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Tax Strike 100The American people deserve transparency from their elected leaders, most importantly, the President of the United States, who has still failed to separate himself fully from his businesses and conflicts of interest.4 of 100 SignaturesCreated by W.I. G.
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Taxes and Health CertificateWhile Trump plays to be a president, the reality is he is killing our country, killing us. Is he just mean spirited person or is he insane? Either one is bad news for all Americans, regardless of political party.7 of 100 SignaturesCreated by Maria Elena M.
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A Tax Credit For Using Holistic Alternative MedicineI have spent 37 years resolving my health issues, uncovering medical treatments that were once popular and disappeared thanks to the drug companies. It started in 1980 going to a Naturopath, massage therapy, acupuncture, and acquiring many valuable books regarding health. The GREEN PHARMACY, by James Duke, and ADRENAL FATIGUE by James Wilson should be mandatory in high school education because health needs to be preventive medicine, not a drug company. It states in Adrenal Fatigue that the adrenal cell extract was removed after discovering cortizone.3 of 100 SignaturesCreated by Anna S.
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PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS: DO YOUR DUTY!The Founding Fathers created the Electoral College to safeguard America against an unqualified candidate for president. That is why they, not the public, decide who will be president. Who could have known that this ancient anachronism would suddenly be available to save America? According to even Republican leaders and virtually of all America’s newspapers, Trump is not qualified to serve as President. Most Electors are legally allowed to vote their conscience for Clinton, the popular vote winner. There are hundreds of reasons to do so. One reason not discussed is that Trump’s creditors will now be able to more easily recover their money, and this could lead to him being deposed or in trial for most of his term, unqualified due to absence. Another is because Trump will continue to own his unknown foreign assets, the Dept. of Justice will be forced to assign permanent teams of investigators to determine how each foreign policy action or “pronouncement” might procure or pay for a Trump business bribe or "deal." Republicans cannot complain if the Electors vote for Clinton. They have fought for decades to preserve the Electoral College because it rigs the election in their favor when they lose the popular vote, now and in 2000, too. The Electors can start a public dialog to educate America about their Constitutional Duties. Then, they can elect the qualified candidate. Electors: Do Your Duty! Vote for Clinton, the popular vote winner!19 of 100 SignaturesCreated by Jason G.
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Replace US Two-Party Election System With Ranked VotingPractically speaking, the US is stuck in a two-party system of Republicans and Democrats. This system frequently results in having two candidates who both have very low levels of overall public support. Currently, supporters of non-mainstream political parties (e.g. Green, Independent, Libertarian) can't realistically vote for their own candidates because they are sabotaging the final election by taking votes away from either the Republican or the Democratic candidates. For example, a liberal Green party supporter would assist the conservative cause by removing a vote for a Democratic liberal candidate. They would actually increase their chance of getting their last-choice candidate by voting for their first-choice candidate. The same is true in reverse for a conservative voter. Being able to vote for only two candidates artificially polarizes many issues, reduces the possibility of introducing innovative ideas, and encourages both candidates to move towards centrist, status quo policies. Regardless of whether you are a Bernie supporter, right-wing evangelical, environmentalist, etc, you should be supporting a shift to a ranked voting system that lets you vote based on your beliefs, not based on fear of getting the worse of two candidates you don't want. Ranked-voting is used successfully by many other countries including Australia and is much more democratic than the current US system. If we had a ranked-voting system in the US during the 2016 elections it is less likely that Trump would have come out as the top republican candidate, and Bernie would realistically have been able to run as third-party candidate and stand a real chance of winning. In short, moving the US to a ranked-voting system will give us a foundation for more representative and innovative government in future elections.36 of 100 SignaturesCreated by Jeffrey A.
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I volunteer to help the U.S. Army find its missing $6.5 trillion$30 billion a year could end starvation and hunger worldwide. $11 billion a year could provide clean drinking water to everyone who needs it. All the green energy projects ever envisioned that could preserve life on earth would collectively cost significantly less than this pocket change of yours that has gone missing. We realize you didn't drop it in the yard with your keys somewhere, that you SPENT it on things you don't really want to go into details about with us, even though it was our money to begin with. Nonetheless, we'll help you identify exactly where it all went. It shouldn't be hard if you give us proper access. Here's your report on the unaccounted for money: http://www.dodig.mil/pubs/documents/DODIG-2016-113.pdf3,987 of 4,000 SignaturesCreated by David S.
