Shorter Wingnut Welfare Queens
ABOVE: Last seen buying a Cadillac Escalade
with Regnery-issued Disinformation Chits.
Conservative Authors Sue Publisher
- Regnery Publishing doesn’t care about hack people!
‘Shorter’ concept created by Daniel Davies and perfected by Elton Beard. Hanxxors: Kevin Drum.
Gavin adds: There’s more going on here than the Times story says. Regnery authors benefit enormously from this system: It provides guaranteed royalties on all those internally-shifted books, plus (and the Times knows this) Regnery is notorious for massive bulk-ordering from within the retail system, a practice designed to push titles onto the Times Bestseller List in the absence of actual large retail sales. (The Times marks books with significant bulk sales with a † symbol.)
The discovery stage in this case promises to be very interesting.
My book would totally sell like a million copies if it wasn’t given away for free.
Like I said over at the Great Orange Satan, these right wing nimrods should be thanking Regnery that they unloaded their sh*t-piles, pardon me, “books” at “steep discounts” to book clubs and other right wing tool-a-thons.
Without that, our newest generation of rightist turd flingers would have no sales under their belts with which to promote themselves into nationwide media attention.
Do you think L. Ron Hubbard would complain from his home in the middle of that volcano because scientolyologists are always buying tons of copies of “Diabetics” to make it seem like normal, non-robot people are buying them?
I would be mad enough to write a book if I got the short end of the stick like those guys did, in complexion alone.
I love the way they equate being on the New York Times Best Seller list as some sort of bar to get over.
Selling a lot of books isn’t too hard when the cost is…FREE!
Its the circular agument, ad nauseum:
Pasty, Sad Dudes: We have books on the NYT Best Seller list! You’re scewing us!
Regenry: You wouldn’t be best selling authors if we hadn’t found ways to creatively dump your long winded drivel.
PSD: That’s it, were suing!
R: Aren’t you the “Trial Lawyers are Money Grubbing Devils” sort of guys?
PSD: You are in cahoots with the Great Orange Satan and the Liberully Biased MSM!
R: I need a vacation!
Those kooky conservatives, always trying to get the government to interfere in free enterprise. It’s amazing how suddenly someone can switch to supporting market regulation when it’s their favor.
I love how one of them asks “Why is Regnery acting like a Marxist cartoon of a capitalist company?” Wouldn’t maximising their profits make the publisher an ideal of capitalism? Nah, I’m probably just being silly. Silly me. Making lots of money is all Marxists think about, I’m sure. And capitalists make sure that everyone gets a fair share even if it means lower profits.
Right-wing authors take on Regnery in an assholes vs douchebags grudge match! Don’t miss a minute of the suit-crumpling, tie-twisting action!
My favorite line is:
Ahhh, justice. I truly hope that both Regnery and the authors get lots and lots of justice. Loads of it.
This is further proof that conservative insiders are expecting a downturn in fortunes. Soon, these authors figure, wingnuttery will have to go on short rations, and wingnut affinity groups will stop buying their books in bulk rate to hand out as party favors, membership premiums, etc.
That’s why they’re willing to burn their Regnery bridge to get a little settlement money now. They believe the wheels have fallen off the gravy train, and they’re raiding it for provisions.
That’s why they’re willing to burn their Regnery bridge to get a little settlement money now. They believe the wheels have fallen off the gravy train, and they’re raiding it for provisions.
Very interesting point, Roy. But we can’t discount the possibility that they’re just short-sighted, greedy, and stupid.
The discovery stage in this case promises to be very interesting.
What do you want to bet that discovery is conducted pursuant to a mutually agreed-upon protective order that keeps all that stuff from the public’s prying eyes?
HAH! My favorite part:
“Why is Regnery acting like a Marxist cartoon of a capitalist company?”
Who put LSD in his fruit loops?
ZOMG! Workers of the World Unite! LONG LIVE THE INDISSOLUTE UNION OF THE WORKING CLASS, THE PEASANTRY, AND THE INTELLIGENTSIA, active builders of Communism!!! FRATERNAL GREETINGS TO THE COMMUNIST AND WORKERS PARTIES unflinching fighters against imperialism and for peace, democracy, national independence and socialism! Stregthen the unity and close ties of Communists the world over on the unshakable basis of Marxism-Leninism and Proletarian Internationalism!
