ask that you postpone any decision on this project until our community concerns are addressed and studied with community input, and the project becomes a true Beauty on Bryant. For more information: http://www.beautyonbryant.org/calendar

We should ban the Confederate flag from being displayed on school grounds outside of the context of the teaching curriculum because it is a symbol of hate. There has been escalating problem of racial tension at my school, AMES high school. Students and teachers on both sides of this issue are getting increasingly upset, and I am concerned for the well-being of my peers.

We have applied to charter our proposed school for 5 years. The State keeps turning us down. Why?!

Saudi Arabia has used US-made cluster munitions in civilian areas in Yemen, leaving behind unexploded submunitions, Human Rights Watch reports. HRW is calling on the US to end its production and transfer of cluster munitions to conform with the widely accepted international ban on these weapons. [1] More than 100 nations have joined the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which prohibits all use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions due to the unacceptable harm they cause to civilians. Cluster munitions have wide area effects without distinction between civilians and combatants. Cluster munitions leave behind unexploded ordnance that can kill and injure civilians and obstruct economic and social development for decades after use. [2] US law prohibits recipients of US cluster munitions from using them in civilian areas. But Saudi Arabia has used US cluster munitions in civilian areas of Yemen, killing and wounding civilians. US law also bars the export of cluster munitions if more than 1% of the weapons’ submunitions fail to explode upon impact. But a Human Rights Watch report shows CBU-105 Sensor Fuzed Weapons, manufactured by US company Textron and used by Saudi Arabia in Yemen, delivered submunitions that failed to explode. [3] Urge your Representative to support any amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act which would end or limit the production or transfer of cluster bombs by signing our petition. References: 1. https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/05/06/yemen-saudis-using-us-cluster-munitions 2. http://www.clusterconvention.org/ 3. https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/05/06/dispatch-us-contradictions-landmines-and-cluster-munitions

At a Hillary Clinton rally on March 31, the presidential candidate lost her patience with a young Greenpeace activist, who thanked Clinton for her commitment to climate change and then asked her whether she'll reject fossil-fuel money. Pointing her finger at the activist, Secretary Clinton said she was "so sick of the Sanders campaign lying about me." The reason Clinton was asked this question wasn’t because of a lying Bernie Sanders, but because of her own political record. Here are some facts: Clinton’s official campaign agenda supports new fracking and other fossil-fuel projects in the United States and around the world. Unlike Sanders, Clinton has not signed the Fix Democracy pledge which rejects fossil-fuel money. Eleven lobbyists who represent fossil-fuel companies have bundled $1.4 million for the Clinton campaign. Three of the lobbyists primarily represent fossil-fuel companies, and two more exclusively represent fossil-fuel companies: one is a Cheniere Energy lobbyist, and one an ExxonMobil lobbyist. Hedge-fund and private-equity financiers who have billions of dollars at stake in the fossil-fuel industry are investing millions of dollars in Clinton's campaign. Of course, the vast preponderance of fossil-fuel money is invested in Republicans, the party of climate denial. There are many committed climate and clean-energy activists who are strong and influential Clinton supporters. But global warming isn’t going to stop until we stop burning fossil fuels. We need to divest and invest: to redirect all—not just some—of the billions financing the fossil-fuel industry into financing a clean, just national infrastructure. Now, state attorneys general are investigating ExxonMobil’s climate deception and scientists are revealing the true climate costs of methane leakage. The fracking boom and bust has left millions of American workers and their families in dire economic straits and frightening health consequences. The time is right for the Democratic Party to cut ties to oil lobbyists and fracking financiers. For that to happen, political leaders need to take action. Hillary Clinton says that climate change is “an urgent threat and a defining challenge of our time,” and that she is committed to making the United States the “world’s clean energy superpower.” Clinton can show strong climate leadership by taking a clear stand against the dirty fossil-fuel interests investing in climate destruction. The language of the Fix Democracy pledge: "I pledge allegiance to a democracy of, by, and for the people. If elected, I pledge to fight for a people-powered democracy where every voice is heard by defending the right to vote for all, and supporting common-sense measures like public funding for campaigns and overturning Citizens United to ensure a government by and for the people, not the biggest donors. And I will prove that I work for the people by refusing money from fossil fuel interests and by championing these solutions for a people powered democracy on the campaign trail."

Because voting is a fundamental right of all Americans.

The proposed gun range would bring significant noise pollution, crush property values and destroy our quality of life. There would be no meaningful economic benefit from having a shooting range in Town.

A group of volunteers with no political affiliations organized as Williamson Strong to monitor and be advocates for good schools. They are being persecuted and fined in a tragically unfair, politically motivated action by the Tennessee Registry Office to classify them incorrectly as a PAC. Please investigate the matter to protect these good people, our schools and the very integrity of the TN Registry Office. If this interpretation is allowed, no group that speaks against an issue or politician will be permitted without creating a PAC.

Because i have worked with victims of drug abuse in northeast Montana for many years, I see there is a need for an organization like this, as many children are lost in a system that is overburdened with these types of problems.

There are already enough bullies in the lunchroom. Now some members of the U.S. House are effectively trying to take our kids’ lunch money -- by putting forward a bill that guts school lunch programs. An ill-advised update to the Child Nutrition Act came out late last month that jeopardizes free and reduced school lunch for millions of children. This legislation is moving quickly, and we need to stop the provisions that could lead to empty stomachs from coast to coast. Taking away kids’ school lunches is being hailed as the fiscally responsible thing to do, even when we know the opposite is true. When students are hungry they can’t learn. Providing lunch to children whose families are struggling with food insecurity is a simple investment to make sure that those children are learning. It’s just common sense. The House Child Nutrition Reauthorization Bill includes sneaky provisions that would gut the school lunch program -- and would roll back years of progress. [1] If passed, more than 7,000 schools would have their school lunch eligibility revoked. And those more than 7,000 schools? They serve more than 3 million kids [2] Rep. Luke Messer is a member of the critical House Education and Workforce Committee which will be taking a look at this language over the next week or so. It is critical that he hears that we must protect hungry kids, not take away their lunches. [1] http://goo.gl/I85mAI [2] http://goo.gl/YU5Z7I

There are already enough bullies in the lunchroom. Now some members of the U.S. House are effectively trying to take our kids' lunch money -- by putting forward a bill that guts school lunch programs. An ill-advised update to the Child Nutrition Act came out late last month that jeopardizes free and reduced school lunch for millions of children. This legislation is moving quickly, and we need to stop the provisions that could lead to empty stomachs from coast to coast. Taking away kids' school lunches is being hailed as the fiscally responsible thing to do, even when we know the opposite is true. When students are hungry they can’t learn. Providing lunch to children whose families are struggling with food insecurity is a simple investment to make sure that those children are learning. It's just common sense. The House Child Nutrition Reauthorization Bill includes sneaky provisions that would gut the school lunch program -- and would roll back years of progress. [1] If passed, more than 7,000 schools would have their school lunch eligibility revoked. And those more than 7,000 schools? They serve more than 3 million kids [2] Rep. Lou Barletta is a member of the critical House Education and Workforce Committee which will be taking a look at this language over the next week or so. It is critical that he hears that we must protect hungry kids, not take away their lunches. [1] http://goo.gl/I85mAI [2] http://goo.gl/YU5Z7I