A Failure to Prioritize - the Never-Ending Birth Certificate Issue 

Is this issue more important than coming up with new ideas on how to house the homeless, develop energy independence, protect our borders from terrorists, provide jobs for unemployed workers, etc, etc...? I think whoever is behind this campaign has expressed their only idea sufficiently for the rest of us to know it's important to them. Now if they only had one or two new solutions for more important problems....

Support a 72-Hour Mandatory Public Review Period on Major Spending Bills 

In effort to help eliminate billions of dollars in wasteful spending, I recently announced my support for a 72-hour mandatory minimum public review period on all major spending bills brought before Congress. This 72-hour review proposal, which would help to prevent taxpayer-funded outrages such as the empty “Airport for No One” in the congressional district of Democratic Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) and huge bonuses for AIG executives, is a reform proposal that been advocated by nonpartisan organizations such as the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a coalition of reform-minded state legislators, and the pro-transparency Sunlight Foundation.

If the Administration chose to support such a review, and follow through on its own promise to allow for five days of public comment on all bills before signing, it would represent a good first step toward greater transparency and accountability in government spending.

Find more information at http://gopleader.gov

Remove Marijuana from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act 

Dear Mr. President,

Please direct the DEA to remove marijuana from Schedule I and correctly classify it under the definitions that the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) provides. You said in your press conference (after you released the ban on federal funds for stem-cell research) that you believed that science should dictate policy not politics and I respectfully request that you follow through with this pledge even on something so politically toxic as marijuana.

Schedule I of the CSA specifically states that in order to be placed in this schedule I that the substance in question must have "no accepted medical use for treatment in the United States." Well... as of 1996 there are states that have accepted the medicinal uses of marijuana for treatment. Currently there are 13 states that have ACCEPTED the medical use for treatment therefore the current scheduling goes against the definition that was put into place.

In 1970, when the CSA was established there were NO accepted uses for treatment in the US, so the initial scheduling was correct. In 1988, when Administrative Law Judge Francis Young ruled that the DEA was required to reclassify marijuana there again were no states that had accepted the use for treatment and therefore the DEA had due cause to ignore the recommendation. But after California ACCEPTED the medical use for treatment in 1996 the Scheduel I classification became incorrect soley based on the definition.

Why does the Federal Government currently provide Medical Marijuana to 4 citizens of the United States for treatment of their illnesses while upholding the classification under "no medical use for treatment"? Isn't this a little hypocritical???

Legalize Marijuana And Solve Many Tax Issues / Prison Issues 

To legalize marijuana would mean an end to the billions of wasted dollars fighting this "war on drugs". A war, that anyone who grew up in America and went to public schools, saw first hand was lost. Imagine taxation on an herb that has many positive potentials. It can be used to make food, clothes, rope, and hell, even money. To make it illegal costs far more money and it cuts out many potential benefits from it's legalization. Even dependency on cotton would be a thing of the past. So we should vote to end this prohibition, and give people their freedom back, a freedom removed roughly 90 years ago now. We could tax and control it much in the same way Alcohol is controlled. The mobsters lost their power in the 1930's when alcohol was legalized, so let's do the same to the Mexican cartels, the modern mobsters. Hemp For Victory!

A Rite of Passage? 

Over the last several months, Barrack Obama’s origin of birth has come under much scrutiny due discrepancies concerning the authenticity of his birth certificate. Israel Insider and expert analyst working under the pseudonym Techdude (The individual has chosen to work under a pseudonym now due to threats since his findings – including the vandalizing of his car and the hanging of a mutilated rabbit on his front door. His report includes 20 pages with 3000 words and detailed magnifications of the forgery) have concluded that the birth certificate produced is a fraud of one that actually belongs to his sister, Maya Kassandra Soetoro.
So what’s the big deal? According to the constitution of the United States, under Article II, Section 1, no person except a natural born citizen can be eligible to the office of president.
So this birth certificate thing is pretty important. You’re telling me….
My wife and I are currently in the draining process of assisting her English parents in their emigration to the great state of Texas for their retirement years. It has been a nightmare. Her parents are in their 70’s and have no criminal record. Her father was honorably discharged from the Royal Marines. He worked for the American company Brown and Root for many years and is now employed with Canon. Her mother has served as a nurse and retired recently. Their daughter and I have been married for 24 years and they have traveled back and forth to the states both on business and family time. Their visas were always in order.
It would seem to be an open and shut case for emigrating. Not.
The requirements have been phenomenal. We have had to file a massive amount of paperwork in triplicate (and in some cases, even more) and multiple expensive fees. Additionally, because my father in law militarily served in Singapore for a stint, he had to produce a police report from Singapore stating that he had no prior criminal record there.
Then came all of our paperwork as their ‘sponsors’. This included several certified copies of marriage and birth certificates.
That’s right – birth certificates. And they had to be genuine or otherwise you would risk losing any chance of the whole process. The whole application would be canned if you offered anything remotely suspicious or especially fraudulent.
As I was discussing the issue of Obama’s questionable birth certificate with my wife Natalie, she brought up how our family has been through the legal ringer trying to get a couple of senior citizens who have spent their lives obeying the law, positively contributing to society, who want to bring their retirement funds, and live their last days here in America.
And all that’s required to be president of the United States of America is to produce a certified legal birth certificate (NOT A COPY OR SHORT FORM - neither were acceptable for fur us to use!) that one is indeed a citizen.
If we have to do it, so do you Mr. Obama. All you have to do to quell the nay-sayers is produce the goods. It’s time to ante up – or is that too much to ask from a genuine presidential candidate / elected?

