I Want Miguel Almaguer’s House
One of the strangest things about the coronavirus is how the pandemic has allowed the public into the private homes of people whose voices we may have recognized but whose names we were not as familiar with, until their faces were broadcast into everyone’s family room from their very own personal residence.
Allow me to clarify something: I am not interested in celebrities. I don’t follow any of them on social media and probably don’t know who most of them are anyway since I rarely watch television. Instead, I tend to follow friends and family, plant-based restaurants (Vedge, Nix), and restaurants that excel at making nutritious but delicious food (Le Botaniste, Christopher’s Kitchen). I also appreciate organizations that make beautiful things, like Italian dinnerware (Match Pewter) English roses (David Austin), and posh hotels (Firmdale). But, when I started watching the nightly news over the past month, I noticed the backgrounds were different and much more interesting because the newscasters were broadcasting from their homes. Read more 
Corona Beer, Jared Kushner, and the Coronavirus
It must really suck to be Corona beer right now. A pale lager loved by beer drinkers, Corona beer has the unfortunate distinction of being associated by name with the worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus. How did this happen?
The word “corona” refers to a crown or the gaseous envelope that looks like a glowing circle of light (a halo) around the sun or stars: a fitting name for a beer bottled in clear glass that would go on to become the top selling imported beer in the United States.
Now owned by Anheiser Busch (a multinational drink and brewing company based in Belgium), the maker of Corona beer, Grupo Modelo has temporarily suspended production of Corona beer in Mexico because the government has ordered nonessential businesses to close in response to the spread of the coronavirus (note: there are those who believe the making of beer is essential even if the government doesn’t agree) but having a product labeled “Corona” when a virus called “coronavirus” is wreaking havoc upon the world doesn’t make for a happy retail situation. Read more
Executive Compensation at the Greater New York Hospital Association
Listening to Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York, talk about the logistic nightmare of working with hospitals in the greater New York area made me curious to know more.
At the core of the problem is a hospital system where there are 2 types of hospitals: public (which tend to be more overwhelmed right now) and private. These two separate hospital systems don’t generally work together since public hospitals are tax-exempt while private hospitals are driven by profitability.
Although public hospitals are usually referred to as non-profit hospitals, the words “non-profit” refer to their tax exempt status, not a propensity to avoid making a profit. A non-profit can report a profit; they just don’t pay taxes on the profit. Instead, the profit is treated as an addition to the general fund or what many people refer to as the endowment. In a non-profit, the wealth stays in the organization for the ultimate benefit of those served while in a for-profit, the wealth is shared by the owners or shareholders. Read more
A Novel Idea for Non-Profits: Continue to Pay Your Employees
Watching this country fall apart from the devastation of the coronavirus has made me realize how shockingly fragile all our lives are. It doesn’t matter what socio-economic group people are in because the virus doesn’t discriminate but for those who are barely making ends meet or don’t have a safety net, the effects of this virus are disastrous economically. Read more
Some Humor in These Times
Last week, my television started acting up which normally isn’t a big deal but with being isolated at home, the television has become more important. In truth, CNN has been my lifeline to the outside world keeping me informed.
The picture started changing into static lines of multicolored rainbows and I kept getting a message telling me to check the connection with the receiver, an error referred to as “771.” After verifying the cables were hooked up correctly, my husband called the cable company and spoke to a guy in the technical assistance department who walked him through all sorts of troubleshooting options before deciding we need a service call. Read more
Why Isn’t Anyone Talking About Wet Markets and the Coronavirus?
We are being inundated with information about the coronavirus…what it is (a virus), what it does (primarily attacks the respiratory system), how fast its spreading (too fast), whose most susceptible to the danger of the virus (the elderly and health compromised), how to get tested (still unclear and varies depending on location), and how the healthcare system is treating it (primarily with supportive care so the immune system can do its job) but hardly anyone is talking about how the coronavirus started and more importantly, what can be done in the future to avoid another world pandemic. Read more
Why “Republicans” Are Voting for Sanders in State Primaries
The Republicans are lining up behind Donald Trump to nominate him as the presidential party candidate in November but rumor has it Pro-Trump Republicans are leaving their party in droves (not because they don’t want Trump but instead to ensure his victory) to register as Democrats in order to vote in closed primary elections (the 50 states have an open primary where registered voters may vote in any party primary regardless of party affiliation, a closed primary where registered voters may only vote in the party he or she is affiliated with or a hybrid of sorts). Read more
Remembering Captain William (“Billy”) Francis Burke, Jr.
On 9-11, 343 firefighters were killed trying to help others. One of those firefighters was Captain William “Billy” Francis Burke, Jr of FDNY Engine Company 21. A firefighter for over 20 years, Captain Burke led his company into the north tower on that September morning but ordered them out of the building while he continued searching for people who needed help or to be rescued. At 46 years old, Captain Burke was an experienced firefighter who understood the dangers but couldn’t turn around when there were people trapped in the burning building. Read more
What Happened to Character?
Apparently, there is absolutely no way Robert Kraft, the billionaire owner of the Boston Patriots is going to accept the plea deal in the Florida prostitution case even though the police supposedly have two tapes of Kraft paying for and receiving sexual acts from massage parlor “therapists.”
And, it looks like Felicity Hoffman and Lori Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli may plead “not guilty” to the charges related to illegally helping their children gain entrance to prestigious colleges, even though the FBI has recorded conversations and a money trail that shows they cheated and/or bought their children’s admission. And, then there is Donald Trump trash talking John McCain, who died of brain cancer last year, and Kellyanne Conway’s husband, George Conway, who Trump called “a whack job” and a “stone cold loser and husband from hell” (as if Trump was heaven-sent). Read more
Proteinaholic
It’s been said that we don’t change when we see the light, but when we feel the heat.
Those are the words of Dr. Garth Davis, MD – a board-certified surgeon – who specializes in bariatric surgery in Asheville, NC. Prior to moving to Asheville in 2018, Dr. Davis was the medical director of the Davis Clinic at the Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas. A graduate of University of Texas in Austin, and the Baylor School of Medicine, Dr. Davis completed his surgical residency at the University of Michigan. Read more
Paddock Post 