John Lott Takes On Media Over Fake News About Sheriff Clarke

by
posted on June 10, 2017
060717_lott_clarke.jpg
Scott Olson/Getty Images

If you haven’t heard, the so-called “mainstream” media have been sharpening their knives for Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, President Donald Trump’s choice for an assistant secretary position at the Department of Homeland Security. His conservative beliefs are just too much for them, including his long-standing support for the right to keep and bear arms.

On Friday, author and researcher John Lott, president of the Crime Prevention Research Center, completely debunked media claims of plagiarism on Clarke’s master’s thesis in a story posted at thehill.com.

“But what Sheriff Clarke did was not dishonest. He footnoted each of these segments, citing the correct sources right on the same page.” — John Lott“CNN focused on 23 short segments of his nearly 40,000-word thesis. Eighteen are mere sentence fragments; five are full sentences,” Lott wrote. “CNN cites the supposedly standard definition of plagiarism: ‘If a passage is quoted verbatim, it must be set off with quotation marks … The length of the phrase does not matter … even if only a few words are involved.’

“But what Sheriff Clarke did was not dishonest. He footnoted each of these segments, citing the correct sources right on the same page.”

Lott referred to Steven Brill, the founder of Court TV and a lecturer at the Yale English department, who in 2007 told the Yale Daily News: “Plagiarism is when you steal someone’s words and you don’t attribute it to that person.”

“Clarke’s thesis footnoted on the same page each questionable sentence,” Lott wrote

After stating a very eloquent case that should embarrass CNN and anyone else who has parroted the plagiarism charges, Lott concluded: “Beyond a shadow of a doubt, Clarke did not dishonestly take someone else’s work. If there ever were ‘neon signs’ pointing to the sources of the paraphrasing, Sheriff David Clarke had them.”

You can read Lott’s complete explanation here.

Latest

48651170742_04f298edc4_k.jpg
48651170742_04f298edc4_k.jpg

More Than Half of State Attorneys General Demand Answers from Biden

The group submitted a formal comment letter addressing the ATF’s proposed rulemaking regarding the “Definition of ‘Engaged in Business’ as a Dealer in Firearms.”

Another Armed Californian Saves His Family

Robberies and burglaries are increasingly occurring in the Golden State.

This is What Empowering Women Really Looks Like

With gun ownership on the rise throughout the nation, women are one huge demographic that has seen noticeable growth in this area. Such is why one NRA firearms instructor built a self-defense training company that caters exclusively to women.

What’s Next for Oregon?

When a circuit court judge imposed a permanent injunction against Oregon’s anti-freedom measure last week, it was just the latest skirmish in a year-long, up-and-down battle against the sweeping, poorly conceived law.

The Armed Citizen® December 4, 2023

True stories of the right to keep and bear arms.

NRA 2023 Year In Review

None of this would be possible without the enduring support of NRA members.



Get the best of America's 1st Freedom delivered to your inbox.