Scary Cow

We were lucky enough to be selected to be shown at this festival with our work, Indivisible, which tells the story of an elementary school principal who becomes entangled in a terrorist plot. (You could see it on our website for free, but wouldn’t you rather see it on the big screen at the Castro?)

If you think about it, we’re stumbling over objects without inherent values. Why do we lose our heads when it comes to shopping, especially during the last four weeks of the holidays?

Don’t get me wrong. I never said that shopping was evil. There are necessary things that we need in order to live on this fragile planet. But go crazy over some “sales event”? I think this culture is mostly based on materialistic gain.

“Communism doesn’t work because people like to own stuff.

– Frank Zappa

 Enjoy the video.

(Click on image for source)

Remember those nurses who I blogged about at the end of June of 2010? You don’t have to click on the link to find out what all this hubbub is all about. You can do whatever you want, just like the nurses did during their break time.

Corina Capunitan-Yap, Anna Rowena Rosales, Jazziel Granada, and Hachelle Natano were dismissed from their jobs because they were speaking in their language, which is Tagalog – the native language of The Philippines. Ms. Granada was surprised because she was not even part of a medical team; she was a health unit coordinator at the Bon Secours Health System, a hospital based in Baltimore, Maryland.

I don’t have to tell you that in America, health care benefits are a luxury for the rich and for those who can afford it, or for citizens who have a job. Hence, no job, no health benefits.

I could understand why Rosales was angered by being sacked from her job. She did not know how to break the news to her family for she was the one paying the bills every month. She almost lost her home for failing to pay the mortgage.

Ms. Granada was depressed after being fired from her job and was forced to go back to her homeland, because of her pregnancy. However, she is now back in Baltimore with a healthy nine-month old boy.

“There were nurses in the ER who committed mistakes that put the lives of their patients in danger but they’re still there because they’re Caucasian,” Yap said.

The nurses could not find any nursing jobs because of the current state of the economy, but if there were any jobs, the hospitals would rather not hire the nurses because of speaking their own language during their breaks. Not only for that specific economic reason, but because Bon Secours Health System is a huge corporation.

“Everyone has the right to speak their own native language in the workplace so long as it does not adversely affect their job performance or put their patients’ lives in danger,” said Arnedo Valera, the representative lawyer fighting for the nurses’ right to speak their own language during their breaks.

The California Nurses Association (CNA) and the National Nurses United (NNU) described the valuable legal victory as a fight against discrimination.

“Discrimination still exists and we have to remain vigilant in protecting our rights,” said Zenei Cortez, copresident of the CNA/NNU.

What 'intelligent design'?

Why are there so many people running around trying to be the president of this country? People like Sarah Palin, Rick Perry, and in this instance, Michelle Bachmann, who erroneously said that the American people are concerned about “the rise of the Soviet Union.”

Ms. Bachmann, I don’t think we are concerned about America’s old Cold War enemy who has not existed for twenty years. Last time I checked, they have a new flag, a new name, and several territories who basically just got up and got out of their old Communist regime.

I have an answer for the first question posited at the beginning of this entry and there are several possibilities. Either:

1. Michelle Bachmann is smart and she has stupid advisers working for her. (Which is very unlikely.)
2. Michelle Bachmann is dumb and she has smart advisers working for her. (Which is very likely.)
3. Michelle Bachmann is smart and so are her political advisers. (Very unlikely.)
4. Michelle Bachmann is dumb and so are her political advisers. (Very, very likely.)

Don’t believe me? I don’t desire to be mean, but below is audio proof that Michelle Bachmann is as dumb as a pile of bricks cemented with a horse’s feces.

Listen to this NPR’s Morning Edition. On this John Ridley piece, he comments on the lack of diversity on films based on comic book characters.

I’m sure you’ve seen actors on television or on the big screen who are ethnic minorities. Shows like “The Office”, “Parks and Recreation”, and in films like Inception, or Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and even in animated films like Pixar’s Up. SAG (Screen Actors’ Guild) has made sure this is made possible with their Affirmative Action and Diversity program. This is the step in the right direction, but it’s like watching a snail run a hundred meter dash. I’m not complaining that it’s too slow, but come on, Hollywood! It’s been almost seventy-five years since we’ve seen Charlie Chan portrayed by a white guy. It’s the 21st century, folks.