End Imperial Presidency 

Leave the White House less imperial than you found it. Appoint an independent prosecutor to prosecute Bush, Cheney, and their top officials in order to deter in the future the crimes of aggressive war, misleading congress, defrauding congress, misspending funds, war crimes, murder, warrantless spying, torture, domestic propaganda, violations of the Hatch Act and the Voting Rights Act, obstruction of justice, misprision of felony, retaliating against whistleblowers, etc. Restore to Congress the power to legislate, the power to begin and end wars, the power to raise and spend money, the power to approve or reject treaties and appointments, and the power to oversee the functioning of the federal government including through the power of impeachment and the power of inherent contempt. That means no more signing statements rewriting laws, and instead support for legislation that would criminalize such behavior. And it means similar action on each of the other offenses.

We, the people, must:

Demand that Congress ban the use of funds for any activities created in violation of the law by presidential signing statements.

Amend the Constitution to clearly ban the use of presidential pardons to pardon crimes authorized by the president.

Amend the War Powers Act and the Constition to include the requirement that Congressional authorizations of war include time limits of no more than 12 months, after which Congress must vote again to extend the war or end it, to disallow the unconstitutional initiation of wars without Congressional approval, and to make the law enforceable.

Make war profiteering by any war maker a major felony. This would apply to any employee of the federal government or anyone who had within the past decade been an employee of the federal government.

Legislate a requirement that, in any war, the military aged children and grandchildren of the president, the vice president, all cabinet officials, and all Congress members serve on the front lines in the most dangerous combat positions -- no exceptions, no exemptions.

Prohibit the use of mercenaries or any armed contractors, as well as the use of any military force on American soil except when directly engaged in defensive war against a foreign nation.

Repeal the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005, the Military Commissions Act of 2006, the 2008 FISA Amendments Act, the Protect America Act, the original Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, and the PATRIOT Act.

Ban secret budgets, secret laws, and secret agencies.

Change the Senate rules to eliminate the filibuster.

Create a task force to research whether the Senate has ever served any useful purpose not better served by the House.

End all rendition, as distinct from extradition.

Amend the Constitution to make the ban on ex-post-facto laws include any laws that would retroactively grant immunity for crimes.

Amend the Constitution to bar the vice president from exercising executive power.

Amend the Constitution to clarify the congressional power of inherent contempt.

Amend the Constitution to include the right to vote and to have one's vote counted publicly at the polling place.

Give Washington, D.C., full voting representation in Congress.

Amend the Constitution to ban private financing of campaigns, create public financing, and provide free air time to candidates.

Sign and ratify the Rome treaty to join the International Criminal Court.

*****

OPTIONAL PART 2 OF THIS PROPOSAL - Drafted and withheld at first, posted May 29th in response to useful comments from ttahiti and many others posted below.

Release more evidence, and support organizations suing in court for the release of evidence.

Ask Congress to update and reissue the subpoenas that were refused during the 110th Congress, and to enforce them through inherent contempt.

Support media reform and independent media outlets. Break up the monopolies. Invest in public media, including an E-Span election network to provide free substantive election coverage.

Advance a long-term vision in which the corrupting influences of money, media, and party are restrained, and our rights are restored, enforced, and expanded, including the right to vote and to have our votes counted publicly and locally, equal rights for all, environmental rights, the right to education and healthcare, worker rights, the right to basic welfare, freedom of press, freedom from war lies, and the right to know your rights.

Push for approval, ratification, and enforcement of international human rights treaties. Build toward Constitutional amendments or a convention with a plan to establish the right to know the laws and to have them applied equally, a ban on signing statements, whistleblowers protected, inherent contempt established, corporations stripped of human rights, monopolies restricted, clean campaign money and free media created, the power of parties reduced, nonpartisan (not bipartisan) redistricting, limiting election seasons, no more electoral college, a bigger House with no Senate, the right to be represented, no appointing of senators, limiting terms for judges, requiring a balanced budget, limiting bills to single topics and requiring clarity, allowing legislation by public initiative, allowing recall elections, creating citizen assemblies, and developing a fourth (people's) branch of government.

Stop the "War on Drugs" 

The “War on Drugs” is a war on us, the American people. 30% of Americans use or have used illicit drugs. Those who are prosecuted and imprisoned, however, are by far and away the poor, the disabled, the disenfranchised, the Black and Hispanic, the men in our communities, who cannot parent their children because they are in prison, who will be denied forever the right to vote because they went to prison. The last President of the United States never denied that he used illegal drugs. Hard drugs. Was he prosecuted? Of course not. Was he imprisoned? Don’t be silly. Was he denied the right to vote, or to contribute to society? Was he denied the ability to raise his children? Of course not. Has the “War on Drugs” created a “drug-free” society? No. Has it kept drugs from the reach of our youngsters? Not remotely. Drugs are everywhere, as available as they have ever been. It has, however, created a society in which young Black men in America are far more likely to go to prison than to college. A society in which drugs and violence are on every corner. In which the police are powerless to do their job and have declared war on our communities and our children as a consequence. IN WHICH OUR CHILDREN HAVE MORE TO FEAR FROM THE POLICE THAN FROM GANGS AND DRUG DEALERS. The “War on Drugs” is killing us. The “War on Drugs” is a war on us. STOP THE WAR ON DRUGS.

TAKE BACK THE POWER TO CREATE MONEY FROM THE PRIVATE BANKING INDUSTRY 

The Constitution states, “Congress shall have the power to coin money and regulate the value thereof.” This power has been abdicated to private bankers. Today, 99.99% of our money is created by private banks when they make loans. This includes the Federal Reserve, a private banking corporation, which orders Federal Reserve Notes to be printed, and then lends them to the U.S. government. Only coins are actually created by the government itself. Coins compose only about 1-10,000th of the M3 money supply, and Federal Reserve Notes compose about 3% of it. All of the rest is created by banks as loans, something they do by simply writing numbers into accounts.

