Breonna Taylor was an award-winning EMT and model citizen. She loved her family and community, working at two hospitals as an essential worker during the pandemic. Over six months ago, a division of the Louisville Police Department performed an illegal, unannounced drug raid on her home, executing a discriminatory, botched no-knock warrant. Not a single officer announced themselves before ramming down her door and firing 22 shots, shooting Breonna 6 times, killing her, according to her lawyer, boyfriend, neighbors, and relatives.  Also named on the warrant was Jamarcus Glover, who had already been arrested earlier that day. Officer Joshua Jaynes lied to obtain a no-knock warrant on Breonna’s residence, citing that the US Postmaster had claimed that Breonna was receiving illegal packages at her home — the US Postmaster later testified that he had never verified these claims.  Police were dressed in plainclothes when they knocked Breonna’s door down in the middle of the night; Kenneth Walker, her boyfriend, fired a single shot, believing that someone had broken in. In response, the officers fired multiple rounds, killing Breonna.  No one has been held accountable for the systemic failure that caused Breonna’s death. 1. Charges must be filed immediately. The officers involved, specifically John Mattingly, Brett Hankison, Myles Cosgrove, Joshua Jaynes, and any other law enforcement officer involved in the death and coverup of the death of Breonna Taylor must be fired, charged, and arrested immediately. There have been no charges thus far (it has been over 7 months). Their pensions must be revoked.  2. Her family must be paid in damages for wrongful death and the negligence of the LMPD.  3. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear must speak up on behalf of Breonna, and Governor Beshear or Attorney General Daniel Cameron must appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the Louisville Police Department immediately. An in-house investigation is unacceptable.  4. The "no-knock" warrant that police had used in Breonna's murder completely violates the constitutional rights to reasonable search and seizure. By law, police must be legally obligated to announce themselves before breaking and entering into a home privately owned by American civilians. Legislation to federally ban no-knock warrants must be passed in Congress and signed by the President; what happened to Breonna was a complete violation of her constitutional rights, and threatens the rights of all American citizens. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky has voiced similar concerns. A special session must be intervened by Congress to discuss the constitutionality of no-knock warrants immediately.  5. WE DEMAND A NEW PROSECUTOR AND A NEW GRAND JURY HEARING. Recent testimonies released by the brave jurors involved in the grand jury hearing have revealed, quite clearly, the conflict of interest involved in allowing Daniel Cameron to serve as the prosecutor on this case. His partisan interests and position within the GOP have clearly influenced his ability to fulfill his responsibilities as an Attorney General and officer of the law. His conduct in the case, and his complete disregard for the injustice and tragedy that occurred to Breonna Taylor, is completely unacceptable.  This has carried on for over seven months. For weeks, the city treated Breonna like she was a criminal, calling her a “suspect” before finally admitting that she was an innocent, crimeless victim. She had no drugs. She committed no crime.  Yet, she is dead, and the perpetrators are facing no charges.  She was not only an exemplary citizen, but an essential one. She was a daughter, a friend, an American hero, and most importantly, a person. She deserved to be treated as such.  In what world is it fair, just, or legal, to kill a crimeless victim in their own home, and call it an accident? You cannot kill an innocent woman and chalk it up to a clerical error. At the very least, we must hold the system that killed Breonna Taylor accountable.  Let’s get justice for Breonna. Say her name.  PLEASE help me get the word out, and share this campaign on your social media platforms. Thank you to everyone who is helping in our fight to get justice for Breonna.

