Demosophia

Desperado Act II

Apparently the new prospective owner of Alladin, where Princess Ronstadt was ejected for dedicating a song to Michael Moore and sparking a near-riot, intends to invite both Ronstadt and Moore to appear at his venue. From Billboard, July 21, 2004....

...After a day of negotiations, the prospective new owner of the venue, Robert Earl, Chairman and CEO of Planet Hollywood International, Inc., issued the following statement:

"We hope to be approved by the Nevada Gaming Commission to become the new owners of the Aladdin Resort in Las Vegas as early as September 1, 2004. Upon the assumption of ownership, and with a new management team in place, we would like to offer the use of the Theatre of Performing Arts to Linda Ronstadt for a second concert and further to take Michael Moore up on his offer to join her on stage to introduce her and sing a song."

"We respect artists' creativity and support their rights to express themselves," said Earl. "We were very sorry to hear about the unfortunate circumstances of this past Saturday night and want to make it clear that Planet Hollywood has never, in our 13 year history, restricted any artists' right to free speech and we will continue with that policy once we take ownership."

As demoralizing as this might seem, there's a silver lining.

If I were advising the Bush Campaign I'd tell them that the more visible Michael Moore is in the news, especially connected to the Kerry Campaign, the better. I'd also tell him to let no opportunity to bring attention to the distortions that Moore promotes go unexploited, including an appearance at the Alladin. I have no problem with the free expression of dumb ideas, as long as they can be debated openly and countered effectively. But I'll bet Moore won't show up, any more than he showed up in Crawford. The guy knows that bread shouldn't be buttered on both sides, because you get the ooze all over your fingers. Here's the kind of thing that will play in Peoria, or Las Vegas:

Right now I have a browser window open to Fark, and a T-shirt ad shows Bush’s face with the logo “American Psycho.” What else do you need to know? As Teddy Kennedy said in his convention speech: “The only thing we have to fear is four more years of George Bush.” It’s really quite simple, isn’t it? We live in a manufactured climate of fear ginned up by war-crazed neocon overlords. There is no threat. The only thing we have to fear is Bush, who sits as we speak in the Oval Office sucking the marrow from Whoopi’s shin-bones.

If so, I wonder why anyone agreed to the stringent security policies that characterize this year’s conventions. Why the bomb-sniffing dogs? Why the snipers? Why the metal detectors, the invasive inspection of bags? Is it all an elaborate defense against Bush crashing the party and setting off a bomb belt, shouting God is Great, y’all!

No, they’re fearful of something else.

Damned if I know what, though. Damned if I know. -- Lileks

You see, the issue isn't about free speech because in any reasonable contest it's fairly obvious where the common sense lies (as the O'Reilly interview demonstrates). The issue that the Moore supporters hope to exploit is some attempt to silence them. If they can make that stick then they get a twofer: 1. They get to claim victimhood, which will make the opposition seem illegitimate no matter what the real facts or argument; and 2. They don't have to actually defend their views against an eloquent and well-informed opposition (which is about the last thing they want).

So if I were Michael Moore I'd be hoping that the new Casino owner doesn't get his license, and if he does I'd make some excuse not to accept the invitation. Gee, if this works out maybe I can go on the SciFi Channel foretelling the future.