Week 9

From America Divided the issues I chose were citizenship and education. From citizenship I found a local non profit organization located in Passaic, New Jersey called Immigration and American Citizenship Organization. They provide legal representation to low-income people coming to them. They assist in Adjustment of Status, Consular Processing, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Employment authorization, Employment-based immigrant and non-immigrant petitions, and family-based petitions. Some services they provide are help in completing forms, filings with USCIS, and representation before the Board of Immigration Appeals. This gives a voice to individuals who need one to defend themselves. For the issue of education I chose the NEA which is the National Education Association. It is the nation's largest professional employee organization and wants to commit to advancing public education by hiring qualified individuals. They have affiliate organizations in every state and over 14,000 communities. 

President's crackdown on immigrants

This article from the New York Times is about President Trump wanting to really crack down on illegal immigrants. He has already set a plan on how to crack down but this is a little different. The Department of Homeland Security announced that the they were going to make an office from families who are victims of crimes committed by illegal immigrants in an effort to tackle the immigrant situation. Many people have mixed feelings about this plan, there are many Trump supporters who are for this and then there are some that will not have it. People say it is unfair and takes aim at a population that is less likely to commit crimes than American citizens. The office will be called Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement or VOICE.

Week 8

The Alice Report is a great way to find out who is struggling in our communities. It is relevant to us because this can help us to narrow the towns that need our help and we can do the best for them by providing what they need. It tells you how many families are struggling and how much it costs to have all the basic necessities. It puts into perspective who needs help the most. The economic inequality report is also very informative and states that many New Jerseyians are still in a recession today. There are many statistics and report on the economy of New Jersey.

aim to revive healthcare

Source: CNN

The republicans have a new amendment in the works that would help to "revive" healthcare. The amendment would allow insurance companies to charge enrollees in their 50s and early 60s more than younger ones. 

Obamacare however limited insurance companies from charging older enrollees more than three times younger ones although this suffered backlash from AARP. 

States would not be allowed to waive the Obamacare rule that requires insurers to cover those with pre-existing conditions and experts say the amendment would affect those who are sick or have had medical issues in the past. It would allow insurance companies to charge them more for coverage, it would make it harder for the sick to find good policies that cover their treatments. 

Week 7

In the video, social policy expert Kristin Seefeldt talks about how there is not a lot of access to jobs, schools, and housing markets for families and therefore would not help with the upward mobility. She talks about the increasing social isolation of low-income workers, mostly African Americans. This is where certain groups have limited contact in whats called "mainstream America".
If there were improvements in the school systems, I believe, that will help students in doing better in school and will give them a higher chance in finding good jobs. Once they find good jobs, they will be able to make the amount they deserve and live in a good housing market in a safe neighborhood. 

Executive Order on Education

According to a CNN article, President Donald Trump will be signing an executive order that has Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to review where the Federal Government has unlawfully overstepped state and local control in education.

The order is called: Executive Order Enforcing Statutory Prohibitions on Federal Control of Education. It outlines what Betsy DeVos advocated for before becoming the Education Secretary. This order is intended to return authority to the states and local entities.

Week 6

During the speeches, each presidential candidate thought that the people living in poverty should be helped and had ideas on how to improve things for them. Kasich was telling representative Paul Ryan that if a felon were to hand in an application, it would go straight into the trash. But he states that this should not affect your application and that during the second or third interview, there would be a chance to explain ones self because everyone deserves a chance. Rubio  said everyone would win if there was such things as a flex fund. Each candidate believe that creating jobs would help these communities tremendously. My thoughts on this are that I hope the United States can do more to help people in poverty and create a way for them to sort of get out of that situation and be able to live a life as comfortable as possible.

Fresno Shooting

Kori Ali Muhammad was a homeless man who voiced his hatred of white people and the government, and on Tuesday morning found out that he was wanted in the killing of a Motel 6 security guard in Fresno, California. Once he heard this, he decided to continue to kill.

In the late morning, Muhammad walked up to a Pacific Gas & Electric utility truck and shot a 34-year-old white employee dead in the passenger side seat and also ran down another street and fired his handgun at another white person. Thankfully for that person, he missed while shooting.

He then proceeded to go down another street and encountered a white man with a backpack and a garbage bag full of clothes and was shot at three times in the abdomen.

He continued this when he saw a white person until police finally caught up to him at the end of the street. In the back of a police car, Mr. Muhammad, yelled “Allahu akbar,” Arabic for “God is great,” the police said. Mr. Muhammad is facing four counts of murder and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and the F.B.I. is also investigating the shooting as a possible hate crime or terrorism.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/18/us/fresno-shooting-rampage-kori-ali-muhammad.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fus&action=click&contentCollection=us&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront

Week 5

"Behaviors of the poor are not the cause of their poverty, but a result of their poverty."

I believe this statement is in a way true. This is trying to say that the way poor people act is not because they are poor but because of what they had to endure through that time that leads them to behave in such ways.

While playing the game Spent, it was very hard to save money due to the amount of expenses there were trying to live a comfortable life. I ran out of money by day 15 and it was a terrible feeling. I feel for anyone going through this, it is not easy to hold down a job and live in a comfortable home while supporting a child.

Death row inmates seek attention of Supreme Court

The death penalty has its fair share of supporters and fair share of people who are against it. It has been one of the most talked about topics up for debate. In Arkansas, there are 6 death row inmates scheduled to die by lethal injection this month but have asked the Supreme Court to reverse a federal appeals court order and uphold a district court's injunction that stop the executions temporarily.

The district court found that the inmates were likely to show that the lethal injection drug protocol "entails a substantial risk of harm. In a statement, Scott Braden, the attorney for 2 of the inmates said his clients were denied access to mental health workers, even though they clearly demonstrated that mental health issues would be significant factors at their trials. One has severe and life-long schizophrenia and the other has organic brain damage and intellectual disability.

On a side note, Arkansas' supply of a drug used in lethal injections called Midazolam is set to expire at the end of this month. This drug has been used in quite a few botched injections in other states.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/19/politics/arkansas-death-row-supreme-court/index.html