I now use a wheelchair due to pain. Aetna has denied a pre-certification from my orthopedic surgeon for a Sacroiliac Joint Fusion. Aetna determined that this potential pain-reducing procedure is not medically necessary. The National Institute of Health has published articles demonstrating the high success of pain reduction of both open and minimally invasive SI Joint Fusion, although minimally invasive has a higher success of pain reduction. Also, implanted instrumentation used in these types of procedures has been approved by the FDA. Aetna uses MCG guidelines to determine this surgical procedure. MCG criteria is motivated to reduce expenses and increase insurance companies’ profits through their products which is why 8 of 10 largest US health plans utilize their services (if they didn’t produce results, MCG would not have clients). Aetna has further denied my surgeon's request for the procedure after the peer to peer review and is slow to respond to my written appeal keeping me in debilitating pain and reducing my pay while I am out on disability.

Metra, the commuter rail system in northeast Illinois, needs to take a stand for workers who build the rail cars they use every day—and there’s one simple thing it can do right now. Nippon Sharyo, Metra’s rail car manufacturer, recently fired Chicago worker Jenn Svenkerud after she complained about fall hazards on the job. Jenn’s complaints should not have been ignored by Nippon Sharyo, especially since Occupational Health and Safety Administration has conducted six different investigations and slapped Nippon Sharyo with more than $34,000 in fines for 11 different safety violations, including, you guessed it, employees exposed to fall hazards. We need Metra to hold contractors accountable when they don’t put workers’ safety first. Sign the petition now to tell members of the Metra Board of Directors to demand Nippon Sharyo reinstate Jenn Svenkerud and make the safety of workers who build Metra rail cars a priority.

Mistreatment of any animal is wrong, but the situation of the world's elephants (an endangered species) is especially dire. Given that the Bronx Zoo has made no effort to treat their elephants humanely and given that they also refuse to allow willing elephant sanctuary groups to take in the remaining Bronx Zoo elephants at no cost, then it is time for the American people to voice their protest to the officials of the Bronx Zoo. Tell the Bronx Zoo: Free the elephants!

Gov. Branstad has already closed two of the state's mental health hospitals down, and is now considering closing the last two. We the people need to take a stand and fight for those who need care. Our hospitals are not equipped for this.

We need vindication for the victims.

The Economic Development Agency had planned to pay Porter Novelli up to $750,000 to help develop a plan to rebuild the state's image after widespread criticism over the religious objections law that Republican Gov. Mike Pence signed into law in March. Critics contended the law would allow religious beliefs as a legal defense for discrimination against lesbians, gays and others. Lawmakers later revised the language of the bill, but convention and tourism officials across the state say they are still being questioned about that law and that its true effects might not be known for years. The relationship with the PR firm was terminated when the Pence administration and the global PR firm expressed different opinions on gay rights. Pence needs to be held accountable for the wasting of taxpayer money.

Subject: Stand W/ The Naacp-Mesquite against the Confederacy. Hi, Hello, Madam President Octavia Obama is in #PitCairn. She is a legal assitant for Mr. Barack Hussein Obama the II. She has been instructed to get on the ballot for 2016. Please donate to The Naacp-Mesquite. Dues are $52.62 a month. Party Number Percentage Democratic state senators 825 41.8% Republican state senators 1,091 55.3% Nonpartisan state senators 48 2.43% Independent state senators 2 0.10% Third party state senators 1 0.05% Vacancies 5 0.253% She is also a 10%. Top 10% of the Nation. Cordially, Madam President Octavia Obama So I created a petition to President Barack Obama, which says: "I cannot fix a Confederate heart. Stand with me, Madam President Octavia Obama in PitCairn, Pennsylvania. Thank you, " Will you sign this petition? Click here: http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/stand-w-the-naacp-mesquite?source=c.fwd.in&r_by=13522804 Thanks!

The U.S. flag is there to represent us all; however, the Confederate flag only divides us.

Many cities across the country and our own state have changed local laws and ordinances to allow for the raising of a small flock of hens. It is time for Frederick, MD to join this movement. With proper education and a little research it is very easy to raise chickens in an urban setting without fear of noise, smell or disease. At the same time you can provide your family with a very healthy choice in home grown eggs. Factory farming is failing us in many ways. This will relieve the pressure on factory farming, while giving residents the right to provide a much more humane, and safe environment for backyard chickens. Let's join cities like New York, Baltimore, Rockville, Silver Spring, Bethesda, Potomac, and many more to put food production into the hands of city residents.

There are many problems with the Trans- Pacific Partnership trade deal being negotiated by the Obama Administration, and the consequences for working families in the United States will be devastating. But as bad as TPP will be for the US, the consequences pale in comparison to what will happen if the US removes Malaysia from its official list of the world's worst human trafficking offenders. According to the Huffington Post, “The maneuver would allow the administration to continue negotiating a controversial trade agreement with Malaysia and 10 other Pacific nations. Legislation authored by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) effectively bars the U.S. from enacting trade deals with countries deemed ‘Tier 3’ violators of human trafficking standards -- the worst of the worst in the State Department's formal reckoning of governments that facilitate modern-day slavery. “Malaysia earned its spot on that list, alongside Iran and North Korea, from years of human trafficking, including rampant sex slavery and forced labor in the agriculture and the textile industries, according to 2014 State Department documents. Malaysia's electronics industry also is rife with forced labor. This year, mass graves for trafficking victims were discovered in Malaysia near its northern border with Thailand.”

My 13 year old (12 at the time) was sent to be reprogrammed by her mother and her paternal family (father passed) can't find her. We fear for her life and the lives of other children placed in ITTs.

The Fair Elections Now Act would put "we the people" back at the center of U.S Senate elections -- and greatly reduce the influence of big special interests -- by allowing candidates to wage successful campaigns without large donors. The Fair Elections Now Act provides candidates with funds to replace campaign fundraising that largely relies on large donors and special interests. Participating candidates are then to limit their additional campaign spending to the amounts raised from small dollar donors. Candidates qualify by raising a set number of small donations from in-state donors, and agreeing not to accept more than $150 from any one donor. During the campaign, small donations are matched and amplified by public funds. All Americans would receive a $25 tax credit they can give to their candidate, so EVERYBODY can donate. Right now, the Fair Elections Now Act (S.2023, Dick Durbin, D-Illinois) has 21 Senate co-sponsors. To help it succeed, it needs more support. Barbara Boxer is already a co-sponsor of this important bill, but Dianne Feinstein hasn’t signed on yet. Please ask Feinstein to stand with the voters – instead of wealthy donors and special interests – by co-sponsoring the bill.