February 28, 2017

The Hollywood plot thickens.

I'm not letting go of my conspiracy theory, because it's a conspiracy theory about movies, and movies are full of conspiracy theories. If there's one thing I know from watching movies, it's that if there's one person who thinks something is not what it seems, it's that one person who's right.

The new evidence I'm seeing today is about how bitterly Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway fought, before the big Oscars show, about who would get the honor of saying the name of the Best Picture winner.
Warren Beatty gave Faye Dunaway what she demanded during rehearsal ... the honor of reading the winner of Best Picture, and he watched as she failed in spectacular fashion.

Sources who were present at Saturday's rehearsal tell us, both Faye and Warren wanted to announce the winner and went back and forth, but eventually Warren backed off and Faye got her way.
That shows a motive on the part of Beatty to stage an elaborate prank. (Here's my original post on the subject, which I sat down to write as a satire about Hollywood egos and race and wrote myself into halfway believing.)

And I see that there's been a big effort to pin the blame on the accountant. Yes, the fall guy. Would you believe the accountant-did-it parry in a movie plot? But let's say it was the accountant screwing up. Then why should we believe any of the vote counting and reporting? The Academy uses Price Waterhouse to vouch for the security and legitimacy of the vote. Is that all just theater? Why are we watching a bunch of insiders pass statuettes around? It's a complete con. If the accountant theory is true, let's just turn our backs on the Oscars from here on out.

114 comments:

MadisonMan said...

Mistakes were made.

In this case, the passive voice matches my interest in this "event".

Bob Boyd said...

"If there's one thing I know from watching movies..."

And never go off by yourself to see why the generator quit working.

rehajm said...

let's just turn our backs on the Oscars from here on out

Should be the first words here, not the last.

rhhardin said...

The Accountant (2016) was okay. Ben Affleck and Anna Kendrick.

Bob Ellison said...

It was four AM. Bat hours. I should've been on the couch, half a pint in my belly. But something was bothering me.

A guy came up-- just some guy, never mind-- to me and said the fix was in on Best Picture. It was gonna be
Annie Hall. I said no way, that's crazy, Star Wars is the movie they're gonna remember. He said forget it, Bob, you're in La La Land.

rhhardin said...

It's not a movie untils there's a body count.

David said...

They fought bitterly. Warren lost and then got his revenge.

He knew there was something wrong with the card. And he passed it right along to her.

"Good luck, bitch! You are on your own."

What a lovely fellow.

Bill Peschel said...

"It's a complete con. If the accountant theory is true, let's just turn our backs on the Oscars from here on out."

The LA Times did a piece on the Golden Globes several years back, revealing that it's as legitimate as the Democratic Party's primary system. A few overseas hacks, many of whom aren't real reporters, accept bribes and swag to deliver a bunch of phony-baloney awards that the media pretends to take seriously.

The article had as much effect as the stories that reveal the rise and fall of the stock market has fuck-all to do with what we've been taught in school about a company's prospects. It's a bunch of 1 percenter greedheads trying to profit by rigging the stocks to rise and fall.

Now we know that the major media outlets are as honest as pro wrestling refs at covering this nation.

It's Potemkin villages, all the way down.

mezzrow said...

I'm down with your last dozen words, Professor.

That's clear speech.

Original Mike said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Althouse said ...
I'm not letting go of my conspiracy theory


Good for you.

Original Mike said...

"let's just turn our backs on the Oscars from here on out."

From here on out? I wouldn't watch this bunch of posers if you paid me, though I'm kind of sorry I missed this "event". Couldn't have happened to a nicer bunch.

I am not persuaded that BushBeatty made it happen, though I consider it possible that BushBeatty let it happen.

traditionalguy said...

Everybody knows Beatty was Dunaway's lover in Bonnie and Clyde. And now he cannot get to her.

But this does look like a good pick pocket was hired to screw her up. And Beatty is #1 suspect.

We will just have to wait on the next issue of the Enquirer at checkout to find out the truth. The front page tells it all , and reading the story inside is not necessary to us conspiracy believers.

LordSomber said...

Something tells me this isn't Ms. Dunaway's first rodeo.

'TreHammer said...

...occam's razor...yada, yada, yada...

John said...

Clearly there needs to be a book, made into a musical, made into a drama, made into a feature film about this whole sordid affair. I recommend Warren Beatty be played by Sean Penn, Ashley Judd for Faye Dunaway, and Mr. Ryan could play himself as the fall guy who brings PwC credibility crashing down, causing a global recession.

