Travel At Your Own Risk - Part II

The detention of an American tourist, Kenneth Bae, since last year did not deter an American Korean War veteran, Merrill Newman, from recently visiting North Korea. He was on a tour of North Korea!!?? However, this vacation has turned into a nightmare since Newman was detained at the airport. Even if the purpose of his trip was an innocent desire to visit a country that had a great impact on his life many years ago,  there is no valid reasons why any Americans should think of North Korea as a wonderful vacation spot. So, curiosity continues as to why Americans would consider visiting not only North Korea but other countries mentioned in Part I of this topic.

Hefty Fines Are Not Enough to Penalize Financial Institutions - Consider Imprisonment

The Attorney General, Eric Holder's, decision to assess hefty fines to those financial institution involved in unscrupulous mortgage loans to unqualified applicants is long overdue. But, this is not enough. CEOs such as Jamie Diamond and other high level executives were well aware of the dishonest practices of their mortgage personnel since they ultimately profited from the many mortgage loans. These executives should be arrested, put on trial, and sent to prison. Yet, Attorney General Holder appears to be reluctant to take such action. These executives continue to receive million dollar salaries and bonuses and live a life of opulence. In the meantime, one cannot forget the thousands of homeowners who went through the painful experience of foreclosure. They had no choice but to vacate their dream home or were forcefully evicted from their residence as a result of the financial institution's refusal to negotiate more acceptable terms with the homeowners so as to keep families together in their homes. How is such behavior justified?

We Have The Best Health Care System In The World!!!????

John Boehner declares that "we have the best health care system in the world". Really?? What country does he live in? It certainly is not the U.S.A. May be he really meant to say,"I, my family, and friends have the best healthcare in the world". So, his statement certainly may have been a slip of the tongue since, from all indications, there are millions of citizens and residents living in the United States who do not have access to health care insurance. It is always amazing to listen to Boehner's statements that makes you wonder how could he hold such as position as the Speaker of the House when his ignorance indicates he is out of touch with society.

NFL Players - See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil

Several months ago, an article was printed on Jonathan Martin, and this was impressive since it is not the norm to hear of a NFL football player with such intelligence. More often, it is cause to wonder if some of these players are illiterate and can even read or write. Nevertheless, when the incident of Martin's departure from the Miami Dolphins was reported, a connection was not immediately apparent.  So, like everyone else, there was some curiosity as to what was happening for Martin to accuse other team members of bullying. However, when the re-connection was made that Martin was the third or so generation in his family who was ivy-league schooled, it became quite apparent what seemed to be happening in the Miami Dolphin's locker room. It seems that there are a group of dumb jocks who are intimidated by a highly intellectual player, and their jealousy has lead to the constant intimidation of this young man. So, it is absurd how some members of Miami Dolphin are now professing ignorance on the matter of bullying in the locker room. They did not know, however, that the matter would have escalated to this extent. Bullying is a common occurrence in general so there should be no surprise that this type of intimidation is also happening in the NFL. Jonathan Martin does not need to play with the Miami Dolphins or any football team for that matter. He is too smart and possess the ability to be successful in whatever he decides to do.

Who Will Save The Roma Children?

Maria was found in an area of Greece inhabited by Roma gypsies. There are a great number of children who roam through this same area every day. However, Maria was noticeable since she has blond hair and blue eyes. This automatically caused the authorities to be suspicious of Maria's presence since her appearance was not typical of the Roma gypsies living in the area. So, without performing the necessary investigations, the authorities immediately arrested the couple who indicated that they had custody of Maria, and unsatisfactory judgement of this couple was immediately made through the international media. Fast forward, it is now discovered that Maria was really born into the Roma gypsy community since her parents, from Bulgaria, are Roma gypsies who reside in a rubbish strewn community. They admitted giving Maria away since they could not afford to take care of her. Now, this story would not have become such a popular topic if Maria did not have blond hair and blue eyes. There are far too many children in the same community that need similar attention from the Greek authorities and international press since they are also suffering. Yet, these children have not been singled out since their appearance does not meet the typical world's beauty expectations of having fair skin with blond hair and blue eyes. So, with such a huge international outpour of support from all over the world for Maria, it is quite likely that she will not return to the dismal life and will eventually be placed with people who look like herself. But, what will happen to the other children who are part of the Roma gypsy community in Bulgaria, Greece, and elsewhere in Europe? Who is going to single them out and save them from their difficulty day-to-day life? I do not hear the international press clamoring to get their stories out!

