When reason becomes useless

     OK, on Saturday, OC Weekly’s Michelle Woo posted about how only one guy showed up for the new Sarah Palin film being shown at The Block in Orange (Sarah Palin Movie Debuts in OC to an Audience of . . . One Lone Atlantic Reporter):

     While in town visiting his parents, Atlantic editor Conor Friedersdorf decided to work some reporting into his trip by checking out last night's premiere of The Undefeated, aka the Sarah Palin documentary, and interviewing the folks who made their way out to the late-night showing. AMC at The Block in Orange is one of only 10 theaters in the country rolling out the film. He figured there'd be a huge turnout in a county where "even Richard Nixon's association with this place is treated as a point of pride."
     What he came back with was a sad yet hilarious account of being the only one in the theater.

     OK, good. That made me smile.
     But what do I find in today’s OC Register? Why, it’s this:

Distributor: Strong opening for Palin film in Orange (Frank Shyong)

     Sarah Palin's documentary "The Undefeated" grossed just $68,000 nationwide on its opening weekend, but the film's debut in Orange was met with enthusiasm and strong numbers.

     Huh? Reporter Shyong was working with factoids provided by the film’s distributor:

     According to a news release from the film's distributor, ARC Entertainment, "The Undefeated" earned a per screen average of more than $11,000 on its opening weekend at the AMC 30 at the Block.
     The news release called the opening "stronger than expected." The film debuted at just 10 theatres nationwide, with Orange representing its second most popular location with Atlanta the most popular. ARC Entertainment CEO Trevor Drinkwater said they selected Orange after extensive demographic research that identified the town as a pro-Palin market.

     Good grief. So many stupid people. So little chance of avoiding them.

     Palin supporters and others [gosh, exactly who?] have fought to shape the film's media hype since its opening. An article on the Atlantic's website on Friday described an empty theater on opening night and several major news outlets picked up the news.
     But Ron Smith, a member of the California chapter of Organize 4 Palin, said that comparison is ridiculous because the reporter only attended the midnight showing. He saw the movie twice on Friday, once at 4 p.m. and again at 7 p.m.
     "If I had known there was a midnight showing, I would have been there," said Smith, who drove from Long Beach to see the movie. "But most of us conservatives have a job, and things to do at night, like sleeping."

     Really, Mr. Smith? You’d watch the same goofy movie two (or three) times in one day?
     Smith claims that the halls were 80% filled at the two showings he attended.
     Gosh, maybe we can hear from an objective party. Shyong contacted the theater but they refused to comment on how much business the Palin film has been getting.
     So, what are we to make of all of this?
     I believe the Atlantic guy. But of course he only attended the midnight showing. His inference that the movie wasn’t doing well seems reasonable to me, even if, in the end, the film does well.
     But would the film’s distributor lie? —Sure. That “$11K per screen” business sounds hinky to me. (Remember, nobody showed up for midnight.) Smith? —He might have exaggerated a bit, but I doubt that he was lying.
     My guess is that, on Friday, business was lots better for the earlier showings—maybe not 80%, but decent; hence the reports by Smith, et al. And the Atlantic guy likely really did find the theater empty for that midnight showing. That would leave an impression on me, too.
     Woo notes that The Atlantic’s Friedersdorf has inspired pushback and right-wing conspiracy theories (How I Became the Subject of a Conspiracy Theory). Friedersdorf explains that someone claiming to be involved in marketing the film blogged that the midnight showing was never advertised and that, therefore, Friedersdorf must have attended a “secret showing” provided by theater employees! No wonder nobody attended!
     Now, in fact, the midnight showing was advertised (e.g., in the LA Times and elsewhere), and Friedersdorf collected proof of that. He sent it to the blogger, asking for a correction and an apology.
     The blogger’s response? “The film's listing in the LA Times only proved ‘how elaborate such a setup could be.’”
     Ah, yes. The refutation of his charge is in fact just further evidence for it! Unbelievable.
     Sarah Palin supporters have busily promulgated this ridiculous and incompetent conspiracy theory. Unsurprisingly, Andrew Breitbart joined in the fun, repeating the daffy theory that is so easily refuted with perfectly available facts. And, beyond all that, Friedersdorf has been subject to vulgar ad hominem attacks.
     But of course!
     There have always been stupid (and loutish) people. So, OK, nowadays, some of ‘em are called “tea partiers” and Sarah Palin fans. And, as usual, lots of ‘em live right here in Orange County.
     But I worry that these people will actually get their candidate elected.
     If someone like Palin or Bachmann secures the Presidency, I just don’t know what I’ll do. Obviously, reason would be useless on their supporters.
     What do you do when reason becomes useless?
     I have no idea. Hide.

