Northern Neighbor

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Jan 232006
 

Most Americans probably don’t even know that Canada has an election today, but I’ve been reading with trepidation some of the Canadian news sites over the last few days.  I know I have a few Canadian readers and I have one question for you: WTF?  Are you guys really going to elect a Bush-lite pretty boy as prime minister?  I know the Liberals kind of screwed up and could probably teach our Republicans a thing or two about corruption, but I can’t imagine that Canadians are all that eager to inaugurate a conservative government that seems ready to wage the same culture wars that we’ve been fighting here in the United States.  We American progressives have long looked to Canada as a model for the kind of economic and social policies that we dream about implementing here.  Don’t start letting us down now. 

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Upstairs, Downstairs

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Jan 222006
 

I went to an art exhibit on Friday at Augsburg College.  To access the gallery, I had to take the freight elevator up to the second floor.  In older buildings that were designed with no thought given to the needs of visitors with disabilities, the freight elevator is the de facto structural accommodation.  For me, riding in freight elevators is one of life’s minor annoyances, on the same level as narrow store aisles and snow drifts piled up directly in front of curb cuts.  Freight elevators are dimly lit places that always seem to smell of yeast and mayonnaise.  When I use a freight elevator, I get a vague feeling that I’m trespassing and that sooner or later someone from security will appear to escort me from the premises.  The only good thing about freight elevators is that most of them are pretty spacious, which is more than I can say for the elevators in my building. 
 
I’m not sure what I’d do if I ever got stuck in an elevator.  I’m actually a little surprised that hasn’t happened to me yet.  If it does, let’s hope that the people with whom I’m trapped are at least interesting and somewhat hygienic. 

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Cash Back

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Jan 212006
 

I finished doing my taxes and I’m getting a respectable refund, so now the question is what to do with it.  Some of it will probably go towards debt relief, but one can’t be too responsible.  I’ve been giving some more thought to getting a new LCD monitor and possibly a few other computer components.  A trip to Ikea may also be in order this weekend as there are some minor upgrades I’d like to make to the decor around here.  Or maybe I’ll just bet everything on the Super Bowl.  But that might require me to actually know something about football. 

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Exit Strategy

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Jan 202006
 

Patty Wetterling dropped out of the Minnesota Senate race today, which means that Hennepin County chief prosecutor Amy Klobuchar should now be able to focus on the general election as the presumptive DFL nominee.  I never understood why Wetterling decided to get into the Senate race.  She has a much better shot at Mark Kennedy’s former Congressional seat in the 6th District.  I know that she assured another candidate that she wouldn’t run for that seat,  but I hope she’s reconsidering.  Pushing a progressive agenda at both the state and national level may have to take precedence over someone’s hurt feelings. 

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Taste Test

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Jan 192006
 

I’m trying out a new off-line blog editor: Qumana.  It has a feature that’s supposed make dropping images into posts a cinch.  I haven’t tried that function yet, but it would be nice to lift the occasional graphic from the Web.  I tend to be fussy about my blogging tools, but I’ll try this out for a few days and see if it can replace Zempt, which is reliable but rather bare-bones.
 
The SciFi Channel is going to air the new Doctor Who episodes in March.  I still haven’t watched the episodes that…um…magically appeared on my hard drive, so I’ll probably wait for them to queue up on my TiVo.  But I’d also like to see some of the old episodes again, especially those from the Tom Baker years.  Are those vintage eps still aired in the States? 

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Hometown Flavor

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Jan 182006
 

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to watch a preview copy of Aurora Borealis, a movie written by Minneapolis native Brent Boyd. It’s a thoughtful, bittersweet story about the relationship between a twentysomething slacker and his dying grandfather. The film is set in Minneapolis and it’s also something of a love poem to the city. One scene features the protagonist making a derogatory remark about St. Paul, the city across the river. Most people wouldn’t get the humor, but I laughed and I felt like I was in on the joke. And I’m pretty sure I saw my building in a couple of the exterior shots. It even features Juliette Lewis, who is a total cutie. The film is still looking for a distributor, but it definitely deserves to be seen by more people.

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I’m Not A Doctor, But I Play One At The Justice Department

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Jan 172006
 

The Supreme Court upheld the Oregon Death with Dignity Act today, which should serve as the final word on the statute’s legality. The Court concluded that the Attorney General does not have the authority to define what constitutes an “acceptable medical practice” under the federal Controlled Substances Act. The Court made the right call on this one. If it sided with the government, the AG would have broad authority to determine what practices in which physicians can and cannot engage. For example, the AG could decide that doctors cannot use a certain class of drugs to treat pain. Or the AG could determine that the prescribing a drug for off-label uses is not acceptable.
It’s important to note that both Kennedy and O’Connor sided with the majority. Kennedy seems positioned to assume the role of the Court’s swing vote. That’s why I haven’t gotten too excited about the confirmation of Alito. Under that veneer of inoffensive dullness, Alito is without a doubt a right-wing ideologue. But I’m hopeful that Kennedy will be a moderating influence on the Court, at least until we can get a Democratic president back in office.

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Magic Bullet

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Jan 162006
 

Last week, a Hamline student asked me, “If a pill existed that would make your disability suddenly disappear, would you take it?” I tried to answer honestly and said that I didn’t know. I tend to find such magical thinking not terribly helpful. It’s similar to asking a woman if she would take a pill to become a man. Or, dare I say it, asking a gay man if he would take a pill to become heterosexual. Would the pill really make life better for me, or simply more conventional?
But the student’s question does get me thinking. To what extent does my disability influence my core identity? String theory posits that our universe is but one of many. Suppose there’s a universe just next door with another version of me–a version of me whose DNA is barely distinguishable from my own, with the exception of a slightly different sequence on a certain chromosome. Would that Mark be an attorney or did he go into something else, like sales or medicine or banking? Is he married with kids and living in the suburbs? Is he still a geek or a total jock? Does he have the same temperament or is he kind of a dick? How recognizable would that version of me be to my friends and family in this universe?
These are interesting questions, but it doesn’t change my own narrative. My disability and the rest of “me” are inextricably meshed and intertwined, pushing and pulling on each other in ways I’ll never completely appreciate or understand.

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We’re From The Government And We’re Here To Help

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Jan 152006
 

Minnesota is temporarily funding prescription drug assistance for low-income individuals who are unable to get their drug prescriptions filled because of technical glitches in the implementation of the new Medicare Part D benefit. Other states are resorting to similar measures. It’s troubling that these glitches seem to be affecting the most vulnerable individuals eligible for the program. In a post-Katrina environment, the federal government needs to demonstrate that it can respond to this problem quickly and effectively. Unfortunately, neither adjective seems to apply to its efforts thus far.

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