Make IT Contractors Accountable For Healthcare Website Failures

As a supporter of President Obama, his decisions are usually defended. So, the President's desire  for many uninsured people to gain access to heath care insurance was a good decision since this essential benefit was long overdue. However, the truth must be told when it comes to the health care website. It is understandable if a couple of days go by and there are flaws with signing up for healthcare. However, it is a shame that after 20 days, there is no change in users' abilities to easily gain access to sign up for healthcare.  The web-site is not user-friendly and this demonstrates a misuse of taxpayer money since these IT contractors were paid an enormous sum and have not successfully delivered the product. For instance, CGI was paid $290 million of taxpayers money..........for what? There should not be any need at this point to have to gain help from other IT personnel since this is going cost taxpayers even more money to fix the job which the original IT contractors could not do. It is more shameful to know that some business websites that are more complex than the government health care website did not cost as much and there was no such difficulties in launching their websites. So what does that say? Frankly, the IT contractors who have not delivered a user-friendly website needs to pay back the multi-millions dollars for failing to provide a successful product to the American public. Furthermore Kathleen Sebelius should certainly be fired over such a disaster.

Adjunct Faculty - Left Out In The Cold Again

For most Adjunct Professors, life is not easy since they have to struggle to make ends meet. They are more often than not required to teach courses and do grading for classes with a large enrollment plus undertake any other additional responsibilities that come with the course. However, they are not considered in a college, university or even a public school district's medical plan or for any other benefits. This unethical practice results in a win/win situation for institutions since they are not only able to save money from not paying for the adjunct's benefits, but the institution is able to also get the maximum production out of these part-time employees. Does this sound like a new form of slavery?  In the meantime, the Adjunct Professor is so poorly paid that many have no choice but to seek additional employment elsewhere.  Under these difficult circumstances, one would believe that the union of an institution would become involved in such unsatisfactory workplace practices for these employees regardless of their part-time status. However, this is not the case since it appears that when negotiating a contract for an increase in salary, an adjunct is never considered. So, when there is a fanfare that classroom educators are obtaining an increase, this burst of joy, celebrations,  pat on the backs, hurrah, etc., etc., does not rub off on an adjunct. The United Teachers of Dade County is in the process of settling a contract for its classroom educators and, quite naturally, classroom educators are excited at the prospect of obtaining their increases. However, the adjunct is left out in the cold once again since they have been  repeatedly forgotten during bargaining discussion.

PBS Frontline - Football Concussions

The PBS documentary on football concussions was interesting to say the least since it brought awareness to the realities of a sport which the NFL executives would have rather not made public. Some of the interesting observations from watching this Frontline production are:

1. The devious, calculating efforts of Roger Goodell and his team to cover up prior knowledge that head injuries received while playing football have contributed to the deadly deterioration of the mind and body of some athletes.

2. A leading Forensic Pathologist and Neuropathologist, Dr. Bennet Omalu, who had worked tirelessly in the brain injury research area, could not even present his own findings to the NFL executives because he was not invited to their conference to do so. However, it is quite ironic that a white colleague who had less input into the research was allowed to present Dr. Omalu's own findings!!??  Even more astonishing is the NFL's continued deceitful efforts to undermine Dr. Omalu by preventing him from researching Junior Seau's brain injuries. These NFL executives seem to believe that Blacks are only qualified to play football! What does this also say about these executives who invited Dr. Ann Mckee to discuss her research finding on brain injuries to athletes, but were more interested in making her feel uncomfortable with their sexist overtures? These actions of the NFL executives speak for themselves.

3. Even after knowing the repercussions from playing football, people seem to be in denial. Parents are still allowing their boys to play in hopes of them becoming football stars and making money. Fans are still attending football games in droves and millions continue to tune in to their television to watch games. It does not seem to matter to the American public that their favorite past-time is a debilitating, deadly one to its athletes.

Hypocritical WIC Stunt

During this Federal shutdown, the Republicans sponsored a measure to fund WIC. What??!! Are they for real??!!  These are the same people who have made many attempts in the past to gut WIC. In fact, in 2011, Reps. Paul Broun and Virginia Foxx introduced two amendments to cut the WIC program. Broun's amendment wanted the program to be cut by 10% while Foxx's wanted $82.5 million to be cut from the program for women, infants, and children. You would think that, as a woman herself, Foxx would be more sympathetic to the needs of other women especially children, but apparently she doesn't have a heart.  So, it is so hypocritical and disgusting to hear that now, to save face with the public for their poor judgement that has caused the Federal shutdown, the GOP has selected to fund those poor women and children who they could not even care the least about. They never had any sympathy for these poor families, so its obvious that this move is simply to make themselves look good for making stupid decisions that have affected 800,000 federal employees and the country. Thank goodness the National WIC Association has denounced the Republican's move since the organization must know that the the Republicans' measure is fake. Lee Terry proves the insincere, selfish, and don't give a damn attitude of is party when he responded that although 800,000 workers are not receiving any salary, he won't be giving up his because he has a 'nice' house to pay for. Amazing!!

