A Bold New Law To End Corruption

My last post was about some real grimy stuff going on in Washington. Luckily there is a group of activist that have had enough of the corruption and bribery. They came up with an ingenious new law that will greatly impact how American elections are campaigned. The group is Represent.Us and they are actively fighting to end corruption. They wrote the American Anti-Corruption Act (AACA). In short, the law greatly impacts how much can be donated to a campaign and is 100% constitutional. Written by some of the top constitutional lawyers in America. Here is a rough outline of the law taken from Represent.Us

AMERICAN ANTI-CORRUPTION ACT OUTLINE

1. Stop Politicians From Taking Bribes- "Prohibit members of Congress from soliciting and receiving contributions from industry or entity they regulate, including those industries' lobbyist. Prohibit all fundraising during Congressional working hours."

2. Limit SuperPAC Contributions and "Coordination"- "Require SuperPACS to abide by the same contribution limits as other political committees. Toughen rules regarding SuperPACs' and other groups' coordination with political campaigns and political parties."

3. Prevent Job Offers As Bribes- "Close the "revolving door" where elected representatives and senior staff sell off their legislative power for high-paying jobs. Stop them from negotiating jobs while in office and, once they leave, bar them from all lobbying activity for five years."

4. Call All People Who Lobby, Lobbyist- "Significantly expand the definition of and register all lobbyist to prevent influencers from skirting the rules." (In my opinion we should have a national database of lobbyist and they should register as a Lobbyist, just like sex offenders so we know who is a lobbyist and monitor how much our politicians associate with them. The database is just my opinion though not part of the AACA.)

5. Limit Lobbyist Donations- "Limit the amount that lobbyists and their clients can contribute to federal candidates, political parties, and political committees to $500 per year and limit lobbyist fundraising for political campaigns. Federal contractors are already banned from contributing to campaigns: extend the ban to lobbyist, high-level executives, government relations employees, and PACs of federal government contractors."

6. End Secret Money- "Mandate full transparency of all political money. Require any organization that spends $10,000 or more on advertisements to elect or defeat federal candidates to file a disclosure report online with the Federal Election Commission within 24 hours. List each of the donors who give $10,000 or more to the organization to run such ads. This includes all PACs, 501c non profits, or other groups that engage in electioneering."

7. Empower All Voters With A Tax Rebate- "Build up on the influence of voters by creating a biennial $100 Tax Rebate that they can use to make qualified contributions to federal candidates, political parties, and political committees. Flood elections with small-donor contributions that will offset the huge spenders. Candidates and political groups will only be eligible for these funds if they agree to a set of contribution limits: they will only accept money from small donors (giving $500 or less a year), other groups abiding by the limits, and the Tax Rebates themselves."

8. Disclose "Bundling"- "Require federal candidates to disclose the names of individuals who "bundle"contributions for the member of Congress or candidate, regardless of whether such individuals are registered lobbyists."

9. Enforce The Rules- "Strengthen the Federal Election Commission's independence and strengthen the House and Senate ethics enforcement processes. Provide federal prosecutors the additional tools necessary to combat corruption, and prohibit lobbyists who fail to properly register and disclose their activities from engaging in federal lobbying activities for a period of two years."

REPRESENT.US NEEDS YOUR HELP!

If you are intrigued by the new law there is a lot more you can find out about it on the Represent.Us website. Please take into account this whole project is in its infancy and as of December 7th 2013 there are only 20 districts across the country with an established team of activists fighting the fight. They need all the help they can get and if you are interested in doing what you can PLEASE visit the website and do what you can! Below I will post links where you can find the tools you need to combat corruption in your area. Please check out the website and sign your name to co-sponsor the act! America needs your help and frankly, we've all had enough, from liberals to conservatives and everyone in between.With our elected officials in the pockets of lobbyist they are turning America into a Corporate Dictatorship, but TOGETHER WE CAN PREVAIL!

Represent.Us Website - Represent.us

Activist Materials & Tools- https://represent.us/tools/

AACA Entire Overview- http://anticorruptionact.org/ 

   

New Legislation In The Fight To End Marijuana Prohibition

Marijuana prohibition started in the year 1937 due to an overzealous lumber company. He propagated an ugly lie to the gullible citizens of these here United States of America. Finally people are waking up! End this disgusting prohibition! It's not the the answer, it didn't work for alcohol and its definitely isn't not working for marijuana. Here is just some new legislation that has recently been introduced.

House Resolution 499 - This would end the federal prohibition on marijuana and give states the right to set their own laws and policies. The DEA will no longer have the authority to bust down doors and destroy homes and families because of a PLANT. Marijuana would in turn be REGULATED by the renamed Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Marijuana and Firearms.

House Bill 1523 - The Respect State Marijuana Laws Act is a bipartisan bill with three Republican and three Democrats. Good to see that even some conservative republicans can open their minds a little bit! Anyways, This bill amends the federal Controlled Substance Act so the feds can't prosecute people and businesses that comply with state marijuana laws. So all the stories you hear of the dispensaries being raided by the DEA will come to an end. No more fear of federal prosecution of law-abiding citizens.  

House Resolution 501 - Marijuana Tax Equality Act, is a bill that taxes marijuana similar to those of tobacco and alcohol. It would also require the IRS to make a study of the industry (that is surely to be booming!) for the first two years and then every five years after that so they can recommend to congress how they should be administering the tax. This bill protects consumers and producers from over taxation from angry from politicians who didn't want to see marijuana made legal.

House Bill 637 - This is a North Carolina decriminalization law that lowers penalties on on minor possession offenses. Possession under and ounce will be a fine only infraction. Those possessing an ounce to a ounce and a half will not be so lucky and face a Class 3 Misdemeanor. Right now those are felonies so hopefully these bills will passed and right now they remain unheard. As long as you haven't been convicted of a past misdemeanor or a felony those convicted of marijuana possession may apply to have their convictions expunged.

B20-0409 - This is a DC bill introduced by a team of legislators. The bill will dramatically lower penalties to only a $100 fine, no criminal record or arrest. Although I strongly believe there should also be no fine, these are strong first steps to a brighter future!

House Bill 1632 - Massachusetts is trying to follow in the steps of the pioneer states Colorado and Washington! This bill will allow the sale (to adults of course) and regulation of marijuana in Massachusetts.

I hope you enjoyed reading these new and exciting laws that may change the way Americans view marijuana. Actually I feel like Americans have wanted the legalization of marijuana its the law makers that need to open their eyes and look at marijuana in a different scope. If you want to take action, read about new legislation, sign up for email updates, or right your law makers I urge you, visit this site http://norml.org/act. They have a pre-formatted letter you can send your politicians even specifying which bill you are writing to them about. There is a lot you can do and your voice will be heard! I'll keep you posted on future progress, stay tuned!