Jane Pauley Sues New York Times

Wall Street Journal reports that TV's Pauley Sues New York Times, ostensibly, for abuse of her digital identity in the form or pictures taken under quite different pretenses -- an apparently increasing practice. This article also does a good job of parenthetically reinforcing destructive 1950's style stereotypes of bipolar disorder; casting ever-so-subtle doubt upon the veracity of Pauley's claims, due to the fact that she came out of the closet in 2004. The odds are very high that the most charismatic, focused, productive, and articulate few people you yourself know exist within the bipolar spectrum. Far from a liability, mild to moderate bipolar conditions are extraordinarily well suited to insanely long work hours and extraordinarily high productivity. That's one big reason for all the "hush-hush" about it.

It would not surprise me in the least to discover that there are more bipolar investment bankers than in almost any other trade. So, when you think bipolar, don't think "mentally ill" first; think "kicks my ass on the tennis court every week" and "kicks my ass in sales numbers every month."

That's what makes you, the underachiever, the "healthy" one and them the "sick" one, so there's nothing to fear from those deranged manic depressives. Besides, it's pretty convenient to have a condition that effectively reveals your own incompetence categorized as a mental illness, isn't it?

In case you don't recall, in 1950 gay people were officially "mentally ill" too. History clearly suggests that the idea of mental illness itself is a bipolar social construct, vacillating between 70% social construct and 30% biochemistry or 30% social construct and 70% biochemistry. Better visibility into brain chemistry and operations are helping to correct that, but just ask any Irish American, African American, Japanese American, or heaven forbid, Persian American -- old (and not so old) prejudices die hard.