Science Leadership Academy @ Center City

Gonzalez v. Thaler: SCOTUS Case

Posted by William Marsh in American Government - Laufenberg on Sunday, November 13, 2011 at 7:11 pm

Main Issue: Can the court of appeals intervene in a federal habeas case? And when does the statute of limitations for federal habeas claims begin?

One June 2nd of 1995, Robert Velasquez was murdered in a drive-by shooting, in which Rafael Gonzalez was labeled as one of the men in the two cars involved in the shooting, and thus an accomplice, if not the perpetrator of the murder. Officers tried to arrest Gonzales at his last known address, but unbeknownst to detectives, Gonzalez had left the country. After failing to apprehend Gonzalez at any known addresses, no further attempts to locate him were made until six weeks later detectives were told that Gonzalez was in Guatemala. Shortly thereafter the U.S embassy in Guatemala was informed of Gonzalez's actions and general whereabouts, but no further action was taken to apprehend him.
Six years later the extradition process begins, but he is not extradited until July of 2004, nine years after the murder. On July 15th of 2005, Gonzalez is put on trial. At this trial, he attempts to have the case dismissed on the grounds that this trial violates his 6th and 14th amendments, which guarantee him a speedy trial. In addition, he adds that because he was unaware that he was charged with murder for most of those ten years, he was unable to prepare a proper defense for the case. Ultimately he was convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison. After sentencing, he filed many habeas corpus appeals, which in short protect a person from unlawful detention, as he saw because of the lack of a speedy trial, violating the 6th and 14th amendments. The appeals climbed the judicial ladder until it finally arrived at United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. However, because the appeals had not had any approval on it's journey here, there was no 'renewal' for the expiration date, so the claim was long expired, and thus discarded on those grounds, with little consideration to the constitutional issue it brought up. He then filed an appeal addressed to the district court, requesting a certificate of appealability. This was denied on grounds of being untimely as well, so in turn he filed a request with the court of appeals for a certificate of appealability. Ultimately, this request was granted, and Judge Garza signed a certificate of appealability. This has caused quite a lot of rabble, and has brought up a large question: Should courts dismiss constitutional claims on procedural bases without any real investigation of the constitutional claims?
I'm not quite sure what to think of this. Logically, I believe he should stay in jail because he was involved in a murder, but procedurally he should walk free because he was denied the constitutional right to a prompt and speedy trial. This case is really quite a mess and it's very hard to predict the outcome. If it were a small crime, then I think certainly the charges would be dropped due to the constitutional issues, but because it's murder it's much more complex. I think that this case will come down to very small details, but I think he stands a chance of winning it due to his persistence.

A Healthy Meal of Home Style Chicken Soup - Ian McClendon

Posted by Ian McClendon in Science and Society - Best on Sunday, November 13, 2011 at 6:05 pm

My Home Style Chicken Soup Recipe and Analysis:

For my Home Style Chicken Soup the ingredients were:

6 cups of chicken broth

1 1/2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 onion, chopped

3 teaspoons minced garlic

2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Added salt and black pepper

Analysis:

-The meal that I made was more whole food than processed foods. Only the broth ingredient was brand name and the other was the packaged chicken breast which is pretty processed.

-Over all the meal itself was not that high in calories. From eating my Home Style Soup I felt nutritiously filled and satisfied by the aroma of flavors and if I had to eat nothing but this soup I could stand it for about a week but other than that the ingredients would not have a substantial impact on your body because it's filled with proteins and organic vegetables.

-Where my ingredients came from I have no clue but from a super market. My mother was nice enough to pick them up herself. I believe that there are no environmental issues with the meal.

- Fast food versus the soup can not compare, the preparation time took 15 minutes, served up to 10-12 people when given in smaller portions, and the cooking time in a Crock-Pot was 3.5 hours. I believe that every corporation benefited from the purchase of my ingredients.

My Personal Reflection of this meal:

During this whole quarter I probably learned more than I ever wanted to know about food. Watching the Food Inc. movie made me realize a lot more about what's out there in middle America. All of the enormous fields of grass that you see as you're flying in a airplane are the hidden facts of how our food is made. From what I've learned I don't see myself as having a huge role in large food business but my parent usually purchases the groceries. About once a month I would go grocery shopping with her and specifically pick brands. I noticed that my mother is more of a savvy shopper than I am. She buys the discounted healthier foods and I search for the junk food. The biggest problem that America faces is blocked by the satisfying feeling of the food itself. The production of all our sugars, spices, and everything nice is not regulated by the consumers but by the corporations who's idea in mind is money, money, money. GMO's control our source of "nutrition" and "energy" for the food. But still I feel that all this won't drastically change my perspective on my consumption of healthy and junky food. Although I do feel that I have limited myself to eating junk food and healthy food. Of course like anything that I've learned in SLA has been very informative and useful to my own prior knowledge.

I've also made a sort of Food Rule picture to keep in mind a sense of healthy eating:

Msanders Reflection again

Posted by Michael Sanders in American History - Laufenberg on Sunday, November 13, 2011 at 4:51 pm

I did my reflection already but I do not know what happened to it.

How did you group go about making a decision for what to focus on for the project?

We had a lot of trouble coming to decisions. We argued a little until we got down to 2 ideas. Once we were got down to 2 ideas we we decided to do a national holiday.
11th grade Essential ? - What is the role of the individual in creating and sustaining change?

My individual was to make the video ad. I enjoyed the part and it was really fun.
How has your understanding of the electoral process and whether or not the US is a democracy evolved during this unit?

