Pic Of The Moment: I Ctrl-C What You Did There

[EarlG]

Melania Trump's speech rips off Michelle Obama's from 2008...

Follow @demunderground

[RoccoR5955]

1. Perhaps we should "del"

The whole tRump circus!
tRump. Make America hate again!

[Initech]

2. Can we CTRL-ALT-DEL the entire Trump campaign?

[AgingAmerican]

38. More like ALT + F4

[Cracklin Charlie]

3. DUzy!

[Maven]

4. LOL!

[workinclasszero]

5. The republicans love FLOTUS!

Who knew?

[irisblue]

6. Busted, so busted

[stonecutter357]

7. K&R!

[mdbl]

8. Melania will star on Trump's newest reality show..

The Art of the Steal

[Stellar]

9. " 'I'd like to thank my speech writers Copy and Paste' ...."

Independent

[DemonGoddess]

10. K&R!

[louis-t]

11. How long before Limbaugh claims Michelle stole the speech?

The party of personal responsibility wants to know.

[yuiyoshida]

12. And she rickrolled America...

[Initech]

23. I'm surprised the speech didn't end with "Wave your hands in the air like you just don't care!!"

[Gidney N Cloyd]

13. EarlG you're the man!!

[7962]

14. This is REALLY silly. And I know where it ends;

the same accusations against the First Lady, Pres Obama, etc. Hell, we already know Biden did it. I'm sure a google searce would find more. De we want that? I dont.

Its 30 seconds out of a 30 minute speech. They are plenty of REAL problems with Trump that people should be bringing up, not reaching for this nonsense.

[MADem]

17. EXCUSE ME? You don't think LYING, CHEATING and STEALING are important?

The problem here is that Trump is not holding anyone responsible--why? Because it was likely "one of his own" that did this. Why did they do it? Because that is how the Trump family rolls. They steal, and "So what?" They lie, and "So what?" They cheat, they rip off...and "So what?"

It isn't just 30 seconds--it is word-for-word copying. Are you the only person who hasn't seen the side-by-side videos?

This is a real problem--it goes to CHARACTER. And character, and integrity, and honesty are NOT nonsense. What's "nonsense" is ignoring a liar and a cheat, over and over again, coddling him, pretending that his boorish behavior, crude comments and base attitudes are not sick, bizarre, and well out of the norm of civilized and acceptable interactions between people.

Someone needs to stand up and call a bullshitter a bullshitter. It is WELL past time.

Can't believe anyone on DU would defend this shit, and use as a justification that they'll come after us.

Let them try.

Plagiarism is wrong. The lesson here is DON'T do it.

[7962]

25. SO then you'll be just as critical of the Democrat examples of the same thing I suppose

Because you already know they're out there. I'd find 'em for you if I werent using my phone.
the fact is, its average shit; "I learned hard work from my parents" "i was taught to respect people" blah blah blah, EVERYONE says that stuff.
The side by side video only shows the words that match; the complete clip shows other words interspersed in the speech. Its NOT an EXACT repeat. Sorry if you think this is some major news, i dont.
I think its stupid to focus on simple average everyday phrases EVERY politician uses when you can find 5 REAL things EVERY DAY to slam Trump with!!

[MADem]

28. I've already had plenty to say about Biden's Kinnock rip off here, down the years.

Don't event THINK about "threatening" me with the "Waah, this one did it TOOOOOOO" nonsense.

Your last comment is a canard--if you want to

find 5 REAL things EVERY DAY to slam Trump with!!

I would URGE you to just get off your own doggone best intentions and DO IT.

Stop whining and demanding that others do it--YOU do the work if you think that's the priority.

This thread is about Melania's plagiarizing, and you are working overtime to try and mitigate it.


Why is that?


There is NO mitigation for lying, cheating and stealing--sorry if that doesn't comport with your priorities, but that's the way it is. It's why this has been the TOP story on every cable news broadcast for the past 14 hours. So, get over it. This IS the story of the day. Melania copied Michelle, WORD-FOR-WORD, in a way that was IMPOSSIBLE to pass off as an accident.

Go have a look at the video instead of trying to deflect from the obvious issue here--that there was PLAGIARISM happening at Trumpville.

[Cha]

53. Right.. nothing to see here.. move along. Mustn't mention Melania's lying

and plagiarism.. she might be construed as a victim.

Lol! We damn well aren't scared to point out plagiarism no matter who does it!

Teachers are thanking Melania Trump

Brad Francis, an English teacher at Davis Middle School in Evanston, Wyoming tweeted that he was "'jazzed" to have a "perfect video to teach my 8th graders students about plagiarism".

"Melania's speech is probably the most blatant example that I have ever seen. Eighth grade students need very literal examples, and her speech is basically verbatim to Michelle Obama's. It will help them learn absolutely what not to do in their writing," he told BBC News.

