Lobbying Post #4: Fracking

For this portion of lobbying Ms. Julia Boyer & I have teamed up to organise 3 things. 
A petition, fundraise, and a protest. So far we have collected several signatures for our petition. We have planned to send the list of signatures directly to Governor Corbett in order for him to jump on board and support us with every Anti-Fracking move we make. 

We also plan to sell Buttons, T-Shirts, Bumper Stickers, etc. in order to promote the protest and have other citizens on board with the Anti-Fracking movement as well. And We also plan to especially inform people who are not aware of what may occur with their drinking water.

As far as the Protest goes, we plan to take a bus trip to rally in Harrisburg in order to get Gov. Corbett's attention so he can know how serious we are about this matter. 

All of these move combined should gather awareness within the media, which would help us to get other supporters.

Bike Paths- Blog post #4

​Although it's the snow season and season for jackets as well as being in a car with heat! It's actually a wonderful season to fight for more bike paths! Since there will be more snows and more road/sidewalk being block by our wonderful weather creation. There will be less space for our bicycles to move around town due to the lack of paths as well as paths that sure will be covered by the snow this season. I am looking forward to work with Philadelphia Bikers  as well as my fellows to maintain our right to bike! 
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​The most effective and efficient way to maintain people's attention and to make a change is by stepping in by making people realizes what they will have to deal with! One of the bigger idea that I have for this arrangement is to get down and dirty! 
How?
1. Block off all of biker lanes
2. Stop bikers from biking
3. Take up all of the bike paths
Bikers need to see and realize all of the possibility that will take away their rights to remain moving and biking in a safe and efficient condition. By stoping bikers from biking, they will soon to realize how important it is to have a bike lane and continue to bike without any disruption. 
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70% of all citizen own a certain source of social network and anyone can get connected to one way or another. It'd be one interesting and quick idea to pass on the words by using social media. Many attentions will be grabbed by and many minds will be seeking into by the facts as well as the words passing on by the quickest method. I will be using my personal social network as well as connecting friends and family to spread the words for everyone to get involve! 
​However, majority of numbers will make a change but not necessary if one with power does not get involve with the majority. I will personally write a letter of petition to Philadelphia Councilman Bill Greenlee  as well as our Mayor Nutter  to address the issue. 
I will do what it takes to keep out  Philadelphia Bikers alive and moving! 

Blog Post #4: Net Neutrality

​ In recent weeks, net neutrality has become a huge issue thanks to the recent hearings on the Stop Piracy Online Act (SOPA). The act would have horrific consequences for the internet. As Adam Savage of Mythbusters put it, "SOPA could destroy the internet as we know it", and he'd be right. SOPA would effectively remove free speech from the internet by blocking websites that have any copyrighted content on them (youtube, facebook, tumblr etc). In the previous weeks Congress has been having hearings on SOPA discussing it, and it's quite concerning how well it's doing. 
more sopa
"So what can I do to help?" one might ask; well the first thing is to contact your representative. There are many ways one can reach their representative. You can email them, you can write them a letter, and if you feel particularly strong about it you can call the house of representatives and ask for your representative directly (202-224-3121); more information on representatives can be found here. So far I have written an email to my representative (Chaka Fattah) regarding Net Neutrality and it's importance, with emphasis on SOPA and how much damage it could do to the free internet of today.
SOPA
Beyond contacting your representative, there are many petitions online against SOPA and other action that would restrict the free flow of internet. Just two can be found here and here. These options are incredibly easy to do and can have a huge impact, but they need the support of the public. Without a huge public outcry, these petitions and letters will likely fall on deaf ears. With Congress approval levels at record lows, it's time for we the people to make an effort to have our voices heard.

BM

Rick Kinard

English 12: Sexuality & Society in Literature

Quarter 2 BM-Research Design

Plan of Action How-To

 

 

Thesis: The environment that one grows up in has an affect on one’s sexual orientation.

 

What thesis-related questions to study? 

   

  What is sexual orientation?

  How is sexual orientation determined?

  Can one change their sexual orientation? Why/why not?

  Is homosexuality a mental disorder ?

  Is homosexuality passed down through genetics 

  What causes homosexuality?

 

 

 

 

 

What data might be relevant to collect? (link to sources in your AB in this section, if applicable)

   

  Statistic/survey linking child abuse and sexuality

  Statistic/survey linking sexuality of parents and children

  Statistic/survey linking homosexuality sexuality of identical twins

  Research done on brain function of homosexuals

  Research done on genetic of homosexuals compared to heterosexual 

  Research done on the causes of sexual orientation

 

 

 

How would I analyze the results?

 

I believe the environment and lifestyle one lives has a impact on their sexual orientation. If the from the data about brain functions show that homosexuals and a health heterosexual are similar, it will rule of the possibility of homosexuality being considered mental illness. If the research on genetics and the statistic/survey linking sexuality of parents and children show it now genetic, I can rule out the argument of it being a disorder passed down for parent to child. If the statistic/survey of homosexuality sexuality and identical twins don’t seem to show any trends it cans also rule out the genetics argument because identical twins has very similar biological make ups.