I understand that we were trying to get people to vote since we are a democracy. We decide on everything. If people don't vote then the resident is wanted by only a part of america then the whole as a nation.
How did you decide to best relay a message to a national audience with your marketing campaign?

I decided to message the people about National election day the way I felt best represented what we were trying to do. I also wanted to add voice speeches in to attract more people and to get them angry. The pictures go with what ever someone was saying or what the screen said. The music background was suppose to provide something to keep the audience focus and not dozing off.

Here is the link to my project just in case you missed

it https://sites.google.com/a/scienceleadership.org/election-holiday/video

Ashley Etheredge's Science & Society Food Benchmark Q1

Posted by Ashley Etheredge in Science and Society - Best on Sunday, November 13, 2011 at 3:50 pm

Kasha Recipe By Julia Boyer & Ashley Etheredge

Ingredients

1 egg
2 cups of veggie/chicken broth
1 tbsp. butter
1 cup of Buckwheat/ Kasha
Cumin
Jane’s Krazy mixed-up Seasonings (original)

Preparing Kasha
Instructions

Step 1: Get a large pot, pour broth and bring to a boil, mix in a tbsp. of butter.
Step 2: Meanwhile, mix Kasha and egg together.
Step 3: Put Kasha and egg mixture into the wok/ frying pan on medium heat.
Step 4: Stir continuously (so that the kasha mixture will not stick to the pan or together), let the grains separate and looks dry but not brown.
Step 5: When broth comes to a boil, pour into wok/frying pan.
Step 6: Stir and cover on medium heat for 30 minutes (check every 5-10 minutes to stir), let the Kasha absorb the broth.
Step 7: When the Kasha has absorbed all of the broth, season to taste with mixed seasoning salt and cumin.

Kasha Recipe Analysis

This meal is an easy and healthy option for any family. It consists of two

whole ingredients and two processed ingredients. As a staple food in Eastern

Europe, Kasha is filling and nutritious. It is 82% carbohydrates, 12% protein and

6% fats. Kasha is also a good source of dietary fiber and magnesium with 155

calories for 168 grams. The dietary fiber is the part of food that your body cannot

process; therefore it acts as a regulator for your digestive system. Magnesium is

important for numerous functions in your body: nerve impulse transmissions and

formation of healthy bones. It’s safe to say that this food is nutritious. It is also an

environmentally friendly dish.

The buckwheat used was organic and the eggs were from free-range

chickens. The store we purchased these items from look for local farms to buy from

so the buckwheat groats and eggs didn’t travel far. The item that traveled the

farthest was the vegetable broth that we wanted to use to be vegetarian. It was

imported from Canada and creates a large carbon footprint, which is ironic and an

example of the choices and priorities consumers have.

The cost of a meal is a big deciding factor for consumers. This meal is fairly

feasible. The entire buckwheat costs only 3 dollars and this recipe calls for half of

the bag. One organic egg costs 32 cents and the broth costs around 3 dollars. While

the total is much more than a fast food meal, this is a pretty cheap meal considering

that two of the items, if not more are organic.

An important aspect of kasha is that most of these products can be produced

through a self-sufficient process. Chickens can make the eggs and are easy to

contain as livestock in backyards. Buckwheat is apparently easy to grow and can be

used in numerous types of food. The only issue with the self-sufficient food process

is the limited resources in certain urban areas. Ashley and I are fortunate to own

houses with backyards, but many people live in apartments or row homes and

cannot grow their own food. However, many of these items were purchased in Acme

and were still labeled “organic” so this meal could still be accessible.

Therefore, Kasha is a good food to know how to cook. It is nutritious,

environmentally friendly and affordable. All of the items needed for Kasha can be

bought at grocery markets such as Acme or local stores or even grown at home. As a

dish, Kasha follows a lot of the food rules. It is less than 5 ingredients, it is something

my grandmother would recognize as food, and it’s vegetarian and organic. All in all,

it’s a great dish.

Personal Reflection

I’ve learned a lot about my role in the food system in this unit as well as the role that the food system plays in our lives. In the documentary, Food inc, I got to see just how close knit our government is to each other. I also was able to see how terrible our conventional food system is, because they deliberately keep Americans in the dark about what they’re eating because they want people to want to buy their food. But if McDonalds was as small as a local restaurant that had an e-coli breakout, it would be immediately shut down so that no one goes there to eat again.But when it’s a multi-million dollar company in which more people are at risk of getting food poisoning, they continue to produce possibly poisoned food. The biggest problem in our system is not that the American’s are in the dark, although that is a very, very large problem the biggest problem is that the people we Americans trust to protect us have no power against these companies, so it’s hard to tell what we can or can’t eat especially if the ones we should eat are not available to us (because they’re too expensive or not sold at the grocery stores we can afford). What helped me recognize my role in the system was to spread the word about conventional food operations and the bad things that can happen to people if they are not careful about what they eat. Personally, I’m going to tell my family and change how we eat and where we buy our fruits and vegetables from.

My Food Rule Slide

Cheyenne Pagan Benchmark Reflection Q1

Posted by Cheyenne Pagan in American History - Laufenberg on Sunday, November 13, 2011 at 1:44 pm

LINK TO MY PART
(It's the front page video)

LINK TO PROJECT

How did you group go about making a decision for what to focus on for the project?

Mail in voting is something that has already been working for other states, it made an easier and stronger argument that also had a large number of numerical data to support it.

11th grade Essential ? - What is the role of the individual in creating and sustaining change?

