The Illinois House and Illinois Senate may vote by April 24 on HB4011 [1] and SB1761.[2] These bills attempt to legitimize the de-facto Israeli annexation of the West Bank by cutting off state contracts with companies that boycott Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Boycotting Israeli settlements in the West Bank as a means of protesting the Israeli occupation has wide political support in the US and internationally, including by Peace Now (Shalom Achshav) in Israel and Americans for Peace Now in the US [3], and the Presbyterian Church [4], and United Methodist Church [5] in the US. Any private Israeli entity that wants to receive funding from the European Union must demonstrate that it has no links to the West Bank. [6] Urge your Representative and Senator in the Illinois legislature to oppose HB4011 and SB1761 by signing our petition at MoveOn. References: 1. http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=&SessionId=88&GA=99&DocTypeId=HB&DocNum=4011&GAID=13 2. http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=1761&GAID=13&DocTypeID=SB&LegId=88517&SessionID=88 3. http://archive.peacenow.org/entries/apn_joins_peace_nows_call_for_boycotting_settlements 4. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/21/us/presbyterians-debating-israeli-occupation-vote-to-divest-holdings.html 5. http://umc-gbcs.org/resolutions/opposition-to-israeli-settlements-in-palestinian-land 6. http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.536155

To move beyond the gridlock of nation-state politics, citizens of the Earth can come together through the Internet and make collective calls for actions for a sustainable future.

I am part of the growing Anti-AA movement. We, of the Anti-AA movement, have watched AA ideology destroy and kill the more vulnerable members of AA and other related 12 Step Groups. Many of us have also almost been destroyed by the psychological abuse of AA ourselves. AA does not show a significant statistical long term success rate, but it is increasingly showing more and more victims. The Christian Church, and again, even anyone who simply believes in the most basic teaching of Jesus, needs to stop allowing meetings in buildings under their control and/or stop encouraging friends and followers to attend AA.

I am part of the growing Anti-AA movement. We, of the Anti-AA movement, have watched AA ideology destroy and kill the more vulnerable members of AA and other related 12 Step Groups. Many of us have also almost been destroyed by the psychological abuse of AA ourselves. AA does not show a significant statistical long term success rate, but it is increasingly showing more and more victims. The Christian Church needs to stop allowing meetings on its premises and/or stop encouraging its followers to attend AA.

I am part of the growing Anti-AA movement. We, of the Anti-AA movement, have watched AA ideology destroy and kill the more vulnerable members of AA and other related 12 Step Groups. Many of us have also almost been destroyed by the psychological abuse of AA ourselves. AA does not show a significant statistical long term success rate, but it is increasingly showing more and more victims. The Church needs to stop allowing meetings on its premises and/or stop encouraging Catholics to attend AA.

LB 599 would lower the minimum wage for young Nebraskans under the age of 18 from $9.00 an hour to $8.00 an hour just months after Nebraskans overwhelmingly voted to increase the minimum wage. This legislation is discriminatory and goes after a group of Nebraskans who do not have a political voice and often have to work in high school to support their families and pay for the high cost of college. We should be RAISING the minimum wage, NOT lowering the minimum wage for hard working Nebraskans. Business owners have hired lobbyists that have been effective at getting this past the first round of debate. We need to stop it at the next round of debate, and we need your voice to do it. Young Nebraskans have no lobby so we need you to tell Nebraska legislators to stand up for fair pay for Nebraskans who work hard!

The Philippines was tagged "The Sick Man of Asia" and "Zaire of Asia." If independence was ever going to work for the Filipino people, it would have done so by now. It clearly has not. Rather, the millions of Filipinos are needlessly suffering because of corrupt politicians despite the country's massive natural resources.

