***NOTE***This is the original 2015 Petition: Residing along Pensacola Street in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, sits President William Mckinley High School, seemingly an apt name to honor the 25th president, William McKinley. But, to those of us who know the truth about what really happened with the overthrow of Hawaiian Monarchy and the prolonged illegal occupation of the Hawaiian Kingdom by the United States, we do not celebrate William McKinley. I urge the Superintendent of Education, Kathryn S. Matayoshi, the Board of Education members listed above and whomever is concerned, to take action in correcting a wrong and rename McKinley High School back to one of its original names, Honolulu High School. After two failed attempts by the United States of America to annex Hawaiʻi (June 16, 1897, September 7, 1897), House Joint Resolution 259, 55th Congress, 2nd Session, also known as the "Newlands Resolution," was proposed and passed by Congress, then signed into United States law by the imperialist, President William McKinley on July 7th, 1898. According to legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com, a joint resolution is “often used when Congress needs to pass legislation to solve a limited or temporary problem.” The United States’ “problem” was the Spanish-American war in 1898 and to “solve” their problem, they insisted the need for Hawaiʻi because of its strategic value to their military. The war was “temporary.” The occupation of Hawaiʻi, not so much. This joint resolution was illegal because the only legal avenue to have acquired Hawaiʻi was through a treaty, a ratified agreement between the two countries, which the United States did not obtain. Hawaiʻi was indeed known as a country through securing recognition of Hawaiian independence by powerhouse countries, Great Britain (1843), France (1843) and its eventual occupier, the United States (1846). Equally as important, a joint resolution cannot have any force and effect beyond the borders of the U.S., which Hawaiʻi clearly was. As Keanu Sai says on Hawaiian Kingdom Blog, “United States could no more annex the Hawaiian Islands by passing a domestic law, than it could annex Canada today by passing a law.” Ignoring what the people of Hawaiʻi wanted before the joint resolution was signed into law as evidenced by the 21,269 Kūʻe Petition signatures gathered by Hui Aloha ʻĀina and an official protest of treaty of annexation by Queen Liliuʻokalani submitted to and formally accepted by the U.S. Congress, McKinley had one goal in mind and that was to take power over Hawaiʻi at any cost—even if they could illegally slide by through a joint resolution. According to the McKinley High School website, the school was established in 1865 as Fort Street English Day School and renamed in 1895 to Honolulu High School. In 1907 it was again renamed to President William McKinley High School because he “helped to bring about the annexation of the Hawaiian Islands to the United States.” Also, one of the school’s colors, gold, was “chosen for McKinley’s close association with Hawaiian royalty.” In front of the school, stands an eight-ton, bronze statue of President McKinley who holds a scroll in his right hand titled, "Treaty of Annexation." False advertisement much? Although William McKinley is not the only person to blame for illegally occupying Hawaiʻi, he was, at the time, the head of the country that did. By having this school still named after him today, in the most populated city in Hawaiʻi, does the Department of Education (DOE) encourage and imply that what the United States did to the Hawaiian Kingdom and its people to be lawfully and ethically correct? I ask you to please sign this petition and let the proper authorities know that honoring William McKinley and perpetuating his name in Hawaiʻi is absolutely wrong. Mahalo nui.

Mr. Gosnell presided over the bail hearing for the beast accused of murdering nine people in Charlotte, SC on Friday June 19, 2015. At the hearing, he shocked the entire civilized world when he referred to the parents of the accused, who confessed to carrying out the dastardly act, as a "victim", thereby further aggravating the injury to the families of the dead and injured victims. Mr Gosnell has antecedent history of racial prejudice in the not too distant past when he told a Black man appearing before him that there are four types of people : Blacks, Whites, Red Necks and N*****s. He was consequently suspended from the South Carolina judiciary for awhile. By today's action, Mr. Gosnell has shown that he is unfit to continue to serve in any capacity where he will decide the fate of anyone who belongs to a racial group other than his own.

Mass shootings have to stop like the one in Charleston. People are dying. Let's stop encouraging hate and hateful symbols and names associated with slavery of an entire population of human beings on this earth.

Our state still has no hate crime legislation. Since 2013 there've been 51 documented hate crime incidents. South Carolina has 19 known hate groups, according to Southern Poverty Center data. It's more imperative now than ever that all citizens no matter their race, creed, religion, or sexual orientation, are safe from violent persecution. Passing this bill would be a huge step forward for this state; not only in real change in law; but also in perception and solidarity of our state.