BROTHERHOOD AND FREEDOM!
PEACE, LAND, & BREAD!
IT IS GOOD TO HAVE ONLY ONE CHILD!
*gasp*
*gasp*
*gasp*
Oh, more money. KTHXBAI.
Somebody get to the day-old government cheese store before Bill Gertz empties it out!
Why buy the shit when the bulls are giving it for free?
Roy- Kudos!*
“the wheels have fallen off the gravy train, and they’re raiding it for provisions.”
I have long liked the ‘Wheels have come off the cart’ phrase, but this is even better.
Way to turn a phrase, brother.
(* Whatever a freakin’ kudo is, besides those plasticky cereal bars…)
This is further proof that conservative insiders are expecting a downturn in fortunes. Soon, these authors figure, wingnuttery will have to go on short rations, and wingnut affinity groups will stop buying their books in bulk rate to hand out as party favors, membership premiums, etc.
WIngnuttery will never die. It may be in a slump right now but once Bill and Hillary move back into the White House the wingnuts will all band together again.
“Why is Regnery acting like a Marxist cartoon of a capitalist company?”
So far, this is the moneyshot in this awesome, awesome story.
Wasn’t Nader’s last book published by Regnery?
Oh, Ralph, please, do a tiny bit of good and join this suit.
Doubleday is jealous that Regnery has conservative authors who actually turn manuscripts in. They dream of the day they get sued by Jonah.
Okay, my dad was one of the judges. Are you saying I haven’t earned this sash and scholarship?
“It suddenly occurred to us that Regnery is making collectively jillions of dollars off of us and paying us a pittance.”
Math question: how much is “jillions” minus “a pittance?” Please show your work. Thank you.
I imagine that the plaintiffs intend to voluntarily set the cap for their damages at $250,000, and that they will not be retaining big time trial lawyers.
From the New York Times article:
I’m sure Regnery would be happy to sign them for another deal. Call it Big Pimping, Marxist Cartoon of a Capitalist Company Style.
I’m willing to bet these, ahem, “authors” (and I use the scare quotes quite advisedly) are golfing buddies with a number of corporate CEOs.
Corporate CEOs who have been maximizing profits at the expense of the success and well-being of their workforce for decades.
And when the Regnery workforce begins to whine on the golf course about being screwed by their publishers, the Corporate CEOs are NOT gonna have a whole lot of sympathy.
They’ll stop, scratch their balding pate, stare off into the middle distance and ask in honest befuddlement “Of course. What would you expect them to do?”
mikey
Just reading the book titles in that NYTimes article was like falling into an Onion parody. “The Clintons and the 40 Ways Your Children Will Burn In Hell”. This court case should be a mini-series while the writers are on strike.
Ooh, discovery will be fun. I want to see where the write-offs go in the ol’ Conservative Book Club scams, where donating $5 to the Spew Spewitt Nipple Cream Fund gets a semi’s load of Regnery pablum dumped on your lawn next day in a twenty-foot pile as a ‘thank you’.
“Why is Regnery acting like a Marxist cartoon of a capitalist company?”
There really aren’t any words for how awesome this quote is.
Math question: how much is “jillions” minus “a pittance?” Please show your work. Thank you.
I wouldn’t say no to a few pittless jillions. I’m sure that’s more than what I’ve got.
Regnery authors benefit enormously from this system: It provides guaranteed royalties on all those internally-shifted books, plus (and the Times knows this)
Actually, they don’t benefit from those royalties. The suit alleges that the authors are paid a percentage of the hardcover price. They allege that the publisher was selling the books for a fraction of the usual hardcover price to to a sister company and the sister company then resold or donated the books. So, instead of getting, say, 10% of $24 dollars, they would be paid 10% of $4.
This did allow “pumping” of the sales figures which probably did provide some benefit to the authors, but there was no benefit from increased royalties.
Ah… the dangers of believing your own hype.
I’m sure some of these folks addled brains they are taking a principled Randian stand: they are truly great authors and that Regnery is “mooching” off their brilliance.
