July 15

Arianna Stasinopoúlous's Birthday
 
 

What do  Arianna Huffington and Fran Dresher have in common? They both had gay husbands. After her marriage of 21 years ended, Dresher's husband, Peter Marc Jacobson, came out of the closet. Arianna's lasted 11 years before her marriage to former Republican Congressman and failed California senate candidate Michael Huffington ended (Quelle surprise! Another gay Republican in Congress). Republican strategist Ed Rollins who managed Michael Huffington's 1994 campaign for the California Senate) once called Arianna Huffington "a domineering Greek Rasputin" who was "the most ruthless, unscrupulous, and ambitious person I'd met in thirty years in national politics."

While Fran's divorce was so amicable, she turned it into a TV series produced by Jacobson titled  "Happily Divorced," in which she plays a Los Angeles florist who  enters the singles scene after discovering that her husband of 18 years is gay. Arianna's was less amicable and in the 2003 California recall election, Michael Huffington endorsed Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger when Arianna was an opposing candidate. Fran got a TV series out of her experience, Arianna reportedly got a settlement in the seven-figure range.

Arianna was born Arianna Stassinopoulos in Athens, Greece. Her mother was active in the Communist-led Greek resistance movement during World War II. Her journalist father edited the resistance newspaper Paron, and after the war became a publisher. When Arianna was 16 her parents divorced, and she and her younger sister moved with their mother to England where she attended Cambridge University, and studied Keynesian economics.

Arianna eventually became a disciple of the Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, whose cult practiced open sexual intercourse among its members, She began to pursue a career in journalism and subsequently and wrote several articles for National Review. In 1981, a biography of Maria Callas, Maria Callas – The Woman Behind the Legend, and a biography of Pablo Picasso, Picasso: Creator and Destroyer . She was accused of plagiarism for her Callas bio and settled out of court in the low five figures.  She was also accused of plagiarism for her Picasso bio but no lawsuit was filed.

In 1995 Newt Gingrich helped make Arianna a senior fellow at his conservative think tank the Progress and Freedom Foundation, creating its “Center for Effective Compassion” as an advocate volunteerism as an alternative to the welfare state. Her relationship with Gingrich soured and in her 2000 book How To Overthrow the Government, she claims that Gingrich did not care about the poor. On May 9, 2005,  with a large segment of her divorce settlement, she cofounded  the  news website The Huffington Post. a news and blog site that quickly become one of the most widely-read and linked tosites on on the internet.  On February 7, 2011, AOL announced it would acquire The Huffington Post for $315 million and make Huffington president and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post Media Group.

So to celebrate the birthday of someone who successfully applied the principles of Keynesian economics to her own life, we suggest renting a copy of the film EdTV (1999) in which she plays a panel member and make some Soupa Patsas, a popular Greek tripe soup which also has another connotation. according to her critics,.
 

Soupa Patsas
 


 

Ingredients
 
2 lb tripe
8 lamb's feet
1 whole garlic bulb, pealed and chopped fine
coarse salt
 
3 eggs
2 lemons (juice only)
pepper to taste

 
Instructions
 
  1. Clean, scrape, and wash the tripe and feet. Scald in boiling water; cool. Cut the tripe into small' pieces, place in a large pot with the feet, cover with plenty of water; bring to a boil, skimming off the froth as it rises.
  2. Lower the heat. Add the garlic, and cook at a slow boil for 1 to 2 hrs., adding a little coarse salt just before the meat is tender.
  3. Remove the pot from the heat; strain the broth and reserve. Remove and discard the bones from the feet; cut the meat into 3 or 4 pieces; return to the broth.
  4. Beat the eggs very well. Slowly add the lemon juice to them, beating all the while. Add a little hot broth from the pot, stirring constantly, then pour the mixture back into the soup. Add pepper just before serving.

Serves 6-8

© 2011 Gordon Nary and Tyler Stokes