 

Boeree, George. "General Psychology Sexual Orientation." Sexual Orientation. N/A, N/A. Web. 1 Nov 2011. <http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/sexualorientation.html>.

 

This article is about biology and genetic and how a people behaviors are based off of them. It states that men with less testosterone tend to look and act somewhat more like women, and women with more testosterone than other women tend to look and act somewhat more like men. It also go on to say there is no direct link from testosterone to homosexuality. The helps support my topic because even though the genetic the genetic structure of a person my have some effect on a person’s sexual behavior it isn’t the cause of homosexuality.

 

Goldstein, Dora. "Biological basis of sexual orientation." stanford.edu. Stanford University, 03/10/95. Web. 1 Nov 2011. <http://news.stanford.edu/pr/95/950310Arc5328.html>.

 

This article’s information is mainly on puberty. Is stated a week before and after birth, testosterone has an irreversible organizing effect on the body and brain of males. If the hormone is absent during this period, the individuals’ anatomy and behavior never can become wholly male. Also, that during puberty males gets a surge of testosterone, which activates their male sexual development and behavior. This gives some hints that testosterone levels affect sexual behavior. This source and be use to support both nature and nurture arguments.

Hidalgo, Hilda. "Sexual Orientation." healthy minds. american psychological association, N/A. Web. 1 Nov 2011. <http://www.healthyminds.org/More-Info-For/GayLesbianBisexuals.asp&xgt;.

 

This document give some basic information of what sexual orientation is. It also lists some cause that is believed to effect ones sexuality. It states homosexuality was believed to be the result of troubled experiences or environment, and it is not a form of mental illness .The information I receive for this document I can use to introduce my topic and give general information on sexual orientation and how ones environment is believe to effect it.

 

Johnson, Ryan. "Homosexuality: Nature or Nurture." AllPsych Online. N/A, 4/30/03. Web. 1 Nov 2011. <http://allpsych.com/journal/homosexuality.html>.

There are statics identical twins in this document. I can use this because identical twins have very similar biological structures. If the both of them are the same sexual orientation there is a chance that the biological build has a part to play in their sexual orientation. If the studies show that identical twins have the same sexual orientation this could prove my idea wrong

 

Jones, Michael. "Nature vs. Nurture Debates Over Sexuality." Change.org. N/A, 10/05/08. Web. 1 Nov 2011. <http://news.change.org/stories/nature-vs-nurture-debates-over-sexuality>.

This article suggests that both the nature and the nurture have valid evidence on what can affect a child’s sexual orientation. It says proven Research suggests that the homosexual orientation is in place very early in the life cycle, possibly even before birth. Its also that suggest that nurture could be a cause homosexuality. Some causes are estranged relationships between gay children and their parents, allowing male children to play with dolls, not forming healthy same-sex bonds with peers as a toddler, and sexual abuse at a young age. 

 

Swidey, Niel. "What Makes People Gay?." Boston.com. Boston Global, 08/14/05. Web. 1 Nov 2011. <http://www.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2005/08/14/what_makes_people_gay/>.

 

In this document there is information on childhood gender nonconformity. It is a child not being comfortable in his or her own body. In this one of a pair of twins is showing signs of childhood gender nonconformity. In this situation the mother is open minded and what’s her children to have freedom of expression and allow the behavior.  

 

Van Buskirk, James E. "Nature And Causes Of Homosexuality (Book)." Library Journal 106.21 (1981): 2321. Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts. Web. 1 Nov. 2011.

 

These articles talk about one environment and sexuality. It says that a family of homosexuals it is more likely for a child to come out homosexual. It also states that some events and/or relationship with parents can influence a child's sexuality. This directly contributes to my idea that one environment influence ones sexuality.  

 

"sexual orientation and homosexuality." psychology.org. Australian psychological society, N/A. Web. 1 Nov 2011. <http://www.psychology.org.au/publications/tip_sheets/orientation/>.

 

This article rules out a popular belief that homosexuality is a choice. It states that ones sexual orientation is determined at a young age before there is any kind of sexual act. It shows how some were not comfortable with their homosexuality and tried to change it. In the end their homosexuality didn’t go away. I can use this to kill the argument that sexual orientation is choice when in the end leaves the arguments that it is either nurture or nature.


SCOTUS CASE: Perry vs. New Hampshire

Issue: In a criminal case, is a court required to exclude eyewitness identification evidence whenever the identification was made under the circumstances that make the identification unreliable because they tend to suggest that the defendant was responsible for the crime, or only when  the police are responsible for the circumstances that make the identification unreliable.

Basically in this case Barion Perry, the guy who is being prosecuted for breaking into someone's car. The thing that is making this case so difficult is because the person who saw him do it, could not identify him what so ever. When the cops put him in a line up she had no clue who it was.  To me she pretty much  took a wild guess  there perry came out. The information  being used in this case isn't reliable information because they are not sure  if the police were their or not. The eyewitness was not sure  if perry was the person or not and they are trying to say that the police were there but then again they are now going to have to put the case on hold because the they don't have enough evidence.

