Here’s a recent quote from a Virginia state legislator named Bob Marshall:

The number of children who are born subsequent to a first abortion with handicaps has increased dramatically. Why? Because when you abort the first born of any, nature takes its vengeance on the subsequent children. In the Old Testament, the first born of every being, animal and man, was dedicated to the Lord. There’s a special punishment Christians would suggest.

It goes without saying that this guy’s a Republican. And in a few sentences, he illustrated why the disability community has so few allies in the G.O.P.

Thanks to Andrew Sullivan for the tip.

Up in the Air is, on its surface, about a man who makes his living wreaking havoc on other people’s lives while keeping himself at a safe distance from any real human connection. But it’s also about how difficult it really is to escape the consequences of our actions. Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) is a corporate assassin hired by companies to inform employees that they have been terminated. Ryan delivers this news to dozens of people each day and then catches a plane to the next city on his itinerary where he does the same thing all over again. He performs his duties with cool and competent professionalism, never taking offense at the insults hurled at him or empathizing with his victims’ pain. He is most at home in the airports of America and his motivating goal is to amass 10 miillion frequent flyer miles.

Of course, events transpire to cause him to second-guess the nature of his efficient but lonely life. His company hires an ambitious young employee who wants to drastically reduce the amount of time employees spend on the road and instead fire people via web conference; a plan that Ryan loathes. He also meets a fellow road warrior (the absolutely beautiful Vera Farmiga) with whom he initiates a casual affair that, much to his surprise, he wants to pursue as a real relationship.

The recession serves as the film’s backdrop, with Ryan as its emissary. He doesn’t spend too much thinking about the consequences facing the people he fires. All the time he spends in airplanes is an apt metaphor for his aloofness from other people. If you expect Ryan to be completely transformed by the end of the movie, you’ll be disappointed. And that’s what makes the movie so great. Ryan discovers that it can get pretty lonely up in the clouds, but life here on earth can be unpredictable and with no clear destination.

The Daily Mail points to a scientific study that I can only interpret as good news:

Most women claim to be attracted to tall, dark and handsome men, but a new study has revealed that facial stubble and a geeky personality are their biggest secret turn-ons.

I will spend the weekend not shaving, but I’m pretty sure I’ve got the “geeky” thing covered. Stay tuned to find out whether I can independently verify this study’s findings.

A few months ago, I posted about Rom Houben, the Belgian man who attracted media attention for allegedly being misdiagnosed as being in a vegetative state. Using a method known as facilitated communication, Houben seemed to offer vivid descriptions of his years spent conscious without being able to communicate with anyone. His medical staff is now reporting that he may not have been communicating his own thoughts. Further tests showed that Houben was unable to identify simple objects that were shown to him while his facilitated communicator was in another room.

It’s probably discouraging news for his family. The story of someone maintaining his mind and sense of self despite a severe brain injury is something we’d all like to believe. That’s not to say that this man isn’t conscious, but “conscious” can mean a lot of things. Perhaps he has some awareness of his surroundings but doesn’t possess the ability to articulate anything. Or maybe he inhabits a mental state that we can’t begin to understand or imagine.

Governor Pawlenty released his proposed supplemental budget to address Minnesota’s $1.5 billion deficit for the current year. It’s pretty grim reading from a health and human services perspective. MinnesotaCare, the state health care program for the working poor, would no longer be available to single adults. Services for people with mental illness would be reduced. Payments to nursing homes would be cut.

Of course, these are initial proposals and the Democratic majority in the legislature will present their own proposals in the coming weeks. It’s doubtful that anyone will utter the phrase “tax increase” this year. Pawlenty is burnishing his fiscal conservative credentials and state Democrats are hyper-aware of the hostile political environment. As a result, any long-term solution to the state’s financial woes will be off the table and it will be déjá vu all over again next year when we confront a much bigger deficit. We’ve had budget shortfalls for most of the past decade and that seems likely to continue well into the new decade.