"I have students who try to copy and paste material from the internet all the time to pass it off as their own. That speech was Michelle Obama's intellectual property."

Full Story~Other teachers expressed similar thoughts:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-36836599

Doesn't look like it's going away..

Same story that's at the top of greatest..

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10028027793

[lunatica]

19. Just another thing Trump is given a pass on

So far his supporters and even the Republican party have given him a pass on every insult, tweet, or whatever crazed or rabid thing he says in general. They all grasp at their pearls but they then say "if he does such and such we can support him." Not if he stops lying, cheating, insulting tweeting or re-tweeting which can all be excused if he just gives a speech in front of a monitor. So he gives the speech and all is forgiven!! then he goes right back to insulting the entire world.

I don't see how any self-respecting DUer can condone any of Trump's crap.

[MADem]

29. DAMN right!

[SunSeeker]

20. Can't we bring up everything? Why give Melania and Trump a pass on this?

Do you think Michelle Obama would have gotten a pass if she plagiarized her convention speech in 2008?

[7962]

27. So you never saw those stories?

Really? Do i need to post a link?
Thats why I think making a big deal over THIS is silly.
Focus on the big picture. Everyones talking about 30 seconds of a woman's 30 minute speech, meanwhile Donald is probably off somewhere saying something REALLY stupid we're missing THAT

[MADem]

30. Just STOP. You are working overtime to "forgive" Trump and Company their trespasses.

This is not a case of "That one did it toooooooo."

Melania ripped off a speech from Michelle, given in the EXACT same circumstances eight years ago.

That's the fact. YOU "focus on the big picture" -- that the Trump campaign is a bunch of lying, cheating, stealing grifters -- and stop defending them.

And the whole "Can't walk and chew gum at the same time" argument?

It's REPUBLICANS who have a hard time with that--not us.

Donald is in HIDING--why? Because he doesn't want to answer questions about his wife's plagiarizing.

Your concern about what we're missing, though, is terribly, TERRIBLY touching....

[7962]

34. Well, enjoy yourself! As you have every right to do.

Spend all day on a 30 second clip of average political phrases .
And as I said, do you really want the, as you put it, "they did it too" clips to start popping up? Because i remember them well from 8 yrs ago. You think thats all made up?

[MADem]

37. STOP mischaracterizing. You are digging a hole that is impossible for you

to crawl out of -- this was NOT a 30 second clip of average political phrases--it was word-for-word THEFT of very specific, particular sentences and IDEAS. And those ideas were about CHARACTER and VALUES.

The only thing she didn't do was call her husband Barack or mention her children, Sasha and Malia.

Your repeated threats that they'll try to come after us have no foundation, save in your head.

Any person who can't call out a plagiarizer for plagiarizing, that goes to essential issues of integrity--this is not something that is deserving of a "pass" or any kind of mitigation, and that is why the news has been covering this robustly. It's not just the theft of the words from Michelle Obama--it's the EASE with which it was done, it's the refusal to apologize, the cries of butthurt that people noticed--it's the damn wheels coming off the Trump bus.

They're calling it a "fiasco" and "amateur hour" on the news--and they're right.

The reason you are a voice in the wilderness (aside from the Trumpeteers who do not frequent this website) is because you are on the wrong damn side of this argument. I recommend a little introspection, and you also should just stop telling us we can't do more than one thing at a time. That "Look over here, not there" argument is a flopsweat desperation move and it makes you look like you're supporting the other side, even if that's not the case.

[7962]

40. Well, you say tomato......

I've only said that I know what the GOP does; i've seen it enough. Soon we'll see the clips of the Pres Obama/ Deval Patrick speeches, Joe Biden's speech, etc. Misdirection. And I dont think its worth it.
You do, and thats perfectly fine. So we just disagree. In a week we'll be talking about some NEW dumbshit move by him or one of his minions. Manafort, by the way, seems to be just as bad as Lewandowsky!! He's comedy gold! Cant keep 2 statements the same 10 minutes apart!!

[MADem]

42. No, "I" -- and CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, BET, and every major, credible news source--

to include print/digital media--are not saying "tomato" -- we are saying "PLAGIARIST."

In a speech talking about values and character, ripping off someone else's speech goes to ... "values and character."

It is important, and I think it is a turning point. This is the first time I've seen all the major media outlets saying "WTF?" and "This is total bullshit!" INSTEAD of trying to smooth out the rough spots.

It's been a long time coming, but this is the first example I've seen where the objections to this kind of asshattery were sustained and vociferous. EVERYONE who isn't on the GOP payroll is saying "This was a fuckup of massive proportions, and it DOES matter."

