Hi I'm Starfire13, and WELCOME to my blog! I will be posting a lot of different things, mostly stories about places that I've been to, pictures, and some random stuff. I hope you enjoy reading my blog, and please leave me a comment! Enjoy, Starfire13 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Starfire13/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Wed, 17 Dec 2008 12:59:01 -0600 Wed, 17 Dec 2008 12:59:01 -0600 Happy Holidays!  http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Starfire13/633471/ Wed, 17 Dec 2008 12:59:01 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Starfire13/633471/ On Monday, June 16, 2008, my mom and I rode up to Albany with the Mullein family from Brooklyn to protest the Board of Ed’s termination of Special Ed services to home school families in New York State.  We had made signs the night before; one of them said Senate and Assembly please work together.  Another said, We cannot have a no-bill situation: Senate and Assembly please give us same-as bills. When we arrived we had to go through security, just like in the airport.  Our first meeting was scheduled for 10:00 am, but we got there at 8:30, so we had time to figure out where we were supposed to go.  The building was so large that we got lost a couple of times.  But, after walking around aimlessly, we found a map, and then managed to find the offices where we would meet our different representatives.  We were planning to gather with several other families from around the state in a cafeteria underneath the Legislative Office Building at 9:30am.  We found that place OK and met a lobbyist named Jason who had been helping my Mom and the other parents with getting a new bill passed.  He had organized some interns to escort us around so we wouldn’t get lost.  They were nice college students who had been homeschooled and were now working in Albany for the summer.  Throughout the day, we had different meetings with different people in different rooms each time.  Our first meeting was with Assemblyman Daniel O’Donnell.   His nickname was Danny.  He told mom and I that he was following our situation, and was going to do everything he could to support a bill for us.  Then our whole group met in Senator Winner’s office.  There were at least 35 of us there including a seeing-eye poodle.  We talked to Mr. Winner a lot and made him promise that he would work together with the Assembly so that both the senate bill and the assembly bill had the same language.  Then we had our picture taken (again).  He assured us that he would help us.   Then we went up to the Senate chambers, to see if we could find our senators in action.  When we got there, they hadn’t started meeting yet.  We sat in the very fancy lobby with our signs waiting around for awhile and then Jason decided we should head over to the Assembly.  After a lot of commotion, our whole group was invited inside, where our new friend Danny came over because he recognized me and my mom.  He asked us if we were being introduced, and we said “I don’t know”.  He said that he would make sure we got a proper introduction.  A few minutes later, a lady sitting up at a table that looked like a judges table, introduced us over the loud speaker.  While we were being introduced, we were asked to stand up, and say why we were there.  Everyone in the room then clapped, and we sat back down.  WOW, that felt important.  We were getting some attention.  Mr. Mike Bennedetto came over to talk to us.  He was the sponsor of the bill.   His name means “well said” in Italian.  He talked to all the kids in our group, shaking hands, and promised to see our bill through.  He was just like his name, well spoken.  He asked for my mom’s businesses card, and said that he would call her when the bill passed.  That part was pretty exciting.   After lunch we went up to the Senate Gallery to observe how laws get passed.  They were debating an environmental bill.  The democrats sat on one side of the room arguing about toxins being dumped into the drinking water and destruction of the environment and the Republicans sat on the other side saying that the impact was minimal and the new law would be good for the local economy.  It was very interesting to watch and listen.  Later, when we got home, my dad said that some guy named Mike called, to say that the bill went through the Assembly at 8:30pm.  WOW! J  We couldn’t believe it.  Two days later the Senate changed their bill to have the same words as the Assembly bill and it got passed too.  Mom was impressed.  For me, the most interesting part was that everyone we met with listened to what we had to say, and that our bill passed, in both chambers and hopefully our services will be restored in September.  Now our bill has been sent to the governor’s office, and we need him to sign it.  It sure is a long process. Protesting in Albany was an interesting experience for me.  I didn’t like getting up at 5:00 am, but otherwise, it was an exciting way to learn about government. It felt really good to shake hands with politicians, ask them for help, and then get the help.  I am glad enough people came so that they HAD to listen to us.  Our voice made a difference.  http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Starfire13/559900/ Fri, 11 Jul 2008 16:12:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Starfire13/559900/