if politicians were put on medicare i want to see how fast they make cuts to the program ,after all it is a government run program ,why shouldnt they use it ? and why should the tax payer , pay for their health care !

Whatever Congress decides will be the healthcare for the nation, applies to members of Congress as well. What the masses pay in, Congress should pay in. In the cases of state and federal retirement programs, Congressmen should have to contribute the same as everyone else...no free rides. Their retirement pay should reflect a percentage of what they paid in...like state employees...no more; no less. This would save tax payers a lot of money, be more fair and reduce corruption in government.

Lets reduce the retirement paycheck for all Federal and State Politicians by 80%. No one who works a job for two - six years diserves a 100% salery pension.

As the segment of society that uses Capitol Gains Tax to reduce their tax indebtedness is not of the typical wage earner class, it seems only equitable that the money derived from stock dividends, real estate appreciation, maturing bonds, and all revenues derived from such endeavors ought to be taxed at the NORMAL rate, not some super beneficial discounted rate.

We, as employers of the American Congress, should be the ones to determine the income, how it is acquired, and the healthcare, of our members/employees.

In 1819, the Supreme Court decided, in a case entitled Dartmouth College v. Woodward that corporations had the same rights as people. That decision has been at the root of a lot of the more recent rulings which allow corporations to run roughshod over our democracy, using their almost unlimited money to fund anything they want in government, and leaving ordinary citizens with very little voice in our own government. It's time for this to stop.

Members of the House and Senate receive subsidized services, such as food, health club, etc. They should pay fair market value for these services. In turn any member who wishes to reside in their office should pay fair market rent. They are trying to ax jobs and benefits for their constituents, why not start with themselves.

That a law is enacted that prevents Senators and Representatives from enjoying any health care or retirement benefits that are not enjoyed by all citizens. They pay into and utilize Social Security and not pensions for retirement and buy into the same health services that are available to the citizens without citizen contributions.

We must stop the Grover Norquest, lock step politicians,and put people in congress that put the country first, and not a lobbyest, who;s only care for the richest 1% of the people.

I'm for publishing the names of all elected officials who are voting to kill the; 1. Jobs bill, 2. Extended Unemployment Benefits, 3. Ending the War in Agfanistan, 4. Clean Air, Education & Health Care, 5. Family Planning, 6. Gay & Lesbien Rights to health care and sposal benefits 7. Immigration Reform.

*Congressional Reform Act of 2011* 1. No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office. 2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security. All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose. 3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do. 4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%. 5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people. 6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people. 7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/12. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen. Congressmen made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work. If each person contacts a minimum of ten people then it will only take three days for most people (in the U.S.) to receive the message. Maybe it is time."You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than 3% of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible for re-election.

Government-sponsored study destroys DEA’s classification of marijuana By Stephen C. Webster Tuesday, July 3, 2012 9:46 EDT Share on facebookShare on redditShare on diggShare on twitterShare on farkShare on stumbleupon2.1K Topics: DEA ♦ medical marijuana A government-sponsored study published recently in The Open Neurology Journal concludes that marijuana provides much-needed relief to some chronic pain sufferers and that more clinical trials are desperately needed, utterly destroying the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency’s (DEA) classification of the drug as having no medical uses. While numerous prior studies have shown marijuana’s usefulness for a host of medical conditions, none have ever gone directly at the DEA’s placement of marijuana atop the schedule of controlled substances. This study, sponsored by the State of California and conducted at the University of California Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research, does precisely that, driving a stake into the heart of America’s continued war on marijuana users by calling the Schedule I placement simply “not accurate” and “not tenable.” Reacting to the study, Paul Armentano, director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), told Raw Story that the study clearly proves U.S. drug policy “is neither based upon nor guided by science.” “In fact, it is hostile to science,” he said. “And despite the Obama Administration’s well publicized 2009 memo stating, ‘Science and the scientific process must inform and guide decisions of my Administration,’ there is little to no evidence indicating that the federal government’s ‘See no evil; hear no evil’ approach to cannabis policy is not changing any time soon.” Schedule I is supposedly reserved for the most inebriating substances that the DEA believes have no medical value, including LSD, ecstasy, peyote and heroin.* As the DEA describes it: “Drugs listed in schedule I have no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States and, therefore, may not be prescribed, administered, or dispensed for medical use. In contrast, drugs listed in schedules II-V have some accepted medical use and may be prescribed, administered, or dispensed for medical use.” And that’s the problem, the study’s authors portend. “The classification of marijuana as a Schedule I drug as well as the continuing controversy as to whether or not cannabis is of medical value are obstacles to medical progress in this area,” they wrote. “Based on evidence currently available the Schedule I classification is not tenable; it is not accurate that cannabis has no medical value, or that information on safety is lacking. It is true cannabis has some abuse potential, but its profile more closely resembles drugs in Schedule III (where codeine and dronabinol are listed). The continuing conflict between scientific evidence and political ideology will hopefully be reconciled in a judicious manner.” They add that their evidence showed marijuana reliably reduced chronic neuropathic pain and muscle spasticity due to multiple sclerosis versus trials where a placebo was used. They also specifically tested marijuana’s effects when smoked, calling the delivery method “rapid and efficient” but noting that vaporization is a better choice because it produces less carbon monoxide. The study adds that, like all medicines, there are negative side effects associated with marijuana, such as dizziness, fatigue, lightheadedness, muscle weakness and pain and heart palpitations — all of which can pose a risk in some chronic pain patients with co-occurring conditions like cardiovascular disease or substance abuse disorders. However, they call these side effects “dose-related” and “of mild to moderate severity,” adding that they “appear to decline over time, and are reported less frequently in experienced than in naïve users.” Researchers also noted that “fatal overdose with cannabis alone has not been reported.” Authors additionally found that marijuana does cause withdrawal symptoms within 12 hours of use, noting the symptoms are mild in experienced users and typically abate within 72 hours. They added that ingesting marijuana “can acutely impair skills required to drive motor vehicles,” but noted that the data on marijuana and traffic accidents is “inconclusive.” Ultimately, they concluded that more clinical trials are needed to determine which individual components of the marijuana plant are causing the medicinal effects, and whether the plant can be used to treat a host of other ailments. “Medical marijuana is mostly used for chronic pain, and has enabled countless patients to either reduce or eliminate their pharmaceutical drug regimen,” Kris Hermes, a spokesman for Americans for Safe Access (ASA), one of the nation’s leading medical marijuana advocacy groups, told Raw Story. “However, it can also be used for: arthritis, nausea or as an appetite stimulant for people living with HIV/AIDS or cancer, gastrointestinal disorders, and movement disorders (not just for people with multiple sclerosis). That is only a sampling of health conditions for which cannabis has been found helpful in alleviating symptoms. Other health conditions include: [post-traumatic stress disorder], [attention deficit disorder], [attention deficit hyperactivity disorder] and other mental health conditions, glaucoma, and migraines.” In hopes of forcing recognition of marijuana’s medical value, ASA sued the federal government last year after a long-running appeal for the reclassification of marijuana was shot down nearly a decade after it was filed. That case should go before the U.S. Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit later this year. “The federal government’s strategy has been delay, delay, delay,” ASA chief counsel Joe Elford said in an advisory. “It is far past time for the government to answer our rescheduling petition, but unfortunately we’ve been forced to go to court in order to get reso...