Blog Post #4

Since I am lobbying for music and athletic programs to be brought back as well as stop cutting them, I decided to try and get in contact with the superintended of the School District of Philadelphia and attack the problem right on the head. I soon noticed that this was a really hard task because it was extremely hard to find his own personal email. I then looked for a way to get in contact with someone who could relay the message and when browsing the school district of Philadelphia's website, I came across a link that provided phone numbers to the schools in the district. I wanted to get my voice heard on a larger scale so I decided to call Central, Roxbourough and Sayre. I targeted these three schools because they are larger schools that have large music and athletic programs so they can understand my concern. Unfortunately they haven't responded to me yet.

https://webapps.philasd.org/school_profile

FAFSA

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the form used by the U.S. Department of Education to determine your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) by looking at your financial information, such as income, and household information. 


https://www.lucidchart.com/documents/view#448c-bcd8-4edff2b2-8c60-40280a5ac729?branch=82a33e52-b82d-423e-bc72-a220b3e33d9c

Bureacracy Project Reflection

Federal Student Aid, an office of the U.S. Department of Education, ensures that all eligible individuals can benefit from federally funded financial assistance for education beyond high school. We consistently champion the promise of postsecondary education to all Americans and its value to our society.


Lucid Chart:

https://www.lucidchart.com/documents/view#448c-bcd8-4edff2b2-8c60-40280a5ac729?branch=b317a48f-5df6-425e-93b0-dc26066ae7ff


if I could change one thing I would change the length of the whole process itself.


I believe it became so complicated because they don't want just everyone to get it, they want the people who actually need it to receive it first.


Lobbying Blog Post #4

    In order for my lobbying topic to come to the attention of big city officials, I have to get the attention of the council members who make up the Rules Committee  for the city of Philadelphia.  There are many methods I can take to capture their attention that will all be effective for me.

The person that I really need to get in contact with would be Anna C. Verna because she is the chair of the rules committee but if I am not able to get in touch with her, I have 8 other options of people to get in contact with including James F. Kenney who is the vice chair of the committee.


Speaking hypothetically, I send out letters, e-mails and make calls to both the chair and the vice chair and I do not get in contact with them and I never hear anything back, I’ll first contact Donna Reed Miller who is one of the members on the committee. The reason why I’ll contact her is because she serves the 8th district, which is my districts’ councilwoman.

My plan of action is the following:

1.    Write a letter addressing my issues and ways I chose to go about fixing the issue (Just in case I need to send a letter)

2.    Call Verna to get in contact with her first and work my way down the line if my plan doesn’t work.

3.    Attend a meeting to figure out their viewpoints they already have on curfew. The point of the meeting would be to be observant of
    what plans they have already made and see how can I add to it or tie my ideas into their laws.
   
4.    Set up a meeting with whoever is willing to meet with me and discuss my ideas with them and try to get them to agree with me to represent this to a larger audience.

5.    Hopefully get feedback from the larger audience and see if my issue can be brought before the mayor and see what he says about it.
   



.JimKennyLG

Vice Chair James F. Kenney 

       VernaLG

 Chair Anna C. Verna

  

 drmLG

Council Woman Donna Reed Miller

Caraco vs. Novo Nordisk

​Issue: Whether a generic drug manufacturer may sue the company that produces the brand-name version of the drug to require it to correct information filed with the Food and Drug Administration, information that is relevant to the agency's decision whether to approve the generic version of the drug.

Caraco is a pharmaceutical laboratory who's main job is to create affordable medication for patients

Novo Nordisk is a healthcare company and worldwide leader in diabetes care and medication 

The case which revolves around Caraco  diabetes drug repaglinide, Caraco certified that its' drug label wouldn't conflict with respondent novo nordisk repaglinide-metformin use combination

The case is whether a patented drug that is filed by the FDA can be sued by the generic maker of that similar drug for not given correct information regarding the exact drug and everything included in it. (chemical mixtures etc.)

SCOTUS Case: National Meat Association vs. Harris

National Meat Association vs. Harris:

In this supreme court case, the National Meat association of California is going up against Federal law. In this particular case State law is being challenged by federal law, which usually comes out on top in terms of supreme court cases. California state law dictates that a sickly animal must be destroyed immediately while federal law outlines that the animal must be quarantined and observed so an illness can be pinpointed to see if the rest of the slaughterhouse animals could possibly be affected by the disease. The animal would also be quarantined to find out the symptoms of the disease or infection in order to find it in other animals (pigs in this case). Part of California's argument included that leaving a quarantined animal to die from a horrid infection or illness is a form of cruelty while those backing the federal law stuck to their argument that finding the root of the illness and preventing an outbreak of disease among a group of animals bound for the slaughterhouse has a much greater reward than risk. Since the case is relatively straightforward, officials will most likely come to a decision in the early months of the upcoming year after the weigh the pro's and con's of each dictated law.

Blog Post 4

    ​I decided that the mobilizing activity that I will undertake will be a personalized letter to the targeted decision maker.I decided to do this because I feel as though this will be most affective. Also because its a direct messaga and I believer it will have a much better impact that creating post cards or rallies and demonstrations. 
     I plan on writing a letter to Blondell Reynolds as well as meeting with her in person to discuss the curfew issue and a better way of going abou the curfew. I would express my views on the situation as well as the view of my peers. Also though the ultimate decision maker is the Mayer, Blondell Reynolds also has a large influence on the decision as well and it was mainly her idea to enforce the curfew. 

