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Open Government Brainstorm Defies Wisdom of Crowds
theodp writes "In May, the White House launched what it called an 'unprecedented online process for public engagement in policymaking.' Brainstorming was conducted in an effort to identify ways to 'strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness by making government more transparent, participatory, and collaborative.' So, what were some of the top vote-getters? Currently near the top of the list are Legalize Marijuana And Solve Many Tax Issues / Prison Issues (#2) and Remove Marijuana from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (#3). For those who remember Obama's earlier Online Town Hall, it's deja vu all over again."
free da weed!
stoners have too much time at their hands spamming the gov servers.
All sorts of people wiser and more eloquent than I can help to explain why such decisions should not be left open to public vote. A good recent example is Clive James' commentary on democracy which just finished it's run over on the Beeb.
It comes down to the fact that most people don't really know what's best for society, which is why we grant stints of power to those who (we hope) do. When dealing with complex issues such as law-making and governance, we need to locate and consult suitably educated experts to make these decisions.
Meta will eat itself
I'm not surprised. This is a very corrupt adminestration. If you haven't seen it check out The Obama Time Line at www.colony14.net. Especially the 1961-1966 timeline, is very revealing. the media needs to start covering this issue in more detail. This guy is hiding something and itâ(TM)s up to the media to expose this imposter. Proving that he is lying about his eligibility will be the fastest way to get him out of office and stop the buyouts, porkulas spending, massive employment meltdown, massive 401K meltdown, massive business meltdown, nationalizing of the banks, bankrupting of the automobile companies, and the upcoming nationalizing of the heath care industry. This guy is bankrupting our country. Itâ(TM)s all there in Don Fredrickâ(TM)s Timeline.
^^Obvious closet Pbo supporter. Why shouldn't he have to prove he is a natural born citizen, considering that is a requirement to hold that office?
Anyway, I'm actually scared that the marijuana legalization is near the top of the list. That is the last thing we need right now in the times of poor education, glorification of stupidity and obnoxious behavior, and total sympathy with our enemies.
"Doping" the masses... I'm fairly certain I've read books about this... none of them ended well for the individual.
"Be prepared, son. That's my motto. Be prepared." --Joe Hallenbeck
The US has disproportionately crowded jails, filled disproportionately with African-Americans, and a very large fraction of which are there on drug charges.
Why bother to bring that up? Racist.
The race of criminals shouldn't matter, at all.
Smoking pot generally makes for a safer driver. Look up the related studies yourself.
http://www.contumacy.org/bbs/index.pl?noframes;read=76590
There is a war going on for your mind.
The problem being illustrated is with the concept of 'democracy', an idea our Founding Fathers was aware of and not only discarded it was a notion they took great measures to prevent [...] This created the Rule of Laws instead of the Rule of Men. We had divided and limited government. But we threw that away and now have the Rule of Men and our civilization is declining.
You are wrong. A bunch of dead white men from several hundred years ago don't know what's best for 2009.
There being about 1000x more pot smokers then oxycontin abusers levels that out don't you think.
The problem is, despite pressing the law for their deus ex machina, they don't know shit about the law.
In the case that something happens to the president, the vice president takes power. This happened when Kennedy was assassinated, and it happened when Nixon was impeached. If something were to happen to the vice president, the speaker of the house takes power -- Nancy Pelosi. This deus ex would basically have to be, by far, the biggest scandal in the history of American politics for the Republicans to get someone in the presidency.
So what? I don't care about the consequences, I still think that the president of a country should come clear about where he/she was born, if that is pertinent to his/her eligibility to run for the presidency.
"The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.