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Rand Paul and/or his minions have a serious plagiarism problem

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Dick Whitman, Nov 5, 2013.

  1. LongTimeListener

    LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

    We are having a reasonable discussion. #context #YankeeFanIsMyBoy
     
  2. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    But he's now perfectly qualified to be VP. :D
     
  3. Moderator1

    Moderator1 Moderator Staff Member

    I assume you were on the other, too, until you weren't. Doesn't answer my question - how is this thread different from the last?
     
  4. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    This could be good for the republicans...

    I like Paul, but stuff like this makes me pretty unlikely to vote for him.

    If they get some of the other candidates out of the way early, it could be good for Christie, who probably has the best chance in the general election, but will struggle in the primaries.
     
  5. MisterCreosote

    MisterCreosote Well-Known Member

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 15, 2014
  6. LongTimeListener

    LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

    Actually I wasn't on the other one. Damn work schedule.

    This thread is different because now it looks like we have a pattern of plagiarism and not just a mistake one speechwriter made that Paul didn't know about. The old excuses don't fly.

    EDIT: Nice pic, Creosote.
     
  7. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    There have been new developments.

    Those new developments took place in a newspaper, the Washington Times.

    Thus, these new developments are quite germane to the industry, specifically, and plagiarism of the written word, generally.

    The source material is also different this time. Last time, it regarded Wikipedia, and a key question was whether plagiarizing Wikipedia was somehow more acceptable. But this time, he plagiarized "The Week," a magazine.
     
  8. Moderator1

    Moderator1 Moderator Staff Member

    Wait, what? The Times (cap T in The)? Have you posted links and gotten us clicks??

    Let's try to avoid getting this one locked, not just because we need the clicks.
     
  9. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    I suspect you will not lack for clicks today:

    http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/sep/20/paul-the-devastating-effect-of-a-drug-war-weapon/?page=all
     
  10. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    Information provided by staff "not ... vetted properly."

    http://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/rand-paul-speeches-cleanup-99383.html?hp=f3

    It won't stick long, but it's really, really, really, really, really bad to lift full paragraphs, unattributed, from previously published material.

    I can also totally understand how it happens these days.
     
  11. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    Maybe it's too early, but this story barely seems to be registering on the news websites.

    I consider this to be pretty big news, but CNN and MSNBC don't appear to have touched it.

    As journalists and former journalists, obviously this is a topic that is very important to us, regardless of political affiliation. Have we reached the point where the rest of the public doesn't give a shit about something like this?
     
  12. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    Yeah, I think so.

    I think, in particular, they don't care if you plagiarize the recitation of facts as opposed to commentary or ideas. That's what he's been doing.

    I think this is one of the passages he lifted:

    Since mandatory sentencing began in the 1970s in response to a growing drug-and-crime epidemic, America’s prison population has quadrupled, to 2.4 million. America now jails a higher percentage of its citizens than any other country, including China and Iran, at the staggering cost of $80 billion a year. Drug offenders in the United States spend more time under the criminal justice system’s formal control than drug offenders anywhere else in the world.

    I suspect a lot of people would think, "Well, how many different ways are there to say that?"

    And I'll admit, sometimes, it feels really tedious and inefficient to have to scramble the words around just to not plagiarize. But in this case it's real easy:

    "According to an article that appeared in 'The Week' last week, '(s)ince mandatory sentencing began ...'"
     
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