"Spring Forward" is associated with *an increase in heart attacks. *an increase in traffic accidents, many of which are fatalities. *an increase in on-the-job accidents, many of which are heavy equipment accidents. *an increase in suicides. *an increase in risk of being hit or assaulted for students waiting for school buses in the darkness. *an increase in insomnia/sleep deprivation for children and adults. *difficulties of parents to get children to go to bed with it light outside. *difficulties of teachers who try to teach to sleep deprived students who do poorly on schoolwork and tests. *difficulties in adjusting animals to new feeding schedules. *payroll nightmares of businesses. AND Year round DST is not an affordable/timely option. IF Texas passed a bill for year round DST, TX would be in violation of the Uniform Time Act of 1966, which permits states to opt out of DST but does not permit states to opt out of Standard Time. Going 30 mins either way is against this act too. Texas would suffer penalties from the Dept. of Transportation, like losing all federal funding for highways. A Congressional Authorization "might" be possible, but that battle would take years and years and years. The only timely/affordable option to end time changes is to opt out of DST.

A basket of Supreme Court opinions, culminating in Reynolds v. Sims diluted the representation in rural counties in thirty states in 1964. Up until that decision, California, and many other states, had roughly one state senator for each county. This was consistent with the Connecticut Compromise as implemented in Article I, Sections 2 and 3 of the US Constitution where the House of Representatives is determined by population and the Senate is comprised of two individuals from each state ensuring small or less populous states have an equal footing in Congress. The Warren Court in 1964 invalidated this form of government for thirty states by manufacturing the doctrine of “one man, one vote” from the 14th Amendment which used population as the sole arbiter of representation in both houses of the state legislature.

I am starting this petition because I refuse to fall for the scare tactics of the wealthiest 1% in our society attempting to turn people in the 99% against each other. This offensive attempt to distract us from the obscene degree of income inequality and wealth concentration is shameful!

In the wake of one Free Trade Agreement after another, I've watched several local businesses like Bobs Candies, Merck Chemical, and Delphi close their plants here in America, then re-open them outside our borders. I've observed the negative economic impact, like the cheap foreign-made bicycle sales that Big-mart Stores have wrought upon local business icons like Owens Sporting Goods, only to later watch the prices rise again after having eliminated that competition. The imported products that NAFTA & CAFTA style agreements inundate our markets provide an economic incentive to see even more local business interests give way to international ones. That's caused me to come to the horrible conclusion that the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) that I've heard so much about lately isn't good for our local economy and is a job killer, not a job creator. Even worse, the jobs that aren't killed outright have their wages slashed in order to compete with workers in places like Malaysia and Vietnam. We could and ought to have open debate on the pros and cons of the specifics contained in the 26+ chapter, 1000+ page TPP agreement. International interests and those aligned with them oppose public participation because when claims like the creation of 650,000 new jobs get debunked by investigative reporting from sources like the Washington Post as being closer to zero, their credibility for advancing American interests erodes. Besides, who wins if we must compete with Korean workers who make $1/hour? Are we supposed to count on such poor workers over there to purchase enough American made vehicles to make up for our other job losses? What will they buy our products with...they've got virtually no purchasing power now and with a $1/hour rate of upward mobility...they never will. It looks great when the plan is drawn up. Unfortunately, the field implementation never goes according to plan and America gets left on the hook, every time. Now I've been informed that Congress has introduced a Bill to give President Obama the authority to negotiate the terms of the TPP, in secret meetings, without public scrutiny, by invoking a procedure know as Fast Track Authority. Under Fast Track, the final version of the trade agreement achieved by the President cannot be debated or amended by Congress when it gets sent back to them. This final version is offered only for an up or down vote. It's an ultimatum, not a negotiation. I'm not willing to hold hands with Washington by trusting them to do what's right to prevent sending more jobs overseas, again. Neither should you! Please consider signing on to this Petition to encourage both our Senators and Representatives to oppose Fast Track and embrace the warmth that sunshine brings to the open and public disclosure of trade negotiations.

Since 2000, when adjusted for inflation, state funding for Illinois public universities has been cut by over 35%. As a result, average tuition and fees for entering freshman in Fall 2014 was the 5th highest in the country and the highest in the Midwest. Seventy percent of graduating seniors in Illinois have student debt that averages over $28,000. Gov. Rauner’s budget would increase tuition by over 50%, gut programs, and lay-off staff and faculty critical to providing quality education at all Illinois public universities. Public higher education is an economic engine for the state of Illinois. Not only does a college degree result in higher earning potential for our students and graduates, but an educated workforce is crucial to improving productivity, ingenuity, and scientific, technological, and entrepreneurial innovation. Education is what drives our economy, and it must be funded.