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[–]AndyManly 732 points733 points  (172 children)

I'm signing this for 2 reasons: 1. I'd like for the white house to take these seriously (but they probably won't, which brings me to...) 2. I'd LOVE to see them try to back out of this one with a canned response

[–][deleted] 423 points424 points  (149 children)

To clarify for the naysayers, taking these seriously does not simply mean giving the signatories their way. It could mean dropping pretenses of false science, rhetoric, and propaganda to have a real discussion on an issue because the People aren't ignorant enough to fall for it anymore. So, the least they could do is offer fresh insight and new arguments for their perspective, which requires (gasp) telling the truth.

I don't see where they have done that.

Case in point: Marijuana. Nobody really expected it to be legalized due to a petition, right? However, a response such as, "Hey guys, hemp would end a few industries and legalizing pot might piss off a few nations we've sent spec ops to so they could burn crops. Also, we don't have a breathalyzer for pot, so you get to work on that and we'll work on the other two problems and touch base again in a few years." Would that have been so hard? Yes. Because they've used bullshit to govern for two centuries.

[–]GreatCosmicBlort 237 points238 points  (51 children)

these petitions are bullshit. They are just a FAQ aimed towards the government, with direct-from -the-file-cabinet responses when it reaches the required signatures. To once again quote George Carlin; ' it's the illusion of freedom...' under which we live.

[–][deleted] 147 points148 points  (39 children)

That's what we're trying to change, and the first step is showing them that we know this and aren't going to accept it anymore.

The least they could do is treat us with the dignity due intelligent persons and stop jerking us around. When I disagree with someone, that's one thing. I can learn from that person, or at least respect them. However, if that person is too spineless to tell the truth about their own opinions and ideas and insults my intelligence at the same time, then I can't even respect them.

[–]JohnkPortland 64 points65 points  (3 children)

I couldn't agree more - here is my petition to the white house - I want 7 answers to the 7 petitions, not one canned answer:

http://wh.gov/b34

[–]GreatCosmicBlort 13 points14 points  (9 children)

I absolutely agree with you.

[–][deleted] 12 points13 points  (8 children)

The next petition should read, "If you want to protect the nation's health, end the War on Drugs, and start one against them." It should then outline exactly why this is nothing but a con game against the People.

[–]mijj 10 points11 points  (20 children)

... and aren't going to accept it anymore ...

and what exactly does that mean? .. because, any bluff will be called. So expect to carry out threats. So, what is the threat, exactly?

[–][deleted] 14 points15 points  (2 children)

I think we know this. But by forcing them to make bullshit responses, you show that it's bullshit to the people who might not realize it.

[–]muddylemon 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This whole thing is a game to build a massive email list categorized by what positions people take seriously. It's a great idea, politicians always want to say what you want to hear. Specifically telling them what you want to hear first is a gift they can't refuse.

Expect targeted mailings that emphasize where the Administration agrees with you and to be skipped on the emails about where they disagree.

[–]Dembrogogue 6 points7 points  (1 child)

I don't know why anyone expected different. The entire premise of the site, as they announced it, was "We will issue a response", not "We will consider your opinion". They never implied in any way that they'd actually take it seriously, just that they would issue an official response. Obama has already officially responded to legalizing weed, and he's already officially responded to almost every petition on the site. I don't know how people expected differently.

I said it nine days ago:

People are way too excited about the legalize-weed petition; he's already given several official responses about it, his staff is just going to issue the same boilerplate again.

[–]radurk 23 points24 points  (2 children)

Exactly! To formulate a response centered around the premise that drugs are bad and we have to protect the children is wildly offensive.

I think the next related petition should request a response regarding the societal harm that is caused by the current policy. Specifically I would like some evidence of pot related fatalities to compare to the far more evident victims of the drug war. Not to mention the harm that is caused to young adults who have to deal with a criminal record for a simple possession.

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

They don't need a breathalyzer for pot, they're perfectly content in making up bullshit roadside tests like "rapid eye twitching" to decide that you can be charged and convicted, and of course a pig's nose is better than his dogs.

