H. Res. 333 supports the 67-year effort for justice by the American POWs of Japan who suffered untold hardships and misery in captivity and faced gag orders and poor treatment upon their return to the United States. The resolution is an enduring message to all service men and women that their country will never forsake them. These WWII veterans all in their 90s wish to see their dignity restored and memory honored before the last one passes on. The resolution thanks the Government of Japan for its apology and program of reconciliation given to the American POWs in September 2010. The resolution further encourages Japan's great companies that used these POWs as slave labor to follow the example of their government to acknowledge and apologize to the American POWs. Japanese companies that used POW slave labor include Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Sumitomo, Hitachi, Kawasaki, Showa Denko, Nippon Steel, and Nippon Sharyo. To hear the POW experience in these veterans own words see: http://www.youtube.com/user/americanpowsofjapan?feature=mhee To see H. Res. 333, please visit: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112:h.res.333:

Minnesota Legislators that have signed and continue to honor their no-taxes pledge initiated by Grover Norquist above their oath of office should be recalled for nonfeasance.

This academic year, at least 6 college students affiliated with American universities, including Jasmine Jahanshahi, have lost their lives in fires. Join JUSTICE and Campus Firewatch in requesting that Rick Scott proclaim September as Campus Fire Safety Month, in order to "raise awareness and encourage schools to provide fire prevention and safety education". Additionally, we hope with this proclamation to encourage schools to publish annual fire safety reports, in accordance with the Higher Campus Fire Safety Right-to-Know Act of 2008.

Providence Health Services, one of the largest hospital groups in the Portland Metro area of Oregon, is under equipped and undereducated about the diagnosis, treatment, and full range of symptoms involved in POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome). POTS is a disorder of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS), primarily characterized by the symptom that it takes its name from: when you stand up, you can pass out.  When people stand up, gravity starts to take over with your body's blood flow, pulling it down to your legs and abdomen.  In most people, the ANS triggers a slight increase in blood pressure and heart rate, tightening the veins in your legs, and compensates to keep blood flowing normally to your brain.  In people with POTS, things don't quite go as planned.  The ANS overcompensates, increasing the heart rate dramatically.  The veins in the legs don't tighten, and blood pressure doesn't raise, and can often drop.  Blood flow to the brain is slowed, they get less oxygen to the brain, and they can gray out or even pass out completely.  Other common symptoms in people with POTS include nausea, gastrointestinal disorders, heat intolerance, fatigue and more.  POTS is currently affecting an estimated 1.7% of the population, though with the high number of misdiagnoses that most POTS patients receive before their POTS diagnosis, that percentage could be much higher.  POTS is debilitating, ruining peoples' careers, family lives, social activities.  It is also misunderstood, frequently misdiagnosed or mistaken for stress, anxiety, depression, sometimes even bipolar disorder or other more serious psychological disorders.
As an in-home caregiver for a patient with POTS, I've seen many issues with Providence Health Services regarding the education of their providers.  Most have never heard of POTS, and find it "too complex to treat."  Some don't believe in POTS, since there is nothing structurally wrong with the body.  Others know a little about it, but are either going by out-of-date research information, or don't know how to diagnose/treat it.  There are a handful of doctors in the Portland area who are being overwhelmed with patients from all over Oregon and Washington.  Providence Health Systems needs to start educating their providers about how to diagnose POTS, and how to treat it.  I am petitioning them to start an education and awareness campaign within their hospitals and clinics, and invite local POTS patients to speak first-hand about their experiences.

The Yellowstone River covers an area abundant with fish, birds and many more species of wildlife. Last Friday an ExxonMobil pipeline rupture spewed an estimated 42,000 gallons of oil into this cherished ecosystem. As we've learned from the Exxon Valdez and BP oil disasters, the full-scale impacts of oil spills to local wildlife may not be known for weeks, months, or even years. That's why ExxonMobil needs to know of the public's immediate demands that they do everything in their power now to minimize the devastating impacts this oil disaster could have for local wildlife. Please show your support for Yellowstone River wildlife by signing this petition today!

