Blog post number 12

My community partners do ask for protection from the state because they both need the state to survive. My first community partner city of Belmont it depends on state help to keep the parks and recreational structures going. The other thing is that when times get rough the parks and the natural elements are the first ones to go exempt water especially now with the crisis. The state constitution does protect parks and even the federal constitution protects parks. For example, Yosemite national park, Yellow Stones, and Native American reservations. The state should give more money for parks and recreational area. In the city of East Palo Alto many parks have been created and the state pays for those services. The city of Belmont is wealthy enough to tax themselves to keep the Parks going if it comes to extreme cuts. My second community partner is the Dorothy Stang center and they also are protected by the state because freedom of religion exists. Without this protection any majority religion would be able to overthrow or vandalize the Dorothy Stang center. The state also does not tax religion practice so this is another protection that they have. If the state starts to tax the Dorothy Stang center or any religious center then it would effect every religious temple or practice center in the State. People might start migrating around to other states.

Blog number 11

My community partners both depend on donations and if times get tough they are the first to get cut. My first community partner city of Belmont is Park and recreation if times get tough they will be cut first before education or other things. This community partner might be able to ask for a tax on the members of the City of Belmont, but the issue might be if the city of Belmont wants to be taxed for Parks and recreation when things go down hill. My community partner is associated with taxes because he has to carefully manage the money and depends on volunteers to survive. The city of Belmont charges the resident a residence fee and in that fee it covers Parks and Recreation. My second community partner does not get tax money but they depend on donations to keep the Dorothy Stang center going. I was in the Dorothy Stang play and they asked for donations. The school does fund them, but they need more donations to stay alive. I think they get money from our students activity fee. It would be great if the Dorothy Stang center could get more revenue from other sources.     

Blog number 10

I have two community partners that I will talk about in this blog. My first community partner is Jonathan Gervais and he is in charge of Park and Recreation in the City of Belmont.This program or branch of the city heavily relies on funding from the city and when times get tough the park is the first one to go. My community partner does rely on money that is giving to him by the city, but when the city is in trouble Gervais program gets cut the most unless the residence of Belmont complain. My community partner is always under pressure because he has the whole city of Belmont to please and he also has a boss who he has to answer to. The people that my community partner funds  are the park workers that take care of the parks and trials. My second community partner is the Dorothy Stan center. This community partner relies on public contributions, sister help fund them, and the university gives them some money. My community partner has a boss that they need to satisfy and thus the money is given. This effects my community partner because maybe they do not like the way they have to teach things. The Dorothy Stan center does have some employees that depend on their pay checks to make ends meat.      

Call To Action Day

I arrived early, like always, to the quad and Diana seemed very stressed. She handed me the wrong folder and I had to hunt down the folder. I started to call people from my list on Tuesday and like three of the people ion the list did not show up. The whole volleyball team came to Water Dog lake it was a great walk to the place. Everybody was on time to, in the quad, which surprised me because usually everybody is late. By 9:30 am Standard Pacific Time everybody was ready and we left to Water Dog Lake part. The Volleyball coaches just dropped off their team and left somewhere else. I felt that this is not fair because if you promote Call to Action Day then people should do Call to Action Day. When we arrived to Water Dog Park Jonathan Gervais was waiting for us with tools and we started to pull weeds out from the ground. I pulled the weeds out with my hands not using any tools; I felt like an armadillo because I was digging random holes just like an armadillo. After, the whole team was done Gervais took us on a tour around the trail and showed us what poison oak looks like. My friend Jon Slocun stated, "I am immune to poison oak." I wanted him to test his theory, but he did not and the day was saved once again.      

Blog post number 9

I am writing this blog post a little bit upset because on Wednesday March 12, 2014 my second community partner city of Belmont Jonathan Gervais was in a meeting the whole day. And he did not call me or anything to let me know. I have lost faith in this community partner. I will now talk about my second community partner alternative spring break Nicaragua. My community partner has not being in any judicial processes, but we did go to a Nicaragua women rights activist group called "la coperasion." This organization helps out the women that have been in domestic violence and I learned that Nicaragua does not have a District Attorney that accuses the defendant. The Plaintiff has to hire an attorney to accuse the defendant. I found this to be the problem of high crime in Latin America after, researching Mexico has the same system. This makes no sense only people with economical resources can afford to go through judicial process. The center helps women get child support and getting to stay in the house that they are current living in. The women in this center get death threats from the men in Mulukuku and I believe they are very brave for this most people would quit and go home. For example, in Nicaragua the center got sued for abusing children and they cannot house kids in the center this is an issue that the Nicaraguan government should fix.   

