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Is Plagiarism Disqualifying for a Senator?

Jack Hays

Jack Hays

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The Dems' Senator in Montana apparently plagiarized some of his academic work. How important is that? Does it disqualify him? Will it cost him his Senate seat?:peace

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/24/us/politics/montana-senator-john-walsh-plagiarized-thesis.html

". . . On the campaign trail this year, Mr. Walsh, 53, has made his military service a main selling point. Still wearing his hair close-cropped, he notes he was targeted for killing by Iraqi militants and says his time in uniform informs his views on a range of issues.


But one of the highest-profile credentials of Mr. Walsh’s 33-year military career appears to have been improperly attained. An examination of the final paper required for Mr. Walsh’s master’s degree from the United States Army War College indicates the senator appropriated at least a quarter of his thesis on American Middle East policy from other authors’ works, with no attribution. . . ."
 
Jack Hays said:
The Dems' Senator in Montana apparently plagiarized some of his academic work. How important is that? Does it disqualify him? Will it cost him his Senate seat?:peace

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/24/us/politics/montana-senator-john-walsh-plagiarized-thesis.html

". . . On the campaign trail this year, Mr. Walsh, 53, has made his military service a main selling point. Still wearing his hair close-cropped, he notes he was targeted for killing by Iraqi militants and says his time in uniform informs his views on a range of issues.


But one of the highest-profile credentials of Mr. Walsh’s 33-year military career appears to have been improperly attained. An examination of the final paper required for Mr. Walsh’s master’s degree from the United States Army War College indicates the senator appropriated at least a quarter of his thesis on American Middle East policy from other authors’ works, with no attribution. . . ."
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If lying and cheating were a dis-qualifier, there would be 100 empty seats in the Senate. What it will probably do, especially in Montana, is hurt him badly in his reelection campaign.

Added note. As a retired Command Level Officer, he is still subject to the UCMJ for any past offenses.
 
Beaudreaux said:
If lying and cheating were a dis-qualifier, there would be 100 empty seats in the Senate. What it will probably do, especially in Montana, is hurt him badly in his reelection campaign.

Added note. As a retired Command Level Officer, he is still subject to the UCMJ for any past offenses.
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Hmmm. Senator from Connecticut was a Marine officer who lied about his service. :peace
 
I believe knowing Plagiarism is absolutely Disqualifying.
Tho many politicians have their speeches written by professionals who are the culprit's.
And many/perhaps most people tend to incorporate approximate ideas they read into their own which if too precisely replicated/ordered may be 'paraphrase plagiarism.'

But exact sentences, or many in a row is unacceptable and Dishonest.
Even using an assemblage of third party quotes to make the same point as an author is stealing his idea and should be credited IMO.
We see the latter alot.
 
mbig said:
I believe knowing Plagiarism is absolutely Disqualifying.
Tho many politicians have their speeches written by professionals who are the culprit's.
And many/perhaps most people tend to incorporate approximate ideas they read into their own which if too precisely replicated/ordered may be 'paraphrase plagiarism.'

But exact sentences, or many in a row is unacceptable and Dishonest.
Even using an assemblage of third party quotes to make the same point as an author is stealing his idea and should be credited IMO.
We see the latter alot.
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Apparently it was a big chunk of his paper.:peace
 
It will be in the hands of the voters. :peace
 
Jack Hays said:
The Dems' Senator in Montana apparently plagiarized some of his academic work. How important is that? Does it disqualify him? Will it cost him his Senate seat?:peace

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/24/us/politics/montana-senator-john-walsh-plagiarized-thesis.html

". . . On the campaign trail this year, Mr. Walsh, 53, has made his military service a main selling point. Still wearing his hair close-cropped, he notes he was targeted for killing by Iraqi militants and says his time in uniform informs his views on a range of issues.


But one of the highest-profile credentials of Mr. Walsh’s 33-year military career appears to have been improperly attained. An examination of the final paper required for Mr. Walsh’s master’s degree from the United States Army War College indicates the senator appropriated at least a quarter of his thesis on American Middle East policy from other authors’ works, with no attribution. . . ."
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Joe Biden plagiarized an entire speech, and he's VP.
 
