In an interview published on Monday Sept. 23 in the Wall Street Journal, AIG CEO Robert Benmosche claimed that the criticism aimed at AIG for awarding its employees bonuses after it and other Wall Street firms crashed the economy and were rewarded with bailouts was "intended to stir public anger, to get everybody out there with their pitch forks and their hangman nooses, and all that–sort of like what we did in the Deep South [decades ago]. And I think it was just as bad and just as wrong." Aside from its shocking insensitivity, this statement reveals the insularity, arrogance, and breathtaking entitlement that pervades Wall Street institutions. These attitudes, when combined with their economic and political power, led to the Wall Street bankers’ criminal behavior that destroyed our economy and stole our homes. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) put Benmosche’s words in stark context on Tuesday Sept 24 saying, “[A]s the son of sharecroppers who actually experienced lynchings in their communities—I find it unbelievably appalling that Mr. Benmosche equates the violent repression of the African American people with congressional efforts to prevent the waste of taxpayer dollars. If these statements are true, I believe he has demonstrated a fundamental inability to lead this modern global company in a responsible manner—a company that exists today only because it was rescued by the American taxpayers—and that he should resign his position as CEO immediately.” We could not agree more. We call on AIG CEO Robert Benmosche to apologize clearly and unequivocally, especially to African Americans and members of communities that have been targets of racial violence, and to resign his position as CEO of a firm that only exists today thanks to an $85 billion bailout. (For more information on the extent of lynchings in American history, the Charles Chestnutt Digital Archive at Berea College is a good source of statistics. http://faculty.berea.edu/browners/chesnutt/classroom/lynchingstat.html)

As someone with an "invisible" handicap, I know the importance of the Guest Assistance Program when visiting Disney. This change will make visits less magical and more difficult to guests with handicaps and their families. Many people will not be able to enjoy going or even be able to go to the parks because of this change Disney has decided to make.

Our hard-working teachers and staff have gone 5 years without cost-of-living pay increases while our county suffered economic hardship. Now that we have windfall taxes, Santa Cruz City Schools Board of Education and Superintendant Bloom need to honor the agreement made last spring with Santa Cruz teachers, to fairly share the tax windfall with them, and provide them with an adequate cost-of-living pay increase, their first in 5 years. In protest, teachers have implemented a "work-to-rule" action - - in short, they are working only the hours they are paid to work, with no additional time spent on tutoring, chaperoning, or supervising extracurricular activities. This action hurts students countywide. Club meetings are not taking place, as no teachers are available to supervise, seniors want for college recommendations, and the list goes on and on. We stand by our community, our kids, and our teachers. And we ask Santa Cruz City Schools Board of Education & Superintendant Gary Bloom to stand by them too. Do what is right for the Santa Cruz City Schools, the community, and the teachers. Settle a fair contract with the teachers now, providing them with the much-needed and well-deserved cost-of-living pay raise that truly reflects our tax windfall.

Students were allowed to call an African American child the "N" word and tease him regarding his perceived sexual orientation. The child was subsequently attacked by one of the harassers and fought to defend himself. The school's response was to discipline the child who had been harassed and attacked and chose to not discipline his attacker at all. None of the harassers were disciplined for violating the child's civil rights even when the parent made a complaint to school officials.

WE WANT THE CONFIGURATION OF MOUNT MORRIS PARK WEST CHANGED BACK TO WHAT IT WAS PRIOR TO THE D.O.T. CHANGES AND WE WANT TRAFFIC LIGHTS ON EVERY CORNER TO CONTROL TRAFFIC SPEED AND MAKE THIS STREET SAFER.

This petition comes on behalf of the PTSO for Haynes Medical Science Design Center. In being an advocate for our children as well as our community, our concerns are in regards to the possible closing of Haynes Middle Health Medical Science Design Center. We as parents and persons whom have a community interest are willing and ready to give the support needed to assist in a resolution to continue to build a brighter future for us all.

Aventura Mall management are presently estimating a 6:00AM-7:00AM opening time on Friday, November 29, 2013, wrongly believing that the demographic of shoppers who most frequent the The Mall won't be enticed to shop during these extended Black Friday shopping hours. This is simply not the case, and doesn't benefit Mall tenants, employees, or the community.

Because every sophomore has came up to me nd told me that they dont understand him he treats them bad hes not helpful and that almost half the sophomore class is failing his class and that they want to leave glencliff over it

Frustrated!

I am starting this petition because I am raising a daughter with autism and I am HER voice. She loves Disney World, she recognizes when she is there. It is her place and now their despicable actions will hurt my chances to take her there and diminish the chances she enjoys it the way I know she deserves.

Fracking is currently prohibited in the state of New York while the risks of this fossil fuel extraction process are studied. According to that state's health commissioner, "The time to ensure the impacts on public health are properly considered is before a state permits drilling." We agree. That's why, here in California, we're urging the Bureau of Land Management to continue its moratorium on new oil lease sales while it studies fracking's threats to the Golden State. Nationwide the Bureau estimates that 90 percent of new oil and gas wells on federal land are fracked. In California much of the Monterey Shale's estimated 15.4 billion barrels of frackable oil is under federal lands. All that fracking potential means our cherished public lands face severe air and water pollution, animal and plant species that depend on those lands face habitat loss, and humans living and recreating on or near these public lands suffer many health threats. The best way to protect these national treasures, as well as our climate, is to simply prohibit this inherently dangerous form of fossil fuel extraction -- and what better place to start than by banning fracking on our public lands? In California we have the chance to take one big step toward that goal. Please take action now to tell the BLM to maintain its hold on new oil and gas leasing on California's public lands.

Congress has 6 days scheduled before the Sep. 30 budget deadline to avoid a government shutdown. But some Republicans won't even negotiate unless Obamacare is defunded — and they're using the deadline to gain leverage. We need Rep. Lamar Smith to prioritize expanding the middle class during the budget debate. Unless we act quickly, he may join with Republicans like Rep. Paul Ryan and support more cuts to education, healthcare, and other vital services.