"The People Don't Want HealthCare"!!??

"The people don't want healthcare",  is a continued ignorant utterance from John Boehner and his GOP buddies. What people? He and his rich buddies already have well covered health insurance plans for themselves and their families. So, why should they care about those who don't?  They can selfishly deny Obamacare for others since they do not need it.  Boehner and his GOP buddies are certainly out of touch with ordinary citizens since they are not speaking about the millions of citizens who have no healthcare. He and his GOP buddies seem ignorant to the fact that it is not only the unemployed who may not have healthcare, but professionals such as adjunct professors who have graduate degrees and other professionals may have jobs where health care is not an option. So, when the GOP keeps making the monotonous distasteful utterance that "the people don't want healthcare", what people are they talking about? Certainly not the man on the street since the response would be otherwise.

Travel at Your Own Risk

Why would any citizen from western countries visit certain Middle East or African countries that are plagued by extreme violence that causes  people's lives to be constantly at risk? Their visits are generally not on behalf of their governments or any well-established media related organizations. So what would cause these "thrill seekers" to feel that they can easily roam these countries freely as tourists? Obviously, these people's personal desires or stupidity overshadow the fact that they may be caught up in a violent situation, and this will impact their family tremendously. Many of these westerners come to mind; however, the most recent are Amanda Lindhout and Nigel Brennan since their story was aired tonight on Dateline NBC. What were they thinking by not only visiting dangerous countries in the Middle East but Somalia in Africa that has a well known reputation of kidnapping and even murdering western citizens. Was Ms. Lindhout and Mr. Brennan, who seems to be on their own journalistic mission, unaware of this public information? Of course, they were kidnapped and while they lived to tell the tale, experienced great suffering. Words cannot express the sadness to hear of Ms. Lindhout's experiences under her captive's control. However, hopefully, her revelations of such experiences will make others westerners think twice before they decided to go on a "vacation" to these dangerous countries.

Egypt - Downturn of a Peaceful Nation

Last year it was encouraging to watch the bravery and persistence of youth and older citizens from Egypt as they demonstrated for the ouster of the dictatorship regime of Hosni Mubarak. Their joy was shared when this corrupt leader of 30 years decided to step down. Many credited social media for enabling the huge gathering of demonstrators whose voices created such a major political change within the country. I looked with envy at the success and dedication as protestors gathered in Egypt. This led me to wonder why the residents of my parents’ native country could not have also organized such a social protest against the corrupt actions of their government. But, fast forward, I now think otherwise when I see how disappointing such good intentions have become. Egypt, the once peaceful and accommodating nation that has prided itself for having some of the most beautiful monuments and artifacts have recently become tainted by the killing of thousands of Muslims by the military. In fact, the deadly actions have led to retaliatory actions that could signify the beginning of more violence to come and even a civil war. Certainly, this current deadly situation was not the intentions of those who gathered last year to demonstrate for a better country and not for the conditions that now exist.

Enabling Mothers

A  Mercedes Benz SUV was riddled with bullets. After  the shooting that left her son in critical condition, a mother pleaded for anyone who knows about the crime to come forward with information.  The mother indicates that her 23 year old son is  "a very good-hearted person" in response to a reporter's questions that her son has an extensive arrest record on drug and theft charges. Further, reports indicate that the woman's son is currently on probation after a recent arrest for a hit and run with property damage and drug possession. Certainly, the difficulties that mothers face when their child is injured or killed in shooting incidents are understandable. However, when those children are caught up in a life of crime, it is inconceivable how some mothers seem to believe that their sons are or were such "good boys"  who can or could do no wrong in their eyes! Reality check please! 

FIU - Banana Republic University

A group of veteran Cuban baseball players recently arrived in Florida. Their first game was expected to be played in Miami at Florida International University (FIU) against former Cuban baseball players who defected to the United States. However, this game was abruptly canceled by FIU thereby leaving the Cuban veterans without a venue to play their South Florida game. Of course, South Florida has a dominant Cuban population that includes die-hard, anti-communist supporters who will go out of their way to suppress any cultural or athletic performances of Cubans visiting the United States. It is not certain how such actions to intimidate the Cuban visitors can impact the state of affairs and lives of the residents in Cuba. However, certainly such suppressive actions are not expected from a university that professes to produce independent, academic thinkers.  Surely, a university such as FIU who is working to become recognized as a top-notch institution would not get involved in the political antics of these groups but rather to promote the cultural exchange that many baseball lovers would have loved to view. Shame on you FIU as the situation was poorly handled.

