Post Your Online Petitions Here!

[Hollylane]

Prosecute the killer of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin


Heartbreaking tragedy: 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was visiting a relative's house in a Florida gated community when he walked to the store to get Skittles and iced tea for his little brother. He never made it home. Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by a self-styled neighborhood watch leader, who told police he thought Trayvon was "suspicious" in the mostly-white community.

Unbelievable twist: A man named George Zimmerman allegedly admitted to police that he shot Trayvon Martin in the chest. Zimmerman claims he acted in self defense, even though police allegedly told him not to do anything until they arrived -- and despite the fact that Trayvon was unarmed, carrying only a bag of Skittles when he died. In the two weeks since Zimmerman allegedly killed Trayvon, police have refused to arrest the confessed killer.

Hope for justice: Sybrina Fulton is Trayvon's mother, and she's leading a campaign on Change.org to get justice for her son. Tracy knows that if enough people raise an outcry, Sanford, Florida authorities will be forced to investigate Zimmerman the same way they would investigate any confessed killer.

Sign Sybrina's petition calling on the authorities in Florida to charge George Zimmerman for the killing of Trayvon Martin and try him before a jury of his peers.

---------

Here's a lot more info about Sybrina's campaign, in her own words:

On February 26, my son Trayvon Martin was shot and killed as he walked back from a convenience store where he had just bought some candy. He was only 17 years old.

Trayvon's killer, George Zimmerman, admitted to police that he shot Trayvon in the chest. Zimmerman, the community's self appointed "neighborhood watch leader," called the police to report a suspicious person when he saw Trayvon, a young black man, walking from the store. But Zimmerman, who is white, still hasn't been charged for killing my son.

Trayvon was my hero. At the age of 9, Trayvon pulled his father from a burning kitchen, saving his life. He loved sports and horseback riding. At only 17 he had a bright future ahead of him with dreams of attending college and becoming an aviation mechanic. Now that's all gone.

When Zimmerman reported Trayvon to the police, they told him not to confront him. But he did anyway. All I know about what happened next is that my 17 year-old son, who was completely unarmed, was shot and killed.

I don't know if my family will ever receive justice for this terrible tragedy. It's been nearly two weeks and the Sanford Police have refused to arrest George Zimmerman. In their public statements, they even go so far as to stand up for the killer - saying he's "a college grad" who took a class in criminal justice.

Please join me in calling on the the Sanford Police Department and Florida State's Attorney Norman Wolfinger to investigate my son's death and prosecute George Zimmerman for the shooting and killing of Trayvon Martin.

[Hollylane]

BREAKING: "Planned Parenthood, we're going to get rid of that."— Mitt Romney

Think Mitt Romney is the GOP’s “moderate” choice? Think again. If elected, Romney will shut down Planned Parenthood. Yes, you read that quote right.

The GOP’s war on women has reached the danger zone, and I need your urgent help. Will you join me in standing with Planned Parenthood? Planned Parenthood gives needed medical care to almost 5 million people each year. If Republicans win, women won’t get the care they need, and women will die. Period.

Click here to join with me in supporting Planned Parenthood. In the face of continued assaults, Planned Parenthood needs to know that 50,000 activists have got their backs.

Thanks for standing with Planned Parenthood, and fighting to end the Republican war on women.

Sen. Patty Murray

[Hollylane]

Pigs Deserve Better


Dear Friend,

Tyson Foods allows pigs in its supply chain to be locked inside tiny "gestation crates," barely larger than the pigs own bodies, for nearly their whole lives. The animals are caged like this during their four-month-long pregnancy, taken from the gestation crate and put into another crate to give birth, re-impregnated, and then put back into a gestation crate so the cycle can repeat. It's hard to imagine a worse existence.

Several other leading pork companies are actively moving toward more humane systems, but Tyson is lagging far behind. Tyson Foods is one of the nation's leading pork companies, and we need your help to move the company to do the right thing.

Take action today -- tell Tyson that these pigs deserve better.

[EnderD_503]

Originally Posted by Hollylane

BREAKING: "Planned Parenthood, we're going to get rid of that."— Mitt Romney

Think Mitt Romney is the GOP’s “moderate” choice? Think again. If elected, Romney will shut down Planned Parenthood. Yes, you read that quote right.

The GOP’s war on women has reached the danger zone, and I need your urgent help. Will you join me in standing with Planned Parenthood? Planned Parenthood gives needed medical care to almost 5 million people each year. If Republicans win, women won’t get the care they need, and women will die. Period.

