The NYS Office of Mental Health has proposed the closure of Greater Binghamton Health Center's Child & Adolescent and Adult inpatient units in an effort to create "Regional Center of Excellence". We are seeking NYS Southern Tier residents to join us to voice concerns about the potential closure and help us save this Facility and these invaluable services. This petition is not a petition to "just maintain the status quo", it is a petition to keep vital services in the Southern Tier. It is also meant to act as a catalyst for positive change in order to maintain these vital mental health services for our region, raise community awareness regarding proposed closures and what it means for rural mental healthcare, and preserve jobs for those providing these essential services. Help us spread the word!!

America is in turmoil since the announcement of the Zimmerman verdict. Demonstrations of outrage have ignited all across the country in response. The verdict sends a message about the lesser value of Black life and the toleration of racial prejudice. We must refute this dangerous message. We cannot deny the role of race and racism in the Trayvon Martin Tragedy. The only reason that the 17-year-old, was considered suspicious in his own neighborhood was because he was Black. It is reflective of the prejudice in our society that the young Black man who was killed on his way home was made out to be the criminal, and the grown man who shot him became the victim. To omit the role of race is to ask for tragedies like this to happen again. We must break the cycle. America must talk about race and the reality of racial inequity. NOW. Your leadership is required to seed that conversation. In response to the Zimmerman verdict, your office released a statement acknowledging the tragedy of Trayvon’s death and the strong passions around the decision, noting: “[W]e are a nation of laws, and a jury has spoken. I now ask every American to respect the call for calm reflection from two parents who lost their young son. And as we do, we should ask ourselves if we're doing all we can to widen the circle of compassion and understanding in our own communities. We should ask ourselves if we're doing all we can to stem the tide of gun violence that claims too many lives across this country on a daily basis. We should ask ourselves, as individuals and as a society, how we can prevent future tragedies like this." You are right that we need to ask “how we can prevent future tragedies like this”. But to do that, we must ask ourselves how we will address racial inequality in our society. We can’t turn a blind eye towards the unfounded racial prejudice and criminalization of Black men that was at the root of this case. Nor can we ignore the myriad other indicators of racial injustice in this country: In Florida, the same State where Zimmerman’s trial took place, Marissa Alexander, a 31-year old Black mother of three was sentenced to twenty years for firing warning shots to defend herself from her abusive husband. She received no protection under the Stand Your Ground law. [1] This year’s public school closings in Chicago disproportionately affect Black students. Although the Black student population in Chicago is only 43%, of the 54 schools that were closed, 88% of the affected student population is Black. [2] In 2012, there were 313 reported extrajudicial killings of Black people by police officers, security guards, and vigilantes. That’s one Black person every 28 hours. [3] Deaths like Trayvon’s and so many more injustices will persist if we do not name the reality of racial inequity. This 17-year-old boy’s tragic death is about more than Gun Control and Stand Your Ground. It’s about racial prejudice in the United States. We need a leader who will name that. A leader who will respect the legacy of the many Americans who struggled and died for civil rights. A leader who will seize upon this critical teaching moment for America. We need you to be our President, not another cautious politician. America must begin a national conversation about race and we need your leadership to do it. [1] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/19/marissa-alexander-gets-20_n_1530035.html [2] http://politic365.com/2013/06/10/88-black-how-about-taking-a-recess-from-closing-public-schools/ [3]http://mxgm.org/operation-ghetto-storm-2012-annual-report-on-the-extrajudicial-killing-of-313-black-people/

Prevention is easier than mitigation. There is a proposed LNG pipeline slated to begin construction here in 2014, which would put our waterways in jeopardy. We are trying to block it.

The battle against AIDS has some remarkable recent successes to report: 1 million babies treated with medication to prevent HIV infection at birth. 5 1/2 million people accessing lifesaving treatment in 2012, up from 50,000 in 2005 We are on our way to ZERO! Zero new infections and zero babies infected at birth; Zero AIDS-related moralities; Zero discrimination against those impacted by HIV/AIDS. But at the same time there is an imminent challenge to maintaining the good news: A massive global trade agreement, the Trans Pacific Partnership, is currently being negotiated without public input. The agreement contains articles which would impose intellectual property and patent protections that would cut off access to lifesaving medications for millions living with HIV/AIDS. Through signing this petition you will be urging our President to fulfill his commitment to, "Ushering in an AIDS-free generation," while at the same time bolstering the image and perception of the United States throughout the World.

