WashPost's "Red America" blogger exposed as plagiarist

[Newsjock]

http://yourlogohere.blogspot.com/2006/03/nail-meet-coffin.html

As if we didn't have enough evidence that Ben Domenech was not the smartest hire at the Post, here is one more example.

It would appear that Ben Domenech is a plagiarist.

Thanks to Oregon Guy and anon, we find out that Ben's lyrical stylings on a real party are completely lifted from P.J. O'Rourke's "Modern Manners" - a chapter entitled "Real Parties."

more

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

1. Cut and Paste is a great invention, ain't it?

[The_Gopher]

53. Ben also plagiarized from his future masters at the Post

http://yourlogohere.blogspot.com/2006/03/im-not-journalist.html

[The Backlash Cometh]

62. How long do you think he's going to keep his job before he announces

he's going to retire to spend more time with his family (in his daddy's garage.)

[Skinner]

2. Doh!

Busted!

[MadMaddie]

3. You are not suggesting that a Republican is a lier and a cheater

are you?:sarcasm:

[Coexist]

4. ha ha ha ha!!

:rofl:

Does this mean the Rude One has a better chance now?!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=732809&mesg_id=732809

[berni_mccoy]

5. BWAHAHAHA!!!! STUPID RW IDIOT... he ought to make the top 10 this week!

[flamingyouth]

6. HA HA!

What a cretin. :D

[Nutmegger]

7. LMAO!!!

:rofl:

[blm]

8. HAHAH....and stolen from a derivative hack like PJ O'Rourke - which also

presents me with another opportunity to burst PJ's ego with the news that Michael O'Donoghue loathed O'Rourke and often said his writing was derivative and mediocre.

[mitchum]

27. Damn it! You beat me to the phrase "derivative hack"...

I imagine the great Michael O'Donoghue did hold O'Rourke in contempt.
I seem to recall reading that all of the NatLamp writers thought that PJ came off like a narc despite his work shirts and long hair.
O'Rourke is pathetic. William F Buckley is actually a far funnier rightwinger. However, his son Christopher dwells in the basement with O'Rourke.

[dave29]

9. OH, SHNAP!

Now we just need to find out which Governmental agency is paying him a stipend

[Burried News]

10. Fits RIGHT in with Krautyammer, Willful and Hog-land - four dung

beetles to bury the Elephant's shit.

[Beetwasher]

11. I Wonder If The Post Will Just Ignore This

And say it's just some crazy liberal bloggers making shit up! I'd say there's good odds on that.

Froomkin should write something about this on his blog! That would be hilarious!

[Nickster]

12. LMAO, just can't make this crap up.

[Burried News]

15. These twits are beyond parody ...

[Chimichurri]

13. dummmb du dumb DUMMMMMBBB!

What a hypocrite. I thank him for confirming the notion that conservatives are egotistical, racist, liars.

Thanks Ben - and thank you WaPo. Maybe that was The Post's motive. A subtle way of exposing the world to true conservative "values".

[Vinnie From Indy]

14. Why am I not shocked?

LOL!

[Gregorian]

16. I suppose my letter to the Post was a waste of time then.

Here's what I sent them-

Money makes the world go around. But I like to think we can do better. I
thought the media was supposed to check those in power, not cheer them on.
Anyone can wave a flag. But it takes guts to challenge those who are in the
drivers seat. And of all administrations ever to take the reins of this
country, this one deserves vigilant observation. And yet, never have I seen
such lack of investigation and concern. How on earth can we ever expect to dig
ourselves out of this mess, if all we get in the media is Red Red Red? It's
time for Blue. The country is in the red. We handed this administration a
golden egg of several TRILLION dollars in surplus. And now? If you have
children, their lives will never be what you would want for yourselves. So I
have a suggestion. Can the Red. Drop Red America. Red America is doing just
fine with all of the money it gets from the major corporations. But real
America is not about money; Not about corporations. It's about the people. Did
you forget about the people? The ones who need education? The ones who need
health care? People, we're about to get steamrollered by the rest of the
world. I suggest we start paying attention to things like the Downing Street
Memo. Certainly you know what that is. And it's significant. Bush has done
just fine without cheerleading. In fact, the very lack of investigative
journalism is exactly how we got to where we are today. And don't tell me you
haven't got a clue what I'm talking about. War, debt, criminal actions in the
administration, and on and on. Please wake up and get to work.