Click here to join with me in supporting Planned Parenthood. In the face of continued assaults, Planned Parenthood needs to know that 50,000 activists have got their backs.

Thanks for standing with Planned Parenthood, and fighting to end the Republican war on women.

Sen. Patty Murray

Heh, the Conservative gov't here tried to do something similar (though sneakier than the Republicans, they were threatening to defund Planned Parenthood...as with a lot of orgs "it can still exist, we just don't fund any of it" which essentially fucks the orgs over anyways), but due to public outcry it never happened. Good luck and hopefully no one over there is stupid enough to vote for your version of our wonderful fundy Conservatives.

[DapperButch]

Originally Posted by Hollylane

Pigs Deserve Better


Dear Friend,

Tyson Foods allows pigs in its supply chain to be locked inside tiny "gestation crates," barely larger than the pigs own bodies, for nearly their whole lives. The animals are caged like this during their four-month-long pregnancy, taken from the gestation crate and put into another crate to give birth, re-impregnated, and then put back into a gestation crate so the cycle can repeat. It's hard to imagine a worse existence.

Several other leading pork companies are actively moving toward more humane systems, but Tyson is lagging far behind. Tyson Foods is one of the nation's leading pork companies, and we need your help to move the company to do the right thing.

Take action today -- tell Tyson that these pigs deserve better.

I am trying to remember....is Tyson the one that McDonalds stopped using after pressure to do so, or was that a different company?

[always2late]

Just when I thought the human race couldn't possibly sink any lower...here is a new low. This is one of the most disgusting things I have heard in a very long time. When I first saw the petition, I was convinced that it was a hoax, that this couldn't possibly be real. But, I did research, and yes, it is real. Please sign!

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/841/0...s-prostitutes/

[Hollylane]

I may or may not have just yelled out loud when I read that. GRRRRRrrrrr

[DapperButch]

Originally Posted by always2late

Just when I thought the human race couldn't possibly sink any lower...here is a new low. This is one of the most disgusting things I have heard in a very long time. When I first saw the petition, I was convinced that it was a hoax, that this couldn't possibly be real. But, I did research, and yes, it is real. Please sign!

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/841/0...s-prostitutes/

Honestly, I saw the title and just couldn't and didn't want to read the article. I just signed my name and clicked off the page.

[SoNotHer]

http://sumofus.org/campaigns/thank-starbucks/

Starbucks stuck its neck out to publicly support the right of all people to marry, regardless of the gender of their partner.Now it is under attack by the ironically-named, ultra-conservative American “National Organization for Marriage”. Already over 4,000 NOM members have pledged to boycott Starbucks.

Let’s blow the right wing out of the water by getting more than ten times as many consumers from around the world to thank Starbucks for standing up for gay marriage. Join us in showing our support for Starbucks by signing our giant Thank You card. If 40,000 of us sign it, we’ll deliver it to Starbucks executives to give them moral support to keep standing up for equality.

NOM is targeting Starbucks because the company recently stood up publicly to support gay marriage legislation in their home state of Washington in the United States. When it passed, the bill’s lead sponsor said that support from business convinced moderate legislators to vote for it. Without support from companies like Starbucks, the gay marriage law might have failed.

Now, if Starbucks backtracks because of opposition, then it will set the gay rights struggle back to a time when big corporations couldn’t come out and support gay people for fear of public backlash. Even worse, it will embolden anti-gay activists around the world to target other companies that support gay rights, and serve as a lesson to other companies to stay out of the fight for equal rights entirely.

Starbucks isn’t perfect — and in the future we’ll probably be asking it to improve its policies on other issues. But it’s a big deal when a giant multinational corporation with no particular connection to the gay community realizes that there are real business benefits — from better employees to happier customers — to standing up for progressive ideals. As SumOfUs members and ethical consumers, we can’t just criticize corporations when they do bad. We also want to encourage them when they do good.

Let’s show that supporting equal rights is good business: Add your name to our thank you card.

[SoNotHer]

http://www.credoaction.com/campaign/...g/?rc=homepage

Tell the FDA: No BPA in food packaging!

On March 31st, the FDA will decide whether or not to continue allowing bisphenol A (BPA) to be used in food packaging. While the toxic chemical was recently banned in California from being used in baby bottles and sippy cups, thanks to the lobbying of the American Chemistry Council and other chemical manufacturers BPA continues to be used in food and beverage packaging, including the lining in most canned food and soup.

The FDA has the power to finally put a stop to BPA in our food. It needs to stand up to industry pressure and protect us from this dangerous chemical.

Tell the FDA: No BPA in food packaging!