Congress could take back the power to create the national money supply by:
(a) Nationalizing the Federal Reserve.
(b) Reviving the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, a government-owned lending facility used by Roosevelt to fund the New Deal. Rather than merely recycling borrowed money as Roosevelt did, however, the RFC could actually create credit on its books, in the same way that banks do it today, by fanning its capital base into many times that sum in loans. Assuming $300 billion is left of the TARP money approved by Congress last fall, this money could be deposited into the RFC and leveraged into $3 trillion in loans. That’s based on a 10% reserve requirement. If the money were counted as capital, at an 8% capital requirement it could be leveraged into 12.5 times the original sum. That would be enough to fund not only President Obama’s stimulus package but many other programs that are desperately short of funding now.

Many references are available which will be furnished on request. See generally www.webofdebt.com/articles.

Encourage State and Local Governments to Become More Open and Inclusive 

President Obama’s historic commitment to open government has inspired people across the country with a renewed belief that government can and should be transparent, participatory and collaborative. In Seattle, WA, the City Council has formed an Open Government Committee to explore and recommend ways to improve citizens’ access to public documents and seek more diverse community input on issues affecting the city in advance of legislative action. In Owensboro, KY, citizens have signed an Open Government Pledge and asked local government leaders to adopt a set of principles committing to more transparent and participatory practices.

As President Obama develops and implements his Open Government Directive, he should support local governments in doing the same by offering guidance for the steps that cities, towns and counties can take to become more transparent, participatory and collaborative. The President should convene mayors, city administrators, city council members, county executives and county commissioners who have distinguished themselves for their commitment to open government principles. This Local Open Government Commission would pursue the following objectives:

1. Develop a set of Open Government Principles that may be adopted by local governments

2. Develop a set of Open Government Best Practices in the areas of Transparency, Participation, and Collaboration

3. Develop an Open Government Seal of Approval that may be awarded to those local governments that demonstrate a commitment to open government principles by adopting the best practices described above

4. Create a program to recognize local leaders for excellence in open government

Federal Whistleblower Protection  

292 Organizations and Corporations Support Swift Action to Restore Strong, Comprehensive Whistleblower Rights

May 14, 2009

An Open Letter to President Obama and Members of Congress

The undersigned organizations and corporations write to support the completion of the landmark, nine-year legislative effort to restore credible whistleblower rights for government employees. We offer our support to expeditiously pass legislation that includes the critical reforms listed below. Whistleblower protection is a foundation for any change in which the public can believe. It does not matter whether the issue is economic recovery, prescription drug safety, environmental protection, infrastructure spending, national health insurance, or foreign policy. We need conscientious public servants willing and able to call attention to waste, fraud and abuse on behalf of the taxpayers.

Unfortunately, every month that passes has very tangible consequences for federal government whistleblowers, because none have viable rights. Last year, on average, 16 whistleblowers a month lost initial decisions from administrative hearings at the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). Since 2000, only three out of 53 whistleblowers have received final rulings in their favor from the MSPB. The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, the only court which can hear federal whistleblower appeals of administrative decisions, has consistently ruled against whistleblowers, with whistleblowers winning only three cases out of 209 since October 1994 when Congress last strengthened the law.

It is crucial that Congress restore and modernize the Whistleblower Protection Act by passing all of the following reforms:

• Grant employees the right to a jury trial in federal court;
• Extend meaningful protections to FBI and intelligence agency whistleblowers;
• Strengthen protections for federal contractors, as strong as those provided to DoD contractors and grantees in last year’s defense authorization legislation;
• Extend meaningful protections to Transportation Security Officers (screeners);
• Neutralize the government’s use of the “state secrets” privilege;
• Bar the MSPB from ruling for an agency before whistleblowers have the opportunity to present evidence of retaliation;
• Provide whistleblowers the right to be made whole, including compensatory damages;
• Grant comparable due process rights to employees who blow the whistle in the course of a government investigation or who refuse to violate the law; and
• Remove the Federal Circuit’s monopoly on precedent-setting cases.

We know you share the commitment of every group signing the letter below to more transparency and accountability in government. Please let us know how we can participate to make this good government reform law to protect federal whistleblowers and taxpayers.


Sincerely,


Marcel Reid, Chair
ACORN 8

Adele Kushner, Executive Director
Action for a Clean Environment

David Swanson, co-founder
AfterDowningStreet

Pamela Miller, Director
Alaska Community Action on Toxics

Dan Lawn, President
Alaska Forum on Environmental Responsibility

Cindy Shogun, Executive Director
Alaska Wilderness League

Ruth Caplan
Alliance for Democracy

Susan Gordon, Director
Alliance for Nuclear Accountability

Rochelle Becker, Executive Director
Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility

Gil Mileikowsky, M.D.
Alliance for Patient Safety

Linda Lipsen, Senior Vice President for Public Affairs
American Association for Justice (AAJ)

Mary Alice Baish, Director, Government Relations Office
American Association of Law Libraries

F. Patricia Callahan, President and General Counsel
American Association of Small Property Owners

John W. Curtis, Ph.D., Director of Research and Public Policy
American Association of University Professors

Christopher Finan, president
American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression

Caroline Fredrickson, Director, Washington Legislative Office
American Civil Liberties Union

Michael D. Ostrolenk
American Conservative Defense Alliance

Dr. Paul Connett, Executive Director
American Environmental Health Studies Project, Inc.

John Gage, National President
American Federation of Government Employees

Charles M. Loveless, Director of Legislation
American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME)

Mary Ellen McNish, General Secretary
American Friends Service Committee

Caitlin Love Hills, National Forest Program Director
American Lands Alliance

Jessica McGilvray, Assistant Director
American Library Association

Tom DeWeese, President
American Policy Center

Alexandra Owens, Executive Director
American Society of Journalists and Authors

Charlotte Hall, President
American Society of Newspaper Editors

Patricia Schroeder, President and CEO
Association of American Publishers

Prudence Adler, Associate Executive Director
Association of Research Libraries

Ms. Bobbie Paul, Executive Director
Atlanta WAND (Women's Action for New Directions)

Samuel H. Sage, President
Atlantic States Legal Foundation, Inc.

