Thanks Ben

Well, Red America is no more and plagiarism brought it down. That’s right…Ben Domenech has resigned due to some heavy pressures from the left, the right, and probably his own conscience.

This looks bad for bloggers, right? Well, as the executive editor of washingtonpost.com explains…

We appreciate the speed and thoroughness with which our readers and media outlets surfaced these allegations. Despite the turn this has taken, we believe this event, among other things, testifies to the positive and powerful role that the Internet can play in the the practice of journalism.

So does this say anything about the right wing? Well, only if you want it to say anything. Me, I think this is a testament to the self-correcting system that is the blogosphere.

In short, Ben’s loss is our gain.

Thanks Ben.

3 Responses to “Thanks Ben”

1. S.W. Anderson says:

   March 24, 2006 at 6:03 pm

   There is no excuse for plagiarising. My political leanings incline me to see this as just one more example of the anything-to-win approach at work.

   Taking a step back, I wonder why the Post sees a need to have a conservative blogger in the first place. It’s not as though the right-wing Republican establishment is not already heavily armed with a nationwide propaganda infrastructure that’s second to none. And, if what they have isn’t enough, they’ve demonstrated a willingness and ability to buy more.
2. bacci40 says:

   March 24, 2006 at 11:19 pm

   surprise….ben wont have to resign from redstate.com

   http://redstate.com/story/2006/3/24/152120/170

   He can plagerize to his heart’s content on that site, just as long as he only plagerizes other wingnuts.

   I would like to thank redstate for continuing to prove what a fraud they are.

   Yea sure guys…he was brought down by the evil libs….

   Were Ben a regular contributer to kos…the wingnuts on redstate would be having a field day with this.
3. Elrod says:

   March 25, 2006 at 1:49 am

   Is Ben our Dan Rather? Well, not really. I’m not sure if any of this means more than that Ben Domanech is a lazy fool. As an academic, I’m well aware of the harm that plagiarism causes, and the ease with which a scholar can commit it unintentionally. One of the most tedious tasks of a scholar is to document each and every point in a larger work. But it is also the most important, because it allows us to build our work upon one another. Sometimes scholars raise a fit over very minor, borderline acts of plagiarism out of pique. But then there are the obvious cases, and Ben Domanech fits right in. His plagiarism was embarrassingly obvious, and he deserves permanent ostracism from the political community.