BPA is a hormone disruptor that has been linked to a long list of serious health issues, including breast cancer, prostate cancer, early puberty, miscarriages and brain and heart disorders.1

It's so ubiquitous, it's even used in things like store receipts and plastic bags, and it is estimated that BPA can be found in 90% of our bodies.2

FDA's deadline comes in response to a formal petition filed in 2008 by the Natural Resources Defence Council. FDA failed to respond, and finally in December, a federal judge said it must make a final decision on BPA in food packaging by March 31st.3

Early last year, FDA admitted that BPA use raised "some concern," reversing a long maintained position that BPA was safe in low doses, as evidence mounted rapidly of BPA's health risks, which in addition to increased propensity for some diseases, include infertility and behavioral problems in children.

The science on BPA is clear, and it's health impacts are far reaching, and deeply concerning. BPA isn't safe to be used in food packaging and the FDA needs to take action to protect us from BPA.

Tell the FDA: No BPA in food packaging!

1. "A Survey of Bisphenol A in U.S. Canned Foods," Environmental Working Group, March 2007
2. "High BPA levels found in at least 90% of moms-to-be," USA Today, October 11, 2010
3. "FDA agrees to determine safety of BPA," Washington Post, December 7, 2011

[The_Lady_Snow]

http://action.ufw.org/page/s/chavezholidaypetition

[Hollylane]

Here's the buzz: American honey bees are disappearing at an alarming rate and the government knows why.

Scientists say a pesticide called clothianidin, made by chemical giant Bayer, is strongly linked to the rapid decline in bee populations. When exposed to the chemical, bees get lost: they are literally unable to find their way home back to the hive and drop dead from exhaustion.

Susan Mariner uses her backyard garden to grow extra fruits and veggies for her family and teach her children where their food comes from -- and in the past few years, she's seen the decline in bees firsthand.

When Susan heard about the recent studies linking this specific chemical to the widespread death of the bees who pollinate our food, she started a petition on Change.org to get the chemical banned. Click here to sign Susan’s petition asking the Environmental Protection Agency to ban these bee-killing pesticides ASAP.

One-third of the U.S. food supply relies on honey bees. Without bees to pollinate crops, many essential (and favorite) foods are at risk, including apples, squash, tomatoes, strawberries, almonds, and even chocolate.

Several countries, including Germany and France, have already banned clothianidin. And after the bans, bee populations began to rise again.

But in the U.S., clothianidin is used on millions of acres of crops and American beekeepers report losses of up to 90% of their bees. Many worry that their hives won't survive another season. Sign Susan's petition urging the EPA to save the bees and immediately end the harmful pesticide's use.

Thanks for being a change-maker,

- Corinne and the Change.org team

[Truly Scrumptious]

(Not exactly a petition, but the best place I could think of to put this.)


How We're Paying For Putting Ourselves Down (And Why We'll Pay For You To Say Something Nice!) by Anya Strzemien

"I have a very strange allergy. Some people are allergic to wheat, others are allergic to cats. I'm allergic to hearing women put down their appearance. I use the word allergy because something truly visceral happens to me: my toes curl, my hair stands on end, and I stumble over my words as I try to come up with the appropriate, scripted-yet-sincere response.

It's a common dance between women. One says "I feel so fat" and her friend responds "Please! I am so fat" and then the first one says "Whatever, you didn't just eat a burrito" and on and on they go.

I went to an all-girls high school, an all-women's college and have worked in media for the last 10 years, so I've overheard --or been baited into-- this conversation a lot. But not until I started working with one foot in the fashion world have I heard it so much. In an industry where designers have to be reminded to distinguish between a sample size and an eating disorder, and encouraged to keep snacks for runway models (though judging by some of the physiques at last February's Fashion Week, these efforts were in vain), it's not particularly surprising.

So, here at Stylelist, I've long joked that I need to implement a tip jar to fine anyone who says something negative about their appearance. And one night, over a snack of mac & cheese and martinis with the very supportive Bobbie Thomas of the "Today Show," I realized it needed to be a reality. So the next day, with some paper, scissors, glue and a Sharpie, the very literally named "I Promise To Not Say Negative Things About My Body Jar" was born. The fine is $1 for every negative comment someone makes, with proceeds going to Girls Inc, an organization that promotes self-esteem and leadership skills for young girls. Within two minutes I had $2 in that jar. Was one of them mine? Sure. I never said I don't have moments of hypocrisy!

I am, however, trying hard to curb this nasty habit, and I hope you'll join me. A recent study shows that when a woman engages in "fat talk," she may feel the effects of depression for several weeks afterward. Talk about a lose-lose scenario.