Jay Stewart, Executive Director
Better Government Association

Jay Feldman, Executive Director
Beyond Pesticides

Matthew Fogg, First Vice-President
Blacks in Government

Chip Pitts, President
Bill of Rights Defense Committee

Diane Wilson, President
Calhoun County Resource Watch

Jane Williams, Executive Director
California Communities Against Toxics

Peter Scheer, Executive Director
California First Amendment Association

Terry Franke, Executive Director
Californians Aware

Reece Rushing, Director of Regulatory and Information Policy
Center for American Progress

William Snape, Senior Counsel
Center for Biological Diversity

Charlie Cray, Director
Center for Corporate Policy

Gregory T. Nojeim, Senior Counsel and
Director, Project on Freedom, Security & Technology
Center for Democracy and Technology

J. Bradley Jansen, Director
Center for Financial Privacy and Human Rights

Joseph Mendelson III, Legal Director
Center for Food Safety

Paul Kurtz, Chairman
Center for Inquiry

Robert E. White, President
Center for International Policy

Lawrence S. Ottinger, President
Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest

Merrill Goozner, Director
Integrity in Science
Center for Science in the Public Interest

John Richard
Center for Study of Responsive Law

Linda Lazarus, Director
Center to Advance Human Potential

Craig Williams, Director
Chemical Weapons Working Group & Common Ground

Phil Fornaci, Counselor
C.H.O.I.C.E.S.

Leonard Akers
Citizens Against Incineration at Newport

Evelyn M. Hurwich, President and Chair
Circumpolar Conservation Union

David B. McCoy, Executive Director
Citizen Action New Mexico

Doug Bandow, Vice President for Policy
Citizen Outreach

Deb Katz, Executive Director
Citizens Awareness Network

Barbara Warren, Executive Director
Citizens' Environmental Coalition

Elaine Cimino
Citizens for Environmental Safeguards

James Turner, Chairman of the Board
Citizens for Health

Michael McCormack, Executive Director
Citizens for Health Educational Foundation

Gerard Beloin
Citizens for Judicial Reform

Laura Olah, Executive Director
Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger

Anne Hemenway, Treasurer
Citizen's Vote, Inc.

Rick Piltz
Climate Science Watch

John Judge
Coalition on Political Assassinations
9/11 Research Project

Zena Crenshaw, 2nd Vice-Chair
3.5.7 Commission on Judicial Reform

Sarah Dufendach, Vice President for Legislative Affairs
Common Cause

Greg Smith, Co-Founder
Community Research

Clarissa Duran, Director
Community Service Organization del Norte

Neil Cohen, Publisher
Computer Law Reporter, Inc.

Joni Arends, Executive Director
Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety

Lokesh Vuyyuru, MD, Founder
Concerned Citizens of Petersburg

Daniel Hirsch, Member, Executive Committee
Concerned Foreign Service Officers

Matthew Fogg, President
Congress Against Racism & Corruption in Law Enforcement (CARCLE)

Linda Sherry, Director of National Priorities
Consumer Action

Ellen Bloom, Director of Federal Policy
Ami Gadhia, Policy Counsel
Consumers Union

Bob Shavelson, Director
Cook Inlet Keeper

Neil Takemoto, Director
CoolTown Betta Communities

Tonya Hennessey, Project Director
CorpWatch

Louis Wolf, Co-Founder
CovertAction Quarterly

John Issacs, Executive Director
Council for a Livable World

Anne Weismann, Chief Counsel
CREW, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington

Cathy Harris, Founder, Executive Director
Customs Employees Against Discrimination Association

Miho Kim, Executive Director
DataCenter

Mary Elizabeth Beetham, Director of Legislative Affairs
Defenders of Wildlife

Sue Udry, Director
Defending Dissent Foundation

Bob Fertik, President
Democrats.com

Paul E. Almeida, President
Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO

Courtney Dillard, Founder
Dillard-Winecoff Boutique Hotel

Ben Smilowitz, Director
Disaster Accountability Project

Dr. Patrick Campbell
Doctors against Fraud

Dr. Disamodha Amarasinghe
Doctors for National Healthcare

James J. Murtagh, Jr., President
Doctors for Open Government

Dr. John Raviotta
Doctors for Reform of JCAHO

Marco Simons, Legal Director
EarthRights International

Bruce Baizel, Senior Staff Attorney
Earthworks

Larry Chang, Founder
EcolocityDC

Thea Harvey, Executive Director
Economists for Peace and Security

Lisa Walker, Executive Director
Education Writers Association

Mike Ewoll, Founder and Director
Energy Justice Network

Gregory Hile
EnviroJustice

Chuck Broscious, President
Environmental Defense Institute

Carol Werner
Environmental and Energy Study Institute

Judith Robinson, Director of Programs
Environmental Health Fund

Eric Shaeffer, Executive Director
Environmental Integrity Project

Peter Montague, Ph.D, Director
Environmental Research Foundation

Jason Zuckerman
The Employment Law Group

Rob Weissman
Essential Information

George Anderson
Ethics in Government Group (EGG)

Bob Cooper
Evergreen Public Affairs

Gabe Bruno
FAA Whistleblowers Alliance

Robert Richie, Executive Director
FairVote

Janet Kopenhaver, Washington Representative
Federally Employed Women (FEW)