This of course is one of the problem with Objectivism (besides being the favorite philosphy of long-haired college nerds who listen to too much Rush): the tendency for folks to confuse their greatness with luck, political perks, or general class/wealth benefits.
Gavin needs to pass the Cheetos. This should be good.
tde-
Are you defending these guys?
They would not be ‘Best Selling Authors’ if Regenry did not off their books any way they could.
Therefore, they do not deserve the higher royalties that would never have materialized.
Dammit! I just passed up the chance to use ergo.
I meant:
Ergo, they do not deserve the higher royalties that never would have materialized in the first place.
I feel much better.
A/K/A ‘Trustifarians’.
That was in reference to long-haired college nerds who listen to too much Rush.
I just emailed Miniter and thanked him for that quote.
His email is RMiniter@RichardMiniter.com, from the contact info on his website. Feel free to thank him, too.
Are you defending these guys?
I don’t know if you mean the authors or the publishers, but no I’m not defending anyone. I wouldn’t piss on any of them if they were on fire.
Just pointing out that it was incorrect to say that the “authors benefit enormously from this system: It provides guaranteed royalties on all those internally-shifted books”.
Word. I see.
I would piss on them if they were on fire. Not only would I get to piss on a reprehensible being, I would also retain the moral high ground by helping out a fellow human.
but isnt this the Libratian ideal? The one with the money makes the rules? If these authors think they are so hot, they should go out and get a contract with some other publisher ( I’m sure they will be lining up for SOME of THAT action )instead of crying over spilt milk.
I love how these rugged indivualist always come wimpering to activist judges when it’s thier pennies on the line.
Right-wing authors take on Regnery in an assholes vs douchebags grudge match! Don’t miss a minute of the suit-crumpling, tie-twisting action!
GET READY FOR SOPHISTICUFFS XII!
Putting the “tort” in “distortion” since 2007.
“Jillions” minus “a pittance” = eleventy
You can google my work; it’s easy!
TDE said:
Explicit in the authors’ claim of monetary damages, however, is the assumption that their books would sell at the cover price. Claiming damages in this situation is iffy, at best, since I imagine Regnery can furnish figures and expert witnesses explaining how much easier it is to move their books at the reduced price.
In other words, 10% of 25,000 units at $4 is better than 10% of 1,000 units at $24.
Another potential interpretation of the linked NYT article is that (the authors claim) Regnery is selling books to itself at a drastically cut price, paying royalties based on the cut price, and then re-selling them at a higher price–in which case the authors would have good reason to be upset.
My sense of schadenfreude is undiminished in either scenario, however: wingnut authors who make a living out of shrill dishonesty were treated in a dishonest fashion by their publisher.
t4toby – Okay, you’re right. Sometimes acting morally _does_ provide tangible benefits to the actor.
Damn–with the collected works of Hugh Hewitt selling for a dime it was cheaper to burn than firewood at the cottage last winter .
Hope you folks realize if Regnery loses the price of fishwrap’ll skyrocket as well.
They believe the wheels have fallen off the gravy train, and they’re raiding it for provisions…..Very interesting point, Roy. But we can’t discount the possibility that they’re just short-sighted, greedy, and stupid.
Neither idea is mutually exclusive. That’s what makes it fun!
wingnut authors who make a living out of shrill dishonesty were treated in a dishonest fashion by their publisher.
Good lord, they were treated as if they were filthy musicians or something.
The market is efficient. It can’t fail. Everyone will be paid in accordance to their abilities. If you feel that you’re being reamed up the ass, don’t worry, its just the invisible hand giving you the reach around.
I imagine that the plaintiffs intend to voluntarily set the cap for their damages at $250,000, and that they will not be retaining big time trial lawyers.
heh.
Well heh’d.
“Putting the ‘tort’ in “distortion” since 2007.”
I’m totally embezzling this statement for my own personal benefit.
Explicit in the authors’ claim of monetary damages, however, is the assumption that their books would sell at the cover price. Claiming damages in this situation is iffy, at best, since I imagine Regnery can furnish figures and expert witnesses explaining how much easier it is to move their books at the reduced price.
Your first sentence is true. But, from what I can piece together from the news reports summarizing their complaint, the publisher sold the books at a discounted price to a sister-corporation that then resold or donated the books – somehow making more money than they paid the publisher. Since the author’s cut was determined by the first sale, they did not get any benefits from the later sales/donations, even though the parent company did.