So even though I'm not normally one for saccharine self-affirmations and cheesy platitudes, I want to use the comments section of this post to flip the script and ask you all to say something positive about yourselves. In return, the Huffington Post Media Group will donate $1 for every kind comment to Girls Inc. We're hoping to reach our cap of $5,000 for 5,000 comments by April 10th, so please go ahead and say something nice."


Post your comments on the article here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anya-s...b_1386305.html


More about Girls Inc: http://www.girlsinc.org

[Andrea]

Take a stand against corporate funding of voter suppression.

For years, the right wing has been trying to stop people of color, young people, and seniors from voting in order to help Republicans get elected -- and now some of America's biggest companies are helping them do it.


http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/alec_id/

[DapperButch]

https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petition...-gmos/nkWHZ2Vm

[Hollylane]

Next week, the USDA will decide whether to allow Monsanto and Dow to introduce one half of the chemical mixture Agent Orange into our food supply. Widescale use of Roundup has led to a new generation of resistant weeds, and the next step in the pesticide arms race is 2,4-D -- a chemical linked to cancer, Parkinson's and reproductive problems.

Farmers that sign up to use genetically-engineered 2,4-D-resistant corn will be required to spray down their fields with both 2,4-D and Roundup, double-dosing our food, our soil and our waterways with the toxins. Some experts estimate this will increase the use of 2,4-D 50-fold, even though the EPA says the chemical is already our seventh-largest source of dioxins -- nasty, highly toxic chemicals that bioaccumulate as they move up the food chain and cause cancer, developmental damage, and birth defects.

We can stop this. The use of 2,4-D is banned entirely in parts of Canada and Europe, and right now the US Department of Agriculture is accepting public comments on 2,4-D to decide whether or not to approve the widespread industrial use of the toxin.

Add your name to our letter to the USDA urging them to deny approval for Dow's 2,4-D-resistant GMO corn.

This is part of a growing problem, an escalating herbicide war going on across America’s heartland. From 1996 to 2008, herbicide usage increased by 383 million pounds. Nearly half of this took place between 2007 and 2008 after the introduction of another strain of herbicide-resistant plant pushed by Dow. Like Roundup before it, 2,4-D is only a temporary solution that will require more and more tons of toxins and more and more potent chemicals leaching into our food supply.

2,4-D is nasty stuff and has been linked to a number of health problems, such as tripling the rates of non-Hodgkins lymphoma in Nebraska farmworkers exposed to it and causing reproductive problems -- birth defects and high rates of miscarriage -- in both mice and men exposed to it in the lab and field.

Tell the USDA - we don’t want Monsanto’s toxic pesticide.

-Kaytee, Claiborne Taren and the rest of the team

[Hollylane]

In 2002, a special needs student named Andre McCollins was allegedly strapped down and electrocuted for hours, leaving him with permanent brain damage, all because he refused to take off his jacket. The people torturing Andre were officials at his school. You can watch what happened on video.

The video was shot at a Massachusetts school for special needs kids called the Judge Rotenberg Center (JRC). Gregory Miller used to be a teacher there, and he says electrocuting kids as punishment is extremely common -- even for minor offenses like raising your hand to go to the bathroom.

"A non-verbal, nearly blind girl with cerebral palsy was shocked for attempts to hold a staff member's hand -- her attempts to communicate and to be loved," Gregory says.

Gregory desperately wants to help the kids at the JRC --that's why he started a petition on Change.org demanding that the JRC stop using electroshock to punish kids. Click here to add your name.

Gregory says the JRC's founder created electroshock devices which are even stronger than police stun guns to punish students for bad behavior. An official at the United Nations said that using these devices on children is considered torture.

According to the Boston Globe, the JRC’s founder resigned after being charged with misleading a grand jury by destroying video footage of other students being shocked.

Gregory believes that if thousands of people sign his petition, his former bosses will capitulate in the intense pressure generated by a national spotlight.

Click here to sign Gregory's petition demanding that the JRC immediately cease its practice of punishing special needs kids with electroshock devices.

Thanks for being a change-maker,

- Jon and the Change.org team

[Andrea]

Greyhound: Stop Racial Profiling on your buses

http://www.change.org/petitions/greyhound-stop-racial-profiling-on-your-buses?utm_campaign=KICOlrkBiT&utm_medium=email&utm _source=action_alert

[Soon]

Include Marriage Equality on the DNC Platform

[DapperButch]

http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/...655363-EUfOfPx

Thank you!