I left a message at the SEPTA Community Affairs Unit phone line. In the message I stated my name, the school I attend and that I wanted to speak with someone who could aid in my lobbying process. SEPTA Officer Macklin returned my phone call informing me to e-mail him about the details of my plan. I e-mailed the officer and will hopefully speak with him soon about my take on the issue and how he and SEPTA can help. In short, I stated that I was lobbying for public transportation safety as an American Government class assignment. I also mentioned that I wanted to discuss concerns about the issue and prevention methods. Any additional information that is necessary will be given as requested. I will continue this assignment until I have spoken with someone who can directly impact this issue and help make awareness. However, I am still awaiting a response from Officer Macklin and will not take further action until he responds to my e-mail.

My Communication Tactics remain the same:

• Letters to the editor, editorials, and commentary
• Phone calls to the targeted decision maker
• Faxes to the targeted decision maker
• Emails to the targeted decision maker
• Personalized letters and postcards to the targeted decision maker
• Personal visits with the targeted decision maker

The Passion.

The topic I decided to lobby is the government funding of abortions. When brainstorming a topic to lobby, I thought about the things I've fought against in previous classes while completing previous assignments. SLA really gives its students a chance to venture out into the real world to help fight for a particular cause or issue we feel should be changed. My passions lead me to this very topic of the incompetent acts on the government’s behalf. One incompetent act in particular acted as ammunition in my endeavor to help prevent the useless funding of abortions.

The Past.

            In previous blog posts, I’ve listed public officials, direct contacts and  some organizations working towards the same things I, a lobbyist, is working toward. I plan to physically stop government funding to financially remunerate abortion clinics for the destruction of fetuses. The Hyde Amendment, (passed into law by congress in 1976) became the backbone of my topic. This law acts as the foundation upon which I built my argument. Sometimes there are some things we all want to see changed, but laws act as restrictors. To move forward with this fight against abortion funding, I first had to identify what factors would hold me back.  I previously listed all states that abided by the Hyde Amendment, and the states that do not. The states that abide by the law only fund abortions in the case of rape, incest, or if the pregnancy is causing harm to the mother.  The 17 states that do not exercise the Hyde Amendment are the ones I will try my best to reach out to.  The officials of those 17 states will be contacted about the issue. South Dakota is an exception. South Dakota will only allow the government to fund an abortion in cases of life endangerment. District of Columbia is not considered a state in the United State, but its policy is that the government funds abortions along with the 17 states listed below.

The Proclamation.

            I, Taniera N. Reid, promise to do any and everything in my power to see the obliteration of the irresponsible government funding of abortions in the following states:

1.     Alaska

2.      Arizona

3.     California

4.     Connecticut

5.     Hawaii

6.     Illinois

7.     Maryland

8.     Massachusetts

9.     Minnesota

10. Montana

11. New Jersey

12. New Mexico

13. New York

14. Oregon

15. Vermont

16. Washington

17. West Virginia

I, Taniera N. Reid, will also contact any and every person needed to see that Medicaid no longer funds abortions. I will join forces with any and all groups/organizations fighting for the same or a similar cause as the one I am lobbying against today.

The Problem In School Safety

On December 17, 2008 the School District of Philadelphia adopted a new bullying policy in order to increase the safety of Philadelphia schools. The school district stated the following on their website:

Resolved, that the School Reform Commission hereby adopts the attached primary Policy on Bullying and its prevention/intervention in order to ensure compliance with HB 1067 (PA), amending "Article XIII-A Safe Schools" in the Pennsylvania School Code of 1949, that requires each school entity to adopt a policy relating to bullying.

The newly adopted policy covered just about every piece of bullying, to make sure their procures were up to date with all the rules and regulations given by the state. From defining the act as:

Bullying is characterized by the following three (3) criteria:

• It is aggressive behavior or intentional harm doing.

• It is carried out repeatedly over time.

• It occurs within an interpersonal relationship where there is an imbalance of power (e.g. one person is physically larger, stronger, mentally quicker or socially more powerful).

