"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!