In February 2021, President Joe Biden’s aides launched a formal review of the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay. We ask that this process be sped up to close a shameful historical chapter marked by torture, sexual abuse, cruel and unusual punishment -- all of which have tainted U.S. standing at home and abroad. Funding commitments in the American Rescue Plan would solidify the closure of the facility. Reuters reported: “Aides involved in internal discussions are considering an executive action to be signed by Biden in coming weeks or months, signaling a new effort to remove what human rights advocates have called a stain on America’s global image.” Asked whether Biden would shut the high-security prison located at the Guantanamo Naval Station by the time his presidency ends, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters: “That certainly is our goal and our intention.”

1. Our bloated military budget is larger than the NEXT 10 countries together and is only supporting the already wealthy Military-Industrial-Banking complex. 2. This money is critical to supporting the ongoing wars, civilian deaths and casualties around the world and is creating hatred and violence. Did you know American soldiers were killed in Africa recently? 3. By law, the Pentagon is supposed to provide Congress with a yearly audit. They have broken the law annually and TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS are missing - over $21,000,000,000,000 as of the last investigation. 4. The Military is the largest single source of pollution and planetary degradation. No global plan to end our environmental crisis can succeed without dealing with this. 5. Either we are spending our money on Life or Death. As a so called ethical culture of religious and moral values how can we sanction killing people, all in defenceless 3rd world countries, who have not attacked us? If you condemn abortion but not our endless wars you are at best a hypocrite. 5. Did you know virtually every conflict since 1945 was triggered or promoted by the United States? Is this the country you want to be associated with? 6. Curtailing military spending will decrease our historic budget deficits.

A group of around 50 people from more than 12 countries drafted the Manifesto in recent weeks. Many prominent people are supporting it. People in general are more awake to the absurdity of a planet in which the richest 8 people have more wealth than the poorest 3.8 billion than ever before as this pandemic spreads. We are circulating this widely in multiple languages to help frame the debate and actions moving forward, raising global demands that address the inequity resulting from decades of neoliberal economic policies and rampant and unbridled militarism.

• There is an increasing need for municipal governments and state agencies to transition to sustainable alternatives requires accessible and affordable financing • There is an increasing need for small farmers to have access to affordable credit in the state, that is inaccessible through current day financial market conditions • There is a need to decrease overall costs for financially burdened municipalities and state agencies to better allocate resources to important aspects of each entity • There is a need to decrease financial risk municipalities and state agencies are exposed to by risky corporate lending behaviors

• There is an increasing need for municipal governments and state agencies to transition to sustainable alternatives requires accessible and affordable financing • There is an increasing need for small farmers to have access to affordable credit in the state, that is inaccessible through current day financial market conditions • There is a need to decrease overall costs for financially burdened municipalities and state agencies to better allocate resources to important aspects of each entity • There is a need to decrease financial risk municipalities and state agencies are exposed to by risky corporate lending behaviors

The Constituents of California rely upon their Government and its Regulatory Agencies to provide legal and statutory protections against criminal wrongdoings of any kind, and to act with swift authority to prevent the recurrence of any exigency which threatens the safety of the public and the natural environment within the State of California. The Corporate Entity Pacific Gas and Electric Company, which has enjoyed a State sanctioned monopoly on energy production and distribution throughout Northern California, and which is expected by the Public in exchange to operate its business with the highest standards of safety and accountability, has repeatedly betrayed the public trust and demonstrated a chronic pattern of corporate negligence, fraud, regulatory obstruction, falsification of records, safety and code violations, and deliberate under-funding of safety programs to increase profit, as evidenced by: 1. $30 millions in fines and 739 counts of criminal negligence for deliberately under-funding required tree-trimming protocols and causing a power line blaze leading to the 1994 Trauner Fires, which destroyed 12 homes and burned over 500 acres of property; 2. $1.4 billion in fines and penalties and 6 felony convictions for obstruction and safety violations resulting in the 2010 San Bruno gas explosions which killed 8 people and destroyed 38 homes; 3. $8.3 million in fines for failing to maintain a power line that sparked the 2015 Butte Fires which killed 2 people, destroyed 549 homes and burned over 70,000 acres; 4. $14.5 billion in damages with multiple code violations for downed power lines causing 12 Northern California wildfires in October 2017 which killed 44 people, destroyed 8,900 homes and burned 245,000 acres; 5. Anticipated $30 billion in class action lawsuit for the 2018 Camp fire which killed 86 people, destroyed 13,900 homes and burned over 150,000 acres. The People of California have paid too much already to be expected to bail out — with their own tax dollars — a criminally negligent corporation which is now seeking bankruptcy protection in order to shield itself from its liabilities. To rescue PG&E from the failure it has brought upon itself would be an insult to those who have lost their homes, their loved ones, and their hopes for a better tomorrow because of pure corporate greed. No organization or corporation should ever be considered "too big to fail," as this will in effect place such an enterprise above the law. We the undersigned now petition our elected officials to take any and all actions pursuant to a legal buyout of the failing company using the following Eminent Domain justifications: A Public-Owned energy company will be more transparent and SAFER because, as a non-profit utility, it will no longer be incentivized to cut corners on safety in order to increase profits for investors and shareholders; A Public-Owned energy company will be MORE AFFORDABLE for California ratepayers as it will be legally bound to charge ratepayers based on actual costs, leading to the following savings annually, at a minimum: - $1 billion per year saved by not paying dividend payments to shareholders; - $25 million per year saved by not paying current level Executive salaries and bonuses; - $8 million per year saved by no longer lobbying State officials, which would constitute illegal activity for a public utility; - Additional $ millions saved by not funding ballot initiatives or propositions (such as Prop 16, on which PG&E spent $46 million,) which would constitute illegal activity for a public utility. And finally, a Public-Owned energy company will inherently be MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE, as it will no longer answer to profit-driven private investors and a Board of Directors, but to California taxpayers and elected officials who are ultimately interested in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, committing to more renewable energy production, and driving innovative solutions to the global crisis of climate deterioration.

