Immigration Myths & Facts

 Senior scholar and senior adviser for the Center for Strategic & International Affairs, Fariborz Ghadar, addresses immigration myths in the CNN report "Dispel the Immigration Myths".

http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/11/opinion/ghadar-immigration-policy/index.html?iid=article_sidebar

Myth #1:  America continues to be a nation of immigrants

Myth #2:  Everyone who is thinking of emigrating wants to come to the U.S.

Myth #3:  We beat the competition in attracting the best & brightest immigrants

Myth #4:  Immigrants end up as a burden on our economy

Fact #1:  Only 13% of the total U.S. population are immigrants

Fact #2:  Canada and Australia have a higher rate of foreign-born residents than the U.S.

Fact #3:  Canada attracts a greater number of immigrants with higher education and specialized skills

Fact #4:  Taxes paid by immigrants & their children both legal & illegal exceed the costs of services used

Veterans Rightful Benefits

(Veterans Wrongfully Denied Benefits While The VA Looks The Other Way)

Jamie Fox (U.S. Navy Veteran) was fired from Oakland VA Regional Office for advocating for fellow U.S. Navy Veteran, Hosea Roundtree after arguing that the disability benefits were being wrongfully denied.  Mr. Roundtree's claim for disability compensation was denied despite his suffering from PTSD.

(Expose: Veterans Administration Battles Backlog of Claims for Wounded Soldiers...)

The story of Ms. Fox and Mr. Roundtree hits very close to home as I come from a family of United States servicemen and women.  I think of my great grandfather, grandfather, father, aunts, and uncles who have served this country and how this could be there story.  This is unacceptable for a third of cases to be found to have errors upon audit.

What are your thoughts?

Food Desert

The Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) Working Group considers a food desert as a low-income census tract where a substantial number or share of residents has low access to a supermarket or large grocery store.

"Southeast Raleigh is recognized by the US Department of Agriculture as a "food desert," an urban low-income area where the poverty rate is at least 20 percent and at least 33 percent of residents have low access to a supermarket or large grocery store."

As of 2010, according to the United States Department of Agriculture Food Environment Atlas, the access and proximity to grocery stores for Wake County, North Carolina is:

Seniors - 2%

Families with children - 5%

Population, low access to store - 19%
Low income and low access to store - 4%
Households with no car, low access to store - 1%

In an area of fixed incomes and limited transportation, Ohio-based company Kroger will be closing two Raleigh area stores in mid-January.  Essentially, the closure of the Kroger stores not only affects the loss of access to groceries but the access to prescribed medication as each location has pharmacies.  What's even more alarming is that residents directly impacted by the closures live in assisted living facilities located within walking distance of one location.

Sources:

http://ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-environment-atlas/go-to-the-atlas.aspx - USDA Economic Research Services

http://www.wral.com/kroger-stores-closing-in-southeast-raleigh/11865270/ - Southeast Raleigh Residents Brainstorm filling Kroger's void

Epidemic

A national team of AIDS experts say that the yearly number of new cases of HIV infection among black women in Baltimore, and other cities, is five times higher than previously thought. (Getty Images)

As a global epidemic, HIV/AIDS now effects black women in the United States at rates nearly the same as those in some sub-Saharan African countries.

According to the ISIS Study (The Women's HIV Seroincidence Study), the following cities have the highest HIV/AIDS rates: 

Baltimore, MD

Atlanta, GA

Raleigh-Durham, NC

Washington, D.C.

Newark, NJ

New York City, NY

We must remain vigilant in education and prevention of HIV/AIDS not only on World's AIDS Day (December 1st) but throughout the year.  

Additional Readings:

http://www.blackwomenshealth.org/issues-and-resources/black-women-and-hiv-aids/ - Black Women's Health Imperative

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/endgame-aids-in-black-america/ - ENDGAME: AIDS in Black America

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/AIDS/hiv-rates-black-urban-women-times-higher-previously/story?id=15878578#.UMaEDoPAeSo - Shocking HIV Rates Among Black Women: Study

thebody.com -  a great site for education and resources to the African American community - thebody.com

Self-destruction

Self-Destruction

~ the voluntary act of destroying oneself ~

(Video: Self-Destruction)

We must put aside our society's "give me, give me" mentality and produce a committed, faithful, and fighting spirit to push through the injustices of suffering.  A holistic approach with commitment and reciprocity will bring about change within ourselves and the communities in which we live. 

Incarceration

What comes to your mind in regards to social injustices?

At the top of my list is INCARCERATION

So why incarceration ~  it targets the individuals who society would rather ignore.  Voices of individuals who have experienced injustices of poverty, lack of access to receive adequate treatment for mental illnesses and health care, and  historical discrimination.

"Why Are Millions of Americans Locked Up?"  Bryan Stevenson a clinical law professor at New York University Law School and the executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative answers this question in http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/11/opinion/stevenson-justice-prison/index.html.

We live in a rich nation of vast resources yet our poor is condemned to the bottom of the barrel because of massive cuts to the mental health and social welfare systems.