I am starting this petition because I believe that the law makers that represent me need to know that what is happening to public schools is destroying our students' education. These young citizens deserve a fully funded education. We cannot give them the best possible experience if we are not supported by our government. It has to start with our local representatives. Please help!

Nobody should be denied employment based on the fact they use marijuana legally. Employers will also benefit as they will have more job applicants to choose from.

On February 26, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker was asked a question at a conservative conference about how he would combat ISIS, the radical terrorist organization murdering innocent people in the Middle East. In his response, Gov. Walker said, “If I can take on 100,000 protesters, I can do the same across the world.” In one sentence, Gov. Walker mocked the war experiences of every Iraq veteran by comparing the terrorists we fought in Iraq to our families and neighbors here at home. I served a tour of duty with Echo Battery, 2nd Battalion, 11th Marines, in Iraq’s Anbar province in 2004. Many of the places where my unit served are now controlled by ISIS, including areas around Forward Operating Base Givens in Trebil, the Haditha Dam, and the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq compound near Fallujah. I was also one of thousands in the state Capitol in Madison in 2011, protesting against Act 10’s attacks on working people in Wisconsin. I grew up in the Driftless Area on the Wisconsin-Minnesota border. My dad was a schoolteacher and a volunteer firefighter. My stepmom was (and still is) a postal worker. Both of them were union members, and I saw what being in a union meant for them. When my dad faced a serious health problem, his union stood beside him and made sure he didn’t have to face the challenges on his own. I’ll always remember that. So when Gov. Walker started pushing Act 10—the law that stripped public employees in Wisconsin of their collective bargaining rights—I knew I needed to stand up. I remember standing in the Capitol, chanting and singing with thousands of others, trying to get the attention of a governor who didn’t have the courage to meet with us. Those of us protesting in the Capitol felt a common sense of purpose. Around me, I saw teachers and firefighters—people just like my dad. I saw nurses and snowplow drivers and people who work to make their communities better. That year, Gov. Walker called us thugs. His words stung: real thugs were the insurgents we fought in Iraq. But they didn’t sting anywhere near as much as his comparing how he ignored his fellow Wisconsinites to fighting ISIS. Today, I’m proud to be a member of AFT Local 3220, the Teaching Assistants’ Association at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, my alma mater. After I came home from Iraq, I earned my bachelor’s at UW-Madison. I am continuing my education in graduate school, studying military history with a focus on civil-military relations, veterans and education. I also serve undergraduates as a full-time academic adviser. As an academic adviser, I help students identify and develop the tools they need to pursue their dreams. Students can count on my support at any stage of their academic career: encouraging their academic exploration; helping them pick the right major; assisting when they plan their classes for a semester studying abroad, or making sure they are on track to graduate so they can walk with their class and celebrate with their families. And I help them handle more serious issues, like what to do if an emergency requires time away from school. I also volunteer to advise a student organization that focuses on public service, because I want to support students who give back to their community. Gov. Walker thinks that—because he ignored me and thousands of people like me—he’s qualified to face the threat of ISIS. But by comparing teachers, firefighters, nurses, custodians and other public workers to terrorists, Scott Walker insults those of us who have actually fought terrorism, and those of us who speak up for ourselves and our communities at home. Gov. Walker, veterans and service members who risked their lives to fight terrorism deserve better than that. Americans who speak up for their rights deserve better than that. Please, Gov. Walker, show some courage: publicly take ownership of your disrespectful comments and apologize. William Schuth

I want to support the heroic efforts of Cape Wind's President Jim Gordon to combat runaway Climate Change. This project has been delayed for 14 years by huge amounts of fossil fuel money and 26 frivolous lawsuits trying to run out the clock. National Grid must honor its commitment so this can move forward.

For 10 years New Jersey has been fighting, trying to get Exxon Mobil to pay $8.9 Billion in damages for polluted land. The Christie administration agreed to a proposed settlement that would allow Exxon Mobil to pay just $225 million, less than 3% of the $8.9 billion in pollution damages the state spent a decade suing to recover. The affected area is literally right in Linden's backyard. As Mayor of the great city of Linden, I believe the residents need some rational explanation for the monetary settlement and specifics on how the contamination will be cleaned considering the loss of use, for years and years, they have endured to protected wetlands, marshes, meadows and waters in the city.

