The two Big parties have a monopoly on political power. They should be brought to court on Anti Monopoly and Anti Trust laws and be broken up like how the big monopolies were broken up a century ago!

We the taxpayers are paying for Healthcare, Pensions, and many other Perks for our elected DO NOTHING congressmen and women, while they DO NOTHING to improve the country and lives of WE THE PEOPLE. Time to cut them off until they do the will of the people instead of the will of their big money interests.

Many in the House of Representatives are proposing draconian austerity measures that will harm our country's long term health.

The so-called "War on Drugs" has turned a public health problem into a multi-billion dollar taxpayer boondoggle. California State Senator Mark Leno's Senate Bill 649 would move California toward a smarter, humane, cost-effective justice system. It would reduce overcrowding in our prisons by allowing prosecutors to charge non-violent drug possession as a misdemeanor, rather than as a felony. SB 649 would free up funds currently supporting jails to be used for drug treatment instead. Studies show that in the 13 states that classify drug possession as a misdemeanor, treatment rates are higher and incarceration rates are lower, with no increase in crime.

The Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission ruling granted corporations the right to unlimited spending on super pacs based on earlier decisions. First, corporations in a number of decisions have been granted 1st amendment free speech rights. Second, Buckley vs. Valejo has been interpreted to say money is equivalent to speech. The Court thus ruled that since free speech is not to be limited, neither is political spending. Long before the Citizens United decision, money played an excessive role in our government and in our lives. 94% of the time in California the candidate who raised the most money won the election. Corporations have been claiming constitutional rights for over 100 years. * Besides 1st amendment right of free speech, corporations have claimed and won 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 14th amendment rights. The right of privacy has been claimed, but not yet secured. *Claiming rights against search and seizure, corporations protect themselves from complying with worker safety regulations and requirements related to pollution. * Claiming right not to speak, the dairy industry sued and won against a law requiring labeling products from cows which were given BST, a bovine growth hormone. The precedence has implication for labeling GMO food. * Claiming 5th amendment taking rights, laws against drilling horizontally under people’s homes for coal were struck down, and entire towns in Pennsylvania sank in 1922. The precedence has implication for fracking. Big money manipulates all three branches of government—the legislative and executive branches though campaign financing, lobbying, and threats to harm the economy, the judicial branch through hiring the best lawyers to seize constitutional rights. While exhaustive grassroots work can successfully counter big money in elections, all future Supreme Court decisions will be determined by precedence and the constitution. Thus, the only recourse to return our democracy to We the People is a constitutional amendment. It is critical that an amendment address both constitutional rights only belonging to human beings and that money is not equivalent to speech. If corporations are curbed of rights, but money remains as speech, CEOs instead of their companies will fund campaigns. If money is ruled as not speech, corporations will continue to usurp rights meant for people to damage our planet, health, safety, and way of life. Given the difficult process of amending the constitution, it does not make sense to accomplish the goal with two or more amendments. There are bills which separate the two issues and bills which only address the single Citizens United decision as well as half measures which leave non-profit corporations alone. The NRA is a non-profit. The Nolan-Pocan We the People bill is the only one which is comprehensive.

Eric Holder has been responsible for Fast and Furious, has harassed Zimmerman both before and after he was found not guilty, has been found in contempt of Congress, has been involved in recent scandals at the White House, and usually acts in a very shameful and unprofessional manner.

My Petition is for judges not to be able to send a person to jail for falling behind on child support due to losing a job or layoff. In addition, parent paying support should get credit if they can prove it came out of their check regardless of what child support is doing with the money. In my particular case, Chrysler closed the plant and I was left jobless. I then incurred 12, 800 dollars of back pay child support being that I was ordered to pay $1767.00 per month and unemployment was not enough for me to make a full payment. I am now facing incarceration because I do not have the ability to pay a substantial lump sum of money toward my arrears, but I am paying current with some going toward arrears monthly.

People are being killed in cold blood, and getting away with it based on this biased law. Our priorities should always be about saving and maintaining lives!

Violence is violence. The heir of the justice system (G.Z.) has committed other domestic crimes in the past. Zimmerman & other's like him have to be dealt with or the killing will continue...The courts cover up what they wanna cover up...they are the biggest criminals that allow other criminals to WALK!!!! I had brain surgery in October of 2011, and today I raise awareness on DOMESTIC VIOLENCE...This madness HAS GOT TO STOP. I believe the education has to start within the judicial system. Legislators you can make this change. Be Proactive!

Trayvon Martin case, Stand Your Ground and Self-Defense laws. The case of The People v. George Zimmerman has demonstrated a hole in the Justice system and the Laws of the state of Florida (or any State where self-defense is an absolute) which allow an unwarranted escalation of violence by claiming self-defense. Florida law does not consider the inappropriate use of deadly force in self-defense cases and therefore implies that any response claimed as self-defense is not only warranted, but justified unless self-defense can be disproved.

In 2014, Chicago's 150 Tax Increment Financing districts extracted $426 million in property taxes. At the end of 2012 there was $1.4 billion left in TIF accounts. The Mayor has closed schools, cut back mass transit service, closed public health clinics and is poised to privatize Midway Airport. We can't be broke if we are stockpiling property taxes in order to give them to such major corporations as Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target, United Airlines, Coca Cola, UPS, Wilis Insurance, Home Depot and The Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Empty the TIF bank accounts and send that money to the units of local government (Chicago Public Schools, Chicago park District, etc.) that SHOULD HAVE received those property tax dollars in the first place. NO PROPERTY TAX INCREASE UNTIL TIFs HAVE BEEN FROZEN AND AUDITED. RELEASE THE TIF FUNDS BEING HELD IN ALL TIF ACCOUNTS.

Would you rather vote for a candidate financed by 200 dollar contributions from individuals or a candidate financed by corporations? Voucher Vendetta would be a website where citizens could register that they will only vote for candidates that finance their campaigns with contributions from individuals in the amount of 200 dollars or less. It will keep track of the percentage of voters registered on the national level, for each state and each congressional district. This way everyone can see how many people are participating. It can be successful with only 20% of citizens participating nationally. With 20% national participation there would be some states below 20% and some above. In a state at 25-30% there would be some districts below and some above at 35 or even 40% of citizens registered. Not only will third parties and independent candidates be able to target these districts, but "hundred dollar" candidates will be able to mount primary challenges to the corporate financed current major party candidates. It will also destroy the gerrymandered districts that protect incumbents because a current major party candidate could mount a successful campaign by becoming a "hundred dollar" candidate in district that is considered safe for the other current major party. Laws that limit contributions will not succeed because they will be written by those benefiting from the current system. The only way to stop the large contributions is to make them worthless. It won't matter how much money the corporations contribute if this money will no longer buy enough votes to win an election.