What Goes Around Comes Around

A pastor's sermon included an important message that people tend to focus too much on human laws and they forget to realize that these laws are minuscule in comparison to life's laws. As such, while many have been disappointed with the verdict in the Trayvon Martin case, they should understand that although Zimmerman may have been acquitted under man's law, he will never mentally or physically enjoy freedom in the future. Zimmerman has always had a troubled life, so this in itself is a guarantee that his future actions will catch up with him as it also did with O.J. Simpson and others who simply do  not have enough self-control to avoid getting into trouble. Therefore, while Zimmerman will no doubt earn millions for his story and donations from supporters, the killing of Trayvon and Zimmerman's troubled past will continue to haunt him for the rest of his life. For those who are disappointed, they should simply be patient and give him time as trouble will be riding on his back for the rest of his life.

Immigration Reform Bill - Unattainable English Requirement

One of the provisions of the 2013 Immigration Reform Bill is that the applicants must learn English. Good luck with that expectation since this requirement is practically impossible! Marco Rubio has been highlighting this expectation in his interviews. However, as a long time South Florida resident , he should know better that some immigrants who have become naturalized citizens of the United States have never learned to communicate in English.  In fact, at a courthouse located in one major city, announcements are made to the jury pool not only in English but also in the two other languages that are dominant throughout the city. The announcement requests that those jury members who do not speak English should go to the front desk. Since these members do not return to the jury pool, it is presumed that they are dismissed. Of course, with this presumption,  some jury members who simply want to get out of serving on a jury, go to the front desk.   However, there is no doubt that the majority of the non-English speakers who go to the front desk really cannot communicate  in English in terms of speaking, reading, writing, or comprehending when English is spoken to them.  And, ironically, some of these “citizens” may even have been living in the United States for more than 30 years. While immigrant children who are natives of non-English speaking countries learn English without much effort when they are enrolled in schools in the United States, this is not an easy task for adults especially if they have had learning difficulties as far back as when they attended school in their own countries. So, if not even naturalized citizens are required to learn English, how will it be possible to stipulate in the proposed Immigration Reform Bill that immigrants who apply for immunity must learn English. This is simply not practical!

"Celebrity" Ignorance on Dictatorship Regimes?

Since this year, reports have been made on visits by "celebrities" to countries that are known for their dictatorship regime and inhumane treatment towards their citizens. First case was Beyoncé and JayZ's visit to Cuba. As they stride happily through the poverty stricken Havana streets without a care in the world with their body guards in close proximity, the excited citizens walked alongside them and screamed in awe at witnessing the visit of such a well-known international couple from the United States. Over the weekend, JLo visited Turkmenistan to perform and wish the president a happy birthday. Through her spokesperson she claims that she did not know she has visited one of the most repressive countries in the world??!! Of course not, why would she if her performance commanded high payment and luxury accommodations! Are these celebrities completely clueless to the sufferings of the people in these countries they have visited or are they simply so self-absorbed that they do not care to become educated on the human rights records of these countries before they plan their lavish visits. While these "celebrities" may not be well educated, surely their entourage of advisors including attorneys should be knowledgeable to obtain information about these countries. So, no excuse is acceptable. Having a public image does not only mean that "celebrities" should focus simply on their craft or areas of specialty. If they are known and supported by fans all over the world, then they owe it to these international supporters to at least become aware of a country's political system and how the people in these countries are treated prior to planning any luxurious vacations to countries where people are suffering every day.  It is simply common sense - it does not cost to become educated on human rights issues.

Unforgettable Quote of the Week

June 23 - June 29




"I is what I is and I'm not changing" 

        quote by Paula Deen on the Today Show

June 30 - July 6


" My mission is to break the ice between hostile countries. Why it's been left to me to smooth things over, I don't know. Dennis Rodman, of all people. Keeping us safe is really not my job; it's the Black guy's (Obama's) job. But, I'll tell you this: If I don't finish in the top three for the next Nobel Peace Prize, something's seriously wrong." ~ quote by Dennis Rodman

July 14 - July 20
"In terms of thinking of power structure… If you looked at the way she looks, she looks like if it was 60 years ago she would’ve been a housekeeper, luckily. She would’ve not been a house nigger, she would’ve been a field nigger…so I give her props.” ~ Rae Dawn Chong's comments on Oprah Winfrey

July 14 - July 20

 When Farah Abrahams was asked to give her opinion about the Zimmerman trial over the death of Trayvon Martin, Farah Abraham replied, "I feel like I've met her or something. It sounds so familiar...I don't know what she is so I can't picture the person with the name right now." Is she for real?