To laying out the coarse of action if a student were ever involved in bullying. So the issue is not that the system is non-existent but the fact that most kids don’t even know that this is around. Many of the problems that are district has faced in the past couple of months could have been handled better if the schools allowed the students to know of these guidelines. Instead of making the student feel as though nothing could be done, they would have known there were many outlets in order to keep them safe.

How to solve the Problem

ENFORCE THE POLICIES!!

Many schools don’t even mention the act of bullying or violence until something drastic happens. Like the incident that happened at South Philly High that made international headlines. Things like this would not have to happen if we were to crack down on the safety in our schools.

Link to the Policy: http://webgui.phila.k12.pa.us/offices/s/safety/bullying-prevention/bullying-policy3

The future of school safety

If we were to enforce the policies of anit-bullying then the numbers would decrease. Now, that these rules we’re being enforced, and setting up a no tolerance bullying system the safety of our students would take a turn for the better. If students began to understand the effect of what they have done then that would understand the seriousness of the issue, resulting in the drop of bullying.

If things were to stay the same, then the situation would have to choice but to get worse. Students would continue to act the way they do now, and the safety of our schools would never get better. If we continue to let these bullies think that what they are doing are ok, then students will no longer feel safe. It will not only hurt the schools but the future of the students. We have no choice but to enforce these rules, until kids understand.

 For my bureaucracy flow chart project me and my partners looked into Social Security benefits for adults with disabilities. This is for helping people with financial pay or insurances like benefits. There was also a process into looking to get benefits for disabled children. Though it is similar to this in the process but we switched into looking into adults instead.

 The process for going about working in my group was each of taking a part. My partners worked on most of the paperwork and on researching the forms. I also researched and used what they did to creat a flow chart. While working on the chart they would review and give input to help. The paperwork we went through with our project was complex for the fact that there were many other things that are needed to fill out these forms. With out them the process can not take place.

 When working on the flow chart the one thing I would have changed would be that the process sometimes became hard. It was hard for the fact that at times certain forms couldn't be accessed without a really social security number. Others said there were things you needed from other sources which we needed to make up to complete this. I think that this complication it had though was in order to make sure people aren't abusing benefits for their own needs and wants. In the end though it was very interesting to look into and learn about.

The bureaucratic task that my partner, Christine Walden, and I researched and flowchart-ed was filing for income tax. In the interest of keeping it simple and clean, we decided to focus on first time income tax filers (under 65 years of age, non-home owner, etc).

We began by narrowing down our subject. We decided on making a guide for first time income tax filers because, quite simply, they are the ones who need the most help. We downloaded the forms, and using the W2 of a generous donor, we completed them. We then created, edited, and submitted the flow chart. 

The paperwork that we needed to fill out was relatively short but tedious. We first made the mistake of printing the forms and the directions, after which we were left with 50 some pages to deal with. I personally mis-marked two forms before realizing that it would be easier to complete it digitally. After matching the correct directions to each sheet, it was pretty easy to enter the numbers and do the addition.

I think the most difficult part of the process was locating the correct paperwork and directions. The forms are labeled in a way that makes it difficult to find the one meant for your situation. If I could change it, I would make the online linking to the forms more user friendly.

The system was, at first, very simple, I'm sure. However, with the development of technology, government, culture, and economics, the process became appropriately tangled. It had to do with the country changing more quickly than the process could, so the powers that be settled for reformatory rather than flat out change.

Me and the great Harrison "The Cat" Talese-Rhodes were tasked with understanding how to file income tax and decided shortly after we began that never should wish to have to go through this process again. as Harrison said "I would rather get divorced than file income tax." Things did, however, take a turn for the better when we permitted to put limitations on the project, having to understand the income tax process for a single person with no dependents, it became markedly better. It became a great deal simpler for us to understand the basic steps and by the end we felt somewhat comfortable with income tax for single, dependent-less people. (If we were to have to do this for a family of four we may not have been able to finish.) When it came to paperwork, it was for the most part rather straightforward when you had the W-2 and instructions in hand. The biggest problem we initially faced was determining which of the 3 forms we needed to fill out and which aspects of the W-2 were relevant. With help we overcame such obstacles.