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Demanding Annual Chemical Toxicity Testing in all U.S. Public SchoolsThirty K-12 schools in New Jersey's largest metropolitan city, Newark, have officially been identified as contaminated sites by state and city officials. According to environmental experts, the sites contain high levels of lead, well past federal EPA's chemical release quota for emergency cleanup. In light of recent discoveries of lead-water contamination in Flint, Michigan, Newark officials have established a policy of routine water testing throughout the city. On their first go-around, they discovered that the water in 30 public schools, including 5 charter schools, was contaminated with lead. Since the discovery, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and the school superintendent Christopher Serf have declared 30 public schools in a state of emergency. Each school morning, trucks filled with bottled water conduct drop offs to over 20,000 students, teachers, cafeteria staff and custodial so that they all have access to clean, usable water throughout the day. Lead is a heavy metal that has been federally regulated since the 1970s, once its properties were revealed to cause developmental defects and neurological degeneration. In Newark, New Jersey, 20,000 students in 30 different schools drink it each day. While we commend Newark officials for acting immediately upon discovery, we condemn them for their tardiness and years of neglect towards the health and safety of the children they are responsible for educating and protecting. Water quality experts estimate that Newark water banks have been severely contaminated for up to six years. According to some sources, the water contamination began in 2012, in the aftermath of New Jersey's most disastrous storm, Hurricane Sandy. Others claim that that presence of heavy metals like lead and mercury in Newark's water banks is a part of a larger problem, tracing back to over spills and cross-contamination during a storm in 2010. Newark students and parents are enraged. Having been left in the dark about years of water poisoning, and still, trapped in their current schools through the binds of former superintendent Cami Anderson's One Newark Program, Newark students are in an extremely dangerous and potentially deadly situation that they have no way out of. Most of the affected schools are considered "failing," and are set to close down while the buildings are to be sold to private contractors and incoming charter schools. Four of the affected schools are formerly public turned charter institutions. Three schools have been recently transformed into alternative schools for the misbehaved and special education institutions for the mentally challenged. And still --there is no official plan for cleanup. While bottled-water distribution companies maximize profits, and NJ city and state officials minimize responsibility, it is the students of Newark who bear the burden of years of lead-water poisoning. New Jersey Representative Donald M. Payne Jr. has developed plans to propose a nation-wide bill to Congress -- to create a federal budget for yearly toxicity testing and evaluation in public schools throughout the U.S. The legislation would require schools to test drinking water, including water from faucets used for food preparation, sinks in bathrooms, and water fountains. Testing would be required at least biannually at schools built prior to 1996 and at least annually at schools built in 1996 or after, when regulations were extended to restrict the amount of lead in school faucets. The TEST for Lead Act would also require local education agencies with jurisdiction over the schools to notify parents, the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the state within 48 hours if a level of lead that exceeds a lead-action level, as identified by the EPA, is discovered." - NJ Rep. Donald M. Payne Jr. Although water testing is a long ways from clean-up, and even longer from treatment -- it's a start towards recovery that lies within the means of the existing federal budget. It is imperative that we stand by NJ legislators in their primary initiatives towards health accuracy and ecological justice in Newark and vulnerable cities across the U.S. Sign this petition. Hundreds of thousands of students in Newark, New Jersey, Flint, Michigan, and a host of other cities are counting on you. "I align myself with New Jersey Representative Donald M. Payne Jr. in his proposal of the TEST for Lead Act, which ensures that annual toxicity testing is conducted in public schools, nation wide."5,874 of 6,000 SignaturesCreated by Jamani M.
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Stop Military Demonstration TeamsThese military demonstration teams draw tens of thousands of visitors to an already overcrowded city during the annual Cherry Festival. The planes emit tons of CO2, violate the city noise ordinance, disturb the young, old and those with PTSD and they cost taxpayers over $100 million per year. Further, the crowds overextend our first responders and overtax our limited infrastructure. Finally, these aircraft are war machines - they are not entertainment. Stand with me in asking the city commission to restore a measure of purity to our town.5 of 100 SignaturesCreated by Tim K.
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Eliminate Social Security Deduction CAPThis is important because it will allow for expansion of benefits to all recipients of Social Security and will in turn increase our GNP.49 of 100 SignaturesCreated by jj h.
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No update to the US Nuclear CapabilityWe need to be deactivating our nuclear capability not upgrading it.48 of 100 SignaturesCreated by Lanny V S.
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Ask United Nations members to fund 4th EstateOVERVIEW Please consider putting your name to this petition. It calls for United Nations members to recognise the Global Journalism Crisis and support rapid expansion of emergency funding. An initial target is 0.7% of global aid spending, amounting to US$1.4 billion. This is equivalent to 14,000 global news positions. BACKGROUND Global aid targets aim for 0.7% of Gross Domestic Product, worldwide. The Journalism Agenda 2025 narrows that target by calling for 0.7% of global aid to go towards globalising the 4th Estate. Why? News media have suffered increasingly severe cutbacks ever since the Pentagon Papers, and Watergate. GLOBALISATION Journalism has fallen far behind globalisation. Evidence for this comes in the form of a war on terror started on misleading information, and a global financial crisis missed completely by news media too busy cheerleading “free” markets. Averting global collapse of social cohesion requires strong, independent journalism not tied to corporate and/or political interests. INDUSTRY TARGET Longer term, the agenda targets the communications industry to share 0.7% of their own communication spending, to go towards independent, investigative journalism. Ethics-based, solutions-focused and forward thinking, JA2025 applies multiple layers of crowd-sourced media accountability systems. Ranging from Facebook likes, Twitter retweets, and LinkedIn thumbs up, JA2025 adds survey or wizard-based responses to each story for complaints, praise, corrections or fresh details. FINE-GRAIN GROUND-TRUTH As an additional layer of accountability, these surveys can then also be compared with existing reputation rankings via social networks, e.g. pwik, opendns, klout, and/or the web of trust. Such an approach enables a finer-grain response to each issue, enabling journalists to build ground-truths into the institutional memory of the 4th Estate. This is an example of JA2025 proposals using open newsroom standards. JA2025 is platform neutral – no proprietary software means we can network with anyone, anywhere, using their tools not ‘ours.’ POLICY EQUITY Creating policy equity with legislators, executives and the judiciary, @jagenda2025 drafts out a 10 year plan to rescue journalism, and rebuild the 4th Estate into a worldwide institution. Journalism aid could include investing a recommended ratio towards a permanent trust fund. To put that in context, the US alone has fired 20,000 journalists since the Global Financial Crisis. There are now just 39,000 journalists left in the United States. The US figures suggest an estimate of 50,000 or more also being sacked, worldwide. WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT Journalism was a public good. No longer functioning as the 4th Estate, journalism cannot hold power to account and protect human rights, anywhere. Newsroom pay rolls began shrinking in 1990, beginning a 25 year decline in journalism jobs. WHY JOURNALISM IS A PUBLIC GOOD A strong, independent press is the globe’s best chance of responding to looming challenges from climate change. Informing the public is the most sacred duty of our local, national, regional and international representatives. There can be no public unless there is public media. Publicly or privately owned, news media are a public service. WHAT IT IS We, the undersigned, petition world authorities to fund independent, investigative journalism. JA2025, the global journalism agenda, calls for at least 0.7% of aid to be quarantined for news media. That slice equals aid funding of US$1.4 billion, representing equivalent spending on 14,000 new journalist positions, about 10% of newsroom jobs lost worldwide since 1975. CHALLENGE A challenge will be issued to NGOs, governments and companies to match this funding. This challenge calls for another 0.7% sliver, of all communications, public relations and other corporate messaging, a further US$3.6 billion in funding for independent, investigative journalism. SOURCES Pew Institute, state of the media US Census figures European Journalism Centre Media Rights Agenda (Africa) Asia-Pacific Association of Press Clubs Media, Arts and Entertainment Alliance (Aus, NZ) Pacific Freedom Forum406 of 500 SignaturesCreated by Jason B.
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Ban offshore bankingIt has been estimated that over a trillion dollars in profits earned by the largest and richest Fortune 500 corporations are being deposited in offshore banks in the Cayman Islands and elsewhere in order to avoid paying U.S, income tax. This deprives the U.S. Treasury of billions of dollars in tax revenue; money that could go toward infrastructure, healthcare, and education.44 of 100 SignaturesCreated by Ronald D.