Rush Limbaugh has a long record of reckless vitriol, bigotry, racism and sexism. After he attacked a female law student as a "slut" and a "prostitute," over 2,600 advertisers have refused to run ads during Limbaugh's show. In the wake of the Trayvon Martin trial, Limbaugh even used the n-word and claimed it was not racist. [Video of Limbaugh's racial attacks: http://youtu.be/K-Gfb3cwHIw ] The advertiser losses are having an effect, though. Cumulus Media carries Rush Limbaugh on over 40 stations. Rush Limbaugh's contract with Cumulus expires this year, but renewal is not guaranteed the way it was in the past. Recently, Cumulus’ CEO reported that the backlash to Limbaugh’s remarks has cost Cumulus stations millions of dollars in revenue and that most major advertisers now refuse to associate themselves with Limbaugh. When Limbaugh's contract expires, Cumulus Media should not renew it. Enough is enough. Other ways you can take action: Join: The Flush Rush Facebook community https://www.facebook.com/groups/flushrush/ Tweet: #stoprush Twitter campaign https://twitter.com/search?q=stoprush Contact: Active Rush Limbaugh advertisers http://stoprush.net

Support a National Treasure Tap dancing is a Native American dance form that originated here in the United States with the support of the American people we can bring long over due attention to a deserving art form The old towne hoofers club is Washington DC's oldest dance company who's sole purpose is to educate teach promote and preserve the art and history of tap dancing- hoofing For further information please feel free to contact Charles Wyche "Tapologist" 202-277-9950 [email protected]

In light of the Travesty of the George Zimmerman trial President Obama can convene a White House commission on race and racism in America. It is all too clear that we do not live in a Post Racial Society. Our President can address this issue head on and begin the real process of healing and hope and will not need the permission of congress to do it! He has the power to act now!

In the wake of the recent Zimmerman verdict I have realized I must act to pursue equality. I have created this petition to repeal the stand your ground law here in Wisconsin. I believe this law gives certain people the means to justifiably murder others by criminally profiling them, and unnecessarily taking matters into their own hands. In efforts to comfort all of Wisconsin's citizens and provide every mother with a sense of contentment that her child will in fact return home to her, This law should be removed in it's entirety.

Stop the senseless spending of billions to keep marijuana illegal legalize it and tax the hell out of it and make billions. This country is in major debt and something needs to be done.

STOP TRAGIC DISCRIMINATION OF OLD AGE AND CHILDHOOD IN FLORIDA AND OTHERS STATES OF THE USA!

My three year old daughter and I live just across the Columbia River from the Port of Vancouver. On Monday July 22nd, the Port Commission will be considering a proposal from the Tesoro oil giant to build an oil export facility in the Port of Vancouver that would potentially ship up to 360,000 barrels of crude oil every day along the Columbia River. This oil would release more than 56 million metric tons of carbon pollution every year — as much as the annual emissions of 12 million cars. And it would put the Vancouver metro area at risk for environmental contamination, disastrous oil spills, and health problems like asthma and other respiratory diseases. This oil export terminal would be a major a step backwards for the entire Pacific Northwest. Tesoro’s proposal could put as many as 1,400 trains per year — four full trains of oil every day — on route through Vancouver neighborhoods. These trains would carry the same kind of oil that tragically exploded, devastating the community, after a train derailment in Lac-Megantic, Quebec just weeks ago. We cannot take this risk for our communities in the Pacific Northwest. As parents, grandparents, and families, we expect our leaders to promote energy that is kid safe and climate safe. To turn the tide on climate change, we need to make a rapid transition to clean, renewable energy. Tesoro’s proposed export would facility incentivize more extraction of dirty fossil fuels, only deepening our oil dependence at home and abroad. We need to focus on energy projects that don’t make our kids sick or threaten our communities by worsening climate change. Thank you for taking action! Corinne Ball, Climate Parents

Congress must act soon to restore the Voting Rights Act in the wake of the Supreme Court decision, Shelby County v. Holder, handed down on June 25th.