Little monsters

WHY ARE THEY ALWAYS RIGHT-WINGERS?

.....A couple of days ago, the LA Times’ James Rainey discussed the coarseness of discussion on the internet (Website comment boards bring out the inner vulgarian). Rainey starts with the Washington Post’s recent debunking of John McCain’s charge that his Democratic opponent blew off his visit with injured troops because he couldn’t bring the press along. Turns out to be utterly false, as the WP explained.
.....In response, the WP got thousands of comments on the internet, most of them anonymous. Some were civil. Many weren’t:

[One reader] complained about "the 'whitey' rants of Michelle Shaniqua Obama. Doesn't she realize that it was whitey's affirmative action policies that got her where she is today?"
…
[Another reader] scored a high imbecile quotient with just 42 words that painted McCain as a "songbird" and traitor because of the limited statements he made to his captors during 5 1/2 years of brutal wartime imprisonment in North Vietnam.

.....Rainey observes that “the Internet all too often discourages, or coarsens, a healthy civic discussion.” He quotes author Andrew Keen: "The people who post on these sites have become accustomed to behaving like beasts because they can, because no one is really monitoring them.”
.....Unlike some blogs and websites, Dissent the Blog does not filter comments. Anyone can comment and say anything. After the fact, we have occasionally deleted comments, but only in particularly egregious cases. We don’t mind people disagreeing with us (or with others). We do mind when someone calls somebody a “pig-f*cker.”
.....I dunno. That’s just too ugly to leave up there.
.....Racist stuff has been deleted, but not because it is racist. A big problem with some posts is that the writer takes a controversial position on some issue but does not bother really to give reasons for it. As near as I can tell, such writers aren’t aware that reasons would be a plus. They just attack, scream, assault.
.....Remember that little monster that popped out of John Hurt’s chest in Alien? They’re kinda like that little guy. No arguments, just horror.
.....As far as I’m concerned, you get to be a racist (or a contemner of gays or, for that matter, a lover of pigs), as long as you provide a decent argument. But none of those people ever seems to have one. They usually don’t even have an indecent one.
.....But failing to give reasons isn’t enough to get booted either. You get to be a dope, I say. But I often encounter the lovely combo of a racist (or hater of liberals, or basher of gays) who offers no reasons or arguments AND who seems to have written merely to insult or upset their perceived opponents.
.....I usually delete those.
.....Invariably, these little monsters are right-wingers. Why is that? You never hear a liberal or leftist or progressive calling somebody a pig-f*cker. Maybe they don’t have any imagination. Dunno.
.....One more thing. I take back my comparison of these internet vulgarians with that little monster in John Hurt’s chest. And Keen is wrong to call these little right-wingers “beasts,” for beasts are animals, and animals never insult. They might eat you because they’re hungry, or chew through your chest because they’re stuck there, but they do not insult or offend.
.....You gotta respect that.

OUR SPECIAL WHISTLE-BLOWER LAW.

.....Yesterday, The San Francisco Chronicle reported on a dismal ruling last week by the state Supreme Court. (Whistle-blowers lose case against UC.)
.....According to the Chronicle, “University of California employees who claim they were fired for reporting wrongdoing or unsafe conditions can't sue for damages if the university rejects their claims….”
.....As it turns out, our whistle-blower law, “which allows employees of state agencies to seek damages for alleged retaliation by supervisors,” nevertheless prevents plaintiffs from going after UC if it has investigated the alleged retaliation and cleared itself.
.....Huh?
.....The ruling concerned a lawsuit by two former computer scientists at UC's Lawrence Livermore Lab, Leo Miklosy and Luciana Messina, who, in 2003, were working on determining the safety of the country’s nuclear weapons. According to the suit, they complained to supervisors about equipment and personnel problems. Soon, Miklosy was let go and Messina quit after (allegedly) hearing that she would soon be fired.
.....Miklosy and Messina complained. The UC lab investigated their cases and judged (within a required period) that neither employee had been retaliated against. Then came the suit, but the Supremes now say these two have no right to sue.
.....One of the justices, despite agreeing with the decision, urged the Legislature to change the 1993 law that makes UC special.
.....Boy, that’s some law, that whistle-blower law.
.....“It’s the best there is,” Doc Daneeka agreed.