The last government shutdown, instigated by Senator Ted Cruz, cost the country billions of dollars. Workers suffered loss of wages. Commerce was adversely affected. The public was denied access to national parks and other venues. No congressperson should have the power to inflict this kind of damage on the entire nation.

Civil rights and guaranteed entitlement refused. Just because we're African Americans. Two veterans fell dead after taking Antabuse prescribed at WSVA Outpatient Clinic. There's no mistake antabuse was the apparent cause of their fatal exphixiation.

We will all be affected by Cathy's failure, once again, to support programs that benefit her constituents. Hasn't she learned from all the fires in Eastern Washington that we must take care of our land?

Don Orsillo is as much a part of and voice of the Boston Red Sox as any player or person in management. He is as much a reason to watch the games as is the team playing.

We want to improve the quality of life for all Norfolk citizens and avoid the social unrest and destruction of property that has occurred in other cities due to incidents involving the actions of police. The conditions for such unrest exist in Norfolk because for years the NPD has operated with a lack of civilian review, independent oversight, accountability, and transparency. This has led to high levels of distrust of the police in certain neighborhoods, and hinders effective crime prevention and apprehension of law breakers. A number of recent deadly force incidents have occurred under questionable circumstances. In these cases, and others where citizens have complained of misconduct, there has been a lack of transparency and accountability by the OPS and other officials regarding the conduct of officers involved. We request the following mechanisms to ensure greater community engagement with NPD: • Create a Civilian Governance Board that represents the citizens and provides input on policies, training, oversight, and ensures bias-free policing • Place a civilian with no connection to NPD as the head of OPS to ensure all complaints are effectively and expeditiously investigated with results publicly reported in all cases • Reform practices and policies regarding search and seizure, use of force, crisis intervention, personnel recruitment, training and ongoing supervision • Install and routinely use body and dash cams in all stops and public interaction with officers • Hire additional police officers and provide race and gender statistics of applicants and new hires. Reference: U.S. Department of Justice consent decree to Cleveland, OH. For more detail on reforms advocated herein see: http://cleconsentdecree.com/ and http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndoh/cleveland-police-reform.

President Obama is considering taking bold, needed action that would help to save orcas (killer whales) in the Pacific. Southern Resident Killer Whales (orcas) rely on salmon for up to ninety percent their diet, but these fish are in rapid decline. The western drought and the presence of four outdated dams are bringing the salmon and steelhead of the Snake River to the edge of extinction, and harming the ability of orcas to survive. The best available science concludes that removing four dams on the lower Snake River and restoring a free-flowing river would allow for the restoration of healthy salmon runs and provide a vital food source for wild orcas. Please sign our petition to the White House saying that you support the issuance of an executive order to remove these dams and protect wild salmon and orcas.

This petition has been created for the purpose of uniting communities in Memphis through working together to clean up and learning how to assist our neighbors. With help from reliable resources, I would like to assist the elderly and single mothers with free or reduced lawn services using youths in the communities. Help blight areas that have been cited and help people who physically or financially need assistance with clean up services.

Kris Kobach has already done everything in his power to pervert the role of the Secretary of State in Kansas elections. He has created a false issue of voter fraud, is currently attempting to prevent over 30,000 Kansas citizens from voting and received unconstitutional powers of persecution (not prosecution, since no laws are being broken). His actions arouse suspicion and this obstruction of a simple audit only adds to the suspicion that he is not serving the people and abusing the duties of his office.

Telephone companies like Global Tel Link and Securus are pocketing millions of dollars from the families of prisoners. Through sky-high phone rates and unreasonable fees, these companies prey on the need from families to stay in touch with their incarcerated loved ones. This needs to end — sign our petition.

Congress faces a September 30 deadline to pass this year's federal budget, and all of the major Republican presidential candidates are calling for defunding Planned Parenthood. Senator Ted Cruz and others are threatening another government shutdown over it. Funding cuts would force additional health clinics to close and deprive women of essential health care, including breast cancer screenings, contraception, and other preventive health care. Stand with Planned Parenthood, and reject the war on women by anti-abortion extremists.

Of all North American possessions and territories, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is the only jurisdiction where all the restrictions as to movement of cargo on American built, crewed and US citizen owned, as established in the Laws of Cabotage in the Jones Act, completely apply. This results in costs 2.7 times what we would pay for food and medicines, clothing, materials and other imported products were they transport on ships on the international market. If the Jones Act were repealed or Puerto Rico exempted, our expenses would be reduced by an estimated 40%. There is broad consensus in Puerto Rico for the elimination of the Cabotage Laws.

One in four employed mothers in the United States is back at work just TWO WEEKS after giving birth because she doesn’t have access to paid family (maternity, paternity, medical) leave. This is totally unacceptable! Lack of paid family leave is devastating for working families AND for our national economy. In fact, study after study shows that advancing this policy is not only the right thing to do for new parents, it’s also the economically smart thing to do for businesses, taxpayers, and the economy. That’s why almost all countries in the world have this critical policy already in place. It’s time for the United States to catch up. Anyone looking to lead our country should show leadership now by championing and supporting a national paid family leave policy. Sign on to this petition, and MomsRising will make sure that every major candidate in the 2016 race for President of the United States gets the message.