If the publisher had just dumped slow-moving books off to an unrelated third party, the authors wouldn’t have any claim – IMHO. But if the books were shifted around to various subsidiaries as part of a plan to limit royalties paid to the authors, they might have a claim.
Either way – I hope it results in a protracted scorched-earth legal battle that sucks in all of the Regenery authors . . .
Heh. Indeed.
Ha, ha. These guys think they are real writers and Regnery is a real publishing house. That is some great self-deception.
Wingnuts whine when their employers behave like Ferrengi. Hilarious.
GET READY FOR SOPHISTICUFFS XII!
Bwaaaaaahahahahahaaa! Best laugh of the day.
I’m just sorry I missed the first XI of them.
This made my day. Seriously, I have a smile a mile wide. No matter which side loses the lawsuit, I win!
Why do these communist wingnut “authors” hate the right of individuals to be contractually dominated by more powerful corporate entities?
That’s Jerome Corsi, by the way. Instrumental, IIRC, in the Swift Boat Vet scam that they ran on Kerry. I think he’s the guy who alleged that Kerry deliberately inflicted one of his own purple heart wounds in order to get the “3 purple heart” ticket home.
Corsi is a real scumbag. A liar and a scumbag.
The “Hillary is a demon from Hell” (HDFH) series of books from these vicious bastards is due in about June of next year. I guaranfuckingtee that Corsi and his fellow travelers have the manuscripts already completed (they’ve probably had them for the better part of a decade … Hillary in lesbian affair with Vince Foster, Bill and Hillary killed Foster and Bill then skullfucked him to cover up Whitewater, and Hillary is a castrating bitch who enables Bill to carry on his campaign of cigar-fucking every white trash bimbo south of Lake Ontario. Oh, and Hillary wants to force us into healthcare and then use socialized medicine to spread her lesbian propaganda and confiscate our guns… I could go on and on …)
Part of this legal battling is with an eye towards getting better percentages out of Regnery for the HDFH series.
This isn’t so much the wingnut vultures squabbling over the carcass of conservatism. This is the wingnuts angling for a better seat at the next round of character assassination. It’s coming, and it ain’t gonna be pretty, and we damn we’ll better be prepared to stuff that vile shit right back in their mouths.
I think zsa is correct. The Bush generation of wingnut hate publications has come to an end. That ship has sailed, as no one cares any longer. The wingnut authors are simply trying to better their position for the Hillary round of character assassination. They know that their “readers” will wet themselves as they have never wet themselves before over book after book of Clinton hate, and that these publications will move very well. I suppose it’s a wise move on their part. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if they settle on increased future royalties rather than litigate the past royalties to any real degree.
Of course, we must never understimate the greed, stupidity, and self-importance of wingnut authors.
“Regnery Publishing doesn’t care about hack people!”
HA!
I get jokes.
Damn intellectual book-larnin’ types hate our corporate overlords! That’s so un-Mer’can it might as well be I’s-lame-o-fascist!
In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if they settle on increased future royalties rather than litigate the past royalties to any real degree.
That’s a good point but I don’t think it’s relevant that the Clinton stuff might make money: does Regenry really exist to make money? I imagine it’s nice if they recover their costs and that they’ll try to do so as shown above, but they exist to disseminate propaganda.
As entertaining as this hot jackal on hyena action might be in the short term I think zsa is right. This train has lots and lots of gravy on it and more in the pipeline for these clowns to fight over.
Can’t the invisible hand take care of this?
These people are exactly the same as the Republicans who become Democrats once they get sick. Only then does it dawn on them that their silly theories have no basis in reality.
RB’s got a point … it’s not about money, otherwise they wouldn’t be eventually dumping hundreds of thousands of copies onto the fevered masses at below cost. Eagle/Regnery may well be operating at a net loss. They’re a privately-held company, so who the hell really knows? Scaife?
But the authors themselves are motivated by money. Money and wingnutziness, I guess. So they’ll sue now because they know that Regnery will have an insatiable appetite for HDFH slash-fanfic – even if they have to give it away by the truckload.
