Milton Hall was a mentally ill homeless man that was shot and killed by six police officers in Saginaw, Michigan on July 1, 2012. He was shot 46 times in broad daylight at a local shopping center in front of children. Turns out, he only had a 2 inch knife. I sent a letter to the editor of The Saginaw News. It was printed in the newspaper: This is what I wrote: It’s a shame that an obviously troubled mentally ill man, Mr. Hall, had to die because of his mental illness. I, too, feel that this shooting was not justified. It was definitely over kill. Come on, he was shot 46 times. The actual shooters are not men, they're cowards! They knew that Mr. Hall was mentally disturbed. He had probably run out of his meds with The Department of Mental Health cutting so many programs now-a-days. Besides, Mr. Hall was the least dangerous person out there that day. He had a 2 inch knife; and was 36 feet away from the officers. What did the officers have? There was no need to kill this man. That's what tasers, pepper sprays, hand cuffs, and other non lethal weapons are for; to subdue those like Mr. Hall, who disconnect from reality. Those cops used unnecessary deadly force--unjustifiably. We do not control mental illness by murder, that’s why police have non lethal weapons. What's the point of giving officers the option of having bullet proof/stab proof vests, tasers, dogs, batons, mase, and hand cuffs? In the poor neighborhoods, police are shooting and mistreating mentally ill people more and more often when it isn't warranted. Had Mr. Hall been a wealthy mentally ill person, I doubt if he would have been shot or even tasered. They would have simply talked with him and subdued him. Those police lives were not in danger; so, I see no justification for using deadly force. Just being combative is not justification to shoot someone. Police are supposed to be trained on how to deal with the mentally disturbed. Mr. Hall was over 25 feet from the officers; witnesses say 36 feet away. I feel that these police officers were not properly trained in nonviolent methods of interacting with the mentally ill. I feel a non-lethal response to the situation would have had better results. A person with a tiny 2 inch hand-held weapon, 30 feet away from officers, should have left no one dead. Bottom line, those police officers were not properly trained. The City failed to properly train those police officers regarding mental health issues. The City must educate police officers on how to handle the mentally ill. Training in deescalating or calming the distraught should be top priority when it comes to dealing with the mentally disturbed.

Republicans keep stating social security and medicare/medicaid are entitlement programs. we pay into these programs from the first day we start working.They are earned benefits.

The current prohibition against Marijuana.

I have been in renal failure three times. I now have residual mild chronic kidney disease. I have stopped the spiriva which had caused fluid retention (causing reflux kidney problems) and along with under and untreated urinary tract infections led to the renal disease. I'm lucky. How many others out there (or who have died) have kidney/bladder problems due to the side effects of this drug. Prior to taking spiriva I had no kidney problems.

This petition is to repeal the Prescription Drug Bill that keeps the government from negotiating drug prices.

Ryan's plan is to keep senior vote by exempting those over 55. What about those 40-54, not to mention future generations who are counting on medicare as well? Let's not let them divide us up!

Trying to over turn the voter id law just passed in the State of Pennsylvania

According to the University's yearly handbook, The Lowdown, "USA Spirit There are certain pervading animating principles that are essential for a community of scholars to maintain if they are to be dedicated to personal and academic excellence. Becoming a member of the University of South Alabama’s community necessitates that the spirit of a truly civilized community be fully embraced. As a member of the University community ... I will uphold the spirit of diversity which celebrates differences and discourages bigotry. ... a commitment to this ideal affirms support for equal rights regardless of one’s age, sex, race, religion, disability, ethnic heritage, socio-economic status, political, social or other affiliation." This quote is from the current Lowdown, yet the university allows Chick-fil-A to operate on campus. Not only does the CEO of Chick-fil-A strongly oppose gay marriage, the company has donated millions to anti-gay organizations. One of the groups receiving donations is The Family Research Council, which classified as a hate group. This chain needs to be removed from the campus. The beliefs and donations of this company are in direct opposition of the USA spirit which is to celebrate diversity and discourage bigotry.

