On March 19, 2009, Rachel Maddow interviewed Dan Choi, an infantry leader in the New York National Guard, on her MSNBC show. Choi graduated from West Point, served in Iraq, is an Arabic language specialist, and is gay. He openly announced his sexuality in the March 19 interview and has since been discharged from the army for homosexual conduct under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that has been in effect for 15 years. We previously blogged about this policy here. The ”Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy has been responsible for approximately 12,500 members of the United States Armed Forces being discharged. After Choi received a letter informing him he would be discharged from the armed forces for “homosexual conduct,” he stated he will “fight tooth and nail” to keep his position in the Army National Guard. His homosexuality in no way undermines his qualifications for a job that he had proudly and successfully performed. The dismissal of qualified and trained soldiers simply because of their sexuality is wrong. Dan Choi is one of many soldiers plagued by a life of secrecy, trying to defend both his country and his beliefs. The “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy needs to be overturned as soon as possible. Join our cause.

Dear Commissioners: Please vote NO to the rezoning request to conditional general business in Swan Beach. This request would threaten the safety, health and welfare of the general public and those that enjoy the four wheel drive area of Currituck County. It is counter to the adopted Land Use Plan. Allowing commercial development will ruin this unique asset that we have in Currituck County. Any short term gains would be offset by a loss of tourism revenues(once the uniqueness disappears why vacation there?),a drop in property values (when this is like any other place why purchase and pay tax there?), and the end of and removal of the wild horses. Commercial development in this fragile area will have significant negative environmental impacts.

Dear Mayor Varela, Vice Mayor Golden, Commissioner Maxwell, Commissioner Jennings, and Commissioner Mulvehill: I am writing you today regarding the restrictive noise ordinance that is under discussion for the City of Lake Worth targeting the downtown corridor. We're known for being a community that strongly supports the arts in Lake Worth, including live music. A restrictive noise ordinance would eliminate live music from from many downtown businesses as well as make many of the outdoor festivals and activities we celebrate impossible. Please do everything in your power to oppose such a measure, for the health of our downtown businesses and our reputation as welcoming to the arts community. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Dear Representative, During Thursday's budget discussion at the State House, Representative David Segal will be introducing an amendment to restore the $1 million that Governor Carcieri and the House Finance Committee have proposed cutting from the budget. Along with local energy developers, environmental advocates and outraged ratepayers, I urge you to vote to SUPPORT this amendment and the Renewable Energy Fund. This investment is a tiny piece of the budget but a huge investment for Rhode Island's economic and energy future. The REF is a restricted receipt account that comes from the "conservation fee" on Rhode Islanders' electric bills. This fee is collected from residents and businesses with the explicit assumption that it will be used for conservation programs, such as the energy efficiency programs run by the utility, and the Renewable Energy Fund that the RI Economic Development Corporation uses to provide grants to subsidize renewable energy projects. The Renewable Energy Fund's expenditures in the form of grants and loans leverage several times their amount in investment in the critical green jobs sector, which is barely getting a foothold in Rhode Island compared to many other states throughout the country. This sector creates local jobs at a time when they are most needed. Thank you for your support of this critical issue,

