Fieldler, Elizabeth, auth. "Philly Cops Bust Crime In 140 Characters Or Fewer." National Public Radio. N.p., n.d. web. 17 May 2012. <http://www.npr.org/2012/04/10/150355105/philly-cops-bust-crime-in-140-characters-or-less>.

Mulholland, Jessica. "Philadelphia Police Officers to Start Tweeting at Work." Government Technology. 17 April 2012: n. page. Web. 25 May. 2012. <http://www.govtech.com/public-safety/Philadelphia-Police-to-Start-Tweeting-at-Work.html>.

Facts of the case:

George Corson worked for almost 30 years for Railroad Friction Products as a mechanic repairing locomotives in a railroad maintenance facility.  During this time, he was routinely exposed to asbestos dust, which has long been known to be carcinogenic.  In 2005, he was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer, the only known cause of which is asbestos.  He filed a lawsuit against Railroad Friction Products in a Pennsylvania court, raising several state-law tort claims against the manufacturers and distributors of the asbestos-containing locomotive products.  Corson claimed that the products were defective and he had never been properly warned about the asbestos.  He died two years after his diagnosis.

In 1911, Congress passed the Boiler Inspection Act, which over time has involved into the Locomotive Inspection Act in place currently.  The Locomotive Inspection Act addresses matters of safety and liability concerning trains and railroads.

In 1926, the Supreme Court ruled on Napier v. Atlantic Coast Line Railroad that the Boiler Inspection Act did preempt state laws.

            Railroad Friction Products argues that the Locomotive Inspection Act was supposed to preempt state laws, and Pennsylvania’s laws are intruding on a field that Congress has reserved for federal regulation.  Kurns contends that Congress did not clearly intend to preempt state laws, and that in any case, the LIA only addresses locomotives “in use” on railroad lines, not locomotives at maintenance facilities.  Furthermore, she argues, if the LIA did preempt state laws, workers like Corson would have no way to seek justice.

            I predict that the court will rule that the LIA does preempt state laws.  They have ruled this way in the past, and from the transcripts I read, it seems that most of the people involved seem to think agree that the LIA preempts state laws.  In fact, it might not be possible for RFP to comply with both state and federal laws, and when there is such a conflict, it seems natural for federal laws to “beat” state laws.

            In the end, I chose four people to contact: Don Schwarz, the Philadelphia City Health Commisioner; Leroy Nunery, the acting superintendent of the Philadelphia school district; Wayne T. Grasela, the senior vice president of the school district’s Division of Food Services; and Darrell Clarke, the new president of city council.  Don Schwarz does hold a powerful position, yet he is also directly involved with the health of Philadelphians.  Given that Philadelphia’s child obesity rate is 40%—twice the national rate—I’m sure he is interested in ways to combat child obesity.  Leroy Nunery has of course a great say in what schools do, and while he may be less concerned with child obesity, there is ample evidence that a healthy diet improves academic performance, which I think would interest him.  Wayne T. Grasela is perhaps the least powerful but most directly relevant of the people I am contacting.  Looking at the web page for the Division of Food Services, it is clear that efforts have already been made to improve school lunches.  School breakfast, lunch and after-school dinner menus for the month of January are even downloadable from the site.  In my letter to him, I begin by applauding the steps that have already been taken before urging him to continue supporting healthier school lunches.  Darrell Clarke doesn't have much involvement with the school district directly, but city council does pass legislation regarding all of Philadelphia, so I think it would be good to have him support healthier school lunches.

            Of course, it isn’t enough to be one person asking for something, so I’ve created a Facebook group called Philadelphia Students for Improved School Lunches to spread the message and urge other people to contact decision-makers about improving school lunches.  I know that there are many people who would support healthier school lunches, but I haven't been able to find other groups that push directly for better school lunches, only things like banning soda or vending machines.  On the group page, I have also made available for download some Keynote slides for parents to present at PTA meetings, and shirts that say “Good Students Eat Good Food” available for purchase.  With the profits from the shirts I can purchase more shirts to distribute for free to school district employees, which they can wear to show support for improved school lunches.

