I’ve been watching the train wreck that is the Wisconsin Senate race with growing dismay. I checked the box next to Russ Feingold’s name in the 1992 election, just after I turned 18. He sent me a congratulatory note when I graduated from law school, which surprised and delighted me. And now it looks like he’ll lose to a know-nothing businessman with a lot of money and anger. Unlike a lot of Democrats up for election this year, he hasn’t tried to run away from Democratic accomplishments or give the cold shoulder to the President. It’s just bad luck that his number came up in a year when the economy has turned Wisconsin voters into frightened reactionaries. The Senate can ill afford to lose one its few truly progressive voices, considering that Bernie Sanders isn’t getting any younger.

It’s no secret that Governor Pawlenty isn’t a fan of health care reform. But when his ongoing refusal to even acknowledge the law’s existence starts to piss off the insurance companies, it’s a sign that he may be trying too hard. The federal government asked for states to comment on issues related to setting up the insurance exchanges that are envisioned in the law. Pawlenty wouldn’t allow those comments to be submitted, so the local health plans obtained the letter through a Data Practices Act and submitted it themselves. I have no great love for insurance companies, but at least they understand the need to actively engage in a dialogue with the federal government on the law’s implementation. Meanwhile, Pawlenty is acting like a craven politician who’s terrified that he’ll get a bad case of the pinkos if he even utters the words “Affordable Care Act.” His persistent efforts to will the law into nonexistence bear the rank smell of desperation. What’s more, the ultra-conservative activists that Pawlenty is trying impress with these shenanigans don’t show any signs of returning the love. But that won’t stop our governor from trying even harder to scrub himself clean of socialized medicine’s unAmerican taint.

Several months ago, I wrote about Ari Ne’eman, a young man with autism whose nomination to the National Council on Disability was held up because some advocates didn’t like his views on disability as a societal construct rather than a medical problem. Ne’eman finally won confirmation over the summer and he gave an extensive interview to Wired. He responds to the attacks (some of them pretty vile) that greeted his nomination and discusses the tension between people with autism and the organizations that claim to represent them (a common theme in disability circles). He also demonstrates awareness of his role as a representative for all people with disabilities, as evidenced in this response to one of the interviewer’s more clueless questions:

A 15-year-old Italian boy with Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy is the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart. The device, which is only 4 centimeters long, is expected to extend the boy’s life by another 20-25 years. This is potentially big news for people who need organ transplants but have underlying health conditions that keep them off the the organ transplant lists. Let’s hope that this kid’s heart performs as expected and that artificial organs eventually become viable and affordable options for not just people with disabilities, but everyone.

This map of Europe according to American preconceptions is spot on:

Now how about a map of the U.S. according to European preconceptions? For starters, I’d label the entire East Coast “NEW YORK.” I’d make it a weekend project if I had any competence with graphics software.