Steven Aftergood, Project Director
Federation of American Scientists

Marilyn Fitterman, Vice President
Feminists for Free Expression

Ellen Donnett, Administrative Director
Fluoride Action Network

Andrew D. Jackson
Focus-On-Indiana for Judicial Reform

Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director
Food and Water Watch

Bob Darby, Coordinator
Food Not Bombs/Atlanta

Andy Stahl
Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics (FSEEE)

Tom Ferguson
Foundation for Global Community/Atlanta

Ruth Flower, Legislative Director
Friends Committee on National Legislation (Quakers)

Brent Blackwelder, President
Friends of the Earth

Conrad Martin, Executive Director
Fund for Constitutional Government

Gail Naftalin, Owner
Gail’s Vegetarian Catering

Karyn Jones, Director
G.A.S.P

Gwen Marshall, Co-Chairman
Georgians for Open Government

Neil Tangri
Global Anti-Incinerator Alliance

Denny Larson, Executive Director
Global Community Monitor

Reede Stockton
Global Exchange

Paul F. Walker, Ph.D., Legacy Program Director
Global Green USA
(The US Affiliate of Green Cross International, Mikhail Gorbachev, Chairman)

Bill Owens, President
The Glynn Environmental Coalition

Tom Devine, legal director
Government Accountability Project

Bill Hedden, Executive Director
Grand Canyon Trust

Molly Johnson, Area Coordinator
Grandmothers for Peace, San Luis Obispo County Chapter

Alexis Baden-Mayer
Grassroots Netroots Alliance

Luci Murphy
Gray Panthers of Metropolitan Washington

Alan Muller
Green Delaware

Jenefer Ellingston
Green Party of the United States

Tracy Frisch
Greenwich Citizens Committee

James C. Turner, Executive Director
HALT, Inc. -- An Organization of Americans for Legal Reform

Tom Carpenter, Executive Director
Hanford Challenge

Arthur S. Shoor, President
Healthcare Consultants

Helen Salisbury, M.D.
Health Integrity Project

Vanessa Pierce, Executive Director
Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah (HEAL Utah)

Gerry Pollet
Heart of America Northwest

Ernie Reed, Council Chair
Heartwood

Liz Havstad, Chief of Staff
Hip Hop Caucus

Doug Tjapkes, President
Humanity for Prisoners

Keith Robinson, Interim President
Indiana Coalition for Open Government

Scott Armstrong, Executive Director
Information Trust

Arjun Makhijani, Ph.D., President
Institute for Energy and Environmental Research

Brenda Platt, Co-Director
Institute for Local Self-Reliance

Donald Soeken, President
Integrity International

Michael McCray, Esq., Co-Chair
International Association of Whistleblowers

Mory Atashkar, Vice President
Iranian American Democratic Association

Mark S. Zaid
James Madison Project

John Metz, Executive Director
JustHealth

Brett Kimberlin, Director
Justice Through Music

Elizabeth Crowe, Director
Kentucky Environmental Foundation

Tom FitzGerald, Director
Kentucky Resources Council, Inc.

Kit Wood, Owner
Kit’s Catering

James Love
Knowledge Ecology International

Josephine Carol Cicchini
LeapforPatientSafety

Jonathon Moseley, Executive Director
Legal Affairs Council

James Plummer
Liberty Coalition

Greg Mello, Executive Director
Los Alamos Study Group

Dr. Janette Parker
Medical Whistleblower

Ayize Sabater, Organizer
Mentors of Minorities in Education's Total Learning Cic-Tem

Jill McElheney, Founder
Micah's Mission
Ministry to Improve Childhood & Adolescent Health

Ellen Smith, Owner and Managing Editor
Mine Safety and Health News

Mary Treacy, Executive Director
The Minnesota Coalition on Government Information

Helen Haskell
Mothers Against Medical Error

Mark Cohn, President
MPD Productions, Inc.

James Landrith, Founder
The Multiracial Activist

Larry Fisher, Founder
National Accountant Whistleblower Coalition

Tinsley H. Davis, Executive Director
National Association of Science Writers

Jim L. Jorgenson, Deputy Executive Director
National Association of Treasury Agents

Dominick DellaSala, Ph.D., Executive Director of Programs and Chief Scientist
National Center for Conservation Science & Policy

Joan E. Bertin, Esq., Executive Director
National Coalition Against Censorship

Eileen Dannemann, Director
National Coalition of Organized Women

Russell Hemenway, President
National Committee for an Effective Congress

Sally Greenberg, Executive Director
National Consumers League

Terisa E. Chaw, Executive Director
National Employment Lawyers Association

Andrew Jackson
National Judicial Conduct and Disability Law Project, Inc.

Kim Gandy, President
National Organization for Women

Paul Brown, Government Relations Manager
National Research Center for Women & Families

Sibel Edmonds, President and Founder
National Security Whistleblowers Coalition

Pete Sepp, Vice President for Policy & Communications
National Taxpayers Union

Colleen M. Kelley, National President
National Treasury Employees Union

Steve Kohn, President
National Whistleblower Center

Amy Allina
National Women's Health Network

Lewis Maltby, President
National Workrights Institute

Terrie Smith, Director
National Nuclear Workers For Justice

Tim Hermach, President
Native Forest Council

Doug Kagan, Chairman
Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom

Sr. Simone Campbell, SSS, Executive Director
NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby

Ron Marshall, Chairman
New Grady Coalition

Rick Engler, Director
New Jersey Work Environment Council

Douglas Meiklejohn, J.D., Executive Director
New Mexico Environmental Law Center

Caroline Heldman Ph.D., Director
New Orleans Women’s Shelter

Marsha Coleman-Abedayo, Chair
No FEAR Coalition

Nina Bell, J.D., Executive Director
Northwest Environmental Advocates

Alice Slater, Director
Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, New York

David A. Kraft, Director
Nuclear Energy Information Service (NEIS)

