Attached is the PDF of my issue bried.
Month: March 2021
Spring Semester Blog #5 (April 15th, 2021): Camelback Mountain, PA
One of the places I ski most often is Camelback Mountain Resort in Pennsylvania. It is nestled in the Pocono Mountains only about a two-hour drive from New York. I’m from New Jersey so it’s even closer to me and only takes about an hour and a half, maybe faster if I am driving over the speed limit (don’t do what I do). The ride up is pretty serene and monotonous. Like usual, when driving through Pennsylvania, you pass a lot of farms, a lot of trees, and a lot of untouched areas. You also pass, not pass, drive around, the Delaware river for a portion of the trip. Once you get closer to the mountain, you drive on tight, windy, and hilly roads. At the end of these roads, you come out to a wide-open area with a mountain, hotel, and huge indoor water park.
I should preface why I am writing about Camelback in the first place. After-all, its definitely the smallest mountain I have skied at, is usually busy, and almost always has bad conditions. One of my close friends from home is a ski instructor at this mountain and he has a house in the Poconos which allows for me and my friends to go up all the time, ski for cheaper, and stay over at his house. It makes the entire experience significantly better. Instead of rushing to get to the mountain when it first opens to beat the usual waits, we go up the night before and stay over. It makes the skiing experience just that much more enjoyable. In addition, he knows how to get around the lift lines and navigate the mountain. Now, I know everyone can’t be that lucky to just know people who work at ski mountains, but if you know someone who does, I would definitely suggest befriending them. It will certainly enhance your ski experience.
Anyways, I should get back to my discussion about the Camelback. Camelback is a multipurpose mountain. Therefore, it is not solely for skiing. In the summer there is an outdoor waterpark, during the winter there is an indoor waterpark, there is bike trails all over the mountain for mountain biking during the summer as well, there’s ropes courses, and lastly there is an alpine slide. As you can see, the mountain’s infrastructure and network of things to do is immense. During the winter, skiing at the mountain is very interesting because of all these other entertainment pieces. It results in individuals skiing around waterslides and pools. I have never seen this type of skiing anywhere else, and it makes the skiing experience just that much more unique.
Lastly, while the mountain is small and compact, it is really fun to ski because it is very navigable. This allows for really quick runs on any slope you may want to ride. In addition, when it’s not busy, usually night skiing during the week has the least people, you can get a ton of runs in which is not only fun but allows you to improve upon you skiing technique.
Camelback is a unique mountain and I suggest everyone visit it at least once to either check out the skiing, go to the waterpark, or enjoy another aspect of the entertainment they offer.
Spring Semester Blog #5 (March 30th, 2021): Introductory Paragraph To Policy Intervention Paper
Addressing America’s Hidden Killer: The Opioid Crisis
The opioid crisis is one of the United States greatest national crises. In the 1990s, pharmaceutical companies asserted that opioid pain relievers were not addicting and thereby patients could be prescribed these drugs at a greater rate. Unfortunately, this resulted in a great deal of drug misuse and it wasn’t until years later that it became clear that these drugs were having a negative impact on individuals and were indeed addictive. In 2017, over 47,000 people died due to overdose and an additional 1.7 million people suffered opioid substance disorders (National Institute on Drug Abuse). In roughly a twenty-year span, the impact of the rapid opioid influx can and continues to be felt throughout the United States. In response to this crisis the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services implemented five major priorities. These priorities are increasing access to treatment and recovery promoting the use of overdose-reversing drugs, greater public health surveillance, more research into pain and addiction, and better practices. Although the government has been rapidly working to fix the opioid crisis, the impacts have yet to be completely countered and there has not been any substantial decrease in the death rate or disorder numbers. Therefore, a comprehensive plan addressing the opioid crisis and working to better deal with the crisis is extremely necessary in order to create a healthier, less drug-dependent America.
Works Cited:
National Institute on Drug Abuse. “Opioid Overdose Crisis.” National Institute on Drug Abuse, 11 Mar. 2021, www.drugabuse.gov/drug-topics/opioids/opioid-overdose-crisis.
Spring Semester Blog #4 (March 25th, 2021): The United States And Canada’s Relations
Canada and the United States are two uniquely different, yet uniquely similar countries. The two countries share the world’s longest international border at 5,252 miles, trade at a high-rate, and approximately 400,000 people cross between the two countries each day (“International Perspective”). According to the United States government website, the U.S.’s and Canada’s relations are, “one of the closest and most extensive” (“U.S. Relations With Canada-United States Department of State”). Such an assertion begs the question, where have the two countries worked together, where do the countries struggle to work together, and what binds the two countries together. Throughout this civic issue blog, these questions will be explored.
