COULTER AND THE P-WORD

(Via the invaluable NewsHounds)

Yes, sweet & terribly clever Ann Coulter seems to have been caught plagiarizing in her new book.

First, the Rude Pundit catches one of several plausible instance of cheating:

Here's Coulter from Chapter 1 of Godless: The massive Dickey-Lincoln Dam, a $227 million hydroelectric project proposed on upper St. John River in Maine, was halted by the discovery of the Furbish lousewort, a plant previously believed to be extinct.

Here's the Portland Press Herald, from the year 2000, in its list of the "Maine Stories of the Century": The massive Dickey-Lincoln Dam, a $227 million hydroelectric project proposed on upper St. John River, is halted by the discovery of the Furbish lousewort, a plant believed to be extinct.

Strangely similar, no? By the way, that's a story from 1976. Coulter doesn't tell you that little tidbit, making you think it happened last week.

Ron Brynaert of Raw Story has another catch:

Coulter then provides a "short list" of sixteen "successful treatments achieved by adult stem cell research."

But fifteen of Coulter's examples are nearly identical to a longer list of seventeen compiled by the Illinois Right To Life website, which has been available since at least September of 2003 (current link, archived 9/03 link).

"Repair heart attack damage (using the patient’s own blood stem cells)," says the Illinois Right To Life Committee Website.

"Repairing heart attack damage with the patient’s own blood stem cells," writes Coulter.

"Restore bone marrow in cancer patients (using stem cells from umbilical cord blood)," says the Website.

"Restoring bone marrow in cancer patients using stem cells from umbilical cord blood," Coulter writes.