Why Are We Back In Iraq?

The title change to this blog is only temporary, but the focus will be mostly on Coulter's book for the next few weeks. Obviously, it's not the most important thing in the world right now - for that matter neither is Iraq for probably the first time in three years - but since most of my time is spent working at Raw I don't think I'm neglecting anything.

Anyway...yes...there are more examples of alleged Godless plagiarism and uncited sources coming...but my primary focus right now with regards to Coulter is a series of interviews I've been conducting with a wide range of people...so it might be a day or two before I get new stuff up.

Finally, I'd just like to reprint 6 of the list of 15 of 16 "successful treatments achieved by adult stem cell research" that Coulter apparently cribbed from an unsourced anti-abortion Website, which I reported in June for Raw Story (a week after the one-and-only Rude Pundit's first Godless possible plagiarism finding, one of three examples of "textbook plagiarism" according to the "plagiarism expert" the New York Post later commissioned).

This is strictly for those who believe that Ann Coulter changed enough words around and doesn't deserve to be accused of plagiarism just because she didn't cite the source:

Illinois Right To Life: Restore weak heart muscles (using immature skeletal muscle cells)

Coulter: Restoring weak heart muscles using immature skeletal muscle cells

Illinois Right To Life: Treat urinary incontinence (using under arm muscle stem cells)

Coulter: Treating urinary incontinence using stem cells from underarm muscle

Illinois Right To Life: Restore bone marrow in cancer patients (using stem cells from umbilical cord blood)

Coulter: Restoring bone marrow in cancer patients using stem cells from umbilical cord blood.

Illinois Right To Life: Put leukemia into remission (using umbilical cord blood)

Coulter: Putting leukemia into remission using umbilical cord blood

Illinois Right To Life: Reverse severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) (using genetically modified adult stem cells)

Coulter: Reversing severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) with genetically modified adult cells.

Illinois Right To Life: Treat sickle-cell anemia (using stem cells from unbilical cord blood)

Coulter: Treating sickle-cell anemia using stem cells from umbilical cord blood.

"We have reviewed the allegations of plagiarism surrounding Godless and found them to be as trivial and meritless as they are irresponsible," Crown Publishing Group Vice President Steve Ross wrote.

"The number of words used by our author in these snippets is so minimal that there is no requirement for attribution," added Ross. "As an experienced author and attorney, Ms. Coulter knows when attribution is appropriate, as underscored by the nineteen pages of hundreds of endnotes contained in Godless."

# posted by Ron Brynaert : 7/15/2006 02:00:00 AM