            Finally, I have written to Don Sapatkin, a health writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer, suggesting that he do a piece on the state of Philadelphia school lunches.  Such an article would be fantastic for drawing more attention to the issue of school lunches.  I am waiting to hear back from him.  If he declines to do such an article, I have notes prepared to write my own op-ed piece that I can try to get published.

·       1 medium onion, chopped fine

·       1 tablespoon vegetable oil

·       1 medium tomato, chopped fine

·       1 green pepper, chopped fine (optional)

·       4-6 eggs

Preparation:

1.     Whisk eggs. Set aside.

2.     Melt oil in a large nonstick skillet. 

3.     Sautée chopped onions over medium heat until translucent. 

4.     Add tomatoes and peppers and cook over medium heat until soft, 8-10 minutes. 

5.     Pour eggs into skillet and cook gently, stirring them lightly and flipping them as they cook. 

6.     Cook to desired doneness. Serve warm with arepas.

            Perico is a Venezuelan dish consisting of eggs, oil, tomatoes, onions, and green peppers.  A single serving would have about 18.5 grams of fat and 222 calories.  It has no sugar (except for a little natural sugar from the vegetables).

            Our dish is nearly 100% whole food.  The only processed ingredient is vegetable oil, of which only a tablespoon is used.  It was also, dollar for calorie, the cheapest ingredient.  A 48-oz bottle cost $2.99.  Eggs were $2.29 a dozen, also relatively cheap.  The pepper was $1.99, the tomato and onion $3.99 each.  One serving of perico costs approximately $3.97, more than a serving of fast food.

            The only ingredients whose origins we were able to find were the eggs and oil.  The eggs came from a small organic farm called Sauder’s Quality Eggs.  The oil was manufactured by Clover Valley, which is owned by Dolgencorp, LLC, a subsidiary of Dollar General.  While we don’t know exactly where the vegetables came from, they probably came at least several hundred miles.  They were from a normal supermarket and therefore are probably from Florida, California, or Mexico.

            The only vegetable oil regulation I could find was a bill that requires animal fats and vegetable oils to be regulated just like non-food oils for manufacturing and transportation.  There are many regulations concerning the production of all eggs, to prevent the spread of salmonella, and more for organic eggs.

            Sauder’s eggs come from hens that eat organic feed with no antibiotics and roam outdoors.  Conventionally produced eggs come from hens given antibiotics and growth hormones.  Since Sauder’s is in Pennsylvania, the eggs also travel less than eggs from a non-local company might.  The tomato wasn’t organic.  While an organic tomato would have been grown without pesticides, the tomato we used was likely sprayed with pesticides to control weeds, pests and disease.

            This unit in science and society, I’ve learned about the ways in which science is a part of seemingly unscientific issues, like what we eat.  So much of the truth behind what we eat is hidden from us by huge food corporations.  It’s up to consumers to uncover the ugly truths behind modern agriculture.

            Our food system is terribly flawed.  We rely not on traditional farms, but on factories, where workers are mistreated and food is produced in unhealthy, dangerous and environmentally unsound ways.  Because food corporations are so huge and so powerful, they are able to eschew using responsible manufacturing practices in favor of doing whatever they can to make money.  They are even able to silence anyone who speaks out against them.  The biggest problem is that they act irresponsibly because they have no reason not to.  They aren’t punished for the problems they create.  As Michael Pollan described, Monsanto is working to create GMOs that are largely still not understood.  Worse, these products not only have the potential to cause problems in the short run, but once a gene is introduced to nature, it’s there for good.  This is called “genetic pollution,” and there’s no way to fix it.

            I had never used a midtone in my drawings before, so that was something new in itself.  I also wasn’t used to working with charcoal—I nearly always use pencils, simply because they’re simple and can be erased—but it turned out to be pretty enjoyable.  I ended up focusing on getting used to the new techniques rather than making a perfect sketch of the glass.

            I know that a piece is done when there’s nothing I want to change about it.  I try to look at it from a stranger’s perspective and decide whether or not they would see what I want them to see.  It’s very uplifting to feel that a piece is the way I want it to be.

            I’m not at all used to drawing with anything besides a pencil and 8.5” x 11” paper.  I thought the drawing would be a disaster, but it wasn’t so bad.  I’m actually pretty proud about how it turned out, considering how unusual a medium this was for me.  I couldn’t even hold the pastel in the way I usually hold a pencil, because I’m a little neurotic about getting my hands and clothes dirty.

