and Xrlq, sorry, but there was also a bit in the cartoon, or another one like it, about 9/11 widow meets 9/11 widower and a prenup … blah blah.

Right, that was the last panel of this cartoon. However, it was presented as a prediction of the future, not of what any of the “terror widows” (not -ers) had done up to that point. As an added bonus, the strip is devoid of any references whatever to Ted Olson, or to anyone else you or I had heard of prior to 9-11. Rall’s just bringing him up now to score some sympathy with Democrat partisans who are still made at Olson for helping Bush steal the election in ‘00.

And Pat, Xrlq’s right, you’re reeeeaaally reaching when you go from “she wrote this bit and knew it would be controversial” to “she’s using it to make money out of 9/11.”

Of course, Patterico will say she must be lying about that, since the reception she’s got from the media (not to mention Patterico himself, though for some reason he didn’t come up in the interview) for everything else she’s written over the years has been sweetness and light. But of course Ted Rall isn’t lying now, when he claims his infamous cartoon was about “media figures” like Ted “Olsen,” despite all examples from the original strip being female, and none dropping any hints of having any fame prior to 9/11.

Oooh, this logic thing is fun after all!

Well, then, that proves she’s not profiting off this controversy arising out of 9/11!

Funny, I thought her spewing outrageous comments relating to 9/11 was designed to sell more books, making her more money. But since her book isn’t about 9/11, we can pretend that’s not the case.

Coulter’s actions in ginning up a controversy over this — how is that anything but shamelessly profiting from the 9-11 tragedy?

The book isn’t about 9-11. While I’ve not read it yet, I can just about guarantee that the bit about the Jersey Girls was far from the only “I can’t believe she said that” zinger that had the potential to spark a controversy like the present one. While it’s reasonable to assume she knew there’d be some sort of controversy following the book, it’s not reasonable to assume that she knew it would center around the Jersey Girls in particular, or even 9/11 in general.

But I guarantee (almost) every one of them would give up the millions, and yes, even give up the soapbox — just to have their loved one(s) back. Not *everyone*, of course; some people don’t love their spouses much. But almost all of them. I bet (despite the darker suspicions of many of my more cold-hearted commenters) that this observation is even true of the Jersey Girls!

Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. Like you, I don’t doubt for a minute that almost all families of 9-11 victims would gladly give up everything to have their loved ones back. I also don’t doubt, however, that almost all families of 9-11 victims have exhibited a hell of a lot more class than the Jersey Girls have. Are we talking about the same “almost?” I don’t know!