Let No One Else’s Work Evade Your Eyes!

So it turns out that current (appointed) Democratic Senator from Montana John Walsh plagiarized his master’s thesis for the United States Army War College

Now the New York Times has gone through and marked up Walsh’s thesis, and it turns out Walsh isn’t just a plagiarist, he’s a shameless, ham-fisted, damn-dirty plagiarist.

(And is it just me, or is 14 pages plus footnotes incredibly thin for a Master’s Thesis? In college I did a piece on Sandinista human rights violations that was about that length (with, granted, about half as many footnotes) in 24 hours on an electric typewriter…)

And you’ll love his excuse: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Hey, PTSD is a real thing, and I can imagine it make you jump at loud noises, lose sleep, drink too much, and snap at your friends and family over seemingly trivial items.

But if it can make you steal someone else’s work and claim it as your own, then it’s an all-purpose “Get Out Of Any Crime Free” card.

And did I mention that Walsh is up for reelection?

Not only is he dishonest, he’s criminally stupid for thinking he can get away with it in a 21st century world where text searching tools are so powerful and easy to use.

So what do I have to add to the story?

Lobachevsky:

(Hat tip: Moe Lane.)

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3 Responses to “Let No One Else’s Work Evade Your Eyes!”

  1. Dwight Brown says:

    “And is it just me, or is 14 pages plus footnotes incredibly thin for a Master’s Thesis?”

    My final (“Capstone”) paper for my BA at St. Ed’s was 27 pages, not including “works cited” and such. My recollection is that the university expected 20 to 30 pages for a Capstone paper.

  2. BBB says:

    (And is it just me, or is 14 pages plus footnotes incredibly thin for a Master’s Thesis?)

    Well when you run out of things to copy and don’t have any original thoughts, 14 pages is about what you’d expect.

  3. STW says:

    My senator. Sigh.

    I contacted him and suggested he (for once) do the honorable thing and resign. Expectations are not high.

    Of course if it’s a veiled plot to end the Democrat majority in the Senate than, well played.

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