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.