OpenGov - Open Government Brainstorm Legal & Policy Challenges

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... more »

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.... more »

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... more »

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... more »

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... more »

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... more »

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... more »

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... more »

The USA government should at the very least be embarassed by its attempt to prohibit certain activities and the use of so-called "controlled substances". Not only is the War on drugs a war they have lost, but it is one that the government can not win. It must end now.

Legislators seem to have a mentality that just because they pass a law which bans something, that people will obey. Reality is often the opposite.... more »

Directives and legislation providing protection for whistleblowers who disclose waste, fraud, or abuse within an agency, and punitive processes for managers who retaliate against those whistleblowers in their performance reviews should be established. irectives should clarify to all agencies, including law enforcement and intelligence agencies, the expectation that whistleblowers be robustly defended from reprisals and... more »

Legalize Marijuana.

Dear President Obama and Members of Congress,

Our drug laws aren't working. Every year, millions of Americans are arrested on drug offenses, yet drugs are more available than ever before. High school students find it easier to get marijuana than alcohol or prescription drugs. And Mexican drug cartels have become rich and powerful, representing a growing threat to our national security.
With our economy... more »

Recent disclosures indicate that many who are in our government have a difficult time paying their taxes correctly. Whether through mischief, malice, or mistake, the failure to pay diminishes the trust of the people in their government: the results of which are decreased participation by citizens in the process of government, a change in thinking - that we are being governed by an aristocracy over which we have no control... more »

Americans who will be smoking cannabis won't be the only reason there will be extra revenue. Yes there will be an extra 13+ billion in extra revenue, but also all the freed up prisons would save billions. All the money going to fighting this pointless war, will save billions. Hemp will bring in millions of jobs and billions of dollars in the clothing, fuel, textile, paper, and housing industry. Alcohol, tobacco, and generic... more »

One of the most frustrating events in government is when the legislature tells the people to be prepared to sacrifice then have that same legislature give itself a raise. Who wouldn't give themselves a raise if given the choice.

While I don't have what I consider to be the one way of determining legislators pay, I'm sure plenty of people would have some suggestions. Here is one possible idea: Legislators receive the... more »