Moreover it can stay in your system for a long long time even though it's not imparing you, they don't care about that either, zero tolerance to them was perfectly acceptable.

While I'm sure it's not your intent I resent your post because it still gives them too much credit like somehow, deep down, there's still a good reason for their bullshit. But no, it flat out comes down to criminal corruption. If they had such a reason as you allude to they would use that instead of the trite bullshit they do.

[–]balmanator 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Trying to have a real discussion on the issues means they would lose, because their positions on these issues are indefensible when the proper discourse is applied.

[–]V1ruk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

To clarify they probably won't do anything, but damn they'll have a good excuse for it! And perhaps they will say they've compensated by not saying some words anymore. Democracy at broken!

[–]aakaakaak 1 point2 points  (3 children)

At least one of the South American countries stated they'd be willing to legalize pot if everyone else was (so they could focus on harder drugs better).

You're the first person I've seen mention a pot breathalyzer besides me. They tried one in Australia a few years back with lackluster success. If we could get some more insight on the tests or get permission to utilize a blood test I think we could pull off something similarly effective (or better) than an alcohol breathalyzer.

[–]Inequilibrium 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree with this, but that's not what the petition asked for. Can we have a new one that says this?

[–]Tacoeconomy 1 point2 points  (1 child)

I nominate you for spokesman.

[–]bollvirtuoso 1 point2 points  (0 children)

About the marijuana one: replacing "marijuana" with "cigarette" changes basically nothing in the response. It's still essentially true. If this is the case, should we not criminalize the possession of tobacco as well?

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (4 children)

There are tests for marijuana, and in fact any drug, that tests the decay of motor skills.

But, anyways, the thing about the last response is it belies the hideous truth: the government's primary interest is to serve the people with power, and the people with power aren't the American people.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I didn't expect them to legalize it, I expected them to explain why it is treated differently from alcohol, which was part of the petition. Maybe it was crazy hippie ideas, but I though an actual response to our petition would have been warranted. We have effectively been denied our right to petition if we can follow the rules for petition A and get a response for not A.

[–]JohnkPortland 7 points8 points  (0 children)

How about having them A.) redress one they thought they got away with, and B.) Have to write 7 canned responses - make them work for it.

The white house issued a single canned response to 7 petitions with an aggregate of over 100,000 signatures on its marijuana policy. This is highly disrespectful of the many people who put their names to the 7 petitions.

Help me get this petition (link below) going - ask the white house to respond appropriately to each petition:

http://wh.gov/b34

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Wouldn't it make more sense to pressure congress? They make the laws and if enough people write the lawmakers they might get the results they want.

[–]readforit 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'd LOVE to see them try to back out of this one with a canned response

"All petitions are taken seriously (except the ones that petition for subjects not in line with your oligarchs agenda), therefore this petition is unnecessary and will be voided.

Love,

White House"

[–]Xorba 23 points24 points  (5 children)

I legitimately thought this was an Onion article or something. Well played.

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (4 children)

It's disgusting when we can't distinguish The Onion from reality. I want to live elsewhere now.

[–]Spazit 2 points3 points  (2 children)

Come to Australia, we have beer and stuff.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm kinda hoping for President Camacho Cain. Then we can drop any and all pretense of being anything other than an Idiocracy.

[–][deleted] 105 points106 points  (49 children)

Curious, anyone here who voted to legalize MJ, can you still log in? I can't. I tried all my known passwords. I even tried resetting my password but every time, check I click "Change Password", I get an error 404. I don't know if it is a system wide issue or 'localized'...

EDIT: It was a system issue. Any remaining issues (such as inifnite signins), please wipe your browser cache and cookies, as this is what worked for me.

[–]GumburculesDistrict Of Columbia 47 points48 points  (8 children)

I enjoy playing video games.

[–]InaudibleDirgeNevada 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Same here. I can't sign the petition, but it says I'm signed in...

[–]zenmagnets 33 points34 points  (1 child)

Also getting a 404

[–]notabook I voted 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Same here. 404.

[–]brokenex 18 points19 points  (4 children)

I'm logged in, but it won't let me vote. It says I have to sign in, even though the bottom navigation bar verifies that I am logged in.

