Joey Vento was Right!

Gentle readers, as you know, the TrekMedic actually holds down a wage-paying job when he's not blogging along to information highway.

He's a paramedic. (A cranky, tired, old and arthritic one at that, but that's another rant)

Over the last week, the ability to proficiently speak the English language, especially when dealing with the sick and injured, sorely tested the TrekMedic's patience.

First, the TrekMedic was dispatched to one of our regular nursing homes to assist one of our BLS crews on a "Bleeding" call. Arriving at the same time as the BLS guys, we found an elderly woman in bed, unconscious. No, wait - she's just asleep. No evidence in her bed of any bleeding. After several long minutes of waiting and assessing the patient, the nursing SUPERVISOR, a young Oriental woman, arrived and simply stated to us "she bleeding." Nothing more. After several attempts to get her to expand on that thought, she finally pointed to the patient's groin area and said "down there." She then left, not to be seen again.

Follow up: the patient showed no evidence of active bleeding. Her vital signs were OK. The transfer paperwork the nursing home is required to send with the patient stated some blood was found in her diaper during changing.

Next, yesterday, while at the office performing my supervisory duties, I was told to respond to another facility along with a nearby BLS crew for a possible stroke victim with "bloody vision." Now, folks, this is more serious. A stroke could be causing the patient's blood pressure to go so high that an optical vein could have burst. This is a life-threatening issue!

OK,...so here's what happened: again, non-local nurse calls it in. The patient is in rehab because he's had a stroke and was no complaining of "BLURRY VISION." There are more than a half-dozen differential diagnoses why his vision is blurry. Again, the patient was fine, vitals normal, released to the BLS crew after consulting with medical command.

The point to all this pro-English ranting? Its bad enough that only 40+% of 911 calls turn out to be what was dispatched. Do I really need to fly down the road and put my life, as well as the lives of other commuters, in jeopardy because someone can't speak this country's language???

When Did This Happen?

In the aftermath of the Geno's "English Only" debacle, comes this letter to the editors of the Philly Inkwaster:


Geno's reality
The sentiment behind the "English only" sign at Geno's Steaks, no doubt, is real, but there is another reality ("In plain English: Geno's sign OK," March 20).

For the last 27 years, Germantown Friends School has participated in an exchange program with a public vocational school in a semirural province of Mexico. For many of those years, as part of an ethnic neighborhoods tour I conduct, I take six Mexican ninth graders to Geno's.

Most of our guests know little English or none at all. Some with my help and some on their own struggle to place their order, but do so without incident. Each time, the kids leave with a complimentary Geno's hat or T-shirt - and a feeling of accomplishment. They are here, after all, to try to learn English, and someone at Geno's seemed to understand that.

Bob Rhoades
Wyndmoor


The TrekMedic ponders:

No doubt Mr. Rhoades letter is factual. But one has to wonder why this kind of story never made it when the local liberal press was foaming at the mouth in its castigation of Joey Vento!

I can guess why,..can you? The phone lines are open, folks,....

From the "No-S**t!" Files,...

Ruling: "Speak English" sign at cheesesteak shop not discriminatory

By Andrew Maykuth

Inquirer Staff Writer
A city agency yesterday dismissed a discrimination complaint against Geno's Steaks for its speak-English sign, halting a case that thrust shop owner Joey Vento into the national spotlight of the contentious immigration debate.

A split three-member panel of the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations ruled that a sign in the South Philadelphia cheesesteak shop did not convey a message that service would be refused to non-English speakers.

"The bottom line is that I didn't do anything wrong," said Vento, 68, who maintained that the sign was a political statement and that no customers were ever turned away. "It's a good victory."

Had the commission ruled against Geno's, it could have imposed fines and have moved to revoke Vento's business license.

The case, filed 21 months ago, consumed hundreds of hours of legal time and was the subject of a seven-hour hearing in December. It attracted national attention to Vento and his sign: "This is America. When ordering, please speak English."

The millionaire businessman said the commission's action was an attempt to infringe on his freedom of speech - he refused to remove the sign, and put a second one on the bumper of his orange Hummer. Some commentators and Web sites portrayed Vento as the heroic victim of an overreaching government's attempt to impose political correctness.

Indeed, while branding the commission's action "ridiculous," Vento said he was grateful for the publicity.

"They made me famous throughout the world," Vento said in an interview from his home in New Jersey. "I'm way ahead of the game. I became a hero. I've got to thank them for that."

Shannon L. Goessling, executive director of the Southeastern Legal Foundation, a public-interest law firm in Atlanta that championed Vento's case, complained that the government spent a "tremendous amount of energy" to "silence" Vento and said that he would consider filing suit to recover the cost of his defense.

