I present this petition as President and Co-Founder of ButterflyPAC, a super PAC that advocates to end poverty and hunger. We agree with Charles Blow who writes, "We are witnessing attempts to use poverty and disadvantage as tools to silence voices. It is a further dehumanizing and delegitimizing of the poor." That is why we are advocating for passage of the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. The For the People Act will: • Expand voting rights; • Change campaign finance laws to reduce the influence of money in politics; • Limit partisan gerrymandering; and • Create new ethics rules for federal officeholders. The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act: • Establishes a targeted process for reviewing voting changes in jurisdictions nationwide, focused on measures that have historically been used to discriminate against voters; • Allows a federal court to order states or jurisdictions to be covered for results-based violations, where the effect of a particular voting measure (including voter ID laws) is to lead to racial discrimination in voting and to deny citizens their right to vote; • Increases transparency by requiring reasonable public notice for voting changes; • Allows the Attorney General authority to request federal observers be present anywhere in the country where there is a serious threat of racial discrimination in voting; • Revises and tailors the preliminary injunction standard for voting rights actions to recognize that there will be cases where there is a need for immediate preliminary relief; • Increases accessibility and protections for Native American and Alaska Native voters. Senator Warnock stated at the end of his speech, just before he received a rare standing ovation from those in the Senate Chamber, “As a man of faith, I believe that democracy is a political enactment of a spiritual idea – the sacred worth of all human beings, the notion that we all have within us a spark of the divine and the right to participate in the shaping of our destiny. Reinhold Niebuhr was right. Humanity's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but humanity's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.” We could not agree more.

“Makaha Surfing Beach and must be preserved and protected. Any new bridge or roadwork on Farrington Highway at or near the beach should incorporate the community's preferred mauka route to the north and northwest of Makaha Beach Park as depicted on the master plan for the Makaha Beach Park dated May 24, 1999. If the current bridges are rebuilt as planned at their current location, such an investment would jeopardize the preferred mauka reroute and the Makaha Beach Park project until these new bridges need replacement 70-100 years from now. It is extremely unlikely that anyone would be willing to tear them down for many years from now to build the mauka route and park the community has voiced its concerns for since the mid-1980s. If the current Makaha Bridges replacement project proceeds as planned, the placing of the PROJECT's temporary bypass road on the makai side of Farrington highway will place the Makaha Beach ecosystem in immediate peril, especially if the "five-year flood level standard" temporary bridges are washed into the bay by inland flooding or ocean surge. If the mauka route is constructed, there will be no need to construct a temporary bypass route because the current route would be fully available. The existing bridges have been recently repaired and reinforced by the State DOT; there are no posted limititations on either of the bridges, they have withstood multiple 100 year floods (including the most recent in 2008). These bridges should last many years, giving plenty of time for the State DOT to reevaluate alternative #4 (the mauka route) and modify the current design to accommodate the community's needs and desires

Update 12/22: Being that the newly constructed bridges are still in a FEMA “flood zone,” the community is still concerned about climate change and beach erosion that we see happening today. We need to be proactive about these safety measures, considering there's only one way in and out; no alternative means the community would be stranded in a disaster, no way to receive emergency services, food supplies, etc. Is there an emergency plan of action for a case like this? There is also a desire to restore ancient marshlands (muliwai), a culturally significant area where Ohana's (families) are meant to come malama and gather, it'll be an outdoor classroom for all; if the water is restored, we could raise fish to conserve the environment and reintroduce some endemic to this area which is O'opu, 'Ōpae, Anae, HawaiianDamselfly and other natural resources that are impacted by Kili Drive and the two bridges currently standing. The Master Plan is a much safer and smarter choice as it will take the bridges out of the flood zone and keep us safe from high surf, climate change, natural disasters, and the natural effects of beach erosion. It will also take away this straightaway route that is known for speeding, drunk driving, and fatalities, and it'll also showcase the beauty of Mākaha with a more scenic route.

Trust for law enforcement is polarizing (at best) and at a dangerously low level among people of color. For a public information officer to so flippantly defend an admitted murderer in the court of public opinion is abhorrent.

We service the marginalized families in the Red Hook Community and are commited to child safety. The decision to install the bus stop outside our school was in reckless disregard for the safety of our children. At NO TIME were we consulted or advised that a bus stop was being installed outside our school. We would have vociferously expressed our concerns. Since the installation of this bus stop, we have reached out to express our concerns. Sadly, this fell on deaf ears. We live in daily fear that someone will get hurt or WORSE because of the danger of the bus turning on our corner where parents cross the street to enter/leave our building. Also, many of our children leave our building when it is dark during the winter months. The children and families of the Red Hook houses deserve a safe environment like their counterparts in gentrified neighborhoods. As advocates for our families and community, we DEMAND that this bus stop is removed. Please help keep our children safe!!!

