With the tragic gun violence at Ft. Lauderdale Airport, an important tourism hub, families more than ever need to feel safe and welcome when we go on vacation, especially when we are with our children. But the Florida State Legislature is even now considering a bill that would open up a long list of public places to firearms, including schools and...airports. The bill would furthermore seek to allow concealed weapons holders to open carry. Please stop the this bill from moving forward, because seeing guns everywhere would not help families feel safe and welcome.

Proposal of Master in Science Program in Nutrition at UCLA

All states should sign onto the National Popular Vote Compact, banding together to ensure the candidate who receives more popular votes nationwide wins the presidency. That’d make presidential hopefuls compete for voters in all 50 states -- big and small -- instead of just a few swing states.

Travel bans do not make anyone safer. Centering bigotry and hatred at the heart of U.S. immigration policy will only separate families, demonize immigrants, and strip our country of the values — of the people — who help make it great. I urge you to speak out against Trump’s travel ban and work to repeal this policy as quickly as possible.

Warren Buffett, "I could end the deficit in 5 minutes," "You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than 3% of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible for re-election. The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds) took only 3 months & 8 days to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people demanded it. That was in 1971 - before computers, e-mail, cell phones, etc. Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took one (1) year or less to become the law of the land - all because of public pressure. Warren Buffet is asking each addressee to forward this email to a minimum of twenty people on their address list; in turn ask each of those to do likewise. In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message.. This is one idea that really should be passed around. Congressional Reform Act of 2012 1. No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they're out of office. 2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security. All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose. 3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do. 4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%. 5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people. 6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people. 7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen/women are void effective 12/1/12. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen/women. Congress made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work. If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people then it will only take three days for most people (in the U.S. ) to receive the message. Don't you think it's time? THIS IS HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS!

RESIDENTS OF WEST HILLS, CHATSWORTH, CANOGA PARK, NORTHRIDGE , WOODLAND HILLS, AND CALABASAS CALIFORNIA: SIGN THE PETITION TO STOP BOEING, DOE AND NASA FROM TRUCKING TOXIC WASTE THROUGH YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD VIA WOOLSEY CANYON ROAD, VALLEY CIRCLE, ROSCOE BLVD, TOPANGA CANYON, THE 118, 101, 405, I-5, I-210 AND THE 14. RESOLUTION TO SUPPORT A COMPLETE CLEANUP OF THE SANTA SUSANA FILED LABORATORY (SSFL) TO ORIGINAL SAFE LEVELS AND MANDATE THE USE OF ONE OF MANY ALTERNATIVE ROUTES FROM THE CONTAMINATED SITE, OTHER THAN THROUGH POPULATED NEIGHBORHOODS. WHEREAS WIDESPREAD RADIOACTIVE AND CHEMICAL CONTAMINATION RESULTED FROM DECADES OF NUCLEAR REACTOR AND ROCKET TESTING AND A SUBSEQUENT REACTOR MELTDOWN IN 1959 AT THE SANTA SUSANA FIELD LABORATORY SITE; AND WHEREAS MANY DEATHS AND CANCER RELATED ILLNESSES ENSUED FROM THE INITIAL CATASTHROPHE AND ARE ALLEGED TO CONTINUE DUE TO CONTAMINATED WATER AFFECTING GROUND WATER THROUGH MIGRATION AND TOXIC SOIL CARRIED BY WINDS; AND WHEREAS RESPONSIBLE AGENCIES SUCH AS BOEING, NASA, DOE AND THE CA STATE DEPARTMENT OF TOXIC AND CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES (DTSC) TO DATE HAVE NOT SUFFICIENTLY CONSIDERED ALTERNATE ROUTES TO REMOVE TOXIC SOILS THAT WILL MINIMIZE AN ACCIDENT THAT COULD AFFECT MILLIONS; AND WHEREAS A PLANNED DISPOSAL ROUTE WOULD INVOLVE NEGOTIATING THE NEGLECTED, WINDING, BOEING-OWNED WOOLSEY CANYON ROAD, ONTO LOCAL COMMUNITY STREETS IN WEST HILLS, CANOGA PARK, CHATSWORTH, PORTER RANCH, NORTHRIDGE AND GRANADA HILLS, IN ORDER TO USE HWY 118 AND MAJOR CALIFORNIA FREEWAYS; AND WHEREAS IT IS ESTIMATED THAT TRUCKS THAT ARE LOADED WITH TOXIC SOIL WILL DEPART THE SSFL EVERY 6-10 MINUTES ON A DAILY BASIS, SIX DAYS A WEEK FOR 3-5 YEARS; AND THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT WE, THE RESIDENTS OF THESE COMMUNITIES SOLICIT THE UNCONDITIONAL SUPPORT FROM ALL ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES TO HELP PREVENT ANOTHER DISASTER AND INSIST ON THE USE OF EXISTING FIRE ROADS THAT OUTLET TO AN EXISTING RAIL SPUR, THUS KEEPING TOXIC WASTE AWAY FROM HOMES, SCHOOLS, PARKS, BUSINESSES AND PLACES OF WORSHIP.

Congressmen should never be exempt from laws passed in Congress. Stop the "above the law" mentality in Washington NOW! Remove all exemptions to federal law for politicians immediately!

Change the laws addressing rehab facilities in ways to help those who need and want to "get clean."