Michael Mariotte, Executive Director
Nuclear Information and Resource Service

Jay Coghlan, Executive Director
Nuclear Watch New Mexico

Gwen Lachelt, Executive Director
Oil & Gas Accountability Project

Sean Moulton, Director, Federal Information Policy
OMB Watch

Nikuak Rai, Arts Director
One Common Unity

Rob Kall
Op Ed News

Patrice McDermott, Executive Director
OpenTheGovernment.org

Paul Loney, President
Oregon Wildlife Federation

Ellen Paul, Executive Director
The Ornithological Council

Joe Carson, Chair
P. Jeffrey Black, Co-Chair
OSC Watch Steering Committee

Judy Norsigian, Executive Director
Our Bodies Ourselves

Betsy Combier, President and Editor
Parentadvocates.org

Ashley Katz, MSW, Executive Director
Patient Privacy Rights

Blake Moore
Patient Quality Care Project

Dianne Parker
Patient Safety Advocates

Former Special Agent Darlene Fitzgerald
Patrick Henry Center

Paul Kawika Martin, Organizing, Political and PAC Director
Peace Action & Peace Action Education Fund

Bennett Haselton, Founder
Peacefire.org

Rev. Paul Alexander, Ph.D., Director
Pentecostals & Charismatics for Peace & Justice

Michael McCally, MD, PhD, Executive Director
Physicians for Social Responsibility

Dale Nathan, J.D., President
POPULAR, Inc.

Vina Colley, President
Portsmouth/Piketon Residents for Environmental Safety and Security (PRESS)

David Banisar, Director, FOI Project
Privacy International

Evan Hendricks, Editor/Publisher
Privacy Times

Robert Bulmash, President
Private Citizen, Inc.

Ronald J Riley, President
Professional Inventor's Alliance

Dr. Paul Lapides
Professors for Integrity

Tim Carpenter, Director
Progressive Democrats of America

Danielle Brian, Executive Director
Project On Government Oversight

Ellen Thomas, Executive Director
Proposition One Committee

David Arkush, Director, Congress Watch
Public Citizen

Jeff Ruch, Executive Director
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility

Robert L. FitzPatrick, President
Pyramid Scheme Alert

Dr. Diana Post, President
Rachel Carson Council, Inc.

Lucy A. Dalglish, Executive Director
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

Kirsten Moore, President and CEO
Reproductive Health Technologies Project

Tim Little, Executive Director
Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment

John W. Whitehead, president
The Rutherford Institute

Adrienne Anderson, Coordinator
Safe Water Colorado and Nuclear Nexus Projects
Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center
(Whistleblower Anderson v Metro Wastewater)

Angela Smith, Coordinator
Seattle Healthy Environment Alliance (Seattle HEAL)

Dr. Blake Moore, President
The Semmelweis Society International (SSI)

Rufus Kinney
Serving Alabama's Future Environment (SAFE)

Ed Hopkins, Director of Environmental Quality Program
Sierra Club

Shane Jimerfield, Executive Director
Siskiyou Project

Gillian Caldwell, Campaign Director
1Sky

Andrea Shipley, Executive Director
Snake River Alliance

Matthew Petty, Executive Director
The Social Sustenance Organization

Dave Aekens, National President
Society of Professional Journalists

Laureen Clair
SOL Communications Inc

Amy B. Osborne, President
Southeastern Chapter of the American Association of Law Libraries

Don Hancock, Director of Nuclear Waste Safety Program
Southwest Research and Information Center

Donna Rosenbaum, Executive Director
S.T.O.P. - Safe Tables Our Priority

Mauro Oliveira
StopClearCuttingCalifornia.org

Kevin Kuritzky
The Student Health Integrity Project (SHIP)

Daphne Wysham, Co-Director
Sustainable Energy and Economy Network (SEEN)

Jeb White, Executive Director
Taxpayers Against Fraud

Alec McNaughton
Team Integrity

Ken Paff, National Organizer
Teamsters for a Democratic Union

Thad Guyer, Partner
T.M. Guyer & Ayers & Friends

Peter Barnes
Tomales Bay Institute

Marylia Kelley, Executive Director
Tri-Valley CAREs
Communities Against a Radioactive Environment

Paul Taylor
Truckers Justice Center

Francesca Grifo, Ph.D., Director
Scientific Integrity Program
Union of Concerned Scientists

Dane von Breichenruchardt, President
U.S. Bill of Rights Foundation

Dr. Joseph Parish
U.S. Environmental Watch

Gary Kalman, Director, Federal Legislative Office
U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S.PIRG)

Nick Mangieri, President
Valor Press, Ltd.

Brad Friedman, co-founder
Velvet Revolution

Dr. Jeffrey Fudin, Founder
Veterans Affairs Whistleblowers Coalition

Sonia Silbert, Co-Director
Washington Peace Center

Nada Khader, Foundation Director
WESPAC Foundation

Janine Blaeloch, Director
Western Lands Project

Gloria G. Karp, Co-Chair
Westchester Progressive Forum

Greg Costello, Executive Director
Western Environmental Law Center

Mabel Dobbs, Chair
Livestock Committee
Western Organization of Resource Councils

Ann Harris, Executive Director
We the People, Inc

Janet Chandler, Co-Founder
Whistleblower Mentoring Project

Dan Hanley
Whistleblowing United Pilots Association

Linda Lewis, Director
Whistleblowers USA

John C. Horning, Executive Director
WildEarth Guardians

George Nickas, Executive Director
Wilderness Watch

Tracy Davids, Executive Director
Wild South

Scott Silver, Executive Director
Wild Wilderness

Kim Witczak
WoodyMatters

Tom Z. Collina, Executive Director
20/20 Vision

Paula Brantner, Executive Director
Workplace Fairness

There is No Reason Why CRS Reports Should Not be Public 

The Congressional Research Service does some excellent research and analysis on all manner of things. These reports are not officially accessible to taxpayers.