This foray into income tax, though logical in a fashion, when completely finished would benefit from changes being made to the resources provided to those filing for the first time. It took quite a bit of scavenging to find the list determining which 1040 form needed to be filled out and the list itself was mildly confusing. If I could change one thing I would make it so more of the lists were created and clearly displayed, filled with every and any definition one might need to complete this bureaucratic function.

As I list these recommendations for alterations I would like to see in this system, I must take a moment to consider why it has become so very complex way. I think in its initial creation it was rather simple since there were a limited number of lifestyle options. Now if you can dream is you can live it. What once was frowned upon or done by few is commonplace, the amount of diversity that has become ingratiated into American life is amazing. This diversity soon needed to be accounted for by its government and they most certainly did want to recreate the system to accommodate changes that may very well disappear in a few years so they add and add form after form leading to the overly complex system now in place. Or that is my theory at least.

Blog #3

1. What is the status of your issue at the legislature? Is this a "good" year?
This year is a good year according this there is going to be a stop to all abortion funding by the government, under the issue of Obama. This addition to Obamas health care plan has not only reduced the number of abortions but has also sent a message out to the country that they should not rely on the government to not only deal with a personal problem but also to destroy a life.

2. Who is essential to the outcome?

According to Obama, there are a few major people that have demonstrated that they have a say on the issue of abortion. They are the Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, and the second, a major judge, Leah Ward Sears. They are two major factors in this fight. That added on to the fact that they are both women, and the fact that the problem is abortion that they will have the most voice in this situation because in one of these controversial moments women will have more voice when talking to women  because they have something to relate to in life. 

3. Who else is working on this? Can you coordinate?

There are many other organizations that are trying to reduce the amount of abortions every day, year, and decade. Some of them include: Americans United for Life, Philadelphia Women Center, and some other smaller ones. Their mission is to help the women of the country to not only keep a child but at the same time save one. There are many things that I can do in order to facilitate with these groups. Such as send and e-mail or even a phone call, to set up some kind of in-person interview so that this can further succeed.

4. Who can you influence?

Abortion is the influence on women all over the world. They ask these different kind of questions, and yet abortion has their answers that they want about either saving their child or getting rid of them. Students in schools especially teen mothers, are people who would majorly be influenced by this. And with the 2 women mentioned before there will be major influence put upon them.

5. What is the time frame?

There is no set time frame for this and there cannot be one set unless there is a major realization for persons out there. Abortions happened every day and every minute. There cannot be a set time that this all can cease. There are things that people have that are setbacks, therefore making it extremely difficult for the people to set a time frame. There will be a drop however, because of the health care plan that Obama set up. And that could reduce the time frame by not a lot even though we dont know what it may be.

-Links would not go in, here they are:

http://blog.heritage.org/2010/08/02/obamacare’s-porous-protections-against-funding-elective-abortion/

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=31898

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=31898

http://aul.org/aul3.html?cdtrack_creative=cbee5cc0-46a5-4590-861b-1347c3cf836c&cdtrack_source=3db6b64a-7523-476f-83ab-f6d50ea69417&gclid=CMjYhqSOyaUCFQJN4Aod4VqXYQ

http://blog.heritage.org/2010/08/02/obamacare’s-porous-protections-against-funding-elective-abortion/

     The easiest task in the Bureacratic system is obtaining a marriage license. My partner and I found that the hardest part of this process would be to come up with the eighty dollar fee (minors pay 100 dollars). To research the process of getting a marriage license to create a flow chart, first my partner and I searched the city of Philadelphia's official website. We hit the jackpot with that website it had all the information we needed for every possible situation couples trying to wed could be in.

       To get a marriage license in Philadelphia, you need the eighty dollar fee, your social security card or document containing your social security number. If a person was married before they need proof of dissolution of marriage or the death certificate of your former mate along with the previously stated items. If you are minor you need parental consent and an extra ten dollars per person. Lastly if you've had your name changed you need the court order. After you bring all the required materials all there is left to for the couple to do is sign their signature.   

      They only thing I would change about this process is lower the fee for the license. Philadelphia has the highest fee in the state.