Blog topic number 8

I am happy to say that I have two community partners and it is extremely difficult to work with both. But I cannot leave Jonathan Gervais hanging after many students have done so. My first community partner Gervais interfaces with the local government because he is part of the City of Belmont Parks and Recreation. The city of Belmont has the sufficient funds to run the department and the city of Belmont has a lot of natural trees they want to conserve. I am currently doing a flyer for Call to Action day with Gervais and I have to have it edit by him and I will pass them out through out the city. It is hard to work with Gervais, but he is really smart. My second community partner is my trip to Nicaragua. In this trip my community partner leader is Amy Jobin, she has impacted the community there with community service from the United States of America. The local government of Nicaragua is not a good one so if they could keep it in the down low it would be amazing. The government of Nicaragua did not like me, when I entered the nation I was randomly selected for extra screening. When I was about to leave, the local government official questioned me until she got tired and finally let me go to board the plane. In Nicaragua their are two leaders that stand out one is Sister Rebecca and Sister Sandy. Sister Rebecca has given 20 years of her life in Matagalpa, Nicaragua helping special families and creating jobs for special people. Sister Sandy is another leader that sticks out because in my point of view she has giving up every comfort that we take for advantage everyday here in the State. For example, indoor plumbing, air conditioning, comfortable beds, and abundance of tap water. She has giving her life to serve the people of Mulukuku, Nicaragua. Both of these leaders are my heroes because I feel that I could not keep living in these conditions for a year not a lone 20 or more.
 

Blog number 7

Well the one situation that John Gervais has talked about is the issue on the crazy lady that I know as the crazy lady on Whipple avenue. This lady was crazy and she first started by writing on her house, then the city of Belmont spent money changing house codes. Finally, the lady protested on Ralston street and El Camino, which the city spent more money to kick her out. Gervais had an issue with this the city spent so much money on this one lady, which I agree with him. The city of Belmont just kicked the lady a city down to Redwood city. John Gervais is always struggling with the state because of funding with resent economical crisis the state of California has no money. The sad thing is that when the state does not have money they first start cutting funding for parks and education. I think they should never cut down the funding for parks and education. The city of Belmont does not have a sprawl they have keep their coding might be good. On the other hand my city of Menlo Park does have a sprawl issue nothing is walking distance. The members of Menlo Park have become dependent on cars to get anything. I believe that states should keep their power of controlling local government because if they give more power to the local governments then, the states are going to want to separate from the United States of America. I believe that people should go on smart grow, which I believe will be the new conflicts between state and local governments. Money is always the problem in any Federal, state, or local government everybody wants more why cant we just learn to share and be happy that we get anything to spend.       

Founders Week

What I learned in Founders week is that Notre Dame de Namur school has a very high motivation on teaching and cares a lot about promoting education. My first activity that I attended was a scholarly session with Father Edie, who was a great father and other fathers should follow in his foot steps. I was asked if I could be on the board and ask some personal questions, which were would priest be able to get married, and how does he feel that in Narco Violence gunmen pray before they kill people? I was expecting Father Eddie to just go around the my answers and just give an unclear answers, but he did not. He went on to say that changes are happening in the church and he believes that in the future priest will be permitted to get married. My second question for me was the hardest to ask because it had violence and a little of definitions to be given. But Father Eddie answered my question that this is nothing new, when the Spanish kicked out the Muslims they use to part to justify killings. A very controversial question was also asked what his though of homosexuality, and he gave us a quote that our Pope states, which gives me faith that my religion will not be extinct because it is moving toward change. What I learned about founders week shows the dedication that NDNU has toward education I also learned about Julia's original teaching. I have felt that in a way I should get a career that I can help people but people with no voice or that cannot be represented. I also attended the Lunch in with the sisters which was amazing. I cannot believe that they are still active fighting issues this is amazing. Sister Margaret is fighting so the Keith stone pipeline doesn't get passed because it is a line that will bring oil form Canada in a pipe and will pass by our water reservoirs. She is vey passionate about the issue and goes to meeting and is looking for people to recruit.

Blog topic number 6

My community partner has told me that he use to work in political campaigns getting people elected. He has told me that he has learned the hard truth of politics, at least that is what he told me. With that comment I believe he basically told me that things are not as easy as they seem maybe when people get elected they see the barriers that the past politician had. I know that my community partner is an Eco friendly person, so I can imagine that he is a great supporter of Eco friendly legislative. I have not had the chance to talk politics with John, but I will go into his office this week and talk about political issues. I would go today, but its John's soccer day. The most difficult part of getting any bill past is people agreeing to it and getting it passed because like they say every "every mind is a different world." Our reading that was assignment for the weekend was interesting I want to see what the proposals that the state of Mississippi were struck down. What really surprised me was that California has the highest cost out of all the state to run their legislative districts. I still think that I would get a good laugh if I were to see the laws that were suggested to be laws. For example, in the UK the have a no kissing area that couples are prohibited to kiss. I wonder if in the US people have tried to pass laws like that. I enjoyed the terminology war chest as if this the 300 movie and politicians are actually going to beat each other up. The legislature process is one that should be comprehended by every member of the US and still in this day I have meet people that do not know how the legislative branch work.       