The Honorable Leaders of the Republican Party The United States Congress Washington, D.C. 20515 Dear Speaker Ryan, Leader McConnell, & Congressman McCarthy, On November 8, 2016, approximately 25 percent of the American people elected Donald J. Trump as the next President of the United States of America. He was elected without winning the popular vote. During this election we were divided as never before. The vitriol on both sides has surpassed that of any election seen in our lifetimes. Acts of hate on a level not seen in decades have erupted since the election. President-elect Trump promised to be a president for all Americans; we count on you to hold him to his promise. Therefore, we ask you to help mend the breach, on behalf of all Americans. With this in mind, we request the following: 1. Protect the entire Constitution from any infringement, particularly the 1st Amendment, as ardently as the Republican Party has in the past fought for the 2nd Amendment; 2. Publically reject hate-speech and actions, and hold elected and appointed officials, as well as citizens, to legal account for such actions so all Americans, regardless of race, religion or sexual orientation, can continue to feel safe in their country; 3. Provide support for the rights of women and racial, religious and sexual minorities; 4. Work with members of the Democratic Party to find solutions for all Americans; 5. Provide children and persons with pre-existing conditions with paths to gain insurance; 6. Focus any tax cuts on working poor, and not on the wealthy or corporations who can most afford to contribute to our country; 7. Continue to fund public education so our children may receive the best this country has to offer, and gain the skills to carry it through to the future; 8. Continue to fund the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and similar initiatives, that they may persevere in their research for the benefit of all Americans; 9. Protect our National Parks System and environment in accordance with scientific evidence and consensus for our children to enjoy in the future; 10. Hold President-elect Trump and his cabinet accountable in their conflicts of interest due to their extensive business holdings; 11. Work to ensure all appointed positions are filled by fully qualified nominees; and 12. Provide support for the men and women who have been victims of sexual abuse. We hope you take this petition as intended, as a first step towards rebuilding unity in our great country. While we may have different opinions on politics and policies, we are all American, and all believe in our fundamental rights as laid out in the Constitution. Do not allow the fears of many Americans, laid bare in the past year and a half of campaigning, to be realized with the curbing of our rights to religion, free speech, assembly, and a free, investigative press. The American people look to you to perform your checks and balances on President-elect Trump with as much vigilance as you did President Obama. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Concerned Citizens of the United States of America

A Statement on Stopping Violence Against Transgendered Persons Affirmed by the Executive Committee of the Alliance of Baptists, the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists (AWAB) and Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America (BPFNA). Background: The Alliance of Baptists, AWAB and BPFNA is increasingly shaped by “a commitment to inclusiveness, each person valued as God’s beloved, uniquely gifted to reveal and enable God’s work in the world” and “A hunger and thirst for social justice, each believer called to do the transformative work of Christ in the compassionate spirit of Christ.” This commitment is in keeping with the Alliance Covenant and Mission which calls us In our personal and corporate response to the call of God in Jesus Christ to be disciples and servants in the world, we commit ourselves to…the proclamation of the Good News of Jesus Christ and the calling of God to all peoples to repentance and faith, reconciliation and hope, social and economic justice.” In light of our commitment to this calling it is with great distress that we hear of an increasing pattern of violence against transgender persons within our nations capitol. This pattern has been evidenced by • The July 2011 attack on two transgender persons in which one was killed. • The August/September 2011 muggings of seven transgender women in the Mount Vernon Square neighborhood. • The September 2011 attack on three transgender women near a Metro station. • An incident in which an off-duty police officer fired on a group of transgender individuals. • The September 12, 2011 incident in which a transgender woman was shot in the neck. • The growing sense from the trans-gender community that their concerns and their safety are not being taken seriously enough by Washington D.C. police and other officials. Our Hebrew Scriptures teach us that when the oppressed cry out, God sees, God hears, God feels their plight, and God comes. We acknowledge that our prophetic witness is one of the ways that God comes to bring shalom to this crisis. It is appropriate to remind ourselves that the defining of any group of persons as “other” in such a way as to make violence toward and/or oppression of them acceptable is contrary to the Gospel of Christ. We need further to acknowledge that many of these persons are our brothers and sisters in Christ and that all are part of the creation that God loves. Finally, we need to remember that Jesus told us that as we do to the least, we also do to Him. Consequently, when we stand in solidarity with the transgender victims of violence, we also stand in solidarity with the Christ who suffers with them. Because of our commitment to God’s shalom and to Jesus’ picture of the New Creation in which justice and inclusion are paramount, we, the Alliance of Baptist, the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists and Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America call upon community leaders and persons of faith in all communities marred by violence toward transgender persons to work together with persons from that community to seek just solutions to this blight of violence and hatred. Specifically in regard to the current violence in our nation’s capitol we call upon 1. Mayor Vincent Gray, Police Chief Cathy Lanier, and local faith community leaders to work with the transgender community to find ways to end this violence and restore the trans-gender community’s faith in law enforcement; 2. Chief Lanier to develop new ways of making her officers more aware of the safety needs of transgender persons and to actively combat stereotypes regarding these individuals; 3. The D.C. faith community, particularly our Baptist brothers and sisters, to join with us and lead in prayer, repentance, teaching, and preaching regarding the blindness that has allowed many to let violence toward this community be a “non-issue”; 4. All our Alliance of Baptists congregations to join in this effort; through efforts of education, prayer, and solidarity. Pertinent News Stories: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/crime-scene/post/deadly-morning-shooting-in-northeast-dc/2011/07/20/gIQAFKa7PI_blog.html http://unfinishedlivesblog.com/2011/09/10/off-duty-d-c-policeman-fires-into-transwomens-car-injuring-three/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-police-officer-held-in-connection-with-off-duty-shooting-of-vehicle-with-five-occupants/2011/09/02/gIQAzJXixJ_story.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/crime-scene/post/transgender-person-shot-in-dc-3rd-such-attack-this-summer/2011/09/12/gIQA5viUMK_blog.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/mcdonalds-beating-and-transgender-rights-in-maryland-texas/2011/04/25/AFEEn7jE_blog.html http://washingtonexaminer.com/local/crime-punishment/2011/09/police-investigating-death-attacks-trangender-people