Sonia Sotomayor is disabled, you guys

Well this is a new one. A White House infographic suggests that Sonia Sotomayor is the first disabled justice to win a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court:

I was surprised to learn that one of Obama’s Supreme Court nominees was the first ever with a disability to win confirmation. I had no idea. But Google, as always, is my friend, and after first coming up dry on Elena Kagan, I discovered that Sonia Sotomayor has diabetes.

Did I already know this? Maybe. My memory is so bad that I couldn’t tell you whether I once knew this and have forgotten, or whether I had never heard this before. In any case, I guess I’ve added two new bits of knowledge to my brain pan today: (1) Sonia Sotomayor has diabetes, and (2) diabetes is considered a disability. Live and learn.

Oh, White House. Even Mother Jones über-lefty Kevin Drum thinks you’re reaching.

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Jon Gabriel would like to offer a clarification:

Ahem, you mean WISE Disabled Justice. RT @kdrum: Sonia Sotomayor is our Country's First Disabled Supreme Court Justice is.gd/czWSfg—
Jon Gabriel (@ExJon) April 09, 2012

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