I am a graduate of the CFPA Program in Creative Writing. It taught me everything I know about writing and allowed me to follow my passion when I was only 14. I discovered not only who I was as a person while studying there, but also that my voice was valuable and powerful. Creative writing is a unique art in that what we learn from it will follow us our whole lives. With the constant testing and standardization in English classrooms, creative writing classes are an essential place where students can come to understand that writing can heal us and enchant us--it is an art that makes us human and should have as much attention as any other art form. Please sign this petition to save the CFPA Creative Writing Program, and pass it on to anyone who believes that our students deserve better than this.

Because of issues of surveillance on innocent, law-abiding Americans, being more than just electronic, American's are increasingly under threat of additional violations of losses of free speech, freedom of association, freedom of religion, but most importantly, law abiding American's being free of intrusions of their privacy at home and simply walking down the street, associating with whomever they please, without apprehension of electronic, personal or remote (i.e., micro-drones and/or bugging of homes, workplaces, autos, etc.) surveillance, for no reason that can be justified, per FISA Court regulations...

I work in a legal center and my colleagues are wasting good time trying to figure out what to do about the shutdown when they should be focused on other needs like helping domestic violence victims in court. This is ridiculous!

Our elected representatives are playing a game of "Chicken" with the Federal Government. Some in Congress are holding our entire government "hostage" while they attempt to change an existing bill they don't like. Their actions, and theirs alone, caused the Federal Government shutdown. "Somebody" should pay, and since Congress caused it, they should pay for its consequences...

BECAUSE I CARE ABOUT PEOPLE..

I AM FEDUP WITH THE REPUBLICANS I AM HOPING THAT WE DONOT GIVE GIVE UP GIVE THEM HELL..I AM DOING FINE BUT THERE IS A LOTOF PEOPLE WHO ARE SUFFERING.

Tea party Republicans have held our government hostage for too long! During that time, more than 800,000 government employees have been unable to work, 3,200 children have been locked out of Head Start, and 401 national parks have been closed to the public. We've had enough -- it's time to end the shutdown, raise the debt ceiling and help America move forward.

I work as a disability advocate in NYC and my program is federally-funded. We are being told to discontinue any travel to meet our clients due to restricted funds. If the shutdown continues, or if the debt ceiling is not raised, our federal grant may be discontinued, which not only affects the jobs of advocates, but will impact thousands of individuals with disabilities throughout the city.

Driving home eastward from Los Angeles, I was shocked to see highway signs indicating that the Grand Canyon National Park was closed to visitors. I imagined the dire effect this single closure was having on those who had planned for months and years for this vacation and the impact on the service industry--the hotel owners and their employees, shop keepers, restaurant owners and waitpersons.

Time to end this political nonsense and get a house of representatives that truly wants to represent the people. Closing the government down and then reopening selective parts of it is unacceptable. This kind of political grandstanding is totally dysfunctional.

I work at a food bank in Phoenix, AZ. Due to the shutdown, welfare assistance to low-income families has been suddenly stopped. This will place additional stress on our abilities to provide food to families.

The "Warren Buffet" email has been circulating on the internet. And while it's origins are false, the content is spot-on. Let's enact it.