One of the most pressing issues today is the COVID-19 pandemic. Canada and the United States have joined forces to help stop the spread of the vaccine while still maintaining the economies of both nations. When the pandemic struck the U.S.-Canada border closed to reduce the spread and transmission of the virus across country lines. This deeply impacted border regions/states, the economies of both countries, and tourism. In order to counter these negative impacts both countries leaders worked together to respond, tasking their leading pharmaceutical companies to invest and develop a vaccine, to ensure personal protective equipment was widely available, and to help companies convert production to productive protective gear.
Another crisis in which the two countries have jointly worked together on is the opioid crisis. In 2019 alone, over 50,000 people in the United States died from opioid overdoses (National Institute on Drug Abuse). The high casualty rate called for swift and detailed action. Therefore, in 2020, the United States and Canada launched an action plan in January, addressing the trafficking of opioids as well as the issues associated with opioid use. The U.S. and Canada also work together to combat this issue through the G7 and North American Drug Dialogue.
Border and international security is always a major concern for nations who share a border and the U.S. and Canada is no different. According to the United States government, the two countries mutually work together militaristically to create a co-operated defense network. In addition, the two countries created the world’s only co-operated military command system called NORAD, or North American Aerospace Defense Command. In regard to domestic security, the two countries created a traveler system called NEXUS that promotes legal travel between the two nations. With air travel the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) operates on a preclearance system enabling air travelers going into Canada to complete screening procedures prior to landing at eight of Canada’s numerous airports. This policy is assisted by the Agreement on Land, Rail, Marine, and Air Transport Preclearance Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Canada. This policy outlines how both countries can work to establish preclearance and the procedures needed for security and for inspection to pass.
The environment and natural reserves of resources is of great concern to both nations as well. The United States and Canada have a great many partnerships regarding the environment and natural resources. One such is the Great lakes Water Quality Agreement which helps to maintain and improve water quality and overall ecosystem health (“Great lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA)”). In conjunction with this example is the Columbia River Treaty which began modernization in 2018. The Columbia River is a humongous drainage basin that spans parts of multiple states in the U.S. and sections of British Columbia. The river provides both electricity from hydropower, irrigation, and also is used for recreation (“Columbia River Treaty-United States Department of State”). Therefore, the United States and Canada coming together to establish joint policy on how the river is regulated demonstrates strong international relations. Lastly, the two countries established the Artic Council to deal with international waterways and fisheries.
The policies and commissions outlined above represent major areas where the United States and Canada join forces to work together and combat common issues and reach common goals. For the most part, these superpowers have been extremely successful in creating a positive and lasting impact on the environments and citizens. Even more powerful than this however is how these two countries have demonstrated how international cooperation can be mutually beneficial. They have set a precedent for how other nations should act and conduct policy with one another. This is not to say that the U.S. and Canada do not struggle either.
During the Trump administration, relations with Canada were tested immensely. The President went as far as calling the Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, “weak” and “dishonest.” Such assertions came after the countries struggled to resolve a trade dispute. Looking back at history is essential to understand some of the areas the countries struggled to create favorable relations. The War of 1812 is a great starting place as its relatively early in U.S. history. Troops from Canada, who were under British rule, burned down the White House and clashed at the current U.S-Canada border. Part of this border clash came out of a lack of general territory markings which were difficult to establish without modern technology. Fast forward to World War I where Canada under the War hero, Buster Brown, established a war plan to invade the U.S. The U.S also created an invasion policy of Canada fearing an invasion if relations with other nations disintegrated. In 1935, the United states spent an additional $57 million to update the plan representing that this invasion policy was not just a thought but a well thought out plan (Lippert). More recently, the two countries have quarreled over oil supplies as the U.S. began to shift to buy more oil from Canadian oil sands routing business away from U.S. suppliers (“Wall Street Favor Shifting from U.S. Shale to Canadian Oil Sand”). This provided Donald Trump the means by which to create trade barriers between the two countries and disrupt positive relations.
Overall, the two countries have had their ups and downs throughout history. Yet, the positives that have come out of these relations is innumerable and continue to have lasting impacts. Therefore, it is essential as the United States and Canada progress to see how the two develop as the countries rapidly change as they navigate the technological era.