The State of South Carolina has used the Confederate flag as a symbol of intimidation for the past 150 years. The terrorist attack in Charleston, SC is only the latest racist terror to visit upon the people of that state. The symbol is not one of pride, but of arrogance and terror. The City of Portland and the State of Oregon must show our repugnance at such a blatantly racist symbol.

Combat racism in America by boycotting states that use racist symbols.

Media should NOT be in the business of choosing the party nominee for President. Senator Bernie Sanders deserved equal air time to Secretary Hillary Clinton. As Sanders surges in the polls, it grows increasingly discordant that CNN news programming focuses almost solely on Hillary Clinton's campaign. Please join us in demanding CNN do its job.

Kansas legislators have recently passed a bill, in which the state's courts will only be funded in the event that none of them rule to overturn a previously passed law that limited the administrative authority of the courts. This is a clear abuse of power as the Kansas Constitution clearly states in Article 3 §1: "The judicial power of this state shall be vested exclusively in one court of justice, which shall be divided into one supreme court, district courts, and such other courts as are provided by law", The Kansas legislature and governor are in breach of this provision as they have attempted to interfere in judicial rulings. Since the legislature and governor were not acting within their constitutionally defined powers, I believe this also constitutes bribery using state funds under federal statute 18 USCS prec § 201(b) which is explained here http://bribery.uslegal.com/federal-laws-on-bribery/ As this is a particularly brazen example of bribery, I want to call on the president to seek the harshest penalties defined under the law, that the offending legislators and the Governor be disqualified from holding public office. Please sign the official petition on "We the People": https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/file-charges-against-kansas-legislators-who-passed-hb-2005-bribery-all-kansas-judges More information on the bill and situation can be found here: http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2015/06/05/kansas-passes-law-linking-court-funding-to-judicial-rulings/

The American Slave Culture has been improperly released from slavery. America is a nation that operates with laws, codes, references, referendum and proper legal documentation. Calling the culture Black or African American is out of order. Black is a color, a description, an adjective. It is not a Nationality or culture. It's not a noun (Person, Place or Thing). African American is a United States immigration term for those whites and blacks who come from Africa seeking U.S. citizenship. The American Slave Culture has been struggling since the Civil War, not Black America. African Americans have a country that they can return to. The American Slaves were born on the plantations in the south. They are natural born citizens. American Slaves were America's first born offspring who have been neglected by America. We are all Americans and we are only as strong as our weakest link. Slavery was the foundation and the bedrock to the American economy. The descendants of American Slavery are the crack in the foundation, and we must help the weakest link if our nation is going to be made whole. Sign this petition asking Congress to properly include the American Slave Culture to be included in the U.S. Constitution.

A new study says the University of New Mexico pays female professors, on average, 13% less than men. Asked why, Provost Chaouki Abdallah says, "The most important reason for male professors [having higher average salaries] is that there are colleges and departments with higher salaries. For example, there are more male engineering professors. The lowest paid professors are where females are a majority such as education or the arts. The other reason is that females may delay careers or promotions because of family. Males will also negotiate for more money and females generally don’t." They can't be serious. UNM can - and should - do better. Tell them to honor the Fair Pay Act and pay female professors on par with men.

Treasury confirmed on June 17 that Alexander Hamilton and not Andrew Jackson will be the first paper currency changed to reflect America's beautiful diversity. But how can the Treasury not see the hypocrisy in retaining an avowed racist on the $20? Andrew Jackson despised Native Americans. He coerced (or deceived) proud Native American tribes to move west of the Mississippi ("The Trail of Tears"). His actions triggered the death of over 46,000 Native Americans while fostering expansion of slavery in the South. Tell Treasury and Congress our currency reflects American values. Tell them their first change to currency should be the removal of Jackson from the $20.

This year, the Connecticut Legislature passed a strong, progressive budget that will put our state on the path towards a more competitive economy and make sure Connecticut continues to be a great place to live. Facing projected deficits, it closed corporate tax loopholes, asked the top 1% of wealthiest residents in the state to pay a their fair share, and took other reasonable steps which allowed them to avoid gutting our schools and community services. A week later, a few of the biggest corporations led by GE demanded that Connecticut amend the budget to restore their tax breaks. If they have their way, lawmakers may have to slash even more funding from education, transportation, and children’s healthcare to meet GE’s demands. Instead of cutting even more vital social services, legislators should stand strong and make corporations like GE pay their fair share.