Fernandinande said...

I hope their legs recover so they can walk again.

Paddy O said...

Easiest conspiracy to believe: We're all still talking about the Oscars! And both movies involved in the mistake!

If everything had gone according to plan, it's just the least watched Oscars in a decade.

Who was in charge of the envelopes before the accountant handed them out?

Examine the chain of custody and you'll find someone whose interest is publicity no matter what.

Jeff Gee said...

So, Life handed Warren Beatty a lemon, and he threw a pitcher of lemonade in Faye Dunaway's face.

madAsHell said...

They will wrap this stunt with enough intriguing stories of conspiracy, and broken relationships that the genesis is forgotten.

This is analogous to Trump's comment about the "Russians have Hillary's emails" morphing into the "Russians hacked the entire election".

MisterBuddwing said...

I'm inclined to embrace Occam's Razor, which doesn't hold that the simplest explanation is always the best, but that the simplest explanation that covers all the facts is usually the best.

One of the PwC people screws up. Warren Beatty realizes something is amiss, but fails to speak up. Disaster ensues.

Static Ping said...

Yes, that would be amusing if true. Couldn't happen to less likable people. The great thing about Hollywood is everyone is an actor so you can enjoy their output while still loathing the persons in question. I don't need to care about the actors' personal lives and political views while watching the latest blockbuster. I can leave that to the gossip magazines, drug dealers, and the police.

I suppose I should add that Hollywood thinks that their story is La La Land, their critics think it is more like Sunset Boulevard, and the true reality would be a porno/snuff film.

buwaya said...

Someday someone will make a movie of how the PTB (a bipartisan conspiracy) silently hacked private retirement systems regulations in 2012, making it OK for them to be underfunded (they have been at 80-85% since) going forward.

OK, maybe not.

Call me paranoid, but this is the sort of big stuff that is the substance of real conspiracies.
They really are out to get you.
And they don't want you to know about it.

Earnest Prole said...

Here, let me help. If you really wanted to stoke the conspiracy flames, you'd find the complete transcript or video of Beatty’s remarks leading up to the opening of the envelope, where he spoke of Hollywood’s commitment to diversity in such a way that it made clear that Moonlight and not La La Land was the winner.

Static Ping said...

This is Hollywood. If you are going to use Occam's Razor, you need to apply it to the environment present, not the one you are most familiar. Hollywood is filled with rich, narcissistic, vicious, talented but shallow people. Your results may vary.

J2 said...

This was all pre-figured in "The Parallax View".

buwaya said...

Also, audit firms like PWC are fundamentally ethically compromised because the system under which they operate is structured as a massive conflict of interest.
I would not trust partners at these firms. They rose because they were able to obtain and keep major accounts. They are marketers and politicians.

Fernandinande said...

I hope their brain disorders improve so they can think again.

"5 new brain disorders that were born out of the digital age"

1 - People don't like the idea of losing their phones.

2 - Sometimes using "tech devices" takes precedence over other activities.

3 - Some people sometimes think their phone is ringing when it's not.

4 - People get imperfect health information from the internet.

5 - Some people with existing paranoid delusions incorporate the internet into their delusions.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

buwaya said...
Call me paranoid


I have, multiple times.

George M. Spencer said...

And he made a fool of himself in the process? This 79-year-old doddering man? Who stands helplessly on stage as younger people steal his limelight?

What a perfect moment of karma-comeuppance. Here are two people famous--their faces distorted by surgeries--for making a movie about outlaws who bucked the system. Now they are the elite in the system, and the system humiliates them at the end of their lives.

They have long been famous for being famous. Has either of them made a decent movie since 1967? Yes, "Network," but what else? "Shampoo"? Who watches that? All we've done is read about Beatty's life for 50 years, and Dunaway has totally vanished. (Wouldn't you love to know what faded stars like her do with their time? How much money can she have? Where has her income come from all these years? Does she live in a trailer?)

Can't these folks just fade away...gracefully. That is the sadness of what happened.

Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...

Hammond is with Althouse on this one. 'Minds me of the half-time show "wardrobe malfunction" titty-flash a few years back.

DanTheMan said...

It could have been planned. It could be incompetence.
Either way, the stars are getting what they really wanted: lots of people talking about the Oscars.

Chuck said...

Are you well, Althouse?