Works Cited:
“Columbia River Treaty – United States Department of State.” U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of State, 1 Dec. 2020, www.state.gov/columbia-river-treaty/.
“Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA).” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 12 Jan. 2021, www.epa.gov/glwqa.
“International Perspective.” Statistics Canada: Canada’s National Statistical Agency / Statistique Canada : Organisme Statistique National Du Canada, 17 Jan. 2018, www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-402-x/2011000/chap/geo/geo01-eng.htm.
Lippert, Kevin, et al. “That Time the U.S. Almost Went to War With Canada.” POLITICO Magazine, 21 June 2018, www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/06/21/that-time-the-us-almost-went-to-war-with-canada-218881/.
National Institute on Drug Abuse. “Opioid Overdose Crisis.” National Institute on Drug Abuse, 11 Mar. 2021, www.drugabuse.gov/drug-topics/opioids/opioid-overdose-crisis.
“U.S. Relations With Canada – United States Department of State.” U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of State, 14 Jan. 2021, www.state.gov/u-s-relations-with-canada/.
“Wall Street Favor Shifting from U.S. Shale to Canadian Oil Sands.” World Oil – Upstream News, www.worldoil.com/news/2020/12/14/wall-street-favor-shifting-from-us-shale-to-canadian-oil-sands.
Spring Semester Blog #4 (April 8th, 2021): The Benefits Of Skiiing With friends
When I first look at a chairlift at a mountain you always see at least a singles line, a two-person line, and depending on the lift size a four- or six-person line. I rarely use the singles line because I try my best to always ski with friends. Whenever I look at the singles line, one thought crosses through my mind, why would someone willingly choose to ski alone. This isn’t to say I haven’t skied alone before; I have. I just enjoy skiing with my friends more and I think there are many reasons for it and I am going to explain why I think skiing with friends is better than skiing alone.
I might as well start of by describing the times I have skied alone to better justify myself. I have skied alone multiple times. I have gone to the mountain alone many times and it’s not just the skiing that I do not like to be alone during. The cars ride up to the mountain are usually long and being alone on these rides make them feel exponentially longer. I fell as though I am just riding in the car sitting in my own thoughts. When I ride up to the mountain with friends however, I have a much more fun time because I am either talking to friends, listening to music, or doing both at the same time. Doing the ride with friends makes the ride go by much quicker as well. Once I am at the mountain alone, I have to go up the chairlifts in the singles line. Prior to COVID-19, this forced me to ride the chairlifts with random people. Sometimes meeting new skiers was really interesting as you could learn about all the mountains they skied at and different things about skiing you never knew. But, if the other people on the chairlift are not talkative, your forced to sit in silence for the whole ride up. When the mountain is windy or its snowing, it also makes these rides feel just that much longer.
Once I have reached the top of the mountain, I am able to go quickly down trails as I do not have to wait for my friends to all decide on a chairlift that I want to go down. This allows me to get more runs in but also takes the fun out of getting to decide which trails to ride down. The final thing I do not like about skiing alone is that I usually get tired quicker because I am doing more runs, so I do not always want to stay at the mountain for that long. When I am with my friends however, we are doing less runs and are taking our time, enjoying each trail which results in me staying on the mountain longer.
As you can see by my analysis of skiing alone, I am not a big fan of it. Therefore, I always try and do everything in my power to find friends who want to go skiing with me when I want to go. I advise always brining people with you when You go skiing for the best possible experience.
Spring Semester Blog #3: The Methods And Varied Approaches To Deradicalization:
On Tuesday, March 9th ,2021 a deliberation took place between students in Pennsylvania State Universities’ rhetoric and civic life honors course. The deliberation was hosted by students, Aidan Maguire, Arthur LeBan, Ryan Coughlan, Patrick Galvez, Peter Varghese, Michael Martinelli, Maryn McConkey, and Mariel Pearson. The topic of this debate centered around radicalization and the most effective approach and method towards deradicalizing individuals. Three sub-groups were created, and each focused their research on a different route on how to deradicalize radicals. These approaches were as follows, forceful deradicalization, targeting organizational recruitment through social media, and re-education using camps. Each of these approaches contained its own benefits and downsides although one approach was accepted more than the others and this approach was targeting recruitment through social media. Such support after immense deliberation supports the notion that increasing funding and centering resources around utilizing social media to deradicalize individuals is and will be the most efficient and effective measure. In addition, the deliberation brought up many themes that are often swept under the rug and not focused on enough in today’s society such as the need to investigate the mindset of individuals deemed to be radicals and the need to put greater resources into assisting individuals who are attempting to deradicalize.
