Petition Coalition Roundup, 12/31/14 - Domestic Policy Edition

Join the "Petition Coalition" by following these links and signing those that you agree with!

A steep drop in federal funding for food assistance programs means that more and more people are relying on soup kitchens and food pantries just to stay alive. Sadly, more than thirty American cities have instituted laws making it illegal for good samaritans to feed the hungry and the homeless. That's right: in some parts of the country, you could get arrested for handing out sandwiches. Call on the mayors of these municipalities to lift this senseless and heartless ban: http://act.watchdog.net/petitions/4753

Senator Tom Harkin is about to retire, but his longtime quest to strengthen and expand Social Security won't die with his exit, since Senator Sherrod Brown has taken the proverbial baton from him, saying, “With even middle-income seniors relying on Social Security for at least two-thirds of their retirement income, it’s critical that we advance the Strengthening Social Security Act – expanding benefits, strengthening the program’s future, and making retirement more secure for all Americans." Tell your members of the Senate to stand with him: http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/6405/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=10708

One of the federal regulators taxed with overseeing antitrust investigations of Comcast is so chummy with the company's SVP that she was invited to attend the Sochi Olympics and had dinner where they discussed inside information about the company and the Department of Justice. Tell the DOJ that this kind of relationship shouldn't be allowed between investigators and their subjects: http://act.watchdog.net/petitions/4794

The for-profit prison system sucks up over $50B taxpayer dollars every year in the U.S., and due to lobbying for harsher and harsher penalties, is directly responsible for both the huge increase in prison populations over the past two decades as well as the longer sentences doled out by judges (many of whom are elected with the help of campaign donations from the very penal corporations who benefit from their draconian sentencing). Now it's been revealed that a for-profit detention center in Texas has played host to repeated instances of rape perpetrated by the very people who are supposed to be guarding detainees. Tell the Department of Homeland Security to launch an immediate investigation into the many reported rape cases at Karnes County Residential Center: http://act.weareultraviolet.org/sign/Karnes_ck

Thanks for fighting the good fight, and for all the little ways you change the world!

Petition Coalition Roundup, 12/31/14 - Animal Rights Edition

Join the "Petition Coalition" by following these links and signing those that you agree with! 

A Mississippi man neglected over 100 horses to the point of death or near-death, but is only facing misdemeanor charges because of a swift coverup and shoddy investigation. Ask the state's Attorney General to launch an independent investigation and to press the appropriate charges for this sickening animal abuse: https://www.change.org/p/jim-hood-we-demand-justice-for-what-one-man-did-to-over-a-100-horses

A football player at the University of Nebraska has admitted to beating a wild raccoon to death because when he tried to capture the frightened animal and take a “selfie,” it bit him and tried to escape. Even though he's admitted to this disgusting act of cruelty, he's received no punishment from the legal system or the university. Demand that he be booted from his team for this outrageous and senseless act of violence to show that there are repercussions for animal abuse: https://www.change.org/p/james-linder-show-jack-gangwish-there-are-consequences-for-animal-cruelty

Service dogs aren't just for the blind: many people suffering from PTSD (mostly military vets) also have registered assistance animals...and yet Starbucks continues to harass many individuals with legally protected canine companions. Ask the corporation to educate their entire national workforce about the Americans With Disabilities Act to put an end to this type of incident: https://www.change.org/p/starbucks-stop-harassing-war-vets

The Gap's division Piperlime announced in September that they were going fully fur-free and stood against animal cruelty, yet their Intermix division is still slaughtering foxes, kangaroos, and other animals for fur. Tell the parent company that if they really stand for animal welfare, they need to ban fur products from ALL of their stores: https://www.change.org/p/gap-inc-is-selling-kangaroo-fox-rabbit-raccoon-dog-and-mink-fur

Thanks for fighting the good fight, and for all the little ways you change the world!

Petition Coalition Roundup, 12/22/14 - Environmental Issues Edition

Join the "Petition Coalition" by following these links and signing those that you agree with! 

Shell Oil and other petroleum companies continue to push hard for permission to drill in America's Arctic Ocean waters north of Alaska, despite a government study that found a 75% likelihood of a major oil spill should they be allowed to set up wells there. Tell the government agency responsible that we can't risk this pristine wildlife habitat: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/420/592/011/

While we're on the topic of oil spills, BP has been proven to have been lying when they claimed that much of the Deep Water Horizon oil simply disappeared or biodegraded, since a giant toxic sludge ring the size of Rhode Island has now been discovered on the ocean floor. Unbelievably, that historic environmental disaster didn't make the Environmental Protection Agency strengthen its mandates on cleanup procedures. Pressure them to stiffen the rules on pollution cleanup: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/546/818/729

“Super trawlers” are extreme versions of fishing boats, which drag nets along the sea floor and capture everything in their wake, including many non-targeted animals like dolphins, sea turtles, and sharks, decimating wildlife populations and having a devastating impact on biodiversity in the waters where they operate. Australia implemented a temporary ban in 2012 to protect the sea creatures in their territorial waters, but it's set to expire soon. Ask Aussie Prime Minister Tony Abbott to implement a permanent moratorium on this practice along their enormous coast: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/980/848/040

Methane emissions from oil and gas operations has more than eighty times the impact of carbon emissions on global climate change. While the EPA and the Obama administration have made some positive steps to limit carbon emissions, there's very little discussion of monitoring and reducing methane. Ask them for parity in emissions standards on the two dangerous pollutants: https://secure3.convio.net/lcv/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2017

Thanks for fighting the good fight, and for all the little ways you change the world!

Petition Coalition Roundup, 12/6/14 - Holding Chevron accountable for pollution; protecting big cats; banning dangerous livestock drugs; and protecting Arctic wildlife

Join the "Petition Coalition" by following these links and signing those that you agree with! 

Here in the United States, the EPA's Superfund program can force polluters to pay for the cleanup of the sites they've toxified. Unfortunately, they have no control over the Amazon, where Chevron has dumped billions of gallons of wastewater. Tell them to pony up the $9.5B in necessary cleanup fees in advance of the International Criminal Court case against them: http://action.sumofus.org/a/chevron-toxico/

Speaking of Chevron, the State Department is shockingly considering them for an official corporate excellence award. Tell State how horrifying a choice that would be, given their record of environmental destruction around the world: http://act.credoaction.com/sign/chevron_state_department

Soon the city of Beaufort, South Carolina may allow baby lions and tigers to be displayed in a “safari” flea market exhibit that is below the standards of the American Sanctuary Association for wildlife habitats. Please tell the city council not to subject these baby big cats to inhumane treatment: https://www.change.org/p/beaufort-county-council-keep-baby-lions-and-tigers-out-of-inhumane-safari-flea-market

It's a sad state of affairs when a drug banned by places like Russia and China (and, well, most of the rest of the world) is still given to livestock in the U.S. to ratchet up the rate of growth even though it has been proven to sicken or kill more pigs than any other pharmaceutical in the entire industry...and then it ends up on your plate. Tell Smithfield to make all of its pig farms ractopamine-free: https://www.change.org/p/tell-smithfield-to-stop-giving-animals-this-drug-banned-in-much-of-the-world

At this time of year, polar bears are omnipresent on greeting cards and in holiday-themed advertisements. Unfortunately, their numbers are still dwindling in the Arctic, and we continue to allow the energy industry to set up disruptive drilling rigs in their previously pristine habitats. Tell President Obama and Secretary of the Interior Sarah Jewell to end big oil's invasion of these waters: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/330/070/596/

Thanks for fighting the good fight, and for all the little ways you change the world!

Petition Coalition Roundup, 12/3/14 - Fracking in NYS, police body cams, overturning Citizens United, protecting rhinos, and diplomacy with Iran

Join the "Petition Coalition" by following these links and signing those that you agree with!

Governor Cuomo says he plans to make a decision on whether or not to allow “fracking” in New York State by the end of the year. Tell him to say no to this dangerous, groundwater polluting practice: http://act.credoaction.com/sign/cuomo_fracking_2014?t=1&akid=12305.1276313.GvEMFq 

A California study last year showed that body cameras worn by police officers resulted in an astounding 60% reduction in use of force, and an 88% decline in complaints against cops. Mandating them nationally would help protect both law enforcement and the public: http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/bodycams/ 

The 2014 midterms were the most expensive in American history, with almost half of the money—a full $150M coming from just two men: the ultra conservative Koch Brothers. Sign on the become one of the Citizens Against Citizens United and help take our electoral politics back from the ultra rich: http://www.citizens-against-citizens-united.com/ 

Though rhinos use their horns for protection and to root out sustenance, the government of Namibia plans to capture wild animals and cut off their horns, allegedly to save them from poachers, but arguably for profit themselves. Tell them to let the rhinos stay horn-y: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/973/928/814/namibia-dont-de-horn-rhinos-for-profit 

Diplomacy works slowly, but it is working in the U.S. talks with Iran about tamping down their nuclear ambitions. Tell you U.S. senators to continue diplomatic discussions instead of saber rattling: http://action.votevets.org/page/s/iran-diplomacy?source=su141202a_iranpetition

Thanks for fighting the good fight, and for all the little ways you change the world!