MAPs, Louise, Ramon & John

From a nypost.com article by Ian Oxnevad, edited by yours truly: a professor of “sociology and criminology asserted the need to destigmatize pedophiles by redefining them as ‘minor-attracted persons’ (MAPs).” It brings to mind the late Senator Daniel Moynihan’s phrase, for which he was severely criticized: “Defining deviancy down.” Unimaginable a while ago, it is how society has been trending for decades. I once quipped that NAMBLA would one day be mainstream.

I haven’t mentioned Combat! in a while. Heroes & Icons, channel 9–4 on OTA in NYC, is now running back to back episodes on Saturday beginning at ten PM. Last night’s second is especially notable for its guest stars, Hollywood legends Louise Rainer and Ramon Novarro, who play a French couple living on an estate occupied by Nazi officers. Finest Hour, season four, episode 15, first ran in December 1965. It was the last of Don Tait’s five scripts for the series. Born in Canada, he went on to do the screenplays for The Shaggy D.A. (1976) and similar fare, 35 titles under his name at IMDb, including multiple scripts for popular prime time shows. His is still living, 101 years old… This was the 15th and last episode directed by Sutton Roley, who worked almost exclusively on the small screen. There are 65 titles under his name, including multiple episodes of fare such as Lost in Space, Mission: Impossible and Mannix. He passed away at 84 in 2007… Born in Germany, successful on the stage, Rainer fled her homeland when Hitler rose to power. She was the first actress to win two Oscars and the first to win back to back: The Great Ziegfeld (1936) and The Good Earth (1937). Curiously, her career nose-dived, only 26 titles under her name. She passed away at 104 in 2014… Born in Mexico, Ramon Novarro’s family moved to California, refugees from the revolution. His career spanned 1915-’68. He was a big star during the silent era, buoyed by his work in The Prisoner of Zenda (1922) and his star turn in Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925). There are 63 titles under his name. Tragically, he was beaten to death at home in 1968 by two would-be thieves who mistakenly believed he had tons of cash on hand. He was 69… Here are the Tinseltown royals in character:

Amusing headline from foxnews.com: “Popular Supreme Court a threat to democracy? Liberals panic over latest poll.” According to the accompanying article by Jonathan Turley, leftists are irate that Chief Justice John Roberts’ approval rating is 60%, considerably higher than that of Dem politicians. How ironic, given that many conservatives consider Roberts a disappointment.

My thanks to the gentleman who bought two kids books, and to the young man who purchased The Sicilian by Mario Puzo, and a video game and four CDs in Russian; and to the elderly gent who donated a bag of Russian titles; and to Mother Nature for holding back the rain.

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