It is important to first discuss the approach that the majority of deliberators supported. This approach centered around using social media sites and companies to cut radical groups attempts at recruitment off. By removing a primary source of recruitment and targeting these organizations at their core, less individuals would be subject to becoming radicals. In addition, this approach effectively slowed down the spread of misinformation, could be done on a large scale, was cost effective, and had a lot of the infrastructure already in place for this method to be conducted. One company that was focused on in particular and their attempts at targeting radical groups was Facebook. Facebook was one of the first social media platforms that worked towards a no-tolerance policy for posts deemed to be terrorist propaganda (Ward). This single policy allowed the company to more quickly and effectively remove explicit content from the site. In addition, entire groups of workers at Facebook were allocated to find, flag, and remove terrorist posted content. Doing so was extremely effective at limiting the recruitment power of terrorist recruitment power. During terrorist groups like ISIS’s early stages, they relied heavily on social media to garner support and member from individuals abroad. It is estimated that they gained over 40,000 members from 110 different countries just through the use of social media (Corera). Therefore, when companies like Facebook began removing ISIS content from their social media site, it limited the contact that ISIS could have in recruiting foreign nationals. This slowed ISIS new recruitment groups, and many have linked to why the group struggled in its latter years.
Out of the deliberation also came many core themes that were both directly and indirectly touched upon. One of these themes was the idea that individuals who join these radical groups need to be examined more for the mindset they possess that pushes them to join these organizations. Many of the deliberators asked questions and also posed questions about what motivates individuals to turn towards radical organizations and then themselves radicalize. Understanding this, as many pointed out, would be quintessential to limiting the number of people in the future who join radical groups and would also help identify individuals who may be at a heightened risk of radicalizing. In conjunction with this discussion, another theme emerged which discussed how people joining radical organizations who are then apprehended for their involvement are simply placed in jail. However, the radical individuals often continue to possess the same radical ideologies and mindset. Such has led to a disconnect, where these individuals are not re-educated and given another opportunity. A large part of this disconnect results from a lack of funding and knowledge about how to help these people. Consequently, many advocated for greater funding into this region.
There were many powerful conclusions that were drawn from one deliberation about the topic, and this pushes forward the idea that more discussions are needed. Radicalization and deradicalization are pressing topics in the twenty-first century and greater resource allocation and research must be done on the topic for an impact to be felt.
Works Cited:
Corera, Gordon. “ISIS ‘Still Evading Detection on Facebook’, Report Says.” BBC News, BBC, 13
July 2020, www.bbc.com/news/technology-53389657.
Ward, Antonia. “ISIS’s Social Media Use Poses a Threat to Stability in the Middle East and
Africa.” RAND Corporation, 11 Dec. 2018, www.rand.org/blog/2018/12/isiss-use-of-social-media-still-poses-a-threat-to-stability.html.
Spring Semester Blog #3 (March 18th, 2021): The Amusement Of Skiing Glades
Everyone has a different image in their head when someone says to them, “I am going skiing.” Many people, when they think of skiing think of clear-cut, well-groomed trails. When I think of skiing, I think of uncut trails with trees and lots of powder. This is glade skiing.
Many become nervous when they think of skiing around obstacles such as trees, rocks, and roots. I however enjoy these obstacles because they make the skiing more difficult and much more interesting.
One of the first times I ever skied the glades was when I was ten years old and was skiing with my family in Lake Placid, New York. Lake Placid is one of the few mountains on the East Coast that has skiable glades. A lot of glades, especially out West, require you to hike up to them. Lake Placid’s Glades are no exception to this hike. The hike typically consists of walking through tree lines and snow which at times can be very deep. The deep snow makes it even more difficult to hike and gives one’s legs a big workout A lot of people would see this hike as too much effort to go skiing. Even some of the people who decide that they are willing to do the hike end up complaining because of how tired they are when they get to the top. I see this hike as enjoyable for many reasons. For starters these hikes are a great way to get a workout in. While skiing does burn a lot of calories, hiking up to the glades burns exponentially more calories. In addition, during these hikes it is common to see a lot of wildlife roaming the woods. I’ve seen animals as small as mice to as big as bears during these hikes and they always serve as a nice surprise and entertainment.