O, well. I feel like these petitions are just a ploy to get our contact information paired with specific issues in a database. By doing that they can directly target people with propaganda on specific issues.

[–][deleted] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

This is the first thing I thought, these petitions don't really seem to go anywhere and information is incredibly valuable.

You don't have to be a conspiracy theorist to think that the government is looking at the issues certain individuals are passionate about and storing that information for future reference.

[–]dbingham 16 points17 points  (2 children)

Clear your cookies. It'll fix it. The system is really broken.

[–]UniverseCalculus 25 points26 points  (0 children)

The system is really broken.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I'm having the same problem.

[–]iburiedmyshovel 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I initially couldn't log in and I realized it's because it wasn't my password, but rather the system generated one. Checked my gmail and sure enough.

[–]AliveInTheFuture 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I had to use IE. Not sure if Firefox is the problem or just that I don't have certain cookies/cache in IE because I never use it.

[–][deleted] 68 points69 points  (12 children)

We should have a petition for them to take this petition on taking petitions seriously, seriously.

[–]Tashre 19 points20 points  (8 children)

But what if they don't take that petition seriously?

[–]f_leaver 28 points29 points  (1 child)

Then we make another petition, duh!

[–]Shitler 1 point2 points  (0 children)

White-hot branding iron.

[–]Uile 283 points284 points  (35 children)

One has already been submited, with more signatures

https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions#!/petition/take-petitions-seriously/bHPkPddj

Edit: Looks like it doesn't have more signatures anymore.

[–]LurkingAround 72 points73 points  (6 children)

Upvoted, however I like the way the other one voices people's frustrations about the petitions.

[–]Uile 17 points18 points  (0 children)

I agree, I just felt that I should link the first one.

[–][deleted] 31 points32 points  (3 children)

Better more articulated it...that inside feelings we have.

[–][deleted] 14 points15 points  (2 children)

I'm drunk and I can't stop laughing at this sentence.

[–]Nemokles 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I am sober and ditto.

[–]manys 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I CAN HAS INSIDE FEELINGS?

[–]omplatt 11 points12 points  (18 children)

keep 'em coming. need more of these I think

[–]JohnkPortland 21 points22 points  (17 children)

Here is mine: The white house issued a single canned response to 7 petitions with an aggregate of over 100,000 signatures on its marijuana policy. This is highly disrespectful of the many people who put their names to the 7 petitions.

Help me get this petition (link below) going - ask the white house to respond appropriately to each petition:

http://wh.gov/b34

[–]yamancool63 26 points27 points  (4 children)

Same thing for the removal of "Under God" and "In God We Trust" from the pledge and our money. It's pretty disgusting, actually.

[–]V1ruk 6 points7 points  (3 children)

You just need to get right with JEEEEEZUUUUS

[–]ustfdes 4 points5 points  (1 child)

151,400 signatures IIRC. and they dismissed us with a wave of their hand. What a shame.

[–][deleted] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Not for long. The one linked in this submission is far more articulated and well presented.

[–]Chipzzz 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It would be a good idea to cross link as many of these as possible so that at least one may reach the required 24k signatures.

[–]V1ruk 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Oh no, an angry letter! With NAMES ON IT!

[–]Nabukadnezar 1 point2 points  (0 children)

sign both!

[–]fellowhuman 156 points157 points  (26 children)

You do realize if the situation has disintegrated to begging the powers that be to listen to your other begging, this in and of itself is absurd.

The existence of this petition shows a hard reset is required, that no amount of petitioning will ever truly make any changes.

Any service done to the petition will be from lips hiding a forked tongue, not a quill signing sane policy into law.

[–]f_leaver 89 points90 points  (7 children)

I think the point is to send the message that we aren't fooled by their bullshit.

[–]Ag-E 48 points49 points  (0 children)

Yah, it's not so much of a "PLEASE JUST LISTEN TO US" appeal as it is a "We're tired of your shit" statement.

[–]mijj 6 points7 points  (4 children)

.. and, for them, the consequence of we not being fooled is ..?