The accountant handed Warren Beatty the wrong envelope. Because Warren Beatty were far, far more concerned about the nuances of their "performance" on-camera (a concern reflected by friction over the tiniest of details of that appearance), they didn't pay attention to the fact that it was the wrong envelope. If the ceremony was run by accountants, as though they were delivering an annual report to shareholders, the simple and easily understandable error (handing the wrong envelope) would have been caught. But it wasn't, because the readers were performers, and not reporters.

Did everybody see the closeup screen grab of the envelope in Beatty's hand? It was clearly labeled on its face as the Best Actress In A Leading Role. It was the wrong envelope. The accountant is now known to the world, by name, as a fuckup. PWC has suffered an enormously embarrassing hit, at tax time, with their most notable public client.

As a method actor might ask, "What is [our] motivation in this scene?"

Chuck said...

Typo: "...Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway..."

Sorry.

Brando said...

"Something tells me this isn't Ms. Dunaway's first rodeo."

I've always wanted to attend two rodeos if only so that at the second one I could say to people "you know, this isn't my first rodeo."

Brando said...

Parralax View is a good reference point for this--Althouse has gone full conspiracy theory on this, we (who are in on the conspiracy) are trying to dissuade her by saying this is total nonsense, but she has not dropped the scent and things are getting escalated.

PB said...

Given there are 2 sets of envelopes, one for each side of the stage to facilitate entry of the presenters from both sides, I don't see why PWC would be complicit in such a "prank".

Laslo Spatula said...

Good thing they didn't give Beatty the Envelope with the information about Trump's son's alleged autism.

THAT would have been bad.

I am Laslo.

Robert Cook said...

"If the accountant theory is true, let's just turn our backs on the Oscars from here on out."

Heck, I turned my back on them 20 years ago. Though I'm a movie fan and prefer seeing movies at the theater, I really couldn't care less about who wins what awards, or less interested in watching the interminable tedium of the show itself.

Left Bank of the Charles said...

I stand by my assertion that the prank was pulled by Faye Dunaway, acting alone, who then made a quick getaway.

William said...

The Althouse theory would be more credible if the accountant were a Muslim or Hispanic immigrant.. Also the Warren Beatty role should be played by a populist Republican in the Reagan mode. Dunaway is too old to be sympathetic. They need a younger woman, preferably someone who has spoken out in favor of gay rights. I'm thnking Jodie Foster, but maybe Kristen Stewart would be better. This version of Hollywood doesn't match the Hollywood version of Hollywood. It needs a rewrite.

William said...

I lost interest in the Oscars years ago. It wasn't politics, Something to do with the aging process.

Etienne said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Earnest Prole said...

Here, let me help some more with a rough transcript of Beatty’s Best Picture introduction:

“Our goal in politics is the same as our goal in art, and that’s to get to the truth. In the movies we honor tonight, they not only entertain and move us, they show us the increasing diversity in our community and our respect for diversity and freedom all over the world.”

That works better for Moonlight than it does for La La Land, no?

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
tcrosse said...

The original plan was for La La Land to be announced, and then for Hillary Clinton to appear as deus ex machina to announce, "We all know who the real winner should be, if you get my drift". The money was right, so HRC was going to do it, but was a bit shaky on her pins that night.

Etienne said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

"I'm not letting go of my conspiracy theory."

Now it's clearer how someone can hear anything brilliant from a doofus such as Trump. Creative thinking, alternate reality. But why? Boredom? Who knows?

Michael K said...

The accountant is being hung out to dry.

The person I referred to in an earlier comment was a senior partner of PW and had no mistakes in 20 years. As Buddwing acknowledged, he has retired and now it takes two to replace him. Of course, a woman has to be one and the guy is probably gay.

Diversity. Those dull old white men are no longer needed,

W.Cook said...

I couldn't care less about the Oscars, but I am fascinated by the incompetence on display here. Why don't the envelopes have the name of the award printed in big bold letters on both sides? Why don't the sheet of paper inside have the name of the award in big bold letters at the top? This would seem to be such an obvious precaution that it is hard to fathom how it could not be in place.

Especially since this has happened before, and been dealt with in a manner displaying so much more class: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmmi9ksOtt4

Bob Boyd said...

Shit happens.

cubanbob said...

Used to be that the real talent in Hollywood were the accountants. There ought to be an Oscar for best accounting for a picture that made a shit-ton of money but never showed a profit. Or an Oscar for best tax deduction, allowable expenses and imputed income avoidance and credit tax hustle.

Leslie Graves said...

I'm on Team Althouse with this.

wwww said...




People recorded the Oscars. You can find screen shots of Beatty holding the red envelop that reads best actress. PWC brings duplicate envelops on each side of the stage.)