I think the role of the individual is to create change by informing and sustain change by example. If I as an individual was to inform others of all the things I have learned in this unit I believe that it would not only motivate but fascinate those who really did not know the things that I once did not know. I do not feel this unit has inspired me to vote because I had all intentions of voting when it became available to me so once again as an individual I planned to lead by example and change the voting system.

How has your understanding of the electoral process and whether or not the US is a democracy, evolved during this unit?

My view has definitely broaden with the idea of voting and the number of voters that take advantage of their rights and because it is such small numbers it makes me question other rights they choose to fight for. I now think of voting and think of many different situations and reasons that people would not be able to come out and vote and in turn has made me think of voting as a very personal experience.

How did you decide to best relay a message to a national audience with your marketing campaign?

I guess we all kind of agreed that a slight comedic skit for our video would really appeal to a large audience and well as not so formal posters. It was a relaxed marketing campaign thats purpose was to neither be taken as a joke or scare voters with such serious information.

Q1BenchmarkReflection_NgawangTenzin

Posted by Tenzin Ngawang in American History - Laufenberg on Sunday, November 13, 2011 at 1:20 pm

Click here for the whole project. My group mates were Stephen Holts, Sasha Sapp & Sam Lovett- Perkins.

Reflection

How did you group do about making a decision for what to focus on for the project?
- Well, we first started off with an idea of having a law/amendment saying voting is mandatory but that wasn't possible. Then we changed to having classes to educate the citizens about candidates and telling how important it is for everyone to vote. That failed as well because no one has time for that. At last, we came across an idea of having 16 years old, to be able to vote.
11th grade Essential ? - What is the role of the individual in creating and sustaining change?
- I think the role of the individual in creating and sustaining change is very important because if there weren't for different changes, where would the world be?
How has your understanding of the electoral process and whether or not the US is a democracy evolved during this unit?
- When we first started, I was completely and utterly oblivious to the election day. I didn't know what really happened during the day, I just knew that we had the day off from school. After the interviews and getting a little knowledge of how that worked out, I am more conscious than ever. I learned how important it is vote and surprising new fact, very very few citizens participate in the electoral process in America.
How did you decide to best relay a message to a national audience with your marketing campaign?
- I made a print Ad. I didn't want it to be too informative (crowded with words), but something that was simple and got the message out, Loud & Clear. Something that was creative and got people's attention right away by the bright color yellow and big words, that popped out.

Kawashima v. Holder: SCOTUS Case

Posted by Zayd Alsardary in American Government - Laufenberg on Sunday, November 13, 2011 at 1:19 pm

Zayd Alsardary
American Government
Kawashima v. Holder: SCOTUS Case

Main Issue: Whether a person can be deported for filing a false statement on a corporate tax return under a statute that allows the government to deport anyone convicted of an aggravated felony involving fraud and deceit.

Overview of case:

Akio and Fusako Kawashima, the petitioners in the case, are residents of the United States and have been since 1984. In 1997, it was found out that Mr. Kawashima, with help from his wife, filed a false corporate tax return that understated their income and therefore basically cheated the government of owed tax revenue – and this violated Section 7206 of the tax code.

A provision in immigration law allows the government to deport anyone who has been convicted of an "aggravated felony", which is defined toward anything along the lines of murder and drug trafficking, but as time went on, an offense that was added is any offense that deals with fraud and deceit in which the victim loses more than $10,000 in the crime which is described in section 7201 of title 26.

Because the Kawashimas were convicted of filing a false return (a violation of Section 7206 of the tax code), rather tax evasion (a violation of Section 7201), they were not subject to deportation. Despite that, the government still put down deportation proceedings against them on the belief that the Kawashimas filing a false tax return is a form of “fraud or deceit”. ---> (There is no dispute that the crime resulted in a loss of more than $10,000 to the government.)

Main Question: Whether Congress meant for the broader fraud subsection to encompass tax violations which is specifically for tax evasion.

The Kawashimas are arguing that by only addressing tax violations in the second subsection (the revenue loss to the government exceeds $10,000) but basing that to tax evasion, Congress showed that they were trying to leave out other kinds of tax violations in the meaning of "aggravated felony". In turn, the government is agruing that tax evasion counts as fraud and deceit, which then falls into the first subsection (involves fraud or deceit in which the loss to the victim or victims exceeds $10,000). Basically it is trying to be decided whether tax evasion is fraud and deceit based on what is said in section 7201 of title 26. The question in the case is whether filing a false tax return counts as an “aggravated felony”.

The case is to take place on November 7, 2011.

Predictions: I believe that the Kawashimas will be in favor a bit because the meaning of aggravated felony will be put down many times, especially since it is not clear when talking about it. I kind of do believe that filing a false tax return is fraud and especially deceit since you are purposely trying to mislead someone, but then the question that comes to play is the intentions. I am actually interested to know what the outcome will be.

xavier molina Q1 BM

Posted by Xavier Molina in Science and Society - Best on Sunday, November 13, 2011 at 1:15 pm

Nmanton BM reflection

Posted by Nicholas Manton in American History - Laufenberg on Sunday, November 13, 2011 at 8:49 am

Link to my part:

https://sites.google.com/a/scienceleadership.org/reform-our-electoral-college/our-adverts-nick

LINK TO COMPLETE PROJECT:

https://sites.google.com/a/scienceleadership.org/reform-our-electoral-college/

How did you group go about making a decision for what to focus on for the project

Our group made the decision on changing the Electoral College, by deciding that it was one of the most controversial issues in our voting system. We realized that we had the widest variety of things that we could change, and there was much more appeal to american citizens.

11th grade Essential ? - What is the role of the individual in creating and sustaining change?