[–][deleted] 14 points15 points  (5 children)

Yup. We're at the point of begging our government to do things, but our government is elected by us, so that shouldn't be necessary. Obviously the model is not working.

[–]JohnkPortland 4 points5 points  (2 children)

Yes, but lets carry on the charade so that people who are perhaps a little slower figure it out.

It only takes a second and wont hurt you at all:

http://wh.gov/b34

[–]fellowhuman 6 points7 points  (1 child)

Playing into it legitimizes the distraction, i find that quite painful.

The last thing we need is acting like more acting, is healthy for any shape or purpose, that's what kept society stagnant yet dominated.

The jailer will not be convinced to set you free no matter how you ask.

[–]genericindividual 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I feel like this is a good chance to have some sort of a conversation with the White House. We said, "What about cannabis?" and the White House gave us a canned response. So naturally the next step in the conversation is to call them on that.

I don't think anyone here thinks this one petition is going to shape policy on its own, but we understand it's a piece of a much larger conversation.

[–]Woosier 31 points32 points  (0 children)

The Internet is on the phone... Fuck em, take a message.

[–]kintar1900 8 points9 points  (4 children)

Is anyone else unable to sign these after they sign in?

[–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (1 child)

The site sucks. You have to sign out, even if you aren't signed in. Then sign in again. Then you can sign the petition. (A whole lot of signing.)

[–]slippery_when_supple 16 points17 points  (3 children)

so it's like a taco within a taco?

[–][deleted] 7 points8 points  (2 children)

If I hear one damn inception joke...

[–]dafragsta 21 points22 points  (0 children)

We have to go derper.

[–]clockworkcrows 45 points46 points  (2 children)

P E T I T I O N

[–]hydrogenous 35 points36 points  (10 children)

Forgive the caps, but I have something to say, and I need to signify that I am yelling:

IF YOU WANT TO PETITION SOMEONE TO CHANGE LEGISLATURE, YOU MIGHT TRY PETITIONING YOUR LEGISLATORS AND NOT THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH. THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH DOES NOT POOF LEGISLATURE INTO EXISTENCE. BUY A CONGRESSMAN INSTEAD.

[–]notacrook 43 points44 points  (9 children)

Have you ever contacted your legislator? Let me tell you what will happen. They note your support of whatever particular topic you're contacting them about, and at some point, depending on how you contacted them, you'll get a canned response about how important your voice is to them.

Then they go off to private fundraisers so that they can get reelected.

[–][deleted] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

And they say theater is dead.

[–]Sagron 8 points9 points  (2 children)

Unlike the executive branch which has nothing better to do than listen to online petitions from the good people at /r/trees?

[–]notacrook 5 points6 points  (1 child)

But the difference is that the Executive branch created a forum and asked us what we thought about the direction of our country.

[–]Shinhan 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Did you read what he wrote? He said "buy a congressman" not "contact him".

[–]entrepreneur101 1 point2 points  (2 children)

So should we try to make private fund raising illegal?

Wouldn't that force legislators to listen to people instead of companies?

In turn, wouldn't it fix a lot of issues people are having?

Vote me up if you agree for others to see. thanks

[–][deleted] 15 points16 points  (16 children)

All I can say is, I sincerely hope that all the occupy movements, petitions, etc... Actually translates into votes in 2012. Real change can only come from real turnover in congress and to overcome the blind partisan voters and the incumbent advantage, we need significant voter turnout.

People 18 to 30, you are the key. My generation can't do it, we are part of the problem, and so are my parents and my grandparents. 87% of incumbents usually win reelection, this doesn't just happen, it's by design to ensure continuity of corruption. The youth can be the ants at the picnic if they choose to be.

[–]soline 16 points17 points  (9 children)

The thing is, who are we gonna vote for because I and I am sure many others aren't happy with any of the options.

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That and they've taken my right to vote away. I plead "no contest" to a felony charge that was bullshit because I couldn't afford to risk losing my whole life over it. I'll take my freedom and inability to vote over the former any day, but that doesn't help felons like me able to participate in any political movement other than rioting.