PWC was in charge of the custody of the envelops. It was their responsibility to retain custody of the envelops and distribute the correct envelopes.

Buck stops with PWC.



G said...

Great opening number and Great Ending.

Chuck said...

How is the accountant (Brian Cullinan is his name, I think) being "hung out to dry"?

There are some interesting and different etymologies for that idiom. Mostly, the import of the phrase means to leave someone in a vulnerable position, or to deflect blame that might be widely shared, on a single individual.

How is that the case here? From what I gather from media reports, Brian Cullinan handed Warren Beatty, or a relevant stage manager, the wrong envelope. It raises the modern meme of, "Dude, you had one job. ONE JOB!" It wasn't PW-C; it wasn't the Academy; it wasn't the Koch Brothers, or even George Soros. A guy handed the wrong envelope to a movie star, and the movie star cared more about his appearance in front of the cameras instead of reading something accurately. It may even be that Cullinan was self-distracted by his own cellphone and posting snapshots just before the mistake occurred.

When you check something out in detail, and place blame on the one or two people who are blameworthy, is that a good use of the idiom, "hanging them out to dry"?

Chuck said...

wwww said...
People recorded the Oscars. You can find screen shots of Beatty holding the red envelop that reads best actress. PWC brings duplicate envelops on each side of the stage.)

PWC was in charge of the custody of the envelops. It was their responsibility to retain custody of the envelops and distribute the correct envelopes.

Buck stops with PWC.


Well, you are correct, but only as a legal technicality. PWC is "responsible" only as a matter of what lawyers call "vicarious responsibility." The mistake was made by, and only by, a PWC employee. Because he is an employee, and thereby a legal agent, of PWC, and is acting within the scope of his employment, PWC may be vicariously responsible, and civilly liable, for that employee.

wwww said...

Brian Cullinan handed Warren Beatty, or a relevant stage manager, the wrong envelope. It raises the modern meme of, "Dude, you had one job. ONE JOB!"


Yeah, this. He tweeted a backstage pic of Emma Stone 3 minutes before he distributed the wrong envelope.

One. Job. He's lucky he's a partner, or he'd be out of a job.

Don't celeb tweet and distribute academy envelopes.

wwww said...

Because he is an employee, and thereby a legal agent, of PWC, and is acting within the scope of his employment, PWC may be vicariously responsible, and civilly liable, for that employee.

Agreed -- but he is a managing partner.

Sally327 said...

Movies aren't full of conspiracy theories. Not these days. I can't even remember the last widely distributed movie that had anything to do with a conspiracy theory. Maybe that's the conspiracy someone should be looking into.

FullMoon said...

J2 said... [hush]​[hide comment]

This was all pre-figured in "The Parallax View".


One of my favorite documentaries.

FullMoon said...

wwww said...

Brian Cullinan handed Warren Beatty, or a relevant stage manager, the wrong envelope. It raises the modern meme of, "Dude, you had one job. ONE JOB!"


Yeah, this. He tweeted a backstage pic of Emma Stone 3 minutes before he distributed the wrong envelope.

One. Job. He's lucky he's a partner, or he'd be out of a job.

Don't celeb tweet and distribute academy envelopes.


Marijuana is legal in California. Just sayin'..

rehajm said...

Any of you Oliver Stone/Inspector Clousesu conspiracists care to regale and entertain the rest of us with a complete and detailed recap of how this lovely one act play went down? Do not omit any participants, either active or oblivious, motivation, and any and all physical craft involved.

This ought to be good...

FullMoon said...

Chuck said...

Typo: "...Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway..."

Sorry.


Oh, sure, Quick to apologize for an obvious and inconsequential typo.
When it comes to apology for threatening Greta and publishing gossip about Barron, crickets.

Brando said...

If the point of this "conspiracy" was to build drama, there are other better ways to have done so--an envelope with a blank card, Beatty faking a stroke, or even the announcement "La La Land...you came in second, because Moonlight won!" No, the only way this was a conspiracy is if the point of the conspiracy was to make the Academy, PWC, and the presenters look incompetent. And considering all of them would have had to be in on the plot, that makes no sense.

Althouse has been listening to too much Alex Jones. Next we'll be hearing about the "alleged" Sandy Hook massacre.

cubanbob said...

Well at least we know Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway can't read. Or AA might be onto something with respects to a conspiracy. Perhaps this is a squirrel to make the firm look so incompetent that the IRS wouldn't dream of looking at some of the firm's Hollywood clients financials and returns.

Snark said...