I believe that the role of an individual in creating change, would be to speak up, and be a voice that people will listen to, someone who can say what the people want to hear and putting action to it as well. To sustain change, would be just as difficult to cause the change. To sustain change you would need to adapt to the change that is made, and be able to convince others that this is the way it's supposed to be.

How has your understanding of the electoral process and whether or not the US is a democracy, evolved during this unit?

Before this unit, I never kept up with politics and my understanding of the electoral college and our democracy. But since this unit has started, I felt I have learned a lot about both subjects and I didn't realize how complicated the world we live in, is.

How did you decide to best relay a message to a national audience with your marketing campaign?

We decided that the best way to market our campaign was through posters. We thought that people would take a strong poster seriously, because I know if I see a poster that makes me feel I have more of a say and to be more of a citizen in our country.

One Person One Vote. Benchmark Q1. Martha Robles

Posted by Martha Robles in American History - Laufenberg on Sunday, November 13, 2011 at 8:46 am

Link To The Whole Project

https://sites.google.com/a/scienceleadership.org/politicalparticipationushistory/

My Part- Public Service Announcement

http://www.schooltube.com/video/7d578cb4a4664d1caeaa/One%20Person%20One%20Vote

How did you group go about making a decision for what to focus on for the project?

We had a lot of different opinions but the one that we agreed most on is the Electoral College Vote. We decided to focus on this aspect because this to us is one of the most interesting ones. Its a major part of the voting process but even then people dont know much about it. This is why we decided that this aspect of voting should be no longer used.
11th grade Essential ? - What is the role of the individual in creating and sustaining change?

Change begins in us. Once we realize that age is nothing but a number when it comes to change is when we will realize that we can go out there and create change at a bigger scale. Not only are we able to do this in our communities but we are also able to do it in our city,state,country. There are so many opportunities available we just have to go out looking for them
How has your understanding of the electoral process and whether or not the US is a democracy evolved during this unit?

During this unit I learned a lot about the voting process. I think this educated all of us, on the process of voting as well as the importance of it. Now that I know more about voting I will go out and vote once I am old enough.
How did you decide to best relay a message to a national audience with your marketing campaign?

We made a PSA and a campaign AD's as the visual supplements. I believe the PSA really showed why the electoral college vote shouldn't be used anymore. Out of the 15 people we interviewed total only 1 was able to supply us with an accurate definition of it. So this aspect was very well thought out by all of us. Once it came to the editing I think I did well at including as much of the recordings we did. We had 2 different AD's. I think both of them did a good job at showing what should be done and why, this being a key components of an AD.

Kashif Ahmad Food BM

Posted by Kashif Ahmad in Science and Society - Best on Sunday, November 13, 2011 at 12:23 am

Ingredients:

2 cups Basmati Rice

3/4 kg Chicken Pieces

1/2 cup Milk

1 cup Yogurt (curd)

3 sliced onion

1 teaspoon Ginger Paste

1/2 teaspoon Garlic Paste

1 teaspoon Green Chilli Paste

1/2 cup Tomato Puree

2 teaspoin Red Chilli Powder

1 teaspoon Turmeric Powder

1 teaspoon Roasted cumin powder

2 teaspoon Garam Masala Powder (seasoning)

1/2 teaspoon Green Cardamom Powder

Saffron a pinch

1 teaspoon Coriander Powder

2 tablespoon Green Coriander Leaves

Salt to taste

7 tablespoon Oil

Recipe:

Mix tomato puree, yogurt, ginger garlic paste, green chilli paste, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, roasted cumin powder, garam masala (seasoning), coriander powder and salt. Stir well.

soak the chicken with this mixture and keep aside for 3-4 hours.

Heat oil in a pan. Fry the onions until golden brown.

Add the soaked chicken and cook for 10 minutes.

Add 4 cups of water to the rice. Mix saffron in milk and add to it.

Add cardamom powder. Add the chicken pieces.

Pressure cook the rice. Mix gently.

decorate with green coriander leaves and serve hot.

25% of the meal is processed and 75% is whole food.

•Health/nutrition:

Calories- 520 Per serving

Total Fat- 12g

Saturated Fat- 3.5g

Cholesterol- 40mg

Sodium- 1240mg

Sugar- 13.g

Protein- 23.0

Since my meal is high in protein, it will help the bones become more stronger and healthier. Its also not that high in fats so the people that's eating it doesn't have to worry about getting fat. It takes about 24-72 hours for the food to digest. It takes about 6-8 hours after you eat for the food to pass through your stomach.

•Environmental:

Chicken- Delaware/United States

Seasoning- Pakistan

Vegetable oil- United States

Salt- United States

Sugar- United States

Onions- Texas/United States

Rice- Pakistan

The rice and seasoning traveled the farthest. Approximately 8250 miles. The rice and onion was organically grown. Then chicken is processed. Since the chicken is processed, it went through couple of stages of machinery before it reached the store for sales.

•Political/economic: This meal cost about 25-30 dollars depending on how many people you want to serve with. Even though it might be a little expensive then fast food, it's fresh and home made unlike fast food its not old and not touched by multiple people. The company that deals with the rice made money, the chicken factory, people that processed the salt, sugar, and onions and also the seasoning. The meat and rice factory is involved.

•Social: Growing rice here in the city is hard but if a person were to grow rice rather then buying the ones at the supermarket then it would be more organic because it would be more natural. Also taking care of chicken is hard because they need a place to live, eat and run around. But if someone were to make chicken biryani with rice that was grown at home and chicken that was slaughter at home, that chicken biryani would be more fresh and healthier because it won't be as processed as the one I made.

