Here’s how the AP began its story about today’s House vote to expand federal hate crimes legislation:

The House voted Thursday to expand federal hate crime categories to include violent attacks against gays and people targeted because of gender, acting just hours after the White House threatened a veto.

The New York Times:

The House of Representatives voted today to extend “hate crime” protection to people who are victimized because of their sexuality. But the most immediate effect of the bill may be to set up another veto showdown between Democrats and President Bush.

The Los Angeles Times gets it right:

The House, defying a fresh veto threat, passed legislation today to expand the federal hate-crime law to include violent acts motivated by a victim’s sexual orientation, gender or disability.

I have a feeling the disability component of the bill was overlooked or buried by most news outlets because it isn’t provoking nearly as much overheated rhetoric from social conservatives as the provision regarding sexual orientation. Here’s an  illustrative quote from Concerned Women for America:

Perhaps most frightening is the fact that liberal legislators have refused any amendment which would substantively protect religious expression in association with this legislation. Similar laws have been used around the world — and right here at home — to silence opposition to the homosexual lifestyle. That refusal speaks volumes about the true agenda behind this legislation, which is to grant official government recognition to both homosexual and cross-dressing behaviors, and to silence opposition to those behaviors.

It seems to escape much of the radical right that the bill kicks in after a crime has been committed and the last time I checked, being a homophobic crank isn’t a crime. But I digress.

According to 2005 numbers from the FBI, 53 hate crimes were motivated by disability bias. A small number, to be sure. Nevertheless, the inclusion of disability in the House bill is significant because it acknowledges the persistent stigma and prejudice that can and does motivate violence against people with disabilities act. I’m also willing to bet that the number of violent incidents motivated by disability bias is substantially underreported.

Conservatives like to argue that all crimes of the same class should be treated equally. But they overlook the fact that our criminal judicial system does make distinctions based on things like intent and the status of the victim. Hate crimes legislation will probably not prevent these violent acts, but until we can learn to play nice together (or at least learn to assault and kill each other for purely personal reasons), these crimes deserve a forceful response from the state.

If you live in the northern latitudes, there’s something special about the arrival of May 1st. It serves as a portent of summer and a farewell to the dreary late winter and early spring that we typically experience in the Midwest. On May 1st, you can be reasonably certain–though not guaranteed–that you won’t see another snowflake for at least five or six months. Human bodies begin to shed their heavy sweaters and utilitarian parkas for more stylish and revealing wardrobes. The first of May brings birdsong and sunburns and sweat and trips to the Dairy Queen and the smell of cut grass and the countless other things we’ve been pining for since October.

Of course, May 1st also May Day and National Love Day (if you’re in the Czech Republic and a romantic) and Law Day (if you’re in the United States and nostalgic). But for me, the arrival of a month that doesn’t contain the letter “r” just makes me happy.

After poking good-natured fun at the conventions of zombie films, the creators of Shaun of the Dead have targeted the action/buddy cop genre for their next cinematic deconstruction. The story follows an ace London cop who is transferred to a sleepy English village because his superiors fear that he’s making the rest of the force look bad. Naturally, a series of grisly murders commences soon after he arrives. Many of the genre’s staples are sent up here, including its penchant for hyperkinetic editing, the cheesy acrobatics of chase scenes, and the climactic gun battle (although I’m not sure if the creators intended their gun battle to seem as bloated and drawn out as those in the films they are mocking).

I still prefer the more arch humor of Shaun, but Hot Fuzz is a fine spoof and I’d love to see what they would do with a science fiction motif. In the meantime, I have a sudden hankering to add Point Break to my Netflix queue.

Roger Ebert, the film critic who transformed the lowly thumb into a pop culture icon, is recovering from cancer of the salivary gland.
He has had several surgeries, including a tracheotomy, and still bears many visible signs of his recent illness. Many of his friends have advised him to stay away from an upcoming film festival because his unusual appearance might be become fodder for the gossip rags. Here’s what he wrote in response:

Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn. As a journalist I can take it as well as dish it out. So let’s talk turkey. What will I look like? To paraphrase a line from “Raging Bull,” I ain’t a pretty boy no more.

Hell, he should have me accompany him. Next to my rather unconventional looks, he’ll seem rather ordinary in comparison. I have Ebert beat both in terms of artificial bodily orifices and physical deformities, not to mention my assorted accoutrements like my wheelchair and vent. I’ll happily vamp for the paparazzi while he sneaks into the festival relatively unnoticed.

I just have one question. Will Jessica Biel be there? I’ll totally cover my own expenses if Ebert can score me some face time with her.

I received some sad news today. Doug Friauf, a colleague of mine in the disability community, passed away this morning from complications related to pneumonia. Doug was a fellow geek and I admired his soft-spoken articulateness on matters of access and equality. He had been struggling with some health issues, but I saw him at a committee meeting not too long ago and he seemed to be doing reasonably well. Goodbye, Doug. I wish I had known you better.