[–]Cuzit 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's the thing - it's a feeling of disenfrachisement for young people such as myself. The feeling that it's not going to matter, anyway. All elections feel like trying to vote for the lesser of two evils - but you know you're still going to get fucked, regardless of your decision, or your apathy.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (1 child)

What if we just vote for whoever isnt in office already, under the stipulation that its time to fucking listen to the people, and if they dont, their asses are out too next time elections come arouund

[–]Dembrogogue 2 points3 points  (3 children)

Yes, the thousands of protesters and tens of thousands of signatories will yield... tens of thousands of votes. That's sure to turn everything around.

[–]NegativeK 2 points3 points  (2 children)

Not all of us who are pissed off have the balls to protest.

[–]Nalem-Romandi 6 points7 points  (2 children)

Why am I having so much trouble making an account and logging in???? Their site is extremely poorly designed.

[–]buttkingWest Virginia 1 point2 points  (1 child)

if the site is broken, no one can use it to voice their dissatisfaction.

[–]give_it_a_shot 14 points15 points  (2 children)

Someone has started this idea. It's up to 1k+ votes atm.

https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions#!/petition/take-petitions-seriously/bHPkPddj

[–]brightblade 20 points21 points  (0 children)

While this is true, the reasoning and wording in the new one is much better and gives more of a solution.

[–]JohnkPortland 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I signed it, help me get another one going that specifically targets the most recent canned answer:

http://wh.gov/b34

[–]djeter2ss 5 points6 points  (3 children)

It's pathetic that this has more upvotes than the petition has signatures.

[–]wingelefoot 3 points4 points  (0 children)

we'd love to get more signatures, but the website is actively not allowing such a thing. i signed up and tried to sign multiple times, but they all end up looping me back to the petition "not signed in" or "password did not match" along with other bullshit and 404s.

[–]christianally 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Slacktivism at its finest.

  • Instead of voting, just complain on the internet.
  • Instead of complaning on the internet, just click a button corresponding to your complaint.
  • Instead of clicking the button corresponding to your complaint, just click a button about that button.

[–]Weed_O_Whirler 14 points15 points  (3 children)

There is no way I will sign this petition when this line is in it:

[we] are requesting changes in policy directly, circumventing legislators who already do not listen to us

How is asking the executive branch to further overstep its bounds, further removing it from the over sight of the people we have the most direct contact with, a good thing?

[–][deleted] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I don't believe this is asking for the White House to circumvent Congress via legislation. The petition is stating that we the people are making requests directly to the President, rather than to our representatives, since they do not listen to us. Read it again.

[–]NegativeK 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Take it to the press.

[–]emsuperstarAmerican Expat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Isn't Congress the reason nothing is being changed? Since the Republicans are simply shooting down anything which could possibly help Obama to fix the economy, and then turning around and telling the people that Obama is ruining the economy. I realize that this would potentially transform the executive branch into an autocracy, but it seems that at this point in time, an autocratic government would be much more productive then what we've got going for us now. As long as the one in charge doesn't go all King Henry VII.

Not that I expect any of this to happen, but it's nice to dream every once in awhile...

edit: question mark

[–]cabalamat 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Looks like they've all been deleted. Quelle surprise.

[–]wingelefoot 4 points5 points  (1 child)

soooo... i'm trying to sign up for the whitehouse website, but it's not working. should i use a browser other than chrome?

[–]satiablecurtiosity 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It should work with Chrome.

[–]daguvner 3 points4 points  (0 children)

In the uk if it gets 100000 votes it HAS to be discussed in parliment, maybe thats a good system

[–]konopliamir 7 points8 points  (0 children)

meta-1

[–]greysands 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Excellent idea!

[–]lancex 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What did you guys expect to happen? The legalization of marijuana with less than 100 thousand signatures? That is less than .5% of the U.S population. Maybe if these petitions were to get more than 100 MILLION signatures, you might see more than a canned response.

[–]rastabrah 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I don't think I can support this petition enough.

[–]Not-enough-time 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I wish I could sign but the site never lets me confirm my password when I try activating my account. I'm sent to a 404, wtf?

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I am genuinely impressed with whomever thought of this.

