Ok, so I was raised with this whole thing we guard our politics like our secret shame(and given that I was raised as the pinkest pinko in Pinkonia in a state famous for bursting Goldwater love, maybe it was), but I've loved this statement of Obama's on disability since I saw it on Livejournal.

The link includes an editorial written by Barak Obama published on July 26th, the 18th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Obama recounts the experience of his wife's father who had MS, the challenges it posed to the family and his determination to continue working and providing for his family.

Tropic Thunder hasn't even hit the big screen yet but is causing a lot of controversy, especially among organizations representing people with intellectual disabilities. The film, which premiers on Wednesday, August 13, features a cast of well known Hollywood celebrities including Matthew McConaughey, Steve Coogan, Nick Nolte, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr. and Ben Stiller.

Maybe we'd all have remembered Danieal Kelly if she'd managed to compete in a few beauty pageants like Jon-Benet.

Jean- Dominque Bauby had everything, an exciting job as a fashion-magazine editor, children, a wife and mistress, before he had a stroke out in the French countryside and developed "locked-in syndrome" in which a person can sense and understand what goes on around him, but can only move very limited parts of his body. In Bauby's case, he dictated his whole autobiography using a system connected to blinks of his left eyelid.

In her novel The Last Hollywood Romance television comedy writing veteran Beverly Bloomberg writes an entertaining tale about life behind the scenes at a mediocre sitcom. It's witty and funny and something of a must-read, if, like me, you've ever pictured yourself writing for television. The reason I mention it on Disability Nation is the character of CP wunderkind producer Mike Lanetti, who uses his spastic appearance to keep the writing staff on "Life With Lucky" completely off-balance. They worry about crossing him because he's had to "overcome so much" in his path through the ranks of television comedy to getting pictures and phone calls from Madonna.

While the following press release comes from the National Federation of the Blind mentioning testimony to be given at a House Subcommittee hearing on Wednesday, the American Council of the Blind will also be presenting an alternative point of view.

The NFB continues to fight against the will of the courts and that of many blind Americans in their efforts to resist modification or changes to currency which would make it more accessible. The press release from the NFB follows:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

I must confess that until just yesterday I had never heard of Randy Pauch. Randy died on Friday of terminal cancer. In September 2007 he delivered his "Last Lecture" speech and subsequently drew the attention of millions. I think all of us can draw some life lessons and yes, even inspiration from this lecture. If you've not had a chance to view it click the video at the right.

I don't know if Jeff Lewisthinks of his OCD as a disability.

I think, if I were in his place, I might, as it affects everything about his life, from the way he eats lunch, to fueling his single-minded obsession with making his flipped properties perfect.

It's not like Lewis could really pass as a role model, or a crip crusader of any stripe. He indulges in too many petty and petulant outbursts on his hapless staff for that.

I swear, however, that it's not just schadenfreude that makes me watch "Flipping Out".(Ok, sometimes. Sometimes Jeff being awful and rude is more entertaining than I'd like to admit, especially as a formerly-confirmed reality- hater.)

Want the latest disability news without the commentary? Now you can see what's happening at a glance thanks to Twitter and DisabilityNation. DN now offers a service on Twitter featuring nothing but the latest headlines and links to stories from leading newspapers, magazines and publications from across the country and around the world. Visit the DN site and look at the box on the right side of the page to see the latest headlines or, if you have a Twitter account, you can follow DisabilityNation.

I don't know why they don't get better writing for health sites. Surely in the midst of all the pain and insecurity that comes along with searching the internet looking for information about a new condition, some wit or humor would not be amiss.
But I wouldn't pick on them. I'm sure most of the contributors are just trying to pass on some things they've learned while living with their disorders, in this case, multiple sclerosis.

From the AP, CNN and others: A hearing-impaired woman has filed a federal lawsuit against a Nebraska McDonald's, saying workers there refused to let her order food at the drive-thru window. Karen Tumeh of Lincoln says they insisted she either order at the electronic speaker along the drive-thru lane or come inside to order. Tumeh wears a hearing aid but still cannot hear while using the drive-thru ordering box at fast-food restaurants, according to the lawsuit.

Green, 49, had been sitting in a waiting room at the city-owned Kings County Hospital Center for nearly 24 hours when she collapsed from her chair and slowly died on June 19.

If you had any doubt about how Americans perceive disability the results of a recent survey conducted by Disaboom should be enlightening. The survey found that 52 percent of Americans would rather die than live with a severe disability. Disaboom, an online community for people with disabilities, says it announced the shocking results in an effort to educate people about why this viewpoint is so tragic.

When I heard that my online friend and force of nature Deborah Grabien was starting on another series of novels(her previous books being the "Haunted Ballad" series,among others, which is good, creepy stuff but not as related to disability culture as the new one.) I figured that one day I might end up writing about it, but it was fortunate for me that the release of the first book coincided with my desire to produce more challenging material for th