CP Blog number 4

I have not actually asked John Gervais if he was elected to office, but I am pretty sure that he is I will ask him that question when I meet him next time. I think that John has participated in many political campaigns and has gotten people elected, he told me that it would be great to help in an election, so I can see how politics works. My community partner seems to be very passionate with his job, I can tell that he can spend hour working in Park and Recreation and would not get tired of doing it. I can image that John is a very outspoken person because I tell he is passionate about the environment. Furthermore, I can see my community partner knowing every local government official he must as well know county officials. John want me to coordinate action day with NDNU and the city of Belmont and help around the office if he needs anything, but I think that I can handle it. At first it was difficult to get in reach with him, but he is a nice guy. I enjoyed the reading that was assigned for Wednesday it showed how political parties can get funded without limits and some states control it and some do not. A very important quote that George Wallace Governor of Alabama says, "there ain't a dime's difference between Democrats and Republicans." This quote is very strong it makes me wonder if he knows something that he is not telling us. Maybe their is a person that runs the country and he is not telling us, or maybe the presidents are per-selected. I wish the book would elaborate more on the Governor.        

I have to start by saying that my community partner has not contacted me, but I have a back up plan, I have signed up for the trip to Nicaragua.  My community partner goes to Nicaragua and help mostly kids that are handicap. The citizens really enjoy the help that is given especially to kids who are handicap and they also help educate the community, which is important for the community and prevents crime. They interact with the community in a great level they are in there with the kids teaching. The way that we are going to interact is also by traveling and helping people in different areas of Nicaragua. Well first of all, the citizens participation affect my community partner in the way that they can complain that we are not doing a good job. The citizens can reject our help, but I think that will never happen because I will be on my best behavior. The citizens mostly benefit from my community partner in the way of education and nutrition. The people from Nicaragua will be happy to have us there and will want us to come back next year.  I was really looking forward to working with The City of Belmont Park and Recreation department, but if he calls me I will do both community service partners. One of my friends got called to help out at the park and rangers development, I would also like to do that I have a lot of community partners I want to work with. The part that I am most concerned with is the essay, I really do not understand if I have to right my essay on my community partner. I really hope I have a great time doing my community service with my community partner.

The legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King is one that will be talked about for generations to come. His biggest accomplishment were voting right law and civil rights law been enforced. Furthermore, Dr. King is accredited for greatly attributing to the humans right movement. The human rights movement can be split up into three sections and Dr. King was part of the last movement that accomplished the "dream". I believe that peoples voting rights have not been taken away in the state of California. In other states like Pennsylvania, I think that peoples voting rights are being violated, but no one cares because it does not effect them until their old. I have not witnessed any voting discrimination in my area, but I have witnessed people that can vote not caring about voting. The only group that cannot vote in America are convicted felons, but I really do not know if we want convicted felons to vote? The other thing is, I believe that everyone who was involved in the human rights movement should deserve recognition, for example, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, and so an, so we can acknowledge everyone. Many people take for granted having the right to vote and do not vote because they believe that the U.S. Government is corrupt. People should be grateful that we have the right to vote, in other countries they just say, "This guy is your new leader now," and no one can complain or do anything about it. The problem that we have in our country today is voting fraud, or at least we think that we have. The first time that I heard of voting fraud was in the 2000s election when it was Bush Vs. Gore. The issue was that Florida, was govern by Bush's brother, had voting issues, and Bush ended up winning the elections as a result. I would of liked it better if Al Gore would of won the election. 

First, I want to say that I'm choosing Belmont Park and Recreational Department. I believe that this department was developed because the city of Belmont wants to keeps its parks in top shape. The other reason is that cities need recreational places to have fun, even New York and San Francisco have parks. People just need parks to relax and have fun. I think that my community partner has arise from local need. Furthermore, the federal government does fund parks, I believe that the federal government owns the parks if they have park rangers. I think that the city of Belmont also has some sort of funding to the park or is in charge of it. My community partner is accountable to the city of Belmont, the state, and the federal government. I have sent John Gervais an email, but he has not contacted me back, which I'm thinking about calling him. I have done the reading for the two chapters that were assigned. The second chapter was explained really fast, and I think it could of been explained better. For example, the textbook did not explain very well what happened after the American Revolution, Americans would not considered themselves Americans they would considered themselves New Yorkers, Georgians, and so on. I also learned something from the textbook, I didn't know that the presidents actually control how much the federal government can step into a situation of control over the state power. I personally think that the federal government should always out rule the states power, when federal law is being violated. The last question that the textbook leaves us with is the future of federalism, I believe that the federal government should always be in top power over the states. Finally, I think that we as a nation will never go into a Unitary system, and I am not saying that this system might be bad or good, but I do believe that our federal government is the best.          

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Yay-I'm Done!!!!!!!!!~

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This is my first time doing this, I have to say it is difficult to do this.