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Bike Paths- Blog post #4

Posted by Uyen Nguyen in American Government - Laufenberg on

​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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Screen shot 2011-12-21 at 3.50.29 PM
​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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Screen shot 2011-12-21 at 4.03.27 PM
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Screen shot 2011-12-21 at 4.04.47 PM
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

Posted by William Marsh in American Government - Laufenberg on

​ 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. 
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"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.

Scotus Blog: Reynolds v. United States

Posted by Johnathan Neris in American Government - Laufenberg on

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

Posted by Ayanna Robinson in American Government - Laufenberg on

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. 

#fundamtk

Posted by Jeffrey Kessler in American Government - Laufenberg on

Screen Shot 2011-12-21 at 9.27.30 AM
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

Posted by Ian McClendon in American Government - Laufenberg on

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. 

Fracking: Blog #4

Posted by Julia Boyer in American Government - Laufenberg on

For this step of my lobbying project, I collaborated with Alaya to create a larger organization to protest fracking. We've broken our protest plan into multiple steps: 1) Petition, 2) Fund-Raising and 3) Protest. We've written a petition urging Governor Corbett to work with the EPA to understand the risks of Hydraulic Fracturing but, more importantly, not to frack in State Parks. We'll are in the process of getting 100 signatures and will send it to Corbett soon. We also want to make buttons protesting fracking to sell to people in school or in our neighborhoods. With this money, we can organize a Protest in Harrisburg that will include politician and activist guest speakers. With these steps, we will create a large group of supporters. Once a large group is formed, we can create an Occupy movement or an official lobbying party that speaks at Council meetings.  
While these steps are effective together, I believe that if we did them individually, Corbett wouldn't be effected by them. The petition is the least effective because it's simply signatures on a page and unless there are millions of signatures, it won't make much of an impression. However, the next steps are effective because large crowds of people create media attention that Corbett cannot deny or ignore.  
The issues with our plans are similar to the benefits: large crowds create media attention. If people are rowdy and unable to articulate why they are here, then it reflects poorly on the group and our mission. Like the Occupy movement, it will be essential to have slips of paper with simple phrases to say to reporters.

Prometheus vs. Mayo Scotus Post

Posted by Ali Ahmed in American Government - Laufenberg on

​Ali Ahmed
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vs.

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Prometheus vs Mayo is a case whose controversy stems from the limits of patent laws that have been debated for over the last 10 years. Prometheus is a company that produces metabolic blood tests. Prometheus believed that they could patent correlations between results from their type of blood test and how doctors could diagnos of the tests to give make judgement on prescripcion dosages.. Mayo is a company that also produces blood tests. Prometheus saw that doctors were using other blood tests to make these same correlations and instead of going after the doctors attacked the blood test they patented their the correlation. The state of California didn't allow the patent to stand becuase they believed it was not patentable. Soon after the patents was allowed again under the Federal Circuit. 


Mayo didn't believe this patent was legitimate and brought it to the Supreme Court. They were challenging the court ruling that the Federal Circuit passed. Mayo believed that the patent didn't fall under of the catagories required under a patent, "any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof". This problem also arose earlier in the decade when computer algorithms were trying to be patented. Does a correlation fall under a patentes requirements? 

The supreme seems to be siding on the side that it doesn't. From the proceedings in december, it was evident that patent was way too broad. In opposed to patenting actual correlations in dosage number, which the Supreme court said would have passed, they patented the idea that their is a correlation. The problem is that it is just an idea. If the Supreme court makes a definitive decision on what a patent actual is, it will eliminate cases like this. I think the Supreme court will probably vote against the patent. I also hope they make specifics as to how their patents would have actually qualified I hate seeing cases where the ideas so general are patented so that a company can exclude competitors. 


Blog Post #4

Posted by Douglas Wallace in American Government - Laufenberg on

​ My plan is to essentially dominate an area or something. I have teamed up with Julia and Alaya in the anti-fracking movement. On my own however I feel as though I want to start somewhat smaller and make a commercial about fracking. Since my English class is focused right now on advertisements I can invest this time into making a very effective commercial to display. Hopefully I can then get it out to the public and make people think what they want to. This is my way of doing some small things well, however this is something that can get the attention of people.
        I feel as though letters to congress wouldn’t work because I’m pretty sure that is what most people who care about this thing are doing, especially those it effects. I figured if something is to be done then we need to make noise and be heard. If one person in class is talking that is disruptive, but if everyone is yelling for changes that is chaos and calamity.  I figure a series of commercials released every so often could bring more people together on this subject. Especially if it’s a regular thing, like new information posted and stuff.
        So far I’ve made the outlines for the first commercial and I plan to release it over Christmas break. Basically I want to use ethos and pathos for the commercial which is essentially appealing to the consumers emotions and I want to use stats with it. I will use some of the commercial tools that I have been learning in Ms Rami’s class. The commercial set up will start off viewing the lands of Pennsylvania then switch to drilling in the earth. Then I want to see if I can have some powerful background music and with that some speech being made by a government official. From there I have many idea’s that would be too much to convey.
 I hope to one day meet the guy who made gas lands and see if I can get him involved, because that would be great.  As far as the anti-fracking rally is going I need to collaborate more with Alaya White and Julia Boyer

Minneci vs. Pollard (SCOTUS Court Case Summary)

Posted by Donna Survillo in American Government - Laufenberg on

Minneci vs. Pollard

According to http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/minneci-v-pollard/ this case is about whether the inmates of a federal crime can sue the employees of a private prison company if they violate the Constitution. This case asks: if an employee of a private prison system violated anything that is stated in the Constitution, which harmed or violated the prisoner, would the inmate be able to sue the employee? 

According to http://www.americancriminallawreview.com/Drupal/blogs/blog-entry/lafler-v-cooper-attorney-mistakes-plea-bargaining-and-remedies-09-25-2011 basically what happened was a prisoner (Richard Pollard, serving 20 years for drug trafficking and gun crimes) at a federal prison in California was working in the prison's butcher shop and he tripped and fell over a cart landing on his elbows, which both broke. He claimed, in his lawsuit, that prison guards made him do painful, physical work after they refused to provide him with splints after a doctor had even suggested he has them. The prison guards put him back to work before his injuries were better. His lawsuit was a Bivens claim for damages. His lawsuit claimed to have violated his 8th Amendment Rights. His lawsuit is to be decided within the next year.

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