Stop digging. I can't be the only one who will unavoidably recall this somewhat shocking triptych of critical thinking failure as a template with which to consider future posts.

Anonymous said...

I've been wondering about her reasoning capacity since the time she started translating for Trump and expecting anyone to take it seriously.

Paddy O said...

The envelope was a high-tech e-ink device, so the accountant handed off the right envelope then the person behind the wings switched the letters to something entirely different using a microchip controller. Beatty was in on it, of course, he did the obligatory fight to read the name so as to control what happened when it was opened, then handing it off to a trusting, but naive, Faye. The envelope would have stayed in its original lettering had the ratings been high enough, however real-time tracking of Nielsen and social media revealed a dismal situation and it was too late in the show for a wardrobe malfunction.

Earnest Prole said...

I can't be the only one who will unavoidably recall this somewhat shocking triptych of critical thinking failure as a template with which to consider future posts.

If you don't stop immediately, I'm going to demand a refund and never frequent this establishment again.

Titus said...

wow althouse

Unknown said...

Well, at least "La-La Land" can self-identify as the Oscar's Best Movie winner...

Chuck said...

FullMoon said...
Chuck said...

Typo: "...Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway..."

Sorry.

Oh, sure, Quick to apologize for an obvious and inconsequential typo.
When it comes to apology for threatening Greta and publishing gossip about Barron, crickets.


One; I have never threatened MSNBC's Greta van Susteren. I've never spoken to her. Never written to her. Never communicated with her in any way. To be clear, and to defeat the oblique defamation of me that you intended, I was enraged with Greta's dismissive attitude toward the accused assault of reporter Michelle Fields by now-lobbyist Corey Lewandowski. And so I proposed grabbing Greta in precisely the same fashion, to see how she liked it, with the understanding that such grabbing is not assaultive at all in Greta's opinion.

Two; I don't think I published "gossip" about Barron Trump, insofar as what I wrote boiled down to what was summarized in a column published at Forbes.com:

Melania Trump is reportedly incensed over the posting of a YouTube video alleging that her son is autistic and had a lawyer threaten to sue the autistic man who produced the video. The video went viral after Rosie O'Donnell tweeted at Donald Trump about it...
...

James Hunter, the person who posted the video, which has now been taken down, said that he had intended to use it as a way to stop people from bullying the Trumps' youngest son, who is 10. The video suggested that people had been commenting rudely about the boy's behavior during various public events, including the Republican National Convention and his father's acceptance speech.

Hunter said he made the video intending to explain that people should stop saying that Donald Trump's youngest son was a "brat" who didn't know how to behave himself and that the boy's behavior was probably because he was on the autism spectrum.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, TMZ broke the story of Melania Trump's threats to sue. Her attorney told the Hollywood Reporter:

"A video was posted at YouTube recently speculating that [the boy] might be autistic. He is not. The video includes the hashtag 'StopTheBullying' but yet the video itself is bullying by making false statements and speculation about a 10-year-old boy for the purpose of harassing him and his parents."

The stated purpose of the video, which I have seen, was to stop the online bullying of the child over his perceived "rude" or "inappropriate" behaviors by explaining that autism might be a factor. In his video, Hunter did make a passionate plea for people to look past their conventional notions of behavior and try to understand that factors other than "rich-kid-brattiness" can underlie them.
...
Several people behaved badly in this scenario. Rosie O'Donnell tried to use this 'revelation' to drag Donald Trump about his child's alleged autism and, once again, called autism an "epidemic," which it is not. The term is offensive to autistic people.

Melania Trump seems to have viewed the conclusions in the video as just about the most awful thing anyone could say about anyone (it isn't) and trained her firepower via attorney threats on the autistic man who made it. And James Hunter, of course, broke two important rules: No armchair diagnoses, and never, ever bring minor children into it.

Of those three, it's difficult to decide who made the greatest misstep, but it's clear who has now done the right thing, and that's James Hunter. And then there's the charge of bullying, something Melania Trump has said she wants to address in her upcoming national role, with a focus on cyberbullying. I'll leave it to the reader to determine which participants in this scenario were the bullies and which ones were the bullied.


https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilywillingham/2016/12/06/melania-trump-threatens-to-sue-autistic-man-over-youtube-video/#240cd354a24a

Yancey Ward said...

It is possible, I suppose, that Beatty realized it was the wrong envelope after opening it and deliberately let Dunaway make the final error as a kind of prank. However, I still can't quite figure out how Beatty ended up with the wrong envelope as a plan to play the prank. This still falls on the PWC guy, and no one else.

