In October, teachers, students, parents, community organizations, civil rights advocates and faith leaders met in Los Angeles and together endorsed "The Principles That Unite Us." Now, on Dec. 9, we're taking action in Norfolk as part of a National Day of Action to Reclaim the Promise of Public Education. We're uniting around a common vision for our schools. Local teachers and parents, community groups and labor unions, students and faith leaders are united to reclaim the promise of public education for all children. We want great neighborhood public schools that are fully funded and are centers of our community, with wraparound services and curriculum that focuses on teaching and learning, not testing. We need our elected leaders to sign on to the principles. By signing this petition, you'll be telling Governor-elect Terry Mcauliffe that you're united with us and that they should get on board. Together, we can reclaim public education as a propeller of our economy, an anchor of our democracy, and a gateway to opportunity for every child.

I am starting this petition because my son was railroaded through the courts in Billings, Montana (Yellowstone County), forced to "take a plea" and, despite being promised that if he took the plea he "wouldn't do any jail time" has been sitting in Montana prisons for over a year and a half with no end in sight. The MT Parole Board refused to inform us as to when his hearing was despite our numerous requests, then held the hearing without talking to anybody who knows him and could vouch for his good character, deemed him a danger to the community and placed unreasonable demands on him,specifically that he attend boot camp for a 2nd time knowing full well he failed the program once already because he refuses to admit guilt for a crime he didn't commit. It is commonly known that the BOPP often withholds information from families, does not notify them of inmate hearings and regularly place unrealistic demands on inmates, sometimes keeping them in prison for years after they have been "paroled" when they are unable to satisfy the BOPP's unreasonable demands.

100,000,000 animals are abused (mainly by being animal tested), including dogs, monkeys, rodents, cats, and many other animals. They are brutally tortured for products like: soaps, cosmetics, lotions, hair products, and even clothing. There are plenty of other ways to test products, other than animal testing. We have to create laws to stop this now!

I think that Shark Finning is an awful technique and shark fin soup just encourages this fishing technique. The loss of sharks could be detrimental in our environment and it would cause an overpopulation of all of the other sea creatures below them. The sharks are a crucial part of the sea environment and we have to act now before it gets out of hand.

In October, educators, students, parents, community organizations, civil rights advocates and faith leaders met in Los Angeles and together endorsed "The Principles That Unite Us." Now, on Dec. 9, we're taking action in [area] as part of a National Day of Action to Reclaim the Promise of Public Education. We're uniting around a common vision for our schools. Local teachers and parents, community groups and labor unions, students and faith leaders are united to reclaim the promise of public education for all children. We want great neighborhood public schools that are fully funded and are centers of our community, with wraparound services and curriculum that focuses on teaching and learning, not testing. New Mexicans created Keep the Promise for New Mexico’s Future, a coalition of organizations, educators, parents and students who want to see public education in New Mexico thrive. Coalition members have already shared stories of education challenges and suggestions for solutions with more than 10,000 people in telephone and in-person town hall meetings across the state. Members of Keep the Promise will travel around New Mexico on a statewide bus tour Dec. 9-13 to continue working on taking back our public education. Check out www.promisefornewmexico.org to see when the Keep the Promise bus will be in your community. We need our elected leaders to sign on to “The Principles that Unite Us” and the “Keep the Promise Vision Statement.” By signing these petitions, you'll be telling New Mexico’s leaders that you're united with us and that they should get on board. Together, we can reclaim public education as a propeller of our economy, an anchor of our democracy, and a gateway to opportunity for every child.

In October, teachers, students, parents, community organizations, civil rights advocates and faith leaders met in Los Angeles and together endorsed "The Principles That Unite Us." Now, on Dec. 9, we're taking action in New Jersey as part of a National Day of Action to Reclaim the Promise of Public Education. We're uniting around a common vision for our schools. Local teachers and parents, community groups and labor unions, students and faith leaders are united to reclaim the promise of public education for all children. We want great neighborhood public schools that are fully funded and are centers of our community, with wraparound services and curriculum that focuses on teaching and learning, not testing. We need our elected leaders to sign on to the principles. By signing this petition, you'll be telling Governor Christie and the New Jersey Senate and Assembly Education Committees that you're united with us and that they should get on board. Together, we can reclaim public education as a propeller of our economy, an anchor of our democracy, and a gateway to opportunity for every child.

