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Elisabeth Hasselbeck Sued For Plagiarism

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redqueenmeg
06/23/09

In reply to Elisabeth Hasselbeck Sued For Plagiarism
Hmm, suspiciously the same mistake on "isles" vs. "aisles"...
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Breamworthy
06/23/09

@redqueenmeg: @librisdraconis: Except it was already discussed above and noted that these quotes come from a letter that Hassett wrote to Hasselbeck. In other words, when she lifted quotes from Hasselbeck to "prove" her point, she inadvertently introduced her own spelling errors. Also someone posted to say that they have a copy of the book and those errors are not in the Hasselbeck book.
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SomeAuthorGirl
06/23/09

In reply to Elisabeth Hasselbeck Sued For Plagiarism
Jezebels resident celiac chiming in here with a snarky two cents: every goddamned book on celiac reads nearly entirely the same way.

Frankly, I was just pissed she was writing yet another worthless book on the subject and wasting the fucking paper.
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stealthird
06/23/09

In reply to Elisabeth Hasselbeck Sued For Plagiarism
You guys just don't get it. Hassett's book is totally poetry:

"Odysseus navigated the wine-dark sea

and crashed upon the outer isles,

wherein he purchased spices gluten-free

and vegetables and fruits, in shiny piles.

But lo, he found Circe in the center isle

and she turned all of his men to pigs

with Oreos and Top Ramen and Doritos

and while Odysseus, enthralled, ate Newtons with figs,

he became fat, got gout, and broke his toes."
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PreposterousHypothesis
06/23/09

In reply to Elisabeth Hasselbeck Sued For Plagiarism
It doesn't really smack of plagiarism to me. Plus, the original writing is nearly incomprehensible. If Hasselbeck had all those errors, maybe I'd believe her.

Doesn't EVERY health/diet/nutrition book tell you to shop the perimeter of the store?
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Breamworthy
06/23/09

@PreposterousHypothesis: Yes. And that has to be the most terrible writing I've ever read in something that wasn't online.
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NotChoinski
06/23/09

In reply to Elisabeth Hasselbeck Sued For Plagiarism
Hasselbeck also stole my illuminated manuscript to the Glutenburg Bible.
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dreamypisces
06/23/09

In reply to Elisabeth Hasselbeck Sued For Plagiarism
Hassett's book was self published (as noted above) which means no fancy editor helping her keep her sentences short and sweet where as I'm sure Hasselbeck had a huge publishing conglomerate behind her every step of the way (even if she was just copying from someone else's book).
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bowleserised
06/23/09

@dreamypisces: As someone who works as an "invisible mender" on bad prose for publishing houses, when I read the compared sentences, it looks just like someone's done a skilled polishing job. However, I don't know how much of the material is like that.
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save jinger
06/23/09

In reply to Elisabeth Hasselbeck Sued For Plagiarism
She even plagiarized the name! She barely changed it, see:

Hassett

Hasselbeck
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BabyJane
06/23/09

@save jinger: And they both used the word celiac!
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BrutallyHonestBabes (aka Mrs. Sarah.of.a.Lesser.Hobbit)
06/23/09

In reply to Elisabeth Hasselbeck Sued For Plagiarism
Oh, I schudder with schadenfreude towards Haschelback. Schomeone schlap me!
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prestocaro fears the culling
06/23/09

@BrutallyHonestBabes (aka Mrs. Sarah.of.a.Lesser.Hobbit): SCHOTP! For the love of the schweet baby jeschus!
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YourScreenplaySucks
06/23/09

In reply to Elisabeth Hasselbeck Sued For Plagiarism
It's obvious what happened here: Hasselbeck, like every 6th grader with a science project due tomorrow, learned that it's not plagiarism if you rephrase Encyclopedia Britannica or whatever other source in your own words. As previous clips on this site make clear, she has not progressed emotionally or intellectually past the 6th grade, so one can't be surprised that she still goes by that rule.
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Penny
06/23/09

In reply to Elisabeth Hasselbeck Sued For Plagiarism
"A person with celiac disease should only shop in the outer isles of the supermarket. The reason being the only thing down the other isles is things you can't have."

Actually, everyone should do that.
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Penny
06/23/09

@Penny: And, the bakery is on the outer perimeter of the store, so you lose!
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Penny
06/23/09

@Penny: Also, does this woman know how to spell? Did an editor not read her book before it was published?
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save jinger
06/23/09

@Penny: But I win, because I fortunately do not have Celiac's Disease, so I can nom nom nom on bread all I want.
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lilbobbytables
06/23/09

@Penny: It was self-published.
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Penny
06/23/09

@lilbobbytables is a la-di-da feminist: Shit, that's what Elance is for. Hire yourself a proof reader!
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Breamworthy
06/23/09

@Penny: Yes, but as burnside noted above, if Tracie's quotes are right, then it was misspelled in both books - which I find kind of hard to believe. It looks to me like whoever wrote the letter misspelled things that they took from Hasselbeck's book - in other words, they actually altered the quotes they used.
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Penny
06/23/09

@save jinger: I only dip into the inner "isles" for black beans, olive oil and brownie mix.
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lilbobbytables
06/23/09

@Penny: Yeah. If I were to self-publish something, even if I were just sending it to my mom (who, naturally, has to love it and put it an the refrigerator), I would have someone proofread it.
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save jinger
06/23/09

@Penny: I dip into the isles for coconuts. And the occasional swim.
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Breamworthy
06/23/09

In reply to Elisabeth Hasselbeck Sued For Plagiarism
I don't think that calling the first chapter of a book about Celiac disease "What is Celiac Disease?" counts as plagiarism.

Also, the first book is nearly illiterate.
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dreamweave
06/23/09

In reply to Elisabeth Hasselbeck Sued For Plagiarism
This was not a swheat thing to do. She deserves a swift kick in the glutenous maximus. May her bank account not flour-ish from this copycat book.
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BabyJane
06/23/09

@dreamweave: I'm a gluten for punishment.
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wtfox?!
06/23/09

In reply to Elisabeth Hasselbeck Sued For Plagiarism
I don't know what standards are for paraphrasing and acknowledgment in copyright law, but Hasselbeck not citing sources--if she does not, in fact, cite any sources or provide a bibliography/list for further reading--is pretty lame, and would have earned her a lot of red ink in a basic composition class. People need to know where this information is coming from, particularly if it's medical/dietary information that affects people's health.

That said, this is hardly egregiously word-for-word, and most of what Hassett's lawyers cite seem to be "common sense" pieces of advice.

And "What is celiac disease?" Oh, come on. I'm not Hassellbeck's biggest fan either, but just from this, the suit seems kind of ridiculous.
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AthertonMerriweather
06/23/09

@wtfox?!: Agreed. If I were to write a book about diabetes, I'm sure it would be similar to another book about diabetes simply because the facts are pretty much black and white.
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thesciencegirl
06/23/09

In reply to Elisabeth Hasselbeck Sued For Plagiarism
I have to say -- the similarities between the books aren't that fishy to me. They both name important things that any person avoiding gluten should know. Heck, just from having a close friend with Celiac, I would know to mention the spice thing. And of course it's not surprising that the book would start with "What is Celiac Disease?" It's definitely shady that the woman sent her book to Hasselbeck, but if this is the best evidence they have, I'm unconvinced.
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save jinger
06/23/09

@thesciencegirl: Yeah, I'd be more worried if the books had conflicting information. I pretty much expect two books on the same topic to have some similar statements.
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lilbobbytables
06/23/09

In reply to Elisabeth Hasselbeck Sued For Plagiarism
I work in an IP firm, and am very interested to see how this plays out.
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