This is not a new idea. I am restating a request to resolve some of our Country's inequities and modestly redistribute funds back into our social services. I'm starting this petition because I want The President to see how many of us support such a fair tax.

In 2012, I fell from a ladder and hurt my hip. I was taken to the hospital, where I waited hours to be seen. After only a few minutes with a physician, I was sent home, but when my bill arrived, I discovered that those few minutes had cost me over $4,000! When I saw the ridiculous prices on that bill, I was outraged. It included charges like $51 for two pain pills. And there was no way for me to know how much I would be charged until the bill actually arrived, and no way for me to know if another hospital nearby might have cost less. If we’re serious about getting the cost of healthcare down, then patients like me and you need to be able to know how much we’ll be charged--before we decide who to see for our care! Help me tell our state legislature that they need to protect patients by giving us the transparency we need to make smart healthcare decisions.

Two years ago, I was hit by a car, and ended up in a coma at Cedars-Sinai. I was there for two weeks before they sent me home, still unable to walk, without physical therapy or pain medication because I didn't have insurance. Then the bills started. $235,000 for those two weeks. I just started crying. And the bills just kept coming. I'm working and feel better now, but the bills are still there. I can never pay this. And my story is just one of thousands. People across California are suffering from outrageous hospital bills. Bills with prices like $21 for a single aspirin tablet, $18 for two Alka-Seltzer, or $35 for a tube of hydrocortisone cream. Hospitals in California charge prices like these every day--overcharging by an average of 300% or more above their actual costs. And these kinds of prices keep many Californians from getting the care they need, and leave others--like me--under a growing mountain of healthcare debt. Meanwhile, the hospital industry in California made more than $4 billion in profits in 2012. We can’t afford it. California’s healthcare providers must bring costs down to reasonable, affordable rates.

We know Pre-K and after-school work. Study after study shows that high-quality investments in early education and extended day learning can boost student achievement and success for years afterward. But today, most children in New York City still don’t have access to free full-day, high quality Pre-K, and tens of thousands of middle school students miss out on educational after-school programs. Universal Pre-K is not a new idea. In fact, Albany has been talking about universal Pre-K ever since 1997. But the money to make it a reality has never come through. To expand Pre-K and after-school, we need a steady, predictable source of funding. That’s why we need Albany to pass UPKNYC’s plan to pay for these critical investments by asking New Yorkers who earn more than $500,000 a year to pay a little bit more in taxes.

Medical marijuana patients in CO have been LAWFULLY growing cannabis at home for 14 years and after passage of A64 in 2012, anyone over 21 can also lawfully grow cannabis at home. The article in the Boulder Magazine accuses lawful growers in Nederland of illegal cannabis gardens and a $5-$8 million dollar underground market with no evidence to back up their claims.

It's unfair for this man to die in prison when murderers and rapists are released every day.

I am urgently starting this petition because people are dying right now on the streets of Kyiv. Under sniper and machine gun fire, as well as under attack of gangs composed of of civilian criminals, organized, armed and supported by the police. Victims include medical workers and journalists, there's no accountability of any kind. The government of Ukraine keeps portraying demonstrators as extremists, while using absolutely criminal tactics and committing atrocities every day. The media in the US is playing neutrality, so crimes against humanity are going virtually unnoticed. Please, show your support and help stop this!

Right now, politicians at the West Virginia statehouse are attempting to ban abortion before the point in a pregnancy where a woman may discover serious health complications. Every pregnancy is different, and a woman and her doctor -- not politicians on the House Judiciary Committee -- should have the ability to make the best decision for her personal circumstances. Politicians should not endanger West Virginia women by blocking access to safe and legal medical procedures. Tell our representatives to keep their hands off our reproductive health care! Act now against House Bill 4588.

Restoring Emergency Unemployment Benefits even if temporarily to get over the harsh winter that left us struggling & in arrears paying for utilities, taxes, and food! I will change my affiliation & never vote Republican again if the GOP doesn't care how I make ends meet - they don't deserve my vote.

Progressive legislators in the state House have introduced a bill to raise the minimum wage to $12 per hour. Despite broad public support for a higher minimum wage, we're still a few votes short in both the House and the Senate. Sign this petition to send a message to your legislators in support of a $12 per hour minimum wage!

To protect the integrity of our wild places, to conserve our forests and the creatures that call them home and to establish Virginia as an enviro-friendly, forward thinking leader of ecologically sound practices.

Our son, Scott is an avid ice hockey player. He has complete respect for the game, its’ players and spectators alike both on and off the ice. As a player on the Bellmore-Merrick Bulldogs Junior Varsity team his season has been cut short. On 2/15/14 at 8:15pm he attended the Long Beach rink’s open hockey session for a friendly scrimmage; where there is a NO checking/hitting rule in place. There were three players from the Bellmore-Merrick Bulldogs varsity at the session mocking the JV players throughout the session. At approximately 9:40pm Nick Lewis intentionally openly checked/hit Scott with such velocity witnessed by other skaters and spectators; causing a clean break to Scott’s wrist on contact. It was not Nick Lewis’ willful or vicious hit on Scott with intention to cause a successful injury that we find most disturbing but the fact that Nick chuckled about it. Nick has shown NO remorse for his vicious unsportsmanlike conduct . Nick has had numerous chances to show some kind of concern, even an offer of apology and he has not, nor have his parents. Apparently it has come to our attention that this was not the first time that Nick has caused injury to another player of this magnitude. Besides Scott’s physical and emotion pain that he is enduring from there is so much being taken from our son unnecessarily. This is Scott’s last season with the Bellmore-Merrick Bulldogs organization that has now been cut short. He will no longer be able to participate with his team at the state championship, nor at playoffs this season. Scott is a junior in high school this year, a very important year academically as he will be applying to college. In less than 6 weeks he will taking the SAT’s and with an injury on his right arm it will impair his ability to write. There is the potential need for surgery and the need for physical therapy that he will have to endure that could have all been avoided. Scott should not suffer alone in these losses and there should be consequences as a result of this blatant intentional act of violence. Nick Lewis should be punished appropriately for his actions by being removed as a member of AAU and a player from both the Bellmore Merrick Bulldogs and the High School Hockey League of Nassau County. We view this as a fair and justifiable punishment supported by the fact that Nick Lewis has failed to adhere to rules as outlined in the various Codes of Conduct that Nick Lewis is required to sign in order to play with the Bellmore Merrick Bulldogs. These rules apply on AND off the ice include but are limited to · I will demonstrate good sportsmanship by showing respect and courtesy, and by demonstrating positive support for all players, coaches, and officials at every game, practice or other sporting event. · I will not engage in any kind of unsportsmanlike conduct with any official, coach, player, or parent such as taunting; refusing to shake hands; or using profane language or gestures · Set an example in word and deed, both on and off the playing area. · Use appropriate language and refrain from crude or abusive language or gestures when dealing with opponents, officials, spectators, or classmates. · Refrain from disorderly, disruptive or insubordinate behaviors including bullying or harassment. · Be responsible for their behaviors. Therefore, students who are found to have violated district policy and/or the code of conduct will face disciplinary actions. · Treat all players, coaches, officials, parents and other fans, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation or creed with respect to refrain from abusive language, actions, and gestures, while either on or off the ice. Further, Nick Lewis signed an oath: “I also agree that if I fail to abide by the aforementioned rules and guidelines, I will be subject to disciplinary action …….”. Please sign our petition to discipline Nick Lewis immediately as a member of AAU and a player from both the Bellmore Merrick Ice Hockey Bulldogs Team and the High School Hockey League of Nassau County for his unsportsmanlike conduct and violent attack.