Personal Reflection:

This unit has taught me a alot. It has changed the way I look at certain things. For instance it changed the way I feel about some food. This unit has made me realised the way certain animals are treated before they are slaughter and we put them in our stomach. Also it helped me with eating healthy since we talked about organic foods and non organic foods. Not only we talked about food industry but we also talked about fracking. I learned how fracking is actually done and how the gas is relased from underground. This unit gave me the idea of how different people feels about certain things. For instance when we had to write about fracking from different point of views. This helped me understand the other people thoughts about fracking.

Food Slide:

Q1 Benchmark Reflection - Winston Wright

Posted by Winston Wright in American History - Laufenberg on Saturday, November 12, 2011 at 8:00 pm

Here is our project

Here is my individual work

Somethings that we knew were important to our project is the appeal of our audience. We knew that since our over all goal was trying to change the 26th amendment, we would need to have material that catered to the younger people of America. Therefore in our papers, and our visual ads, we tried to use things that would both appeal to the younger and older portion of youth. I wrote the position paper, Ryan wrote the rebuttal, Paige created the Print Ad, and Jakobi made the video. I can say that each individual role really showed in our project, in a positive way. In some way each individually assigned aspect of the project correlated with one another, and I think that shows the impact we all had on each other's work. My understanding of the election process in this country, and overall democracy, has recessed. You can write about something you might not necessarily care about, but when you start to actually reflect on that topic you get a better appreciation for it. In this case I am talking about youth voting. In this time in america, it is imperative that everyone be heard, everyone, including the youth. Again, I think that our group took a simple enough approach that anyone/everyone in our demographic could understand what we were trying to convey. Although most of the thoughts of the individuals being interviewed in our PSA were about the same, there was one conflicting idea. One person stated that they wouldn't feel sure enough that they knew what they were doing to vote. They simply thought that they weren't experienced enough as a citizen to make a conscious decision about something that needed to be changed. Overall I would say that we certainly appealed in a smooth convincing way, without using any material that would be to difficult for anyone to understand.

Lobbying Post #2 : Curtis Jones

Posted by Markia Johnson in American Government - Laufenberg on Saturday, November 12, 2011 at 4:39 pm

    I live in philadelphia county's 4th district and I am represented by Councilman Curtis Jones.Councilman Jones graduated from Overbook high school then attending the University of Pennsylvania's Fels School of Government and Boston University. Councilman Jones has been apart of the city government for the past seven mayoral administrations. He serves on many different committees and councils in philadelphia and is very keen on it's the preservation. Promoting community development and educational stability.
   When concerning education in philadelphia Coucilman Jones voted in favor of not cutting the philadephia school districts budget. Saying "As I have stated from the very beginning of this school budget crisis, we will either pay now with the proper investment in public education or we will pay later by funding prisons and parole officers." As said before Jones is very adamant about philadelphia's youth, community development, and education. It does not seem as thought college students and the recent increase in tuition cost around the state are a major concern for Jones at the moment.
   As far as commonalities between Coucilman Jones and myself go, there are some. For example , we have both attended schools within the philadelphia school district and lived in some of the same areas and we both want Philadelphia to thrive. Now Jones is the representative for my current location within philadelphia.

Links:
http://www.phila.gov/citycouncil/CurtisJonesJr.html
http://www.curtisjonesjr.com/
google PDF

Voting Rights - Brianna Perrin

Posted by Brianna Perrin in American History - Laufenberg on Saturday, November 12, 2011 at 12:28 pm

Q: Why did you come out and vote today?

A: Because I feel as though my vote will make a difference. Even though the electoral vote is changing and the government is changing, my opinion matters in every decision that they make.

Q: What do you know about electoral votes?
A: I know it's something like depending on the population in a certain area it depends on how many representatives represent them in the decision for Democrat or Republican.

Q:Do you know why they vote on Tuesday?

A: Truthfully no. And honesty it's a waste, time off from work that I don't need.

Q:Do you think it's important that young people vote?

A: I do believe that young people should vote. But I don't think they should vote until they are in their 20's. They are just beginning to vote and don't know how to works and their vote might not even count until a more important and memorable election.

Q:How long have you been voting?

A: For 10 > years

Q: How far do you live from the polls?

A: I live just around the corner

Q: Do you think it's hard for other people to come and vote?

A: Yes I do. Like I said earlier it cuts time out of work.

Q: Have you voted everywhere?

A: No I have not.

Q: If voting were online, would you consider it voting every year?

A: No, because I'm not into technology since I'm older. But yes because it would be more convenient to other people.

Q: Do you have any comments for people who aren't voting?

A: Just go out and vote. It might be hard but in the end your point will get across and your voice will be heard.

(Interviewed 5 people with similar responses. Some were one worded answers due to rushed time while others were more elaborate)

Q1 Benchmark Reflection - Brianna Perrin

Posted by Brianna Perrin in American History - Laufenberg on Saturday, November 12, 2011 at 12:24 pm

https://sites.google.com/a/scienceleadership.org/cast-your-vote/

People in jail who are serving prison sentences should not be give the right to vote in elections. Prisoners should lose their rights to vote when they have committed crimes and are serving prison sentences. We believe that voting is a given right. When elections are coming up it is optional to go to the election polls and choose whether or not you want to vote. Even though it is highly recommended it is optional. Since it is an option and a right to choose what we want to do, prisoners have that option and right revoked from them for disrupted and assaulting the rights and laws in the Amendments and Constitution. When they break the law they are proving to themselves, the law, and the people that they are not productive members in their society. And when they aren’t productive members in their society, what contribution will they do when they are determining mayors in our cities to picking the new leader of our country.

