White House to Consider Petitions With 5,000+

[conspiracybeliever]

The White House on Thursday announced a new way it will keep in touch with public concerns — by promising to consider online petitions that get at least 5,000 supporters.

The idea behind “We the People” — as the program will be called — is that anyone with an idea or cause can go to the White House website and make a public pitch for support.If the idea gets 5,000 backers within 30 days, said White House spokeswoman Sandra Abrevaya, a “working group of policy officials” will respond.

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[Sir Wearer of Hats]

HA!

I can get a five thousand vote petition to get the next series of Star Trek fully funded by the US government. Pointless PR exercise.

[+DieChecker]

Are they going to appoint people to these committees that already work for the Government, or is this an idea to "create jobs"? Either way, is it a waste of money? Taking busy Fed Employees and putting them on Sham committees, or hiring new people to put them on Sham committees? I suppose it is possible that real good ideas might come in. Probably the petition level should be raised to 100,000 or somesuch to eliminate totally crack head stupid ideas from getting committee time.

[MstrMsn]

Legalizing pot may be the number 1 issue that this new "program" gets, but it's a non issue. Obama has already stated he is not going to try to legalize it, we all know Congress won't. They decide to leave it to the people on a vote? There are more people that would be ok for decriminalizing a certain amount, than there are that are for total legalization. Besides, like decriminalization and medical pot, the Fed knows that is something that should be left to the individual states to decide.

[WoIverine]

Ha! Sign up to waste your time, or possibly be listed somewhere as a dissident, go ahead. I doubt marajuana will ever be legalized since it can't be fully regulated and then taxed. People grow it in their backyards, sell it for cash, then that's it. There's no financial gain involved for the powers that be.

Edited September 4, 2011 by Spid3rCyd3

[lightly]

I think it's a good idea. It's input from citizens , as opposed to other input.

[+DieChecker]

Maybe we should put in requests to change the Constitution to make Fundamentalist Christianity, or maybe Mormonism, or Scientology as the official State relgion. I'm sure any of those could get 5000 signatures. Maybe set up a petition so that no one can go to jail for more then 30 days. Maybe set up a petition to spend 1/2 the GDP on warp drive engine developement. Maybe a petition to require that teachers work for apples. Maybe a petition to kill all cats and require people to only own dogs. Maybe a petition to add a law to require people to brush their teeth.

You see.... Idiotic. Any one of those things could get 5000 signatures, easily. How many kooks do you think there are out there? Answer... hundreds of thousands. And each petition is going to get people assigned to it to investigate the proposal. Even 5 minutes is a waste on many of the things that will be proposed.

Think of the things Rush Limbagh, or Ophrah Winfrey, or Tom Cruise could suggest to their crazed fan base and get looked at to be made into REAL LAWS.

Edited September 4, 2011 by DieChecker

[WoIverine]

And people say the government doesn't create jobs. There's one or two right there.

[Harte]

I'll sign the Star Trek petition.

Harte

[WoIverine]

I'll sign the Star Trek petition.

Harte

If they throw in a couple of Orion Slave Girls, sign me up too.

[The Silver Thong]

I'll sign the Star Trek petition.

Harte

So would I but it does nothing to lower prison pops nor crime. Legalizing pot would and I don`t even smoke the stuff.

Obama will never make it legal as it`s a hot potato he won`t touch. To bad really.

Edited September 5, 2011 by The Silver Thong

[MissMelsWell]

I think an ambitious lawyer could take on the issue. It wouldnt take them long to prove that pot is erroneously on the schedule I narcotic list. It shouldnt be there by the government's own definition of what is required for a drug to be classified that way. It's not a matter of "legalizing" it... it's matter of getting it off the Schedule I list. Once it's off that list, then the states can decide what they want to do with it.

[lightly]

I still think it's a good idea. It wouldn't have to be a full time committee . It could be a committee of three... meeting once a month to read the titles of the petitions.. consider them.. and trash about 99% of them in a matter of minutes ? If an idea deserves further consideration.. do so.

I just like the idea of citizens expressing their views.

*... Maybe make it a committee rule that If the same basic idea comes up over and over , a certain number of times or equaling a certain number of signatures, that idea must be forwarded to the appropriate house committee for further consideration?

Edited September 5, 2011 by lightly

[conspiracybeliever]

I think it is a good idea. Whether it would change anything I question. It would probably end up like everything else. Highest bidder wins.

[SilverCougar]

Given that marijuana is being shown to be all sorts of beneficial..

Along with how the pharmcos' are going to do the same BS they do to every drug.. *sighs* Sometimes I hate how "If corporations can't control it, make it illegal" mentality is in this country.

[lightly]

medical-cannabis-works[/b]-and-how-big-pharma-is-planning-to-cash-in-on-it/"]Given that marijuana is being shown to be all sorts of beneficial..

Along with how the pharmcos' are going to do the same BS they do to every drug.. *sighs* Sometimes I hate how "If corporations can't control it, make it illegal" mentality is in this country.

I couldn't watch the video but i noticed the line about Big Pharma planning to cash in . I have suspected that from the beginning of the Medical MaryJane phenomena.

I think it's a planned campaign to de demonize Pot , after all the misinformation and hype through the years, designed to change public opinion. Once a majority of the public seems ready to accept the idea, (or sooner, because of the huge amounts of money to be made), you will suddenly hear Politicians wailing about public safety , and that the production of MM needs to be FEDERALLY REGULATED. Then Big Pharma will step in to provide Safe MM. Of course it will be so ridiculously overpriced that a healthy black market will continue to flourish so.. no one will be left out. Not the legally organized criminals ,or, the illegally organized criminals!

Private production will be , once more, probably be completely illegal ? Leaving hundreds of thousands of , now legal, growers ripe and ready for picking , at leisure, by the justice system ? Big money drags this government around by it's nose. It's pathetic.

I hope i'm completely wrong and they just decriminalize it and forget about it.. but, with such huge amounts of money + tax to be made.. i doubt it.

[SilverCougar]

I couldn't watch the video but i noticed the line about Big Pharma planning to cash in . I have suspected that from the beginning of the Medical MaryJane phenomena.

I think it's a planned campaign to de demonize Pot , after all the misinformation and hype through the years, designed to change public opinion. Once a majority of the public seems ready to accept the idea, (or sooner, because of the huge amounts of money to be made), you will suddenly hear Politicians wailing about public safety , and that the production of MM needs to be FEDERALLY REGULATED. Then Big Pharma will step in to provide Safe MM. Of course it will be so ridiculously overpriced that a healthy black market will continue to flourish so.. no one will be left out. Not the legally organized criminals ,or, the illegally organized criminals!

Private production will be , once more, probably be completely illegal ? Leaving hundreds of thousands of , now legal, growers ripe and ready for picking , at leisure, by the justice system ? Big money drags this government around by it's nose. It's pathetic.

I hope i'm completely wrong and they just decriminalize it and forget about it.. but, with such huge amounts of money + tax to be made.. i doubt it.

Possibly. I did read somewhere else (and I need to find it again) that the DEA or FDA (one of those two) say they will not allow pot to be legalized because of how many people are addicted to and abuse prescribed pain killers like percs and vicodin.. It makes *NO* sense what so ever.

Found it!

Edited September 6, 2011 by SilverCougar

[Harte]

So would I but it does nothing to lower prison pops nor crime. Legalizing pot would and I don`t even smoke the stuff.

Obama will never make it legal as it`s a hot potato he won`t touch. To bad really.

I agree with all of the above.

There are so many hot potatoes. Some of them are extra hot here at U-M.

We all know something has to be done about entitlements, for example.

Ouch.

Harte