Plan of Action 

1.    Write a letter addressing my issues and discuss and different way to discipline youth that do cause trouble and not you the approach were everyone if affected because of someones actions. 

2.    Call Blondell Reynolds to set up a meeting with her to discuss her reasoning and the way she feels about the subject. Also to see if my letter had any impact on her. 

3.    Attend one or two meetings to see things from their viewpoint. Get their opinions they already have on curfew law.  The point of the meeting would be to be to simply observe and see how they come to a concisus. 
    
4.    Set up a meeting with the Mayor if possible as well as Blondell Reynolds so that we could all talk together,

5.    Hopefully get feedback from the larger audience and see if my issue can be brought before the mayor and see what he says about it.
    









Marriage project-Reflection

​For this project my partner and I decided to file for marriage papers. We searched online in order to find the paperwork but we couldnt. We discussed it with our teacher and decided to give them a call. When I called the office the first thing they asked was whether the two people getting married were over 18 and then a list of things I'd need to bring down to their offices in order to legalize the marriage. I didnt have much of a chance to speak and got a little confused. I tried to get my teacher on the phone, but it was something I had to do myself. I found that I could not get a copy of the papers, in order to even see the papers we had to actually get married. By the time I got back on the phone the lady hung up on me. I then tried again the next day and received some information we needed to complete our project but were still unable to see the documents. Our final product was based on our process and all other data we gathered. I found this project very informative, different and very nice to work with because I now know the process one has to take in order to be legally married. 



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Ryan Francis Blog Post #4

Background Info On Blondell:


Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown has been a long time champion of children and youth, the arts and culture community, and small business development. She is now an emerging leader in energy conservation and environmental matters and is infusing her policy initiatives to reflect this new and important priority.


Some of her Accomplishments Include:


-Persuading the Phillies and Eagles, along with Mayor John F. Street , during the sports stadium negotiations, to establish a “Fund for Children” requiring each team to contribute $1 million annually for 30 years.

-Structured the new Department of Parks and Recreation to reflect national best practices.

-Sponsored resolutions that supported organized labor unions (SEIU – Janitors and 1199C – Childcare Teachers) in their efforts to gain fair contracts and fought for amendments to protect union jobs from privatization (DC33).

-Equipped police officers with a new and stronger curfew law to complement the opening of 11 citywide curfew centers.

-Created and implemented the “Groceries for Guns” initiative, a gun buyback program that resulted in an unprecedented number of gun buybacks, to help curtain gun violence in the city.


She has shown a great deal of involvement in the city of Philadelphia's affairs that have to do with child safety, recreation of homes and sponsoring programs.


I'm Lobbying laws that can possibly help the Youth in Philadelphia become less liable to be incarcerated. I called the Philadelphia Prison System Office (@2156858395) and was transferred to the Criminal Justice Center near 15th St. I was able to get a few statistics from the man I spoke to about the incarceration rate of Philadelphia, some of his thoughts on how the city is run, and how he deals with youth who come through to the trials.


"It's just heart wrenching to see kids who look like they barely got the hang of high school yet, come through here and get processed. I wish I could have possibly saved some of them, because they all just look so angry at the world, or angry at themselves, and it's truly heartbreaking. A lot of us officers do our jobs to keep the streets safe, but we don't always like it. Especially when another young kid is being convicted of a crime that could possibly ruin his teenage years." - Mr. Carl Washington 


He didn't give me an exact percentage, but he did tell me that the incarceration rate and drop out rate are higher than the graduation rate of students in Philadelphia. He also said "The more they undereducate, they Over incarcerate." When he told me this, I felt as if he knows that theres a way to save our youth in Philadelphia, and he has hope for the future.


My plan of action is to get Ms. Blondell Brown to come out to my mom's 3rd Annual "Positive Impact: Young Men's Conference" on January 28th and speak to the youth.


Information I plan to send

(Flyer from Second Annual) 
PIME

Positive Impact Motorcycle Events Presents


Young Men's Leadership Conference 

Date: January 28th, 2012


This event is for Young Males between he ages of 10-17


Positive Impact has lined up 7 Dynamic Professionals to speak at our event 


"Our focus is to change lives, instill integrity and build character so the the next emerging generation of husbands and fathers will take these skills and vision to make a positive difference in the world." 


During the First Annual Young Men's Conference in 2010, we've had between 90-120 Young Men come out to learn about different things that can benefit their lives positively, and they got to meet keynote speakers who have taught Anger Management, Making Passions into careers, cooking, and Leadership. Some speakers we're ex cons, some were accountants and relater. I want to Contact Ms. Blondell to be apart of this event, because the purpose of the "Young Men's Conference" is too educate and inform the youth of Philadelphia, Chester, Delaware, and New Jersey on the different opportunities that they have to succeed, and they teach them about the jail systems, and the different extra curricula's that go on around the city they live in. It's important to keep our youth busy, and keep them off the streets and caught up in things that could potentially ruin their futures.


http://www.blondellonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1&Itemid=3

Court Case

Case 10-948- CompuCredit Corporation v. Greenwood.