It doesn't take a high IQ to figure out how to stop corruptiion. Make the states control their own elections. Why should any outside money be allowed to influence your states future? The Supreme Court judges think we are too stupid to fix their mess, I am betting that we aren't.

I am 63 and tired of men trying to tell us what to do with our bodies. This is not the country that I thought I was living in. We are a joke. This is the first time I am thankful for not having children. It would be hell to have a daughter who was told (dictated too) just what she could do with her body. Being a Christian doesn't give you the right to shove your religious beliefs down another's throat and try and force them to do what you want medically. Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness-----women don't have that.

The Department of Justice just found the Ferguson Police Department guilty of widespread abuse, racial profiling, and brutal misconduct. The report details the conditions that led to the murder of unarmed teenager Michael Brown six months ago that sparked the "Hands Up Don't Shoot" movement across the country. At the same time, the DOJ failed to indict Officer Darren Wilson for racially profiling and brutally killing Michael Brown. Finding the Ferguson police guilty of widespread abuse, racial profiling, and brutal misconduct is not enough. Darren Wilson should have been indicted and made to see a day in court for his brutal action. The DOJ's failure to do so highlights deep-seated structural problems that must be fixed in order to keep our families safe. The reality is, Ferguson is America, and President Obama must be held accountable for doing everything in his power — more than speeches and commissions — to stop unjust killings by police, increase police accountability, and expand community control over policing nationwide. This epidemic of racial bias, police violence, and lack of accountability in our country’s police forces must end. Thousands have been killed. Millions have been thrown into the criminal justice system by racially biased practices, stripped of their rights, and unable to gain employment because of discrimination. The federal government could, at the direction of President Obama, significantly change the culture of police violence that puts the lives and dignity of people of color at risk. Through an executive order, President Obama has the power to direct the Department of Justice to enforce our civil rights protections more aggressively and to remove unjust barriers to employment targeting the formerly incarcerated. Take action and tell President Obama to do everything in his power to stop police violence and discrimination and to ensure that those with criminal records can return to their communities and employment without obstacles.

This petition is about the rights of parents to support their children's outdoor play, the rights of parents to treat their children with respect as citizens, and the importance of allowing children independence and the opportunity to explore and discover the world on their own.

Pastor Max Villatoro is my pastor at First Mennonite Church in Iowa City. He was detained Tuesday, March 3 by ICE without being given a chance to say goodbye to his wife and four U.S. Citizen kids. He is not a priority for removal and he is definitely not a threat to national security, border security, or public safety. We need your support to help keep him here with his family. Please sign this petition urging ICE to grant Max Villatoro (A# 094-338-085) a stay of removal. Max’s US Citizen children belong together with their father and Max belongs here in Iowa city with his congregation. He is the type of person who should get a second chance, not deported.

A People's Brief is our version of a public amicus brief - a letter showing the Supreme Court the impact of their decision and what is at stake. The U.S. Supreme Court is reviewing King v. Burwell, a case that threatens to eliminate the financial assistance for health coverage in about 36 states as part of the Affordable Care Act. If the court rules against the health care law, millions will be at risk of losing their health plans and costs would go up for all health insurance consumers. Yes, you read that right. Millions of people could lose their health coverage. Fight back by adding your name to MomsRising's message and to the “People’s Brief” to stand with the millions of Americans whose health care is in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court Justices! ____________________________________________ Health care is a human right. That’s why I’m signing this People’s Brief to call on the opponents of the health care law to put the health of millions of Americans ahead of their selfish political attacks on the Affordable Care Act. The Affordable Care Act is working, and it’s already made a difference in millions of people’s lives. More than 10 million people have health coverage now who didn’t have it before. For example, families no longer have to choose between going bankrupt and getting treatment for a sick child and being a woman is no longer considered a pre-existing condition by health plans. If the U.S. Supreme Court guts the law through the King v. Burwell case, which begins this week, it will cause a lasting health care crisis that will have a deep impact on practically everyone in this country. Health care premiums will skyrocket between 35 to 47 percent. Between 8 to 10 million people who already stretch their dollars to make ends meet would lose their health insurance altogether. An additional 5 million children would lose insurance. The consequences will be catastrophic: nearly 10,000 additional Americans would die each year because of lost coverage.

Eric Holder should have indicted Darren Wilson considering the DOJ's report conclusions of the Ferguson Police Department.