Today's Hottest Petitions

Katy Grimes: I am on an email list for a left-leaning environmental organization called Care2.com, Inc., which is somehow tied to Al Gore’s enviro organization.  Care2 sends out the most insipid, whiny emails, including the one today, shilling for the State Parks Department and asking for readers to sign a petition “so California can keep its state parks open.”

“It’s scary to think that budget cuts and proposals from logging companies could threaten our most precious lands, but it’s true,” read the email from “Emily L.”

Emily L.’s email encouraged action. “We need to tell Governor-Elect Jerry Brown, loud and clear, that we want state parks preserved for generations. Sign the petition so California can keep its state parks open. »”

Apparently, even though California voters did not vote to approve Proposition 21 to add an $18 DMV fee/tax for state parks, that won’t stop the Care2 people. They claim that in order “to retain California’s brilliant state parks for generations,” we must sign a petition.

But the petition doesn’t say anything, nor does it state a clear purpose, other than (in bold), “Don’t let any state parks go extinct. Help keep the pressure on California’s new Governor to make sure California keeps its state parks open and healthy.”

They do however, identify the threats to state parks: “But numerous threats to our parks have come up in the past years, including budget cuts and logging proposals.” Hmmm. I thought that environmentalists already successfully rid the state of big logging companies.

If the subject of state parks doesn’t tickle your fancy, the Care2 website offers “free petitions” for anyone pushing a cause. Well, maybe not anyone… But if you want to support animal rights causes, save the wolf, thirsty bushmen, whales, Haitians, students, oceans, Buddhist relics, or just look at today’s hottest petitions, this is the website for you.

The website provides easy instructions on how to start a petition, “share with your friends, and change the world.”

Apparently the need to belong – to anything – defies any sense at all. There are 18,406 people who signed the “Don’t Swim While Bushmen Go Thirsty” petition. 53,763 people signed  on to the “Protect Wildlife Habitat From Climate Change” petition, but only four signatures are on the “Petition to get our class of 2011 senior t-shirts.” I just hope I don’t know one of these people.

At least the “petition to stop the discrimination of tattoos and piercings in the workplace,” sponsored by the Alliance of Tattooed or Pierced Professionals, has a purpose. The 107 people who have already signed the petition (and left unbelievable comments), think it has merit.

NOV. 19, 2010