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Hackneyed Prose Versus Plagiarism

ArchPundit September 24, 2007 No Comments

The entire situation regarding Glenn Poshard’s dissertation and thesis is important.There are varying degrees of culpability and certainly Poshard has some there with the question being how serious the violations are.  The examples I’ve seen suggest that he’s not presenting the ideas as his own work and so it does not fall within the worst case scenarios of a plagiarized work, but people who can analyze the material directly and take their time to see the full extent need to make that determination.
However, let me point out that one example is fricken’ silly:

“Drug abuse is not a new phenomenon in America. Various forms of drug abuse have existed for years in the United States and other countries.”

From the U.S. government report:

“Drug abuse is not a new phenomenon. Varying forms of drug abuse have been present for years in the United States and other countries.”

Having discovered several plagiarists from reading papers–some who did it on purpose, other who didn’t understand how to cite and quote material–I would never think to check on either sentence because they are so hackneyed, anyone could have written them and come up with very similar sentence structure.  It’s bad prose in both cases, but not what anyone with a brain would call plagiarism.

Now, if you were planning on plagiarizing either sentence above would be a great way to disguise it since most readers would be falling asleep before the end of the sentence.

Has the Tribune Editorial Board Ever Heard of Tony Rezko?

ArchPundit September 24, 2007 No Comments

From there editorial on Hsu:

Better yet, raise or eliminate the ridiculously low $2,300 contribution limit. Such limits haven’t created cleaner politics in the U.S. They have only helped to put fast-buck artists such as Norman Hsu in the political game.

How’s that working out for you in Illinois?

Levels of Ignorance

ArchPundit September 24, 2007 No Comments

It’s a bit bizarre to see everyone get their knickers in a twist over a guy who has very little actual power:

NEW YORK – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad questioned the official version of the Sept. 11 attacks and defended the right to cast doubt on the Holocaust in a tense appearance Monday at Columbia University, whose president accused the hard-line leader of behaving like “a petty and cruel dictator.”

Ahmadinejad smiled at first but appeared increasingly agitated, decrying the “insults” and “unfriendly treatment.” Columbia President Lee Bollinger and audience members took him to task over Iran’s human-rights record and foreign policy, as well as Ahmadinejad’s statements denying the Holocaust and calling for the disappearance of Israel.

“Mr. President, you exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator,” Bollinger said, to loud applause.

The problem with this is that he’s not a dictator.  He has a low level of power in Iran.  The country is primarily run by a small group of clerics who are not elected, unlike Ahmadinejad who barely won election because the reformers split the vote. He’s not terribly powerful, he doesn’t have much influence, and he’s not well liked. But other than that, he’s a real danger.

Iran is far from a dictatorship–it’s an oligarch theocracy run by people who are bad people in general, but not insane.  The guy doesn’t have the authority nor the power to make decisions over Iran’s nuclear program and he doesn’t have the ability to command the armed forces.  He’d end up with a slit throat in bed if he were to try and start a war with Israel.   Not to mention the Sunni countries in the way may not be too happy to have Shiites crossing their territory.

It’s baffling to me that people have gotten into a tizzy over a guy who is largely irrelevant other than making a fool of himself. But there you have the state of American foreign policy discussion today.

GOP Wants to Investigate the Pricing of a Newspaper Ad

ArchPundit September 24, 2007 No Comments

I kid you not.

There’s a troubling issue of holding hearings about First Amendment activities.   At best what we have is a mistake by the paper, but most worrisome is the notion that Congress has any business worrying about what the press charges different groups.  It’s not just a private business, but a Constitutionally protected private business, the only class of such businesses receiving such protection.  This is even more ridiculous than the hearings on exit polling that successfully demonstrated that yes, Billy Tauzin is that stupid.
In addition, does anyone care? Other than a bunch of people obsessed with Washington DC and it’s circle of conventional wisdom no one cares.
70 percent of the population wants this war to end within 2 years.   About 60 percent want it in 1 year.  The GOP wants to argue about a newspaper ad.

Are you kidding me?

