This is Important, because we need to understand once a person commits a crime wether big or small and they are punished, that should be it. instead our system and people whom have nothing to do with the system holds grudges and continues to spitefully attack African AMERICANS such as Michael Vick for crimes that they already paid for. This makes you wonder is it about the crime or is it about his race. There are many stories with other “non-black” athletes that are worse and no one is petitioning to tarnish there name or take away their accomplishments. I ask this simple question, what does his Past “paid for” crimes have to do with his ability to be put in the position as pro bowl captain! LEAVE THIS MAN ALONE ALREADY, you guys have tried to ruin his life in every way. ITS ENOUGH! I ask those that are tired of people holding your past against you and wish you could just move on with your life and not continuously be punished over and over wether it be non criminal or criminal to sign this. This petition is not only for Micheal Vick but for you as well. Let’s hope this petition will help M.V live in peace with all his accomplishments untouched. Thank you Kat St. John

The Trump Administration recently announced changes to SNAP that will cause hundreds of thousands of people to lose access to their “food stamp” benefits. SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program commonly referred to as "food stamps," is a federal nutrition program that’s critical for fighting hunger in the United States. According to Feeding America, "SNAP provides families with their basic nutritional needs to get them through temporary hard times. It helps people get back on their feet and on the road to a better life.” However, the Trump Administration has been working for the last three years to undermine SNAP as part of their agenda to limit access to public assistance programs. The newly-announced attack on SNAP is especially outrageous because Congress rejected these proposed changes to the program during the Farm Bill debate last year. The House rejected it in a bipartisan vote of 330-83, and the Senate voted down a similar amendment 68-30. But now, Sonny Perdue, Trump’s Secretary of Agriculture, is moving forward with these changes through an undemocratic “executive order” that targets very poor people struggling to work — many of whom are homeless, living in small towns and rural communities with little or no access to employment, or have health conditions that prevent them from working. Please join with us and demand that Sonny Perdue stop the Trump attacks on food assistance programs critical for fighting hunger in the United States.

The Trump Administration recently announced changes to SNAP that will cause hundreds of thousands of people to lose access to their “food stamp” benefits. SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program commonly referred to as "food stamps," is a federal nutrition program that’s critical for fighting hunger in the United States. According to Feeding America, "SNAP provides families with their basic nutritional needs to get them through temporary hard times. It helps people get back on their feet and on the road to a better life.” However, the Trump Administration has been working for the last three years to undermine SNAP as part of their agenda to limit access to public assistance programs. The newly-announced attack on SNAP is especially outrageous because Congress rejected these proposed changes to the program during the Farm Bill debate last year. The House rejected it in a bipartisan vote of 330-83, and the Senate voted down a similar amendment 68-30. But now, Sonny Perdue, Trump’s Secretary of Agriculture, is moving forward with these changes through an undemocratic “executive order” that targets very poor people struggling to work — many of whom are homeless, living in small towns and rural communities with little or no access to employment, or have health conditions that prevent them from working. Please join with us and demand that Sonny Perdue stop the Trump attacks on food assistance programs critical for fighting hunger in the United States.