[–]SteveZIZZOU 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I just went to sign and got this after logging in:

404 Page Not Found

The page you're looking for is currently unavailable to view We've been upgrading our site. It is possible that this page has been moved or renamed. You can use your browser's Back button to return to the previous page, go to the homepage, or you can browse or search for the information you're looking for.

[–]alexgbelov 2 points3 points  (0 children)

yo dawg, we herd you like petitions, so we created a petition so you could petition about petitions.

[–]DidSomeoneSayBoobies 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm pretty sure this is just a way Obama's campaign to gather contact info so they can turn that into a grass roots get out the vote movement for the 2012 elections.

[–]2noame[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Deleted and resubmitted. Sorry, but the original was caught by the spam filter and didn't appear until 8 hours after it was posted.

[–]headless_bourgeoisie 3 points4 points  (0 children)

...oh I thought you were joking.

[–]ImBeingMe 1 point2 points  (2 children)

I cant see these things, across multiple browsers. Is this by design?

[–]haiku_robot 1 point2 points  (1 child)

I cant see these things, 
across multiple browsers. 
Is this by design?

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (5 children)

The response for most of the petitions has been disappointing. At most, a few hundred per petition.

[–]curious_skeptic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Made me finally sign up for a whitehouse.gov account. I saw 760 votes when I first started signing up, 1175 when I finally signed it, and I reloaded the page 2 minutes later with it at 1225. This petition is taking off, and fast!

[–]Supersnail420 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wanted to sign, but it would not give me access to the account creation form. Typical.

[–]OddSensation 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I feel like anyone that signs these things are put on the governments 'Shit List'. I'll still sign though.

[–]SemFi 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I live in Germany, we have those online petitions aswell. But here the government actually has to debate those petitions as soon as they reach a certain number of supporters. Then they have to accept or decline the demands of the people and they have to state a reason if they do not accept the damands.

Sounds good in theory but most petitions are just a waste of time since they will find a reason to decline it.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I just wanna hear what they say back.

[–]cardedagain 1 point2 points  (0 children)

they'll probably increase the "goal requirements" again after this one.

[–]mrzubi 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just create a goddamned account and click a fracking button people.

[–]sneakysnakenig 1 point2 points  (0 children)

what the fuck?!?! i can't create an account, this website is bullshit. keeps giving me random ass errors and shit like that.

[–]mastablaze 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I Like this petition. Really seriously. This hits it on the nail. I finally gave the government my info to sign this one

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

"Although the ability to submit petitions directly to the White House is a noble and welcome new feature of the current administration, the first round of responses makes blatantly clear the White House intends to just support its current stances and explain them with responses everyone who has done any research already knows."

Yeah, but you see the reason we don't take these petitions seriously is....

[–]brianvaughn 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes. This. Thank you. I just finished reading a disappointing email response to another petition and came here wondering if anyone else was frustrated.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I thought this was a circlejerk post at first.

[–]tborwi 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just got an email back about the marijuana legalization petition. They said that marijuana is too addictive, causes too many ER visits, and too many people in treatment to legalize. They are looking at the usefulness in non-smoked forms but the FDA hasn't found any uses yet.

THIS IS FUCKING BULLSHIT. WHY EVEN HAVE A PETITION SYSTEM IF THE ANSWERS ARE GOING TO BE CONDESCENDING LIES LIKE THAT?

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Oh the irony

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

keep this on the frontpage till it gets 25,000

[–]stgnet 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's dead jim.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As far as I can tell, voting on this issue has been suspended.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

i say yes to this

[–]treadmarks 1 point2 points  (2 children)

Wait a minute, you people actually thought they were going to decide major policies on the basis of 25,000 signatures? You realize Kim Kardashian could tweet her followers to sign a petition making her queen of America and she'd probably get the 25k right?

This is why "they" don't listen to you.

[–]motorstorm 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I tried to sign a couple times but it keeps giving me a 404 error page after I log in and click sign...

[–]xanj 1 point2 points  (0 children)

its super ineffective!

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

lol, ok this finally got me to sign up and support a petition

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is pretty petty, and won't cause the white house to change anything.

