Sunday, December 15, 2013

Legislative Misconduct

By Jeff Simpson

If your currently enrolled in the University of Madison, and you turn in a paper, you know there are certain standards of conduct that you must follow.  One of the most important rules to follow, and one that holds dire consequences if you do not follow, is plagiarism.  

Academic Honesty and Plagiarism
The University of Wisconsin-Madison and the English 100 Program expect students to present their work honestly and to credit others responsibly and with care. University policy states: “Academic honesty and integrity are fundamental to the mission of higher education and of the University of Wisconsin system” (Wisconsin Administrative Code 14.01). Plagiarism is a serious offense, and it can occur in drafts as well as in final papers. Because this course relies heavily on sharing knowledge and information in the learning and writing processes, it is important that students learn how to work with sources without plagiarizing. Plagiarism includes all of the following:
  • cutting and pasting from another source without using quotation marks and citing the source;
  • using someone else’s words or ideas without proper documentation when quoting and paraphrasing;
  • copying any portion of your text from another source without proper acknowledgement;
  • borrowing another person’s specific ideas without documenting the source;
  • having someone rewrite or complete your work (This does not include getting and using feedback from a writing group or individual in the class.);
  • turning in a paper written by someone else, an essay “service,” or from a World Wide Web site (including reproductions of such essays or papers); and
  • turning in a paper that you wrote for another course, or turning in the same paper for more than one course, without getting permission from your instructors first.
In all of the above cases, plagiarism has occurred when the use of someone else’s words and/or ideas takes place without proper citation and documentation no matter what kind of text is the origin of the words and/or ideas. That is, material must still be documented even if it comes from a source such as an e-mail, personal writing, oral or written interviews, classroom conversations, or formal presentations or lectures—not just from materials published as books, journal articles, or essays in popular magazines or websites.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison has established a range of penalties for students guilty of plagiarism or academic dishonesty. Appropriate penalties include a reduced grade, a failing grade for an assignment, a failing grade for the course, or even suspension or expulsion from the university. All instances of plagiarism are reported to the English 100 administration. For more information, see http://www.wisc.edu/students/conduct/uws14.htm.

In Wisconsin, we have a legislator who not only is guilty of plagiarism, but also too lazy to even have his own comment about a bill he introduced.


Not only did Kleefisch decide to introduce very similar legislation, which he is calling the Flexibility for Working Families Bill, in Wisconsin.
But he also decided to swipe quotes from three congressmen sponsoring the federal measure and to claim them as his own in a formal email to all members of the state Assembly and Senate.
Compare for yourself.
In a May 8 press release touting House passage of the federal proposal, there appears this quote:
"In order to have a healthy economy, we need to remove barriers that deny parents flexibility that fosters success at home and work," said Workforce Protections Subcommittee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-Mich.). "By giving working families and employers the voluntary flexibility to rearrange work schedules, we are letting them do what is best for their family. We're giving them the freedom to take a sick child to the doctor, spend time with family, or collect overtime wages."
Now take a look at Kleefisch's Dec. 5 email to his 131 colleagues explaining the need for his proposal, providing a Legislative Reference Bureau analysis and seeking co-sponsors:
"In order to have a healthy economy we need to remove barriers that deny parents flexibility which fosters success at home and at work. By giving working families and employers the voluntary flexibility to rearrange work schedules, we are letting them do what is best for their family. We are giving them the freedom to take a sick child to the doctor, spend time with family or collect overtime wages."
Exactly the same — sans attribution — give or take an Oxford comma and a contraction.
But that's not the only time the political conservative appears to have borrowed liberally.
Kleefisch, who is married to Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, also cobbled together quotes from Republican Reps. John Kline of Minnesota and Martha Roby of Alabama.
In the federal press release, Kline said, "Workers in the private-sector deserve the same choice and flexibility enjoyed for decades in the public-sector. This legislation won't solve all the challenges Americans face, but it will help make life a little easier for those struggling to balance the demands of family and work. I urge our Senate colleagues to join this effort and help send this commonsense proposal to the president's desk."
Roby added, "Our message to the American people is this: We want to get Washington out of the way of how you use your time. Talk to just about any working mom and dad and they'll tell you they need more time. They need just one more hour in the day to be able to take care of responsibilities and make life work."
In his email to Wisconsin lawmakers, Kleefisch combined the two quotes without attributing them.
But first, the Oconomowoc Republican deleted Kline's reference to the bill landing on the president's desk and Roby's statement about the need for Washington to get out of the way — sentiments that weren't particularly relevant to Wisconsin legislation.
So this is what appeared as Kleefisch's justification for his bill:
"Workers in the private sector deserve the same choice and flexibility enjoyed for decades in the public sector. This legislation won't solve all the challenges working families face, but it will help make life a little easier for those struggling to balance the demands of family and work. Talk to just about any working mom or dad and they will tell you they need more time. They need just one more hour in the day to be able to take care of responsibilities and make life work."

If Joel Kleefisch were attending UW- Madison, he would be begging for his career right now, and probably lose his appeal.   In the state legislature for this misconduct, the consequences equal - zero.    Which is understandable because his spokes person has declared that plagiarism is no longer an issue:


Ashlee Moore, a staffer for Kleefisch, took responsibility for putting together the email. Moore said she had no idea how the quotes from the federal lawmaker ended up in her lengthy note to Kleefisch's colleagues.
"It wasn't intentionally done," Moore said.
OK, that may be a little hard to believe, given the edits and lack of attribution.
But Moore then wrote back to say everything is OK.
"These statements should have been attributed to their respective authors," Moore wrote via email. "However, we have since gotten permission from both Congressman Roby, as well as Congressman Walberg to use these quotes in this fashion."




Apparently, there is a reason that the rest of the caucus allows Joel to vote for them, they have him trained to push buttons. 



Maybe they should teach him the English language.  




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