Why Are We Back In Iraq?

Introduction by The Rude Pundit:

The Rude Pundit has been investigating Ann Coulter's new "book" Godless for potential plagiarism, having discovered at least one rather textbook example and one suspicious simlarity in the first chapter. But, still and all, it didn't amount to much unless more parts of the book were shown to be plagiarized. So here ya go.

The Rude Pundit and Ron Brynaert of Raw Story are offering more examples of Coulter's loose belief in giving credit where credit is due if that credit is not hers.

Today, The Rude Pundit shows Coulter borrowing liberally (rather than say...conservatively) from a 1988 press conference led by at-the-time Republican Senate candidate Alan Keyes, helping to demonize furloughed murderer Willie Horton to help the senior President Bush beat off former Massachussetts Governor Michael Dukakis.

From my article at Raw Story, For new book Coulter 'cribs' adult stem cell treatment list from right to life group:

In an attempt to counter a New York Times article, conservative pundit Ann Coulter appears to have inserted a list which was originally compiled by an anti-abortion group almost word-for-word into her new book, RAW STORY has found.

The seventh chapter of "Godless: The Church of Liberalism" is devoted to "the left's war on science," which - according to Coulter - includes attacking and lying about "the science that is working" so as "to elevate the science that has produced nothing."

.....

But fifteen of Coulter's examples are nearly identical to a longer list of seventeen compiled by the Illinois Right To Life website, which has been available since at least September of 2003 (current link, archived 9/03 link).

"Repair heart attack damage (using the patient’s own blood stem cells)," says the Illinois Right To Life Committee Website.

"Repairing heart attack damage with the patient’s own blood stem cells," writes Coulter.

"Restore bone marrow in cancer patients (using stem cells from umbilical cord blood)," says the Website.

"Restoring bone marrow in cancer patients using stem cells from umbilical cord blood," Coulter writes.

For these fifteen items, Coulter appears to do little more than remove the parentheses and slightly change a word or two, such as "using" into "with."

.....

So far, at least one book reviewer has lauded Coulter for the list she "puts together."

"Coulter puts together an impressive list of successful achievements using adult stem cells, including repairing spinal cord injuries, treating sickle-cell anemia, restoring bone marrow in cancer patients, restoring eye sight and repairing weakened heart muscles," wrote Lisa De Pasquale for the conservative website, Human Events Online (link).

....

Nearly a year ago, The Rude Pundit caught Coulter apparently lifting passages from various texts "without attribution" for a column on controversial examples of "speech that has been funded in whole or in part by taxpayers." Shortly after, RAW STORY followed up and found even more examples from that same column (link).

Many of the bulleted items in Coulter's 2005 column were part and parcel of a long propaganda campaign waged by the Reverend Donald Wildmon's American Family Association and other conservative religious groups to end public funding of the arts. In fact, many of Coulter's examples were originally included in a 1990 AFA advertisement published in USA Today and The Washington Times bashing the National Endowment for the Arts (link).

Much, much more at Raw Story. And more to come soon (at Raw & The Rude Pundit, too).

Another article I have at Raw Story today focuses on The Rude Pundit's latest discoveries: More examples of Coulter 'borrowing liberally' for her Godless book.

Originally posted on June 14)

# posted by Ron Brynaert : 7/03/2006 12:36:00 PM