College should be affordable for people of all financial backgrounds to attend and leave with a degree. Expenses (tuition, housing, etc.) should be made cheaper, not free, so students and people can earn a college education.

Earlier this year, Delaware’s Senate voted to repeal the death penalty, but the bill has been stuck in the house Judiciary Committee since May, and several legislators have refused to allow the bill to go to the House floor for a vote. An issue as serious as the death penalty deserves an up or down vote in front of the full House! Here are a few reasons why Delaware’s death penalty is fatally flawed: -->In Delaware, Black defendants who kill White victims are seven times as likely to receive the death penalty as Black defendants who kill Black victims. -->155 men and women have been released from death rows across the country after evidence of their wrongful convictions emerged. Delaware remains at risk of executing an innocent person. -->Study after study shows that the death penalty costs far more than sentencing individuals to life in prison without parole. -->The death penalty traps victims’ families in a decades-long cycle of uncertainty, court hearings, and waiting. In contrast, a sentence of life in prison without parole is a severe punishment that begins immediately and avoids the delays and media circus that come with a death sentence--allowing victims’ families to move on rather than forcing them to endure years of waiting for an execution that may never come.

Connecticut’s Citizens Election Program has increased participation, diversified the donor pool, helped more candidates of color run for office, and led to policy outcomes more responsive to the needs of the general public than the elite donor class. In bipartisan interviews with public officials, Demos has shown the state’s public financing has helped Connecticut—in policy, representation, and process. Once candidates were no longer exclusively dependent on wealthy donors and businesses, the influence of lobbyists decreased, and elected representatives became more responsive to the public will and passed popular programs such as guaranteeing paid sick leave to workers and raising the minimum wage. And participation in the Citizens’ Election program is extremely high. The 2012, 77 percent of elected legislators participated in the voluntary program and all current statewide offices are held by public financing participants. That’s why this really makes no sense. Let the Connecticut legislature know this is unacceptable.

I am a Lebanese American who fled the civil war in Lebanon 30 years ago, but I was fortunate that my dad could pay our plane tickets and provide us with a home here. It aches my heart to see the drownings happening in the Mediterranean while there are ships around !!

Walker does not exemplify the "Wisconsin spirit!"

"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" Nearly every school-age child in America has been taught these words and what they stand for. We are told glorious stories of escape from religious persecution and intolerance. We are shown images of those who have traveled long and arduous roads to reach our shores. We are taught these words and we should stand behind them. Let us demonstrate to the world that we not only know these words, but that we believe in them. Let us lead the world not in defense spending but in humanitarian effort. And let us prove to the rest of the world that we are indeed a part of it.

I am tired of listening to people talk about issues without having any basic understanding of the issue, of history, of facts or reality.

New Jersey could face a water crisis similar to California if the Christie administration doesn’t act now. Counties across the state are rationing water, and water supplies in parts of Cape May and Cumberland counties are contaminated with salt water. Groundwater supplies are being depleted across the state. New Jersey’s population is growing, and we’ll need more drinking water in years to come. Yet the policies that ensure we have the water we need haven’t been updated in nearly two decades. It’s unacceptable that the state has not taken action to ensure clean drinking water for everyone. Governor Christie must release the state Water Supply Master Plan now. Without this plan, New Jersey can’t address our aging water infrastructure and plan for the demands that are being placed on our precious water. Add your name to tell Governor Christie to prevent a water crisis similar to what’s happening in California, and approve a new Water Supply Master Plan.

This petition is about what it's like to be America. We are a beacon of freedom and prosperity, and allowing fear and politics to drive our decisions is completely against our values.

DCS has destroyed and torn apart not just my family but several others. They place children, but with people who haven't even really changed and go right back to doing the same thing. I've seen them give kids back in just a few short months and close the case soon after and something starts all over again. The parents who want their children can't seem to get them back. The department lies and makes false promises to parents. They don't try to help families or care how it is affecting everyone as a whole. Myself personally have dealt and are still dealing with them and the department along with the therapist who sees my older children and has them convinced that I don't want them or love them. I have my youngest daughter, whom the department failed to inform the court of when my rights where terminated, and failed to inform the court that I owned my place. And, my attorney was no help. When I filed my appeal, I was told I could continue seeing my children with no change. As of October, they took my visits away and informed me they were moving forward with adoption and to treat my case as if there was no appeal in place. They had set up a goodbye visit without asking if I was available, and when I wanted to change the date because I had to work, the therapist told the caseworker that I didn't want to see my children, so now they are denying me a goodbye visit. They won't answer any of my questions. Now they are doing the same thing to a friend of mine; they told her to clean her house and then her children can come home. Her home is clean and they are not letting them come home. I love my children and want them home. Something needs to be done about DCS. I've never hurt my children or neglected them. They always had clothes, food, beds, and have never been abused. There are people who are starving their children and beating their children and nothing happens to them until it's too late. My children went to private schools and were active in their school. Please sign this petition to put a stop to DCS and have something done. Thanks

My local congregation of friends are discussing sponsoring a Syrian family and we want the world to know that the governor of Florida nor the right wing state legislature do not represent the caring people in this state and other states who are not willing to turn our backs to the families horrendously displaced by the militarization of the world wreaking total destruction of everything good and decent or humane. We will step up to act humanely and not stick our heads in the sand. Let it be known that we have done this before when thousands of refugees fled Vietnam. Many thousands ended up in Florida on Eglin Airforce reservation and the people of Florida took them in. Thank you for caring, Johnnie Bohannon

According to New Hampshire Governor Maggie Hassan, "People are dying nearly every day in New Hampshire from the heroin and opioid epidemic, and we all need to work together on a comprehensive approach to strengthen our efforts to combat this crisis and save lives." Yet, there is currently a 5 month waiting period in the state of New Hampshire for anyone struggling with chemical dependency to access inpatient chemical dependency treatment and detox due to insufficient resources in our state. Many heroin addicts will not survive the 5 month wait to access inpatient treatment. Given the severity of a heroin addiction and the agonizingly painful process of detox, many heroin addicts cannot successfully complete the detox and treatment process through outpatient treatment alone. Multiple research studies demonstrate that investing in treatment programs for chemical dependency is a much more effective strategy to both keep communities safe and reduce the overall cost to taxpayers than incarcerating people for drug related crimes.