 

Cheif Justice John G. Roberts


According to http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/compucredit-corp-v-greenwood/?wpmp_switcher=desktop 

my case is "Whether claims arising under the Credit Repair Organizations Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1679 et seq., are subject to arbitration pursuant to a valid arbitration agreement."

The decision made by the courts was that the federal statutes that both create a right to sue also bar waiver of rights under thee statute are sufficiently explicit to override the strong federal policy in favor of arbitrability expressed in the federal arbitration act. The relative language is virtually indistinguishable from that and the credit repair organization fact that we have before us today the cases inclide the ADEA and CROA which create a cause of action for aggrivated parties to bring actions for damages and both statutes explicitly bar waiver of quote "any right under the statute. Well, that statute didn't have as this one has a disclosure requirement that says you have a right to sue. And that's the sole distinction between the two statutes. So the -- first of all the disclosure statute is a -- describes in layman's terms, gives a quick description of an operative civil liability section which is set out in 1679(g) and which tells us exactly what Congress had in mind in creating a cause of action. And when you look at the language of the actual operative provisions in (g), it's almost as if Congress deliberately went out of its way to use language that would not preclude arbitration.The Supreme Court's decision will clarify the extent of the federal policy favoring arbitration and will elucidate how consumers may proceed against credit repair organizations under the CROA.
The decision the court made is not really clear basically, they were both in the wrong to certain dagree, the wording used in both documents was almost identical, and there was a part in their documents saying that they did not have the right to sue the other party. 

4th Blog Post

The process that it took me to get to write a letter wasn’t as hard as I thought the decision would be.  I started off by saying I wanted to attend a meeting about curfew, but I began to think just hearing my voice alone speaking on the topic wouldn’t be as strong as writing a letter. Then as I still research dates for the meetings, I realized that none are being held. Therefore, that being said, it made my decision easier to write a letter.

 

            Dear To Whom Ever it may Concern,

                        Hello, my name is Jasmine Gladden and I attend Science Leadership Academy. I am writing this letter as a civilize student and young adult to inform you that I don’t believe that the curfew law is reasonable or fair. I understand where you’re coming from with your reasoning but I don’t think your looking at things from all perspectives. I believe if you would’ve look at things from the parents perspective and other young adult who not into flash mobs perspective then you wouldn’t have came to the conclusion with the curfew law that has been presented to us. I believe it’s not fair to the parents because some parents for one don’t have much control over there children to have their kids listen to them and be in the house at a certain time. Another reason I believe it’s not fair that a parent has to pay if their child gets caught; they have pay with their hard working money for the nonsense.

            However, I am 18, so the curfew doesn’t really bother me, but I when I was 17 and younger I was never the type to vandalize and do bad things to mess up or harm anyone. I was reading this article that was about Mayor Nutter speech and I didn’t really agree with what he was saying. I don’t believe that every child is bad and can’t control themselves in a crowd. I don’t think it’s okay to categorize everyone into one category and it’s not everyone.

            All I’m asking is for you to look into consideration of what I am presenting to you. I think this could work if you only include or show that you took in consideration everyone’s perspective. I think once you look at things fully and attempt to understand whom others are coming from, things may rule in a positive favor. Thank you for your time! Please if you find more time, can you reply with your thoughts base on what you think about my ideas.



From

Jasmine Gladden
jgladden@scienceleadership.org 

            From looking at my previous blog posts, I feel like a letter is best because I could compile everything I need to say in one document to get my point across. I can then be able to point out the certain aspects of each blog post I thought was important in each. I think the blog post that influence me the most was the 3rd blog  post because this had points from actual people feeling towards the who situation. 

Lobbying Issue: Funding for Philly Youth Poetry Movement (Phase Four)

For my lobbying project, I made a petition that I’ve been circulating on Tumblr as well as sending an email to the mayor’s office to request he and city council allot more funding to PYPM because it is a very influential, innovative program that allows young people to express themselves in such a constructive and creative way that it also helps promote literacy improvement as well as building better social skills. My primary plan is the email I plan to send shown below,  which basically explains why this is something that should be acted upon as well as getting people from Philadelphia to sign this e-petition.

