Conservatism is Dead!
Wall of Shame: New Washington Post blogger Ben Domenech is a plagiarist.
posted Thursday, 23 March 2006
It has been documented here and many other places that the new Washington Post blogger Ben Domenech is a plagiarist, becoming the newest member of the Wall of Shame. It turns out that throughout his career, has has had a systematic record of lifting pieces from various sources wholesale. Do I have a problem with it if the Post wants to hire a conservative in order to provide balance? No, I do not; it is a free country. But I have a major problem with it if they hire someone without so much as a simple background check.
People in this country are expected to think for themselves and produce their own work. Any reputable college will always have a high standard when it comes to requiring students to document their views and ideas. But, like so many other Republicans, Domenech rose to prominence in the blogging world not on talent, but based on who he know. And he let it get to his head.
Domenech is the very symbol of what is wrong with our government. Instead of carrying on a reasoned discourse, he has let his fame get to his head and become drunk with power. And not only that, he is a racist as well. His ideology is better suited to David Duke and his followers than the reasoned frame of public discourse.
If you live in an area in which the Washington Post offers home delivery, when they call and ask if you would like home delivery, please tell them that you are not interested and will not consider taking out a subscription until they fire Ben Domenich. If you are already subscribing, please consider cancelling your subscription and tell them it was because they hired a known plagiarist.
It is beyond the pale why a reputable paper such as The Post decided to hire a known racist and turn him loose on the website of the Post. All that tells me is that they have not learned a thing from the Judith Miller fiasco. Maybe they did not know that Domenech was a plagiarist. That is fine. But now that they know, they should do the responsible thing like the NYT eventually did and fire Domenech and reassign whoever hired him to other responsibilities.
People in this country are expected to think for themselves and produce their own work. Any reputable college will always have a high standard when it comes to requiring students to document their views and ideas. But, like so many other Republicans, Domenech rose to prominence in the blogging world not on talent, but based on who he know. And he let it get to his head.
Domenech is the very symbol of what is wrong with our government. Instead of carrying on a reasoned discourse, he has let his fame get to his head and become drunk with power. And not only that, he is a racist as well. His ideology is better suited to David Duke and his followers than the reasoned frame of public discourse.
If you live in an area in which the Washington Post offers home delivery, when they call and ask if you would like home delivery, please tell them that you are not interested and will not consider taking out a subscription until they fire Ben Domenich. If you are already subscribing, please consider cancelling your subscription and tell them it was because they hired a known plagiarist.
It is beyond the pale why a reputable paper such as The Post decided to hire a known racist and turn him loose on the website of the Post. All that tells me is that they have not learned a thing from the Judith Miller fiasco. Maybe they did not know that Domenech was a plagiarist. That is fine. But now that they know, they should do the responsible thing like the NYT eventually did and fire Domenech and reassign whoever hired him to other responsibilities.
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