2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the United States atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It also marks 45 years since the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) entered into force, obligating all States parties to undertake good faith negotiations for the elimination of nuclear weapons. Instead, the world’s nuclear-armed nations are spending over $100 billion per year to maintain and modernize their nuclear arsenals. The danger of wars among nuclear-armed States is growing, and with it the threat of unimaginable death and suffering. We are at a crucial juncture, a time when the unresolved tensions of a deeply inequitable society, great power ambitions, and the destructive effects of an unsustainable economic system are exploding into overlapping crises. From April 27 – May 22, 2015 representatives of the 189 members of the NPT, including the original nuclear-armed States (the U.S., Russia, the U.K, France, and China) will come together at the United Nations in New York City to review the Treaty’s operation. The recent Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons set up the potential for a direct challenge to the nuclear- armed States: States not possessing nuclear weapons will be demanding a new diplomatic process to achieve nuclear disarmament. It is long past time for the world’s governments to implement the global obligation to achieve a nuclear-weapon-free world. This petition campaign is part of the Peace & Planet Mobilization for a Nuclear-Free, Peaceful, Just and Sustainable World. In a demonstration of their determination to build a fair, democratic, ecologically sustainable, and peaceful future, people will gather in New York City and around the world for international days of action April 24 – 26, 2015. The Peace & Planet Mobilization will culminate on April 26 with a festival in Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, across the street from the United Nations, where millions of signatures collected in Japan and around the world will be presented to NPT and UN officials to demonstrate the wide-spread popular support for nuclear abolition.

Her opinion will matter. As a potential candidate for President, she owes it to the public to speak out in support of this now --- especially when the enemies of the agreement are dominating the air waves.

The owner of Yankee Springs Dairy, Paul Lettinga, was responsible for the deaths of two young men aged 17 and 18 in 2010 due to unsafe farming practices. This farmer knowingly sent these two young men into a silo without proper equipment, which resulted in suffocation and loss of life. These losses have torn at the families who have been left to try and continue on without their loved ones. The penalty for his crime: a $14,000 fine which was later reduced to half that amount. Perhaps if farmers were sentenced to jail time rather than minor fines and inconveniences, we would see a reduction in extreme farm accidents. This case has been held up in litigation and risks being dismissed without any real loss to the farm. Please ask for changes, ask for justice and safety on farms. All life is precious regardless of location. Please use this opportunity to discuss what responsibility should look like and how justice can be served.