In the beginning of the process there was only two people who were present, so we just decided to bounce off an idea that involved family members of friends. So it was personal but also something that we had a strong opinion about.

The role of the individual in creating and sustaining change is learning the background before making the change to determine whether the change is drastic or minor.

My understanding of the electoral process and whether or not the US is a democracy evolved during this unit is that not everything is far when it comes to government. What might be right for one person could be totally wrong or doesn't work for another person.

How I best relay a message to a national audience in my marketing campaign is by making it aware to people across the nation. So my group decided to make a twitter page talking about these issues and giving an insight to a more major issue.

Citizenship Homework: Election Day

Posted by Matthew Ferry in American History - Laufenberg on Saturday, November 12, 2011 at 12:08 pm

Ybrownlee Benchmark Reflection

Posted by Yasmeen Brownlee in American History - Laufenberg on Saturday, November 12, 2011 at 11:28 am

How did you group go about making a decision for what to focus on for the project?

I wasn't there for the decisions, Though i was there when we put out ideas for the project. The benchmark was one of those ideas.

11th grade Essential ? - What is the role of the individual in creating and sustaining change?

To show a vast majority why you want this change and to keep going about to gain this change and eventually if you have fought hard enough your wishes may be granted

How has your understanding of the electoral process and whether or not the US is a democracy evolved during this unit?

It has showed me that there is a lot more to voting than could have imagined. And also like all things in this life that we have now have be fought hard for, not everyone got it easy at all points. But us as US citizens take it for granted. People that aren't from american no more about american than the average citizen after they have applied to become an american citizen. When i become legal i will try to always vote when ever possible.

How did you decide to best relay a message to a national audience with your marketing campaign?

We decided to relay the message by getting to the peoples lackadaisical sides. By a pointing out that all you need to do to vote is mail it in and decide in the comfort of your own home. Since when you are in the ballot are you are unable to relax and choose. And also it may be out of your way a schedule.

Q1: Figure and Clear Object Drawing

Posted by Kyla Carden in Advanced Art - Hull on Saturday, November 12, 2011 at 10:35 am

Honestly, I create the pieces I do because they are assigned to me. Although, my goals are not assigned, I’ve set my own. My goals and aspirations for this class are to just enhance my drawing and creating skills. I would like to be able to draw more precisely and with more accuracy than I do now. Another goal is to change my view of art. I see it as a class but I don’t equate it to my other classes, which isn’t fair. I know Ms. Hull takes Art seriously as my teacher and I should do the same as a student. I want to turn in all my assignments on time and treat art like a main course. Art was never my favorite subject but I know that if I indulge myself into the class and the work, it could be something I’d enjoy.

Before I make any decisions when I’m working I consult the Art teacher or the assistant teacher. Since they are experienced they know how to manipulate my ideas to make them better and greater than the ideas I originally had. Many of the times the art teacher gives us the material to use but there are many ways to use one single material/tool. Since I’m a beginner many of the techniques are taught then assigned to us so we can practice and perfect them. Many of my own techniques are simple. In the end, I’m just doing as best as I can to make a replica on paper of what I’m seeing in real life.

My latest piece of work was the clear object drawing. If you look at my first figure drawing and compare it to the clear object drawing you can see that effort put into them is completely different. During the first drawing I was worried about how I didn’t like art but in the second one I didn’t care about that, I just drew the object to the best of my ability. I’m proud of my second piece because it was the second real piece of art I’ve constructed. I also love it because of the tool we used which was charcoal. I enjoyed constructing this so much because when working with charcoal I’m reminded that in the beginning things may look thick, dark, and unable to be erased but with a gentle brush over it, it can change into something much more pleasant.

Curfew Act

Posted by Qyidir White in American Government - Laufenberg on Saturday, November 12, 2011 at 10:15 am

http://www.slideshare.net/QyidirHarris/curfew-act-10132983

I made the decision of telling the story of the curfew act in Philly, was because i was directly affected by it. Being a kids who spends most his time in Center City Philadelphia having to go home at 10 really made me upset, knowing that I have to suffer for things i had no part of. I choose keynote for most of my presentations because out of all the other ways of presentation I am most comfortable with KeyNote. Having to find a way to put the information I had together was one thing that was hard for me. If i would have to do this project again i would probably use a Prezi because Prezi is one of the best way to present info like this, but I don't know how to use it. The process was harder because finding the actual bill was hard so at first i was telling the history without seeing the bill.

Food BenchMark

Posted by Qyidir White in Science and Society - Best on Saturday, November 12, 2011 at 8:33 am

2 cans (10 3/4 ounces each) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 cup milk

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

8 cups cooked cut green beans

2 2/3 cups French's® French Fried Onions

1. Steam your green beans for 5mins.

2. Put beans in oven pan stir in soap.

3. Add French Onions to the top

4. Bake to onions are golden brown

The dish that I made at home we eat only on holidays or special event. This dish is not original to my family but has become a family tradition. About five years ago as a family we all noticed that our traditional holiday was not a slight chance of being healthy. So for a change we all had to look up a dish to add to the traditional turkey. The green bean casserole was the dish that everybody had the most doubts, the only dish that stuck around.

During this unit I learned so much about the life and process of fracking and animals. Going into this unit I had no understanding with what was going on with animals before they reached my dinner plate. This unit showed me what animals go through and how unhealthy that they can be.

