On September 7, 2017, Gerard Grandzol was returning to his home in Spring Garden, Philadelphia, from a trip to the park with his dog, Oscar and 2 year old daughter Violet when he was approached by two males who demanded his phone, wallet and car. Gerard didn't resist and asked that he be able to get his daughter out of the car and the two men shot him and killed him without warning. The two men (brothers, 17 and 21) are currently in jail. However, the shooter (17 year old Marvin Roberts) has a new defense attorney who is filing a motion to have him tried as a minor. The new Philadelphia DA who was not in office when this horrific murder took place, is rather liberal on criminals. It is imperative that we the people speak up to the DA and let him know that it cannot happen to have the murderer tried as a minor. He has prior convictions and was on probation at the time of the murder. This petition is intended to have the people's voices heard that we do NOT want him out on the streets in our community so he can ruin other people's lives. Gerard was an active member of society who was involved in gentrification of Philadelphia and several civic and Young Leader organizations. His impact on this world was impressive and lasting and he is greatly missed by his wife, Kristin and two daughters, Violet (2) and Rosie (6 months who was 6 weeks at the time he was murdered). He is missed by his 5 siblings, parents, many aunts and uncles, 95 year old grandmother and many friends.

The Provost of NEIU, Richard Helldobler, has justified his policy of freezing selected course enrollments early in the registration process by claiming that “only” about 45% of our students work and that we consequently don’t need to offer a wide range of courses at a wide array of times. This “enrollment strategy” strikes at the very heart of the university, forcing our core constituency of mature, working, non-traditional students to go elsewhere. NINETY ONE PERCENT of students currently enrolled cannot afford to live in the proposed dorms which will be built by using eminent domain to force out our neighbors and family businesses on Bryn Mawr. Enrollment has gone down by 5% since the administration implemented this strategy. This course-freeze policy has also disrupted teaching assignments already agreed to by scores of full- and part-time Instructors and placed undue financial hardship on their families. Because of the Affordable Care Act, the university is now threatening some employees with termination if they work over a certain number of hours that would require that NEIU cover healthcare costs that the administration claims it cannot afford. Meanwhile, NEIU President Hahs earns about $330,000 in addition to car and housing perks; the average top administrator salaries is $185,000, and NEIU has added 16 new administrators since 2002. We, the undersigned, petition the Provost, the President of NEIU and the Board of Trustees to end enrollment strategies that hurt teachers and students, and to keep courses open until December 29, 2014, enabling working students to find the classes they need at the times they need and providing full- and part-time Instructors with greater job security.

Please oppose any legislation removing or lessening Endangered Species Act protections for the gray wolf. Although restoration of gray wolves to the northern Rocky Mountains and portions of the Great Lakes region has been a tremendous success, wolves still require the protections of the Endangered Species Act. Without these protections, Wyoming would allow wolves to be shot on sight in more than 90 percent of the state and most other states fortunate to have wolves would drastically reduce population numbers. Wolves occupy a mere 5 percent of their historic range, have only just begun to get a foothold in Oregon and Washington, and are absent from many other states and regions where quality wolf habitat remains. Wolves have been an integral part of the North American landscape for eons and deserve a chance to roam more of our wildlands. The reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park shows that wolves are a keystone species that benefit many other species, including songbirds, beavers and pronghorn antelope. Millions of people visit Yellowstone every year, in part to see wolves in the wild. Further, legislation removing protections for wolves threatens to undermine the Endangered Species Act itself by, for the first time, taking the decision on whether a species warrants protection out of the hands of scientific experts and placing it squarely in the political realm. This would set a terrible precedent and open the floodgates for legislation removing species' protections in the path of well-connected special interests. I sincerely urge you to take whatever action is necessary to oppose all anti-wolf legislation. Thank you. Sincerely,

We respect the rights of gun owners and accept the Second Amendment as the law of the land. We are also mindful of what Supreme Court Justice Scalia stated in the syllabus of the Supreme Court’s brief on the issue: ‘it is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever, in any manner whatsoever, and for whatever purpose. Please enact legislation that: 1. Strengthens our assault weapons ban with a focus on improving current list and strengthening functionality features; apply “one military feature” test to definition of assault weapons. Bans possession and sale. Existing weapons must be destroyed, turned in to law enforcement, or shipped or sold out of state. 2. Bans large capacity ammunition magazines of more than 7 rounds. Existing magazines must be destroyed, turned in to law enforcement, or shipped or sold out of state. 3. Requires universal background checks on ALL sales and transfers, including long guns. 4. Requires registration of all handguns with annual renewal, including updated background check; stipulation that all handguns are still in the possession of original purchaser or transferee; explanation for any handgun not being in their possession. Require safety inspection every three years. Fee on initial registration and renewal to mitigate expense. 5. Make gun owners liable for negligent storage if any person gains access to firearms and injures himself or another person or causes damage to property. The violation would be a Class D felony. 6. Requires a permit to purchase and carry all guns, including long guns, and to purchase ammunition. 7. Restricts handgun sales to one gun/month.

I am sure others have suggested this but we need to get behind this idea and create a national referendum. Congressional Reform Act of 2012 (This is old, but still valid). 1. No Tenure / No Pension. (No mention of term limits here, but if the POTUS can only serve 2 terms, then that should be the limit across the board, local, state, and federal.) 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. THIS IS HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS! [Well, this is a start. Taking the money out of politics is the next thing, including striking down Citizens United.]