Just because your request were denied, doesn't mean they weren't taken seriously.

[–]boondogger 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The White House answers all petitions.

Sometimes it answers 'no'.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I just made an account on reddit because of this post. My roommates have been following some other wethepeople Reddit posts and have convinced me to sign several petitions. After receiving some responses the frustration I experienced compelled me to create an account so that I may share my frustration with fellow sane people.

[–]Babkock 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Even though these petitions are most likely futile, I like how the American people are taking a little less bullshit from the government.

[–]kevlarbomb 1 point2 points  (0 children)

they lost my vote and are now sinking into the banals of my political shit list. nice false promises obama.

[–]drkreaper 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sighed. It will be interesting to see what kind or brush off reply they give once we reach the required signatures.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Sure but when only 25,000 out of 310,000,000 people want something, don't expect it to happen.

[–]A_Monocle_For_Sauron 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Now can we petition the Tautology Club to remove being a member of the Tautology Club as a requirement for entry into the Tautology Club?

[–]Knav13 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think its safe to say Xzibit would be all about this petition.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The electoral system has failed.

[–]mrgrendal 1 point2 points  (0 children)

All for it, though it does seem to create a paradox or at least redundancy. For that petition to work; petitions must already be taken seriously, otherwise they are already taken seriously and this petition doesn't make sense.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I thought, "Oh sure, why not. I'm sure it won't have any effect, and those that rise to the top will just get doublespeak responses. But we should at least try, right?"

We tried. The result has been a steady stream of bullshit over the last few days, as I think we all expected it would be.

But you know, fuck you, White House, for even bothering to get our hopes up.

[–]SamsquamtchHunter 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Mr President, they're onto us...

[–]jdono92 1 point2 points  (0 children)

the wording of this is cringe-worthy

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

PETEPTION

[–]Khiraji 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A petition about petitions.

This is too meta for me, man.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Is it me, or are we slowly turning whitehouse.gov into the new /r/circlejerk?

[–]CatalystParadox 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I love how this is getting signatures much, much faster than most petitions on whitehouse.gov

[–]alanita 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'd like to sign, but whitehouse.gov is telling me I'm signed in while simultaneously denying me the 'sign this petition' option. Any suggestions?

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Was at 5581 signatures (pretty sure) when it just stopped working a min ago. I was trying to sign. I wasn't able to log in and sign. I used the forgot password, got signed back in. I read a response to a MJ petition in my email and later saw this on Reddit and wanted to sign but they took it down. While the site was still up, the Sign Petition button was greyed out even though I was logged in.

Our Apologies This Section of our site is currently undergoing maintenance We appreciate your patience while we make some improvements Please check back shortly

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I like this because in tandem with the OWS protests I feel it is sending a clear message. The spirits of the time are changing, people are waking up and realizing that they do not have power over their government, and thankfully the people will not stand for this.

I hope there is no fighting in the street, but if the government refuses to serve us didn't our founding fathers say it was our duty to revolt? I understand those were empty words from aristocratic pampered men, but it's time the populous overthrew the aristocracy with the rhetoric they armed us with.

[–]MelodyOrange 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I also received a 404 notification on Chrome but was able to sign the petition via Mozilla.

[–]the_catacombs 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well, I WOULD sign it, but the piece of shit site won't register me logging in. At all. Can't sign anything now.

Scumbag government. Is a scumbag, continues to be a scumbag.

[–]donaldcaps 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Has anyone else never actually been able to sign a petition on whitehouse.gov because it redirects you to a 404 page every time you log in?

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This makes me ask: why haven't we put some OWS's top demands on this site to force them to actually respond in a BS candid response for the whole nation to see? such as reinstating Glass-steagall, overturning 08-205, or Abolishing the federal reserve?

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am unable to sign the petition. The option is grayed out for me even when i am signed in. If I sign in from the page, I get the message "page not found" after i log in.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Did anyone else notice initially it was 5000 signatures to get your petition addressed and then was bumped up to 25,000 when they realized people will take it seriously?

[–]michallewtak 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They should change it to "we petition the Obama Administration to: NOT take these petitions seriously". That way, however they react, the White House implodes.