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Paul Elam blames me for his alleged ignorance of the blatant fraud on his own site [CORRECTED]

Thanks Obama! (And David Futrelle.) (For more, click image)

CORRECTION: New evidence suggests that the screenshot discussed in this post and elsewhere was not a forgery but the result of a glitch. I offer a correction, and an apology, and a discussion of the implications, here.

So the mighty Paul Elam has acknowledged — in the comments section of Girl Writes What’s blog, at least –that there might just be some sort of problem going on with regard to, you know, that whole fake screenshot thing. You know, the blatant fraud that A Voice for Men mangling — sorry, managing — editor Dean Esmay seems to have engaged in to cover up a mistake.

But, Paul being Paul, he somehow manages to turn his sort-of acknowledgement of the problem into an attack on me, bizarrely blaming me (the person who actually pointed out this fraud) for him not knowing about it before today:

As much as I hate to say it, Futrelle does have a valid point. I am looking in to it today, and unlike Futrelle, I will address the results of my inquiry in public no matter where they end up.

I don’t mind looking into problems, even when they are pointed out by such a bald faced liar. I would have actually been aware of this sooner if his blog were worth reading. I had to become aware of it in your comments to even know there was a problem.

Well, Paul, I would have happily brought my findings to the comments section of A Voice for Men, rather than the comments section of Girl Writes What’s blog, but you may recall I am banned there. And I wonder if anyone there would have had the courage to stand up and say that, gosh, this Futrelle guy has a point, given how quickly people are censored there for deviating from your site’s perverse “conventional wisdom.”

And gosh, Paul, how unfair it is to expect the publisher of a site to be aware of what’s, you know, published on it. Concerns about the story were brought up by your own commenters shortly after it first ran. Esmay referred in an article and an editorial note to my alleged “lies” about the story; it didn’t occur to you to even go look at what I had said? And even aside from the phony screenshot, or anything I’ve written, did you really think that Esmay’s bizarre explanations for the original mistake made any kind of sense?

In other words, are you incompetent, or are you lying about being unaware of the problem until now?

In any case, I await the results of your “investigation.” I am especially eager to see how you will manage to spin things so it becomes someone else’s fault. Will it be some evil conspiracy that “set you up?”

And when exactly have I lied, Paul? Could you offer a citation? When I point out the lies on your site, I fucking back up each claim.

[EDIT: Added some stuff in the “gosh, Paul” paragraph and made a few other changes.]

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Aaliyah
11 years ago

Fucking Elam. =S

Lady Mondegreen
Lady Mondegreen
11 years ago

Shorter Paul Elam: Goddam it, that was sloppy of Dean. Can’t think of any way to explain this away. “OK, readers, Futrelle’s right–but he’s a poopyhead! Nyah! Now go back to ignoring him kthxbai.”

ltkessler
11 years ago

I would prefer not to, Aaliyah. Oh wait, I think I misunderstood. Quite.

hellkell
hellkell
11 years ago

*headdesk*

Well, at least he’s reading GWW’s blog. She’ll be happy.

Stuffed Fantod
11 years ago

None of them possess even a slight amount of integrity.

freemage
freemage
11 years ago

That’s it! Paul Elam is an escapee from the As Seen On TVerse, where everyone is stymied by even the simplest tasks, including skinning potatoes, watering hanging plants and, of course, reading their own damned blog site!

cloudiah
11 years ago

This is sadly hilarious.

hellkell
hellkell
11 years ago

Freemage: the As Seen On TVerse helplessness is one of MR. HK’s favorite things to jokingly impersonate while doing stuff around the house.

Jake Jones
Jake Jones
11 years ago

Elam is an incompetent prick.

hellkell
hellkell
11 years ago

Says the person who can’t figure out what a writer means. Oh the irony.

katz
11 years ago

Jake, FYI, this is not one of those fora where we just magically forget that you were being a dick in the other thread.

Jake Jones
Jake Jones
11 years ago

I wasn’t being a dick, and I’d be happy to continue the discussion in the previous thread.

Jake Jones
Jake Jones
11 years ago

Elam’s only recourse may be to cut ties with some of the rest of the top brass. Unfortunately it would also require a level of finesse that swollen scrotum isn’t capable of.

SittieKitty
11 years ago

*clears throat*

Gosh Darn it! If only there was something worth reading on Futrelle’s site! Then I’d have known my own site was publishing blatantly false things!! Futrelle should get his act together!!

*scene*

*prays that blockquoting works as this kitty has no clue how to format properly*

katz
11 years ago

I suppose that, much like authorial intent, whether you were being a dick is defined by whether or not you admit to being a dick?

Aaliyah
11 years ago

Against all odds, you have escaped the blockquote monster. Please claim your reward of canned tuna.

SittieKitty
11 years ago

*om nom nom*

Kittehserf
11 years ago

Well done, SittieKitty!

Which thread was Jake Jones being a dick on? There are so many going at the moment I think I missed it.

Kittehserf
11 years ago

SittieKitty, I’m going to have to look at that video tonight (no sound at work) – I want to know if kitten sounds like my Fribbie when she talks to her food. 😀

SittieKitty
11 years ago

Can I ask… how on earth do you keep so many threads open/going at once? Am I missing some Sūpr Sēkret™ ability?

(In addition, I’m not usually this strange with the letters, I’m just tipsy and a wee tad bored so I’m playing with my special characters keyboard)

Jake Jones
Jake Jones
11 years ago

I suppose that, much like authorial intent, whether you were being a dick is defined by whether or not you admit to being a dick?

Wasn’t my best point, I’ll grant that, because it’s very possible Hitchens did believe what he was saying to a point. I read it as a flippant piece, but others might not have.

Still, my point about scale remains. Even if you think Hitchens wrote a sexist piece, that doesn’t then make him a raging misogynists. For one thing, what then is Elam?

SittieKitty
11 years ago

Even if you think Hitchens wrote a sexist piece, that doesn’t then make him a raging misogynists. For one thing, what then is Elam?

The same. Scaled forward. Both can be true even if they are not equal.

katz
11 years ago

Sistiekitty: Our foster kitty Sweet Pea eats wet food and mews at the same time and it comes out as this gargly noise. Wish I could get it on tape; I’d finally make my YouTube fortune.

katz
11 years ago

The same. Scaled forward. Both can be true even if they are not equal.

Yup. You wouldn’t accept “Just because I killed one person doesn’t make me a murderer. What would that make Pol Pot, then?” as an argument, would you?

Aaliyah
11 years ago

So…it’s actually a matter of dispute whether Hitchens was a misogynist?

I think not.

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