When President Obama addressed calls for legalization of marijuana during his March online town hall, he proved that "when the people lead, the leaders will follow," Internet activist Jim Gilliam argued Tuesday at the Personal Democracy Forum's annual conference. Leading up to the big White House event, citizens were asked to vote on economic questions they wanted the commander in chief to answer. The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws spearheaded a grassroots effort to push questions tying Mary Jane to economic improvement and job creation to the top of the heap. [Read related Tech Daily Dose coverage here].
"I don't know what this says about the online audience," Obama laughed during the webcast. "The answer is no, I don't think that is a good strategy to grow our economy." Over 92,000 people submitted over 100,000 questions and cast over 3.5 million votes. More than 67,000 people watched the event online. After the town hall, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was pressed for details on the administration's pot policy, the California Budget Office released an estimate on revenue that could be generated by a marijuana tax, and Obama's drug czar Gil Kerlikowske said he would stop referring to the "war on drugs" because it was unhelpful.
"Obama knew what he was doing... He wanted outrage," said Gilliam, the creator of a Web site that imagines how the White House might work if it was run completely democratically by thousands of people over the Internet. On WhiteHouse2.org, decriminalizing marijuana ranks 22nd and legalizing medical marijuana ranks 44th. The site's top five user generated priorities for Obama include: replacing the federal income tax with a "FairTax;" restoring, upholding and defending the Constitution; ending corporate welfare; securing all U.S. borders; and letting banks that make bad loans go out of business.
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Responded on August 26, 2009 3:19 AM
grow box
I believe they should legalize it
Responded on July 30, 2009 1:47 PM
Adencepepmeep
http://www.homegrown-hydroponics.com/mosy.html
I have recently discovered hydroponics gardening to grow my strawberries all year long. I used to grow them outdoors, but had problems with animals and pests. Now I have moved my garden indoors and began growing my garden with hydroponics. The plants grow faster and the organic results are stellar. I would reccomend hydroponics to anyone looking to grow plants all year. Hydroponic gardening is a lot better than traditional soil gardens in my opinion. Just my 2 cents. I hope this helps...
Responded on July 1, 2009 2:21 PM
Marcus
Now today (Wednesday 7-1-2009) the White House is stagging questions rather than having people vote on popular questions...
Hmm... probably because Obama caught hell for laughing off the marijuana legalization question...
Obama and most Congress persons are so far away from being a typical citizen of America...
Responded on July 1, 2009 1:46 PM
Ken Hoagland
The FairTax was the top vote-getter at WhiteHouse2.org. This report briefly mentions that but legalization of pot gets the focus. The FairTax was also the biggest vote at "Reinvent the RNC" but that was the last we heard about that from them. Mr. Obama's own website saw the FairTax with a huge vote before it, too, disappeared. A few weeks ago the Rasmussen Poll found that 43% of those polled favored replacement of the income tax system with a national sales tax. The 78% who rejected a VAT on top of the income tax system got the headline, "Americans reject national sales tax". Outside the beltway citizens are talking about the FairTax in growing numbers but inside the beltway people are putting their fingers in their ears. The distance between what those inside Washington think about this idea and what those outside Washington think about it is about as great as the distance between the loathing most Americans feel for the income tax system and the love Washington insiders have for the lucrative profits and power that surround Congressio...
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The FairTax was the top vote-getter at WhiteHouse2.org. This report briefly mentions that but legalization of pot gets the focus. The FairTax was also the biggest vote at "Reinvent the RNC" but that was the last we heard about that from them. Mr. Obama's own website saw the FairTax with a huge vote before it, too, disappeared. A few weeks ago the Rasmussen Poll found that 43% of those polled favored replacement of the income tax system with a national sales tax. The 78% who rejected a VAT on top of the income tax system got the headline, "Americans reject national sales tax". Outside the beltway citizens are talking about the FairTax in growing numbers but inside the beltway people are putting their fingers in their ears. The distance between what those inside Washington think about this idea and what those outside Washington think about it is about as great as the distance between the loathing most Americans feel for the income tax system and the love Washington insiders have for the lucrative profits and power that surround Congressional tax writing committees. As FairTax grassroots numbers continue to grow, consequences become more likely. Huckabee already caught the FairTax lightning in Iowa and Romney was burned. Neither will be the last.
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Responded on June 30, 2009 8:14 PM
Todd
Legalizing marijuana will rank number one in about a week. Nobody wants to decriminialize it, duh and they call stoners stupid.