wvared.com - "Ctrl C / Ctrl V"

by: Mary Jones

Sat Jun 13, 2009 at 21:08:44 PM EDT

Plagiarize:
transitive verb: to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own :  use (another's production) without crediting the source
intransitive verb: to commit literary theft : present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source

UPDATED. Roman Stauffer proves to be a genuine fake.

Fraud
The plagiarist knows that he/she is not the true author of the work, yet the plagiarist willfully and deliberately puts his/her name on the work (thereby concealing the true author's name)...
_{CheckForPlagiarism.net}

Lo and behold, teh Google found me this.

It appears Roman enjoys the work of Jim Harper, Director of Information Policy Studies at CATO and editor of washingtonwatch.com.

The nitty gritty:

I'm going to blockquote in a "he said, he said" fashion from each blog.  You be the judge as to whether Roman is guilty of theft.
For reference, here are the two blogs in question. Note the dates.

Costing Out Cap-and-Trade
Posted by Jim Harper, June 7, 2009 at 10:22 pm

Cap and Trade Cost = $12,000
June 9th, 2009 . by Roman Stauffer

Harper said:
""Cap-and-trade" is when the government limits ("caps") the emissions of greenhouse gasses and hydrofluorocarbons then issues tradeable credits for emissions."

Stauffer said:
"Under the provisions of Waxman-Markey, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would establish two separate regulatory initiatives known as cap-and-trade programs-one covering emissions of most types of greenhouse gases and one covering hydrofluorocarbons."

Harper said:
"(The cost figures we use here are known as "net present value." That's the amount you would have to put in the bank today to fund future spending. The CBO estimate includes ten years of spending and tax colletions. There's more about our cost reporting on our "about" page.)"

Stauffer said:
"The $12,000 cost figures used is known as the "net present value." That's the amount you would have to put in the bank today to fund future spending. The CBO estimate includes ten years of spending and tax collections."

Harper said:
"So if you want to reduce greenhouse gasses, be prepared to pay the price. To some it may be worth it, to others it may not be. Where do you come down on it?"

Stauffer said:
"So if you want to reduce greenhouse gasses, be prepared to pay the price. To some it may be worth it, to others it may not be. Where do you come down on it?"

Say WHAT!? And how about that exact cost Roman quotes?

Roman said:
"The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its analysis last week that showed the Waxman-Markey Cap and Trade legislation making it's way through Congress will cost the average family $12,108.23 over ten years."

Harper said:
"But cap-and-trade don't come cheap. The estimated cost of the bill is about $12,000 per U.S. family."

Cost per Average Family: $12,108.23
source: Jim Harper's washingtonwatch.com

Whew! Thats some coincidental, precisely-the-same-language if I have ever seen any.

One more time, from plagiarism.org:

:to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source

Apparently Roman Stauffer, like me,  is a pro at copy/paste (CtrlC/CtrlV).

Only Roman chooses to steal other peoples' work and claim it as his own intellect, while I give credit where credit is due.
Roman, I suggest you:
1. Email Mr. Harper and post an apology immediately on your website.
2. Brush up on the Do's and Don'ts of Copyright Law.
3. Cite ALL sources and stop trying to come off as something you aren't.

_{First person to post Carnacki won the "post a screencapture of Roman's "work" (before he undoubtedly deletes/changes it) Award!" gets a song dedicated by me, your Mother.
For anyone wanting to help Roman out, go ahead and click Mr. Harper's email and hit send, to let him know what credit his good pal gives him!}

* * * * * UPDATED * * * * *

A little more research has produced a beauty of yet another uncited piece of intellect - and this time its from a government owned blog!

Douglas W. Elmendorf, Director of the Congressional Budget Office said:
"Both cap-and-trade programs would set a limit on total emissions for each year and would require regulated entities to hold rights, or allowances, to the emissions permitted under that cap. Some of those allowances would be auctioned by the federal government, and the remainder would be distributed at no charge."
_{Friday, June 5th, 2009 at 9:25 pm}

Roman Stauffer, professional Plagiarist said:
"Both cap-and-trade programs would set a limit on total emissions for each year and would require regulated entities to hold rights, or allowances, to the emissions permitted under that cap.Some of those allowances would be auctioned by the federal government, and the remainder would be distributed at no charge."

Director Elmendorf said:
"Under the provisions of the bill, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would establish two separate regulatory initiatives known as cap-and-trade programs-one covering emissions of most types of greenhouse gases and one covering hydrofluorocarbons."

Stauffer said:
"Under the provisions of Waxman-Markey, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would establish two separate regulatory initiatives known as cap-and-trade programs-one covering emissions of most types of greenhouse gases and one covering hydrofluorocarbons."

In the spirit of full disclosure, Director Elmendorf's blog may not be protected as copywritten material, but citing is still required:

Copyright
The information and documents that are available through our Web site generally were created by our employees in the course of their employment at CBO and, as such, are works of the government and are not protected by copyright law. They may be copied and distributed in their entirety without CBO permission, and we request that CBO be acknowledged as the source of the information.
_{http://www.cbo.gov/Privacy.shtml}

Let me be perfectly clear what I am saying here:
Roman Stauffer, Legislative Aide to Senate Minority Leader Don Caruth (R-Mercer), has committed an act of:

Fraud
Beyond intellectual property issues (e.g., copyright and trademark), the plagiarist commits fraud. The plagiarist knows that he/she is not the true author of the work, yet the plagiarist willfully and deliberately puts his/her name on the work (thereby concealing the true author's name), then the plagiarist submits the work as an inducement to some kind of reward (e.g., good grade on a term paper, awarding a graduate degree for a thesis or dissertation, obtaining a scholarship, winning a prize in a science fair, etc).

Using phrases like "academic misconduct" to describe plagiarism is too sterile, too kind. Plagiarism is fraud.
_{CheckForPlagiarism.net}

Gametime! If you want to play with teh Googles, maybe you can find the rest of Roman's original sources of information.
_{All directly correlating text (read: stolen) has been crossed out. If you find uncited sources put them in the comments.
Good luck, there's not much left of his "original" post!}

Cap and Trade Cost = $12,000
June 9th, 2009 . by Roman Stauffer

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its analysis last week that showed the Waxman-Markey Cap and Trade legislation making it's way through Congress will cost the average family $12, 108.23 over ten years.

The $12,000 cost figures used is "known as the net present value." That's the amount you would have to put in the bank today to fund future spending. The CBO estimate includes ten years of spending and tax collections.

This is only the cost estimated for the legislation. It does not take into account higher energy prices as a result of new regulations and mandates imposed by the government.

Under the provisions of Waxman-Markey, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would establish two separate regulatory initiatives known as cap-and-trade programs-one covering emissions of most types of greenhouse gases and one covering hydrofluorocarbons.

Both cap-and-trade programs would set a limit on total emissions for each year and would require regulated entities to hold rights, or allowances, to the emissions permitted under that cap.Some of those allowances would be auctioned by the federal government, and the remainder would be distributed at no charge.

So if you want to reduce greenhouse gasses, be prepared to pay the price. To some it may be worth it, to others it may not be. Where do you come down on it? Will passing Cap and Trade have very much of an impact if China and India don't appear ready to cap their carbon emissions?