Unlawful foreclosure practices continue by Bank of America. Here is my personal experience. 11/2008 I contacted BofA and asked to modify my mortgage as my home was extremely underwater being in one of the hardest hit areas of the country in terms of housing values. BofA said that they would but could not until I stopped making three consecutive payments as my loan was current. I complied. 02/2009 BofA modifies my mortgage. Constant and continual communication, numerous exchange of paperwork, subsequent approval and notarized signing of final documents including payment schedule to be recorded. 03/2009 BofA contacts me and informs me that they have received the final docs and the loan is being recorded. Diligently they explain to me that although the loan is a “done deal,” (their quote) it can take up to six months before I receive my first updated statement and that it is imperative that I begin making my payments as instructed regardless. I complied. 06/2009 BofA contacts me and asks me if I would be willing to apply for a modification on my mortgage since it is six months past due. I inform them that I just modified it and have been making payments as instructed even though I had not received my first statement to date. They informed me they do not see a modification nor any payments and asked how I paid. I informed them that I paid my payments online through BofA bill pay. I said that I would check to see if BofA had cashed the payments and would get back to them as they stated they did not have the ability to check themselves as it was another department. I confirmed that BofA did receive and cash payments and subsequently informed them of such. Again they informed me that they could not find any modification nor payments but that they would get back to me. They instructed me not to make any more payments until they could locate where the payments where as the address they were going to was correct but they could not find the modification nor payments. 06/2009-04/2010 No one from BofA ever contacts me regarding the status of my payments nor modification. I “do” however continue to receive numerous harassing phone calls regarding the status of my supposed delinquent mortgage from representatives who know nothing of the current situation. 04/11/2010 By this time never receiving an updated loan statement nor any correspondence as promised regarding current modification and payments I contacted an attorney. Per his advice I sent BofA a letter demanding that they refund my payments in order to get some sort of attention and response on the matter. 05/26/2010 After no correspondence to my letter for almost two months I finally received a phone call from Reshonda who introduced herself as a BofA supervisor, employee id 2467. I took copious notes during the conversation. Reshonda stated that they had found my modification and found my payments. She stated that, “BofA did not request from me updated income information at closing as the investor requested so the modification was cancelled and the opportunity to participate in that modification program has expired.” She profusely stated that it was BofA’s fault and apologized. She further went on to explain to me that BofA could of remedied the situation by pooling the loan in another modification program called the, “Affordable Home Loan Program,” had they of found the modification earlier. She then stated that unfortunately I had been told previously by a BofA representative to ignore the calls to apply for this program since I had already completed a modification and therefore lost the opportunity. Further, she stated that my payments on my new modification had been mistakenly applied to my previous mortgage and therefore she was unable to refund them. I informed her that it was my legal understanding that upon signing final loan documents for the modification I was released from any financial obligations of my previous mortgage. She stated that was true and asked me if I would be willing to apply for another modification. I told her I did not think I would be approved due to a change in circumstances and shared some of those with her to which she replied, “No, you would not get approved.” I told her that I appreciated her candor and acknowledgement that this was BofA’s fault but that I am concerned that I am not hearing any type of resolution and would contact an atty for advice which I did. My attorney advised me that the ball is in BofA’s court and that I should give them time to get back to me with some sort of resolution to the matter but should I receive notice of foreclosure we would take the matter to court. 07/2012 I received several advertisements in the mail from businesses that wanted to help me try to avoid foreclosure since my home was scheduled to be auctioned. After researching and verifying the auction date I contacted my attorney. I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the state of California that I “never” received the legal notice required by California law that my home was scheduled to be auctioned off. In addition to my efforts in court I have contacted the California state attorney generals office and am keeping them up to date on this matter. They informed me that Recon Trust, the company foreclosing on my property, is a wholly owned subsidiary of BofA and constantly violating numerous requirements of the California legal foreclosure process. They also advised me to seek out numerous media outlets that would be interested in reporting on this matter which I am currently in the process of doing.

I am currently on state parole in Pennsylvania, I have applied for hundreds, if not over a thousand jobs. As soon as my background check comes back, or the subject is brought up during the interview, the position I'm applying for disappears. I, as well as other ex-felons, who have served their time and learned from their past deserve a fair shot at gainful employment.

Hate towards same sex couple's from getting married.

This petition is to get Virgil Goode,Constitution Party Presidential Candidate and his VP into all debates to allow Americans to have a choice this election. Its time for a MAJOR change in the federal govt