-By Warner Todd Huston
Bush derangement syndrome strikes again, this time in Indianapolis, Indiana where the Indianapolis Star reports that students of the U of Indiana’s Dentistry class have been caught in a massive cheating scandal. Naturally, it’s all Bush’s fault according to one of the so-called experts the paper interviewed for their article.
Apparently 16 students were suspended because they hacked their school computer system to get passwords that would open electronic teaching materials that contained the answers to upcoming tests. An additional 21 were given letters of reprimand for knowing of the cheating and not saying anything to school officials, a breach of the school’s code of professional conduct.
So how is this all Bush’s fault?
Because there are no WMDs in Iraq says Dr. Anne Koerber, an associate professor of dentistry at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
“When you have persons in high places who clearly lie about what’s happening with weapons of mass destruction, or CEOs who lie about where the money is going, I think the general public gets the idea that anything that makes money is what’s right.”
Again with the canard, so easily and often dispelled, that Bush “lied” about WMDs in Iraq. Even media darling, George Tenet, dispelled that as a lie itself.
And why is she an “expert” on this issue? Well, because she has “written about the ethics of dental education”, that’s why.
She seems to be an “expert” on dentistry ethics the way Karl Marx was an “expert” on economics! They’ve both “written” on their subject of interest, apparently, which was seemingly the important requirement.
Now, there is a matter of reporting an incident where all relevant quotes, even stupid ones, should be included in a story for publication. If one of the students had made such a statement to explain away their immorality, perhaps such a quote would be somewhat relevant to the story. But, for the Indy Star to go out of their way to include this irrelevant gem of stupidity in their story borders on a political statement and an agenda as opposed to reporting. Unfortunately, this is something that has become woefully common in the fallen field of journalism today.
I do have some questions for the good Doctor, however. Did our resident “expert” on dental ethics feel the same way about lies in high places when Bill Clinton was assuring us that he “didn’t have sexual relations with that woman, Monica”? Were the lies in high places bothersome to her then? How about when a certain wife of that highly placed individual amazingly “found” a stack of missing — and subpoenaed — Rose Law Firm documents just lying around the residence of the President? Did that bother Mz. Koerber? Was Doc Koerber disgusted over a lapse in ethics when Vice President Al Gore was caught taking illicit campaign contributions from “nuns” from a California Buddhist Temple?
Did any of THOSE lies bother her? Or did she just come to find “lies” in the White House only recently?
Just curious.
In any case, the Indy Star can’t tell the difference between reporting and advocacy. But their poor example of journalistic ethics (is that an oxymoron?) is not much different than that of any other MSM source of misinformation.
I also wonder if Mz. Koerber ever gets upset over the lies in the MSM? Or is she a “truther” who’s all for the cause despite the cost?
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Warner Todd Huston’s thoughtful commentary, sometimes irreverent often historically based, is featured on many websites such as newsbusters.org, townhall.com, men’snewsdaily.com and americandaily.com among many, many others. Additionally, he has been a guest on several radio programs to discuss his opinion editorials and current events. He has also written for several history magazines and appears in the new book “Americans on Politics, Policy and Pop Culture” which can be purchased on amazon.com. He is also the owner and operator of publiusforum.com. Feel free to contact him with any comments or questions : EMAIL Warner Todd Huston
The sun came up today and contributed to global warming. That too is Bush’s fault.
I guess your article is supposed to be funny.
10% of people are always going to cheat. 10% of people are always NOT going to cheat. 80% of people are opportunists who will do it if they don’t think they’re going to get caught or don’t think that anything bad will happen if they do.
This is by no means a defense of Bush – he and his cronies are simply those that fall into the 80%.
Just look at how many people respect speed limits on highways. Those proportions are pretty good.
The problem with cheating is that it’s too easy these days, and there are not enough people in academia who are holding cheaters accountable. Many universities make it very tough for an instructor if he brings up a plagiarism case (he has to be the police, the judge, the executioner of the sanction).