The ability to organize grassroots movements, whether locally or across the globe, is made possible by an open Internet. Since its creation, the Internet has become the world’s megaphone for free speech, protected by the principles of Net Neutrality, which require internet service providers (ISPs) to give everyone equal access to everything you use the internet for -- email, watching videos, listening to music, or signing petitions on Change.org.  Without Net Neutrality, ISPs can choose what you see online, favoring some sources or blocking others. For example, if someone launched a petition on Change.org against a company like Verizon, Net Neutrality prevents Verizon from blocking or slowing their customers’ access to our site.   In December of 2017, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted 3-2 to repeal net neutrality rules -- giving big cable companies room to charge extra fees, block and censor users. By removing ISPs from Title II of the Communications Act, a rule that means ISPs are subjected to tougher regulations that prevent them blocking sites, creating paid “fast” lanes, and throttling internet speeds. This decision will have global implications for the way the world shares and receives information from journalists, newsrooms, and NGO’s. However, following the FCC’s vote, Senator Ed Markey (D-Mass.) announced a Congressional Review Act resolution that if passed, would stop net neutrality repeal. That resolution now has the support of 50 senate members, which means just one more vote is needed for it to pass the Senate. Net Neutrality also prevents ISPs from creating paid “fast lanes” that would give faster delivery of content to companies who can afford to pay more. An organization or platform like Change.org that couldn’t afford those fees, couldn’t communicate with their supporters.  In the United States, there is strong bipartisan support for Net Neutrality. A recent poll conducted by Mozilla found that Republicans, Democrats and Independents overwhelmingly support these rules.  At Change.org, we believe that people everywhere should have the tools they need to make their voices heard. We’re a social good company powered by technology that empowers anyone anywhere to take action on the issues they care about. A closed off Internet means fewer ways for millions of people to make the change they want to see. Without an internet equally accessible to everyone regardless of income or geography, we can’t continue that mission. Add your name to let Congress and the FCC know that you support an open internet.

My name is Travis Washington. I received my M. A, degree in Higher Education and Administration from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in May 2019. I have been politically involved, from registering people to vote, to work in the Springfield Capitol (as an Alexander Lane Fellow, January to May 2017). We know how so many people of cultural minorities are in constant fear of leaving their household. This fear in our lives far too often comes from individuals working in public safety who harm people. Every single week we hear about another unarmed innocent vulnerable human being shot by the police. This has increased the trauma and fear that has made people of color scared to leave their homes. We need legislation now that prohibits police officers from shooting unarmed citizens. If there isn’t a weapon found after someone has been shot (therefore, unarmed) by a police officer, then I propose that the officer should receive a mandatory 15-year prison sentence. We have seen over and over police officers get off, even with videotape footage of citizens having been shot by police officers. This is a new form of lynching. I am pleading with you to propose a bill that protects people who have every right to feel threatened by law enforcement. We always say we need more training for those involved in public safety, and there are increasing policies and laws that mandate that police officers have “body cameras” on them. Those measures do not address the whole problem, not when the individual officers who shoot unarmed victims aren’t punished. Senator, we are in a crisis where relationships between people of color and police officers are deteriorating, beyond the critical level. In order to build any sort of positive relationships again, we need laws to keep a balance in the lives of all the public. I might even suggest this as a title for this proposed legislation: the Hands UP ACT. I will be emailing this to the all of your colleagues in the U. S. Senate, members of Congress, State Governors; Democracy Now, the Huffington Post, ThinkProgress; and to other appropriate organizations across the country. Once this petition receives enough attention. My goal to speak before the House of Representatives or United Nations during a committee hearing to bring attention to this policy.  Thank You !!  

**UPDATE: As the Biden administration takes office, the country is deeply struggling. We’re out of work and out of cash. It took nine months for Congress to send a second stimulus check, and just moments to spend it. Another single check won’t solve our problems – people are just too far behind. Like we’ve been saying from the beginning of this pandemic, people need to know when the next check is coming. And the best thing our government can do right now is send emergency money to the people on a monthly basis. Sign to join our movement to get recurring checks to the people.  My name is Stephanie, and I am one of millions of Americans who fear for my financial future because of this coronavirus crisis. With businesses and schools closing across the country to control the spread of this virus, many people have already lost their jobs. Others are being forced to stay home. This is catastrophic for working families like mine.  I’m calling on Congress to support families with a $2,000 payment for adults and a $1,000 payment for kids immediately, and continuing regular checks for the duration of the crisis. Otherwise, laid-off workers, furloughed workers, the self-employed, and workers dealing with reduced hours will struggle to pay their rent or put food on the table. My husband and I own a restaurant in Denver and these past two weeks have been a blur. Our restaurant community is wrestling with seeing everything we all have worked so hard for irrevocably changed. Our hearts were breaking as we watched our staff divide the ingredients in our kitchen to bring to their homes: a dismal token for employees who worked tirelessly every day. Our talented and cherished team, some of whom have been with us since we opened our doors 15 years ago, are now without an income. Like our team, my family has lost all of the income from our restaurant, and business owners and the self-employed can't claim unemployment. This is the story of America right now. For our team and other Americans who can claim unemployment, even the maximum payments will not be enough for most people to continue paying their bills – and avoid slipping into poverty. The facts are, even successful small businesses can’t go months with their doors closed.  But supplying Americans with monthly support until they can get back on their feet can save our communities from financial ruin. We need immediate checks and recurring payments so that we can keep our heads above water.  Congress needs to make sure that we won’t be left financially ruined for doing our part to keep the country healthy.