To Whom This May Concern,
Hello, my name is Chelsea Starks and I am a senior at Science Leadership Academy. I have been working on a lobbying project in my American Government class to help me learn more about how the legislative system works. For my lobbying project I chose to lobby aiding the non-profit organization Philly Youth Poetry Movement (P.Y.P.M) which promotes youth to use power of their voice through spoken word and literary expression. PYPM is more than just a group of poets rhyming together, it’s like a family. No mater how long you’ve been there 6 months or 6 minutes, they will show you love regardless and will make you feel welcome. This organization was originally founded in 2006 by Greg Corbin, and really gives at-risk youths aged 13-19 a safe environment to express themselves, explore and find their identity as well as advocating for themselves in such a way that is creative but building better social skills at the same token. A program like this has been an inspiration to many including myself. My first time being at a workshop was very intriguing and I was interested to come back again and get to know everyone. The environment overall had so much love there even though they didn’t know me and I felt accepted by these people whom I didn’t even know. Programs like these need to exist around the city, but until the city can fund all of those projects, starting off with PYPM will help start it. This organization has been doing very well and has gained support of many politicians holding office in the city but now it’s calling on it’s community, i.e the city to help them continue to grow and flourish. With this funding this organization could be so much more, we could finally get a main building and hold workshops there, have youth night as well as open mic there as well. But that also cuts down on the unintentional  segregation that sometimes happens when young people can’t go as far as others in terms of traveling outside the city. By having one building it will actually put some parents at ease because that allows them to know this limits how far some kids are traveling and are in one specific place. PYPM is an inspirational, innovative, uplifting organization committed to helping the city’s youth. So in closing, I hope that you will take this into consideration and help this organization prosper. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Chelsea Starks
Science Leadership Academy
cstarks@scienceleadership.org

Basically what I’ve done so far I can’t even begin to believe I’ve done honestly. I didn’t think I could get this far on my own nor did I really think I could make a true difference in the system of politics. I always thought most of them really didn’t care about what the young people had to say as a lot of politicians don’t but those whom I am working with to get PYPM more funding are definitely in favor of the young people in the city and really want us to be all we can be. I think that once the issue of money is settled for Philly, this will be a great investment because we are investing in our future via the young people that participate in these programs. This only the beginning of something that could change this city for the better. We already have the “Unlitter Us” campaign to help keep the city clean and it seems to have something of an impact. With proper funding I believe this could really help put the city’s youth into a better place as well as the city itself.

Right now I could use help with the letter before I send it off because I want to make sure this makes sense and is professional enough. Please feel free to leave constructive criticism below.

Lobbying Blog Post 4



Dear Mayor Nutter http://www.phila.gov/mayor and City Council, http://www.phila.gov/citycouncil/
As a Teen I’ve read different commentary on how the curfew law should be stricter. I support what has been done, however there should be other methods then public speaking. For example other methods that can be used are advertisement campaigns, and public service announcements these other methods could more effectively target everyone and hopefully reduce what is going on.  These other methods will include images and videos of teens harming and injuring innocent people.  After watching these videos this would make teens realize that they should not be doing what they are doing and become a better person latter on in life. It could also help them understand why the curfew in place.

Link to Video:

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=8364662
Some teens may still disobey the rules no matter what is said to them. Some of them may feel that this law is unfair and have a no care attitude and that they would do anything that they want to do in life. The curfew law needs to be more enforced then what it is now since some teens are still getting out of hand. However with the changes in the law things have improved.  It is unfortunate because people who don’t commit the crimes are also being affected. The curfew law can affect an average citizen, parents, teens, and City Council. For example how curfew can affect the average citizen is that they are worried whether their environment is safe to go out for a walk. The curfew law affects city council because they have to keep up on the teen’s behavior and if the curfew law is working when they have much important issues to work.  The curfew law can affect parents because it reflects on the way they raised their kids and whether they can be trusted or not.  This also affects the amount of effort the parents must make to make sure they kids follow the rules. The main purpose is to decrease the opportunity for people to do things that would get them in trouble and hopefully reduce crime.

Resources
:
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/10/28/mct_pacurfew.html
http://www.phila.gov/mayor/
http://www.phila.gov/citycouncil/CouncilMembers.htm
http://blogs.phillymag.com/the_philly_post/2011/10/19/qa-independent-mayoral-candidate-wali-diop-rahman/
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=8364662
http://teens.lovetoknow.com/Facts_About_Teenagers_Curfews

Alexis Beckton: Lobbying Blog Post 4


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Blog Post Four

  • Dominate something. 
    The way I decided to communicate with my representative about my lobbying topic was to call the office at the same time everyday. I thought that by being consistent with how I handled my situation they would know that I was serious about this issue and that sooner or later they would have to address me.  

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    • Do a few things well 
      They never called back and very seldom did they even answer the phone. I was upset and almost outraged at the fact the office of the man that was elected to represent my interest was never available to actually listen to my needs. I was persistent in calling but I started to vary the times. I didn't want to change my strategy because it was a good one it just wasn't as effective as I would've hoped. 

    • Make the strategy personal.
      The strategy became very personal as I felt my voice wasn't being heard. I think now I will change my strategy looking back because there was no progress with calling. Now I will draft one letter addressed to the representative and ask that every senior in the school email it to him. Or invite him to the school so that we could have a group discussion on how to move forward. 
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Scotus Blog: Reynolds v. United States

In the Reynolds vs. United States the issue was about sex offender registration an d notification Act (SORNA) which congress enacted in 2006. This law was designed to create a nationwide system to keep track of all different sex offenders that committed crimes in the past. When congress decided to do this they hoped to prevent a situation in which a sex offenders convicted in one location could then move to another state another state, where neither police nor his new neighbors would he aware of their history if they were registered sex offenders.