            I didn’t hold myself to my usual standard of total precision and allowed myself to concentrate on getting the general shapes right.  I think concentrating on the big picture (so to speak) is something I should do more even when I’m using my regular pencil and paper.  It helped me a lot.  In the end, my drawing wasn’t incredibly detailed, but I think it actually bears some resemblance to the model, which is pretty cool.

Unfortunately, President Verna has decided that at the end of her term as City Council President, she will retire.  For this reason, she may not be the most helpful person to lobby.

I think that Democratic Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey would be more helpful.  He has identified helping children as a top priority.  In fact, he used to teach 5th grade, and at one point he coached 8th grade basketball in inner-city Philadelphia with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps.  This tells me that he cares not just for children but for low-income children in particular.  He has also supported funding for education and children's health, especially for low-income children.  On his website, he expresses support for quality healthcare for everyone, "particularly children for whom health care in the earliest years is so critical."  Most notably, he added an amendment to the Senate health care reform bill that would continue full funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) through 2019.

Since obesity is a huge problem among low-income children in Philadelphia, I think he'd be very much in favor of healthier school lunches.

Few groups are at higher risk for obesity than Philadelphia children of low socioeconomic status, of which an estimated 51% are obese.  Much of the obesity problem among Philadelphia's low-SES kids comes from the fact that they live in food deserts, or areas in which healthy, affordable food is hard to come by.  The USDA's handy Food Desert Locator shows various food deserts along the Schuylkill, and a large one in northeast-most Philadelphia.

The first step to lowering this number seems obvious to me: provide Philly's low-SES children with healthier food by having public schools serve more nutritious, less fattening lunches.  I'm certainly not alone in my thinking.  Michelle Obama's highly publicized "Let's Move!" campaign seeks to lower child obesity rates by providing access to healthy food for all families and helping children become more physically active.  In December of 2010, President Obama signed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act into law, authorizing funding to increase low-SES kids' access to healthy food.  The Kids' Safe and Healthful Foods Project seeks to implement science-based guidelines for food and drinks sold in schools, as well as more rigorous food safety guidelines, and ensure that schools have the resources to train cafeteria workers and provide necessary equipment.

The most outspoken opponent of these anti-obesity efforts is probably My Food. My Choice!, which argues that the government is overstepping its boundaries by trying to control what people eat.  The group was founded by conservative columnist Orit Sklar, who gained notoriety after suing Georgia Tech for the right to verbally harass gay students.  Mayor Nutter also proposed a two-cents-an-ounce soda tax as a way to reduce soda consumption among Philadelphia children, as well as bring in an estimated $77 million.  However, after much lobbying by the American Beverage Association, the measure was rejected by the city council.

I think that My Food. My Choice! has a valid concern, but they feel more threatened than they should.  It seems to me that they've misinterpreted trying to help people get access to healthier food as trying to cut off access to unhealthier food.  The current obesity epidemic is a serious threat to our country, and arguing about what counts as the government infringing on our right to exercise dangerous habits will only prevent us from giving help to those who need it most.