[SunSeeker]

32. I saw the stories. This is not a distraction. This is a question of character and accountability.

All that fact checking of Trump was not gaining the traction you'd expect. People don't understand Benghazi, they don't get the nuances of the email controversy. But they know what plagiarism is. MSNBC just reported on air a poll that 93% of people believe the passages were plagiarized. Yet the Trump campaign has yet to acknowledge there was plagiarism, let alone fire or even identify the speech writer. This is an easy to understand example of the off the rails, unaccountable way Trump handles matters. We should not give it a pass. No quarter.

[7962]

35. Oh, I think the fact checking IS getting traction. More people are talking about it now.

I see it more every day on Facebook. Hell, even friends of mine that generally vote republican post it because even THEY dont like him.
More and more of these things are being spread around as the days go by. And the real campaign hasnt even started yet.
And these polls showing how "close" it is are bullshit, IMO

[SunSeeker]

44. Dems can walk and chew gum.

We can and are continuing with the fact checking call-outs, while also pounding Trump on this "devastating" (Steve Schmidt's word) malpractice by his campaign. Trump is flailing with blood in the water. It would be malpractice on our part to shoo the sharks away.

[MADem]

31. Why give Melania and Trump a pass on this?

An excellent question, and one the poster doesn't seem able to answer with any conviction.

If Michelle plagiarized a five word sentence, never mind paragraphs, they'd be calling for her head on a pike.

Joy Reid brought this up last night, and it was a fair point. Michelle Obama wouldn't have gotten a pass; just because Melania wore white doesn't mean we should treat her like some kind of special snowflake. Either she's the "successful model and business woman" she's touted to be, or she's a moron who knows how to read what is put in front of her but didn't have the sense to vet the words she was given to say. OR she copied that shit herself, and thought she could get away with it--maybe because she's gotten away with it before...?

I smDh at the mitigating going on in this thread. It's wrong.

[SunSeeker]

36. Yes, the mitigating is wrong. And quite revolting to see on a progressive board. nt

[Ilsa]

22. Do you give her a pass on her claim to having a degree in Design & Architecture from

Her home university when she attended only one year? At what point should we pay attention to the details that add up to a boatload of crap and lies?

By the way, Gov. Richard's buddy who was Railroad commissioner claimed to have a degree when she did not. She lost her job, and the lie contributed to Ann Richards losing, I bet.

[7962]

26. No! Lying about having a DEGREE is a little bit different than this.

I've sen plenty of people lose their jobs for lying about their degree or work experience

[sarae]

51. People lose their jobs for plagiarism.

How is that different?

[7962]

54. Yeah, writers do. Because they use others trademarked work

Its a few phrases in a 30 minute speech. The president did the same thing with Duval Patricks speech back in 08, as well as a few other times.
I just think if this keeps on, Melania will just end up looking like a victim, as I posted elsewhere. Poor immigrant didnt realize what she was being given to read. Although it could also be "trumps people used her". Could go either way

[7962]

49. I just think theres a risk that she comes out looking like a victim. We'll see. nt

[Historic NY]

15. Trumps following the Obama 08 playbook...........

no one told him that you just can steal stuff.

[MADem]

16. One of your best! nt

[SwankyXomb]

18. didn't know the Trumps were Kopimists

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copimism

[MADem]

33. OMG--that takes the cake.

Damn--you DO learn something new every day at DU.

What a bunch of ... characters:



LOL--the bride and groom at this Kopimist wedding DO have a Donald and Melania "vibe!"

[asiliveandbreathe]

21. I waiting for trump to - wait a minute - he is

using the Brittany cry "leave Melania ALONE!" -

Just an fyi - on my way back from the grocery store this morning (I'm in Arizona) and the radio host made comment about maybe trump was looking for this song "Find Me somebody to love" - my point - we never hear anything here against any republiklan - raising eyebrow moment...

and Queen did not authorize the use of their song "we are the champions"..

[Ilsa]

39. Hysterical!!!

Absolutely brilliant!!!

[ailsagirl]

41. How did they think they'd get away with pulling that stunt??

This is absolutely surreal!!

[Eleanors38]

43. Most excellent, EarlG.

[Peaceful Protester]

45. PLAGIARISM?

Last edited Tue Jul 19, 2016, 07:40 PM - Edit history (1)

It don't make sense for a Model, who once posed "Hard" for a living (and is now married to a Billionaire), to plagiarize not (1) but only (2) sentences extolling the virtues of hard work. What an inspiration to the rest of us!

[edbermac]

46. Some moran on Discussionist is making fun of you Earl.

And as usual, is failing miserably.

http://www.discussionist.com/102441977

[mdbl]

47. What a weird group over there

When it first opened I had to place so many on ignore I didn't bother going there because there were no posts LOL