As if it isn’t bad enough for Eliot Spitzer’s wife that the whole country knows her husband cheated on her with high-paid prostitutes, the L.A. Times piles on with a front-page article about whether she was right to appear on stage with him when he made his speech.

First of all, I think it’s incredibly presumptuous for people to declare how they would act in that situation. Hardly anyone in the country, except Hillary Clinton, has been in such a public and awful situation. She has been married to the man for twenty-one years. What right does anyone have to judge her? How can anyone know they would behave? They have three teenaged daughters. Maybe she doesn’t want them to have to deal with the whole country talking about why she wasn’t at the podium with their dad, or why she didn’t hold their dad’s hand.

The kicker comes at the end of the article, which quotes a feminist claiming that Spitzer’s wife is really upset because she gave up her career:

Feminist writer Linda R. Hirshman has written harshly about “opt-out women,” her term for well-educated, successful professionals who quit jobs to advance their husbands’ careers. To her, that’s a risky and degrading choice.

“These women always look like deer caught in the headlights,” Hirshman said. “They were dependent on men to be their booster rockets, and now you see them starting on a downward trajectory.”

Just look, she said, at the pain on Silda Wall Spitzer’s face.

Yeah, just look at the pain on her face. The whole country knows her husband of 21 years cheated on her. Maybe the pain on her face has something to do with that, feminist writer Linda R. Hirshman, and not about your pet theories.

Boy, the L.A. Times must really be desperate to sell papers. They should be ashamed of themselves for publishing this story, on the front page no less.

Screengrab under the fold.

(more…)

[Guest post by DRJ]

Saul Espinoza has made a career of claiming he’s an illegal immigrant:

“A man who posed as an illegal immigrant to dodge his criminal past reportedly was released from immigration custody this week as authorities review claims he is a U.S. citizen.

The San Antonio Express News reported that Saul Espinoza, 36, was detained for nearly two months in San Antonio before being released Monday night. The paper reported that he was allowed to join his family in Boerne pending a final decision in his case.

“I can’t believe it,” he said. “I’m going to go to church, stay out of trouble, get a job and rebuild my life.”

Immigration officials still haven’t recognized him as a U.S. citizen and are reviewing his case. Espinoza told the newspaper he duped authorities for years and avoided criminal charges by telling officials he was Joel Garza, an illegal immigrant from Mexico. Espinoza has been arrested several times for theft and drug charges.

His attorney told the Express-News the father of five was actually born in Brownsville and has the school records, baptismal certificate, and U.S. birth certificate to prove it.

On several occasions, he gave authorities an alias and told them he was a Mexican national. After being deported or voluntarily returning south of the border, he simply headed north and claimed U.S. citizenship.“

This is the rare case in which I might be in favor of deporting an American citizen.

— DRJ

“You know, I don’t believe you should judge a man by the worst day in his life.”

More gold:

Ten years ago, we filmed Ruby and OJ walking on Venice Beach. Before long, we were surrounded by a large, but good-humoured crowd. A man came out of the sea of faces to approach OJ, with his arm outstretched. “I’ve wanted to do this for a long time,” he said, as he shook Simpson’s hand. “No sweat, buddy,” said OJ, smiling warmly, “Do you want an autograph?” “No, thanks,” said the man, “I just want to be able to say that I’ve shaken hands with a murderer.” The smile froze on OJ’s face before he walked away.

That guy is my hero.

At this point, we were joined by a young woman called Christie Prody. She was leggy and blonde. OJ took me to one side. “I don’t want her in the film,” he said. “She’s not my girlfriend.” Later, I spoke to Christie.

“Are you going out with OJ?”

“Sure.”

“He says you’re not his girlfriend.”

“Oh, that’s just OJ.”

I asked Mike Gilbert to clarify. “He’s going out with her. But she’s not his girlfriend.”

“She looks a lot like Nicole.” [She actually does. — Patterico]

“Yeah — well, I guess that’s his type.”

In more ways than one, unfortunately:

This February, Christie Prody was hospitalised with extensive bruising and bleeding in her brain. She appeared to have been badly beaten. According to OJ, she had fallen down the stairs while drunk. According to the hospital, there was no alcohol in her bloodstream. Perhaps she is now entitled to call herself OJ’s girlfriend.

Read it all.

[Guest post by DRJ]

“Kristen” has come forward to speak with the New York Times:

“She left a broken home on the Jersey Shore at 17 and came to New York City to work the nightclubs as a rhythm and blues singer. Now, at 22, she is the unwitting, and as yet unseen, star of the seamy drama that is the downfall of Gov. Eliot Spitzer of New York.

Kristen, described in a federal affidavit as having a Feb. 13 rendezvous with Mr. Spitzer at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, has spent the last few days in her ninth-floor rental in an upscale apartment building in the Flatiron district. On Monday, she made a brief appearance in federal court as a witness in the case against four people charged with operating the prostitution ring, Emperor’s Club V.I.P. In a series of telephone interviews on Tuesday night, she said she had slept very little over the past week due to the stress from the case.