That shit has a limited shelf-life. I believe it spontaneously decomposes the day after the election.
The whole thing gets settled out of court, says I. Regnery is about the propaganda, and the “authors” know that their numbers are wildly inflated by dumping their “books” into this secondary market. Few rational humans would pay retail for that tripe. That’s why it’s called wingnut welfare, after all.
“Hope you folks realize if Regnery loses the price of fishwrap’ll skyrocket as well.”:
Who can afford to buy fish?
“…Hillary in lesbian affair with Vince Foster”
Wait a minute – do you mean Vince Foster
iswas… a woman?1?Now that’s interesting.
Finkle is Einhorn….Einhorn is Finkle!!!
Drat! I was gonna send in this link and you beat me to it.
How fun to see a vicious fight breaking out in that rightwing kennel known as Regnery Publishing.
We should have a Regnery “Hillary is a Demon From Hell” fanfic contest. Who can write the best expose of the wicked witch of the east?
I call dibs on the “Queen of the Damned bathing in the blood of our brave troops” metaphor.
There’s enough gravy on the gravy train to gravyboard every well connected wingnut for the rest of our lifetimes. Especially when they save gravy by having one doughy old white dude pretend to be two different authors. Did you look at the pictures of Gertz and Corsi at the NYT link? Lighting, makeup and hair styling are not enough to fool me. Those two clowns would have to walk into my office right now to convince me they’re not the same asshole.
And some wingnut welfare outfits are not waiting until next June to go after Hitlery. WingNutDaily is already at it with a book by Kathleen Willey. They claim that she suspects the Clintons in her husband’s death which was ruled a suicide.
And they’ve polled their readers as to whether they find Willey’s alleged allegations credible. About 92% of the respondents picked one of these answers:
The book’s publication date is Nov. 27th.
Who can write the best expose of the wicked witch of the east?
That sounds to me like a good excuse to open a six-pack of hoppy goodness and watch Species and Species II back-to-back in search of inspiration. As if an excuse was needed.
Chuckle, chuckle. I love how their complaining about the publisher “maximizing profits.” heh heh…
Isn’t that like Catholics complaining about the rosary?
Gravyboarding.
That sounds like what its like to eat lunch at Jones Kitchen in Jesup, GA.
Or The Farmer’s Daughter in Dallas.
Gravyboarding’s not torture, I’ve been gravyboarded.
Yes, she’s never lied to me, but Bill and Hillary Clinton have
Do a lot of the readers at WND frequently talk with Willey or the Clintons?
Cause y’know, “to me” suggests someone actually taking the time to speak with me personally, either telling the truth or making up lies to fool me, personally.
And well, Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton have *never* lied *to me*. Neither for that matter, has Willey. My parents did when they told me Santa Claus was real, or that my cat went to live on a farm, but never the Clintons.
Lawnguy-
They part their hair different, and Bill Gertz has less hair. but beyond that, same guy.
Although, I believe Jerome Corsi is fantastically unattractive. Call me lookist, but I’d be mad at the world if I had to face that visage in the mirror everyday, too.
Probably explains the pre-flushed cheeks.
Gravyboarding.
LOLOLOLzerZ!!!!1!
I met Joel Mobray once. He’s an asshole. (and still unenlisted)
Finkle is Einhorn….Einhorn is Finkle!!!
Awesome.
Call me lookist, but I’d be mad at the world if I had to face that visage in the mirror everyday, too.
Can you say sammich?
I knew y’could…
mikey
Patkin,
I work with hundreds of average Americans and at least 75% of them feel they have a personal relationship with someone – a politician, a celebrity, a criminal even – who they have never met.
I don’t get it either, but the operational word is ‘feel’. They just feel a connection, ergo that connection exists.
From the co-worker who is convinced The Rock is going to marry her now that he is getting divorced to the manager who is ‘personally let down by George W. Bush’s failure in leadership’, they all feel some emotional connection. No amount of logic budges it.
I still haven’t figured out how to work with it. All I can do is not step on their fantasies because then… oh mama! Do they ever get mad!
That’s why I pick on wingnuts on-line; I can’t do it at work!
Doodle Bean,
I suppose. But to me, it just seems like the beginnings of that lady who thought David Letterman loved her and was communicating his affections by blinking on camera during his monologues.
