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Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2009 > December > 08
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Fishy carp letter raises plagiarism questions
State Rep. Mike Skindell, D-Lakewood, wanted to call attention to the potential environmental disaster of Asian carp invading the Great Lakes. But in doing so he lifted material verbatim from multiple sources without attributing it.
Skindell, a lawyer, used the plagiarized material in a two-page letter he sent Tuesday, Dec. 8, to Gov. Ted Strickland and Attorney General Richard Cordray. Thirteen of fellow House members co-signed the letter.
An entire paragraph was taken from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s website on Asian carp. Skindell defended the use, saying those exact 60-words were a “commonly used description of a carp.”
“It’s throughout everything you read,” Skindell said. “I saw it throughout a number of sources.”
Journalism professors, however, say that’s a load of carp.
“Certainly in the world of academics and journalism, it’s plagiarism,” said Tom O’Hara, former managing editor of The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer who is now an adviser to The Lantern, a student newspaper at Ohio State University. “We’re certainly not in the business of lifting large chunks of other people’s work verbatim and calling it our own.”
Tim Smith, a journalism professor and lawyer at Kent State University, agreed. He noted that Vice President Joe Biden once dropped out of a presidential race after being caught plagiarizing.
The following is a side by side comparison of Skindell’s letter and other sources on Asian carp found online.
SKINDELL LETTER: Asian Carp are a significant threat to the Great Lakes because they are large, extremely prolific, and consume vast amounts of food. They can weigh up to 100 pounds and can grow to a length of more than four feet. They are well-suited to the climate of the Great Lakes region, which is similar to their native Asian habitats.
U.S. EPA WEBSITE: Asian Carp are a significant threat to the Great Lakes because they are large, extremely prolific, and consume vast amounts of food. They can weigh up to 100 pounds, and can grow to a length of more than four feet. They are well-suited to the climate of the Great Lakes region, which is similar to their native Asian habitats.
SKINDELL LETTER: Moreover, following treatment of the waterway with rotenone last week, bighead Asian carp was found in the CSSC just above the Lockport Lock and Dam. This is the first physical specimen that has been found in the CSSC since eDNA testing earlier this year suggested the presence of Asian carp in the area.
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES BLOG: The Asian Carp Rapid Response Workgroup announced this evening that a bighead Asian carp was found in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) just above the Lockport Lock and Dam. This is the first physical specimen that has been found in the CSSC since eDNA testing earlier this year suggested the presence of Asian carp in the area.
SKINDELL LETTER: As you may know, bighead and silver Asian carp are in the Illinois River, which is connected to the Great Lakes by way of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC). In 2004, an experimental electrical barrier designed to repel fish was placed in the waterway to lessen the threat of an Asian Carp invasion.
U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE FACT SHEET: Bighead and silver carp are in the Illinois River, which is connected to the Great Lakes via the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. Asian carp pose the greatest immediate threat to the Great Lakes ecosystem. An electrical barrier designed to repel fish was placed in the waterway.
SKINDELL LETTER: Urge the Army Corps of Engineers to take additional actions to protect the Great Lakes, including the completion of the second portion of the electrical barrier, full utilization of the existing barrier now operating at minimal levels, creating a physical barrier to block carp from entering via other waterways during times of flood and using all existing congressional authorities to block the carp’s entry;
MICHIGAN GOV. JENNIFER GRANHOLM’S OFFICE: Recently, Lt. Governor Cherry wrote the Undersecretary of the Army to urge additional actions to protect the Great Lakes, including the completion of the second portion of the new barrier, full utilization of the existing barrier now operating at minimal levels, creating a physical barrier to block carp from entering via other waterways during flooding, and using all existing congressional authorities to block the carp’s entry.
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Tax Dept: Tell us about your Swiss bank account
State tax officials have a one-time deal for Ohioans holding Swiss bank accounts: tell us about the accounts by March 1, 2010 and avoid some penalties.
The state’s new Ohio Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program offers eligible taxpayers the chance to limit the penalty they pay to 15 percent of the tax due.
The new disclosure program was prompted by an agreement between the Internal Revenue Service and the Swiss government reached in August. The Swiss government agreed to order UBS bank to give the IRS information on thousands of accounts held by Americans and the Swiss agreed with consider requests regarding accounts in other Swiss banks.
The IRS, in turn, will share info with Ohio and other states’ tax departments.
“Our job is to make sure everyone is playing by the same set of rules. When a few taxpayers hide income in offshore bank accounts, that isn’t fair to everyone else, state Tax Commissioner Richard A. Levin said. “This is a one-time opportunity for taxpayers with unreported offshore income to come clean and make things right while minimizing their penalty.”
It’s like an ally-ally-in-come-free but account holders would still have to pay owed taxes, plus interest and up to 15 percent in penalties. Those who do not come forward and get nabbed later will face much stiffer penalties, state officials warned.
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No budget deal this week
Senate Republicans canceled hearings this week on a budget fix bill, signaling that there won’t be a deal on how to patch the $851 million budget hole this week.
Republicans and Democrats are at loggerheads over whether the budget fix, proposed by Gov. Ted Strickland and approved by the Ohio House, should include other items such as reforming the state’s antiquated construction bidding laws.
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Insurance coverage for diabetes, autism approved in House votes
The Ohio House on Tuesday, Dec. 8, approved separate bills requiring health insurance companies to provide coverage for diabetes and autism.
House Bill 81, approved 58-38, would require that coverage be provided for diabetes equipment, supplies, medication, diabetes medical nutritional therapy and self-management education.
House Bill 8, approved 57-39, would prohibit insurers from excluding coverage for specified autism services for individuals diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder.
Supporters sitting in the House gallery expressed thanks after the votes.
“It’s huge,” said Doug Krinsky of Westerville, a Columbus suburb, who has an autistic son.
Opponents, however, said the bills would increase costs to businesses during an economic downturn.
“The Ohio House of Representatives today approved two measures that guarantee higher health insurance premiums for small businesses that could not have come at a worse time, as most small businesses are already coping with double-digit annual increases in health care costs and the worst economic conditions in recent memory,” Roger R. Geiger, vice president/state executive director for the National Federation of Independent Business/Ohio, said in an e-mail.
vice president/state executive director
Both bills now go to the Senate.
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Poll: Voters approve Obama’s Afghanistan troop surge
American voters approved President Barack Obama’s decision to send 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan by a 58-37 percent margin, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released on Tuesday, Dec. 8.
Also, voters approved 60-32 percent the president’s plan to start withdrawing combat troops from Afghanistan in July 2011.
However, by a 45-40 margin, they did not believe he can keep that pledge.
Also, the poll found that public support for the war in Afghanistan increased by nine percentage points in the past three weeks and now stands at 57-35 percent. During the same period, the president’s handling of the war went up 7 points, from a 38-45 percent negative rating on Nov. 18 to a 45-45 percent split.
The increase in public support for the war came with voters saying 66-26 percent that the president doesn’t deserve the Nobel Peace Prize, he is to be awarded this week.
“President Barack Obama’s nationally televised speech explaining his policy and troop buildup has worked, at least in the short term, in bolstering support for the war effort and his decisions,” Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said in a press release.
“….The American people tend to rally around their presidents in military matters, at least for a while. It took some time for similar type speeches about Vietnam and Iraq by Presidents Lyndon Johnson and George W. Bush, respectively, to lose their ability to rally support.”
The poll was taken Dec. 1 through Sunday, Dec. 6 with 2,313 registered voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
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