In 2001 Billy Joe Reynolds was convicted of a sex crime in Missouri and served four years in prison. Then when he was released, he registered as a sex offender in Missouri, but he didn't  do it with authorities in Pennsylvania when he moved there in 2007. A couple of months later Reynolds was charged with violating SORNA's requirements. When he went to go argue his case in the lower court they refused to even consider his challenge.  Now Reynolds is being held in violation of the federal constitution. The court was divided on that issue. The U.S. Solicitor General urged the Court to deny review of Reynolds' petition.


Marriage Mobs

Plans

The most effective way to get this on the radar is randomly placed (but still awesome) flash mobs. I have several ideas for how to organize these flashmobs. All of them start with couples (girls with girls/boys with boys) dressed in grooms outfits and bride’s dresses.

1.     Couples waiting for bus stops and taking over the trains.

2.     Spontaneous fake marriage ceremonies in malls. Complete with music over the loud speakers.

3.     “Registering” for gifts in their costumes in stores.

 

Then we introduce shirts into the mix. We make shirts with sayings like “Here comes the bride…..and the other bride.” And other cool stuff. And I’ll distribute enough of them so they’re everywhere you look but not so many that they’ll be a mob of people wearing them.

 

Steps

1.     Gather willing participants

2.     Dress up said participants

3.     Partner them up

4.     Assign them areas

5.     Watch the fun

6.     End watching of fun

7.     Make shirts

8.     Assign shirts to much less people

9.     Watch confused people

10. Enjoy

 

Reflection

Marriage Mobs

This will definitely be effective because for one thing, flash mobs have a way of getting around. It’s not that this will get support for gay marriage right away but it will get people thinking about it.

Everyone will want to know what its all about and that gets me in the door to explaining my cause.

  

Sexy Shirts

The shirts are just a fashion statement to keep the issue from losing publicity. Plus the money made from possible sales of the shirt can fund more lobbying of my issue. 

Lobbying Post #3

There hasn't been much this year for my issue so there isn't really any status as of now. But in 2008, seven states were records to "consider proposals" that would lower the LEGAL drinking age from 21 to 18 years of age. 

In Kentucky, Wisconsin and South Carolina legislatures are working on for military personnel only. In Missouri, the citizens are working on a ballot to lower the age. A lawyer in South Dakota is working on a campaign for young adults (ages 19-20) to buy alcohol with a low level (3.2% and under). Minnesota citizens are trying to work on a bill that allows restaurants and bars to serve alcohol to people ages 18 and older but not liquor stores. 

Although I'm not sure who's working on this other than myself, I can figure out who is and try to work with them and collaborate on our issue. Not only myself, but we (anyone besides myself and I) can influence our community and district leaders to look into the issue more in depth for reason that can show evidence and good reasoning as to why the drinking age should be lowered. 

As of now, there aren't any meetings or committee hearings (presented to the public) but there may be more to come in the near future. 

Lobbying post 4 Letter to representatives

   ​For the fourth part of this lobbying assignment I decided to contact, Council Woman Joan L. Krajewski. She is the one that represents my district, district 6. Council Woman Joan L. Krajewski is the Vice-chairwoman of the public safety committee,  "She sits on the Committees of Public Property and Public Works, Licenses and Inspections, Public Safety, Fiscal Stability, Legislative Oversight and Disabled and Handicapped. She was first elected councilwoman in 1979 and has since continued on  a similar path. She was the first woman in Philadelphia City Council history to hold the position of Majority Leader. I also found out that she grew up in the same neighborhood as me and I found that very interesting.  
           
Council Woman Joan L. Krajewski is one of the people that is directly responsible to me. I was hesitant in contacting her, for I was unsure of the method to use. I then decided on writing a letter, I came to the realization that it takes a long time for the letter to get through. In order to inquire regarding my topic I contacted her through phone, and email as well as the letter. I also forwarded the email out to the governor and our city's mayor; they have yet to reply to me. 
      
 In the letter I wrote, my reason for contacting them, along with links and a summery of my previous blog posts. In the letter I explained the safety in schools problem and how much education reform is needed, along with statistics on the high school drop out rates. And proposed several changes in order to better a students school life. I am still waiting for a reply from any or all of my representatives and am hoping for a positive response. 


The letter I wrote: 

Dear Representatives: 

My name is Elona Myftaraj, I a senior at Science Leadership Academy. I am working on a project, and lobbying for education reform is my main point. I am contacting you because you are my representative and I hope it wont take too much of your time to reply to me. I am contacting you in order to discuss, and make aware a few serious problems in our school system. "Across United States public schools, just 74.9 percent of students who were freshmen in the fall of 2004 graduated from high school on time in 2008, according to a report from the National Center for Education Statistics." There have been many school related incidents that I fear has many students feel that they are not in a safe environment. This is a link to a blog post I wrote on education reform, and suggestions for change. http://www.scienceleadership.org/blog/Lobbying-_Education_Reform:2

A perfect example of my lobbying topic is the violence erupted at South Philadelphia high school where off-campus and lunchrooms attacks targeted about 50 Asian students, injuring 30, primarily by African-American students. The Asian students boycotted classes for more than a week after the attack, stating that they had endured relentless bullying by African-American students while school officials did nothing about their complaints. I want there to be a change in education and in schools because there are many kids that come from "The Hood" or bad neighborhoods, and I believe that schools should be a safe haven as much as a place of learning, kids need to have a place or person they trust and I believe that this is a part of a teachers job. 