Review of the Day

ArchPundit September 24, 2007 No Comments

Maureen Ryan:

‘m not sure what Chuck Lorre has against smart people, but with the foul sitcom “The Big Bang Theory” (7:30 p.m. Monday, WBBM-Ch. 2) he tries to have his revenge against anyone with an IQ above room temperature.

Did the Reporter Laugh

ArchPundit September 24, 2007 4 Comments

Oh my:

As for Obama, a senior White House official said the freshman senator from Illinois was “capable” of the intellectual rigor needed to win the presidency but instead relies too heavily on his easy charm.

“It’s sort of like, ‘that’s all I need to get by,’ which bespeaks sort of a condescending attitude towards the voters,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. “And a laziness, an intellectual laziness.”

I’m Only a Little Bit Behind

ArchPundit September 18, 2007 1 Comment

Rudy offers up the best case for him–he’ll lose by less:

As evidence for the claim that he is the Democrats’ “worst nightmare,” the Giuliani campaign points to calculations by Real Clear Politics showing that in head-to-head matchups in national polls, Hillary Clinton is an average of four points ahead of Giuliani but nine points ahead of Fred Thompson and 11.7 points ahead of Mitt Romney.

A typical supporter makes it all so clear:

Giuliani’s successes as mayor of New York City, especially his performance immediately after the World Trade Center bombings in 2001, was a popular subject at the gathering.

“It was a toilet and now it’s not,” said Rita Thompson, who on this year’s 9/11 protested a Muslim parade in Manhattan. “How could (Michael) Bloomberg let that go on?” she wondered of the current mayor. “You can bet Giuliani wouldn’t have.”

Here’s a description of the parade:

NEW YORK — Hundreds of Muslims chanted and waved flags from around the globe as they marched Sunday in the 22nd annual American Muslim Day Parade. About 20 protesters shouted anti-Muslim slogans from behind police barricades along Manhattan’s Madison Avenue and sought to link the marchers to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. A member of the parade organizing committee, Dr. Hafiz Ur Rehman, a pediatrician from Bay Shore, said the marchers condemned the 2001 attacks.

“We are law-abiding citizens, and we want the people of New York to know that Muslims are part and parcel of the landscape,” he said. “The motto of this parade is that Islam holds human dignity high. And that is what we want to demonstrate.”

The parade was accompanied by a strong police presence. Before setting off, marchers laid down blue plastic ground coverings and prayed, the women behind the men.

Facing east, they alternately stood, knelt and touched foreheads to the ground. Marching behind banners representing Afghan, Bangladeshi and Indonesian community groups, they chanted more Muslim prayers along the 16-block parade route.

Police kept the marchers separate from the protesters, who shouted “God bless America” and “No more 9/11s!”

Protest leader Joe Kaufman, of Coral Springs, Fla., said parade organizers included groups that support Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that the U.S. government considers a terrorist organization. “We believe that this parade is a threat to New York City and a danger to national security,” he said.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg did not attend the parade, but a statement of support from him was read from a podium.

Parade-goer Khalilah Shabazz, of Newark, N.J., said the event was “beautiful.” “We’re all Muslims,” she said. “We’re all one big family. Just loving each other. Just pure love.”

How could Bloomberg allow it? Because they are Americans.

Surfin’ the Bird

ArchPundit September 18, 2007 1 Comment

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St. Louis DKos Meet-up Tuesday September 18th

ArchPundit September 17, 2007 No Comments

A group of Missourians who attended Yearlykos 2007 last month has organized a follow-up meeting in St. Louis on Tuesday, September 18th. If you are 1) a progressive Democrat and 2) a blogger, commenter, lurker, candidate for office, and/or elected official, you are welcome to attend!The details:

Date: Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Place: The Royale at 3132 S. Kingshighway
Time: 6:30 pm until ???

About the location: The Royale is a nice, relaxing bar where you can also get a good, decently priced meal if you can’t grab some food beforehand. It was actually profiled on the Food Network show “Recipe for Success” when it opened. It’s also a hangout for local politicians and activists – Jeff Smith kicked off his state senate campaign there, for example.

If you’re in the St. Louis area, please join us. It will be a good chance to meet fellow progressives face-to-face and have a little fun. See you on the 18th!