“I just don’t want to be thought of as a monster,” the woman said as she told the tiniest tidbits of her story.”

The article continues with several references to Kristen’s MySpace page and her keen interest in music. It also suggests she was the victim of abuse earlier in her life. This sounds like the classic portrait of a girl that might end up in this situation. At the end of the article, Kristen’s mother described her as a “very bright girl” but she wasn’t sure Kristen realized who Spitzer was when he was her client.

However, Kristen’s quote that she doesn’t want to be considered a monster is what most caught my eye. Of all the things I thought about this episode, I never thought of Kristen as a monster. I’m not sure why she thinks this. My best guess is that she fears Democrats may compare her to Monica Lewinsky and blame her for bringing down one of their political stars.

There are photos at the link.

— DRJ

UPDATE BY PATTERICO: Here is the MySpace page.

[posted by Justin Levine]

I remain convinced that the U.S. Patent Bar remains one of the most corrupt anti-market, freedom-suffocating institutions of our legal system. This development only confirms my beliefs.

A perfect storm for my regular topics of outrage: A blogger publicly calls out a patent troll and ends up getting sued for defamation in order to try to shut him up since the troll knows that he can’t actually rely on patent laws to help him with his delusional claims.

— Justin Levine

Posted by WLS

From this Thomas Edsall piece, we get the following great line courtesy of Alex Castellanos, who was a senior media consultant in both of George W. Bush’s campaigns and in Mitt Romney’s failed bid for the nomination:

Obama is the hope and future of the Democratic Party, not Hillary, and everyone knows it. He is the one bringing new energy and voters. He could be a Democratic Reagan, invigorating the party for 25 years. If the Clinton people knee-cap Obama, it would be like killing Santa Claus Xmas morning in front of the children. The children won’t forget or forgive.”

 One of the better chuckles I’ve had recently in political prognostications.

[Guest post by DRJ]

The law says you have an expectation of privacy in some places/situations. In Oklahoma, at least for now, that doesn’t include under your clothes in a public place:

“A man accused of using a camera to take pictures under the skirt of an unsuspecting 16-year-old girl at a Tulsa store did not commit a crime, a state appeals court has ruled.

The state Court of Criminal Appeals voted 4-1 in favor of Riccardo Gino Ferrante, who was arrested in 2006 for situating a camera underneath the girl’s skirt at a Target store and taking photographs.

Ferrante, now 34, was charged under a “Peeping Tom” statute that requires the victim to be “in a place where there is a right to a reasonable expectation of privacy.” Testimony indicated he followed the girl, knelt down behind her and placed the camera under her skirt.”

In general, as this law review article explains, traditional criminal and civil laws do not recognize that an individual can have an expectation of privacy in a public place. That theory, along with an analysis of the relevant statute(s), was the basis for the court’s decision. The court noted it is up to the legislature and not the courts to criminalize specific behavior.

Defense counsel, obviously, agreed:

“Ferrante’s attorney, Kevin Adams, said Tuesday that Gillert “made the right decision” and that “it is really up to the Legislature to make this against the law if they want to do so.

“I think it is a scenario where the law has not caught up with technology,” Adams said.”

I’m sure the Oklahoma legislature will catch up soon.

— DRJ

The AP:

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) A top state official says New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer will resign effective Monday after being linked to a prostitution ring.

UPDATE: I’m unable to keep updating on this story throughout the morning, as I’m off to work, so I suggest you follow the updating machine: Allah. He is currently saying that CNBC has the same story. CNBC says the resignation will happen today at 11 a.m. Eastern. It’s to become effective Monday.

UPDATE x2: The AP has more detail here. They say the resignation will occur at 11:30.

UPDATE x3: He resigned. Allah has video.

Via Hot Air, Newsday.com reports:

Lawyers for Gov. Eliot Spitzer are negotiating a possible plea deal with federal prosectuors stemming from his alleged involvement with a prostitution ring, sources said.

Several sources said that the one serious bargaining chip that Spitzer has to possibly avoid being charged with a serious felony, such as money laundering or avoiding federal currency rules, is to work out a deal in which he would give up the governorship. In return, prosecutors would assure him that he only would have to plead at most to a misdemeanor or even less and be in effect guaranteed that he would not have to go to prison.

This sounds improper to me. Dealing away a felony in return for having an elected official resign from his position?

I don’t believe it.

So far, the nutroots reaction has been idiotic and easily rebutted. This, if true, would give them something genuine to grouse about.

But I don’t think it’s true. I think the leakers are saying this to try to stir up sentiment against DoJ.

Prosecutors know that if Spitzer is to resign, it must be for his own reasons — such as, he can’t be effective because the allegations that this has been going on for six years cement his reputation as a laughingstock.

DoJ knows better than to make a resignation a condition of a criminal plea.

At least, I hope so.

P.S. Contest for you. This video (also via Hot Air) leaves off the name of the last hallway in that school — the one past Responsibility Road. What is the name of the hallway at the end? Is he headed down Dumbass Drive towards Hooker Highway?

Funniest answer gets a virtual pat on the head.