Rand Paul likes to lift speech material straight from Wikipedia

[banyon]

Sort of surprised i dont see this up anywhere.



Rand Paul denies plagiarism charges, blames ‘haters’ ’

By Aaron Blake, Published: OCTOBER 31, 10:59 AM ET

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) says in a new interview that charges that he has plagiarized Wikipedia in his speeches are an effort by "haters" to bring him down.

MSNBC's Rachel Maddow first accused Paul of lifting passages from Wikipedia's summary of the movie "Gattaca." Other reports suggest he has used Wikipedia's verbiage while describing the movie "Stand and Deliver."

Paul said during an interview with Fusion that he sufficiently credited the movies rather than Wikipedia and that his speeches are not supposed to be meticulously footnoted academic papers.

"We borrowed the plot lines from 'Gattaca,' the movie, and I gave credit to the people who wrote the movie," the potential 2016 presidential candidate said. "Nothing I said was not given attribution to where it came from.

"I didn't claim that I created the movie 'Gattaca'; that's what's absurd about this."

While Paul made no secret he was talking about the movie, the plagiarism charge has more to do with whether he appropriated Wikipedia's description of the film without citing the Web site.

Many politicians have been accused of plagiarism. Vice President Biden's 1988 presidential campaign was derailed amid multiple charges of plagiarism. President Obama was also accused of plagiarizing Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) during the 2008 presidential campaign.

Paul also targeted Maddow and others who have pushed the story.

"The rest of it's making a mountain out of a molehill from people I think basically who are political enemies and have an ax to grind," Paul said. "This is really about information and attacks coming from haters. The person who's leading this attack -- she's been spreading hate on me for about three years now."

http://m.washingtonpost.com/blogs/po...arism-charges/

[banyon]

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

This isn't a libel slander situation. Plagiarism extends to all intellectual property. You can plagiarize a team playbook, an analogy, an argument, video, computer code, math calculations, etc., etc.

Yes, but it has to go beyond just referencing a historical analogy or movie, which was the invalid complaint against Maddow. You have to actually use their words or their unique idea.

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by banyon

Yes, but it has to go beyond just referencing a historical analogy or movie, which was the invalid complaint against Maddow. You have to actually use their words or their unique idea.

It's a matter of degree. The media doesn't have to credit the first person to remark that Robin Thicke's Zoot suit looked like Beetlejuice to avoid plagiarism, because it was a clear and obvious callback.

But on the oil spill callback and the TP 'Natucket sleigh ride' are some wonky and little observed comparisons. If there's a case that both were just sitting there in the Zietgiest obvious to all, or a BUNCH of journalists were simultaneously making similar observations, I'm all ears. Looks more like Maddow['s minions] found something in the blogosphere that looked wonky, snarky and clever and snatched it and put it on air as journalistic effort.

Kind of like when Whitlock used to publish planet thread discussions as articles under his name [TrINT, etc.].

[Dave Lane]

Rand Paul is just as bright as his followers.

[Taco John]

Originally Posted by banyon

LOL

She couldn't have possibly been more specific. She specifically stated it had nothing to do with referencing pop culture and was about using the entry from Wikipedia without attributing it (as my thread title indicates).

She suggests Rand Paul (and I guess by extension perhaps you) possibly does not understand what plagarism is.



Here is the piece where she goes speech by speech with the Wikipedia text below his speech.



As she explained, this is about "using the words of someone else as your own and not attributing them". It's not the worst offense in the world. But it is reminiscent of the battles with tea partiers in this forum who seem allergic to ever admitting they have made a mistake and would rather contort logic and make preposterous claims than admit wrongdoing. He should just admit it and move on.

Admit what? That Rachel Maddow is a petty propaganda peddler?

I couldn't care less where Rand Paul's speech writer finds inspiration. There are actual, you know, issues happening out in the real world. Speech crafting isn't one of them.

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by Taco John

Admit what? That Rachel Maddow is a petty propaganda peddler?

I couldn't care less where Rand Paul's speech writer finds inspiration. There are actual, you know, issues happening out in the real world. Speech crafting isn't one of them.

Maddow looks really small in this one if one actually pays attention.

But in terms of the original definition of propaganda [propagation of felicitous sentiment] I just bet it's resonating like hell with low information voters.

'Oh, that Rachel, with her furrowed brow, and snark in every syllable, is really taking to that white guy again, something about his he doesn't understand the internet. It's a hoot. Rich white guys, suck it some more.'