Please grant my father’s application for a pardon to protect him from the reach of Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) and help him stay in the U.S. with us, his family. My father was brought to the U.S. lawfully as a child by my grandmother, who wanted a better life for her family. In 1997, when I was three, my father went to prison. He was just 19 when he shot and tragically took the life of another young man. In 2011, while my father was in prison, my brother (my father’s youngest son) was killed in an act of violence, deepening my father’s understanding of the traumatic impact he had on his victim’s family and gun violence has on our community, more generally. My father spent 25 years in prison atoning for the harm he caused (http://www.voicesfromwithin.org/tyrone-abraham.html). After much soul searching, he turned his life around and committed to bettering himself (he earned Bachelor and Master’s degrees) and helping others. He helped at-risk youth understand the impact of gun violence and develop strategies for non-violent conflict resolution. He educated his peers about HIV/AIDS and making healthy lifestyle decisions. He led his prison’s United Asian American Organization as President when no one else stepped up to ensure its representation. For all his work, my father earned the respect of peers, advocates, clergy members, academics, correctional officials, legislators, and, earlier this year, the state parole board, which granted him parole. However, my father was not freed on his release date, he was transferred to ICE custody and set for deportation to a country he has not seen since he was just 11 years old and where he has no family left. Time is running out; my father’s deportation is imminent as he sits in an ICE detention center. My father served his time, every day of his sentence; and so did our entire family. I need my father, my aging grandmother needs her son, my mother needs her husband, my uncle needs his brother, my cousins need their uncle, and my father needs us. Keeping my father away from our family and sending him to a land he does not know and where he has no support system is cruel and defies logic. Moreover, deporting my father would be a terrible loss for our community. New York taxpayers invested tremendous resources in my father’s transformation, and with the help of dedicated professionals, he succeeded remarkably. My father will continue his community work as a credible messenger after his incarceration. But without your pardon, we will all lose what we stand to benefit from my father’s return. The precious life of my father’s victim can never be replaced. As someone who lost her own brother in much the same way, I understand. But I am so proud of the man my father has become. He has taught me the importance of humility, hard work, and community service. Please help my father continue to live and work here in the U.S. If you give him this opportunity, I know he can help heal our broken world. Sincerely, Shayquana (daughter of Tyrone Abraham)

Target’s weekly ad on the Sunday after Thanksgiving featured a Nerf gun called a “Fortnite AR-E blaster.”(1) This toy gun looks like an AR-15, the weapon of choice for mass shootings—including the school shootings at Margery Stoneman Douglas HS in Parkland, FL and Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, CT. In these times of horrific gun violence, family-friendly Target should not be selling toys modeled on AR-15s or other assault-style weapons. The US now has mass shootings on a near-daily basis. Children routinely participate in active shooting drills at schools due to the threat of gun violence. Many have seen news reports from shootings, including images of children crying outside their schools while police address the aftermath of a school shooting. Some have been directly affected by gun violence. Imagine those children seeing toy guns at Target that look like the assault-style weapons that are regularly used in mass shootings, packaged in boxes with pictures of smiling children holding the guns. What kind of message does it send to children who fear or have suffered from gun violence to see these “toys” for sale? Imagine a child who comes across a real gun at home or while visiting a friend or relative, which happens with alarming frequency. (2) Will that child who has seen toy guns at Target think the gun is a toy, perhaps leading to an accidental shooting? Imagine a troubled teen who has considered using a gun to injure himself or others? Will seeing the toy guns at Target encourage him or make him think that a real gun is not harmful? Imagine a child playing with one of these toy guns in the yard or a park. Might the police or someone else mistake it for a real gun (especially if the orange tip has been removed) and shoot the child? (3) There may have been a time when most people didn’t think twice about toy guns. But now that mass shootings and school shootings have become routine, no responsible retailer should sell "toys" that look like the deadly assault-style weapons used in those shootings. Guns are not toys. Target holds itself out as a responsible corporation that helps communities. The Target website proclaims: “We’re putting the needs of people, communities and the planet at the heart of how we work today, to help build a better tomorrow.”(4) Target also says it wants “to help all families discover the joy of everyday life.”(5) Selling toy guns that look like assault weapons does not help communities or families; it hurts them. Sign this petition and tell Target: Stop selling toy guns that look like assault-style weapons. 1. https://weeklyad.target.com/promotions?code=Target-20191201&page=14. 2. A recent study estimated that 4.6 million children live in a home with a gun that is loaded and unlocked. Deborah Azrael, et al., “Firearm Storage in Gun-owning Households with Children: Results of a 2015 National Survey.” Journal of Urban Health (2018) 1-10. Approximately 40% of gun owners report that there is always a loaded gun within easy reach when they’re at home. Kim Parker, et al., “America’s Complex Relationship with Guns,” Pew Research Center (June 22, 2017) 9, http://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/06/06151541/Guns-Report-FOR-WEBSITE-PDF-6-21.pdf. 3. Katy Steinmetz, “Toy Guns Create Deadly Problems for Police,” Time (Nov. 25, 2014), https://time.com/3603087/tamir-rice-shooting-toy-gun/. The night before Target ran its ad featuring the assault-style Nerf gun, an intoxicated man shot a child who was playing with a Nerf gun. Kashmira Gander, “Florida Man Drunk On Whiskey And Beer Shot Child Playing With Nerf Gun After Telling Him He Had A Real Gun, Police Say,” Newsweek (Dec. 3, 2019), https://www.newsweek.com/florida-man-drunk-whiskey-beer-shot-child-nerf-gun-real-gun-police-1475186. 4. https://corporate.target.com/about/. 5. https://corporate.target.com/corporate-responsibility.

