This is a petition in support of the children and families whose lives have been touched or affected by the Department of Children and Families (DCF) .Our goal is to bring public awareness to the abuse and neglect of our children in the system along with the struggles and obstacles that the parents/families face while trying to regain custody of our children.

In 2001, Ronny Lopez Jr. made a terrible mistake, and was held accountable by the Hawaii Judicial System. He has since fulfilled all requirements, did his time, changed his life around, has had no problems before or since. He works actively to help others as a Certified Substance Abuse Counselor, and is trying to raise a wonderful family in the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness. In the last 2 years, 4 prominent recovery centers on the island of Oahu wanted to offer him stable, long-term, positions based on his credentials, experience, and expertise, however could not because of archaic and special interest based Federal laws barring him because of his criminal history. With his current position disappearing come this May, the security and well-being of his family is in crisis if he cannot receive a pardon and find suitable employment. He put in his application for pardon in August of 2011, and the Paroling Authority did not start working on it until September of 2012. Time is running out, and the security of his family, including two beautiful children, is on the line. If you believe in change and if you believe everyone deserves a second chance, please sign the petition and show your support.

Under the Affordable Care Act, states are eligible to receive new funding to expand their Medicaid programs. Missouri lawmakers have so far refused to accept the funds to expand Medicaid in Missouri, but the fight's not over. Tell Missouri state legislators to accept federal Medicaid dollars and protect the nearly 400,000 Missourians that would benefit.

While Texas had 4 major cities with some of the highest growth rates in the country in 2012, severe draught and water shortages, now and worse to come, will threaten our well-being. The current Texas State Legislature, now in session, needs to address, if not prioritize, this impending crisis.

Prohibiting the practice of giving away live animals, fish, hermit crabs lizards etc as prizes would save many of them from cruelty. Winning a animal or fish is done on impulse and rarely do the recipients have the resources for them when they arrive home to care for them. I have seen fish in bags discarded in trash receptacles at the fair and many others die from the heat and being brought on rides. Many towns and cities in other states have banned the practice. Maryland is a progressive state and should do the same. There are better, more suitable prizes available that don't have the inherent cruelty of giving a live animal as a prize.

Not one senior Wall Street executive has been held responsible for the country's economic collapse. Attorney's have filed civil suits and these suits contain strong evidence that too big to fail banks defrauded investors; these suits need to filed as criminal cases NOW. They need to be held accountable; they must be made to pay back the money they stole or lost through their fraudulent acts.

In Tennesse, a battered woman must name her batter before reccieving medical care. I am an artist and anthropolgist that learned about the plight of battered women doing a course on battered women at the University of Tennesse at Chattanooga. I have followed this terrible action on women since that time. Bills introduced in the past have failed in the State House in TN. The government must realized that abused women personality change as they are abused, and they tend to fault themselves plus more women are killed by their abuser. Yes, an attempt was made by a person to abuse me, but I was strong enough to escape because I realized the consquences. Silverrene Roundtree

The fact that politics is now profession for the rich which does not represent the population. I call for all wages to be in line with the average citizen in military and the same benefit package. We shall no longer allow ellected officials to vote on there own raises.

I am currently using Comcast to access the internet and access basic cable channels. The costs are high and the premium channels are bundled making the cost of TV access excessive. A local public utility could easily provide internet and cable TV access at a lower cost. This would help the school system by making high-speed internet available to students.

Purple is a symbolic mix of Red and Blue. All of us see our Congress in gridlock, and in this petition we call for compromise where both sides work to protect and champion the other's imperatives while sculpting legislation that works, without refusing to participate, to cover broad interests for the good of the Nation.

Shorten Presidential Campaigns!

It is my experience since my university days at St Louis University, I have deal personally with the homless, speaking with them and offering alternative resources if applicaable...