CRS reports to Congress or individual members of Congress should be readily accessible via the World Wide Web within two weeks of their delivery to the requesting member(s).

Provide an online, visually interactive, one-stop-shop, federal budget website. 

A single website that allows users to interactively and visually explore the federal budget. The site should start out with basic high-level information about revenue, expense, deficit, and then allow users to click on a category of interest to drill down into the details and see precisely where money is being spent. Most people are not economists so the information should be basic but allow users the opportunity to get technical information if desired. The ability to drill down into the details of the budget through a simple point-and-click of the mouse is where the value of this system lies.

Bills should stand alone -no earmarks -no pork 

All Bills should stand clean -no earmarks and non-related.

All Earmarks should be stand along Bills.

All non-related should be stand along Bills.

It seems simple and honest.

Lobbyists 

This information may be somehow available somewhere, I don't know.
But since the lobbyists control Congress by their "contributions," it would be nice to find out easily what lobbyist, working for what interest group/corporation, is contributing how much money, to what Congressmen, regarding what legislation, pro or con.

End the failed Drug War 

Lets make 2009 the year we end the failed "War on Drugs" it isn't working.
And we all seen failed policies in the past, and it costly to tax payers and our Government. Lets fund Drug Treatment Programs instead of locking up and jailing non-violent drug offenders, so they can get the help they need. We can rehabilitate people with drug addictions, instead of having them take up space in jails, prisons, of correctional facilities. Drug offenders can become useful and productive member of society with the proper treatment and counseling. We need to Decriminalize Marijuana. Decriminalizing Marijuana Possession would be a step in the right direction, and would free up police, courts, jails, prisons, and save billions in enforcing criminal marijuana laws. President Jimmy Carter asked Congress in 1977 to Decriminalize Marijuana, I would like to President Barack Obama do the same in 2009.

One Bill = One Idea 

One thing I find frustrating is that congress can pass a bill with "hidden" mini laws.

For example, congress recently passed a bill to reform credit card companies and it also included a provision allowing people to carry handguns into national parks. What? How do those two ideas relate?

Those items should have been two separate bills. I know politics is about compromise; but, I want congress debating the details of credit card reform and not slipping in a gun law so that they can get a few extra votes. This seems disingenuous.

Each bill should focus on one idea/concept/law. This only seems fair.

Verifying eligibility to be president of the USA 

Where is Obama's birth certificate and why is he spending all the money to keep it and his school records sealed?
I have to cough up my BC, my kids' BC's, death certificates... you name it, to navigate the gov't red tape.
So I ask... why doesn't Obama have to? Is Obama above us all?
Is Obama and his ilk 'special' ???
Obama not showing his real BC is a joke. Sorry, a photo-shopped BC won't get me past the DMV lady!!!

End Corporate Influence/Control of Our Government 

Due to a clerical error in the Supreme Court header notes of a decision made in the late 1800s, corporations have been granted all the rights of people. Legally speaking, they've been given "personhood" and therefore are entitled to all the rights of citizens enshrined in the Constitution, except for the right to vote.
Consequently, corporations have been granted the right to "freedom of speech" which our founders had never envisioned. Furthermore, their ability to spend their economic resources in electoral politics has been determined to be an exercise of their free speech.
Because corporations hold far more wealth than all the human citizens of the U.S. combined, they have massive undue influence in our electoral and political process. As a result, government often acts to benefit corporations and at the expense of the public.
Over the years, giant corporations have continued to consolidate their power and control of our political system, our media, our educational system, our economy, our public institutions and even over the non-profit sector and our leisure and entertainment.
This has not been good for our society, for our livelihoods, or for our government. If this trend is not stopped very soon, we will reach a point where it cannot be rolled back.
The solution doesn't have to be complex. Revoking corporate "personhood" and enforcing existing laws would be a start.

Legislation 

All legislation being considered by Congress should be posted in full on the internet for at least 72 hours prior to a vote on that legislation.

Open Up Presidential Debates to Third Parties 

For far too long in this country, politics (and debates in general) has been run by the two major parties – Democrats and Republicans. While both of these parties are close to the center of the political spectrum and represent a lot of people, there are others out there with other ideas. Yes, we have third parties, but they haven't won an election (or even been competitive) in decades. Part of the reason they aren't more competitive is that no one knows about them. People in this country have grown up know Republicans and Democrats.. and if you're not one of those two, you don't really matter. If you want to vote, you pretty much have to choose the lesser of two evils.

Also, third parties are very hard to get started. The third party laws in many states are so insane they are nearly impossible (but that's a different issue). If third parties were allowed to contribute to televised national debates, awareness would drastically increase. Instead of being forced to choose the lesser of two evils, people would actually have a broadly publicized candidate for whom to vote.

In the end, the issue comes down to equality. We say we're ALL equal, but then we turn around and say if you're not a Democrat or Republican, you're screwed. Open up the process and make it easier for third parties to participate!

Reform patriot Act Section 215, Think of Tommy Chong 

What is Section 215?

Section 215 allows the FBI to order any person or entity to turn over "any tangible things," so long as the FBI "specif[ies]" that the order is "for an authorized investigation . . . to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities."
Section 215 vastly expands the FBI's power to spy on ordinary people living in the United States, including United States citizens and permanent residents.
The FBI need not show probable cause, nor even reasonable grounds to believe, that the person whose records it seeks is engaged in criminal activity.
The FBI need not have any suspicion that the subject of the investigation is a foreign power or agent of a foreign power.
The FBI can investigate United States persons based in part on their exercise of First Amendment rights, and it can investigate non-United States persons based solely on their exercise of First Amendment rights.