Once you have reached the summit of the glades, it is one of the best feelings because you know that you are about to ski down some great terrain and you feel accomplished from all the work that was just put in. It is also thrilling to look down at all the ground that was just covered during the hike. In Lake Placid at the top of their glades, there is a special lodge for anyone who took the time to hike it as well.
Once you begin your descent into the glades, it’s a rush of trying to avoid hitting trees and making sharp turns. The sharp turns make the ride exhilarating and tough at the same time. As you cut, your quads burn making the ride an endurance ride as well. Every now and then you might get unlikely and fall or worse hit a tree. This is what makes glade skiing dangerous at times. Once or twice, I have seen people have to be heli-lifted out because they had injuries so bad.
When the bottom of the glades has been reached, it is a big mix of emotions as your both sad that you have to hike back up and happy that you just had a great run. Glade skiing is definitely a unique experience that everyone should try.
Spring Semester Blog #7 (March 18th, 2021): Policy Intervention: Exigence And Audience
Addressing exigence and the rhetorical situation is essential for the policy intervention paper. Exigence is very clear with a discussion about the opioid crisis as thousands and tens of thousands of people are dying within the United States each year. This is also one of the leading causes of deaths in the country and therefore, it needs to be addressed immediately. Intervention is necessary to reduce the risk of more people dying. The rhetorical situation is also clear as many people throughout the country are calling for changes to big pharma. Many big pharma companies are currently or have been brought to court over their improper distribution of opioids.
Audience is also important to consider when addressing this policy intervention. The audience for this project is two-fold. The first main audience is the citizens of the United States. All citizens will want to read this policy intervention to not only learn more about the crisis but also enlighten themselves on a possible way this situation could be bettered. The second audience that will want to read this policy intervention is the United States government. The government is the ones who can institute the change and therefore listening to a possible way to deal with the situation could be beneficial. Both audiences would benefit from reading this piece.
Spring Semester Blog #6 (March 16th, 2021): Policy Intervention: The Opioid Crisis
The issue I would like to discuss in my policy intervention is a discussion on tighter controls on the opioid distribution. The opioid crisis has become one of the most talked about issues facing the country today. Thousands of people overdose each day, and it has become a seriously pressing issue especially within the United States. In 2018, over 67,367 people alone died from overdose, the majority of these from opioids (cdc.gov). It has become hotly debated over who is at fault for causing the crisis. Many people point fingers at the big-name companies that produce these drugs as they say they have produced them in excess and are pursing doctors to prescribe them. This entire process has created a network of kickbacks where doctors, big-pharma, and others profit and benefit. The only people that are getting hurt are those who are prescribed opioids and become addicted. Such a large issue calls for stricter regulations regarding opioid distribution. Many policy makers have begun implementing policies to make it more difficult to prescribe opioids and this should be further investigated.
The opioid crisis was intentionally caused. The epidemic/crisis was intentionally caused out of greed, primarily corporate greed. Multiple big name pharma companies were recently brought to court and lost forcing them to shell out billions in reparations for pushing doctors to prescribe their medication. For the doctors to be motivated to do this, big pharma was paying the doctors significant amounts of money. This process intentionally increased opioid usage and dependency on the drug. Therefore, this epidemic could have been avoided had opioids not been pushed so rapidly into the market.
The policy instrument I will most likely use when crafting this policy change is a system change. A system change is necessary for this issue because the companies that are controlling the opioid distributions re extremely powerful. They are so powerful and so influential that they influence polices that come from the United States government and out of the Supreme Court. Therefore a significant largescale change is needed where the influence of big-pharma is reduced so they can be held responsible for their actions.
Works Cited:
“Drug Overdose Deaths.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 19 Mar. 2020, www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/data/statedeaths.html#:~:text=In%202018%2C%2067%2C367%20drug%20overdose,driver%20of%20drug%20overdose%20deaths.
Leslie E. Sekerka & Lauren Benishek. “Thick as Thieves? Big Pharma Wields Its Power with the Help of Government Regulation: Emory University School of Law: Atlanta, GA.” Emory University School of Law, law.emory.edu/ecgar/content/volume-5/issue-2/essays/thieves-pharma-power-help-government-regulation.html#:~:text=Given%20its%20mega%2Dprofits%2C%20Big,administrators%2C%20hospitals%2C%20and%20consumers.