I feel that it is incidents such as this that make students loose faith in schools and the school system. Therefore I am asking for your help to actively join me in taking action for education reform and an accurate schedule along with locations for public meetings regarding education reform.

 

Thank you in advance

Sincerely

~ Elona Myftaraj

 

 

#fundamtk

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Screen Shot 2011-12-21 at 9.27.30 AM
In this step, the national movement to organize support for Amtrak was arranged. The primary method of support was going to be a one-day event wherein supporters travelled to Washington, DC via Amtrak. Then, all participants would walk across the street to discuss the issues with their representatives. However, this option was much too costly and not feasible with the available resources. In lieu of such a movement, the lobbying campaign is in the process of creating a twitter campaign wherein persons will use the hashtag #fundamtk to demonstrate their support. To save money, this hashtag will be distributed at Amtrak train stations such as 30th Street Station in Philadelphia. As involvement and engagement with the hashtag grows, the press secretaries of the representatives and senators would be contacted to see the visibility and support for this otherwise dying movement. While I would've liked to have already demonstrated the effectiveness of this process, the ideal time to start this movement will be directly before the holidays when rail travel is at its peak. This blog post will be updated further after the happenings of such an event.

SCOTUS Case: Martel vs. Clair - Ian McClendon

Review of Case: This Supreme Court Case Michael Martel vs. Kenneth Clair is presented the question of whether a condemned prisoner of capital federal habeas corpus can change his court appointed counsel because he was dissatisfied with his first counsels investigations. But the replacement for a new counsel if protected by habeas corpus should expresses dissatisfactory but also should be in the "interest of justice." 

Facts of the Case: In Kenneth Clairs defense being under protection of a federal habeas corpus for 10 years should not influence the decision to be able to be appointed a new court counsel since Kenneth was dissatisfied with his previous counsel. During the state court case the judge expressed that the counsel was doing a proper job for his client but it was not said that Clair was entitled to a new counsel. Clair filed for a petition of his federal habeas corpus and for a new counsel. The judge denied his request and then the day after he retired. Right after Clair talked to his counsel and came to a legit conclusion that the "attorney-client relationship had broken" and a appeal for a new counsel would be appropriate. So with the approval of a new counsel, Clair tried for a habeas corpus petition and the substitution for the new counsel before the district court was even ready for ruling.  

In Michael Martel argument he expresses that after the decision made by the Ninth District Court Clair was distort about the verdict and shortly after he explained that he wasn't content with his counsel and wanted a new counsel. The districts court response was that "no conflict of interest or inadequacy of counsel is shown". So therefor they denied the petition for release of federal habeas corpus. Clair appealed and was appointed a new lawyer to revise his statement to expressing "dissatisfaction" which calls for no further dispute of getting a new counsel for that would be unconstitutional. The Amendment that is controversial is the 6th which states, "In all criminal prosecutions, ... and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense." 

Summary of Arguments Before Case: When Clair was appointed his new counsel he also independently hired a private investigator in August 2005, C.J. Ford, whom took over the case. In March 2005, Clair sent a letter to the District Court saying that he did not want to be represented by a Federal Public Defender, stating that his old counsel, "displayed a degree of messiness." Also that the counsel was trying to save his life rather than trying to prove his innocence and get him out of prison. The State's retaliation to the letter was Clair had "shown no cause to dismiss counsel"and that "Clair had meet with the Federal Public Defender and he agreed that the counsel should continue to represent him but still have the right to take action later. To clarify Clair's argument he summed it all up in a second letter. He asked for his counsel to be renewed and an addition of a complaint. During C.J. Ford's inspection recovered new evidence from the original crime scene and was unable to locate a witness which both of which Clair complains his normal counsel did not look hard enough for. But the key factor here is that back in 1984 at the time of the Linda Rogers murder the detectives didn't have nearly enough technology that would've helped find crucial evidence for the case in favor of Kenneth Clair. When the Petitioner and counsel asked to review the recovered evidence the police department claimed that the evidence was lost or destroyed but in May 2005 Ford dug deeper into the problem and recovered the evidence. With further analysis it was determined that no biological evidence of Kenneth Clair was found at the scene of the crime. Although was sparked more controversy was that much of this investigation was done independently and not mentioned to the district court, counsel, or lawyer. A few months later the case was retired of habeas corpus and reassigned with repeating claims of being dissatisfied with his old counsel and that the evidence should be used in trial supporting Clair. Many stipulations occur again and again with appeals and request of relief of habeas corpus and improper use of collecting evidence. 

Outcome of Case: From listening and reading the transcript I believe that the Court would favor for Clair. Because at the beginning of the issue the Federal Public Defense did not conduct their litigations properly to justify Clair in the first place. The denial of Clairs appointment to new counsel was unconstitutional and there shouldn't have been such friction of Clairs request but for his innocence of connecting him to the murder of Linda Rogers. In the end the degree of messiness overturned the case in favor of Clair.