When my HARO (Help A Reporter Out) queries ask the right questions, I pay attention.
“Sick of hearing about holiday shopping apps? What about an app
to make you laugh? Or blow off some steam?”
“Yes, yes, yes,” I said!
Sometimes, the holiday season can be hard on folks… yes, even on Santa.
Talking Angry Drunk Santa™ app for iPhone and iPad
The free Talking Angry Drunk Santa™ app by LuckyLabs, Inc. for iPhone and iPad, lets users get to up close and personal with Kris Kringle, aka Santa Claus, by treating him to a drink full of holiday cheer — and like your Aunt Hilda after her last helping of the eggnog — when sufficiently relaxed, Santa reveals his human side and salty sense of humor.
Need to blow off some holiday steam? Download the free app, speak into your iPhone or iPad microphone and Santa repeats your message aloud or listen as Santa lets loose with silly, funny gripes about his demanding life. Poke and tickle Santa to help him relax. But remember to be nice to Santa – give him a couple of drinks. Everybody needs to kick back and relax sometimes, even jolly old St. Nick! Learn more about Santa here: http://bit.ly/soEeSt
It was 4 a.m. on election day when I woke up with horrible stomach pain and nausea. I kneeled before the “Porcelain God” for a couple of hours, asking for reprieve, until I gave up and decided to make myself useful; drag myself off of the bathroom floor, throw a hoodie on over my pajama pants and drive to the library around the corner to vote. Murphy’s Law would have it that I would bump into just about everyone I didn’t want seeing me in my ‘jammies that cold and rainy November morning; it was my civic duty to get my vote in. No excuses. Besides, I had another civic responsibility that afternoon. I had committed to helping in the production of an AIDS awareness TV PSA, an issue I feel strongly about, and I wasn’t about to back out, no matter how poorly I felt (or looked) that day.
Years later, I am told now and then that the PSA “Get Real, Get Tested” is still on the air. Friends say they saw me on that “commercial” on FOX, with that “attitude.” They congratulate me for a job well done and tell me I “looked great.” I even had a guy approach me at the gym to ask if I am the one in “that AIDS commercial.” When I verified his assumption, he paused in deep thought and asked, “So, do you have it?” … “Have what?” I asked, “AIDS,” he responded. So you see, it’s great that the message is still out there, though sadly it’s still not enough. There is a serious message there, a serious issue at stake and I don’t think these folks are really hearing it. Perhaps they don’t think it’s relevant to them. Perhaps, because most people still think HIV is dirty, that you only get it if you’re promiscuous, bi-sexual or poor in Africa.
If your grandmother has breast cancer, you’d likely get sympathy and support. If you announce that your grandmother is HIV positive there is a stigma associated with it, there is little sympathy. We should all know better by now.
Ignorance continues to be the real problem. They say ignorance is bliss, but in an information age, how is that possible?
It’s important to remember that HIV was not a health problem until the 1980′s when the virus was identified. Because it is spread by blood, some people were infected through blood transfusions early before screening began in 1985. The HIV virus does not discriminate between men and women. Both can be infected, and can infect others. While men still make up the majority of HIV cases in the U.S. it’s estimated that 300,000 women are living with HIV. Even more disturbing, Women of color account for 79 percent of all new infections among women 13 to 19 years of age, and 75 percent among women 20 to 24 years of age. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, there were 4,377 deaths among women with an AIDS diagnosis in 2008.
Today is World AIDS Day. 30 years after the epidemic surfaced, more than 30 million people have died and twice as many have been infected with HIV. An LA Times article reported, “United States has seen 40,000 new infections a year for the past decade. It’s like accepting the Vietnam War’s number of deaths, but doing it every year. We’ve become complacent, and it’s unacceptable — especially after we know how effective testing and treatment is.”
It is about time everyone began paying attention to the AIDS epidemic. We can continue to hope for a cure, but if we fail to stem the epidemic, endless thousands more become infected and those who cannot afford treatment will die. It is our civic duty to care about those living with and affected by AIDS/HIV. It is time to educate ourselves and to work together to prevent the spread of HIV as we have done for other highly fatal, dangerous infections.
20 years after the introduction of the iconic red ribbon symbol, which was created as a source of hope to motivate advocacy and bring change, we are reminded that, like voting, we ALL have to participate in the process to be a part of the solution.
Lately, many have been weighing in on what U.S. citizens should expect of those who aspire to become American citizens. I sometimes wonder if these folks even know what it takes to reach citizenship or legal status in this country and if they would be able to live up to those same standards, if put to the test.
At the end of the long, arduous and expensive road to naturalization, aspiring U.S. citizens must pass a naturalization test and interview. People who want to become citizens must answer 6 of 10 questions correctly from the 100 possible questions on the nationalization test.
More than 24,000 immigrants became citizens at 350 special ceremonies from June 27 to July 4. This Independence Day we celebrated the thousands of immigrants who have crossed the finish line to U.S. Citizenship and have chosen to make this country their home after years of hard work, sacrifice and dedication.
Yesterday, NBC 17’s Justin Quesinberry http://www2.nbc17.com/staff/52705/ quizzed people enjoying Independence Day activities at the State Fairgrounds in Raleigh.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has found that Hispanics, whether they are Spanish speakers or not, are twice as likely to have been victims of fraud than non-Hispanic whites.
In my work with Hispanics in North Carolina, I have heard some horror stories involving scam and fraud that directly target the immigrant population across the state. Considering the much publicized growth rate of Hispanics in the recent Census reports, it comes to no surprise that scam artists are finding new ways to target this population group.
Last month, Loma International Business Group in Baltimore was shut down for charging immigrants for filing immigration forms that the group was not authorized to file. Spanish speaking immigrants from Honduras and El Salvador lost money to this business by trusting them to file their immigration forms in order to gain a legal immigrant status in the United States. The company claimed they were authorized to perform such duties when in fact they were not, making it illegal for them to be charging money for their services.
I’ve seen similar cases in North Carolina, where “notarios” or “immigration consultants” have used false advertising and fraudulent contracts, positioning themselves as qualified professionals who can help immigrants obtain lawful status, or who perform other legal functions such as drafting wills or other legal documents.
Often, victims spend lots of money and sometimes permanently lose opportunities to pursue immigration relief because a notario has damaged their case.
Perhaps that is why I felt it important to recommend this topic to one of my video production clients – an immigration law firm – as one of their Spanish-language “Immigration Minute” videos.
Take a look at the video that I produced and share your thoughts…
En muchas ocasiones, usted podrá llenar directamente el formulario de inmigración que precise. Dependerá de su nivel de inglés, de su comprensión de términos legales y de la sencillez o complejidad de su caso.
Pero habrá situaciones en lo que lo más recomendable es contar con la ayuda de un profesional que le ayude a presentar a tiempo todos los papeles necesarios y a representarlo, si fuera necesario,ante las autoridades migratorias.
Por eso fue que unos de mis clientes – un abogado de ley de inmigración – me contrato para producir este video (en español) para su sitio web llamado “Immigration Minute,” para consejarles como elegir un buen profesional.
Seems, this country may not resolve anything until "WE THE PEOPLE" resolve to change the way business is conducted. nytimes.com/2012/05/25/us/…5 days ago