The Illinois Appropriations-Human Services Committee held a subject matter hearing for public response to Governor Rauner's proposed 2016 Budget. The Committee heard testimony from advocates for Substance Abuse and Mental Health, Development Disabilities and Rehabilitation Services, Health and Family Issues, Special needs populations, HIV, Breast Cancer, Children's Services, and Department of Children and Family Services. Based on reports by members only, the Illinois Association of Rehabilitation Facilities (IARF) estimates 51,447 children and adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities and/or serious mental illnesses will experience limited access to, or lose access to, community-based services and supports under the Department of Human Services’ proposed fiscal year 2016 budget. “We find these conservative impact estimates on individuals with disabilities and mental illnesses and their families disturbing,” said Janet Stover, IARF President & CEO. “Even with the Department making efforts to preserve core and essential services, every proposed cut will cut bone, and these estimates make that clear,” continued Stover. The Department’s proposed budget cuts $193 million in funding from community-based services and supports for children and adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities and mental illnesses in the critical areas of residential services for individuals with high medical/behavioral support needs (ICFDD), psychiatry, housing supports, early intervention, respite, autism, dental and epilepsy services. Below are examples of certain areas in the state that are being reduced due to our current tax system: Medicaid: • $1.5 billion reduction to Health and Family Services budget, including elimination of Specialized Mental Health Rehabilitation facilities. • 16,533 individuals with serious mental illnesses (SMI) will lose access to psychiatry, care coordination, evidence-based mental health services and housing supports – which will lead to increased hospitalizations and incarcerations; • 808 adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities will lose residential and developmental services and supports in ICFDD settings – which will lead to increased utilization of state-operated developmental centers (SODCs); • 1,798 individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities and their families will lose access to respite services – which will lead families to seek out-of-home services, higher cost services and supports; • 11,208 children ages 0-3 will lose access to early intervention services – which will lead to higher long term costs in special education; • 21,100 individuals with epilepsy will lose access to case coordination, case management and outreach services; Human Services: • Division of alcohol and substance abuse – $27.5 million reduction • Division of mental health — $82 million reduction • Elimination of Best Buddies, Project Autism, Arc of Illinois, Homeless youth services, Immigration Integration Services, Illinois Welcoming centers • $23 million reduction to Early Intervention Program Public Health: • $19 million reduction from 2015 Pensions: $100 billion savings over 30 years in payments $25 billion immediate reduction in unfunded liability. $2.2 billion in savings from pension payments in this budget. According to a January 2015 report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (http://www.itep.org/pdf/whopaysreport.pdf), Illinois has the 5th most unfair state and local tax system in the country. In their analysis, when all state and local taxes are included, such as sales and excise taxes, property taxes and income taxes, lower income Illinoisans pay an overall tax rate almost three times that of the top income earners in Illinois. The lowest 20%, with incomes less than $19,000 per year, pay an overall tax rate of 13.2%, whereas the top 1%, with incomes more than $498,000 per year, pay an overall tax rate of 4.6%. “We have to be more flexible in how we structure our tax code, and we must consider a fair income tax in which the income tax rate a person pays increases as their income increases,” said Ford. “This legislation would amend our state Constitution so we can design a fair tax code and not be limited to a flat tax rate like we have now which is the same rate whether you make $35,000 a year or $35 million a year. We still have much work to do to improve Illinois’ financial health. It is clear that more revenue is needed, but it must be fair and progressive and not regressive, as the proposed expanded sales tax would be. Regressive tax policy only hurts working families and those working to enter the labor force.”The legislation also provides that any such tax imposed on corporations shall be at a non-graduated rate, not to exceed the average of the lowest and highest individual rates by more than a ratio of 8 to 5. “This legislation does not change the current flat tax rate for corporations, and also creates predictability for corporations as they look at their tax rates,” said Ford.

Representing more than 7,000 professional musicians in Los Angeles, the American Federation of Musicians Local 47 is dedicated to improving the lives of our hard-working members in L.A. and throughout California. Stand with the thousands of professional musicians and other workers in California whose livelihoods depend upon the vitality of the state's motion picture and television industry and support AB 1199 to amend the CA Film & TV Tax Credit Program.

Eating too much chocolate: common. Overexposure to heavy metals shouldn't be. Yet, a recent study conducted by the environmental group As You Sow found dangerous levels of heavy metals in over 60% of the common chocolate products tested from brands including Sees, Mars, Hershey’s, Lindt, Godiva, Whole Foods, and others [1]. All these contained unsafe levels of lead and/or cadmium in just one serving. Too much lead or cadmium can cause all kinds of health problems, including lowering children’s IQs, causing kidney damage, and bone loss. So, these heavy metals have no place in our treats. Chocolate should be decadent, not dangerous. These companies must keep toxic heavy metals out of their products. [1] http://www.asyousow.org/our-work/environmental-health/toxic-enforcement/lead-and-cadmium-in-food/?utm_content=kflorshoe%40yahoo.com&utm_source=VerticalResponse&utm_medium=Email&utm_term=Test%20results%20showed&utm_campaign=Is%20your%20chocolate%20toxic%3F#chocolate-tables

We don't want to be bullied by the NRA any longer. This week, Stop Handgun Violence released a billboard campaign that said "We're Not Anti-Gun, We're Pro-Life: Massachusetts Gun Laws Save Lives." The hope was that people who read the message would understand that we're not trying to ban guns, instead we're trying to enact responsible gun laws that help save lives. However, this message is the NRA's worst nightmare: responsible gun laws work. They immediately called upon their members to harass billboard companies until they removed the billboards. These same intimidation and scare tactics are used against Congress and the result is 83 gun deaths a day. Our message must be heard. The Constitution is much more than the Second Amendment, in fact we could start with the First. Please tell Congress to join me. We won't be silenced and the NRA will not bully us any longer.

Clear the parents, and the students who attended the Art Institutes from 2003-2011, from their loan debts. These people are innocent to the fact that their money, intended for education, had been used to commit fraud.