The only thing that should disqualify a senator is losing the vote.
 
Jack Hays said:
The Dems' Senator in Montana apparently plagiarized some of his academic work. How important is that? Does it disqualify him? Will it cost him his Senate seat?:peace

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/24/us/politics/montana-senator-john-walsh-plagiarized-thesis.html

". . . On the campaign trail this year, Mr. Walsh, 53, has made his military service a main selling point. Still wearing his hair close-cropped, he notes he was targeted for killing by Iraqi militants and says his time in uniform informs his views on a range of issues.


But one of the highest-profile credentials of Mr. Walsh’s 33-year military career appears to have been improperly attained. An examination of the final paper required for Mr. Walsh’s master’s degree from the United States Army War College indicates the senator appropriated at least a quarter of his thesis on American Middle East policy from other authors’ works, with no attribution. . . ."
Click to expand...

Walsh is a liar, cheat, and thief who is not fit to hold any public office. What else do you need to know about him and his character but that he lies, cheats, and steals?

And he should be stripped of his degree. And spend the rest of his life hiding his shame.
 
Jack Hays said:
The Dems' Senator in Montana apparently plagiarized some of his academic work. How important is that? Does it disqualify him? Will it cost him his Senate seat?:peace

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/24/us/politics/montana-senator-john-walsh-plagiarized-thesis.html

". . . On the campaign trail this year, Mr. Walsh, 53, has made his military service a main selling point. Still wearing his hair close-cropped, he notes he was targeted for killing by Iraqi militants and says his time in uniform informs his views on a range of issues.


But one of the highest-profile credentials of Mr. Walsh’s 33-year military career appears to have been improperly attained. An examination of the final paper required for Mr. Walsh’s master’s degree from the United States Army War College indicates the senator appropriated at least a quarter of his thesis on American Middle East policy from other authors’ works, with no attribution. . . ."
Click to expand...


I'll bet his philosophy on the ME mirrors Hillary Clinton's. Academia takes a back seat to politics.
 
Mr. Walsh completed the paper, what the War College calls a “strategy research project,” to earn his degree in 2007, when he was 46. The sources of the material he presents as his own include academic papers, policy journal essays and books that are almost all available online.
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I wonder what, if any, personal satisfaction he gained from this experience. How can you trust someone like this on foreign policy?
 
Jack Hays said:
The Dems' Senator in Montana apparently plagiarized some of his academic work. How important is that? Does it disqualify him? Will it cost him his Senate seat?:
Click to expand...
peace

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/24/us/politics/montana-senator-john-walsh-plagiarized-thesis.html

". . . On the campaign trail this year, Mr. Walsh, 53, has made his military service a main selling point. Still wearing his hair close-cropped, he notes he was targeted for killing by Iraqi militants and says his time in uniform informs his views on a range of issues.


But one of the highest-profile credentials of Mr. Walsh’s 33-year military career appears to have been improperly attained. An examination of the final paper required for Mr. Walsh’s master’s degree from the United States Army War College indicates the senator appropriated at least a quarter of his thesis on American Middle East policy from other authors’ works, with no attribution. . . ."
Click to expand...




I don't know what effect this will have on Mr Walsh's life, but I see plagiarism as some of the worst kind of stealing and a very serious lapse in the ethics of anyone who does it.

It appears that the man has a problem.
 
It speaks to character, doesn't speak to qualifications. So unless it in the job description to have a phd or a masters' degree or a bachelors' degree, which it isn't, then it's not grounds for automatic disqualifier. But it speaks to the corruptive nature of this particular person.
 
shrubnose said:
The voters will grade this guy.
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I don't follow. We've had plenty of liars, cheats, criminals, and dishonest people in elected office who were re-elected. In a Democracy the people get the government they deserve.
 