www.frontlineppenow.org As cases of COVID-19 escalate around the country, physicians and other healthcare workers (HCWs) are facing severe shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE). This shortage is already a major crisis and will place an insurmountable strain on the health system of this country as cases continue to rise and more people require hospitalization for complications of COVID-19. As a result of this shortage, recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for appropriate PPE for HCWs on the frontlines have shifted. This shift does not come in response to overwhelming evidence, rather to a supply chain issue. As quoted directly from the CDC website: “PPE recommendations for the care of patients with known or suspected COVID-19: Based on local and regional situational analysis of PPE supplies, facemasks are an acceptable alternative when the supply chain of respirators cannot meet the demand."..."When the supply chain is restored, facilities with a respiratory protection program should return to use of respirators for patients with known or suspected COVID-19."(1) These statements in no way suggest that droplet precautions are adequate, supported by the statement that as soon as the supply chain has been restored, we should go back to using N95 respirators. As a result of these recommendations, many hospitals have taken the CDC recommendations to mean that facemasks are the preferred PPE, rather than a less desired (and potentially less safe) alternative. They have thus rationed respirators to be made available only for procedures, such as intubation and bronchoscopy, during which the virus is more likely to become aerosolized. This is putting our HCWs in tremendous danger of contracting and spreading COVID-19, which is unacceptable in the country with the most expensive health care system in the world. The evidence that droplet precautions are acceptable is lacking. CNN recently published an article titled “Health care workers getting sicker from Coronavirus than other patients”.(2) This statement is corroborated by data from a Harvard Study in China that suggested HCWs were at a 20% increased risk of severe infection compared to the general public. This risk decreased once the Chinese implemented full gear: protective suit, medical goggle, face shield, N95 mask and gloves – following this change there were no further reports of infected HCWs.(3) The debate is still ongoing as to whether or not COVID-19 can be transmitted via droplets vs. aerosols, yet as we speak, HCWs around the world continue to get infected, end up in critical condition, and die while using “appropriate PPE”. According to an ahead of print New England Journal Article on aerosol and surface stability of COVID-19, the virus can be detected up to 3 hours after aerosolization.(4) According to Dr. Milton, professor of environmental health at University of Maryland, “you cannot tell epidemiologically between something aerosol transmitted by weak sources and large droplet spray”, and he suspects the capability of long distance transmission will be dependent on the degree of symptoms.(5) Considering the mortality risk and lack of data to support a step-down to surgical masks, N-95 masks should continue to be the standard PPE for care of COVID-19 patients. As a physician, I do not know how long it takes to make an N95 mask, but I do know how long it takes to train a physician, a nurse practitioner, a physician’s assistant, a respiratory therapist or nurse. We are the supply chain that needs to be protected. Our friends from Italy have described the loss of infected HCWs as a critical hit to an already strained system. Infected HCWs are of no benefit to patients – in fact, they pose a serious risk.(6) They not only endanger the health of their colleagues, families, and communities, they also serve as a vector to infect the most vulnerable among us – the patients they care for. China, Italy, and S. Korea have more experience with this virus than we do and are taking the protection of their HCWs seriously. In France, Dr. Benjamin Davido, Infectious Diseases and Clinical lead for COVID-19, explains the importance of protecting HCWs against the severity of the illness, by using FFP2, the European equivalent of N95 masks.(7) “If we don’t do all we can to protect them (HCWs), they will quickly transition from providers to patients… Governments must support private-sector manufacturers in providing N95s and other equipment to HCWs.”(6) This letter serves to urge our government, industry, media and general population, to assist HCWs in obtaining immediate access to critical PPE, including N-95 masks. Our HCWs are already on the front lines, taking care of patients without appropriate protection, and our COVID cases and we are nowhere near the peak. Many hospitals are already running out of protective supplies. (NY Times, 3/9/2020) Recommendations to protect HCWs should not be based on what’s available; availability should be based on what is necessary. We urge the government to access the Strategic National Stockpile, and to utilize both the public and private sector to immediately increase production of PPE supplies. In addition, we urge our hospital systems to maintain the highest level of PPE standard for our HCWs, and demand the supply of N-95 masks. Sincerely,  Dr. Milla J. Kviatkovsky Dr. Constance Chace Dr. Supraja Thota https://www.frontlineppenow.org/ #frontlineppenow #getmeppe References: 1)    https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/infection-control/control-recommendations.html 2)    Howard and McLaughlin, ‘Health care workers getting sicker from coronavirus than other patients,’ expert says, CNN Health, March 12,2020 3)    Xihong Lin, ‘Analysis of 25,000 Lab-Confirmed Cases in Wuhan: Epidemiological Characteristics and Non-Pharmeceutical Intervention Effects, Department of Biostatistics and Department of Statistics, Harvard University and Broad Institute 4)     N Doremalen et Al, 2014, Aerosol and Surface Stability of HCoV-19 (SARSC-CoV-2) compared to SARS-CoV-1, New England Journal of Medicine 5)    Souchery, ‘Unmasked: Experts Explain Necessary Respiratory Protectin for COVID-19’, Center for Infectious Disease and Research Policy, Feb 13, 2020 6)    Osterholm and Olshaker, ‘Health-Care workers are the front-line warriors against coronavirus. We must protect them’, The Washington Post, Feb 14, 2020 7)    Duqueroy, COVID-19: Advice From a French Doctor on the Frontline, Medscape, 3/16/2020    

