The Living End: Judge Jones' infamous statement about the Founders' "true religion" is a plagiarism
An Evolution News & Views expose` has revealed that Judge Jones' infamous statement about the Founders' "true religion" in his Dickinson College commencement speech is a plagiarism. It is really amazing that this act of plagiarism was discovered -- I can't see how they did it.
Judge Jones is a bigger plagiarist than Al Gore.
Furthermore, Jones' plagiarism was a quote mine in the sense that it was taken out of context, but was not a true quote mine in the sense of being a deliberate misrepresentation of an identified source, since he did not identify the source.
In his commencement speech, Jones tried to give the impression that he learned about the Founders' "true religion" while an undergrad at Dickinson College (which may or may not be true), but the book that he plagiarized was published in 2003, long after he graduated:
There once was a jurist named Jones,
who was known as a real lazybones,
he could not disguise
that he did plagiarize,
and his statements were just full of clones.
Judge Jones is a bigger plagiarist than Al Gore.
Furthermore, Jones' plagiarism was a quote mine in the sense that it was taken out of context, but was not a true quote mine in the sense of being a deliberate misrepresentation of an identified source, since he did not identify the source.
In his commencement speech, Jones tried to give the impression that he learned about the Founders' "true religion" while an undergrad at Dickinson College (which may or may not be true), but the book that he plagiarized was published in 2003, long after he graduated:
One might be tempted to assume that I received all of the tools necessary to understand the complex expert testimony and determine the facts solely through my law school education. If so, they would be incorrect. In fact, it was my liberal arts education, achieved right here at Dickinson College that provided me with the best ability to handle the rather monumental task of deciding the Dover case.
There once was a jurist named Jones,
who was known as a real lazybones,
he could not disguise
that he did plagiarize,
and his statements were just full of clones.
Labels: Judge Jones (1 of 2)
posted by Larry Fafarman | 12/15/2006 02:48:00 AM
4 Comments:
>>>It is really amazing that this act of plagiarism was discovered -- I can't see how they did it.<<<
Google "Foounding Fathers" "true religion"
>>>Furthermore, Jones' plagiarism was a quote mine in the sense that it was taken out of context, but was not a true quote mine in the sense of being a deliberate misrepresentation of an identified source, since he did not identify the source.<<<
No, Larry. This is not a quote mine in any sense. There was no misrepresentation - both Lambert and Jones were making the same argument. The context is the same. This is merely an unattributed quote put in the same context from which it was taken.
W. Kevin Vicklund said...
>>>>>>It is really amazing that this act of plagiarism was discovered -- I can't see how they did it.<<<
Google "Foounding Fathers" "true religion" <<<<<
No, Kevin, that was of no help. And before you can even investigate something for possible plagiarism, you need to suspect that it is plagiarism.
There is a website called www.turnitin.com which is supposed to help spot plagiarism, but I haven't tried it out yet. I think that maybe I should start using it on everything that Jones says.
>>>>>This is not a quote mine in any sense. There was no misrepresentation - both Lambert and Jones were making the same argument. <<<<<<
There are statements in the book that contradict what Jones plagiarized -- e.g.,
Even those Founders who leaned toward traditional religious authority recognized that the new religious marketplace offered a possible solution to the problem confronting them in the late 1780s: how to avoid disunion through sectarian strife.
The above statement says that some of the Founders did not accept this "true religion."
Also, another thing that really bugged me was that Jones said that his statement about the Founders' "true religion" was something that is "very clear." It is not clear at all -- there is great disagreement about the religious beliefs of the founding fathers.
Fine limerick, Larry.
It seems odd that Jones, if he has any ideas on the Founding Fathers and religion, is unable to state them in his own words and has to copy the words of others? Or does he really have no such ideas?
Sorry for the typo. Try Googling "Founding Fathers" "true religion" and items three and four are the sample chapter. It doesn't even require someone to be suspicious of plagiarism to find the quote. Just someone who was trying to figure out where he got the phrase true religion from.
By the way, the phrase "true religion" is used extensively by Jefferson in support of his deistic views. See his "Notes on the State of Virginia" for an example.
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