"If that's what it takes to send a message to government, then that's what it takes," she said.

The Rev. James S. Allen Sr., the commission chairman who filed the original complaint in June 2006, said he still contends that the sign was discriminatory, "but I accept the opinion of the panel." He said the full commission was unlikely to appeal the three-member panel's decision.

Allen said the panel's ruling "is an example of the fairness of the Commission on Human Relations. . . . Just because we bring a case, it does not necessarily mean it will come out in our favor."

The commission's ruling surprised Vento's attorneys, who had complained that the commission, in judging a case brought by its own chairman, was effectively acting as prosecutor, judge and jury.

"I'm kind of impressed with the decision to buck the trend," said Albert G. Weiss, Vento's lawyer in Philadelphia. "It restores my confidence in them a little bit."

Commissioners Roxanne E. Covington and Burt Siegel wrote the majority opinion.

Joseph J. Centeno, a lawyer who chaired the panel, dissented and said the commission had met its burden to prove discrimination, citing testimony from several witnesses at the December hearing that they felt intimidated and unwelcomed by the sign's message.

One witness, University of Pennsylvania sociology professor Camille Z. Charles, likened the "speak English" signs to "whites only" signs from the Jim Crow era.

But Vento's sign also struck a chord among Americans apprehensive over the influx of immigrants, and he was flooded with supportive messages from across the country. "Right now, outside of the war, this is a very hot topic," he said.

Yesterday, Vento took phone calls from like-minded talk-show radio hosts who wanted him to make appearances, and from Lou Barletta, the Hazleton, Pa., mayor who wants to crack down on illegal immigration and is running for Congress.

"I woke up America, so to speak," said Vento.


The TrekMedic opines:

Thanks, Philly! That had to be the biggest waste of my tax dollars since John Street's salary!

Two More Idiots Missing from the Liberal Village?

Richardson, Dodd to Debate in Spanish

Democratic presidential hopefuls Bill Richardson and Chris Dodd have agreed to participate in a candidate debate in September that’s to be conducted in Spanish.

Univision Communications Inc., the nation’s largest Spanish-language broadcaster, has invited candidates to a debate planned Sept. 9 at the University of Miami.

“Latinos are the fastest-growing segment of our population and this is a unique chance for all of the candidates to hear and address the concerns and priorities of this important constituency,” Richardson said in a statement Wednesday.

Richardson, who is fluent in Spanish, is the nation’s only Hispanic governor. He was born in California, but spent his early childhood in Mexico City.

Dodd, a senator from Connecticut, also is fluent in Spanish. He lived in the Dominican Republic while serving in the Peace Corps.

“The next president needs to be someone who can speak to this important segment of our population, and those within our same hemisphere, on issues from immigration to education to foreign affairs,” said Dodd.

Univision says the presidential debate would be the first conducted in Spanish. Simultaneous translation is to be provided to candidates and viewers.

Univision’s sale to a private investor group received final federal regulatory approval earlier this year. The company has invited Republican presidential candidates to a debate — also in Spanish — on Sept. 16.

The former chairman and chief executive officer of Univision, A. Jerrold Perenchio, a California Republican, was a major political donor to Richardson’s gubernatorial campaigns in 2002 and 2006.

Richardson, at the request of Perenchio, wrote a letter of support in 2003 for a merger of Univision and another Spanish-language broadcasting company. The letter appeared in newspapers to counter opposition to the merger from some congressional Democrats. Richardson at the time described Perenchio as a “longtime friend” and said the campaign contributions played no role in his decision to support the media company merger.

Perenchio and one of his companies contributed about $167,000 to Richardson’s 2002 campaign

Richardson’s 2006 re-election campaign received about $156,000 from Perenchio, his wife and their son. The campaign also received $50,000 from the Jerry Perenchio Living Trust because Univision was a sponsor of the governor’s inauguration in January.


El TrekMedico dice:

(Sigh),..where's Joey Vento when you need him???

Greenbacks,..NOT Wetbacks!

Dallas-Based Retailer to Accept Pesos
Thursday, July 12, 2007

DALLAS — Dallas-based chain Value Giant announced in a press release Thursday that their retail stores will begin accepting Mexican pesos as payment, according to MyFOXDFW.com.

The Value Giant store at Southwest Center Mall will be hosting a promotional event on Saturday to introduce the new policy.

Value Giant is a regional discount retailer offering groceries, clothes, electronics and general merchandise.

In January, another Dallas-based business, Pizza Patron, created controversy with its announcement that it would accept the Mexican currency.

Pizza Patron has reported increased profits since the decision was made.