Wednesday, April 14, 2004
Orlando Sentinel's Kathleen Parker: Is it Live? Or is it Memorex?
The Orlando Sentinel's Kathleen Parker has written a column that bears a marked resemblance to Gregg Easterbrook's Alternative History, published two days earlier at the New Republic.
Here's Easterbrook's background graf:
On August 7, 2001, Bush had ordered the United States military to stage an all-out attack on alleged terrorist camps in Afghanistan. Thousands of U.S. special forces units parachuted into this neutral country, while air strikes targeted the Afghan government and its supporting military. Pentagon units seized abandoned Soviet air bases throughout Afghanistan, while establishing support bases in nearby nations such as Uzbekistan. Simultaneously, FBI agents throughout the United States staged raids in which dozens of men accused of terrorism were taken prisoner.
Here's Parker's:
Absent absolute proof of such an imminent attack, Bush's Sept. 10 bombing of Afghanistan earned him international condemnation and, in all likelihood, an indictment in coming weeks.
Easterbrook:
Moments after being sworn in as the 44th president, Dick Cheney said that disgraced former national security adviser Condoleezza Rice would be turned over to the Hague for trial in the International Court of Justice as a war criminal. Cheney said Washington would "firmly resist" international demands that Bush be extradited for prosecution as well.
Parker:
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, appearing last night on Larry King Live, said the United Nations' International Criminal Tribunal likely would bring charges of genocide against Bush.
Finally--and most significantly, in my view--here's Easterbrook's kicker:
Announcing his candidacy for the 2004 Republican presidential nomination, Senator John McCain said today that "George W. Bush was very foolish and naïve; he didn't realize he was being pushed into this needless conflict by oil interests that wanted to seize Afghanistan to run a pipeline across it." McCain spoke at a campaign rally at the World Trade Center in New York City.
...and here's Parker's:
In a flourish of irony and the spirit of bon vivant for which the new president is widely known, Kerry gave his acceptance speech from Windows on the World, the elegant restaurant atop the World Trade Center's Tower One.
Is it live? Is it memorex? Is it plagiarism? Or is it the inevitable result of two authors independently pursuing a common rhetorical device?
Check 'em both out. You make the call.
Splash, out
Jason
Here's Easterbrook's background graf:
On August 7, 2001, Bush had ordered the United States military to stage an all-out attack on alleged terrorist camps in Afghanistan. Thousands of U.S. special forces units parachuted into this neutral country, while air strikes targeted the Afghan government and its supporting military. Pentagon units seized abandoned Soviet air bases throughout Afghanistan, while establishing support bases in nearby nations such as Uzbekistan. Simultaneously, FBI agents throughout the United States staged raids in which dozens of men accused of terrorism were taken prisoner.
Here's Parker's:
Absent absolute proof of such an imminent attack, Bush's Sept. 10 bombing of Afghanistan earned him international condemnation and, in all likelihood, an indictment in coming weeks.
Easterbrook:
Moments after being sworn in as the 44th president, Dick Cheney said that disgraced former national security adviser Condoleezza Rice would be turned over to the Hague for trial in the International Court of Justice as a war criminal. Cheney said Washington would "firmly resist" international demands that Bush be extradited for prosecution as well.
Parker:
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, appearing last night on Larry King Live, said the United Nations' International Criminal Tribunal likely would bring charges of genocide against Bush.
Finally--and most significantly, in my view--here's Easterbrook's kicker:
Announcing his candidacy for the 2004 Republican presidential nomination, Senator John McCain said today that "George W. Bush was very foolish and naïve; he didn't realize he was being pushed into this needless conflict by oil interests that wanted to seize Afghanistan to run a pipeline across it." McCain spoke at a campaign rally at the World Trade Center in New York City.
...and here's Parker's:
In a flourish of irony and the spirit of bon vivant for which the new president is widely known, Kerry gave his acceptance speech from Windows on the World, the elegant restaurant atop the World Trade Center's Tower One.
Is it live? Is it memorex? Is it plagiarism? Or is it the inevitable result of two authors independently pursuing a common rhetorical device?
Check 'em both out. You make the call.
Splash, out
Jason
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