Is Plagiarism Disqualifying for a Senator?
I don't know ...Maybe we should ask Senator Rand Paul...
Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul is once again facing plagiarism allegations — this time regarding a suit he filed earlier this week against President Obama over the NSA’s surveillance tactics.

A spokeswoman for Bruce Fein, a former Reagan administration attorney, has accused Paul, who on Wednesday filed a class action lawsuit against Obama over the NSA’s bulk collection program, of leaving Fein’s name off the suit, The Washington Post reported.

Fein’s camp told The Post that he and Paul had worked together for months to draft the suit, which claims that the NSA’s use of the program to collect telephone metadata of thousands of Americans violates the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable searches.

“But when Paul filed his suit at the U.S. District Court in Washington on Wednesday morning,” The Post’s Dana Milbank wrote, “Fein’s name had been replaced with that of Ken Cuccinelli, the failed Republican gubernatorial candidate in Virginia who until last month had been the state’s attorney general.”

Cuccinelli, who is listed on the suit as the lead counsel, isn’t even a member of the Washington, D.C. bar, Milbank reported.

Fein’s team was “aghast and shocked by Ken Cuccinelli’s behavior and his absolute knowledge that this entire complaint was the work product, intellectual property and legal genius of Bruce Fein,” Mattie Fein, a woman The Post identified as Fein’s ex-wife and spokeswoman, told the newspaper.
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reinoe said:
I don't follow. We've had plenty of liars, cheats, criminals, and dishonest people in elected office who were re-elected.
In a Democracy the people get the government they deserve.
Click to expand...
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Go back and re-read my post.

I said that the voters will grade this guy.

Of course 1/2 of the voters are dumber than the other 1/2.

Take a look at Washington, D.C. and you'll see how that works out for the USA.
 
reinoe said:
I don't follow. We've had plenty of liars, cheats, criminals, and dishonest people in elected office who were re-elected. In a Democracy the people get the government they deserve.
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You seem to be rationalizing this man's dishonesty. Even if it were true that we've had "plenty of liars" and etc., that doesn't mean that dishonesty is an acceptable standard.

And what's relevant would be those who were re-elected after their dishonesty was known. Yes, this does happen sometimes, but I don't think it happens "plenty."
 
Beaudreaux said:
If lying and cheating were a dis-qualifier, there would be 100 empty seats in the Senate. What it will probably do, especially in Montana, is hurt him badly in his reelection campaign.

Added note. As a retired Command Level Officer, he is still subject to the UCMJ for any past offenses.
Click to expand...

It might hurt his reelection but he is not subject to the UCMJ
 
BMCM said:
It might hurt his reelection but he is not subject to the UCMJ
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Actually... he is:

From the UCMJ - 802. ART. 2. PERSONS SUBJECT TO THIS CHAPTER - ... - (4) Retired members of a regular component of the armed forces who are entitled to pay.

Prosecuting Retired Generals

US Army Jag Corps Findings

In fact, not only are command level or flag officers subject to the UCMJ, anyone that receives retirement pay or any other financial benefit, such as VA benefits, is subject to the UCMJ.

Edit: I hope that you are not a retired member of the US Military. Or, if you are, that you are now aware that you are still subject to the UCMJ. I still have an active clearance, and one of the items that they brief us on, each time we renew our clearances, is that the UCMJ applies, even if not on active, reserve or guard duty. My clearance is for civilian work, not military, but they advise us that if we are former military, we are most definitely subject to the UCMJ as well as Civilian Prosecution for any actions we take that are in contradiction or violation of the UCMJ and/or Civilian Laws - we can be prosecuted twice - there is no delineation, because they are separate laws that can be prosecuted simultaneously.
 
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nota bene said:
Walsh is a liar, cheat, and thief who is not fit to hold any public office. What else do you need to know about him and his character but that he lies, cheats, and steals?

And he should be stripped of his degree. And spend the rest of his life hiding his shame.
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Don't hold back. Tell us what you really think.:mrgreen:
 
He was trailing in the polls prior to this revelation. This should sink him.
 
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