*Congressional Reform Act of 2013 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 01/31/2013. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen/women. Congressmen/women made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress 8. Term limits will be set the same as president. A two term limit for all congressman/women will take effect immediately and all pensions stop for everyone past and present. They made enough money by being in office for two terms, now they can go and get a job with that nice resume they have, just like the rest of us would have to do. 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

Comprehensive Flat Rate Income Tax, and Social Security Finance Program. For Economic Recovery, Stabilization, Growth and National security. The Social Security tax rate for self-employed is 12 percent. The Medicare tax rate is 8 percent for self-employed. No Income Cap. INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYER Social Security Tax: 6% + 6% Medicare: 4% + 4% INDIVDUAL SELF-EMPOYED FIT. + SSM + SSM Income Tax: $0 - $20,000. 5% = 15% 25% $20,000 - $50,000. 10% = 20% 30% $50,000 - $125,000. 15% = 25% 35% $125,000 - $500,000. 20% = 30% 40% $500,000. - $1,000,000. 25% = 35% 45% $1,000,000. - $5,000,000. 30% = 40% 50% $5,000,000. - $ Over 40% = 50% 60% Flat Rate Income Tax, on All non-Social Security Income, No exemptions for any Income, Individual, Corporate Profits, Religious, Non-Profit, Domestic or Overseas Income. Capital Gains, Interest, Estate, and Other Wealth Transfer is Taxed as Income. Corporations, Religious, Non-Profits will pay the Individual Income Tax Rate, Plus 2% Social Security, 1% Medicare Tax. 2% Surcharge Tax on Overseas Earnings. 10% Import Tax, Comparable to Domestic Manufactured Retail Value. 25% Surtax on any Capital, Assets, or Other Wealth moved Overseas. 2% of all Tax revenues are used to pay off the National Debt. Estimated: Revenues $5,285,858,547,500. Budget $4,750,000,000,000. Federal Budget not to exceed 85% of Revenues, 90% of Surplus (15%) divided Equally among 50 States based on population. Remaining 10% in reserve for National Emergency.

Congressional Reform Act of 2013 1. No Tenure / No Pension / Term Limits On Length of Service. 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 1/1/13. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen/women. Congress made all these contracts for themselves. 8. Send the consultants and lobbyists packing. If Congress people are not smart or ambitious enough to govern on their own, they shouldn't have sought office to begin with. 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. Proposed 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution: "Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators and/or Representatives; and, Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators and/or Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States ."

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence The children of Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, CT were denied all of these. They were hideously shot multiple times and died soaked in their blood and the blood of their teachers. We the undersigned of this petition believe that their families deserve a chance at some justice for this matter by repealing the gun manufacturer immunity to lawsuits. We seek that the law be replaced with a law that would lessen the chances of future incidents from happening: (1) create a consumer protection board to review gun advertisements for manufacturers and the National Rifle Association to ensure that they are not marketing to criminal (as in Merrill v. Navega) and people with mental illness; (2) laws and money to conduct adequate background checks to ensure that those who are criminal or have severe mental illness cannot purchase a weapon; (3) banning assault weapons (4) 7.8 billion added to the budget for a grant program to put officers in the school 125,000 public schools armed with nonlethal weapons; (5) create a system for training gun safety and grant licenses necessary for people who own more than a rifle or shot gun (license level grants access to type of weapon a person can own); (6) increase the MH budget by 25% to offset the cuts many states have imposed; (7) reduce the ratio of counselors to students from 1:600 to 1:300 and (8) a banning clips that hold more than ten shots. American’s deserve the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. They deserve to not have these rights taken away by a crazed person with a gun.

Budget Cuts History: Increases Salaries rose incrementally from 1855 to 1925, growing from $3,000 to $10,000 per year. From 1932 to 1935, during the height of the Great Depression, salaries were reduced to $9,000 before slowly climbing back to $10,000. From the period of 1935 until the 27th Amendment was ratified in 1992, Congress approved 14 additional raises. Ratification Despite the fact that the 27th amendment was introduced in 1789 and was ratified by six states by 1791, entry of new states to the Union and lack of public interest prevented ratification until 1992. The 27th Amendment went into effect during the 102nd Congress on May 20, 1992. Current Salary The Constitution allows Congress to set its own salary. It has changed this rate 47 times since 1789. As of 2010, senators and members of the House of Representatives make $174,000 per year. (info from Ehow) Proposal: Their at it again and of course taking away from us, the people. I suggest that we start with cutting The Senate and The House of Representatives salaries. I propose that we cut their salaries to $100,000.00/year. ( I could live quite nicely on that.) I propose that we cut their allowances by 42.5% . Of course this should keep people in jobs, just cut the unnecessary stuff like new furniture etc. Reasoning: They work for us the American People. The numbers: Savings: 1 year of cuts $103,129,143.48 5 years of cuts $515,645,717.38 10 years of cuts $1,031,291,434.75 Million: seventh digit to left of decimal Billion: written as 1 followed by nine zeros Trillion:1 followed by 12 zeros: the number equal to 1012