SB1278, introduced by State Senator Ira Silverstein (IL-8), amends the Illinois Income Tax Act. Provides that the Department of Revenue shall garnish a tax refund payable to a judgment debtor and instead remit the refund to the judgment creditor. Adds provisions governing the procedure for garnishment of tax refunds. Directs the Department to adopt rules to implement these provisions. Provides that specified refund withholding requests take priority over a garnishment order. Makes a corresponding change in the Code of Civil Procedure. Effective January 1, 2016. (http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/billstatus.asp?DocNum=1278&GAID=13&GA=99&DocTypeID=SB&LegID=87750&SessionID=88) This is not Senator Silverstein's first anti-people bill. Remember this one? "Unpaid Utility Bill? You Could Lose Your Vehicle"- http://bit.ly/1P2w3J3 for which Crain's Chicago Business said, "A spokesman for Mayor Rahm Emanuel says the city is reviewing the legislation and has taken no position on it. Mr. Silverstein says he has not spoken with the city and introduced the bill at the request of a lobbyist friend whose clients include a law firm with a large collections practice. But that lobbyist used to work for the city's Springfield unit, Mr. Silverstein says. And the senator is not your typical legislator: He's the husband of Ald. Debra Silverstein (50th), a dependable vote for Mr. Emanuel on the City Council"(http://bit.ly/1MFUo92). Senator Silverstein's latest bad bill SB1278 would allow debt collectors and creditors to go after an individual's tax refund check. Not only can a creditor or debt collector garnish a debtor's wages already, but Senator Silverstein wants them to be able to double dip and confiscate taxes refunded for overpaying state taxes. True, some government agencies CAN garnish tax refunds in certain circumstances. If a debtor owes the city of Chicago or the State of IL money, those entities can get their cut first - but the private sector can not confiscate a debtors tax refund. Senator Silverstein's Bill could allow them and other entities expanded by this bill to do just that. Senator Silverstein's bill causes double dipping garnishment. A judge sets what a person can afford to pay and allows a debt collector to garnish that much. This bill would allow them to collect even more than what a judge agrees upon by collecting additional payment via the tax refund. It is not just the fact that it is double-dipping payroll garnishment, but this bill would confiscate tax balancing refunds from Earned Income Tax Credits (EITC) which serves as a benefit for working people with low to moderate income. The real kicker: the law also allows the debt collector to charge a fee for the garnishment back to the debtor. Who will most likely have a refund coming back? The people who can least afford to have it garnished. EITC is the greatest tool the state has to bring balance to our tax code and goes to low-income families. Senator Silverstein's Bill could confiscate it for debt collectors. Senator Silverstein, do you work for the hard working taxpayers of the state of IL, who at times may go through a rough time due to various circumstances, or do you work for collections agencies and firms? It surprises us that among your top donors are law firms representing creditors and collections agencies that would benefit from these types of Bills the most including but not limited to: Creditors Bar Coalition of Illinois Blitt & Gaines, P.C. Freedman, Anselmo, Lindberg LLC Markoff Law LLC. Attorneys at Law Resurgence Financial, LLC Grabowski Law Center LLC Johnson Legal Group LLC Titlemax Management Blatt Hasenmiller Leibsker & Moore LLC (All publicaly available by and verifiable with the IL State Board of Elections website)

The Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence wants to send a message that people in Rhode Island CARE about gun safety and want to keep guns out of our schools, away from domestic violence offenders and to reduce the magazine capacities of assault wepsons.

We need more funding and acknowledgement of Pancreatic Cancer. My mother passed away after only 2 and a half months of diagnosis and was in misery from this illness. There is no early detection, so it is not found until too late. More and More people are being diagnosed, as young as their early 20s.

Volunteers of the non-profit organization Chelonia have been working with Puerto Rico Natural Resources Department to clean, patrol, document and preserve the nesting area and the newborn turtles on this beach. We are facing several problems such as hazardous waste disposal, horses, four tracks and vehicles passing over the turtle nests and compacting the sand which causes a collapse to the nests. PR Natural Resources Department has supported us, and as a result of this joint initiative the registered nests have risen from more than 320 in 2012 to almost 600 in 2014 season; so we know that if a Natural Reserve is declared by Federal Law, this could enforce the respect and protection of this natural wonder.