We are in the midst of an historic election, a battle of two different visions of America just like we were in the last two elections where the American voters overwhelmingly voted for President Barack Obama. In this nomination you can help shine a light on what is at stake again, from acting as good stewards of Mother Earth protecting future generations from Climate Change, to the corruption of our representative form of democracy through the disastrously wrong ruling of Citizens United, to securing humane immigration policies, to protecting reproductive freedoms, defending the right to collectively bargain for workers rights, to restoring the now gutted Voting Rights Act and protecting Marriage Equality and the next generations struggles as yet unseen struggles for equality and freedom! Now is the time Mr. President to use your eloquent voice to rouse the American electorate once more to go to the ballots and choose hope instead of fear, to choose love for our neighbors as the wisdom of the ages said, "love thy neighbor as thyself" as our Golden Rule and reject the idea that he or she with all the gold makes the rules. Please Mr. President we the American people beseech you to nominate someone who will fight for the vulnerable among us! "Promoting active liberty does not mean allowing the majority to run roughshod over minorities. It calls for taking special care that all groups have a chance to fully participate in society and the political process. -- Ruth Bader Ginsburg" We put our faith in not just our system of government but in the deep yearning for a just society that the people we elect to lead us like yourself Mr. President! Please nominate someone to inspire us all. Thank you!

The headline in Politico says it all: "Shuster lounges poolside with airline lobbyists as he pursues FAA bill "It's the latest example of the Transportation Committee chairman's coziness with the airline industry." (http://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/bill-shuster-faa-bill-airline-lobbyists-219666#ixzz41BxPY6Ls) On Feb. 10, Nick Calio, head of the nation’s top airline trade group, Airlines for America, testified before Rep. Bill Shuster’s House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The topic was a top priority for both men: A bill to overhaul the Federal Aviation Administration, most controversially by putting air traffic control in the hands of an entity favorable to the airlines. Two days later, Shuster’s committee approved the measure. And the week after that, he and Calio escaped to Miami Beach, Florida, with Shelley Rubino, an Airlines for America vice president who is Shuster’s girlfriend. The three lounged by the pool and dined together during festivities tied to Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart’s (R-Fla.) annual weekend fundraising trip. Attendees said it they looked as if they were traveling in a pack. It’s the most recent example of Shuster’s cozy relationship with the powerful airline association. His panel has jurisdiction over the $160 billion U.S. airline industry. The FAA bill is critical to the Pennsylvania Republican’s legacy, and to Airlines for America’s members, which include every major airline and cargo carrier in the country except Delta Air Lines. Calio testified that modernizing the air-traffic control system would provide an “immense benefit” to the airlines and their customers. The bill would spin off the nation’s air-traffic control apparatus into a nonprofit company. The airline industry would have more representation than any other industry on the entity’s board. Pilots would also get a seat, handing the airlines effective control of the air-traffic control system. Regional airlines, which operate roughly half of the nation’s flights, would have no representation on the board.

We need coastal ecosystem conservation.

When I gave birth to my first child, the staff at The Birthing Center at Memorial Hospital offered me more than rote medical care. They held my hand, rubbed my back, and looked me in the eyes. Every staff member I encountered knew my name and respected my choices. Through the exceptional care I received during my labor, I came to believe in myself. You can't put a price tag on that kind of family-centered, evidence-based care. My family has learned that Care New England (CNE) is considering closing the Birthing Center at Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island (MHRI). We are horrified and angered that CNE would prioritize financial interests over the care of the families it serves. The Birthing Center provides patients from diverse communities and backgrounds respectful, high quality, and evidence-based care. It serves local families from Pawtucket and Central Falls (including women and babies at highest risk for poor health outcomes due to economic and racial healthcare disparities), alongside educated urban elites, including some who cross state borders because of the Birthing Center’s reputation. The Birthing Center staff cares for tenured Ivy League professors, medical professionals, women recently immigrated, incarcerated women and local high school students with the same deep respect and compassionate care regardless of income or education. We urge you to prioritize the high quality care being provided to some of the state’s most marginalized families at MHRI over the potential cost savings of service consolidation. We urge you to recognize that the Birthing Center at MHRI is the choice of many of the most privileged and educated families in our state. Closing the Birthing Center would do a monumental disservice to RI women and families. MHRI is the only hospital in the state that implements the principles of Mother-Friendly care, as outlined in the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services' Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative. MHRI has an unwavering commitment to normal physiologic birth, skilled support for vaginal births after cesarean (VBAC), groundbreaking and now well-established Gentle Cesarean, and consistently respectful and individualized care. This model of care cannot be found in any other hospital in our state; it is the result of countless years of focused effort and the commitment of an interdisciplinary team of birth professionals. The impact of the Birthing Center at MHRI reaches far beyond the borders of RI. As the training site for Brown University’s Maternal Child Health Fellowship, the Birthing Center at MHRI provides family medicine physicians with nationally recognized and respected supplementary training in high-risk obstetrics within a community-centered model of care. Its graduates both serve our nation’s most vulnerable women and children in physician shortage areas, and work to overcome health care disparities affecting families of color and those living in poverty. In light of this, to close the Birthing Center is to abolish CNE’s most historically enduring, unwavering example of life-saving maternity care to underserved populations. Please understand that those of us afforded the privilege to do so will travel considerable distances to obtain high-quality, compassionate, evidence-based and family-centered care – the kind of care that ALL families deserve. Should the Birthing center be closed, we will work to be sure that all families understand their rights and options in choosing maternity care. If CNE does not value the Birthing Center, it does not value me. It does not value its patients - as women and men, as mothers and fathers, as engaged citizens, and as consumers of health care services. If CNE does not value its patients, then it will lose them. If the Board decides to put profits over patients, I will obtain all possible medical care for my family outside of the CNE system. I urge you to reconsider any plans for closure.

