Call To Action Day 2016

This years Call to Action Day was one for the books. I really loved the topic and I think that we should have more days and opportunities to have these facilitated discussions amongst our community here at school. Bobby Vaughn's speech was really inspiring and I was very moved by it. When we broke off into groups I was really surprised and shocked at the stories people were telling. I knew people could be ignorant, but I didn't think they were that ignorant. I was really touched by the stories of people who stood up for themselves when they were being discriminated against. Coming together and sharing what everyone discussed in their groups was really amazing. In my opinion not all of the groups actually understood what the topic of day was about, but majority did answer it. My takeaway from the day was that IF All LIVES MATTER THEN BLACK LIVES SHOULD MATTER and IF BLACK LIVES DON'T MATTER THEN ALL LIVES DON'T MATTER. 

State Legislatures

1. What are the tree principal functions of legislatures?

• The three principal functions of legislatures is policy-making, representation, and oversight. Policy-making deals with approving laws and distributing funds. Legislatures engage in debates sometimes about budgets, higher education, or health care. This then leads legislatures to create new laws, change spending, or revise old laws. That is why policy-making is a principal function in the legislature. Representation deals with the legislators speaking on behalf of the people who live in their district. They are expected to speak for their constituents in the legislative chamber. They also can represent their community by making policy solutions that are aimed at public opinion. The legislator can also act as their constituents facilitator in state government which is another way to represent them. Oversight deals with legislators who are concerned that the laws they've passed or the funds they distributed did not do what they intended it to do. They then began to pay more attention to state bureaucracy performance. This leads them into a more administrative realm and try to get the desired outcome they believed it should have caused.

Potrero Nuevo Farm Day 3

February 26, 2016 Approximately 4 hours

Today was a very beautiful day. We only got to work with Bear and Suzie because Jay was at a fishing convention. We pulled all the dead lavender plants from last years harvest. The lavender still smelled so serene and nice. Then we went on to the rhubarb and artichoke plants again. This time we took out all the old artichoke plants, but we saved three to plant in another bed. We also pulled the weeds up and added some composted soil. It was really interesting to see how they were planted. They were placed in these metal baskets that helps the plant stay in its place.

Last week Suzie told us that we were going to try asparagus. So we did and she called it the asparagus challenge. When you eat it your hands have to behind your back and all can use is your mouth. I'm a very picky eater so I stepped out of my comfort zone to try it. I didn't really like it though. We also tried some lettuce and an Asian spinach leaf. My favorite thing was the carrot we tried. It was so sweet and delicious. The crunch was perfect. Overall I had a great day.

Potrero Nuevo Farm Day 2

February 19th, 2016 Approximately 4 hours

Our second trip to Potrero Nuevo Farm was really fun, but it was really cold too. When we first got there we signed a document stating that we are going to follow the rules of the farm. Then we went to the mint garden. In the garden there is spearmint, peppermint, rosemary, thyme and some other things. We pulled the weeds and the old twigs from last years plants. I also go to try a mint leaf and a peppermint leaf. It was really good. The peppermint leaf was very strong, but it was still good. While we were doing this we spoke about scary movies. Jay doesn't like scary movies at all. After we finished in the garden we went over to the rhubarb and artichoke. We pulled the weeds from the rhubarb patch and Suzie let us try it. I didn't really like the flavor because it tasted a little sour. Rhubarb is most commonly used for pie of jelly. We then went to the orchid and pulled the weeds from the outside so the gophers and other ground animals couldn't get in. As we were pulling them it started to rain, but we continued to work. It started raining harder and Jay and Suzie decided that we should go work in the green house. We cleaned it up and got it ready for the high school students that were coming the following week. After that we cleaned some of the planting trays and we called it a day.

Potrero Nuevo Farm Day 1

February 12th, 2016 Approximately 3 hours

Our first trip to Potrero Nuevo Farm was one for the books. Jay and Suzie gave us a little tour of the the farm. We also got to meet one of the owners, Bill. The farm is huge and covers a vast amount of acres. Jay and Suzie informed us on the work that they do with the community and the volunteers. They work with Catholic workers, high school students, and families who participate in the U-Pick program. We pulled weeds in the strawberry fields so that they wouldn't hinder the strawberries from growing. As we did this we talked about many things ranging from introducing ourselves and what we want to do after college. We also learned about Suzie and Jay's lives on the farm and where they came from. Suzie makes her own jelly out of some of the plants. Overall our first trip was great and I had a lot of fun.

