The Senate has just passed a bill (S.B. 1813) that includes a provision (Section 31406) requiring 'black box' data recorders to be installed in all new automobiles and light trucks as of the 2015 model year. The law also provides for substantial civil penalties for any owner who disables the recording ability of their MAP-21 black boxes. The government can read the recorded data from these boxes simply by plugging into the vehicle, and use that data to determine where the car has been, how fast it's been going at what location, etc., and then prosecute the driver or owner based upon the information they recover. Now, you might ask, "What's the problem? The law, as written, requires either voluntary permission from the vehicle owner or a court order before data can be retrieved."The same requirements exist today in order for police to gather information from an indivual's cell phone, but police routinely ignore this and gather call logs and contact information from suspected criminals without obtaining permission. The excuse offered is that this information will not be used as evidence in court, but in fact the information is gathered and combined with other sources of information and used in police investigations, without the consent of the cell phone owner... and there is no way you can undo this information gathering and remove the data from the police once they have it. The ease of access to this data, without a reasonable way to protect it from unlawful retrieval, effectively removes any legal protection against abuse. What if the government decided to prosecute anyone who has driven by a certain intersection during a specific window of time, say 10pm to 2am, for drug possession, using their location/time information as evidence? And so, they randomly stop vehicles, and temporarily detain the driver and occupants while they access and download tracking data, then plot all of the 'tracks' in a mapping application. Do you want the police to have the ability to see exactly where you've been, so they can use that information against you? Where you've been, and when, is not the government's business, and being forced to gather this information violates your rights under the 1st, 4th, 5th, and 9th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. This bill has not yet passed the House of Representatives, so it's not too late to strip out these onerous, intrusive provisions into our privacy. Please sign the petition so that our representatives and our president can be reminded that the Constitution still applies, that we are still a free people, that it is no one's business but ours where we have gone, and tell the government to keep their hands off of our freedoms!

I think that more people would get involved in the political process if elections were held over weekends all across the United States. That is what House Resolution (H.R.) 4183 is about. It lays out rules about how we would hold congressional and presidential elections. Voting would take place on the first weekend of November rather than on a Tuesday. Let's work together to involve more people in our democracy!

Voting Rights

Get justice for Christopher Ratliff, beaten by law enforcement in Huntington, WV, in 2008 and died before an ambulance arrived. Mother wants case reopened in criminal court.

This petition is to make elections and ballot processing mandatory for gyms to make changes to their routines. By signing you will promote team work and good sportsman ship by accepting the votes of others to regulate what happens at gyms.

The hate filled speech of Ted Neugent at the NRA show was totally unacceptable and abhorrent . There are too many people who are unstable and respond to these words as a call to action, as we have seen with Senator Gifford who was shot in the head over a year ago. This nation may have freedom of speech, but not to incite violence.

On the evening of Wednesday, April 11th a captain with Metro-Dade fire station, Local 1403, posted a hate-filled rant on his facebook wall. His comments were in response to Special Prosecutor Angela Corey's decision to arrest George Zimmerman in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. His comments make questionable his ability to perform his job as a first responder in a community as diverse as Metro-Dade County Florida.

H.R. 1113 would make it illegal for employers to discriminate against the chronically unemployed by making the unemployed a protected class under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The ENTIRE Second Amendment states: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." Gun Lobbyists (ie, NRA) mention and support ONLY the SECOND HALF of the Second Amendment. The Second Amendment was conceived and intended to be the way the nation is to defend itself by allowing citizens to own and use firearms ONLY within the context of a "well regulated Militia." We wish that gun owners be required to comply with the first half of the Second Amendment as a condition of owning a firearm as stated in the second half. Compliance means belonging to a well-regulated Militia which would require intensive regular training in weapons use and battle tactics as these Militias would be first responders when Congress declares an Act of War. This will provide for a safer nation by requiring gun owners to be trained and responsible for defending "We the People" against foreign and domestic enemies as the Founding Fathers intended.

Electronic voting systems lack transparency. Private firms own software and hardware that process raw voting data before the results of the data are made public. These "black box" systems should be eliminated from the electoral landscape because they easily enable fraud and difficult or next to impossible to detect from the resultant data.

The unemployment rate for Blacks and Hispanics is almost double that of Whites. A Black and Hispanics are not let intelligent, less skilled or less motivated than whites. A big contributor to is racism. Companies are not fearful nor do they respect the EEOC. The EEOC is has a 3 year backlog. During this time, companies are getting away with Murder. They are intentionally pushing them into the civil court system to indefinitely delay them. I personally have been waiting 3 years. This area needs special attention from the Justice Department

All governmental bodies in the United States should get out of the business of marriage. Only civil unions between one man and one woman, two women, or two men should be recognized. If the members of a civil union wish to be marriad, they find a church. All governmental benefits should be based on Civil Unions not marriages.