Reduce the salaries of all federal employees 5% and reduce their benefits to a 401(k) program and Medicare as their health insurance provider. They can pay for a supplemental Medicare insurance policy out of their own pocket. If you can please donate $2 to our campaign which covers advertizing costs, paper, materials, etc. by following this link... https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=ZZF6SK57LHFY6

The bill gained final passage from the state Assembly on a vote of 49-25, without a single Republican supporting it. The measure cleared the state Senate in April. California already requires public schools to teach the contributions made to society by women and by racial and ethnic groups that were historically discriminated against, such as blacks, Latinos and Native Americans. Supporters of the latest bill said it would simply include gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender individuals in that existing requirement, making it part of the curriculum in history and other social studies classes.

Makes it illegal for jurors to profit in any monetary way, including media incentives resulting from their involvement in a trial, unless it is to be donated to a foundation in honor of the victim, such as a scholarship fund, etc.

All six Republican members of Congress in the state of Missouri supported the Paul Ryan budget, which would end Medicare as we know it and would continue to hand out corporate welfare, while working class Missourians continue to struggle. Enough is enough.

Undersigned citizens request that our representatives not allow the Department of Defense to water-down the Freedom of Information Act by putting a provision into the Defense Authorization Act of 2012 that would prevent the public from accessing information having to do with Emergency Response and safety concerns effecting communities adjacent to Federal Facilities. This new legislation is the Department of Defense response to a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Milner v. Navy. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Milner as the Navy could not use the exemption put forward and that the community had a right to know the risk to their community. The public has a right to know about explosives, harmful chemicals and emergency response plans for military bases. Section 1044 would allow the Department of Defense to withhold records essential for Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) requirements. The Department of Defense is not exempt from these regulations. By signing this petition you are letting your representatives know that you want an open transparent government that allows the public access to information concerning their safety and well being.

Many congressmen in Texas voted to short the Texas school children about $4 billion and not use the money still in the rainy day fund. This will result in the loss of around 100,000 teacher and staff positions around the state. We need to ask these State Representatives hard questions, like why they chose bills such as giving tax breaks to yacht owners at the expense of the children of their district.

San José has suffered 10 years of budget deficits; closed $300 million in deficits through layoffs and cuts in services in the past 3 years, and yet the General Fund will be $78 million in the red next year, and hundreds more layoffs expected. While the city’s population has increase by 100,000, the workforce has shrunk by 30%, providing dwindling services. Since the ‘90s, previous Councils, or labor arbitrators, have increased retirement benefits, particularly in public safety. A public safety officer receives an average pension of $102,000, increased 3% yearly, with free health insurance. Unfortunately for many reasons, including the economic crisis, these benefit increases have created unfunded liabilities in excess of $3.5 billion in San José’s retirement funds, and most of the burden lies on the General Fund. There are no frills to cut; without change these retirement costs will continue the cycle of massive layoffs. Many of us have found our retirement significantly reduced with no bail out. Most of us do not make a 6-figure salary, especially after retirement. I'm not anti-labor, it's just that City Services are essential and cannot be sustained without sacrifices during hard times. Petitions circulated by Councilmember Ash Kalra implied that workers would lose benefits and collective bargaining rights with current proposals. He provided no background information about the dire straights of the city, the efforts undertaken, or inform you that 5 of the city’s 11 unions are currently collectively bargaining! As a San Jose resident who has hosted many Moveon events and parties, I call for all to focus on solutions for the budget deficit, rather than political attacks. Workers, residents and ALL labor leaders need to quit the blame game, and work with the San Jose officials to provide rational solutions to this budget crisis. All residents and businesses of San Jose need to find ways to keep our libraries, parks, police and fire safety services. Let’s work together to solve this budget crisis!