July 21 - July 27



"What I want to say is, I love him, I have forgiven him, I believe in him, and as I have said from the beginning, we are moving forward. "Huma Abedin

High Price African-American Babies

It is so ironic to view the continuous coverage of the news media and to hear that the paparazzi are on 24 hours alert to get the first pictures of Kim and Kanye's baby so as to earn millions of dollars from the publisher who will purchase the pictures. In fact, millions of dollars were also offered to Beyoncé and Jay Z (thankfully they made an ethical decision not to sell out their baby), as well as Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon and probably Halle Berry to publish the first pictures of their babies.  While millions of dollars were offered to publish the first baby pictures of other famous couples, the ones mentioned above are noticeable since they have African-American babies. How times have changed! Many years ago, no special attention or even a single glance was given to any baby that had an ounce or drop of Black blood in their tiny bodies not even if the parents were well-known.  Aside from attention from the Black communities, the White masses throughout the United States could not have cared less for the birth of a Black child. So, it is now quite ironic to see the media running around like chickens without a head to interview anyone who can give them even the slightest insight into the birth of these African-American babies of the rich and famous. Hmmh!!! --  writer - J. Y. Campbell

No Tweets from Micky Arison When It Counts

Micky Arison, the owner of the Miami Heat, promptly tweeted his sentiments for the people at Shuckers who were hurt after the deck collapsed. His tweet was the considerate thing to do especially since these 100 or so patrons at Shuckers were cheering for the Miami Heat when the unfortunate incident occurred. However, as the owner of Costa Cruise Line, expressing such sentiments of concern would have also been an honorable thing for Micky Arison to do when one of the ships was steered into the rocks by the Captain who abandoned the vessel and passengers. Furthermore, there were no tweets from Arison to express concern for passengers who had to live under unsanitary conditions for close to a week when the plumbing system and other equipment failed on one of his owned Carnival Cruise ships. In addition, for the equipment failures that affected other Carnival Cruise ships and thereby impacted the scheduled routes, Arison made no attempt to tweet any words of concern for the passengers' well being. Instead, during those difficult times experienced by passengers on his ships, Arison was at Miami Heat games laughing and cheering on his team. He has made his intentions quite clear - his priority is basking in the limelight of the Miami Heat and not the cruise lines which does not offer him such national recognition.

Ft. Lauderdale Police's Questionable Decision on Death of Homeless Men

The U.S. justice system is known for having one policy for the rich and one for the poor. A recent incident in Ft. Lauderdale seems to be another one of the many situations heading in that direction. Early Thursday morning, an out-of-control Porsche driven by 22 year old Alyza Russell plowed through the bushes and mowed down two homeless men who were sleeping behind the bushes. To make matters worse, witnesses said that Ms. Russell tried to escape by driving away with one of the men lodged underneath the car!! Since her tires blew out when she crashed through the bushes, the car was on its rims and was unable to drive away with the man beneath it. A number of eyewitnesses came forward and made statements to the police on the crash and the attempts of Ms. Russell to flee. Furthermore, even though the police themselves indicated that Ms. Russell seemed to be under the influence, no efforts were made on their part to arrest her. So, after killing two men, Ms. Russell was allowed to go home! (Hmmh! that reminds me of the Trayvan Martin's case) Certainly, it is important to obtain the toxicology report. However, even before getting the report, this is a clear case that a crime was committed. Did the Ft. Lauderdale police think nothing of the homeless men since this woman drives a Porsche and lives in an upscale condominium? Did her attractive appearance also blind the Ft. Lauderdale police from believing that there was no need for them to arrest her? After initially thinking that that this case may be swept under the rug, it was a relief to see that one of the victims has a brother since he spoke to a TV news reporter today. The brother could not have summed the situation up any better by stating that if he was in Ms. Russell's position, the police would not have hesitated to arrest him immediately. His statement is absolutely correct, and it is such a shame that the two systems of justice clearly exists - one for the rich and one for the poor. Incidentally, a report in the Miami Herald shows that Ms. Russell has court records that indicate she was previously charged for driving another Porsche without a license and without headlights! She pleaded no contest to the charge and judgment was withheld. I wonder why? Hopefully, the brother of the victim and other relates of both victims should come forward and seek legal counseling so that the matter will not be swept under the rug as some would like. It is important to get Ms. Russell behind bars before she harms or kills anyone else on the road.

