A fair shot in life starts with a high quality education. But too many kids in Illinois enter their kindergarten classroom less prepared than their peers. Education in the first five years of life helps kids enter school ready to learn and succeed. The Strong Start for America's Children Act increases access to quality, public preschool for 4-year olds and is a major step toward giving every child a fair chance to succeed.

As members of the Ithaca College community, we petition that the college relocates the Office of Student Disability Services to a more centralized location on campus. The Office of Student Disability Services is currently located in the Towers Concourse, which is not an easily accessible location for students. Its location creates an unnecessary barrier for students who need or elect to use disability services. If the office was moved to a more centralized location, it would be more practical, physically accessible, and students would be more likely to use the services. We believe that all student services should be easily accessible and centrally located on campus. We demand that Ithaca College finds a way to move the Office of Student Disability Services to a more easily accessible location on campus before the start of the 2014-2015 school year.

Americans need to be concerned about this issue because the wealthiest keep getting tax breaks, and our President and Congress keep reducing or eliminating vital programs for the American people. Austerity does not work. Stimulating the economy works and the 1% sales tax on Wall Street will stimulate this economy.

This petition is spearheaded by the Institute of the Black World 21st Century (IBW), a national advocacy organization, working to uplift African-American communities across the country. Many of IBW's members have sons, brothers, uncles and cousins who have been unfairly incarcerated as a result of the so-called 'War on Drugs'. For more info on IBW, visit our Web site: www.ibw21.org.

Recent federal budget cuts have hurt Illinois' most vulnerable populations. Instead of taking money from schools and other vital services that help children, people with disabilities, seniors, and unemployed veterans, it's time to make profitable corporations pay their fair share.

My friend Warrior, a mother of two young children, is fighting Metastatic Breast Cancer as I am, and she’s almost run out of options. But a drug Bayer makes called Xofigo (Radium 223) could save her life. Please, ask Bayer to grant Warrior “compassionate use” and allow her to take Xofigo. Warrior was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2001. She has tried the chemo drugs that are available to her and undergone extensive radiation, but they have not stopped the cancer from progressing throughout her body. She has even broken her sacrum and been wheelchair bound in an attempt to stop the cancer. But there is one drug Warrior’s oncologist believes provides significant promise to her – Radium 223. It’s made under the brand name Xofigo by Bayer, and has been successful in treating prostate cancer that has metastasized to the bone. The drug was approved in July by the FDA, but Warrior can’t access it because it was approved to treat prostate cancer, not breast cancer. This young mother has been fighting cancer for over a decade, and this drug is her last chance. Please, ask Bayer to do the right thing and grant Warrior compassionate use of Xofigo.

I just learned that MoveOn does NOT vet petitions. What is amazing that the right wing has not wholesalely discovered that anyone can join MoveOn, anyone can begin a petition, and that while the guidelines state the petitions are to be consistent with MoveOn goals no one actually checks. However, now that one anti gay marriage petition was successfully posted, the word will spread. If the Koch Bros post a petition, it;'s win-win for them. They get signatures or they get MoveOn members to drop their membership because they will think MoveOn has lost its way. Recall what Steven Biel of SignOn.org said "Our goal is to make America live up to our best progressive ideals as a nation. We don't answer to shareholders; we answer to our members -- seven million Americans who share a commitment to making our country better through collective action. We will never, ever, ever give right-wing front groups a channel for co-opting our members' organizing. In short, we take sides, and we're proud of it. We're for economic justice, equality for women and LGBT individuals, ending poverty, racial justice, quality education for all, a clean environment, and peace. Because like Howard Zinn said, you can't be neutral on a moving train."

The bipartisan Strong Start for America's Children Act has now been introduced in Congress. It’s a landmark bill that will expand universal access to high-quality pre-kindergarten services for all 3- and 4-year-olds, especially kids from low-income families. It will also strengthen quality child care for infants and toddlers. Studies show that children from low-income and underserved communities enter kindergarten already behind their classmates in key areas such as oral language and vocabulary skills. We must close the opportunity gap before it starts: early childhood education is a proven way ensure that all students have a fair shot at success in school and in life. Introducing this bill was only the first step. We need House and Senate leadership to see clear momentum right NOW for this must-pass legislation. Tell your members of Congress: endorse and co-sponsor the Strong Start for America's Children Act!

More than 30,000 people are killed by firearms each year in America. Random gun violence and mass shooting at malls, movie theaters and schools have become too common in America and we are becoming numb to many of these events. Victims of Gun Violence Remembrance Day provides us an opportunity to remember and honor these innocent victims. We honor Veterans who give their lives (voluntarily) to protect our freedoms. We need to honor all the innocent victim who lost their lives or have been damaged (involuntarily) due to gun violence or gun accidents.

Just this week in Richardson, Texas (Dallas County), parents and students alike were horrified when they heard Lookadoo was coming to speak at Richardson High. Some parents complained that Lookadoo promotes a "rape culture" where men are aggressive and women are better off keeping quiet. Thanks to twitter, the whole country has its eyes on Lookadoo. Check out the hashtag #lookadouche George West High School is in George West, Texas—Live Oak County (pop. 11,531)

Nature is lame. Plastic toys are better than science and environmental education. That’s the message conveyed by the new Toys “R” Us commercial about the “best field trip” kids could “wish for.” The ad depicts bored, yawning kids on a school bus labeled “Meet the Trees Foundation” as they begin a nature-oriented field trip. The kids are then showered with confetti as they jump for joy at the guide’s announcement that they’re actually taking a trip to Toys “R” Us — where the fun is, according to the ad. Children are already constantly bombarded with commercial messages suggesting that fun and childhood go hand in hand with an endless supply of plastic toys and violent video games. But we can’t recall an ad that so mocked education and nature in order to promote material consumption. The marketing campaign not only focuses children in the wrong direction, it burdens parents by undermining their efforts to make their children enthusiastic about school activities. The commercial is irresponsible and contrary to American values.

To people who have allergies to mammals who may need service animals, this could be a huge breakthrough for them. It is very uncommon for someone to be allergic to a reptile, and when a service animal is needed for someone with a stress disorder who is allergic to most mammals, a reptile could be perfect for them. This can also help people with epilepsy, because snakes can detect seizures. Due to being cold blooded, they can sense the change in body temperature that happens before a seizure. Please help us spread the word that reptiles can be just as helpful and sometimes even more so than our mammalian friends.