[fooj]

18. Drop Red America. I like it.

Peace.

[Gregorian]

20. Not bad for off the top of my head in two minutes, eh?

Thanks.

[fooj]

21. Nice one.

:thumbsup:

[spag68]

50. Post

I suggest we refer to them as the Washed up Post.

[Higans]

54. yup

[Dem2theMax]

56. I keep clicking on the YES button but nothing is happening!

Hurry up and get that fixed. I want to wake up tomorrow in a * free America.



(And by that, Agent Mike, I mean that they will all be out of a job and locked behind bars where they belong.)

[Toots]

58. Do you really believe America had a surplus when Bush* came to power?

We did have a budget surplus for the first time in over a decade but it was not an overall surplus. Our National Debt was almost five trillion dollars but we had begun to pay it down and the National Debt Clock had actually been shut off. Now it not only has been turned back on but it is alomost a blur. Our National Debt is rising at OVER $100,000.00 per SECOND It was projected when Clinton left office though that if we continued to pay down the debt we would be debt free in less than ten years. Imagine how we could be spending $100,000.00 per second right now instead of throwing it away. As a side note we are spending on interest alone over a half million dollars a minute. What we need is more tax cuts for the wealthy.....

[Gregorian]

61. Thanks. I honestly believed what I had heard.

And what I heard was we had a surplus. But I guess like everything in politics, that's just a word. The truth is more likely what you posted.

[wicket]

17. *in my best Cartman voice* Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-HA!!!!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[trixie]

19. His teachers are to blame...

:rofl:

[Stephanie]

22. Ha Ha Ha! "Waikiki Whoopee"

O'Rourke, p.176: Office Christmas parties • Wine-tasting parties • Book-publishing parties • Parties with themes, such as "Las Vegas Nite" or "Waikiki Whoopee" • Parties at which anyone is wearing a blue velvet tuxedo jacket

BenDom: Christmas parties. Wine tasting parties. Book publishing parties. Parties with themes, such as "Las Vegas Nite" or "Waikiki Whoopee." Parties at which anyone is wearing a blue velvet tuxedo jacket.

O'Rourke: It's not a real party if it doesn't end in an orgy or a food fight. • All your friends should still be there when you come to in the morning.

BenDom: It's not a real party if it doesn't end in an orgy or a food fight. All your friends should still be there when you come to in the morning.

[ClintonTyree]

31. You'd think he'd make some attempt to change things, just a little....

but when you're a brain dead "Red State" guy I guess cheating comes naturally. Really, I think it's in their DNA, the "cheating gene". What a tool! :rofl:

[Stephanie]

42. Well cheating is the entire BFEE strategy. They cheat in elections, wars.

They cheat in debates. They skim off the top. They loot the treasury.

[katinmn]

23. WaPo can't possibly keep the arrogant little pissant around now

good riddance!

[RazzleDazzle]

24. Moran

What, did he not think anybody read O'Rourke's book?

[Sufi Marmot]

25. Not just O'Rourke, apparently...

Via Atrios via Kos he also plagarized movie reviews... :wtf:

:popcorn:

[RamboLiberal]

28. Yep - plagiarized Salon

Reader silence found another example, in which Domenech plagiarized an entirely different piece, this time from Salon:


From a Ben Domenech review of Bringing Out the Dead:

Instead of allowing for the incredible nuances that Cage always brings to his performances, the character of Frank sews it all up for him.

But there are those moments that allow Cage to do what he does best. When he's trying to revive Mary's father, the man's family fanned out around him in the living room in frozen semi-circle, he blurts out, "Do you have any music?"

From a review posted on salon.com, published about a week earlier:

Instead of allowing for the incredible nuance that Cage always brings to his performances, the character of Frank sews it all up for him. ... But there are those moments that allow Cage to do what he does best. When he's trying to revive Mary's father, the man's family fanned out around him in the living room in frozen semi-circle, he blurts out, "Do you have any music?"

http://www.dailykos.com/

Post has an omelet all over their face.