Honorable Members of the Oakland City Council, I am writing today to express my concern and condolences for two cyclist fatalities in the past month. On May 1, Pete Webster, 60, owner of Guitar-o-rama, a local Oakland business, was fatally struck by a car at the intersection of 52nd and Market. Just one week after Bike to Work Day, Erik Fitzpatrick, 34, of the Laurel neighborhood, was struck by a bus while trying to avoid a collision with an open car door. Had these streets conformed to minimal bicyclist safety standards, Pete and Erik would still be here. The lack of safe, connected bicycle access in Oakland puts thousands of cyclists at risk on a daily basis. The Alliance for Biking and Walking released a 2010 Benchmarking Report that shows that this lack of investment in biking and walking contributes to higher traffic fatalities across the United States. The report found that 12% of all trips in Oakland are made on foot or by bike each day. Yet, pedestrians and bicyclists experience 28% of traffic fatalities in our city, further illustrating the disproportionate risk incurred by bicyclists and pedestrians in Oakland. Oakland can be a world class city to walk and bike in - the city should work not just to prevent further tragedies, but also to increase the livability and vitality of the city in which I am proud to live and work. I am writing to state my desire that the City of Oakland steps up its commitment to these issues and works to make Oakland one of the most walkable, bikeable and livable communities in the U.S. Thanks to the work of dedicated city staff, Oakland has a blueprint for a robust network of safe bicycle routes and facilities. The City's Bicycle Master Plan includes improvements along the stretch of MacArthur Boulevard on which Mr. Fitzpatrick was riding when killed. The recently released Oakland Energy and Climate Action plan calls on the City to accelerate the Bike and Pedestrian Master Plans within the first three years of the plan as a top strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transportation. The city should implement these plans within the timeline recommended; waiting any longer to do so will almost certainly mean more cyclists will be needlessly killed. Further, there are laws in place to protect bicyclists, whether they are riding on designated bicycle facilities or not. I am calling on you as leaders to: 1. Accelerate completion of the Bicycle Master Plan to the recommended three-year timeline in the Energy and Climate Action Plan. Street accommodations for bicyclists are among the least expensive and most beneficial street improvements possible. 2. Revise the City of Oakland's approach to the new California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines as they relate to the expedited implementation of the City's adopted Bicycle Master Plan. The California Natural Resources Agency has specifically stated that the new CEQA guidelines shift the focus from the capacity of the circulation system to the project's consistency with applicable plans and policies that establish objective measures of effectiveness. It's time to establish new measures of effectiveness of Oakland's roadway network and make it work for bicyclists and pedestrians. 3. Initiate a citywide marketing campaign to ensure all road users understand safe and proper road behavior -- particularly how motorists and bicyclists should legally and safely share the road. The following public agencies have already expressed similar interest: the Alameda County Department of Public Health, Alameda County Transportation Improvement Agency, and the City of Berkeley. 4. Work with the police department to enforce Vehicle Code 22517: "No person shall open the door of a vehicle on the side available to moving traffic unless it is reasonably safe to do so and can be done without interfering with the movement of such traffic, nor shall any person leave a door open on the side of a vehicle available to moving traffic for a period of time longer than necessary to load or unload passengers." 5. Recognize Erik Fitzpatrick, Pete Webster and the other bicycle riders who have been killed while riding in Oakland. Sincerely,

Delaware River Basin Commission 25 State Police Drive P.O. Box 7360 West Trenton, NJ 08628-0360 Dear Carol Collier and Delaware River Basin Commissioners, You have done a wonderful job in protecting our beautiful Delaware River watershed until now. Please carry out your mandate to protect clean water, for ecosystem health and for all residents, upstream and downstream. The Delaware River is now the #1 Most Endangered River in the United States due to the threat of gas drilling, according to American Rivers. The natural gas industry claims their technology is safe, but their record so far is terrible! BP said their technology was safe, too. We urge you to: 1. Immediately notify all drillers to cease operations related to exploratory wells 2. Include test or exploratory wells in your permitting process 3. Refuse the Stone Energy water withdrawal permit, and any subsequent withdrawals for fracking, until a cumulative environmental impact statement is assessed for this watershed 4. Refrain from issuing any drilling-related permits until the new EPA study on hydrofracking risks is complete, as well as the cumulative impact statement evaluated and understood. 5. Hold a hearing for those living in Philadelphia, Trenton, Camden, Chester, Wilmington, and other downstream communities which depend on a clean Delaware River for health and livelihoods. The DRBC loophole which allows exploratory wells to bring heavy, polluting industry into our watershed is dangerous, and must be closed. We've learned about the dangers of exploratory wells, with their skipped environmental impact statements, from the BP disaster. Given the devastating pollution incidents, contaminated drinking water, animal deaths, and obviously inadequate regulation in PA so far, we must call a halt to hydrofracking in the Delaware River watershed. The technology is too new, the disasters already too many, and the EPA study on the risk of hydrofracking is too far from done. Serious study is only just now beginning. Future generations are counting on us to protect clean water, climate, and biodiversity. Many scientists and economists are saying natural gas drilling is exactly the wrong path for our environment, our economy, and our clean energy future. Please consider the fact that downriver communities including Philadelphia, Chester, Wilmington, and Trenton never had a chance to attend a hearing near enough to allow meaningful participation. I respectfully request, and insist, that a hearing on hydrofracking and its potential impacts on our watershed be held in one or more of these downstream communities prior to your July 7th meeting. Thank you for your hard work! With your help, we will enjoy and protect the vital, life-filled Upper Delaware River, which helps keep the air and drinking water clean for all of us, upriver and downriver. Sincerely,