I am a Nevadan. The recent Nevada caucus allowed the public to see to the lack of democracy and equality in our state. Anyone who was working during the time of the caucus was unable to participate. The voices of working people were not heard during the caucus. This is unacceptable. The purpose of this petition is to let our leaders know that we are dissatisfied with the caucus process. We want to return to becoming a primary election state.

HB 4040 would put into law a flawed administrative decision by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Commission (ODFWC) to remove the gray wolf from Oregon’s endangered species list. The Department's recommendation was made without the independent scientific peer-review required under Oregon law. It’s critical that wildlife management, especially of an iconic species like the gray wolf, is based on sound science, not the election-year political threats from ranchers and farmers. This legislation is an attempt to kill a lawsuit that challenges the ODFWC delisting recommendation and sets a dangerous precedent of blocking judicial review. HB 4040 directly undermines efforts at the federal level to provide federal protection for this endangered species, and it sets back years of progress made to restore the species in Oregon.

Once our public wildlands are gone, we can not get them back. They are our heritage, our refuge, and the health-giving part of our nation. Federal protection has, in the past, saved the lands in the West from environmental destruction by the states and localities. Let's keep our public wildlands safe from them into the future.

Voters are restricted from realigning with a political party before they know where the party stands and which candidates they will support. Voters who have been registered Independent or Non-Affiliated are disproportionately effected by Sec. 5-304 (enrollment, change of enrollment or new enrollment by previously registered voters), which prohibits them from changing parties. And, they cannot change affiliation to vote for candidates they currently support. Voters who wish to change party affiliation should be able to do so before the registration deadline of the presidential primary and not be restricted by waiting for the general election.

I currently work in local news and this process has been on my radar ever since Gov. Branstad started it months ago. I currently work in local news and this process has been on my radar ever since Governor Branstad started it months ago. Our county supervisors say it's a bad idea, our county healthcare providers say it's a bad idea (50% have not signed with any of the private companies), people that receive the care say its a bad idea, and our citizens say it's a bad idea. Please help us to stop the victimization of our most vulnerable citizens and either toss this whole concept out or at least give us more time! I talked to senator Chuck Grassley and he backs the governor on the basis that since New York is "doing well" with their privatization we can do well too. The critical difference is that New York had years to prepare for this and assure the best care. As for Iowa? About 4 months. Please Help us in this critical time! The Iowa Senate is on board; now let's get the House and Gov. Branstad on board, too!

Flint, may have opened our eyes, but the problem goes well beyond one city in the Midwest. Our aging and corroded water infrastructure throughout America is failing at an alarming rate.[1] And the stakes couldn’t be higher: the very water we drink. Thankfully, a bill was just introduced that would go a long way toward fixing this problem.[2] Take action now, and let’s convince our senators to support much-needed upgrades for America’s drinking water. 1. "Drinking water systems imperiled by failing infrastructure," Associated Press, Sept. 26, 2015, http://bigstory.ap.org/article/5e1a4c0c661f4c6cb94d3b6b71e4a337/drinking-water-systems-imperiled-failing-infrastructure. 2. "Cardin bill would more than triple funds available to states for crumbling and polluted water infrastructure," Sen. Ben Cardin press release, Feb. 11, 2016, http://www.cardin.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/cardin-bill-would-more-than-triple-funds-available-to-states-for-fixing-crumbling-and-polluted-water-infrastructure.

Donald Trump is actually becoming a strong contender, and I care about this country.

With the 2008 passage of Proposition 2, California voters were promised a cage-free future for egg-laying hens. Yet a recent investigation (Prop2Truth.com) shows hens remain confined in cages, languishing in filthy conditions, and unable to engage in even the most basic natural behaviors, such as spreading their wings. The California Department of Agriculture (CDFA) has denied any responsibility for reporting violations of Proposition 2. Indeed, CDFA auditors have found multiple violations, yet there has yet to be a single enforcement action since the law went into effect. As nations across the world open their eyes to the violence behind closed doors, it is time for California to once again take its position as a progressive force for animals. The CDFA must end its cover-up of criminal animal abuse by reporting violations of anti-cruelty laws to relevant authorities. It’s time to show the public the truth: the only humane future for animals is one where they are not being exploited at all.