Tag Archives: United States

55 years for marijuana ?


My brother Weldon was given a mandatory minimum sentence for a nonviolent marijuana offense that even the judge disagrees with.

Sign my petition and join the growing bipartisan support demanding President Obama to pardon my brother.

My brother Weldon is a talented musician, producer, and loving father. But for the past ten years his kids have grown up without their dad because he’s serving a mandatory 55 year sentence in prison for a nonviolent marijuana offense.

Weldon’s judge wanted to sentence him to just one day in prison for three small-time marijuana sales, but because an informant testified that he saw a gun, which wasn’t used or displayed, federal law forced him to issue a mandatory minimum 55 year sentence. The judge called it “unjust, cruel, and irrational.” But he had no choice.

The judge is hopeful that justice can still be served for my brother — he wrote a letter that strongly recommends President Obama commute Weldon’s sentence, and over 100 people signed his request in support — including former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno and a prominent Republican Senator.

I started a petition on Change.org because I believe the momentum to free Weldon could pressure the President to grant him clemency. Please sign my petition asking Pardoning Attorney Rodgers to recommend that President Obama commute the remainder of Weldon’s sentence.

Weldon made the mistake of selling marijuana and deserves to serve some time, but his sentence is longer than those imposed for three aircraft hijackings, three second-degree murders, three kidnappings, and three rapes. Now, significant public support for the President to pardon him is the only chance Weldon has of getting out of prison before he’s 70 years old.

Not a day goes by that I don’t miss my brother. I can’t stand seeing his kids miss their father because he made one mistake and is now paying an unfairly high price for it. And I’m not the only one who thinks so.

Join thousands of others who have signed my petition on Change.org demanding that federal Pardon Attorney Rodgers approve the request of Weldon’s judge and recommend his clemency request to President Obama. Click here to sign. 

Thank you for your support.

Lisa Angelos

Keep families in their homes: Call for an eviction moratorium in Seattle & King County


SeattleWAthumbpixsPutting an End to the Foreclosure Crisis in Seattle and King County.

By Olu Thomas (Contact)

To be delivered to: Seattle City Council and King County Council

PETITION STATEMENT
Declare an eviction moratorium in Seattle and King County, using eminent domain as a tool to force the banks to negotiate with homeowners and enforce principal reduction.

Petition Background

I am a victim — like millions of other Americans — of a predatory home loan. I am at risk of losing my home, thereby making my children and me homeless. I ended up here because of a death in the family and an injury restricting my ability to work. The banks refused to negotiate with me when I got into an emergency situation.

The banks claim that they have no legal obligation to negotiate with homeowners, but what about their moral obligations? They have completely forgotten that they were bailed out of their situation. They would rather foreclose on homes and make the people homeless and leave the homes vacant, sometimes for years. They are destroying the fabric of existing communities and neighborhoods. This is setting the stage for crimes and further encouraging gentrification. Housing is a human right.

This is another white collar crime.The banks think they are invincible. They believe they are too big to be fought. Of course they have forgotten the power of collective bargaining! Let us come together and bring down this “Tower of Babel.” There is no power like the power of the people!

Please, help me stay in the U.S. with my family


  ICE: Don’t Deport Me Away From My Sons; Grant Me Prosecutorial Discretion 

  By Tsatsral Bekhbat
                                                Omaha, Nebraska

I am a wife, a mother of three boys, and long-standing member of my community in Omaha, Nebraska. But despite President Obama’s declaration that people like me should be low-priority for deportation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office, is trying to deport me.  Please, help me stay in the U.S. with my family by signing this petition asking ICE to close my case.

I came here to the United States at the age of 16 as a high school exchange student. I lived with my host family for ten months and graduated from high school, after which I was accepted into college. I lived here over 16 years, and this is where I graduated from college, learned to drive, bought my first car, got married, bought our first home and most of all had our sons. Brandon 9, Nike 5, avid basketball lovers. Jordan, my youngest, is only two years old. This is the country I grew up, and became the person who I am today. I mourn and cry when horrific happens, or celebrate the remarkable events, because I consider this great nation as my home.

I maintained my immigration status for years , but in 2009, I met a person who I thought was an immigration attorney, and she agreed to file my case. Later, I found out not only she didn’t file my case within a reasonable time, but also wasn’t an attorney, even though I was paying very high fee. I hired another attorney who later filed a complaint with State Bar Association on my behalf, because she said that there are a lots of people like her out there who take advantage of people.

My case was initially denied by Immigration Officer because not filing my case in timely manner. When my case was heard by Immigration Judge, it was denied because he didn’t think I had good reason to get my permanent residency granted based on information I provided. We appealed the case with BIA, and it was denied October of this year, and gave me 60 days to leave the country or face deportation. I am requesting Department of Homeland Security and ICE to grant me prosecutorial discretion.

Now, my precious boys might have to grow up without their mother around or leave the only home they have ever known. And I can’t let that happen.

Please, help me keep my family together. Join me in asking DHS/ICE to grant me prosecutorial discretion ( my alien number is 076768406) and remove me from deportation proceedings.

Dan O’Neill, Mercy Corps


Mercy Corps

Get this limited edition first aid kit

Ernie Lynn knows one thing: she’s grateful to be alive — grateful that she, her husband and their one-month-old baby survived Typhoon Haiyan.
After the typhoon devastated her village, Ernie Lynn and her neighbors urgently needed food, clean water and shelter.
Mercy Corps responded immediately, providing food, clean water, blankets, shelter materials and hygiene kits to families who lost everything in the storm.
Now, families must begin the long and difficult process of rebuilding, and they need your help.  Will you stand with them, and with other families in the world’s toughest places, by making a monthly pledge to Mercy Corps today?
When the storm passed, Ernie Lynn learned that the fishing boat her husband works on was severely damaged — meaning they’d lost not only their home but also their income.
Imagine the conflicting emotions Ernie Lynn must be feeling — grateful to have her baby safe in her arms, but grieving her family’s many losses… and worried about the future.  Without a job, her husband won’t be able to earn enough money to repair their home.  Where will they go?  How do they move forward?  How can they give their baby what he needs to grow strong?
Partners In Mercy monthly donors help families like Ernie Lynn’s move forward every day.  They help parents get back to work, so that they can earn money to provide for their families — to prepare healthy food, get medical care, and rebuild their homes.
The ongoing monthly support of Partners In Mercy makes it possible for us to respond immediately when a crisis strikes — distributing clean water and emergency supplies to survivors of natural disasters like the typhoon, providing food to hungry children during a hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa, and giving warm clothing and blankets to Syrian refugees facing a cold winter.  But your monthly gift will do so much more.
Your monthly support will fund effective, efficient programs that help communities recover and rebuild for the long term, better and stronger than they were before.
Becoming a Partner in Mercy monthly donor is quick and easy. So please take a moment to sign up today.  You’ll feel good knowing that you’re providing life-changing assistance to people like Ernie Lynn and her family every day
Sincerely,
Dan O'Neill, Mercy Corps Founder
Dan O’Neill Mercy Corps Founder
P.S.  Please make a life-changing difference for families in need by becoming a Partner In Mercy monthly donor.  Sign up now, and you’ll receive a limited edition first aid kit — a reminder of the help you’re providing to survivors of the typhoon, and other families in the world’s toughest places.

Does Dogma Destory Our Oceans


Oceans are being put at risk by anti-government dogma. We need all federal agencies to be fully involved in ocean planning efforts to ensure coastal communities are prepared for natural disasters.
            Please sign the petition today! Don’t Let Dogma Destroy Our Oceans

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