Here are the cool cards Mario sent when I finally got off my lazy butt and sent him a SASE:

First the 2009 Upper Deck Football Heroes...

I’m trying to spread the love by sending and trading most of the cards received from Mario to those who will appreciate them more than I could ever hope to.  Paul Hornung is offered to Heartbreaking Cards of Staggering Genius, and Tony Dorsett is now officially offered to BigD of Hey That’s Mine.  I’m giving both Big Bens to a Steelers fan I know (other one coming up).  The Maynard/Biletnikoff is the only for sure keeper from this scan, although the Alan Page is tempting, to get a TTM auto maybe.  How epic would that look?

As it is, Alan Page, Plax, Calvin Johnson, Romo/Aikman, and the volleyball dude are available.

Beethoven, Florence Nightingale, and a couple Chicago legends...

Bobby Hull and Mike Ditka are the reason I got these cards in the first place, so they ain’t going anywhere.  I dunno about the historical peoples though.

Kristi Yamaguchi and some rock-headed Presidents...

I used to have a crush on Kristi in my teenage years.  Heh… :d

Do the Presidents look a lil’ toony to anyone else, or is it just me?

Yeah Woodstock! Woo!

Are there any bloggers out there who were at the original?

Malkin/Big Ben

This is also going to my Steeler fan friend.

Now we get to the higher end, a rare taste for me.  But a yummy taste it is.

Prime Jersey or Patch (whichever you prefer) #ed /50

This one I offered up for BigD’s Hines Ward collecting son.  I got a little something for the whole gang, if they want ‘em, that is.

And if they can wait till 2010 to pull off the trade.  I’m a slow trader (slow at doing nearly everything, really) to start with, but I think I’ve got trades going with half the card bloggers right now.  At least it seems that way, not to mention McCann’s great card blogger Secret Santa thing.  I’m very excited about dat though, and hopefully the person I drew will be too.

Prime Time Prime (Jumbo) Jersey #ed 3/5!

I’m not trading away this one, I really like this one.  It’s purrty.  I may have to sell it at some point sadly though.   I’m poor like dirt.  I have iffy mental health as an excuse, but I’ve got to try and make good, the sooner the better, and that’ll take some moneys to start with.

Incidentally, if you’d like to commission a sketch card, gimme a shout.  You can see a few recent examples on my blog.  I’m okay I guess, especially with portraityness.

Enough shameless and very awkwardly done self-promotion.  Last card!

More prime jersey patches, going way back with Frank Gifford #ed /25

That was a heckuva box Mario busted, all three game-used being of the prime jersey variety, if not the sickest of patches.  I like Absolute Memorabilia, one day I will be able to afford a box of it without breaking the bank, or even poking it softly.  I have no intention of being a poor bum my whole life.

That’s all for what I got from big man of the blogosphere.  Maybe I’ll win some stuff from him again (and sign up for Card Corner Club @VOTC) if I can figure out what the heck happened with my Ning password. :/

Oh yeah, congrats to Real Salt Lake on taking down the evil empire of David Beckham and Landon Donovan.  I hope it doesn’t effect the value of my Beckham jersey card though (scans to come when I get it scanned).

And big ups for Matthew Stafford showing some Leftwich-ian toughness in getting the win against the Browns in a surprising shootout.

Until our next…(Besos)

The director Norman Stone first came to my attention when I watched a brilliant documentary about The Narnia Code (all I’m saying is, it involves planets and Aslan).

My Father told me about who he was and about the fact he was a Christian, the son of a preacher (poor guy) as well as the grandson of a preacher (even worse) and that he is married to the daughter of this guy:

Magnús Magnússon

After some research a few months later I found out that he directed another documentary about C S Lewis as well as the original TV version of Shadowlands more recently he directed the BBC Florence Nightingale series.

I also recently bought a film called Man Dancin’ which he produced & directed. It’s set in Scotland and is about a ex-gang member recently released from prison. There’s a good Christian message in there without making it wet or cheesey; it’s a gritty 15! Awesome.

I’ve only watched half of it thus far; I started watching it late and a man’s gotta wake up in’t mornin’. We’ll see if I benefit from the finished product and wether it will receive the Blewog Seal of Approval.

How gritty!

I’m delighted that there are representatives out there in popular(ish) culture who are generating good quality art with an un-watered down Christian perspective.

I’m reading a book at the moment (I know, unbelievable!) it’s called Eyes Wide Open: Looking for God in Popular Culture and it’s by William D. Romanowski. I’m really benifitting from it’s clear and wise message; if you’re a Christian you have a duty to engage with the culture around you! We are commanded to “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it [the earth].”

If we are looking upon the culture we see around us as purely evil, then what hope does the world have of being reached with the message of Christ? We ought to be salt and light in this world, we are to be in this world but not of it. Engage with what you see daily, be critical, comment on it from a biblical perspective.

I was thinking about all this and all of a sudden I got an email about something called The Pitch.

The Pitch is your opportunity to pitch to make a short film with professional production support worth in excess of £20,000, a

nd to receive advice from top industry professionals.

Work on your film maker vision and delve into the Bible for inspiration

So I’m working on that with this refreshed perspective in mind.

There are people out there who have the right attitude but I’m sure there could be more. Instead of being someone who makes ‘Christian Music’ why not be ‘A Christian who makes Music’? If Christ is at the centre of your life he will touch everything you do and shape it.

Anyway, something to chew on.

And finally, some news hot off the press involving Mr Stone and this guy:

Jeremy Irons

The project is a film on the life of St Columba.

No, not him:

Him:

Of course you all know who that is but just in case you didn’t; he’s basically credited as the guy who brought Christianity to Scotland.

This film (knowing how these things go) probably won’t be out until 2011; but I’m excited to see if it comes to fruition and what it will be like.

__________________

Oh! You want to know my favourite Jeremy Irons role? No brainer:

Exclusive: Jeremy Irons to star in new film about St Columba

Nov 8 2009 Mike Merritt, Sunday Mail

OSCAR winner Jeremy Irons is to star in a major new movie about the saint who brought Christianity to Scotland.

The film on the life of St Columba by Shadowlands director Norman Stone will be shot either in Northern Ireland or the west of Scotland.

Producers are also in talks with another A-list Hollywood star said to be interested in the project – but Jeremy is already signed up to play the saint, who came to Scotland from Ireland.

Bafta-winner Stone, whose films include Florence Nightingale and CS Lewis – Beyond Narnia, said: “Jeremy is perfect for the role. He is fascinated by Columba, especially given his Irish ancestry and connections.

“He just can’t wait to get started. This will be a wartsand-all portrayal.

“I see Columba as a man of incredible faith, integrity and strength – but at times flawed.

“He struggled with hunger for power. He was cunning, brave and an independent spirit which sometimes he found difficult to fit into his holy orders.

“But he was a gifted man who changed the religious and social map of Scotland and Britain.

“He was not a saintly saint and this film will be more of a character study and a political thriller than a Christian epic.

“Columba will not wear a halo. It needs big-screen treatment and in Jeremy we have the right person to deliver the performance we are looking for.”

The movie, The End Time, will be shot either in the spring or autumn of next year, with screening six months later.

Jeremy, who won an Academy Award for Best Actor for Reversal Of Fortune in 1990, worked with Stone on BBC drama The Dream in 1993.

A source close to the actor said: “He is delighted to be involved and looking forward to working with Norman.”

Columba arrived in Scotland from Ireland and established a monastery on the island of Iona in 563AD.

He began converting the pagan Scots to Christianity and built several churches across the Outer Hebrides before his death at the age of 75. He is buried in Iona Abbey.

reporters@sundaymail.co.uk

Health and Healing. Part 2: The Nightingale Initiative for Global Health
with Barbara Dossey and Ken Wilber

“It’s a very exciting time in nursing,” says Barbara Dossey at the beginning of Part 1 of this dialogue. She’s right, of course—many people are unaware of the internal pressures that have been building within the healthcare system for years, often originating from a wide network of nurses who are passionately devoted to dramatically raising our standards of care. It is an often-cited (and often-overlooked) fact that nurses are responsible for nearly 80% of the healing in the healthcare system, and that some of our most radical developments in treatment have been pioneered by the full-hearted efforts of nurses and healers around the world….

Free Sample

On October 21:

1520 Ferdinand Magellan discoversed what is now known as the Strait of Magellan.

1772 English poet  Samuel Taylor Coleridge was born.

1805  The Battle of Trafalgar took place.A British fleet led by Admiral Lord Nelson defeated a combined French and Spanish fleet off the coast of Spain under Admiral Villeneuve.

The Battle of Trafalgar, as seen from the mizzen
starboard shrouds of the Victory
by J. M. W. Turner (oil on canvas, 1806 to 1808)

1824 Joseph Aspdin patented Portland cement.

1833 Alfred Nobel, Swedish inventor and founder of the Nobel Prize was born.

1854 Florence Nightingale and a staff of 38 nurses were sent to the Crimean War.

1917 US musician Dizzy Gillespie was born.

1921 English composer Sir Malcolm Arnold was born.

1929 US author  Ursula K. Le Guin was born.

1931 English actress Vivian Pickles was born.

1940 English cricketer Geoff Boycott was born.

1940 English musician Manfred Mann was born.

1942 Judy Sheindlin, American judge (“Judge Judy“) was born.

1945 Argentine military officer and politician Juan Perón married  actress Evita (María Eva Duarte de Perón).

1952 Trevor Chappell, Australian cricketer, was born.

1953 British politician Peter Mandelson was born.

1956 US author and actress Carrie Fisher was born.

1959 The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York opened to the public.

1964 Peter Snell won his second gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

1966 A coal tip fellon the village of Aberfan in Wales, killing 144 people, mostly schoolchildren.

 1983 The metre was defined at the seventeenth General Conference on Weights and Measures in terms of the speed of light as the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second.

Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia.

"Is that Elvis....?!?"

Hello again,mystery fans!

It is I,Le Chien de Blog,with another blast of bizarro badinage!

Many seekers of truth travel to my Fortress,seeking my knowledge and wisdom on a myriad of subjects….long haired hippie students all.Some I invite in for a cup of tea and a chocolate hob-nob and to tutor in the ways of The Blog Dog…some I immediately feed to the piranhas.

They all ask the same things…what is the meaning of life…what happens after you die…will Arsenal win the Cup this season…?

I tell all of them the same thing…whatever metaphysical bollocks I can think of at the time.Works like a dream.

But I digress.

I'm not in this photograph...I was behind the wall chatting up Florence Nightingale...

This week’s tale concerns my old friend Marmaduke Flange and that spot of trouble we had in the 19th century.It is quite gobsmackingly exciting,so anyone of a nervous disposition should ask someone to read it for them and tone down the drama.

Any road up,there I was at the Great Exhibition at Crystal Palace in 1851,perusing the collection of Etruscan Snoods,when a right kerfuffle broke out over by the stuffed wombats.As you’d expect,I was muchly miffed at having my contemplation interrupted,and so marched over to the Ground Zero of the disturbance to give the ruckus-meister a piece of my mind,which believe me, is considerable.

Upon reaching the scene,I was shocked to discover my old chum Marmaduke Flange,an officer and a gentleman, (I don’t know who the other two were),positioned upon the ground in a state of some small agitation.

“My dear Flange,” I ejaculated,”what on Earth is appertaining?”

The boy Flange fixed me with his gaze.”Bloggers…is it…really you?” he gasped,grabbing my paw in panic.

I produced my hip flask and bade him partake of a sip.

(Where did you pull that from?)

*Sigh*…I took it from my waistcoat pocket,obviously.Now…kindly do one….anyway…

“Yes it’s me,Flange…now tell me,old chap,what is the cause of this argy-bargy?”

“Bloggers…it’s him…The Baron…he’s got the Machine!” Flange passed out,and my blood ran cold.

“Baron Mutatis Mutandis!”

My old nemesis!

This was grave news indeed…but I kept a stiff upper.Some of the lady folk assembled around Flange’s prone form took to fainting…I of course…*ahem*…assisted them by loosening their clothing so they could breath easier.

(I’m sure their husbands liked that.)

They were on their own,you muppet.

(In the 19th century? I think not.)

Well…umm…ah! Their husbands were distracted by what happened next! Which was really amazing and awesome and like something from a film.Happy now?

(Yes…for now….but if the next bit ISN’T really amazing and awesome and like something from a film…)

It will be.Now bugger off.

Scene of my finest hour.

Just then,as the ladies recovered their composure,if not their complete dignity,there was an explosion from above.Glass showered down upon the throng as The Baron’s Airship loomed into view and trained its Laser Discombobulator on the masses.One particularly astute gentleman pointed skywards and exclaimed-

“Look at that…it’s really amazing and awesome and like something from a film…even though films haven’t been invented yet,but I’m pretty sure that’s what they will look like when they have been!”

(How have you got away with this twaddle for so long?)

Charm,dear boy…simple charm.Now-

I spied the Baron at the controls…and he spied me.He smiled evilly.Putting a megaphone to his lips,he addressed the crowd in his dread tones…

“People of London…prepare to be twatted.”

Ha! He hadn’t changed…he was still a silver-tongued charmer.

I pulled my folding telescope from my Gladstone bag and gave the Airship and the Baron a good looking over.He had taken to twiddling some knobs on a scary looking metal contrivance…and Flange’s words came back to bite me on the bum.

The Solar-Proangular-Vetrosa-Meter!

There was no time to lose…he had to be stopped or all of London would be completely shafted!

I ran towards the stuffed mammoth display and scuttled up his trunk.Upon reaching the top of the prehistoric pachyderm,I opened my bag and produced my jet-pack.Slipping it on,I let rip,soaring up towards whatever fate was in store for me,with no thought for my own safety.

The Baron saw me thrusting towards him and opened fire with his Discombobulator…a shot caught my jet-pack.It zoomed off in one direction,and I zoomed off in another.Luckily,I managed to grab a convenient guy rope with my teeth,and,gripping it with my front paws,swung through the window of the gondola-

(What’s this “gondola” business?)

That’s the bit underneath an airship where people and super-villains sit.Now shush,it’s time for the big showdown.

-I swung through the window in a shower of glass and wood and bits of Airship…it looked epic.I hoped someone on the ground,preferably one of the young ladies,was watching.Maybe someone had a camcorder.

The Baron evilly stood there,looking evil.

“Well if it isn’t The Blog Dog…..still chasing your own arse,are you?” he cackled.

I stayed cool,ignoring him.I eyed the Solar-Proangular-Vetrosa-Meter warily.The Baron noticed my noticings.

“Yes you are correct,you smelly little rabbit-chaser.In exactly five minutes time I will activate the Machine and the whole of London will be totally wankered.”

“How vulgar…it’s a Tuesday…no-one does anything of any importance on a Tuesday.”

“Choose your next witticism carefully,Mr. Dog,it may be your last.” said The Baron.”Anyway,there won’t be any more Tuesdays after they get a dose of this baby!” he spat,stroking his instrument of doom.Then,he whipped out a revolver and pointed it at me,right between my eyes.

I held fast.

It was the end…but I faced it with dignity.

“You’ve interfered in my plans for the last time,Dog.Now…prepare to meet your maker.”

Baron Mutatis Mutandis smiled.

Then he pulled the trigger.

I was dead.

Or at least I would have been if my jet-pack had not, at that exact moment crashed through the front window on its bonkers trajectory and nutted the Baron a good one from behind.

(You’re just taking the piss now,aren’t you?)

The shot went wild,up through the balloon itself,causing the whole Airship to list dangerously to the left.

The Baron was out cold.I had saved the day again,but had no means of escape from certain doom.The Airship was going down,and my jet-pack was on its way to the Isle of Dogs.

The odds were against me,and the situation was grim.

(Come on,doggy…let’s see you write your way out of this one.)

There was only one thing for it…I would have to use the parachute.

(Words fail me….they really do.)

I leaped from the buggered Airship,pulling the ripcord,and landing heroically in the midst of the grateful ladyfolk of London.The Airship itself crashed a second or so later in an orgasm of fire and exploding bits and stuff.I saw the Solar-Proangular-Vetrosa-Meter blow up…probably for the best,although it did make excellent bacon butties.

Sadly,it did destroy 5 houses,3 Hansom cabs and a few of those urchin types you always see in the Victorian era were slightly singed.

I grimly assumed the Baron was also toast.

But London was saved,and I was once again a hero.I lunched with Her Majesty The Queen,and reluctantly accepted a Knighthood.I was now Sir Blog Of Dog,and young ladies all over England were very pleased to meet me.

The End.

There…what did you think of that?

(Terrible.)

Well…I don’t have these death-defying adventures for your benefit.I risk my life for the good of mankind,not glorified secretaries like you.

(Anyway,Marmaduke Flange told me that you were thrown out of the Great Exhibition after Florence Nightingale caught you humping her leg.You weren’t even there when the action started.)

Oh Florence Nightingale....how do I love thee?

Flange you bast-

(Or when the League Of Extraordinary Gentlecats saved the day.)

Extraordinary Gentlecats my aching arse!!

Umm…ha ha I mean… Flange had had a nasty knock on the head from one of The Baron’s henchmen.

(I don’t remember that bit from the story.)

It will be in my new book,”My Totally Amazing Adventures Volume 67 by Sir Blogforth Dogsworthy”,priced at £10.99 from all good booksellers.

(I can’t wait.)

Good…now get up the chimney,you wombat…it’s filthy.

Until next time,Thrill-Junkies….

Farewell!!!

Politics | joshnaylor.wordpress.com

A society should be judged not on how they pamper their rich but how they care for their poor.

Florence Nightingale receiving the Wounded at Scutari, a portrait by Jerry Barret

RECENTLY IN AMERICAN POLITICS the issue of universal health care has come to the floor once again. It raises the age old question of the governments role between the doctor and the patient. It is an issue that has been settled in Europe for many years, the only remaining discussions are how to fund such a system. I think it goes beyond a simple cost issue, it portrays the very nature of American ideology. America is founded on the idea that you can have the best regardless of how this may negatively affect those around you.

It is a response to an aristocratic society where power was handed down, what is has produced however is the very same society that allows the few to trample on the many only this time the few didn’t start out privileged. The basic nature of American health care is a refusal to subsidise those who cannot afford it, it is a system based around the individual not the collective. According to the Independent Newspaper 47 million Americans have no insurance, that figure represents 1 in 6 people who have to pay the for all procedures from their pocket (some basic google research suggests a broken arm could cost anywhere from £400-£1000 given the current exchange rate).

The NHS in the UK is one of the countries greatest acheivements, whilst it might not be able to claim the highest quality care on the world rankings it is able to treat far more people. It is a system founded in 1946 through a country that had come together to defeat facism and racism. It is a country that had fought and suffered loss for fellow humans in poland, france, holland, belgium and many other places for which our only link was that they too shared the earth that we live in. It is a system that is bourn out of the idea that every man, woman and child is worth something in a community.

I feel more than content waiting in line for treatment and being placed on waiting lists knowing that someone somewhere is feeling the benefits of a health care system they could not even dream to be able to afford. It would be a dark day if the NHS ever ceases to function it is original role.

Notes.

The NHS is founded on the following three principals.

1. that it meets the needs of everyone

2. that it be free at the point of delivery

3. that is be based on clinical need, not ability to pay

Yup, I’m back. You may not have known that I was gone… but I was. Two weeks of holidays, baby, and sorely needed ones as well.

What’s happened in the meantime? Well… I saw and enjoyed a play by Beckett. In spite of a major in English Literature, I always felt that Beckett’s plays were too long by half – and I still think so. Yes, the length (and resulting tedium) are part of the point, but I’ve always prefered his short plays to Endgame, or Waiting for Godot for that matter. What can make the latter much more enjoyable, though? Good actors, or to be more precise, Magneto and Professor X. Or Jean-Luc Picard and Gandalf. Those two godfathers of the English stage made the play more than worthwhile.

Less enjoyable, though, was the current London production of Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia. Yes, I compound my iconoclasm as a Beckett-disliking EngLit major by prefering the derivative Stoppard to the originator. Take that, SDH! Arcadia is one of my favourite plays, a wonderful blend of wit, intellect and heart. I fell in love with the play when I saw a fantastic amateur production done by a German student drama group.

So, with a play like this and a professional cast and crew, what could go wrong?

Well, mainly one thing: whether it’s the director’s fault or the actors’, they got the one central relationship of the play – between Thomasina, precocious 19th century teenage genious and Septimus, her tutor – wrong with a spectacularly wrong-headed interpretation of Thomasina (and a very mediocre Septimus). As a result, the production didn’t even begin to have the heart it needs to balance its cerebral qualities. If there is no ongoing flirtation and attraction between the two, one that Septimus is hardly aware of, then the final scene between them falls flat.

And fall flat it did. Having taught the play, I was constantly aware of what it could be and what the production failed to make of it. It had some strengths, mainly in the present-day comedy of academia and in a fairly strong Bernard Nightingale. (Oh, I wish though that I’d been around for the play’s original production, with actors such as Felicity Kendall, Bill Nighy and Rufus Sewell.) But without the heart, Arcadia is rendered flat and unengaging, rayless and pathless.

Okay, that’s enough for now. One thing, though, before I’m off: thanks to Rock Paper Shotgun, a computer game blog, I stumbled upon this story which has nothing to do with computer games and everything with sweetness and sadness and John Hughes. Well worth reading, unless anything even approaching sentimentality makes you come out in a rash.

Block:  A-8, Florence Nightingale

Fabric:  Climbing Jacob’s Ladder

Colour Group:  Brown

Date Completed:  5 August 2009

Number of Pieces:  11

Difficulty:  Beginner

Description:  Foundation pieced

Notes:  N/A

Completed

Blocks:  5

Triangles: 0

Pieces so far:  133

http://condron.us                                                       http://alphainventions.com      

Hey there. No Letterman vs Palin; No Sotomayor; No Gitmo; No Bailout.
Just plain ol’ useless crap that I love to post ;}

Tweets
~  weirdralph: “A vulture gets on a plane holding two dead pigs. The flight attendant says “Sorry sir, only one carrion per passenger.”
~ClaytonMorris: “Clayton’s Weird Fact: A giraffe can clean its ears with its 21-inch tongue!”

Yawns
~“You ask me why I do not write something….
I think one’s feelings waste themselves in words,
they ought all to be distilled into actions
and into actions which bring results.”
Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), pioneering nurse, writer, statistician.

Tunes
~1995 No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: “I Swear,” All-4-One.
~1988 No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: “Together Forever,” Rick Astley.
~1977 No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: “Dreams,” Fleetwood Mac.

Birthdays
~Jim Nabors (1930):  Actor who has become famous for the expression, “Gawwwlee.” Nabors got his start in Hollywood as a film cutter by day and a cabaret singer by night. In 1963, he was hired to make a guest appearance on “The Andy Griffith Show,” as Gomer Pyle. Nabors’ performance was so well received by the audience that he was made a regular on the show. The character of Gomer Pyle was spun off to another TV show, “Gomer Pyle USMC,” which ran for five seasons. In addition to his successful television career, Nabors recorded 16 popular albums. In 1969, Nabors started his own variety show, “The Jim Nabors Show,” which ran for three seasons. Nabors has starred in films including Cannonball Run (1978) and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982). Since his liver transplant in 1994, Nabors has been known to make a guest appearance every now and then, but spends much of his time at his home in Honolulu.
 ~Anne Frank (1929)
Anne Frank was a Jewish girl who hid from the Nazis with her family in a secret annex above her father’s office building. During her two years in hiding, she kept a diary characterized by poignancy, humor, and tart observation. Her family was betrayed to the Germans in 1944, and Anne died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Her diary was later recovered and has become an international bestseller, translated into over 60 languages.

Smooth ‘n’ Jazzy B-Day
~Armando Anthony “Chick” Corea (born June 12, 1941) is a multiple Grammy Award winning American jazz pianist, keyboardist, drummer, and composer.
He is known for his work during the 1970s in the genre of jazz fusion. He participated in the birth of the electric fusion movement as a member of Miles Davis’ band in the 1960s, and in the 1970s formed Return to Forever.
He continued to pursue other collaborations and explore various musical styles throughout the 1980s and 1990s. He is also known for promoting Scientology.

What the Heck was He Thinking?!
~Magician Harry Houdini thrilled a large audience by struggling free from a straightjacket, head downward, 40 feet above the ground, 1923.

But Like the Way He’s Thinking
~”The length of a film should be directly related to the endurance of the human bladder.”-Alfred Hitchcock

And Finally…
~”It is more important to know where you are going than to get there quickly.”-Mabel Newcomber

Thanks for the visit today. We’ll have a big, super-dee-duper weekend edition tomorrow. Caio for now…

We salute Florence Nightingale, a pioneer nurse. Nightingale would celebrate her 189^th birthday this month.

Nightingale was an advocate for the improvement of care and conditions in the military and civilian hospitals in Britain. Florence Nightingale’s lasting contribution has been her role in founding the modern nursing profession. She set an example of compassion, commitment to patient care, and diligent and thoughtful hospital administration.

Nightingale wrote Notes on Nursing, which was published in 1860, which served as the cornerstone of the curriculum at the Nightingale School and other nursing schools. Nightingale would spend the rest of her life promoting the establishment and development of the nursing profession and organizing it into its modern form.

they’ve told us single payer is off the table, as our empire continues to refuse to acclimate to how the world works today and rejects the needs and concerns of the citizenry…but what is on the table???

a message from ralph nader, followed by one from kevin zeese (i implore you to take the time to read these, as at least 60 Americans die every day from lack of health insurance & this is our most important domestic issue & SOMETHING must be done – step 1 is informing yourself)…

On May 5, eight doctors, lawyers and other activists stood up to Senator Max Baucus.

And the private health insurance industry.

And the corporate liberals in Congress.

The eight activists demanded that single payer – everybody in, nobody out, free choice of doctor and hospital – be put on the table.

And as a result they were arrested.

And charged with a so-called “disruption of Congress.”

The Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, Politico, Democracy Now and National Public Radio all carried stories about the protest.

C-Span carried it live.

And it was widely disseminated on the Internet.

Baucus crafted a hearing to kick off the health care debate in the Senate yesterday where 15 witnesses would be at the table to discuss health care reform.

The insurance industry was at the table.

The Business Roundtable was at the table.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce was at the table.

Blue Cross Blue Shield was at the table.

The Heritage Foundation was at the table.

And corporate liberals like Andy Stern, Ron Pollack, and AARP were at the table.

But not one person who stood for what the majority of Americans, doctors, nurses, and health economists want – single payer – was at the table.

Not one.

When I heard about this corporate line-up last week, I called the office of Senator Baucus.

And politely asked that, as a matter of fairness, a single payer doctor be allowed to testify.

I was told -  no way, Ralph.

The deal is done.

So, yesterday, at 10 a.m., the Baucus Eight, led by Single Payer Action and other single payer groups, took to the Senate Finance Committee.

And directly and respectfully confronted a room full of corporate lobbyists.

And corporate controlled Senators.

And again asked that a group of doctors who were in the room to support Medicare for all be allowed to testify.

The answer again – no, no, and no.

Remember what Senator Richard Durbin said last week?

Durbin said that the banks “own” the Congress.

To which we might add – the health insurance industry and the drug industry own the Senate.

Faxing, writing, and e-mailing is not getting it done.

Enough is enough.

Time for action.

This is a winnable issue.

But the American people need to focus on 535 members of Congress.

And get mobilized.

Senator Dick Durbin said last week that the banks own Congress.

That’s true.

But they don’t come close to the hammerlock their brothers in the health insurance and drug companies have over the place.

The drug companies and health insurance companies control every nook and cranny on the Hill.

If you doubt it, look no further than the events of the past two weeks at the Senate Finance Committee.

This week, two doctors, two nurses, and a citizen from Maine – inspired by the actions of the Baucus 8 – rose and simply demanded that Baucus add a single payer advocate to the witness list.

Again, Baucus refused.

And again, Baucus called for the police.

Now it’s the Baucus 13.

Single Payer Action will not rest until America gets what every other Western industrialized country has – universal, not-for-profit, health care – everybody in, nobody out.

More efficient.

And more humane.

Thanks to your generous help, the launch of Single Payer Action is one of the more successful launches of a citizen action organization in recent memory.

Single Payer Action has gained widespread publicity – on National Public Radio, Democracy Now, in Politico, the Associated Press, and the National Journal.

Opportunity is knocking.

Now we must open the door.

Single Payer Action will pick it’s battles wisely.

And use its resources frugally.

To defeat the insurance and drug industries.

And secure single payer national health insurance for all Americans.

Sooner rather than later. (Because at least 60 Americans die every day from lack of health insurance.)

and now from one of the “baucus 8″, kevin zeese, executive director of prosperity agenda u.s.

As the hearing began a group of about 30 nurses dressed in their red hospital uniforms, stood up and turned their backs on Chairman Baucus. They had pinned to their backs: 

“Nurses Say: Stop AHIP. Pass Single Payer.” (AHIP is America’s Health Insurance Plans – the health insurance industry lobby.) 

The nurses left the room to applause. 

Then doctors, nurses and advocates stood up and one by one and spoke directly to Senator Baucus. 

DeAnn McEwen, a registered nurse from California said: “Today is Florence Nightingale’s birthday. Florence Nightingale said if there were none to hope for any better, there would never be any better. This country needs a single payer health care system.” 

Then, another RN from California stood up: “People at the table have failed Americans for 30 years. We want single payer at the table. We want guaranteed health care so we can give the care we need, when we need to give it.” 

She was followed by Dr. Judy Dasovich of Springfield, Missouri, who said “We request that single payer advocates be allowed at the table. Health care should be for patients not for profits.” 

Dr. Steven Fenichel of Ocean City, NJ followed adding: “It’s a sense of outrage that brings me to your Senate chambers today. These people were entrusted by the American people to serve the American people’s interests. And they are just serving the interests of the insurance companies and drug companies – the people be damned.” 

Jerry Call, a member of Physicians for a National Health Program from South Thomaston, Maine was the final advocate from the audience, speaking for the majority of Americans shut out from the discussion, and saying: “Sixty percent of Americans and sixty percent of physicians want single payer. Why aren’t sixty percent of the people up front not single payer representatives?” 

All five were arrested and taken away for booking. They were charged with Disruption of Congress, the same offense I will go to court for on May 26th. 

Now, 13 have been arrested – the Baucus 8 have morphed into the Baucus 13 – demanding a seat at the table; merely urging that the most popular health reform among the people as well as among doctors, nurses and economists be part of the conversation. 

Outside as each new Baucus criminal was walked before the crowd, now approximately 75 people — they were all cheered. These are the democracy heroes. These are the types of people that change the equation from money and profits to people and human rights. 

Tomorrow, there will be a march to the Senate, a rally and an afternoon of nearly 1,000 people lobbying for real health care reform – an end to corporate insurance profiting from illness and not allowing doctors to practice medicine and nurses to care for patients. 

We have lit a fire, now we must fan the flame into a populist movement that breaks the corporate stranglehold on Washington, DC. The people need to be organized, persistent and insistent. We need to grow the single payer movement so it cannot be ignored. 

What should you do?

Contact your representatives in Congress. You can send an email by clicking here. The letter urges your representative to support a single payer national health care system. This is the only cost-effective way to provide health care for all Americans. It allows people to choose their own doctor and their own treatment method. It relieves employers of the burden of health care and allows business to compete internationally with other countries that already have a single payer system.

By ALEXANDER LAWRIE

TWO NINETEENTH century pioneering Scots medics are to be commemorated at a new capital housing development – just yards from where they worked and studied.

Wartime heroine Dr Elsie Inglis and Dr Sophia Jex-Blake are to have streets named after them in Fountainbridge, Edinburgh.

Dr Jex-Blake was the founder of the Edinburgh School of Medicine for Women (ESMW), originally named The Provident Dispensary for Women and Children, in 1878.

And Dr Inglis, now recognised as “Edinburgh’s Florence Nightingale”, was one of Dr Jex-Blake’s early students and went on to set up the Scottish Woman’s Hospital movement.

The two medical pioneers were chosen by the housing developers ahead of other Edinburgh dignitaries such as Sir Sean Connery because of their close links to the area.

Jex-Blake House and Inglis Point will be the first two residential blocks to be completed at Springside, the £200 million transformation of the former-Fountainbridge Brewery site.

The 32 acre “urban village” will eventually incorporate homes, offices and retail outlets.

It is understood the developers were keen to honour Connery in some way but were barred from doing so because street names are not allowed to be named after people who are still alive.

Nurses chosen instead of Connery

Sir Sean grew up in a tenement block on the site which was later demolished to make way for an extension to the brewery.

Behnam Afshar, sales director at AMA, which is part of the Springside consortium alongside Grosvenor and Royal Bank of Scotland, said: “When we were deciding what to name the first residential blocks at Springside, we followed certain criteria.

“We were looking for names of people who were linked with the area that would bring a further sense of individuality and inspiration to the development and would also provide a strong connection with local Edinburgh history.

“We chose Sophia Jex-Blake and Elsie Inglis as both were medical pioneers closely linked to the area, and we think it quite fitting that the two women should each have this innovative and contemporary new accommodation named in their honour.”

Edinburgh riots

Dr Sophia Jex-Blake was born in England in 1840 and moved to her adopted city of Edinburgh when she was 29 years old to study medicine.

During volatile times for professional women, Jex-Blake persuaded Edinburgh University to allow her and other women to attend medical lectures despite a wave of male opposition that eventually culminated in a riot near the city’s Surgeon’s Hall in 1870.

But, in 1872, authorities decided that female student’s exams should be declared void, meaning that only men would be eligible for medical degrees.

She left Edinburgh in 1874 to set up the London School of Medicine for Women, around the time a bill was passed finally allowing women north of the border to graduate.

Jex-Blake returned to Fountainbridge in Edinburgh and opened the Provident Dispensary for Women and Children in 1878 – the dispensary was later renamed as the Edinburgh School of Medicine for Women.

Dr Elsie Inglis was born in India in 1864, and after moving to Edinburgh with her father she attended the ESMW in the first year it opened.

Thousands of soldiers lives saved

Inglis went on to found the Scottish Women’s Hospital movement in 1914 and was well known for her work throughout Europe during WW1.

The movement set up several field hospitals in countries including France, Belgium, Serbia, Romania, Greece and Russia and has been credited with saving the lives of thousands of servicemen.

Neil Griffiths, national spokesman for the Royal British Legion Scotland, and long-time campaigner for appropriate recognition for Dr Inglis, said: “That one of Edinburgh’s greatest figures is being recognised by the city is a fitting tribute and is long overdue.

“Elsie Inglis is a towering figure who deserves to be recognised in this way.”