The average income of residents cant afford renting a place to live in this county. It is not fair that outsiders have the advantage over born and raised residents in living in this county. Not everyone can afford to buy a house.

Japan has historically disregarded and disrespected Native people of the Pacific. On 11/29/19, a group of concerned citizens came together in a show of Pacific solidarity to deliver a statement to the Consulate General of Japan. Restrictions were placed on the group. Only one person was allowed to enter the Consulate under the supervision of armed Federal agents to deliver a hard copy of the statement to an aid of the Consulate General. Please sign the Petition so we can insure that our requests are considered. Japan's investment in TMT is symptomatic of a long history of disregard and disrespect of it's own Native Ainu and Okinawan people. Even when we attempted to approach the Consulate with protocol, ceremony and respect, we were met with law enforcement. One participant in today's rally for solidarity and justice, shares her account of being told that representatives of the Consul General refused to accept her gift of lei: https://youtu.be/iAhfKFMmti8

Bakhodir Madjitov, a Connecticut father of 3 young boys, had been living in the US for 11 years when ICE raided his home in the early morning hours of December 22, 2017. He’s been in custody ever since. His children are suffering – and we’re concerned that he may be deported soon. Bakhodir’s wife Madina was 39 weeks pregnant with a complicated pregnancy when ICE entered their home without a warrant 2 years ago. Bakhodir and Madina’s third child was born a week after ICE detained his father. Prior to being detained, Bakhodir supported his family as a home health aide working with a government issued ID. In the last 2 years, ICE has moved Bakhodir around the country in detention centers in Massachusetts, Alabama, New Jersey, and Louisiana. Madina and her lawyers are concerned that ICE might be planning to deport Bakhodir- even though he has an active case pending. Connecticut values families. We want Madina and Bakhodir and the boys together. Join us in telling ICE that Bakhodir should be home with his wife and sons!

A Nov. 10, 2019 Los Angeles Times op-ed on the idea of a homeless "village" that would create temporary, emergency shelter for all of the City's homeless received a huge, positive response. Clearly, Angelenos are eager for a big, bold and immediate solution to the homelessness that destroys lives and ruins our city.

It is important because it is not ok to act this way and represent your hateful side (racist side) on a show that is supposed to be fun, not cruel.

John S. Maloney served as Commander in the U.S. Navy, and would later serve as Superintendent of the Connetquot School District for 17 years. I believe he is the longest serving superintendent in district history. He spent 37 years in education, starting as a history teacher in 1960 and later served as dean, assistant principal and principal of Peconic Street School, now called RMS. He was teaching at Sycamore Avenue School by 1961, while Connetquot HS was being built just down the road. John S. Maloney passed away in June of 2019 at the age of 85. John was a wonderful teacher, mentor and friend to thousands who were fortunate to work with, and know, him. I am asking the BOE to put this question to the community at the time of the annual budget. Thank you for your consideration.

Why is it important to sign? It's important because this egregious behavior implies that any one of us can be silenced and/or terminated if management doesn't like what it hears or sees. Today it was these three colleagues and elected representatives, and tomorrow it could be YOU! This blatant act by management goes against Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act which pertains to "protected activities" including advocacy on behalf of a group of colleagues. We will not be silenced! Make your voice heard, and sign the petition TODAY! Let's show our solidarity!