Thursday, July 4th, 2013 - Update!

Ms. Russell was finally arrested! The picture above shows that she became distraught when she found out that she would not be able to bond out of jail immediately. The problem is that the judge was made aware that Ms. Russell, who has dual citizenship, had renewed her British passport after her car hit and killed the two men. Further, a co-worker notified the court that Ms. Russell bragged of her intentions to run off to Ireland to escape the charges.  In response, Russell's attorney defended the passport renewal by stating that Russell was  only planning on taking a vacation!!?? Really?? Seriously?? As a result of Russell's flight risk status, the judge increased her bond to a hefty amount that made her unable to readily secure the funds to bail out. Further, she will have to wear an ankle monitor to ensure that she sticks around for trial.  Russell's actions simply demonstrate that she is a devious person who will do anything to get her way.

Doctors Referrals-For-Profit

Years ago, people's perception of a doctor may have been that of a committed professional dedicated to treating the medical conditions of his/her patients. Today, there are still doctors with similar values whose priority is to cater to the medical needs of their patents. However, throughout the years, a new type of doctor has been practicing medicine. It appears that selling medical services have become an added responsibility and norm for some doctors. Far too often, at the end of a medical visit, some doctors have been urging their insured patients to do a number of other tests that far too often may not be necessary. The doctors refer patients to a specialist (friend) to conduct these tests. Of course, these tests are generally very costly and no doubt all, including the referring doctor, profit from the payments made by the insurance companies and Medicare.

The referral-for-profit is prevalent in medical centers that cater to elderly patients. However, another case in point is that recently, Susan went for her yearly medical checkup. At the end of the exam, her doctor, as always, urged her to do a number of other tests. However, Susan decided to do only her yearly mammogram. A week and a half after the mammogram, Susan received a message from her doctor's office that she needed to contact them about her recent mammogram. Of course, receiving such a message made Susan very nervous as she thought about the worse that could happen. Upon calling the office, she was advised that she needed to schedule an ultrasound, and the test could be conducted at the doctor's office by a medical practitioner who visits the office once per week. As Susan scheduled the appointment, she felt even more distraught at the notion of the possibility of having cancer. Two days later, she received the customary letter from the breast care center that conducted her mammogram. At first, Susan did not open the letter since she believed that the contents would also confirm the need for the ultrasound. However, surprisingly, the letter revealed that her mammogram test was normal and there was no evidence of cancer or that any additional imagining studies such as an ultrasound are necessary. Susan is still waiting for a valid explanation from the doctor.

The news magazine television program, 60 minutes, ran a story on Medical Management Associates, a healthcare organization that owns a number of hospitals throughout the U.S. The story indicated that this company had been requiring doctors to meet a specified goal by finding reasons to admit those people who came to the hospital for simple medical treatment. This practice of finding reasons to check in these people for unnecessary medical tests, of course, generated millions of dollars for Medical Management Associates. The report also showed that those doctors who were unable to achieve the monthly goals were fired. The bottom line is to ask questions of your doctor if he/she is urging a number of tests, but you do not know why.

Heckling Mrs. Obama

That lesbian who had the nerve to heckle Mrs. Obama was certainly put in her place. The gay-rights heckler only embarrassed herself! But, the concern is why was the audience at the fundraising event initially so non-responsive that it caused Mrs. Obama to have to make a decision to leave versus remaining on stage to be heckled by that crazy lady. It should not have come to Mrs. Obama making this threat for the audience to communicate their disapproval of the heckler and the need for her to leave. Probably, the audience decided to chastise the heckler when they realized that they would not gain the full benefit of the costly amount that they paid to hear Mrs. Obama speak if she walked out on them. Or probably they realized that it would certainly not look good on their part if Mrs. Obama, the United States President's wife, walked out of their event. Furthermore, why didn't security immediately throw the heckler out of the room? Nevertheless, whatever caused the audience to finally speak up, the bottom line is Mrs. Obama is a serious woman who will not put up with any disrespectful actions as her husband have to encounter every day. Yes, she certainly handled the situation well in voicing her disapproval and making an ultimatum to show that she does not take crap. So, don't mess with this strong, serious, Black woman.