For example, the FBI could spy on a person because they don't like the books she reads, or because they don't like the web sites she visits. They could spy on her because she wrote a letter to the editor that criticized government policy.
Those served with Section 215 orders are prohibited from disclosing the fact to anyone else. Those who are the subjects of the surveillance are never notified that their privacy has been compromised.
If the government had been keeping track of what books a person had been reading, or what web sites she had been visiting, the person would never know.
*If you think this is just about library books your wrong. The FBI regularly conducts sneak and peeks without any explanation. Another great tactic these trained federal agents use is entering a home or building and destroying everything inside, they may have a warrant specifying what they are there for but it doesn't matter, they will take or break everything but! These Agents to get to whom ever will threaten wifes, children, parents, anyone regardless to get cooperation from a person, doesn't matter what they have or have not done.
Is Section 215 Constitutional?

Normally, the government cannot effect a search without obtaining a warrant and showing probable cause to believe that the person has committed or will commit a crime.
Section 215 violates the Fourth Amendment by allowing the government to effect Fourth Amendment searches without a warrant and without showing probable cause.
The violation of the Fourth Amendment is made more egregious by the fact that Section 215 might be used to obtain information about the exercise of First Amendment rights. For example, the FBI could invoke Section 215 to require a library to produce records showing who had borrowed a particular book or to produce records showing who had visited a particular web site.
Section 215 might also be used to obtain material that implicates privacy interests other than those protected by the First Amendment. For example, the FBI could use Section 215 to obtain medical records.
The provision violates the First Amendment by prohibiting those served with Section 215 orders from disclosing that fact to others, even where there is no real need for secrecy.
The provision violates the First Amendment by effectively authorizing the FBI to investigate U.S. persons, including American citizens, based in part on their exercise of First Amendment activity, and by authorizing the FBI to investigate non-U.S. persons based solely on their exercise of First Amendment activity.
The provision violates the Fourth and Fifth Amendments by failing to require that those who are the subject of Section 215 order's be told that their privacy has been compromised.
Thank you ACLU

Hold Agencies Accountable for Implementing the Open Government Directive 

Leadership and oversight at the highest levels of the federal government will be necessary for the Open Government Directive to succeed. The President’s Management Council, which is made up of the Deputy Secretaries of all major agencies, should oversee the implementation of the directive to ensure that the entire federal government is working together to manage the implementation of the directive.

All agencies should provide regular public reports on their progress towards implementing the Open Government Directive. Existing performance measurement and scorecard systems should be modified to include transparency, participation and collaboration criteria and metrics.

Legalize marijuana and end the senseless "War on Drugs' 

The people of this country want marijuana decriminalization. The 'War on Drugs' is ineffective. Millions of our citizens have been incarcerated for nonviolent drug offences.

Require all Federal Government meetings that are subject to the Open Meetings Laws to be Webcast online. 

Board meetings are where some of the most important decisions are made by our government. Allow the American people access to the decision making process by requiring all of these meetings to be webcast on the Internet both live and on-demand.

The Governor of New York State pioneered this initiative in 2007 when he required all State agencies and authorities to webcast their meetings (Executive Order 3). It's been highly successful. The State requires all the agencies to webcast their meetings live if they have the Internet access to do it live and requires them to post the meetings online within 48 hours for on-demand viewing. The webcasts need to work for both broadband and dial-up users and be compatible with at least 2 media players. All videos are closed captioned within 7 days for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

Having these meetings online will save a ton of money for both the government and interested parties who normally have to travel to attend these meetings. By having these meetings webcast online, some people who would normally travel to the meetings will no longer have to -saving time, money, and energy. It's the green way to go.

Ask Federal Agencies to Adopt the Core Principles for Public Engagement 

Over the past several months, experts in public dialogue, facilitation and collaborative decision-making worked together to develop 7 "Core Principles for Public Engagement." The authors and editors of these principles have spent years creating and honing innovative techniques that help people talk constructively about difficult issues that effect their lives--issues like health care, crime, and conflict between ethnic groups.

We consider these 7 principles to be the fundamental components of quality public engagement, and we propose that federal agencies adopt these principles to guide their public engagement work.

Engaging people around the issues that affect their lives and their country is a key component of a strong democratic society. Effective public engagement goes beyond public relations and information-sharing by providing ways for people with a variety of viewpoints to grapple with issues together and come up with creative solutions.

- The Core Principles for Public Engagement -

These seven recommendations reflect the common beliefs and understandings of those working in the fields of public engagement, conflict resolution, and collaboration. In practice, people apply these and additional principles in many different ways.

1. Careful Planning and Preparation
Through adequate and inclusive planning, ensure that the design, organization, and convening of the process serve both a clearly defined purpose and the needs of the participants.

2. Inclusion and Demographic Diversity
Equitably incorporate diverse people, voices, ideas, and information to lay the groundwork for quality outcomes and democratic legitimacy.

3. Collaboration and Shared Purpose
Support and encourage participants, government and community institutions, and others to work together to advance the common good.

4. Openness and Learning
Help all involved listen to each other, explore new ideas unconstrained by predetermined outcomes, learn and apply information in ways that generate new options, and rigorously evaluate public engagement activities for effectiveness.

5. Transparency and Trust
Be clear and open about the process, and provide a public record of the organizers, sponsors, outcomes, and range of views and ideas expressed.

6. Impact and Action
Ensure each participatory effort has real potential to make a difference, and that participants are aware of that potential.

7. Sustained Engagement and Participatory Culture
Promote a culture of participation with programs and institutions that support ongoing quality public engagement.

–

More details about each of these principles, info about who took part in creating them and how, and a growing list of endorsements can all be found at www.thataway.org/pep . Also feel free to email me (Sandy Heierbacher, Director of the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation) at sandy@thataway.org if you have questions or want to get involved.