Unlike the black hole dense Unknown, I suspect Althouse is pranking us.

Drago said...

Another day another thread where "lifelong republican" Chuck "courageously" trafficks in rumors about a child.

One does have to question the mentality of such a person.

William said...

I think the fact that a convicted sex offender was allowed to mingle and shake hands with the Oscar crowd was a bigger scandal. No, I'm not referring to Jake Gyellenhall. He's never been convicted and anyway he's part of the SAG. It's, nonetheless, good to see Hollywood people get past their reservations about pussy grabbing.

robother said...

Maybe Cullinan the Accountant was carrying on the real tradition of the bi-sexual monk who had a magic way with numbers. Indeed, perhaps the monk's proclivities provided the inspiration for double entry bookkeeping.

Who knows how many Best Actor/Actresses have earned their Oscars over the counting table (just as they earned their roles on the casting couch)? Hollywood accounting is known for creativity, as any writer, actor or associate producer naive enough to take a percent of the net (even of GWTW) has discovered. Ann's just scratched the surface of this conspiracy.

StephenFearby said...

There were two briefcases, each with duplicate envelopes for the many Oscar winners.

Assuming half (or a goodly number) of the envelopes were given out to winners from each of the two briefcases, half (or a goodly number) of the "dead" envelopes would still be in the briefcases, each a potential cause of mischief of the type that ensured.

To avoid this problem, the two accountants in charge of the briefcases could have followed a protocol of individually segregating each of the "now dead" envelope from the still "live" ones by placement in a separate dead folder....at the time each Oscar winner was announced.

Time better spent by the accountants than taking pictures of Oscar winners from the wings with their cell phones.

Yancey Ward said...

So, who won the Oscar for Best Organic Catering?

Yancey Ward said...

You have cut Chuck some slack here. Imagine you had spent all of last Summer and Fall carefully planning all your "I told you so" comments that you planned to write after Hillary! won in November- how would have felt on November 9th? Deflated would be my answer. That is what I get from Chuck for the most part- extremely unhappy that his chance to revel in schadenfreude was denied decisively.

Laslo Spatula said...

Yancey Ward said...
"...extremely unhappy that his chance to revel in schadenfreude was denied decisively."

Great syndrome description.

Schadenfreudeus Interruptus.

I am Laslo.

Chuck said...

I don't start these things, Drago.

"If somebody hits me, I have to hit them back. I have to."*

And you should know; the next time you do something like this, as you've done so often in the past, I will respond the same way.

*Donald Trump, to Greta van Susteren, Sunday, April 3, 2016.

Drago said...

"lifelong republican" Chuck: "I don't start these things, Drago"

You started it long ago and you find creative ways to repeat them everyday. Your rationalizations for your gleeful revisiting of the noxious rumors is really quite pathetic.

Chuck said...

Drago said...
"lifelong republican" Chuck: "I don't start these things, Drago"

You started it long ago and you find creative ways to repeat them everyday. Your rationalizations for your gleeful revisiting of the noxious rumors is really quite pathetic.


You can't be serious. If you toss out a bland allegation that I 'attacked an innocent 10 year-old child,' I am going to explain it in a way that debunks the implication against me.

Every freaking time.

If you want to see the end of discussions involving "Barron Trump" and autism, you and the others should stop your comments aimed at me on that subject. DO NOT think that I won't react, simply because you leave Barron's name out of it. That doesn't help you. I decide how I want to respond.

Earnest Prole said...

Perhaps Althouse’s readers would be more receptive to a neo-Straussian Oscar conspiracy theory:

“Mansfield strenuously opposes grade inflation. His response was to give his students two grades: the grade they deserved and the grade that Harvard wanted them to have in these inflationary times. . . . perhaps the Academy gave two best picture awards: one to the film it thought deserved the award and one to the film the crowd that has made such a racket about lack of diversity in Hollywood and at the Oscars wanted to see win.”

Drago said...

"lifelong republican" Chuck takes quite a few words to let us know that he will continue to find fun (for him) and creative ways to continue his written rumor-based attacks on a child.

Today "lifelong republican" Chuck: "You can't be serious. If you toss out a bland allegation that I 'attacked an innocent 10 year-old child,' I am going to explain it in a way that debunks the implication against me."

Previous Day "lifelong republican" Chuck: "There is but one reason for anyone to talk about Baron Trump; his father's idiotic statements on the serious issue of vaccines.
2/18/17, 12:57 PM

So, if anyone disagrees with Trump on vaccines it's open season on his son because JUSTICE!