Resilience or Stupidity

There are some places on this earth that are not meant for the development of communities. One of these locations is the Tornado Alley, specifically the areas between the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains. Throughout the years, more and more people have settled in these areas where warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico meets the cold, dry air from the Rocky Mountains and Canada. Recent climatic changes have seen an increase in the number of tornados that causes devastation even to the buildings that meet the strict building codes. Yet, after this severe tornado that caused not only damages but a number of death in Murray, Oklahoma, news reports show the residents expressing that they intend to rebuild. They indicate that Murray is a close knit community so they do not intend to leave. Reporters describe this determination of the residents as resilience. Two weeks later another tornado not only hits Murray again but devastates other areas in Tornado Alley. Yet, people are still determined to stay and rebuild! Is this resilience or stupidity? It is obvious that the tornados are becoming not only more frequent but more severe. Being a close knit community is a wonderful thing. But, what is the sense in re-building today knowing quite well that tomorrow not only is your building in jeopardy of taking a hit from a tornado, but your lives are at risk. Nevertheless, many will rebuild, but at what cost?

Coco Chanel's Collaboration with the Nazi

A recent documentary on Coco Channel's life shows that she was a brillant businesswomen. However, it was unknown that she had a close connection with the Nazi during World War II. In fact, she was not only cordial to the Nazi, but she had a lover who held a high position in the Nazi army. Knowing that hundreds of thousands of Jews were slaughtered or cruelly treated in concentration camps by the Nazi, it is quite obvious that her lover was involved in the death and mistreatment of so many people. So, in turn, Coco Channel must have known of these sufferings and therefore would be indirectly involved. Yet, at the end of the war,while other Nazi sympathizers were paraded through the streets and humulated in different ways such as the shaving of the heads of the women, Coco Chanel was privately taken into custody. Even more astonishing is that she was quickly released to continue living a life of luxury. While her creations were no longer popular in Europe, it is astounding that even with knowledge of her involvement with the Nazi, she was warmly welcomed into the American society since her perfume and designs became popular and made her even richer than before. How could she be so readily accepted in any society with common knowledge of her connections with the Nazi? Were these American consumers so materialistic that the sufferings of the Jews were not relevant to them?

Expensive Blue Object

The blue hued image above was purchased at a recent Sotheby's art auction for $43.8 million dollars! It is mind boggling to know how a solid blue background could be regarded as "priceless art" simply because of the name of the creator. Even more surprising is how such a plain, unimaginable print could be purchased for millions of dollars. It is hoped that the buyer of this object is just as committed to contributing to the needs of starving and suffering people in the world, especially children.

Boston Bomber Burial Controversy

Residents of Boston, as seen in the picture, have come out against burying the Boston bomber anywhere in the state of Massachusetts. Really??!! Are these people aware that this man is dead, and there is no chance his body will return to life to hurt anyone living in the community??!! So, since a resurrection of Tamerlan Tsarnaev's body is not expected, there should not be any controversy on burying the body anywhere. Quite frankly, the burying dissatisfaction of these people is a perfect reminder (as also mentioned on a radio program this morning) of a sad period during American history when racists came out in full force to demonstrate and deny Black citizens from being buried on the grounds of certain cemeteries. Nevertheless, it would be a ridiculous, stupid, and a wasteful effort to pursue this matter since Boston cementeries certainly house the gravesites of the corpse of people who have committed horrendous crimes within the city throughout the years.

Defying Billionaire, Stephen Ross

Never thought the day would come when someone would bravely defy the lures of a billionaire by making an unpopular decision. Such was the case last week when the speaker of the Florida Congress, Will Weatherford, decided that the bill for improving the Sun Life Stadium in Miami would not be heard on the final day of this Florida legislative session. This was a shock to the Miami Dolphins management and apparently more so for the billionaire owner of the team, Stephen Ross. It must have been quite shocking to Ross who was adamant that his stadium needed to be in contest for SuperBowl 50, so the stadium needed to be renovated with contribution from tax dollars. Even more so, Weatherford's decision not to address the bill, must have been even more alarming for Ross since, prior to obtaining any decision on the bill from the Florida senate, his organization prematurely spent $4.3 million dollars to fund the Miami-Dade county's snap elections for voters to decide on using tax monies to improve the stadium. Further, another $3 million was shelled out for additional expenses which may have included the large contingent in the state capital representing the Miami Dolphins along with Dan Marino. So, with so much money circulating, the news was certainly not expected. Ross and his Dolphin executive team have now lashed out and laid the entire blame on Weatherford and even made threats to Weatherford's future political career. However, what is concerning is that from all indications the Sun Life stadium had needed repairs for years, yet the billionaire Ross had never made any efforts to make any of these repairs known to the public until it was time to bid for SuperBowl 50. At that time, he bundled the general repairs into the need to get a retractable roof at tax payers expense. Even more devious was that, as the final days approached and the matter look unattainable, the Miami Dolphin executives began to use the minority community in an effort to play upon getting sympathy votes from the Florida Congress. So, such inaccuracies that the minority community would get jobs from the renevotation and even holding a job fair was only a sham intended for the Miami Dolphin's benefit to win votes in the Florida Congress. Mr. Ross's spokesperson indicates that Mr. Ross will not be spending any of his billions to improve the stadium in the future. That's not surprising..............his original, bad intentions were never to spend his money in the first place, and his deceitfulness backfired in his face!