Quarter 1 reflections music

Posted by Basheer Lewis in Advanced Art - Hull on Friday, November 11, 2011 at 9:45 pm

This quarter I made a collection of songs on piano.To do this I spent half the quarter teaching myself the piano,after that I begin to cover different songs to help pick out the opening to the piece. Although I did record guitar for the songs as well in the end I thought the piano could stand by itself in this case.Doing this kind of project was very difficult and used up a lot of time,since I am a beginner at the piano.Also I used some studio time I had just to get it right,and add a great sound to it all.Overall I enjoyed the project I would like to do it again picking harder song to cover,and begin creating more of my own pieces to put in the song.

De'Lesha Jackson Food BM

Posted by Delesha Jackson in Science and Society - Best on Friday, November 11, 2011 at 9:34 pm

Ingrediants

2lbs Sweet Italian Sausage

2 cans of crushed Basil Tomato Sauce

3 Tomatos

Boxed Spaghetti

2 Onions

3 Slices of Bacon

3 Bay Leaves

1 cup of sugar

2 cups of ketchup

chili powder

dry oregeno

cumin

dry parsley

dry basil

roasted garlic

Seasoning salt

salt and pepper

olive oil

The first thing you do when cooking spaghetti is to create your sauce. Create this by pouring 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil and then slicing your 3 pieces of bacon and start to cook that. While that is cooking you cut the sausage into pieces the size that you want them to be. After the bacon is crispy but not burnt you take it out and put the sausages into the pot. While the sausages are cooking you want to chop up the 2 onions into small pieces and cut the garlic so you can roast it. When the sausages are done take them out and put the garlic and onions into the pot and let them start to brown.

Open the cans of tomato sauce and pour them one by one into the pot. Cut the tomatoes into small pieces and then put them into the pot. Make sure the pot is on a low flame keep stirring everything so that it doesn't stick and you get the flavors in everything. Add the bay leaves, cup of sugar, 1 1/2 cup of ketchup, chili powder, cumin, dry oregano parsley and basil; add to your liking. Add the salt and pepper, bacon bits and sausages back into the sauce. Get another pot fill it with water and wait for it to boil. When it boils add enough salt to the water (the water should taste like ocean water) and then add the noodles. (the amount depends on how much sauce you are making but normally you use a half of box). When then noodles are soft enough drain them with a strainer and then add them into the sauce, make sure you stir and then eat.

Food Rule Slide

Analysis

Spaghetti isn't a totally nutrition meal but it is a meal. But then again I think it's the way you make it, because of the way I make mine then might not be that nutritious. I would say that half of the ingredients are whole foods and the other half are processed. I don't really know how much my meal cost but I would say that it had to be no more than $50. I didn't have to travel far because I live near the grocery store it is about 5 block away from my house. Some of the spices were freshly grown (basil, bay leaves, etc.) I think there are some health issues that come along with eating this everyday, you could get fat because there is oil and other fatty substances in the ingredients. But I think over all it is a good meal for a family who doesn't have the highest income and for people who just want to feed many.

Self-Reflection

In this unit I have learned a lot about the food industry and how horrible it actually is. I have also learned of the importance of "fracking" and how it can help and/or harm our area. I have looked at and examined the food industry as a whole. Taking apart the different groups and jobs, I have an idea of how the industries manage to conceal the truth; or tell the truth, just not the whole truth. It was interesting to see everything unfold and it actually had an effect on my emotions. I was angry at the industries and they made me not want to eat their food. However, learning about all of this made me realize that I not only can't but don't want to stop buying the industries creations. My role as a consumer does not allow me to stop. I think that is the biggest problem with our food system. They don't want us to stop so they create higher prices for the healthier food and continue to give us unhealthy food for what we can afford. I want to help change this but the thing is I can't exactly think of ideas to actually put in action.

Defense of Marriage Act

Posted by Samuel Sirochman in American Government - Laufenberg on Friday, November 11, 2011 at 8:30 pm

Click here for access to my Prezi about the Defense of Marriage Act.

I chose DOMA, because I feel like it was a big topic that would have a lot of resources about it. I chose a Prezi, because they always look good, before you even polish the project it looks better than other forms. I had to overcome the challenges of researching a bill that was passed before the internet was a common thing. I really couldn't find much, besides that Clinton said he would legalize gay-marriage than passed this instead. It was easier than I imagined, because I assumed this would be impossible to find anything pre-2000.

Dia Johnson Food BM

Posted by Dia Johnson in Science and Society - Best on Friday, November 11, 2011 at 7:20 pm

Gravlox-

Recipe:

2 1/2 pounds fresh salmon, center cut 

1/2-cup salt 

1/4 cup granulated sugar 

20 coarsely crushed white peppercorns

About 2 ounces chopped fresh dill

Steps:

Clean salmon; cut in fillets. Do not remove skin.
Wipe fish dry with paper towel; do not rinse.
Rub fish with salt mixed with sugar.
Sprinkle part of salt mixture and some dill in a deep enamel or stainless steel baking dish.
Place 1 piece salmon, skin side down, in dish and sprinkle generously with dill, crushed peppercorn and salt mixture.
Cover with second piece of salmon, skin side up.
Sprinkle with remaining salt mixture.
Cover with aluminum foil and a lightweight, such as a chopping board.
Refrigerate for at least 1 to 2 days.
Turn salmon every day.
Keep for 1 to 3 weeks in the refrigerator.
To serve, cut in slices free from the skin.
Garnish with lettuce, dill and lemon wedges. It may also be served with the sauce.
Sauce - 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar 
1-tablespoon sugar 
1/3-teaspoon salt 
1 pinch white pepper 
2/3 tablespoon prepared mustard 
2/3 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill
Shake or beat all ingredients together except dill.
Add dill or serve it from a separate bowl.