Over this past decade, we have seen numerous police killings and brutality—much of which has been captured with the help of social media. The use of social media has exposed much of the violence which would have otherwise been hidden. Recently, George Floyd was a victim of this violence. A police officer in Minneapolis, Derick Chauvin, used his knee to pin Floyd down by his neck. A 10 minute video captured his murder. Floyd pleads that he can't breath, and about halfway through the video, Floyd appears unconscious and is likely dead at this point. Still, Chauvin keeps Floyd pinned to the ground with his knee until the paramedics arrive; ignoring his duty to render aid. Also captured, were the three other officers at the scene who also refused to assist Floyd and ignored the pleas of the bystanders to check his pulse. It was recently shown that Chauvin had multiple complaints against him, 2 of which he was punished for. The following proposed law would be able to prevent many of the incidents which have occurred with George Floyd, Freddie Gray, Atatiana Jefferson, and countless others. As of now, potential officers go through a psychological screening before employment that tests their fitness to be an officer. The test screens for judgement, integrity, dealing with stress, honesty, etc. This needs to go further in order to eliminate people who could pose a danger to citizens while on the job. Not all states require psychological screening which makes a federal requirement a necessity. The psychological screening, which is already done to screen an officer, should be more in depth and should also include evaluations that test for psychotic disorders, mood disorders & personality disorders. Around 88% of police departments have required drug screening. This should be included in all police departments since it would serve as a necessary precaution for screening. Since Chauvin was involved in incidents during his tenure as an officer, a re-screening should be required every 6 months to a year while the officer is employed. Much like how a doctor or lawyer is re-examined on their knowledge to ensure they are fit to practice, an officer should be required to take a re-examination too. These requirements should be federally mandated to ensure that across the country, officers are screened effectively. I appreciate you for taking the time to read this. Thank you! UPDATE (6/5/20): Since posting this petition, I have received numerous suggestions which I believe should be included and federally required as well. These include: regular & initial drug testing, social media screening, a federal hate crime for falsely reporting a racial crime, redirecting police funding in major cities to programs that support the communities, a national database for police officers involved in misconduct, QR codes on uniforms, an associates degree requirement for all departments, and banning police officers from being hired at another department if they are fired from one previously.

The United States Postal Service employs over 500,000 people and is the #1 employer of veterans. Donald Trump has rejected a bill that would save it from running out of money in September. Update:Two bills sitting on Mitch McConnell's desk that could significantly help the USPS are:H.R.6800 - The Heroes Act includes 25 billion allocated to the USPSH.R. 2382 - This bill repeals the requirement that the U.S. Postal Service annually prepay future retirement health benefits. A new bill is being introduced as well: H.R.8015 -This bill prohibits the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) from making changes to operations or levels of service from those that were in effect on January 1, 2020.Contact your representatives to voice your support and show those that wish to dismantle and privatize the USPS that we are against letting one of our prize institutions fail.   

In 2014, I adopted my best friend Violet from the basement of a taxpayer-funded animal experimentation lab. Now, I’m working with Congress to get dogs like her, as well as cats and monkeys, released from government labs at the end of experiments.  When I met Violet, she lived alone in a cage in a laboratory basement.  She had never been outside, never seen stairs and most of her experiences with humans involved fear and pain. She loved other dogs but was understandably terrified of humans. Now, we’re inseparable, and she’s best friends with our cats and even helps us foster kittens! But, Violet is one of the lucky ones. Thousands of cats, monkeys and dogs like her are experimented on each year in government labs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Agriculture (USDA), Department of Defense (DOD), Department of the Interior (DOI), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Smithsonian Institution. Because its quicker and easier than relocating them to rescue groups, private homes or sanctuaries, experimenters usually kill these animals and dispose of them like trash, even if they’re healthy.  Now, the taxpayers who bought these animals want them released. Recently, our organization White Coat Waste Project has secured the release of monkeys from the FDA, and is working to get dogs out of VA labs and kittens released by the USDA.  Please join me in urging all government agencies to #GiveThemBack: retire and release animals at the end of taxpayer-funded experiments! --Julie Germany, Board Member, White Coat Waste Project

Over the past week, there have been nationwide protests in the United States for the Black Lives Matter Movement, police brutality, and due to the tragic death of George Floyd in the hands of the Minneapolis police. There have been various occurrences where peaceful protesters have been shot with rubber bullets by the police, despite them doing nothing wrong to begin with. Multiple people have been majorly injured from these rubber bullets! Rubber bullets can be extremely lethal. They may cause bone fractures, injuries to internal organs, or even death. It’s been proven that rubber and plastic bullets are too dangerous for crowd control and have even been banned in various regions including Kosovo and Catalonia. Please sign this petition for the sake and safety of protestors across the nation. Let’s increase people’s safety, so that they can continue to protest peacefully.

UPDATE (March 2018): Following your efforts, U.S. Congress enacted a law to de-fund the VA's dog experiments for 2018 and placed dramatic restrictions on the practice. Read more here. We're still working to end this waste and abuse for good! --- An investigation by White Coat Waste Project revealed that more than 1,100 beagles, hounds and mixed-breed dogs—even puppies—are subjected to secretive, wasteful and cruel experiments inside government laboratories each year. As a physician, researcher and dog-lover –and someone who once reluctantly experimented on dogs—I know there’s no way to defend the government’s use of dogs for invasive and unnecessary experiments.  It’s also a betrayal of a 10,000 year old bond between dogs and humans built upon mutual affection and loyalty. The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and other major news outlets have been documenting how the Department of Veterans Affairs, Pentagon, National Institutes of Health, and other agencies spend taxpayers’ money to abuse dogs: Death by Sand Flies: Infected sand flies are strapped to beagles’ bare skin, causing painful ulcers. Forced Vomiting: Dogs are cut open, their nerves severed, and electrodes are implanted on their intestines. They're then forced to vomit repeatedly. Forced Heart Attacks: "Snares" are tightened around dogs’ coronary arteries to induce heart attacks before they're killed and dissected. American taxpayers are forced to pay millions of dollars for these studies with virtually no access to information about what’s being done or why and how much it costs. Is this how you want your money spent? Please sign our petition to end wasteful spending and increase transparency and accountability about taxpayer-funded experiments on dogs! Most agencies including the VA, DOD, FDA and CDC do not reveal details of how our taxpayer dollars are being used for experiments on dogs, but on one of the few projects for which spending data is available, NIH experimenters have used nearly $6 million of taxpayers' money since 2011 to give dogs heart attacks. Bipartisan Members of Congress also recognize the ethical, scientific and economic problems with these controversial experiments on dogs. They’re now working to help spare dogs from abuse and cut wasteful government spending. Please join us and encourage Members of Congress and the administration to end this wasteful government spending on flawed research.