Due to Hurricane Sandy and the devastation that our community and district have sustained, we feel that NY State Assessment tests should be waived for the 2012/2013 school year. Two of our three schools have sustained tremendous damage, and all of our 7-12 graders are currently displaced and attending buildings in other districts. Our K-6 grade buildings are currently combined, housing 45-50 plus students per classroom. In addition, half of our students have lost their homes and their belongings and are currently living with relatives and friends as they try to recover from the effects of this storm. Due to the current set of extenuating circumstances and the weeks of valuable instructional time that was lost, we feel that administering state assessment test this year would not provide NY with an accurate assessment of either our teachers or students and that test preparation would further take away from the instructional time this district has already lost.

Children not eligible for health insurance on a policy alone since they cannot be declined now due to health issues. Health Insurance companies are fighting back on the Obama Healthcare by not accepting them at all. We need to better understand within the communites how Obama Healthcare is helping.

In years past, World Wars and the military draft did a lot to familiarize and equalize people from different ethnic, social, and economic backgrounds in this country. I believe our sense of an overall American ethos would be regained if we instituted compulsory service of some kind for everyone.

The immigration reform proposal currently on the Obama political agenda contains a new Bracero Program, termed "a process for admitting temporary workers." Having a new Bracero Program in something called Immigration Reform is no reform at all, it is a step backwards into indentured servitude, slavery. We must oppose any new 'temporary contract labor program.' Unfortunately, a temporary worker program remains on the Obama version of immigration reform. Let's be firm in our opposition to any new guest worker program and make no deals in order to get justice for the undocumented. On this see Julia Preston, "Obama Expresses Confidence in Early Action on Immigration" (NYT Nov 14, 2012). Among the various actions in the proposed legislation is a new Bracero Program now pegged, or better sanitized as "visas available for farm workers." Gilbert Gonzalez

My petition is about changing marijuana from a schedule that is the same as cocaine to a more consistant schedule so there can be real research that can save lives

Washington and Colorado have legalized marijuana for adults. Other states are planning to do so. The federal government should declassify marijuana as an illegal drug and allow states to regulate marijuana.

Stopping the War on Drugs particularaly war on weed. And legalize cannabis and make it safe available and affordable

Control waste in military spending by drastically reducing the number of officers. The current ratio of enlisted personnel to officers in the US military is 4 to 1.

Pharmaceuticals should be sold at cost, not profit. Many people literally die for lack of needed drugs and lack of adequate drugs leads to cocains use. As a diabetic I have lost a major amoung of my personal savings. We must also separate drugs from research

To normalize rules in all Federal Elections in all 50 states in order to avoid confusion of voting rules from 1 state to the next. Such rules would make the election laws the same in every state for Federal elections or candidates since they are Federal elections or issues.

Due to becoming disabled I cannot afford to repay my childs student loan My hardship has affected my life as I am on disability with no extra means to repay this debt.At the time she was in college I was employed.I applied for hardship application and was ignored and the loan went into default.Collection calls and mail never stop.I always paid my families way now I feel useless to handle this debt.Please , make Hardship Applications for student loan debt a possibility for people who are truly disabled due to circumstance out of their/my control.

Tell gov. Fallon that we Oklahomans want to participate in receiving Obamacare.