We , the American People want to stand and Defend all that have fought for our Freedoms ! These Americans (Our Soldiers) have given their blood , sweat and tears for All of Us and DESERVE everything that is due to them . They need to be RESPECTED ~ HONORED ~ LOVED ~ AND SALUTED !

Please help me to get the American Kennel Club (AKC) to do the honorable thing and remove their endorsed dog treats, which are made in China, from store shelves. PetCo & PetsMart have already agreed to remove & no longer carry or sell dog treats, that are made in China.  Let's urge the AKC to to do the same thing. By asking them live up to their mantra "We are not just champion dogs. We are the dogs' champion." Currently they are not being "the dogs' champion," because their endorsed treats are made & manufactured in the same Chinese plants that have sickened & killed over 1000+ dogs since 2007. I lost four very precious lives to their chicken jerky treats.  1) Bellehound's Sgt. Baroo 2U "Sargent" was only eight years old, when he died after having eaten dog treats that are/were endorsed by the AKC. He was a sweet, loving, red & white, Basenji, who loved to "baroo." He is also the dog who first alerted me to something being wrong. All four dogs showed similar symptoms, but his were the most severe. He became very sick, very thin, very quick, & could never seem to quench his thirst. I took him to my vet & his liver enzymes were off the charts.  He was in advanced, severe renal failure. He passed away in my arms, on December 6, 2011.  2) Bellehound's Creeping Violet, "Crackle" who was a tri-colored, flashy marked, feisty, but very sweet, Jack Russell Terrier. She was one of the best mousers I had ever had. She loved swimming, car rides & being my little, but very mighty, companion. She lost weight very quickly, became anemic, & also had the unquenchable thirst. True to her Terrier breeding, she hid her weakness, & illness well. She too was in an advanced stage of renal failure, by the time I realized she was sick. I lost her January 30, 3012. 3) Bellehound Rescued Me "Mimi" was a mischieviously, too smart for her own good, little tri-colored Basenji. She too loved to talk, & helped me to keep my other dogs in line. Her symptoms started out as diarrhea, vomiting, anemia (she & Sargent tested negative for hereditary anemia & Fanconi, some thing that is far too common in Basenjis). She was a fighter, she fought & lived the longest of any of my four dogs. How she managed to do that, I will never really comprehend. Other than that was her stubborn nature. She passed away in my arms August 5, 2013; three months shy of her 17th birthday. 4) Bellehound Scrawny Tawny Lion, JC "Bruiser" was my Service Dog. He was also the first for his breed with that job, not only in America, but the World. He was a very handsome, muscular, built, red, Thai Ridgeback Dog. He saved me from a rattlesnake in 2004. He received two Certificates of Honor from the AKC's Canine ACE Awards in 2005-2006 for that. In 2008 at eight & a half years of age, he made AKC history, by being the first Thai Ridgeback to earn a lure coursing title. In 2009 he was one of my Thai Ridgebacks, that was filmed for Animal Planet's, DOGS 101; Rare Breeds, episode.  In October of 2010 he was diagnosed with a severely damaged liver, & renal failure. He was placed on various medications, to help slow down the progression of his disease, & put him in remission. This was a year after I had quit feeding the chicken jerky treats (when Sargent, first became, deathly ill). Clearly the damage had already been done. Bruiser was my working partner for twelve & a half years, before he was forced, unwillingly into an early retirement. He had become so weak, & thin friends who hadn't seen him in a few months, couldn't even recognize him. October of 2013, I was told he was no longer in remission. I was devastated. I was told that my partner would die. There was nothing else my vet could do, & it would be just a matter of months, before his body would just shut down. I had to walk Bruiser to the Rainbow Bridge; even as sick as he was, he refused to give up his job, he could no longer walk, due to his progessed disease, he couldn't keep food or water down, due to the gastrointestinal upset, he had devoloped stomach cancer, three years after the treats were stopped. That's what no one gets, stopping the treats may put the dog in remission, but the poison in the treats has already caused organ failure & shut down. Bruiser fought the anesthetic, he weighed a mere 50lbs., but because of his love for me, to continue to be my working partner, he had to be double dosed. He was dosed for a 100lb dog, because the recommended dosage, wouldn't work. That is the type of partner I lost, on December 6, 2013, a day after his 13th Birthday. His death made me feel that this organization had stabbed us both in the back. I trusted the AKC, after all they have a Health Endowment section. Never in a million years did I think that they would sell anything, that would harm a dog. I sent the AKC several emails, begging for them to recall their product. They all went unanswered. I made comments on every one of their facebook pages, I was blocked from two of them. I called their Health Endowment Section, and after I asked why the AKC was selling treats made in China? I was told their office was not a part of the AKC; but they answer the phone "American Kennel Club, Health Endowment, how may I help you?" I was rudely brushed off. One of the facebook pages, before I was blocked told me (on a thread), "we don't make the treats, or own the company that makes them, we just endorse them." Endorsing treats that the FDA has known, was making dogs sick & killing them since 2007, is clearly not being any "dogs champion." The AKC also knew about it, as did Waggin Train, Canyon Creek (both owned by Purina), yet money seems far more important, than the lives of their customers. I am hoping that with your signature, we can get the AKC to follow in the same path, as PetCo & PetsMart, & pull their product, from store shelves. Before more innocent dogs are made sick & will eventually die, a very slow, painful, death. That is what I've had to watch, four of my dogs go through. The hardest & m...