NIST station WWV and sister stations are among the oldest radio stations in the United States, having been in continuous operation since May 1920. The station has transmitted the official US Time for nearly 100 years, and is an instrumental part in the telecommunications field, ranging from broadcasting to scientific research and education. Additionally, these stations transmit marine storm warnings from the National Weather Service, GPS satellite health reports, and specific information concerning current solar activity, and radio propagation conditions. These broadcasts are an essential resource to the worldwide communications industry. Many clocks and watches receive these broadcasts so they can maintain accurate time. These clocks and watches are used for a wide range of purposes and will all stop working correctly if these services are shutdown. This could potentially impact things such as airports, train schedules, and automated systems. This petition requests continued funding of these stations be maintained into the 21st century and beyond to ensure future operations.

Many Americans hold deeply held beliefs against participating in war. The government recognizes conscientious objection to military service but doesn't for income tax payment. H.R. 1947 will allow people morally opposed to having the portion of their income taxes used for military purposes directed to non-military spending. This will stop our income taxes from being conscripted. This is a First Amendment constitutional issue! Find out more: National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund

The costly military presence of foreign bases creates fear and exposes ALL Americans and Koreans to extreme risk. Let’s get our people out of danger. It’s time to bring our troops home. We have a DUTY to remove 140,000 citizens from an indefensible position. #RemoveUSTroops Demonstrate Secretary Tillerson’s statement that, “We are not your enemy and do not seek regime change.” This letter is an appeal to save lives and invest in our children’s future. See FACEBOOK, "Remove U.S. Troops From Korea NOW" for more about this: https://www.facebook.com/RemoveUSTroops/

The Republican Party is trying to gut affordable health insurance for tens of millions of people across the United States. But in California we have the opportunity to pass single-payer healthcare – Medicare for all. Assembly Speaker Rendon, a Democrat, has blocked passage of SB 562, the single-payer Healthy California Act, by moving it indefinitely to the Rules Committee. California should lead the nation by passing single-payer healthcare now. As chair of the California Democratic Party, Eric Bauman could show that he's serious about advocating for single-payer healthcare by applying maximum pressure on Speaker Rendon right away!

Climate Change is our most urgent common problem and legislators are not responsive to "we, the people" because of fossil fuel money! I wrote my SunTrust and asked them to live up to their name. Sierra Club offers a Green Visa and Environmental Defense Fund has Bank of America MasterCard, but big banks need to do more! Think Fox/O'Reilly when customers boycotted their products to get fast results!

In the wake of the state’s most severe drought in memory, California Governor Jerry Brown issued mandatory statewide water restrictions that require all public agencies to reduce their water consumption by 25 percent. Officials at the 34 prisons operated by the California Department of Corrections have responded by restricting inmates' showers, ability to flush their cells' toilets, and access to laundry services and clean clothes, according to interviews with inmates. Showers are running only three days a week (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday) for a total of four hours, providing a little over an hour for hundreds of prisoners to take turns bathing on shower days. Any prisoner caught in the showers for more than 5 minutes, washing clothes while showers are running, bird bathing or flushing the toilets in their assigned cell could face disciplinary action, including 30 days added to their prison sentence (CDC-115 Rules Violation Report). Prison officials have been instructed to shut off water fountains, outdoor showers, and to stop hosing down sidewalks. As a result, California prisoners are denied water-breaks throughout the day and are refused the hygienic practice of washing off sweat after a workout. Women's prisons in particular have struggled with sanitary upkeep since the implementation of CDCR’s water conservation program. Shower and toilet restrictions affect female prisoners on their menstrual cycles most directly. CDCR’s water conservation program began in 2006 with a pilot project to install flush-restricting valves on toilets at nearly one-third of all California adult institutions, resulting in a host of unsanitary conditions ranging from foul odor to overflowing toilets. Water conservation methods have only grown more aggressive within the recent decade and California prisoners have borne the brunt of health and safety hazards associated with aggressive yet inadequate conservation planning. If California is serious about water conservation and water-use reduction in its prisons, state officials should consider developing policies that promote the depopulation of overcrowded state facilities -- starting with releasing disabled people, the elderly and non-violent offenders. Reducing the numbers of people incarcerated unnecessarily could result in significant water savings and help to make the prison environment more adaptable and suitable for rehabilitation. Other methods of reducing water waste, without violating the human rights of the imprisoned, can include updating sinks, toilets, showers, and appliances with advanced water-saving fixtures. Sign this petition to California Governor Jerry Brown asking him to immediately end all water conservation methods that violate the human rights of people in prison. Sources: http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-ff-to-save-water-california-turns-off-prison-showers-20150709-story.html https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/california-prisons-are-restricting-shower-and-toilet-use-to-fight-the-historic-drought-626 http://www.insidecdcr.ca.gov/2010/04/california-prisons-reduce-water-consumption/ http://www.inmate.com/prison-articles/california-prisoners-affected-by-drought.htm