Y’know, insane stalking justifications.
I work with hundreds of average Americans and at least 75% of them feel they have a personal relationship with someone… who they have never met.
Is that counting religion?
No one could have predicted that wingnut greed would triumph over wingnut ideology.
No one could have predicted that wingnut greed would triumph over wingnut ideology.
I certainly couldn’t have – they’re very nearly indistinguishable.
[…] it looks like everyone’s making popcorn for the big Regnery suit, looking forward eagerly to the discovery phase in which we may finally […]
Joel Mowbray, author of “Dangerous Diplomacy: How the State Department Threatens America’s Security,” said he was particularly disappointed in Regnery and Eagle because they had so championed conservative authors. “These guys created the conservative book market,” Mr. Mowbray said. “Before them, conservatives were having to fight, generally unsuccessfully, to get books published.”
What, you mean there isn’t a large market for books about why shipping middle class jobs to other countries is a good thing, or about what a good president W is, or about Bill Clinton murdering people with his bare hands????
math question: how much is “jillions” minus “a pittance?” please show your work. thank you.
jillion – pittance = one shitload
remember to carry the fuck of a lot
But we can’t discount the possibility that they’re just short-sighted, greedy, and stupid.
My money’s on short-sighted, greedy and stupid enough to raid the gravy train for provisions BEFORE the wheels fall off, so at least they’re sure they “get theirs.”
But, from what I can piece together from the news reports summarizing their complaint, the publisher sold the books at a discounted price to a sister-corporation that then resold or donated the books – somehow making more money than they paid the publisher. Since the author’s cut was determined by the first sale, they did not get any benefits from the later sales/donations, even though the parent company did.
If the publisher had just dumped slow-moving books off to an unrelated third party, the authors wouldn’t have any claim – IMHO. But if the books were shifted around to various subsidiaries as part of a plan to limit royalties paid to the authors, they might have a claim.
Actually, it will depend on the terms of the contract. If the contract stated that the publisher could discount up to a certain percentage of the hardbacks, the contract will be upheld–particularly if these “hot-shot authors” were represented by their own attorneys or agents–as opposed to Regnery’s attorneys. Corporations are free to use their best business judgment in such situations. Arguably, giving away or deep-discounting books is a cheaper marketing ploy than taking out several successive ads in the NYTimes or LATimes Book Review. And after the first sale, the purchaser is free to transfer the book according to his terms.
I’m just hoping it is appealed in the 2nd Circuit, where a majority of the appointees are the sort of hard-core conservatives who favor business. Attorneys should never have this much fun….
it’s not about money, otherwise they wouldn’t be eventually dumping hundreds of thousands of copies onto the fevered masses at below cost. Eagle/Regnery may well be operating at a net loss. They’re a privately-held company, so who the hell really knows? Scaife?
Example: the WSJ. The paper of the free market uber alles, even when it pisses off the LouDobbsian xenophobes. An organisation that, one would assume, knows the price of everything (and the value of nothing).
Its online enterprises? Curiously divided.
The news bit of the WSJ. Paywalled, by subscription only.
The batshit wingnut opinion section? Available gratis.
There is a value, beyond money, of getting that shit circulating. The reference to the coming wave of Murderous Dyke Hillary books is apposite, since the WSJ ran hard with the Vince Foster story.
If Regnery could generate wingnut propaganda with robots, they’d do it. (Right now, the tech is stuck at the level of ‘internet troll’.) The authors are just penny-liners, jobbing shitspewers. Tough titty if they don’t feel adequately compensated. It won’t be long before the job is outsourced to Bangalore and a team of ghostwriters, with some failed Faux News blonde playing the part of ‘author’ for the promotions.
So I imagine we’ll the Regenery gang out on the picket lines with the WGA any day now?
[…] check the full story here […]
Patkin,
I agree!
And Herr Doktor,
Nope. That’s a whole ‘nother bag o’ crazy here at PII!
[…] some of the writers published by Regnery are suing them (it’s also looked at here, here, here, here (Jane also talks a bit about another conservative operation Pajama Media), and I’m […]
[…] The wingnut welfare squad sure are upset that their publishers cheated them to the New York Times best seller […]