I care about this issue because AA is not what it appears to be. It sooner or later fails for 95% of the people who try it. AA and NA also foster cultures of sexual and emotional abuse. Part of the problem with the misconstruction of AA and 12 Step Program in the larger culture is that AA misrepresents itself to the media and also to newer members. However, all those that understand 12 Step Program know that AA in particular is based on a very literal interpretation of its texts. This is especially true for what is known as the Big Book. Thus, working the “steps” means following verbatim directions laid out in this text. This methodology is more religious than scientific, and is more cult-like even than religious. True, at times AA espouses most if not all of the various Christian virtues. However, the core principal of the Step program is forcing the “alcoholic/addict” to realize that any pain the “alcoholic/addict” has ever felt is the “alcoholic/addict’s” own fault. While this idea runs throughout the steps, it is most obviously presented on p.62 "Selfishness--self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles. Driven by a hundred forms of fear, self-delusion, self-seeking and self-pity, we step on the toes of our fellows and they retaliate. Sometimes they hurt us, seemingly without provocation, but we invariably find that at some time in the past we have made decisions based on self which later placed us in a position to be hurt" (p.62). If this idea were applied carefully and with exceptions, it might be a reasonable code of ethics--assuming that one considers being void of “self” a useful therapeutic objective. However, the use of “invariably" serves as a universal endorsement of abuse, not for a therapeutic coming to terms with the past. Thus, at the most obvious level anyone who enters AA with trauma, abuse, especially sexual trauma and childhood abuse, is almost certainly going to be further traumatized in AA and NA. Those that do well in AA tend to be narcissist abusers or sociopaths and many of their victims are newer members. Of course current AA members, increasingly aware of the growing Anti-AA movement, insist that anyone who complains of ill-treatment in AA is inferior in one way or another. AA argues that AA critics didn’t “work a good Program,” but outside of AA a more accurate term for AA’s tactics is not surprisingly “blaming the victim.” Thus, for those paying attention, the Pro AA attacks on Anti-AA dissenters prove the core claims of Anti-AA, whether AA acknowledges this as valid or not.

Stop the federal water giveaway, save the Klamath and Trinity River salmon from extinction. (Klamath coho salmon listed under ESA). Please help protect our future generations.

My state of Ohio is rife with violent crimes and murders of People of Color by the law enforcement officials paid by our taxes. This execrable situation cannot be allowed to continue.

Legislators today constantly submit amendments to legislation under consideration that have nothing to do with the bill they are working on, hoping to slip something through. This happens frequently with 'must pass' bills so things that would have no chance of passing on their own get through. This seriously subverts the democratic process and must be stopped.

This year the DNC limited the number of debates to six and excluded candidates from participating in independent debates. This follows the RNC's examples and is not acceptable behavior for Democrats. Also there are rumblings that the DNC will exclude Sen. Sanders from the debates even though he has gained in popularity and is proposing solutions most Americans agree with.

I started this petition because I was diagnosed with T1D in 1972 at the age of 14 and have lived with this disease for 43 years. From December 2014 to May 2015 I had noticeable improvement in glucose levels when I was given a 6 month opportunity to use CGM. The acute implications associated with T1D lessened. I had constant awareness of my glucose levels and therefore was able to treat the highs and the lows prior to a major medical event that could have put my life in jeopardy. This biotechnology makes a difference because it improves lives and decreases healthcare costs associated with the management of this illness and the medical complications that result from chronic high glucose levels.

On Thursday, July 23, Gov. Pat McCrory signed a law that takes away the authority of local governments to move an “object of remembrance” from, for example, the courthouse square to a county museum. The heated debate in the General Assembly focused on protecting the prominent display of Confederate flags and monuments. Lawmakers ignored the fact that nearly all these monuments in North Carolina were erected between 1905 and 1925 to reaffirm white supremacy and Jim Crow segregation. The Moral Monday Movement led by the NC NAACP is holding a rally on Monday, July 27, at 5 PM at the old Capitol in Raleigh to call on McCrory and legislators to “Protect People, Not Monuments.” (The Capitol is at 1 E. Edenton St., Raleigh.) We need lawmakers to focus on improving public education, health care, a fair criminal justice system, the environment, voting rights, and economic security. Please attend the rally and bring a friend – but also sign the petition and forward it to your friends and neighbors. We all have pressing concerns, often different priorities, but let’s send a strong message that we do not want to whitewash the past or move our state backwards. There is not much time before Monday’s rally, so please act now and circulate this petition. Thanks!