Wait, that's not all for our "lifelong republican" friend:

"lifelong republican" Chuck: "Trump as Vaxxer; this one has been going on longer than all the others. Maybe it really is related to something with his son Barron.
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2016/12/trump_s_endorsement_of_slow_vaxxing_explains_his_appeal.html 1/10/17, 8:26 PM"

"lifelong republican" Chuck, as with his leftist allies, seems to believe history begins anew each day.

Drago said...

Here's another blast from "lifelong republican" Chuck's past: "Poor Melania. I suspect she's the foil, for protecting Barron Trump and his suspected Aspberger's/autism from the scrutiny he'd get as a resident of the White House. She stays home in Trump Tower with Barron, under the presumption that Barron is in school and she needs to be there with him.

2/1/17, 9:52 AM"

Brando said...

“Mansfield strenuously opposes grade inflation. His response was to give his students two grades: the grade they deserved and the grade that Harvard wanted them to have in these inflationary times. . . . perhaps the Academy gave two best picture awards: one to the film it thought deserved the award and one to the film the crowd that has made such a racket about lack of diversity in Hollywood and at the Oscars wanted to see win.”

Politics surely plays a role--hell, the award itself is purely political!--but then why not just give it to Moonlight to overcome "Oscars so white" of last year? Or make it a Best Picture tie--they've done ties for other awards.

No, Althouse's theory is that this is about building suspense. To achieve that, the best move would have been to pass a rule that there can be no tie for best picture, then announce it was a tie anyway, and we'd need to go into Oscar overtime. Pit the two movies off against each other in an "act" off! Each movie picks a rep, the two reps go onstage and recite lines for a panel of judges.

Yes, it's incredibly stupid but that's what you get when you go down conspiracy road.

Krumhorn said...

Ann is chumming the waters.

I think our hostess is thinking about conspiracy too conventionally. The leftie agitators are moving on from #oscarssowhite to #oscarssomale. It would be a safe bet that in response to the virtue-signaling, PwC will find themselves adding up votes for the next female-driven film for the Best Picture and Best Director envelopes.

It's a conspiracy of the hive mind

- Krumhorn

MisterBuddwing said...

Of course, a woman has to be one and the guy is probably gay.

Don't know if Cullinan is gay, but he's married with three grown children.

Diversity. Those dull old white men are no longer needed

Or no longer living. Or just barely alive. Warren Beatty may be an old white man, but I wouldn't call him "dull" (then again, I've never met him).

Chuck said...

It would be pretty easy to leave Barron Trump alone; the following make it a difficult subject to ignore:

a) Donald Trump's bizarre notions about a vaccine/autism link; since he's the President, and since he met with RFK Jr. (another nutjob) about an ersatz "vaccine commission", that is a public policy/presidency issue. Of public concern.

b) The Trump family's oddly heavy-handed legal attack on the YouTube poster, making that aspect newsworthy; the Trump family lawyer issued a statement on the subject.

c) The popular press -- not simply any "tabloid" or "gossip" press -- reporting on the notion that for the first time in a century, the White House would not be a primary residence for the First Family. All because of Barron Trump's schooling in New York. Which should end for the summer, right?

d) My own detractors at the Althouse blog, constantly sniping at me about "attacks on a 10 year-old," with no other context. And then their taking offense when I respond with the details I have posted above. On comments pages wherein I had initiated no other mention of Barron Trump.

For the record:
I do not know if Barron Trump is autistic. I have no professional opinion. A Trump lawyer says that Barron "is not autistic." Others, including persons who self-describe as being in the autism-spectrum community, have stated their suspicions. I have recited what others have said and/or done. I have linked to published articles on the subject. I have criticized Donald Trump for his unscientific, and frankly dangerous notions on the subject of any vaccine-autism link.

Krumhorn said...

Since I am an unabashedly devoted fan of our hostess (who, let's face it, has a superior mind), I want to help her find a plausible conspiracy.

We've seen Deep Government work to sabotage Trump. What if there is a Deep Academy? A great many Academy members are engrained in the system and have been voting for decades. They have their traditional view of the films and talent that should be recognized, but due to recent changes in membership and voting rules, they were not effective in dragging La La Land over the finish line. So they struck in the only way left to them to minimize the impact of Black Brokeback. And make Cheryl Boone and the Academy look inept and ridiculous in the process. She f*k'd with their vote so they f*k'd with her.

Now THAT's a conspiracy I can get behind.

-Krumhorn

Drago said...