Get A Job????

Some members of the Republican majority Florida congress are clueless about the state of health care not only in the country but moreso in their own state. One of them demonstrated his ignorance by announcing that those people who do not have health care should "Get a job!!". It is quite apparent that this stupid outburst is the common sentiments of many who are of the impression that only the unemployed do not have health insurance. Well, it is important for these people to educate themselves that many full time employees do not have insurance depending on the companies where they are employed. For instance, a full time employee of Krispy Kreme advised me only today of her need to obtain medical treatment but is unable to do so because she does not have insurance even though she often works over 40 hours each week. This is one of the many familiar cases of personal knowledge of people working full time without health benefits. In fact, for a number of years, colleges and universities have transitioned many full time professor positions into part-time position so that the institutions will not have to be responsible for providing insurance and other employee benefits. So, many classes are now being taught by hourly paid Adjunct Professors. Therefore, a word to those who are ignorant about health care -- do your research and you will see that many people are without insurance not because they are unemployed but because their employers are not providing those benefits for one reason or another.

The Ruthlessness of a Glamorous Career

Working in the media as a news anchor, sports anchor, or meteorologist has always been seen as glamorous jobs, and many young people gravitate towards moving up from street reporting to sitting behind the "desk". However, recent incidents at WPLG, an ABC affiliate in the major market, Miami, leaves one to see how devious executives can be when making decisions. The protégé of a long standing weather person, after working for some years as the Chief Meteorologist for the station, was recently demoted to the weekends and replaced by a well known lady formerly from the Weather Channel. This lady is beautiful, charming, smart and community oriented, and I myself gravitate towards watching the news to see her since I can easily relate to her elegance and style. It is also refreshing to see that this young lady has made such a great impression to secure the Chief Meteorologist postition since years ago such a venture would have been impossible. So, my congratulations go out to her. In addition, the gentleman who anchored the weather for many years during the mornings on weekdays was also suddenly replaced my another beautiful woman and relegated to doing the weather during the mornings on weekends. Is it that the audience have changed and they are now gravitating towards watching beautiful women rather than looking at men clad in the monotonous dark suits and ties? Whatever the reason, the sudden switch of these positions and other switches at WPLG as well as the continuous demotions and non-renewal of contracts through the industry demonstrates that this is a fickle, ruthless industry where executives care simply to maintain the high audience viewership and have no consideration or respect for their staff. So, while getting to the anchor desk is expected by many young people, maybe remaining a street reporter is the best option in the long run if that is the city where the reporter wants to settle down. I can only say for the female meteorologists at WPLG who replaced their male counterparts - "Watch your backs!" You never know when you will face the same ruthlessness and disprespect since those executives will smile in your face today and stab you in the back tomorrow!

Immigration Reform Bill - Racial Opposition

One would expect for any Immigration Reform Bill to be written with the intentions of encouraging all immigrants regardless of color, class, creed, religious belief, etc. to become lawful residents of the United States by going those the proper legal channels. So, who would expect for the recently announced immigration bill to present such racial bias towards people from primarily Black majority rule countries within Africa and also the Caribbean islands? No mention is made in the bill of the visas which are considered "diversity" visas that allow residents of African and the Caribbean to go through a lottery system so as to have a chance of entering the United States. So, this bill does not take into consideration that similar to the European and Latin American residents, people from Africa and the Caribbean also need an equal chance of gaining legal entry into the United States. These natives of Africa and the Caribbean also have the same expectations to succeed in the U.S. by entering higher education insitutions so that they can achieve successful careers and take care of their families just like anyone else. So, it is hoped that good judgement will prevail so that lawmakers will learn that the millions of African and Caribbean immigrants currently residing in the United States are law abiding, hard working, tax paying voters. While these immigrants may not be as large as the Latino community, they always turn out in great numbers to vote and have often impacted many elections. So, politicians in Washington D.C. need to give more attention to these group of people.