Marijuana was the only drug I tried that helped relieve the negative symptoms of my Aspergers Syndrome. I had to quit smoking it when I was accepted into the pain clinic, due to random drug testing. The symptoms of autism, such as overstimulation, meltdowns, and confusion can be very excruciating! I want to at least try to help legalize marijuana across the board, and the nation-wide referendum to legalize marijuana will allow the citizens of all 50 states to vote Yes or No. Please sign my petition, for the sake of autistic people, and for people not on the spectrum alike, to enjoy both medical and recreational marijuana.

Jess has been an integral part of my family's amazing experience within the Westport school system. She is a constant for many of the children who continue through fifth grade, and then with their siblings. She has taught whole families at KHS and does not deserve to be displaced or removed from her beloved post. Frankly, I'm angry, sad, and hurt that she is being made to leave. I am positive MANY other parents agree with me.

Neighborhood safety!

We need to become better caretakers of the planet. Reducing our carbon footprint can only help our lives, it will not hurt us. Generations of people in the future will be thankful for our courage and commitment. This is a non-partisan effort that should be embraced by everyone.

Climate change is a serious crisis that impacts every one in the world. If we do not begin taking the actions needed to save our planet, it will become uninhabitable for ourselves and future generations. Although President Trump has decided to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement, several states have come together to create a coalition committed to the carbon reduction efforts required by the agreement. Please help me in urging Governor Bryant to enlist Mississippi in this coalition in order to save the planet from climate change! If we don't start taking efforts to combat it now, it may be too late. Climate change is real. We cannot deny it any longer.

Help fix climate change and work to achieve a stable climate and environment. Earth is in grave danger due to Climate Change. The U.S. Congress must pass this act in order to save not only our nation, but also our planet. This act will boost our economy, save our environment, improve our health, help eliminate any diseases related to climate change, and much more. From recycling to a new agency, this act will cover many aspects in ending pollution and climate change. Copy this link and paste it in a separate tab to view the act: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ijLKtBiKlao6Mx6bA4rR3QlBfyq76rXJkHPPqtJct24/edit?usp=sharing

I am creating this petition to create a federal regulation on bill proposals. As someone covered by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), I am not comfortable with 13 Senators hiding from me and trying to take away MY HEALTHCARE!!!!!!!!

The senators and congresspersons who support Trumpcare seem more concerned with cutting costs than providing a good healthcare plan. Perhaps they will do a better job if they have to use Trumpcare.

Jesus Lara is a longtime Ohio resident, an aspiring American, and the father of four U.S. citizens. Earlier this year, Jesus was told by immigration enforcement authorities that he would be deported back to Mexico due to a traffic infraction from years ago. If elected like officials like Rep. Gibbs fail to intervene, Jesus will be deported in just a few weeks. Jesus is a loving father, taxpayer, homeowner, and valued member of the Willard, Ohio community. He is active in his church, and is known as a kind and helpful neighbor. He and his four U.S. Citizen children recently traveled to Washington, DC to meet with congressional offices and build support for his case. Congressman Bob Gibbs represents the Lara family in Washington, DC, and his office is looking into the case—but there's so much more he can do. If we want to stop Jesus' deportation, then we need leaders in like Congressman Gibbs to use their power to help the Lara family and get ICE to stop this deportation. Don't let Donald Trump deport Eric's father! Sign his petition urging Representative Bob Gibbs to be a real champion for Jesus and allow him to stay with his family.

Every 20 years, Florida convenes the Constitution Revision Commission. It’s a group of 37 political appointees that have the power to put constitutional amendments before the voters in 2018. Coming on the heels of the most destructive and divisive presidential campaigns ever, it’s a welcome opportunity for Floridians to demand the commission help fix our broken elections. Despite very little notice of the commission hearings, Floridians are packing rooms to speak their minds. In fact, the commission had to move several meetings to larger rooms to accommodate the large crowds. One of the key topics cited by dozens of speakers: getting rid of the horrible closed primary system that locks out over a quarter of our registered voters and forces politicians to cater to a small fraction of the electorate during the primary, where the majority of races are actually decided. These primary voters are often the most ideologically extreme in both major parties. A closed primary suppresses the vote of people, who do not like political party-politics. Independent voters want to vote for the person, not the political machine behind the politician. They want the candidate to be beholding to "we the people" not the Democrats or Republicans, and the often politically corrupting party system. Now more than ever, Florida needs to shift to open primary elections in order to accommodate the rapidly growing number of independent voters that are now a larger group of voters nationally than the Democrats or Republicans: 39% of all voters now identify themselves as "independent" rather than affiliated with one of the two major political parties, according to a 2014 analysis by the Pew Research Center, compared to 32% Democrats and 23% Republicans. Therefore, we are asking that the CRC put Open Primaries on the ballot. Any amendments proposed by the CRC would be placed on the 2018 General Election ballot. Any amendments placed on the ballot by the CRC would have to secure 60 percent approval by voters to be added to the Florida Constitution. After signing this petition please go the the CRC website and post your request & comment: http://flcrc.gov/Proposals/Submit

PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING We advocate a full-fledged PB process similar to the one designed and implemented in Chicago’s 49th ward by Ald. Joe Moore, ward residents, and the Participatory Budgeting Project over the last 9 years. We know of no other modern method that (a) so easily implements our American ideals of popular sovereignty, (b) so effectively facilitates practical, informed decision-making, and (c) so quickly cuts through civic stalemates — all at once. This latter is especially important at this moment in U.S. history as impasses are impeding decisions at every level even as resources are more desperately needed, e.g., — Federal: health care, gun violence — State of Illinois: no budget in two years — and counting — Evanston: divided electorate (mayoral election, equity issues vis-a-vis police department, library, housing) At the same time, PB provides a profound personal experience of direct democracy in a short time, often to a large number of people all at once. This is because PB is grassroots democracy of the most practical variety — real people coming together to make real decisions about real resources and real issues in real time with real results. The PB process is a proven, flexible method being adopted by local jurisdictions all over the U.S., after years of success in other countries. RESOURCES and synergies available to an Evanston-Northwestern PB project are abundant: — Ald. Joe Moore (Chicago, 49th ward) is a Board member of the Participatory Budgeting Project — The Chicago-based PBP staffperson, Maria Hadden, is a senior coordinator of many types of PB projects — Great Cities Institute (University of Illinois-Chicago) is a formal partner with PBP — The 2016 documentary film on PB, Count Me In, was made by Chicago filmmaker Ines Sommer, who is well known to Evanston and NU — Additional sweat equity by Evanston PB advocates Additionally, Evanston has tried a limited version of PB, thanks to City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz's long-standing interest in public involvement. Our previous PB experience will be helpful in designing the full-fledged, in-depth process that has been such a game-changer in so many other locales. An especially synergistic resource for a 2017-18 Evanston-NU PB project is this year’s choice of One Book, One Northwestern: Our Declaration: A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality, by Danielle Allen. PB not only organically defends equality (and equity) but it actually demonstrates the manifestation of equality. GOOD NEIGHBOR FUND The Good Neighbor Fund itself seems an ideal centerpiece for a first-time Evanston experience of a complete PB process. Created in 2015 by an agreement between the City of Evanston and Northwestern University, the Fund stands as a breakthrough moment in the history of Evanston town-gown relations. The GNF is an annual $1,000,000 donation to the City of Evanston by Northwestern, allocated each year for “capital projects supporting city infrastructure and facilities, specific support for existing city services, and special projects.” During the first two years of the GNF (2015, 2016), allocations were made based on joint deliberation by Evanston’s mayor and NU’s president — but with no public discussion and little opportunity for direct public input. IMPACTS-UPON-IMPACTS OF A PB PROCESS The current agreement runs for three more years with the next GNF installment to be made after July 1, 2017. In response to Americans’ re-awakened interest in collective decision-making. this third year is an opportunity for even greater impact. Positive, long-lasting impacts of using a PB process to allocate the 2017 Good Neighbor Fund are potentially many, with ramifications far beyond the initial GNF investment: 1. Inclusion: open to everyone in Evanston and at Northwestern 2. Value-added budgeting — more bang for the buck. PB research has shown that the community-at-large is much more creative with limited resources than a single decision-maker or a small group of traditional stakeholders. (Ald. Moore has been especially eloquent on this surprising aspect of PB.) 3. Community education: fun and painless action-learning for all participants, including residents, officials, university, media 4. A living process: rejuvenation of institutions, traditions, people, community 5. Practical, effective communications, including all kinds of checks-and-balances, are built into the decision-making process, minimizing any later need for damage control and maximizing effectiveness of the Good Neighbor Fund. 6. Stewardship: more people caring about implementation, maintenance, tracking, etc., of the GNF investments 7. Satisfying human experience: Compared to ten minutes in a voting booth every two or four years (voting for representatives who may or may not actually represent one’s views on every issue), a single PB process affords numerous opportunities for direct, personal, and extended input. PB is an adult life experience like no other — filled with imagining, speaking, listening, research, writing, arguing, synthesizing. Adults-in-training (children, youth, young adults) can also learn PB and have the same satisfying experience. 8. Foundation for the future: a more nuanced understanding of democracy and government that can create better budgeting at the county, state, regional, and federal levels. RELEVANT LINKS BLOG www.FoodFarmsDemocracy.net Good Neighbor Fund — official NU webpage & description of fund http://www.northwestern.edu/communityrelations/about/our-partnerships/good-neighbor-fund.html 2015 allocation (news article) https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2015/10/good-neighbor-fund 2016 allocation (news article) https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2016/10/second-million-dollar-donation-to-evanston/ Evanston Now op-ed June 21, 2017 (with comments) http://evanstonnow.com/story/government/debbie-hillman/2017-06-21/77848/participatory-budgeting-for-nu-good-...

As a resident of a coastal state with a thriving tourism industry, I am extremely concerned about the impact that rising sea levels due to global warming will have on our economy. We can and should take every opportunity to reverse the trend of climate change through sustainable environmental practices.