“A problem so serious that it threatens the achievements of modern medicine.” This quote comes straight from the World Health Organization, which just released the disturbing results of a worldwide survey of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Their findings were the latest in a string of increasingly dire warnings from the public health community: Because of overuse and misuse, the lifesaving antibiotics we depend on are rapidly losing their effectiveness against dangerous infections. We're now in danger of returning to an age when simple infections are potentially fatal. Our decision-makers need to hear from the public, and it needs to happen quickly. That’s why OSPIRG and our national federation have launched a campaign to stop the overuse of antibiotics where the problem is the worst -- on factory farms that mix antibiotics right into the feed of healthy animals. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has the authority to stop the worst overuse of antibiotics on factory farms. Please join us in calling on the FDA to act now.

It difficult to see motorcycles especially at night. Being able to run additional lighting will increase visibility therefore saving lives.

We need to find these children, and bring them home to their love ones

The Oil City School Board is attempting to outsource cafeteria and maintenance work to a private company. After decades of loyal service, dozens of trusted school employees risk losing their jobs. Instead of relying on well-trained dedicated staff to keep Oil City schools clean and safe, the School Board wants to roll the dice on unaccountable private contractors. Oil City workers and students deserve better. Take action today! The School District thinks that it will save money by outsourcing these jobs, but the truth is that contracting out often raises costs, or simply hides them. And by outsourcing these jobs, the District will have less control over keeping our school clean and safe. Sign the petition today and help Stop Outsourcing in Oil City Schools.

Mental illness isn't a focus of medical marijuana as of yet. The pharmaceutical industry markets a wide variety of medications with severe side effects and risks of dependency, for these illnesses, that have just as many health risks physically, as they claim to fix mentally. Marijuana can be a safer, cheaper, natural, more stable alternative; and the horticultural aspects of cultivation could instill a sense of accomplishment, ingenuity, and self worth in people who otherwise would be forced to take medication they don't fully understand.

The fossil fuel industry is rising up against the strongest limits ever proposed to end the worst climate change polluter: dirty coal plants. But, the industry doesn’t have the public’s support. We do. Dirty power plants are the single largest source of carbon pollution that is driving climate change. Right now, these plants are dumping as much carbon as they want into the atmosphere, and we and our children are stuck with the costs. It's time to adopt common sense limits on carbon pollution from power plants. Tell the EPA you support these limits on carbon pollution and to make them as strong as possible. The polluters and their allies will be doing everything they can to stop it. So let’s give this everything we can.

We have watched as an alarming number of homes in St. Paul neighborhoods have been torn-down/remodeled and rebuilt into manufactured spec homes that are truly out of place.   The selling prices on these homes, frequently exceeding $500K, are guaranteed to result in property tax increases for all of us. With higher taxes, we have lost views and sunlight, lots of old St. Paul charm, and our quality of life.

The city painting unnecessary no parking red lines impacts the value of all homes in the villages of Fairview. No parking signs and extra patrols should have been sufficient without feeling the need to de-value our homes and our neighborhoods.

Growing up I was enrolled in Chicago public schools, by the time I graduated high school I was obese. After high school I weighed in at 365 lbs and was living a dangerous lifestyle. I Wanted Change So I took A trip to China and stayed for almost 1 year. The trip opened my eyes to the ancient mind body practices of yoga and qigong and it helped to transform my life. After my return to the states I quickly lost 200 lbs following the principles of the mind body practices. The entire Chinese population knew these ancient practices because they where introduced at a young age in grammar school. Most of the population is by far healthier and more focused to what they want in life and are happy. Lets give our future generations the meaning of life at a young age so that we don't have to worry about a pandemic of obesity, diabetes, and, the list goes on. The mind body practices also focus in on eating only nutrient dense foods, proper rest, relaxation, exercise, and community involvement making the world a better place one neighborhood at a time. All it takes is 20-30 minutes a day of practice to get the benefits of what these ancient mind body practices have to offer. A perpetual mind body practice gives us a Reduction in BMI, stress, depression, anxiety, sleep apnea, all while increasing focus, immunity, strength, and flexibility. Yoga in schools gives our future generations the head start they need to conquer their school day.

I am a critical thinker