Notice how quickly "lifelong republican" Chucks shifts gears from a I-never-attacked-the-kid to his new and "improved" position that conversational forces beyond his control FORCE him to chat about it.

It would be amusing if it weren't so pathetic.




Chuck said...

Drago said...
Notice how quickly "lifelong republican" Chucks shifts gears from a I-never-attacked-the-kid to his new and "improved" position that conversational forces beyond his control FORCE him to chat about it.

It would be amusing if it weren't so pathetic.


If you bring it up again in future comments pages, Drago, I promise to you I will respond in the same way. You will keep Barron Trump in the conversation longer than anyone -- me in particular -- could have imagined.

Drago said...

Just walk away from the attacks on the kids Chuck.

Just walk away from the attacks.

Paddy O said...

Drago and Chuck, get a room.

Paddy O said...

It'd be nice to visit at least one thread without having to see you two go at each other.

What would historians say if they saw all your passionate interactions?

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Paddy O said...
What would historians say if they saw all your passionate interactions?


They invented double entry bookkeeping (nudge, nudge, wink, wink).

President-Mom-Jeans said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Earnest Prole said...

Drago and Chuck, your tale grows tiresome

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

Jesus! Stop the attacking Drago, why should anyone allow you to attack them relentlessly? What is wrong with you? It's sickening. Everyone knows you were taking advantage of something Chuck said innocently and you and a few other assholes keep up the fake story and attacks.

Anonymous said...

"It would be amusing if it weren't so pathetic."

You know who is pathetic Drago? You. It's pathetic to continue to push your obvious lie for weeks now regarding what Chuck said. I'm surprised Meade hasn't stepped in.


Drago said...

I find Unknown's defense of Chuck to be adorable. I am pleased to report that chivalry is not dead!

I hope Chuck appreciates the friend he has in Unknown (and all lefties really): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpdbgI7Hlrk

Unknown said...

Seriously, this Chuck-baiting has gotten tiresome. Feel free to start up a chucksucks.com blog, but stop polluting every damn comment section with this nonsense.

Unknown said...

Also, Chuck, don't perpetuate this non-germane crap in a thread about the Oscars.

FullMoon said...

Unknown said...

"It would be amusing if it weren't so pathetic."

You know who is pathetic Drago? You. It's pathetic to continue to push your obvious lie for weeks now regarding what Chuck said. I'm surprised Meade hasn't stepped in.


Drago quoted Chuck this time, while Chuck insists he only repeated what others had said.

I have been around a couple of autistic kids, and thought Barron might be, because I had not seen him smile. He laughed and smiled a couple of times Inauguration Day so I am am hoping he is not.
BTW, for all the talk about Trump mocking "the handicapped", the left sure wants to use autism as some sort of negative observation of the Trump family.

Drago said...

Unknown: "Also, Chuck, don't perpetuate this non-germane crap in a thread about the Oscars."

I for one appreciate Unknown taking a strong stand for thread coherence and germaneness.

I recommend strongly that we apply that standard across the board as we move forward as it has been noted that one commenter in particular, with significant assistance from some of his leftist pals, turn many non-Trump related threads into attacks on the President.

Let us all ensure that we are prepared to live by the rules we set. This will be especially difficult for our lefty friends who have not quite demonstrated a willingness to do that.

Despite that I remain confident it can be achieved!

Anonymous said...

Blogger Unknown said...
"Seriously, this Chuck-baiting has gotten tiresome......stop polluting every damn comment section with this nonsense."

Of course Drago neglects to draw attention to this, lol.

Drago said...

Unknown: "Of course Drago neglects to draw attention to this, lol."

Yikes.

Looks like some serious "non-germaneness" happening with that last post.

Please try to stay on topic.

Rance Fasoldt said...

I took my three grandsons to a rodeo in Cody, Wyoming, so they could say, "This isn't my first rodeo." (They felt sorry for the calf that got roped.)

jr565 said...

The only thing I would say that would discount this theory (aside fro. Fact that it's probably not true) is that ir required Faye to see the card, which said best actress on it, ignore that it said that and read off the movie title. If she had t rushed to blurt it out she would have noticed the same thing Warren did. In other words, it required her to ingore the writing on page about actress and simply read the wrong movie name.

I think he was handing it to show her the mistake so she would see it was a mistake not necessarily assuming she would blurt it out. But she was getting exasperated that he appeared to dawdle so she just read it off the card. Either that or he passed it off to her so she could be the one to notice the mistake and/or blurt it out.

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