In October, teachers, students, parents, community organizations, civil rights advocates and faith leaders met in Los Angeles and together endorsed "The Principles That Unite Us." Now, on Dec. 9, we're taking action in West Virginia as part of a National Day of Action to Reclaim the Promise of Public Education. We're uniting around a common vision for our schools. Local teachers and parents, community groups and labor unions, students and faith leaders are united to reclaim the promise of public education for all children. We want great neighborhood public schools that are fully funded and are centers of our community, with wraparound services and curriculum that focuses on teaching and learning, not testing. We need our elected leaders to sign on to the principles. By signing this petition, you'll be telling Gov. Tomblin that you're united with us and that they should get on board. Together, we can reclaim public education as a propeller of our economy, an anchor of our democracy, and a gateway to opportunity for every child.

In honor of the late South African statesman, Nobel Peace Prize winner and first President of the post-apartheid South Africa, Nelson Mandela. Changing Cicero Avenue to Mandela road will send a message that Illinois stands for a strong road for justice.

In October, teachers, students, parents, community organizations, civil rights advocates and faith leaders met in Los Angeles and together endorsed "The Principles That Unite Us." Now, on Dec. 9, we're taking action in La Joya as part of a National Day of Action to Reclaim the Promise of Public Education. We're uniting around a common vision for our schools. Local teachers and parents, community groups and labor unions, students and faith leaders are united to reclaim the promise of public education for all children. We want great neighborhood public schools that are fully funded and are centers of our community, with wraparound services and curriculum that focuses on teaching and learning, not testing. We need our elected leaders to sign on to the principles. By signing this petition, you'll be telling our elected leaders that you're united with us and that they should get on board. Together, we can reclaim public education as a propeller of our economy, an anchor of our democracy, and a gateway to opportunity for every child.

A nine year old girl, Ashlyn Gardner tragically lost her life on December 4, 2013, struck down with her brother Landon in the crosswalk. Lack of busing has created a traffic nightmare that continues to put our kid's in danger. We must act now!

Some of my relatives are unable to legally marry within their state because of their state's laws regarding marriage. We would like to propose an amendment to the Constitution that gives the federal government power to allow legalization of same-sex marriages in every state. We believe that some Americans are being denied a basic human right of legal acknowledgement of marriage due to their sexual orientation.

While ALEC's extreme agenda, which includes pushing "Stand Your Ground" and "Voter ID" laws in the states, has caused many of its corporate sponsors to abandon the organization — including Coca-Cola, Kraft, McDonalds, Walmart, and just this week, VISA — TransCanada is still a proud supporter of ALEC. Resolutions urging the President and Congress to approve Keystone XL that were written by ALEC and include paragraphs lifted directly from TransCanada's own public relations talking points were introduced in six states by legislators beholden to ALEC. In Nebraska, Sen. Jim Smith did the bidding of ALEC and TransCanada by introducing LB 1161, the bill that fast-tracked the approval of the Keystone XL pipeline route in Nebraska. Smith is also the subject of an outstanding state ethics board complaint, over his extravagant ALEC-funded trip up to the tarsands of Alberta, where he toured TransCanada's headquarters and was wined and dined by the lobby group at a venue called (we're not joking) "The Petroleum Club." Tell Sen. Jim Smith to represent his constituents, not Big Oil and corporations, and resign as chair of ALEC in Nebraska. Please add your name to the petition. REFERENCES: "ALEC facing funding crisis from donor exodus in wake of Trayvon Martin row," TheGuardian.com, 12/3/13. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/03/alec-funding-crisis-big-donors-trayvon-martin "ALEC stands its ground," The Washington Post, 12/4/13 http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/dana-milbank-alec-stands-its-ground/2013/12/04/ad593320-5d2c-11e3-bc56-c6ca94801fac_story.html "ALEC's troubles continue as VISA leaves ," DailyKos, 12/4/13 http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/12/04/1260186/-ALEC-s-trouble-continues-as-Visa-leaves "Lawmakers lash out at conservative business group ," Lincoln Journal Star, 12/4/13 http://journalstar.com/legislature/lawmakers-lash-out-at-conservative-business-group/article_6296512d-6adb-5cfb-9762-98c7ee0a0ddd.html "Four States Introduce Keystone XL Resolutions, Lifting Language from ALEC and TransCanada Itself," PRWatch.org, 2/5/13. http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/02/11982/four-states-introduce-keystone-xl-resolutions-lifting-language-alec-and-transcana "CMD Calls for Nebraska Ethics Investigation over ALEC Keystone 'Academy'Junket," PRWatch.org, 6/3/13. http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/07/12164/cmd-calls-nebraska-ethics-investigation-over-alec-keystone-%E2%80%9Cacademy%E2%80%9D-junket