[Flips his rich white kid goth bangs]

[banyon]

Originally Posted by Taco John

Admit what? That Rachel Maddow is a petty propaganda peddler?

I couldn't care less where Rand Paul's speech writer finds inspiration. There are actual, you know, issues happening out in the real world. Speech crafting isn't one of them.

It's not "inspiration". You can sugarcoat it if you wish, but it was essentially word for word on all of these occasions. Create some other euphemisms if they comfort you in your hero worship.

[banyon]

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

Maddow looks really small in this one if one actually pays attention.

But in terms of the original definition of propaganda [propagation of felicitous sentiment] I just bet it's resonating like hell with low information voters.

'Oh, that Rachel, with her furrowed brow, and snark in every syllable, is really taking to that white guy again, something about his he doesn't understand the internet. It's a hoot. Rich white guys, suck it some more.'

[Flips his rich white kid goth bangs]

Why is it small? She points it out and says its not that big of a deal, but curious why he'd be so defensive about it. If she wanted to make it a hate-filled smear, it would've sounded a lot different.

It's not news that someone running for president won't even conform to the standards we usually expect on this ****ing message board? (post your link, etc.)

[Scooter Libby]

Originally Posted by Dave Lane

Rand Paul is just as bright as his followers.

He graduated from Duke you got your degree from?

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by banyon

Why is it small? She points it out and says its not that big of a deal, but curious why he'd be so defensive about it. If she wanted to make it a hate-filled smear, it would've sounded a lot different.

It's not news that someone running for president won't even conform to the standards we usually expect on this ****ing message board? (post your link, etc.)

She engaged in 'high level' cake having and eating.
Mentions offhand how it might not be that big a deal. Then rails and rails about how he hasn't responded to our polite requests, and how he'll have to answer, and answer soon, and his answer better be good, because it could erase all political ambitions, just like Joe's presidential ones in '88 [only his plagiarism was on steroids and related back to multiform and past plagiarism as far back as law school, and wasn't the only thing that sunk him].

But at its base it's just another vehicle for the perpetual low information din of snark and distaste that the hallmark of 'Team Jacob, Team Edward' politics.

Utterly unconcerned with the issues we face outside 'those guys aren't in my interest and everything that degrades them is fair game.'

[banyon]

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

Utterly unconcerned with the issues we face outside 'those guys aren't in my interest and everything that degrades them is fair game.'

You don't like her fine. But it is a story, and attacking her doesn't negate it.

I don't think it should be a fatal blow to him in his aspirations either.

But it does make me wonder why this group of fringe republicans is always so allergic to admitting any mistakes. It seems to run through the entire group of them. I guess because their position is "we have a monopoly on the truth, and no one else understands things as well as us", maybe they can't afford to even have the appearance that there is any fault they are capable of? It really makes no sense, but I've run into it again and again on this forum as well.

[Taco John]

Originally Posted by banyon

It's not "inspiration". You can sugarcoat it if you wish, but it was essentially word for word on all of these occasions. Create some other euphemisms if they comfort you in your hero worship.

I don't have hero worship. Rand Paul, like his father, is just an imperfect messenger of ideas. It's the ideas that I'm a fan of, and I think it's the ideas that Maddow truly finds offensive.

[banyon]

Originally Posted by Taco John

I don't have hero worship. Rand Paul, like his father, is just an imperfect messenger of ideas. It's the ideas that I'm a fan of, and I think it's the ideas that Maddow truly finds offensive.

Yes, Abortion is like the movie Gattaca. Tremendous idea.

Move over Voltaire, Rousseau, and Locke!

Our country is in great hands.

[Taco John]

Originally Posted by banyon

Yes, Abortion is like the movie Gattaca. Tremendous idea.

Move over Voltaire, Rousseau, and Locke!

Our country is in great hands.

Pop culture has always been the highway of idea transfer.

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by banyon

Yes, a growing majority of Americans get their news primarily from Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.

Move over Voltaire, Rousseau, and Locke!

Our country is in great hands.

FYP

This is fun.

And FTR, I've seen every episode of both shows [including the Kilborne years]. But I did so like parents and grandparents did Carson, to see what he/they would say about the news I already familiarized myself with, for entertainment.

[ClevelandBronco]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

Maddow was actually one of the first people to give Paul a voice in the national media by giving him an interview early in 2009.

Did you accuse someone here of plagiarizing something you said a few years back? I can't remember the details.