Four Loko

Yo elige este publicidad porque yo personalmente se opongo el consumo de alcohol de menores. Hay personajes cerca de mi quien consumen alcohol y no son mayor de edad. Rechazan a entender los peligros del consumo de alcohol, y siempre tengo miedo que las personas por que me preocupó se lastimarán. Soy en contra de Four Loko en particular, porque le aprovecha de jóvenes quien no entienden los efectos de alcohol con cafeína. Hay un numero de reportas de jóvenes apareciendo en el hospital quejando que sus corazones son venciendo muy anormalmente, y muchos doctores dicen que el mejor de sus pacientes de envenenamiento de alcohol dicen que ha bebían Four Lokos.
Four Loko es un producto del compañía Phusion Projects, inventado de tres ex-alumnos de la universidad de Ohio, y es muy popular entre jóvenes porque es vendido en latas gigantes, y tiene ambos alcohol y cafeína. También, es muy barato. Ese es importante, porque muchos jóvenes no tienen mucho dinero para la comprada de alcohol. Por eso, Four Loko es un “eficiente” método de emborrachándose: es largo, potente, barato, y la cafeína permite que bebedores pueden beber más y se emborrachan más antes de desmayando.
El sol valor del compañía es dinero, pero quiere que los valores de los consumidores son fiestas y divertido todo el tiempo. Phusion Products dice en su sitio de web que no les apuntan a jóvenes, pero ese es obviamente una mentira. La gente quien bebe Four Loko quiere siempre divertirse, sin pensando de los consecuencias. Four Loko le apunta a jóvenes en SLA por usando colores brillantes en su envases y publicidades, para se parecen a bebidas de energía. Los publicidades dan a entender que Four Loko es una parte importante de una vida de fiestas, conciertos, y libertad. Porque muchas jóvenes quieren consumar alcohol, tratan a ser independes y libre de el ley y las reglas de adultos. Por ese, el imagen de Four Loko se adapta perfectamente con una vida de fiestas y conciertos. No mencionan que el combinación de alcohol y cafeína hace más probable la envenenamiento de alcohol, porque la cafeína le retrasa el efecto del alcohol, y entonces la gente piensa que necesitan beber más. También, la cafeína hace que bebedores se sientan más despiertos y en control, pero no son de verdad, y entonces son más propensos a conducir y le causan accidentes. No mencionan que si bebes Four Loko, no vas a poder recordar las fiestas y conciertos cuando despiertas la mañana próxima.

Four Loko Contrapublicidad

El publicidad original no menciona que Four Loko es una producta muy peligrosa. Hay un riesgo muy real de envenenamiento de alcohol, lesiones, o también la muerte. El publicidad original dice que puedes “viva la vida loca” por bebiendo Four Loko, pero cuando sabes los verdaderos peligros y efectos de Four Loko, sería una locura a beberlo todavía. Entonces, la contrapublicidad dice “tendría ser loko.”
A la parte inferior del publicidad original, dice, “bebida alcohólica con cafeína.” El combinación de alcohol y cafeína es muy peligroso. Entonces, la contrapublicidad dice “suicidio en cuatros sabores” en lugar.
El publicidad tiene muchos colores brillantes, y todo se parece tachó y confuso, como graffiti. Ese es parte del imagen de Four Loko como una parte importante de una vida salvaje y loco, con mucho divertido y emoción. Hay cuatros latas de Four Loko en sabores diferentes en el centro del publicidad. Por encima de las latas, dice “viva la vida loca” en letras de molde, que también parece como graffiti. Debajo de las latas, hay un negro y rosa imagen de un multitud gigante, específicamente un multitud en un concierto. En frente del imagen del multitud es el logotipo de Four Loko. Debajo, más pequeño, dice “bebida alcohólica con cafeína.” Debajo de eso, más pequeño, es el sitio de web de Four Loko, y el nombre del compañía de la elaboración de la cerveza.
Phusion Products ojala que la gente ser irresponsable, y nunca pregunta a nada, cuando SLA le enseña a su estudiantes ser responsable y hacer muchas preguntas sobre su mundo. Yo soy en contra de comportamiento irresponsable y peligroso, especialmente entre jóvenes, quien son muy vulnerable a la presión de sus pares.
No estoy segura que mi contrapublicidad será efectivo, porque mucha de la gente que bebe Four Loko no le importa las consecuencias del consumo de alcohol. Hay estados que han prohibido Four Loko, y cuando lo prohibieron, personas claman a comprar todos los Four Lokos restantes.
Creo que debo mostrar la contrapublicidad en la cafetería, donde muchos estudiantes le pasan mucho tiempo durante el día.

Interviewee:  Of course I do.

Me:  Was it a challenge at all getting here today?

Interviewee:  No.

Me:  Do you think it would be any easier if voting was on a different day?

Interviewee:  No, it doesn’t matter to me what day it is.

Me:  Okay, it doesn’t conflict with work or anything?

Interviewee:  No, because you can come from eight in the morning until eight at night, and I live around the neighborhood so it’s easy to walk over.

Me:  Do you know why they have voting on Tuesdays?

Interviewee:  No, I don’t.  That’s a very good question.

Me:  Okay.  Thanks!

Interviewee:  You’re welcome.