50 million Americans are going hungry, over 10 million are still unemployed, and 63 percent are living paycheck to paycheck. The federal minimum wage has not gone up in nearly 12 years -- the longest period of time without an increase in history. That has benefited corporations and the ultra wealthy and disproportionately harmed minimum-wage workers, a majority of whom are women and come from communities of color. Enacting a wealth tax is a racial, economic, and gender equality justice issue. Instead of addressing this ever-growing wealth inequality in America, callous politicians have successfully defunded essential services like our housing, our health care, and our education, furthering the racial and gender wealth gap. All the while, America’s billionaires continue to accumulate their wealth by paying their workers starvation wages, denying them healthcare, and actively sabotaging attempts by their workers to unionize. Their pandemic gains alone are so immense that they could give everybody in the country a $3,000 stimulus check and still be as rich as they were before the pandemic. This rigged system cannot continue. We need to take this money that has been pilfered from working people and use it to invest into our communities. Imagine, for a moment, what we could do with a wealth tax, what it would mean for people of color, for the working class, for our most vulnerable communities, for all of us. We could fund health care and education, we could invest in infrastructure and green energy, and we could truly begin to build back better. Together, we can make this vision for the future our reality. Sen. Warren, Rep. Jayapal, and Rep. Boyle introduced their wealth tax bill that would make only the wealthiest Americans, worth over $50 million, pay their fair share. It’s only right. Join us in asking Democrats in the U.S House and the U.S Senate to co-sponsor this crucial bill that will begin to rein in this country’s out-of-control corporate greed.

Remember how our hearts broke when we saw pictures of migrant kids sitting in cages under President Trump? Now those cages are starting to fill up with kids again! Kids are fleeing street gangs, assault, and grinding poverty. They need care and safety. But instead, they’re being imprisoned in the same inhumane Border Patrol facilities from the Trump administration. Hundreds are even being detained past the legal limit of 72 hours. 😡 There are safer alternatives -- like working with local communities to place kids with foster families while they wait to be connected with their own family members. Even one detained child is one too many! Our immigration system should prioritize the safety, health, and dignity of immigrant children and families.

Dandelion Chocolate workers in San Francisco are unionizing with the ILWU! We are asking for: - Living wages. We deserve to live and thrive in the city where we make and serve some of the best chocolate in the world. - Job security. All workers at Dandelion are currently "at-will," meaning they can lose their jobs for any reason or for no reason. During a pandemic and a nationwide job shortage, we deserve security. - An equal, respected, and protected voice on the job. Workers at Dandelion recently raised issues around their workload and staffing levels. The company then eliminated 6 jobs. We want to be able to voice our concerns without fear. Please stand in solidarity with us. We are proud of the work we do, and we want Dandelion to be the best it can be.

Congress just expanded the child tax credit this year, giving parents up to $300 a month per kid! These ‘Kid Cash’ payments will be a gamechanger for millions of struggling families, but we all know the bills won’t stop in December. That’s why the expanded child tax credit needs to be **permanent** -- that would mean $250-$300 every single month for most families with kids under 18! This would cut child poverty in HALF and invest in the wellbeing of our country’s children. We need to show politicians there’s massive support for this proposal. Sign the petition now calling on Congress to make Kid Cash permanent.

President Biden is being applauded by Jared Kushner — the very person who was catastrophic to U.S. foreign policy. When Kushner followed his father-in-law into the White House, we had successful, working nuclear agreement between Iran, the United States, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Russia, and China. But they decided it would be better to walk away from that successful deal to make childish threats, launch new military misadventures, and put us right back on the path to war with Iran. President Biden should listen to US — not Jared Kushner! During the Trump years, we repeatedly came close to all out war with Iran. If the United States doesn’t move toward for diplomacy now, we’ll be right back on the brink of war. Jared Kushner supporting Biden’s approach to Iran is a bad sign. Now’s the time to choose peace and diplomacy, and it’s up to us to make it happen. Can you add your name to our note urging President Biden to join the Iran deal and walk away from Trump’s catastrophic policies?

Many kids and adults love skating, scootering, biking, etc. Having a skatepark in Fairview could bring us together as a community while doing something that many people love to do.

Over 41% of visitors to college websites use a smartphone but the outdated SCSU.edu website doesn't work with smartphones. That's unacceptable. A non-functioning website is bad for recruiting and enrollment. Lower enrollment means fewer resources and more cuts and more pleas for funding. We want a New Mobile Optimized Website for South Carolina State University. We're tired of the delays and lack of urgency. Our SCSU.edu website is severely outdated. It's 14 years old. We deserve a website that makes all SCSU supporters proud and meets the needs of Gen Z prospective students. Let's not drag this process out. We call on the Administration to create, develop and launch a new website before the Fall Semester. It can be done if this situation is treated like the emergency it is. 1) Visit the SCSU.edu website on a desktop/laptop then visit on a smartphone. 2) Notice how difficult it is for prospective students, donors and supporters to make a decision about attending SC State, donate money or take a virtual tour when visiting SCSU.edu on a smartphone. 3) Sign the petition to get the website revamped, rebuilt, refreshed and mobile optimized before the 2021 Fall Semester. We can't wait any longer. Background facts behind the call to action: African Americans have the lowest Desktop computer ownership rates and the highest smartphone ownership rates. Yet the outdated South Carolina State University website that's inadequate on desktops does not work properly on Smartphones. 85% of adults think that a company’s mobile website should be as good or better than their desktop website. 88% of users are less likely to return to a website after a bad user experience. Mobile users are 5 times more likely to abandon a task if the website isn’t optimized for mobile. The average student visiting a college site spends: 2 minutes on average on a college site 2 pages on average are viewed on college site 57% is the bounce rate (leaving a college site without visiting more than the page they landed on) for most college websites. A website that isn't mobile optimized will: Have a higher than average bounce rate. Reflect poorly on the institution. Make it harder for students that don't own a desktop to navigate, apply, or take a virtual tour