The best parent is BOTH parents.

Our teachers and support staff work hard every day to ensure our students in Volusia County get a high-quality public education. We ask that you respect Volusia County teachers, support staff and parents by providing a clean learning environment for our children; by investing in sufficient teaching resources; and by ensuring our schools are competitive with surrounding districts in terms of compensation. I am so grateful my child attends a school where the educators care so much about their students’ future. It is clear to me that they love working with my child, and it only seems logical that the county’s school board would be fair and supportive of the work educators do for my family and our community. When I heard that Volusia educators were standing up to address problems in our schools—the lack of learning materials, the insufficient amount of time available to engage students individually, the lack of support staff to do things like keep schools clean—I knew it was my responsibility to join them. I believe both teachers and parents play an important role in educating our children. That is why I have participated in walk-in protests with other parents and educators to show our solidarity and to show the school board and our county that we care about the conditions provided to teach our kids. The school board’s responsibility is to support educators in the teaching of our children and to provide sufficient resources for our schools—and it has the opportunity to address some of these issues during bargaining sessions happening right now. But until the school board does, we will continue marching every morning into our schools. Our school district’s vision statement says, “To make that vision a reality, we should be attracting and keeping hardworking employees by offering better wages, and we should be providing the materials and learning environments all students need to be successful.” To make that vision a reality, we should be attracting and keeping hardworking employees by offering better wages, clean learning environments and the materials all students need to be successful. Please join me today and tell the School Board of Volusia County that you support our teachers and school staff in our fight to improve our schools. This means recruiting and retaining the best while providing full resources and clean schools for our kids. Let’s reclaim Volusia County and provide the best education for all. Sincerely, Joanna Kaney Olivari

In the February 24, 2015 municipal elections, violation of Illinois election law was rampant. The Chicago Board of Elections is either unable or unwilling to prevent illegal activities that affect the outcome of elections. Because elections are run by insiders for the benefit of insiders, we lack confidence that we can have our rights as US citizens protected by courts and prosecutors who are accountable to political insiders at the state and local level. As someone who has participated in elections in some capacity since 1997, the February 24, 2015 Chicago municipal elections was the first time I felt like the administration of the elections was so corrupt that it invalidated the outcomes on a widespread basis.

Massachusetts should lead on education, but when it comes to early education we're falling behind. While states like Oklahoma guarantee a year of public preschool, Massachusetts state spending on early education and care, adjusting for inflation, has declined by 50% since 2001. 1 That's not only wrong; it's short-sighted because we know that for every $1 we spend on early education, we save $7 over time. Recent studies show that kids who attend preschool not only do better in school as they grow older, they're also more likely to go to college and get a good job. We're launching a new statewide effort to show that it's time to invest in our youngest learners. We're working to get towns like Malden, and other towns across the state, to speak up and pass local resolutions in favor of early education. It's not fair that some children start kindergarten behind because their parents aren't in a position to pay for their children's early education. This is America, and we're all supposed to get a fair shot. 1. http://www.putmakidsfirst.org/about-us/

The Federal Agency from the Education Department is not flexible about lowering student loan interest rates. America went through some rough financial times, and Banks were mandated to reduce mortgage loans and were even penalized for their actions. Homeowners were given debt relief of but not students. Therefore, actions from the Federal Government to help the student population to recover from financial hardships are required to lower the high interest rates immediately. These rates should not exceed 2.5% and should not have extra condition. This low rate should be maintained for all future Student Loan programs. Education is the basis for a strong society and should be encouraged with low interest rates. These rates should be available for ALL types of student loans making Graduate and Post Graduate education accessible for this Nation's striving Economy.

I have been a witness to tons of animal abuse situations and I have tried to stop it but I have had it! I am taking this to the president.

I am starting this petition because I want to take back a freedom that was taken from the American people over 70 years ago. The right to grow and use a plant should never have been infringed upon by our government.

On December 28, 2014, in a speech directed at Islamic religious scholars and clerics, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said, “It is inconceivable that the ideology we sanctify should make our entire nation a source of concern, danger, killing, and destruction all over the world. Honorable Imam (the Grand Sheik of Al-Azhar), you bear responsibility before Allah. The world in its entirety awaits your words, because the Islamic nation is being torn apart, destroyed, and is headed to perdition. We ourselves are bringing it to perdition. We need to revolutionize our religion…” The extraordinary, unprecedented courage of Egyptian President El-Sisi in taking this position and endangering his life demands support for his call to reform Islam for the sake of world peace. It is incumbent on President Obama and members of Congress to issue a proclamation of appreciation and support to Egyptian President El-Sisi for his stance.

Parents have a fundamental right to make informed medical decisions for their children, decisions free from unnecessary and overreaching mandates that compromise our religious and philosophical liberties. SB 442 is a bad idea for Oregonians who believe in medical freedom, informed consent, and the privacy and importance of the patient-doctor relationship. This bill is not going to the public for vote! 11 other states are currently entertaining this form of legislation! This issue is coming to your state or a state near you! This is not a debate about the merits of vaccines, any harm vaccines may cause in a subset of vulnerable children, or whether the current CDC schedule is in the best interests of our children’s health. It is a debate about freedom and parental choice. The Bill has been updated to SB 442.5!

Please join me in telling Rep. Chris Gibson that he needs to END his cosponsorship of federally mandated concealed carry, H.R.402, because it would preempt New York's strong concealed carry laws and put New Yorkers in danger. This bill would force New York to honor the "concealed carry" permits from all other states. This would be a disaster for the safety of our citizens and police because it would allow people like George Zimmerman to carry his concealed gun anywhere in our state, including places like Times Square and Niagara Falls, visited by millions each year. His job is to keep us safe, not to weaken our strong gun safety laws. He needs to do his job.

Tim Meegan has filed a legal challenge to the results of the February 24 election based on illegal acts by the Mell organization and its supporters. Without those illegal acts, Deb Mell would not have broken the 50% threshold that allows a candidate to avoid a run-off. Tim Meegan deserves to have his support registered in an election without cheating.

This is wrong and deserves public attention. In 2014, Psychology Today published an article “Gay Conversion Therapy: A Dark Chapter in Mental Health Care” – yet, the magazine still publishes advertisements for this therapy. This petition is based on the work of Fred Sainz, Human Rights Campaign vice president for marketing and communications, who initially sent a letter regarding this issue to Psychology Today CEO Jo Colman and vice president and publisher John Thomas.