Lawmakers strike political compromise to fix Florida’s death penalty law

The death penalty in Florida is definitely outdated according to an article from the Miami Herald. Lawmakers proposed that the number of people in a jury to recommend the death penalty should be unanimous, but the opposition believe that as few as 9 jurors have the right to recommend death and once they do the defendant would be placed on death row. This dilemma caused a delay of inmates on death row while the lawmakers figured it out. Originally Florida allowed as low as 7 jurors to agree on the death penalty. The new compromise would be that 10 of the 12 jurors will have to vote in favor of the death penalty in order for it to be placed on a defendant. The article said that the House is expected to pass the bill on Thursday and that the Senate should vote next week on the issue. 

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article60853847.html

Subsidiarity and the Proper Role of Government

What is subsidiarity? I think that the definition of subsidiarity is the idea that matters or problems should be handled by the smallest, lowest or least centralized capable authority. Also political decisions should be taken at a local level if at all possible, rather than by a central authority. I think that the ultimate idea behind subsidiarity is allowing the people feel like they aren't being controlled and that they have a say in how things are handled. 

Devolution is the delegation of power and programs from the federal to state and local governments. The concept of subsidiarity is similar to this concept because they both are aimed to give equal control or fairly equal to the different types of government. In the CST handout it states that "the rule of thumb laid out in the Catholic social teaching is to rely as much as possible on those solutions that are closest to the people affected and that employ the smallest groupings and mechanisms that are still effective" (CST, 89). Basically the local government should handle things within their communities because they are closer to their citizens and they would know them more than the state government. If the local government cannot handle the problem then that is when the state should step in. The concept of devolution supports the idea of subsidiarity.

My Community Partner

Citizens play a huge role with my community partner. At Potrero Nuevo Farm they rely heavily on volunteerism. The Potrero Nuevo Farm provides charity to the citizens of Half Moon Bay. They also work in partnership with the Half Moon Bay Catholic Workers. The Farm donates the use of its land, harvest support, use of farm equipment and other materials to the Catholic Workers and that in turn feeds the low income and homeless.


The citizens and Potrero Nuevo Farm interact when people volunteer. They also interact through a program called U-Pick where people can harvest their own vegetables, berries, herbs and flowers. Potrero Nuevo Farm also host an educational program for Pilarcitos High School's 'Coyote Farms Project' and they offer farm tours to community groups.


Without the participation of citizens the farm wouldn't be able to operate in the way it does. The whole reason the farm exists is to help the citizens in the communities surrounding it.

State and Local Relations

There is tension between the state and local levels of government because the state gives their local governments different types of authority. This causes some of the local governments to turn to legislature for approval to act which hinders their ability to rule. Local governments want their states to provide them with adequate funding and ample discretion. Also state and local governments don't necessarily agree on mandates. States believe that mandates are necessary to ensure that vital activities are performed and desirable goals are achieved. On the other hand local governments don't necessarily disagree with them, but they feel like they aren't needed for every aspect of policies. State and local governments also bump heads when it comes to money. The local governments will always within the constraints of their state governments on this matter, so it causes a lot of tension. The local governments want more money and more control over how it is being spent. This tension is healthy for our political system overall because it is subject to constant adjustment. Some issues or problems require a statewide, uniform response, while others are particular concern of a single local jurisdiction. The tension keeps the governments working. "There needs to be a state coordinating mechanism, but it needs to be sensitive to the local context"(pg. 252).

Blog Post #1

     My 1st choice community partner is Maple Street Shelter. The shelter provides temporary housing for men and women. This shelter helps these adults get on their feet and get their lives back on track. I think there was probably a problem with homelessness in the area. The local government probably tried to help with the problem of homelessness, but were unable to actual do something. The Maple Street Shelter is under the Inn Vision Shelter Network. I don't think that the shelter is constrained by federal policies because they rely on donations from the public and volunteer work. 

First Post

Here's my blog!!! :)