Nutritional Information:

Calories: 121

Total Fat: 6.2g

Cholesterol: 33mg

Sodium: 1356mg

Total carbs: 2.9g

Analysis:

I chose the Gravlox as a meal because it is healthy and simple. Aside from its simplicity it is also an interesting dish that not many I am sure have heard of. According to the reviews, the dish seems to be a favorite of many people. The food itself is natural; there is an absence of any processed factors. The fish you can get from a market and the other ingredients are just seasonings, and sauces. With such simple ingredients, there is obviously a lack of many health concerns. The only issue that our bodies will face is the amount of sodium in the dish. To some the saltiness is obnoxiously present but aside from enjoyment our bodies have to worry about the rising of our blood pressure. The kidney is put to work to recalculate and regulate the processing of sodium that is already present in our body. With the addition of the sodium from this dish, we are at risk of increasing the pressure of our blood but it isn’t expected that people will eat this dish regularly. Compared to processed food/ fast foods, this is definitely the better choice. It is simple, economically pleasing and healthy. Fish markets I do not believe create problems in the food industry when it comes to affecting the economy. As for this dish I believe it is of the few that are smart and easy.

REFLECTION:

This food chapter has opened my eyes to the true colors of the food industry. I have been made aware of the many harsh methods the workers use to slaughter the animals brutally. Aside from animal abuse I have learned that the larger industry feeds off of the popularity of organic advertisement. It is a way in which the industry attracts its customers to buy more of their products. The down side of this method is that the organic foods are not truly organic. Being truly organic results in the food product having the USDA seal, which implies that the product is at least 95% organic. The dark side of this is that the organic we think of is not the reality; it also has chemical additives, which are not labeled out in the open. A way to solve this clouded understanding of the food industry is by making more individuals aware of the false advertisement. We can also share our interest in true organic foods. If we make more people interested in the real organic foods we can help mend the wound of the farmers market industries. Overall the world is a corrupt place and the food industry does not fall short of the stick.

FOOD RULE SLIDE:

Dia Johnson Food BM

Posted by Dia Johnson on Friday, November 11, 2011 at 7:12 pm

Gravlox-

Recipe:

2 1/2 pounds fresh salmon, center cut 

1/2-cup salt 

1/4 cup granulated sugar 

20 coarsely crushed white peppercorns

About 2 ounces chopped fresh dill

Steps:

Clean salmon; cut in fillets. Do not remove skin.
Wipe fish dry with paper towel; do not rinse.
Rub fish with salt mixed with sugar.
Sprinkle part of salt mixture and some dill in a deep enamel or stainless steel baking dish.
Place 1 piece salmon, skin side down, in dish and sprinkle generously with dill, crushed peppercorn and salt mixture.
Cover with second piece of salmon, skin side up.
Sprinkle with remaining salt mixture.
Cover with aluminum foil and a lightweight, such as a chopping board.
Refrigerate for at least 1 to 2 days.
Turn salmon every day.
Keep for 1 to 3 weeks in the refrigerator.
To serve, cut in slices free from the skin.
Garnish with lettuce, dill and lemon wedges. It may also be served with the sauce.
Sauce - 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar 
1-tablespoon sugar 
1/3-teaspoon salt 
1 pinch white pepper 
2/3 tablespoon prepared mustard 
2/3 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill
Shake or beat all ingredients together except dill.
Add dill or serve it from a separate bowl.

Nutritional Information:

Calories: 121

Total Fat: 6.2g

Cholesterol: 33mg

Sodium: 1356mg

Total carbs: 2.9g

Analysis:

I chose the Gravlox as a meal because it is healthy and simple. Aside from its simplicity it is also an interesting dish that not many I am sure have heard of. According to the reviews, the dish seems to be a favorite of many people. The food itself is natural; there is an absence of any processed factors. The fish you can get from a market and the other ingredients are just seasonings, and sauces. With such simple ingredients, there is obviously a lack of many health concerns. The only issue that our bodies will face is the amount of sodium in the dish. To some the saltiness is obnoxiously present but aside from enjoyment our bodies have to worry about the rising of our blood pressure. The kidney is put to work to recalculate and regulate the processing of sodium that is already present in our body. With the addition of the sodium from this dish, we are at risk of increasing the pressure of our blood but it isn’t expected that people will eat this dish regularly. Compared to processed food/ fast foods, this is definitely the better choice. It is simple, economically pleasing and healthy. Fish markets I do not believe create problems in the food industry when it comes to affecting the economy. As for this dish I believe it is of the few that are smart and easy.

REFLECTION:

This food chapter has opened my eyes to the true colors of the food industry. I have been made aware of the many harsh methods the workers use to slaughter the animals brutally. Aside from animal abuse I have learned that the larger industry feeds off of the popularity of organic advertisement. It is a way in which the industry attracts its customers to buy more of their products. The down side of this method is that the organic foods are not truly organic. Being truly organic results in the food product having the USDA seal, which implies that the product is at least 95% organic. The dark side of this is that the organic we think of is not the reality; it also has chemical additives, which are not labeled out in the open. A way to solve this clouded understanding of the food industry is by making more individuals aware of the false advertisement. We can also share our interest in true organic foods. If we make more people interested in the real organic foods we can help mend the wound of the farmers market industries. Overall the world is a corrupt place and the food industry does not fall short of the stick.

FOOD RULE SLIDE: