Kristen Bell goes barefoot today, 8 April 2010, to help TOMS help millions of children worldwide who go without shoes. In fact, for One Day Without Shoes, thousands (millions?) will participate, in an effort to increase –in a small way- our awareness of a life without shoes.

When I was a kid –well, now, still, actually- I knew lots of people who constantly ran about without shoes. I was never one of them, unless swimming or bathing. Those kids –and adults- though, have that choice. In our world, though, there are many children without access to shoes, for whom walking about barefoot is dangerous. Simple debris, volcanic soil, and soil-borne pathogens contribute to numerous health issues for these children.

From the TOMS website:

Why shoes?

Many children in developing countries grow up barefoot. Whether at play, doing chores or going to school, these children are at risk:

• A leading cause of disease in developing countries is soil-transmitted diseases, which can penetrate the skin through bare feet. Wearing shoes can help prevent these diseases, and the long-term physical and cognitive harm they cause.
• Wearing shoes also prevents feet from getting cuts and sores. Not only are these injuries painful, they also are dangerous when wounds become infected.
• Many times children can’t attend school barefoot because shoes are a required part of their uniform. If they don’t have shoes, they don’t go to school. If they don’t receive an education, they don’t have the opportunity to realize their potential.

TOMS has been helping for years by creating a business model, wherein, for every shoe sold, a pair goes to a child in a developing nation. TOMS sends their people out with crateloads of one-for-one shoes. So, consider ordering a pair for yourself, your kids, or as a special gift.

For more information, visit Kristen Bell Goes Barefoot, and One Day Without Shoes.

Are you going One Day Without Shoes? Tell the world about it in the comments.

Letter to Obama: Health care access a national scandal

By ANA M. MALINOW, MD
Houston Chronicle
Feb. 28, 2009

Dear Mr. President:

Last week, in the public clinic where I work, I treated a 6-year-old girl who had visited the emergency room for cellulitis, an infection of the skin, over her hand. Usually a relatively minor condition that is easily treated with a 10-day course of antibiotics, cellulitis can sometimes cause severe consequences, including life-threatening sepsis, if not treated promptly.

The reason this patient was notable was because she was uninsured and had been sent home with a prescription that her mother tried to fill but was unable to afford. How much did the antibiotic suspension cost? $500.

When I saw her three days after her ER visit, her hand was swollen twice the normal size, purple, tender and warm to the touch, with a red streak (signifying an extension of the infection from the skin to the bloodstream) up to her elbow. I took one look at her and quickly made the decision to admit her for IV antibiotics, including a consultation with pediatric surgery to ensure that the infection had not spread between the deep layers of her skin.

What struck me most about this visit, other than the child’s deformed hand, was the mother’s shame at not being able to afford her child’s medication. I assured her that I did not blame her, that our health care system was unconscionable, and that we needed a health care system where everyone was included and everyone paid according to his or her ability to pay. She agreed.

I’m not surprised she agreed. From 1943 to today, opinion polls consistently show that a stable majority of Americans favor a government role in the financing of health care. In the lead-up to President Truman’s national health care proposal, 82 percent of Americans agreed that something needed to be done to make health bills easier to afford.

Today, 65 percent of Americans, including 59 percent of U.S. physicians, support a tax-financed national health insurance plan. Why wouldn’t my patient’s mother support national health care?

What she probably doesn’t know is how much she already pays for the health care her child does not get, or gets late. Her uninsured family pays an extra 10 percent out of its paycheck in taxes to pay for our health care system. Her daughter’s hospitalization will be covered by emergency Medicaid, for which she pays through her sales taxes, income taxes, property taxes and other hidden taxes. She will still have many out-of-pocket costs, of course.

I was struck this week by remarks by David Axelrod, your adviser. Referring to the difference between Washington insiders and most polls over the stimulus package, Axelrod said, “This town talks to itself and whips itself into a frenzy with its own theories that are completely at odds with what the rest of America is thinking.” The moral, he said, is “not just that Washington is too insular but that the American people are a lot smarter than people in Washington think.”

I agree. As I talk about a single-payer national health program across Texas (yes, Texas!) and other states, I am repeatedly amazed by the ability of Americans to understand the complex issues of health reform if it is adequately explained to them. People quickly understand that a sustainable solution will come only when we contain costs and eliminate fragmentation.

The more I listen, the more I hear that all Americans want a health care system that is affordable, accountable, accessible, comprehensive, universal and just — not another Band-Aid that will condemn thousands of us to unnecessary pain, suffering, bankruptcy and death. Listen for yourself, and you will hear Americans clamoring for true health care reform.

By Washington standards, single payer is politically unfeasible. But step outside the beltway and you will be surprised by the genuine support that exists for a publicly funded, privately delivered, expanded and improved Medicare for all.

This mother should not be made to feel ashamed. Nor should her child be relegated to suffer like a Third World beggar. Your compromise plan that keeps the private, for-profit insurance industry in the game will perpetuate the shame and the begging. Already, there is a grass-roots movement building against private health insurance and for single payer. It will reach Washington, whether Washington is ready or not.

Sincerely yours,

Ana M. Malinow, MD

Malinow is a Houston pediatrician and co-founder of Health Care for All Texas.

PNHP Letter (original)

What do you think? Turn this girl away from decent healthcare to keep the tattoed, cell phone carrying “abusers” at bay?

Lately, I’ve noticed Dr. Roger Starner Jones‘ careless letter –of 23 August 2009 to the Jackson, Mississippi Clarion Ledger- making the rounds of the anti-healthcare-reform blogosphere. Jones, an ER physician University of Mississippi Medical Center.

During my last shift in the ER, I had the pleasure of evaluating a patient with a shiny new gold tooth, multiple elaborate tattoos and a new cellular telephone equipped with her favorite R&B tune for a ring tone.

Glancing over the chart, one could not help noticing her payer status: Medicaid.

She smokes a costly pack of cigarettes every day and, somehow, still has money to buy beer.

And our president expects me to pay for this woman’s health care?

Our nation’s health care crisis is not a shortage of quality hospitals, doctors or nurses. It is a crisis of culture — a culture in which it is perfectly acceptable to spend money on vices while refusing to take care of one’s self or, heaven forbid, purchase health insurance.

Life is really not that hard. Most of us reap what we sow.

Starner Jones, MD

Jackson

He doesn’t mention that the woman actually told him how much she spent on these extravagances, and when. He says the gold was recent, but did he do better than just assume that? Gold crowns generally cost the same or less than porcelain crowns. Maybe someone else insisted on paying for that. At any rate, I doubt seriously that the woman in question was spending $800/month on smokes, beer, ringtones, phone service, and tattoos. She could easily spend much more than that on individual health insurance.

For argument’s sake:

“shiny new gold tooth…”

$500-$1200

“multiple elaborate tattoos…”

What do you mean by “elaborate”? A whole back full of tats might be $1200. I imagine Jones would be shocked by much less: $200-$500.

“a new cellular telephone equipped with her favorite R&B tune for a ring tone”

$0-$100 with an almost any common monthly plan. My wife carries a phone that doubles as an MP3 player. An iPhone 3gs? No. A Sony-Ericsson that cost us $14.99.

I hope this woman read your letter, Dr. Jones. I hope she knows that the physician she trusted in the ER, the previous night, thinks she could afford adequate health care on her own, if not for her profane, debauched, and costly habits. I know enough people that fit your superficial description. I know, too, that many of them were taught to pray that you don’t reap what you’ve sown. The problem with our culture is not that a few people pay too much for crowns and ringtones. The problem is that too many in our society believe they can make judgements about others’ values and spending habits based on a brief encounter in an emergency room.

Dr. Jones’ rant about this woman’s dental work and cell phone have become yet another red herring in the American debate on healthcare. It leads the willing off onto the tangent of “These losers who waste their money on shoes, tattoos, and ringtones are the only ones who want the rest of us to pay for THEIR healthcare.” It leads us away from the fact that our system doesn’t work, isn’t viable, is too costly, isn’t the best in the world, and many among us –not even just the poorest- are not assured access to adequate care within it.

Check out this video. It takes liberties with the terminology, presumably to counter the falsehoods stated. I don’t really know, though, if the creator(s) don’t understand the difference between socialized med and the current plan, or if they’re being ironic.

Watch, though:

What d’ya think? Try to make intelligent comments. I will probably delete any totally ignorant ones.

Cheers!

Yesterday, I learned about the John Halverson Bone Marrow Fund. After contacting the Fund, we agreed to have a bucket for donations, as well as donating 50% of all CD sale proceeds to the Fund, at Saint Charles Coffeehouse, this Saturday’s show.

Halverson is a father of three, living with leukemia. Recently, he’s found a match for a bone marrow transplant. Unfortunately, such procedures are costly, and he doesn’t have health coverage to pay for it. Friends of John founded The John Halverson Bone Marrow Fund to raise funds for the transplant. They will run yard sales, bake sales, and other fundraisers to help the cause.

So, come on up to the free show, and drop what you can in the bucket. Enjoy an evening of Irish music with your friends and community as we rally behind a neighbor.

Benefit for John Halverson Bone Marrow Fund
Saturday, 6 June 2009 8PM-10PM
Live Irish Music
Saint Charles Coffeehouse
3821 McClay Rd
Saint Peters, MO 63376

(636) 922-1566

Google Map

Saint Charles Coffeehouse is a bit less than a mile north of MO-94 on Jungermann, then east on McClay, on the north side of the road.

See you there!

I just ran across this on Myspace. It begins with the horrific story of how Saint Louis musician Dan Hamm lost his leg in a complicated series of vehicle events in January 2009. After losing control of his car in icy conditions, Dan got out of his car to check the damage. As he was stepping out of his car, it was struck by another car. Still okay, he went to look at the damage to his front end. Then, another car rear-ended his, pinning him between the car and a tractor-trailer. In the aftermath, he lost his leg.

Dan, 23 years old, is very active, and enjoys the outdoors. So, he needs to purchase a prosthetic leg capable of handling his activities. He plans to become a physical therapist to help others who face similar circumstances.

Now, Saint Louis band Madahoochi has joined forces with the Saint Louis Hoop Club to help Dan raise $30,000 to buy a prosthetic leg. 31 May 2009 they will host an event at Off Broadway Saint Louis with musicians Vitamin A and DJ Thumpasaurus. Saint Louis Hoop Club will perform, and there will be a pot luck dinner at 6pm. Attendees should bring hula hoops to hoop in the courtyard, and bring musical instruments to jam!

More info at the Madahooping For Hamm Myspace page.

Thanks to the kind people of California, and the protesters from other states who know best the biggest problems of our society, gays can continue to live their unfettered lives, knowing that our government continues to uphold only the ideals of the loudest religious voices. We’re all free to know that freedom means different things to different people.

We can rest assured that marriage is kept out of the reckless hands of gays in lifelong relationships, and held proudly as the privilege and standard for the many God-fearing, heterosexual couples that Sarah Palin’s conservativism upholds. God bless Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston. Long may they…

Source: http://current.com/items/89598104/i_met_the_walrus.htm.

Peace

Come on. Come on. Please, please come down to Saint Louis for the White Album 40th Anniversary Tribute Show at Natural Fact Deli in Webster Groves. My friends Rachel Brandt and Brad Johnson of The Nancy Boys will join me to help perform the entire iconic double album from “Back in the U.S.S.R.” all the way to “Good Night”. It’ll be a Fab night of dedication to Beatlemania. Proceeds from the show benefit LiveFeed, the Saint Louis charity dedicated to ending hunger one show at a time.

Rachel Brandt, whose delicate, bluesy piano and vocals, will take on roughly a third of the classic White Album songs. The next night, she’ll hit the Saint Louis scene for another show –of her own soulful originals- at Cicero’s in University City.

Brad Johnson normally –in a matter of speaking- fronts the Saint Louis rockers The Nancy Boys. You can find them, of course, at many of Saint Louis’ rock and pop haunts. Catch the band delivering their own pensive rock sound at Ten Mile House, on Friday, 21 November.

I, Jonathan Ramsey, contrary to rumours fueled by the media, have not abandoned society to spend the rest of my days with a long beard, dancing with wolves and fairy shoemakers. No. In fact, I can be caught regularly in Saint Louis and the region, peddling Irish folk, post-modern standards, and my own twisted originals. Regulars at Castletown Geoghegan and O’Malley’s Irish Pub know. For this one night, I’ll spread the late-60s counterculture-infused cheer of the Beatles’ White Album (AKA The Beatles The Beatles) with Rachel and Brad.

So, head off to Natural Fact Deli, join the fun, and help feed Saint Louis children. Proceeds will help purchase food for area pantries and kitchens.

Natural Fact Deli
20 Allen Ave
Webster Groves, MO
314-961-2442

Google Map.

If you’re still haven’t voted, and you’re sitting around wasting all your time, reading my stupid blog, get the *$%# off your bed, couch, or bean bag chair, and drag your arse to your polling place. Being an American is hard work, whether you were born here, or are naturalized, but somebody has to do it

Video Source.

Thank you.

If you can read this, thank a teacher.
If you’re reading this in English, thank those selfish emmer-effers that sailed to and overtook your homeland and killed off the younger of the country’s males, degrading your forebears’ language and culture, till there was nothing left.