Some Reads for Wednesday

 Obit:  Former solicitor general and career Clinton persecutor Ted Olson, 84, has reportedly died.   He was involved in the sham Clinton scandals in the 1990s, aided and abetted by his then-wife Barbara.  They were popular on the Georgetown cocktail circuit and right-wing circuit, by 9/11 changed all that.  Barbara died on Flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon that horrible day.  She took an early flight back so she could be home in time for Ted's birthday. 

 

After that, Ted worked low-key.  He helped bring about legalization of same-sex marriage.  He also remarried in 2006, to a woman named Lady Booth, who incidentally was and is a Democrat.

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An honor killing was thwarted last month in Washington state.

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News

Dan Rather lost his case on appeal today.
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Ted Olson, Mr. VRWC himself, goes out on a limb in trying to make a "conservative" case for same-sex marriage.

He and attorney David Boies, both of them the principal lawyers in the case which all but ruined a nation, Bush v. Gore, are trying to overturn Proposition 8 by using the court system and thus invite HUGE backlash from millions of people.
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This kid needed serious counseling instead of surgical mutilation in order to be a "girl," which of course he is not and never will be.

After all, what defines one as male or female isn't about sex roles or wearing clothes but rather about reproduction, regardless of whether one can or wants to have children. "Trans" people are not the opposite sex they covet; they are what they are biologically. These people are basically living out a fantasy which is also a lie.

It's sad, but that's what "transgendered" people are. They are seriously screwed up people. I don't think it is ethical for doctors to perform surgery in order to treat what is in fact a psychological issue.
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A strong earthquake is expected to cause many casualties in Haiti:

"People are out in the streets, crying, screaming, shouting," said Karel Zelenka, director of the Catholic Relief Services office in Haiti. "They see the extent of the damage," he said, but can do little to rescue people trapped under rubble because night has fallen.

"This will be a major, major disaster," Zelenka said.

He reported that poorly constructed shantytowns and other buildings had collapsed in huge clouds of dust. Near the CRS headquarters, a supermarket was "completely razed," he said, and a gasoline station and a church were reduced to rubble. Among the worst-hit areas was the impoverished Carrefour section of Port-au-Prince near the sea, Zelenka said.

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Oldest living Oscar winner Luise Rainer reached a milestone today as she celebrated her 100th birthday.

She won Best Actress awards for The Good Earth (1937) and The Great Ziegfeld (1936).
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There is no way I am going to buy that bullshit book, Game Change.

It appears to be all sensationalism and gossip, and not a lot of it with sources willing to go on the record.

And it is hitting far below the belt to drag the Edwardses through more shit. Leave them alone:

This is the most revealing aspect of this episode. The National Enquirer, Matt Drudge and Politico aren't aberrational extremes in our press corps. As Halperin and Harris correctly noted in calling Washington journalism "The Freak Show," they are at its epicenter, leading the way. The reason there is such a complete merger of interest among low-life tabloids, Matt Drudge, reality shows and the Washington political press corps is precisely because they are indeed indistinguishable -- merged. Even for people who thought that John Edwards' sexual activities were relevant when he was running for President or vying for a high administration position, at this point he is a completely destroyed, discredited non-entity with no political future, and mucking around in the life of him and his wife is pure sleazy voyeurism. Subjecting the Edwards to this sort of vicious, judgmental scrutiny is a cost-free activity, which is why so many are so eager to engage in it.

It tells me far more about the asshole "reporters" than it does about them.

Although Ted Olson

has a hell of a lot to answer for in his taking on a legal case which changed the course of American history and not in a good way and for his activities with the so-called "Arkansas Project," it may not be that surprising he has backed gay rights in his legal attempts to overturn California's Proposition 8.

Apparently Olson hasn't been kneejerk right-wing about gay rights for years. Of course his rabidly reactionary wife Barbara is no longer around, and his current wife, Lady Booth Olson, is very low-key to the point of invisibility.

As We Know,

Ted Olson wasn't going to spend the rest of his life as a professional widower, so, to drown his sorrow, he skedaddled to Kentucky in 2002 to down mint juleps and to watch the Kentucky Derby.

That is where he met the fourth great love of his life, an attorney with the odd name of Lady Booth, no relation to John Wilkes Booth, at least to my knowledge.

It was her first marriage to the hard-bitten and hard-ridden Olson when the two tied the knot last October.

She is obviously a young chick because she was escorted to the altar by her dad:







According to USA People Search, not always a reliable source, she is 46. Olson is 67.

For the record, more pics are here.

As the World Turns.

Fredo ain't going anywhere, and besides, Ted Olson would NEVER win confirmation by the Senate.

Republicans don't want the public to know the full extent of the Clinton witchhunt.
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