I think we cannot have a true democracy unless the Senate allows votes based on what the majority of Senators want. The arcane rules of the Senate make it a club for the oligarchy rather than a forum for the will of American citizens.

The US Senate is using the filibuster to thwart democracy.

This year the California legislature has the unique opportunity to take the lead in meaningful election reform. The State Senate Elections Committee hearing on April 30 is the first step to pass the DISCLOSE Act now. DISCLOSE stands for "Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections". The California DISCLOSE Act, SB 52, would bring transparency to California elections. SB 52 requires clear identification of the top three funders of tv, radio, print and online political ads, as well as billboards and websites. It includes a "follow the money" requirement to report the actual, original contributors to a political ad. By this petition, we urge the California Senate Elections Committee to take action on April 30 to pass the DISCLOSE Act now.

STOP GUN VIOLENCE : On April 20,2013 My Husbands family suffered a Tragic Loss My Sister-in-Law lost her 31yr old son who was a father to 2 young children to GUN VIOLENCE at the hands of her own husband who PRE-MEDITATED her sons MURDER!!! We NEED TO MAKE IT KNOWN TO CONGRESS NOW!!!! AMEND THE 2nd Amendment!!!

Food trucks are a great idea and already have had a strong presence in the area. They have been an asset in providing lunch services to those who would normally have to “brown bag it” due to their location and/or time constraints. The “founders” of the food truck industry provided hot coffee and simple lunch options to cunsumers unable to travel far from construction sites or industrial parks. In the past these trucks have had very limited regulation but along with the rapid growth of this industry must come guidance and regulations. Legislation must be put in place and enforced enabling these businesses to operate not only fairly and safely but also be forced to comply with the strict regulations their “brick & mortar” counterparts must adhere to.

We, the public, are affronted that some state legislators think that ambiguous bill titles and last-minute amendments are an appropriate way to evade basic, procedural safeguards established by our State Constitution. We are calling on the current Hawaii State Legislature to REJECT all bills which were substantively amended in a manner which evades the Constitutional public right to testify on proposed legislation. We are petitioning the legislative bodies to defeat the following bills that were subject to “gut and replace” procedures, and we are petitioning that the following “Frankenstein” bills, that had non-germane material added to them after the opportunity for review in a publicly-noticed hearing, be defeated or be amended to remove the non-germane material prior to a final vote. See filed petition, including bill numbers: http://bit.ly/FrankenSteinPetition We condemn these tactics and strongly oppose these misleading practices which keep the public in the dark.

Rep. Robert Brawley from NC wants to legalize Bribery. Seriously. He created HB640 which states "A public servant, legislator, or legislative employee may knowingly accept a gift from a lobbyist" Even worse, the bill enables them to not report this bribe! This is clearly legalized corruption and should be stopped!

The filibuster has been used as an unlimited tool to thwart the rule of the majority as well as to curtail voting and discussion on a bill. This tool should only be used a specific number of times per year.

Nomination of a good leader for complete recovery.

The lack of Empathy by law makers has no place in the American way of life

In light of the recent purchase of American Politics regarding the lack of a vote on Gun Legislation, complete transparency of monies given by lobbyists is tantamount to returning politics to the people. Any and every politician must reveal the source and the amounts of money accepted. AS SOON AS IT IS ACCEPTED.

The vote on the Manchin-Toomey amendment to expand background checks for gun sales at gun shows and over the internet shows that the compromise on rules reform that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid agreed to at the start of this Congress is clearly not working. Although 86% of Americans supported the Manchin-Toomey amendment and 54 Senators voted to pass it, the amendment failed because, under the Senate rules, it was subject to the same 60-vote threshold ordinarily reserved for ending filibusters. Enough is enough. Tell Senator Reid that you expect him to use his power as Majority Leader to enact meaningful filibuster reform so that we can end this obstructionism and restore accountability to the U.S. Senate.