PETITION BACKGROUND I have first hand knowledge that most if not all judges in both state and federal level, across this great country of ours, have systematically invested in bogus mortgage and asset backed so called securities and bonds. I also have first hand knowledge that most if not all judges are literally stealing people's assets and properties for their own greed and label those theft of our assets as foreclosures when the banksters who are in partnership with judges, have not invested a single cent into these bogus bonds. For example, according to a research, every California county court employee at any and all levels participates in a benefit system that is minimum 60% invested in mortgage and asset backed securities, other bank and financial products tied to mortgage and asset backed securities. [Ref: http://www.scribd.com/doc/99125513/Calpers-Annual-Investment-Report-2010#scribd] which confirm judges' bias and court's clear conflict of interest, violating all 6 Canons of CALIFORNIA CODE OF JUDICIAL ETHICS which essentially means there is no difference between most California county court judges and the debt collectors, they both have consistently terrorized this nation. THIS CRIMINAL CONDUCT MUST STOP NOW.

On July 23, the New York Times published an op-ed by Shmuel Rosner, political editor at The Jewish Journal and a senior fellow at The Jewish People Policy Institute, which claimed that “There are American organizations (such as J Street) that support goals that barely any Israeli agrees with, that nevertheless flaunt the pro-Israel label.” [1] No explanation was given of what these goals are, nor was any evidence given that “barely any Israeli” agrees with these goals. The New York Times fact-checks its op-eds; indeed, they fact-check letters to the editor. People are not allowed to say whatever they want in the New York Times, even in an opinion piece. If Rosner was talking about J Street’s support for the Iran nuclear deal, which seems like the most plausible explanation given the context, his claim was both outrageous on its face and deeply misleading. Senior members of Israel’s national security establishment have spoken in favor of the deal. [2] Moreover, the majority of American Jews back the deal. [3] So if Rosner’s standard for “pro-Israel” is opposition to the Iran nuclear deal, then according to Rosner’s standard, the majority of American Jews would not be “pro-Israel,” which shows that this standard would be absurd. Urge the New York Times editors to examine why this unsubstantiated and misleading attack on J Street was allowed, and to pledge not to allow such unsubstantiated and misleading attacks on J Street in the future, by signing our petition. References: 1. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/24/opinion/shmuel-rosner-testing-the-us-israel-bond.html 2. http://forward.com/opinion/312158/this-man-explains-why-iran-deal-is-good-for-israel/; http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/04/israel-iran-nuclear-agreement-netanyahu-obama-bad-deal.html; http://www.timesofisrael.com/ex-mossad-chief-some-aspects-of-iran-deal-are-good-for-israel/; http://jstreet.org/israeli-validators-for-the-iran-agreement 3. http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-news/1.667593; http://www.jewishjournal.com/IranSurvey

Working families are represented and protected by the unions. The benefits gained during the collective bargaining process positively affects working families directly. Collecting union dues does not violate our first amendment rights.

We have a right to know whether our food contains genetically modified organisms. But the so-called Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act would do nothing to make our food safer and would prevent consumers from getting more accurate information by blocking states from labeling GMO foods. That’s why it’s so alarming that the U.S. House just passed a bill intended to keep consumers in the dark. Among the public, a strong bipartisan majority favors GMO labeling. Blocking state labeling laws is not only anti-consumer; it’s undemocratic as well. We have the right to know what we're eating. Tell the Senate to block the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act.

We are losing a voice that will be hard to replace, Lets send a message they can not ignore.