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Dear Warrington Township Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission, I am writing to let you know that I am opposed to the recent request by Teva Pharmaceuticals to rezone the Eureka land at the corner of Lower State Road and Limekiln Pike for the purposes of building a 1.5 million square foot shipping facility. This project wishes to change the 2006 Comprehensive Plan which is not what I was promised when I moved to this community. When you created the Comprehensive Plan, you asked an important question, "What kind of community do we want to create for our children?". Although this plan is merely a guide for your future decisions, it should not be changed in such an radical way to abandon the residents of this township. You committed in the Comprehensive Plan to "maintain natural and historic resources, minimize traffic impacts, minimize demands on public services, ensure capacity and integrity of water supply and wastewater treatment, and support site design that reflects the character of the township." With that in mind, your goal was to develop the Eureka area "in the form of a village with a mixture of small-scale commercial and residential uses". You are now faced with the decision to abide by your desire to create a community that offers "close-to-home opportunities for shopping, working and walking with tree-lined grid-pattern streets" or an industrial giant that pollutes our air, risks our safety and destroys the property values we have worked so hard to maintain. I implore you to vote no to the proposed rezone/change to our Comprehensive Plan and re-commit to the residents of this township the goal that was promised 4 years ago, to "manage community change (and) to protect community character."

We, friends of Bali and the beach, respectfully request that Legian stop cutting the waru (hibiscus tiliaceus)trees along the beach. These trees are an integral part of the beach environment, provide much needed shade ,and help clean the air. These trees give people a cool place to sit and relax, get a massage, or eat a bakso. They provide a place for children to play without getting sunburned. The trees also shade much of the road, making it pleasant place to walk or ride a bicycle. The waru trees provide a home for many singing birds and, more importantly, their large root systems help prevent erosion caused by high tides and big waves. We feel Bali needs more trees not less. Instead of cutting down the waru trees, please plant the coconut/palm trees between the waru trees, and plant more ketapang (sea almond, terminalia catappa) and camplung (a local tree of the genus calophyllum). The natural environment of the waru and the ketapang trees is the beach. They require very little care, other than a little water when young and a bit of trimming when they get big to keep a good shape. The coconuts seem to require more care when they are small and many do not survive. A beach lined with only coconut trees does not provide much shade and makes the beach area much hotter. Many tourists are afraid to sit under a coconut for fear that a coconut might fall on their heads. Standing on the beach, one can look from Kuta to Canggu and see many, many different green trees (waru, ketapang, camplung, mangroove, coconut, etc]. A mixed ecology of shade trees creates a wonderful cool, natural environment. One of the reasons that brings us to Bali is the island's lush and beautiful environment. An army of coconut trees lining the beach does not really look like Bali. It could be Mexico or Miami. It could be Dubai or any other tropical beach. We love the beach with many different kinds of trees! Please don't destroy this wonder. Keep the beach a cool, green, and pleasant place for everyone to enjoy! Thank you for your consideration, Friends of the Beach

I am writing to you today asking for you to please oppose the Methadone Accountability Package, which includes S.B. 1293, S.B. 1294 the Methadone Addiction Prevention and Treatment Act, S.B. 1376, S.B. 1377, S.B. 1378, S.B. 1382, S.B. 1383, and S.R. 348. This package of legislation would allow the state government to interfere in the length of addiction treatments that use methadone. It would interfere with the rights of doctors and patients to determine how long treatment is needed. It is not the place of the legislature to dictate how long a doctor may treat their patients. Methadone maintenance has proven efficacy in the treatment of opioid addiction and it is up to the doctor and patient to decide how long the treatment should last. Placing artificial limits on the length of addiction treatments using methadone is unproven and would result in many of the patients returning to the black market to illegally procure opioid drugs. This would cause an increase in crime and addiction. Please do not support this intrusive, unscientific, health care package of legislation. Petition Text: Whereas: Recently introduced legislation called the Methadone Accountability Package, S.B. 1293, S.B. 1294, S.B. 1376, S.B. 1377, S.B. 1378, S.B. 1382, S.B. 1383, and S.R. 348, would allow the state government to interfere in the length of addiction treatments that use methadone. Whereas: The Methadone Accountability Package would interfere with the rights of doctors and patients to determine how long treatment is needed and how treatment should be given. Whereas: We the undersigned believe allowing the state legislature to dictate how long a doctor may treat their patients is not the proper role of government. Whereas: Methadone maintenance has proven efficacy in the treatment of opioid addiction and, we the undersigned believe, should be left to the doctor and patient to decide how long the treatment should last. Whereas: Placing artificial limits on the length of addiction treatments using methadone is unproven and not backed by medical evidence. Whereas: The Methadone Accountability Package, by limiting the length of methadone therapy for use in addiction treatment, would cause an increase in crime and addiction. Many patients who would be prematurely forced off of methadone treatment may resort to illegally procuring opioid drugs on the black market. The relapsing addicts may also resort to crime to fund the large expense of maintaining an illicit opioid addiction. Therefore, we ask that you please do not support any of the legislation that is part of the Methadone Accountability Package, a truly intrusive, unscientific, health care bill.