I’m going about this all wrong. I’ve been watching the media’s adoring coverage of Diablo Cody, the former Minneapolis blogger and stripper who landed a book deal and then wrote the screenplay for the buzzworthy indie movie Juno, and I’ve concluded that no literary agent is going to be interested in a blogger whose preferred topics are health care reform and fishnet stockings. What I need is a compelling personal narrative; something with more pizazz than “attorney/government bureaucrat”. Maybe I should put an ad on Craigslist advertising my services as an exotic performer. Which means I need to change my name. Something that rolls off the tongue and carries a certain sense of menace. Got it: Twitch McGimpy. I’ll start blogging about my experiences performing at bachelorette parties and offering witty insights on the topics of human frailty, lust, and my frequent sexual encounters with bored suburban housewives.

It occurs to me that I have absolutely no right to make fun of Ms. Cody. She’s out in Hollywood, living the dream, while I’m sitting here in my condo trying to decide what I’ll watch on my TiVo.

If you’re deaf and have been considering the iPhone, but you don’t want to pay for voice minutes that you’ll never use, there’s good news. AT&T will soon be offering a data-only plan for deaf and hearing-impaired customers. I know the Sidekick is popular within the deaf community, but the iPhone seems to offer the same capabilities in a smaller and sleeker package. And kudos to AT&T for targeting the specific needs of the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. If only other corporations would get on board the clue train. It boggles the mind that the movies and TV shows available on Apple’s iTunes Store still don’t include closed captioning.

AT&T: Trying to make up for narcing on its customers at the behest of the Bush Administration.

I received a phone call from a single mom with cerebral palsy who was desperately searching for an attorney to represent her in a child custody hearing. Someone gave her my name and she was hoping that I could direct her to someone who could help her. I gave her a couple phone numbers, but unfortunately, I don’t think I was of much help. I also recently spoke with a friend with a disability who may be a father (the circumstances are complicated) and is concerned that the mother’s parents may prevent him from having contact with the child. These two separate events have gotten me thinking about the challenges facing parents with disabilities. In most cultures, disability is equated with an inability to care for oneself. The notion that someone with a disability could care for a child is one that does not compute for society at large. Of course, many parents with disabilities can and do raise happy, well-adjusted kids. But the legal profession seems poorly equipped to advocate for these parents when they need it.

I meant to point this out a few weeks ago: Forbes ranked Minneapolis as the most affordable place to live well. This should help assuage Minneapolis’ chronic inferiority complex when it comes to competing with other metropolitan areas, particularly Chicago. Here, it’s possible to live downtown without earning a six-figure salary. And our music and theater scenes rival anything west of NYC.

We have a saying around here that people who leave the Twin Cities for other parts of the country eventually find their way back. We know why that is, but now so do the rest of you.

Among the countries of the developed world, the U.S. is the only one that treats health care like a commodity rather than a social service. Commodities that can be bought, sold, and financed like any other consumer debt. BusinessWeek offers an extensive look at the growing practice of hospitals and clinics transferring outstanding medical bills to private corporations that charge interest at rates as high as twenty-six percent. Of course, the reason that these are outstanding debts in the first place is that these individuals don’t have health insurance and don’t have the cash on hand to pay their medical bills. These credit companies push these poor people even further into a financial hole by charging interest they really can’t afford to pay.

Is it me, or does it seem really fucked up to use the same financing scheme for both the purchase of a flat-screen TV and a three-day stay in the hospital for a burst appendix? Sometimes, I get the sinking feeling that the only thing we Americans know how to do really well anymore is make a quick buck off other people’s misery.

Thanks to Paul Krugman for the tip.