[Pithy Cherub]

26. WaPo home of the journalistically challenged....

:rofl: Plagiarizing oh wow....just :wow: :rofl:

[Initech]

29. Worthy of a Nelson laugh!

HA HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[nonconformist]

30. Bawhahahahaha! nt

[Dudley_DUright]

32. Waiting for Box-turtle Ben to plead "youthful indiscretions" in 5, 4, 3...

:rofl:

[RamboLiberal]

33. Raw Story has it now - this is exploding - WPost look like fools

Conservative blogger recently hired by Washington Post appears to be serial plagiarist

RAW STORY
Published: Thursday March 23, 2006

Various liberal bloggers around the web are exposing what appears to be a pattern of plagiarism by the new conservative blogger hired by the Washington Post, Ben Domenech, RAW STORY has learned.

The prominent blogger Atrios has compiled a listing of at least four instances of apparent plagiarism. Several examples were also found by DailyKos.

In one instance, Domenech appears to have lifted a paragraph from Salon.com. Read the full list of links to the quotes listed below at Atrios.blogspot.com.

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Conservative_blogger_recently_hired_by_Washington_0323.html

I don't think MSM and WPost can ignore this now.

[ljm2002]

49. Raw Story got it wrong on this one...

...they say, "at least four instances of apparent plagiarism.". When the truth is, these are four instances of outrageous, obvious and outright plagiarism.

[hunter]

34. Many of these idiots got through high school and college this way.

Maybe nobody ever called them on it and they think that's what good writers are supposed to do.

:rofl:

[RamboLiberal]

35. Just in case they missed I emailed editor at Editor & Publisher

the info from Daily Kos. Any bets if WPost will be firing Ben's ass by tomorrow?

[Arkham House]

36. This worthless asshole probably doesn't understand...

.....that he did anything wrong...

[Kingshakabobo]

37. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha n/t

[RamboLiberal]

38. Media Matters is on it now - this is fun

:bounce: Linking to Atrios and Daily Kos.

[RamboLiberal]

39. Reading the comments on the WPost site is great

Posters are all over the plagiarism.

Sample:

Please accept my post as the latest edition of "Irony Watch.

'Hal Straus has written, "Ben Domenech brings an original and authentically conservative voice to the site's Opinions area, where we're committed to presenting the most provocative, informed and ideologically diverse policy debate on the web."'

Given the numerous examples of blatant, and I mean blatant, plagiarism by Mr. Domenech that have now been documented, the word 'original' has me rolling on the floor.

Thank you, Washington Post. It's now my next stop right after 'The Onion'.

Rich. Oh how wonderfully rich. Mmmmm....

Posted by: aldorossi | March 23, 2006 08:04 PM

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/washpostblog/2006/03/new_blog_red_america.html#comments

[RamboLiberal]

40. Good Old Ben apparently Fabricated a Tim Russert Quote

Blogger Ben Domenech claims to have proof that President Bush said he would run deficits in times of war during a debate with other candidates for the Republican nomination, but it's not true -- and even if it was, it doesn't negate the "trifecta" lie Bush has been pushing. Blogger Bill Quick highlights Bush telling Paula Zahn he might run a deficit during a recession, but again it's not close to sufficient.

First, Domenech. Here's his key quotation:

"If I ever commit troops, I'm going to do so with one thing in mind, and that's to win," Bush said.
"And spend what it takes? Even if it means deficits?" asked the moderator, NBC's Tim Russert.
"Absolutely," Bush replied, "if we go to war." (AP, from Boston Globe)
But if you read the full transcript of the debate, you'll see that Russert never asks "Even if it means deficits?" (Jason McCullough beat me to this point.) If you want verification, watch the C-SPAN video or read the Boston Globe account. This question is absolutely fictitious. There is no match for Bush AND Russert AND "even if it means deficits" in the entire Nexis database, and I can't find the AP article in question in a Westlaw search for Bush AND "even if it means deficits" either (though Domenech claims it came from Westlaw).

http://www.spinsanity.org/post.html?2002_06_16_archive.html

[glitch]

41. Isn't there anything a RWer can do? Do they cheat because they can't DO?nt

[DinahMoeHum]

43. Da-da dum dum dum. . .another one bites the dust!

:nuke:

[Up2Late]

44. IMPOSSIBLE! ALL "Red State" idiots are ABSOLUTELY Honest....

...people? Folks?:shrug: :rofl:

[Nothing Without Hope]

45. The Wash Post DUE DILIGENCE process is once again shown up for the

hollow fraud it is. Yet they continue to skate, since they support the Bushie agenda. Besides, in this atmosphere, plagiarism is such a "mild" offense compared to the mass murder, torture, theft and other Bush Admin crimes, this guy is practically a saint in comparison. :sarcasm:

[Nothing Without Hope]

46. My bet: this will be portrayed as a BLOGGER issue, as in "all bloggers

plagiarize, and the liberal ones are even worse." Mark my words, they will try to use this to smear the progressive internet community, though it's a wingnut lying cretin who did the plagiarizing and the WaPo brass who let this whole situation happen.

