As the mother of a special-needs child, I find this name highly offensive. I am disappointed that such a well-respected company would offer a product that has such an insensitive name. "The R Word", or any version thereof, is simply unacceptable.

Parks and Recreation is in control of the building and in order to obtain the rights to the building we have to show them that enough people want this! For anyone who ever went to the jaycees as a young kid and the jaycees provided a social hangout for you and your friends on the weekends. A place that was both constructive and conventional to people that both want to pursue the arts and entertainment as a hobby or a profession. The Jaycees provided both a safe haven in it's environment and initial exposure to the foundation of musical entertainment.

Dr. Van Winkle was convicted of a crime he could not have physically committed and one there was no evidence supporting. He was a great man that helped his community and those that were in need through dentistry. He needs to be pardoned and those at fault need to be brought to justice

The Red Knot is a small, plump, reddish shorebird - and a true wonder of nature. With a wing span of only 20 inches, these tiny explorers migrate almost 20,000 miles each and every year. But the Red Knot population has declined almost 90% since 1989. It went from being among North America’s most abundant bird species to the brink of extinction in less than 20 years. Climate change, overfishing of horse shoe crabs (their key food source) and other factors are to blame - but now it's up to us to save them. The US Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed to protect the Red Knot rufa under the Endangered Species Act. Doing so would not only benefit the Red Knot, but other shorebirds since many other species have similar long migrations and are declining due to habitat pressures. But in order for The FWS to follow through on this recommendation to turn into a real listing your help is needed. The 90-day public comment period closes soon and before it does we need as many people as possible to support strong protections for these miraculous fliers. The Red Knot is just one of many species threatened with extinction in our country. From beetles to birds to bats hundreds, if not thousands of animals are disappearing. The Red Knot rufa could easily become one of them if action is not taken today. Do your part to keep another species from disappearing. Extinct means forever. You can learn more about the Red Knot at our Facebook page facebook.com/FriendsoftheRedKnot Or our website: http://www.friendsoftheredknot.org/

Currently, gas stations are not environmentally conscious, cost effective, or convenient for Hybrid car owners. Hybrid cars are consistently gaining popularity and gas stations should begin to cater to their needs to improve environmental impacts and the cost for hybrid car owners.

Starting this petition because the senator has abused the powers granted to her to influence the contract to be given to her husband for tremendous financial gain. These abuses can no longer be tolerated.

The 19th and 23rd districts were combined in 2011. The 19th district had a staffing of 249 officers while the 23rd district had a staffing of 214. With the consolidation of these two districts, staffing decreased to 356. In addition, 57 police officers are detailed out to other jobs, which leaves the 19th district with only 299 officers. From 2011 to 2013 overall citywide police staffing dropped by less than 7%. In the 44th Ward we had a decrease of 35%. There is a vast difference between citywide and 44th ward decreases of manpower with no explanation. The 19th district is a well known entertainment district. It is the home of the historic Wrigley Field, the lively Clark Street tavern and food district, the historic gay community, most commonly known as "Boystown” with its 30 liquor licensed establishments, and most importantly, it is our HOME. Crime dominates the daily news in the 44th Ward and countless crimes go unreported because residents have given up on reporting, therefore the distorted low crime rate. The perception of an unsafe neighborhood is pervasive and is a detriment to our community. Please see articles http://ow.ly/qmB7R and http://ow.ly/qtS0M on crimes in the Lakeview neighborhood. The residents of 44th Ward are grateful for our distinguished police commander, District Commander Elias Voulgarus, and his continued tireless dedication to the neighborhood. However, the faces of our Commander, his police officers, and the residents of the 44th Ward show the daily frustration due to the lack of sworn officers. The true crime increase in the 44th ward is directly related to the decrease in police staffing which also decreased our quality of life. While the manpower statistics speak for themselves, perception is stronger than reality and we feel unsafe. Please return our full appointment of police to our district.

Contrary to what Speaker Boehner has said, members of the LGBT community suffer a great deal of job discrimination. Just as it is illegal to discriminate against persons of color in the work place, it should be illegal to discriminate against someone because of their sexual orientation.

I spend all day talking about the importance of college to my students. After years of talking up college to my own daughter, she has come to the grim reality that we don't have money for college. My heart broke into a million pieces when she said, "We can't afford college and I'm not smart enough to get a scholarship." How can I send her off to college when I live paycheck to paycheck? How can I fight for a system that excludes my child? Like many others, we will have to make the decision to take out loans and be indebted to a system that has given nothing to hard-working families like ours and other teacher families. Teachers instill in students the importance of higher-education. Our own children should be granted access to higher-education. Federal, State and local officials must find a way to help educate the children of teachers.

This is the most important political issue today in America that will have significant impact on the world for decades to come and there is no better time that now to bring it to the forefront. Mr. Obama has nothing to lose by making it matter in the minds of the public and everything to gain for us all if he can move us a little bit closer towards making it happen.

The National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health has published information about Cannabis and Cannabinoids indicating they may have medicinal benefits. Preclinical studies have investigated antitumor activity and shown that cannabinoids may be able to kill cancer cells while protecting normal cells. Cannabinoids also show promise in stimulating the appetite, pain relief, reducing nausea and vomiting, and small case studies show that inhaled marijuana had improved mood, improved sense of well being and reduced anxiety. Anecdotal evidence has shown that cannabinoids can help reduce seizures and improve the lives of patients with ALS. It is time to act with an executive order to allow research to move forward and to regulate, control the plant and end the drug money related violence the schedule 1 designation promotes.

We finally have a strong bipartisan supported House bill that will strengthen our economy, keep families together, and offer a clear roadmap to citizenship for nearly 11 million tax-paying, aspiring Americans. All we need now is for a Democrat to start a discharge petition and introduce the bill for an up-or-down vote. As an American citizen, and the great-grandchild of immigrants from Ireland and Slovakia, I want legislators to stand on the right side of history, and side with the majority of Americans who believe that we need comprehensive immigration reform now - reform that represents our true values of family, community and opportunity for all.