[ThoughtCriminal]

47. RW Pundit is the easiest job in the world

Good money, no ethics, book buys guaranteed in bulk by think-tank book clubs, get handed the talking points and if that's too hard, plagiarism is perfectly acceptable.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

48. Ummm.. so is the guy fired yet?

[emald]

51. ya gotta wonder just how this stupid a person

gets a bit time job. Doesn't anyone tell the truth? Write their own shit? Not pad their resume?
Christ, what wonderful examples of high quality human beings. I just don't understand how people like this end up with the big jobs. Been living too long in bush alaska, grown too naive I guess.

[Neil Lisst]

52. but he's blaming it all on Jayson Blair

[eridani]

55. Haven't these idiots heard of footnotes?

Footnote: the difference between plagiarism and research.

[chrisau214]

57. Don't All Right Wing Dittoheads Work This Way

Isn't this simply par for the course? Isn't the endless mindless parroting of right wing think-tank talking points the intellectual equivalent of actual plagiarism?

I thought it was pretty well established that the flat-earthers were unable to form original thoughts on their own.



Chris

[Brooklyn Michael]

59. Top.... 10.... Conservative.... IDIOT

'nuff said...

[katinmn]

60. Seconded!

[Orion The Hunter]

63. Ben Domenech is doing a stellar job...

...of making the Post and Jim Brady look like idiots!

[RamboLiberal]

64. WP and Kurtz dismissing the plagiarism - WTF!

Some Readers See Red Over Post.com's New Blogger

By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 24, 2006; C07

The Washington Post Co.'s Web operation has touched off an online furor by hiring as a blogger a 24-year-old former Bush administration aide who co-founded a conservative site and recently referred to Coretta Scott King as a "communist."

Ben Domenech, an editor at the conservative Regnery Publishing, said he regrets the King reference, which he insists was tongue-in-cheek, and that the reaction to his new "Red America" blog is "a little meaner" than he expected.

More than 1,000 people and a Democratic member of Congress have sent the newspaper letters of complaint. The decision to hire Domenech was made by Washingtonpost.com, an Arlington-based division that works with the newspaper but is editorially independent.

<snip>

Late yesterday, the liberal Web sites Daily Kos and Atrios posted examples of what appeared to be instances of plagiarism from Domenech's writing at the William & Mary student paper. Three sentences of a 1999 Domenech review of a Martin Scorsese film were identical to a review in Salon magazine, and several sentences in Domenech's piece on a James Bond movie closely resembled one in the Internet Movie Database. Domenech said he needed to research the examples but that he never used material without attribution and had complained about a college editor improperly adding language to some of his articles.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/23/AR2006032301991_pf.html

[RamboLiberal]

65. His Old College Paper showing more integrity today than WPost

They wrote an editorial condemning plagiarism today and that they're troubled by charges against Domenech.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2185992

[oc2002]

66. I do not think it is a good idea to go check the redstate blog as it ..

..is a way of supporting it by sending trafic to it.

[confludemocrat]

67. Is there a right-winger who isn't a pervert, liar, fraud or a sicko? Nope.

or all of these or some combination of these?

[Caoimhe]

68. He's gone!

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/washpostblog/2006/03/ben_domenech_resigns.html


Good job!

[Vogon_Glory]

69. WaPo's Attempt To Placate Conservatives Costs Them Their

Well, well, well. The Washington Post's new hire has been exposed as a plagiarist. And lifting from PJ O'Rourke, no less. Did this little cherub Domenech think that he wouldn't get caught? It seems like the Washington Post's efforts to placate the Radical Right neither earns the WaPo many friends on the right (The WaPo is still considered "biased" "liberal" media) and costs them credibility with the rest of their readership.

Maybe the Washington Post ought to give up trying to placate Banana Republicans and conserva-crooks and work on reporting the news. Real investigative journalism and digging into the hidden stories concerning today's culture of corruption in Washington, DC which recent WaPo editorial policies have helped conceal would be an excellent start.