Plagiarism?

I'm normally am not political, but when Joe Bidden was nominated as Vice President, I remembered using him to teach parody, satire and plagiarism. Read the following and draw your own conclusion:

"Plagiarism can have catastrophic consequences for one's career as a student and even later on in life—and the higher one's ambition takes one, the higher the stakes. In 1987, for instance, Senator Joe Biden, who was seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, was accused of plagiarizing passages in speeches and interviews from the oratory of a British politician, Neil Kinnock. Here are some of the passages in question:

Kinnock (original)
Why am I the first Kinnock in a thousand generations to be able to get to university? Why is Glenys the first woman in her family in a thousand generations to be able to get to university?
Was it because our predecessors were thick? Does anybody really think that they didn't get what we had because they didn't have the talent or the strength or the endurance or the commitment? Of course not. It was because there was no platform upon which they could stand.
Biden
I started thinking as I was coming over here, why is it that Joe Biden is the first in his family ever to go to a university? Why is it that my wife who is sitting out there in the audience is the first in her family to ever go to college?
Is it because our fathers and mothers were not bright? . . . No, it's not because they weren't as smart. It's not because they didn't work as hard. It's because they didn't have a platform upon which to stand . . .

It turned out Biden had also borrowed passages from old campaign speeches by Robert Kennedy and had inflated his academic record. But oratory has a long tradition of borrowing and even "heavy lifting," as speechwriters call it, so Biden stayed alive in the presidential race. The last straw, however, came when it turned out that twenty years earlier Biden had received a failing grade in a law school course for plagiarizing a legal article (he'd given a single footnote while lifting five full pages from the article). Biden said he'd been unaware of the appropriate standards for legal briefs, but the public was unimpressed. His campaign collapsed and he withdrew from the race. "

College Nuts and Bolts
http://nutsandbolts.washcoll.edu/plagiarism.html

I thought Harvey was unique...

I thought Harvey was the only Lab that hated water. A friend sent me this video from The Animal Planet. Here's proof that Harvey is not unusual. (Click the forward arrow to see the video.)

Grandchildren are a gift

This is a 4D sonogram of my second grandson. How can anyone look at this angel and not believe that God creates miracles? This precious child is - and has been since conception - a gift. Just looking at his smile is confirmation of that truth. I cannot wait to meet you, Drew. You are blessed to be born into a family of amazing, loving, godly parents and an equally unbelievably incredible big brother. Even though your big brother is only 3 1/2, he will be your protector, your teacher, your best friend.

I am in awe.

Truly Amazed

The starting of school always brought a mixture of excitement, apprehension, and unfortunately dread. Can I share life lessons? Can I modify my goals to the unique makeup of my students? Will I continue to look at each moment "outside the box", not relying on standard educational techniques? I was - and still am - determined to continue to grow as a teacher, mentor, and friend. With retirement, does that end?

I hope not. I have people in my life that I see physically, people that I share my perspectives in an online group of which I am a part, people that I have taught, people that I love. Life has many twists and turns. May we all be like my precious grandson and be truly in awe of even the simplest parts of life.

Through the eyes of a child...

When our younger daughter married a little over 14 months ago, our then two year old grandson was the ring barer. The wedding coordinator expressed serious doubts about the wisdom of this choice. But my daughter assured her that he was mature enough to handle the responsibility. The Perfect Child did an incredible job - even if he was bribed into practicing his duties by carrying a Shrek action figure on the ring pillow down the aisle. As the happy couple left to begin their married life, my daughter chose to have bubbles blown instead of the traditional rice or roses thrown at the conclusion of the gorgeous celebration. The picture above is my grandson's glee as the bubbles rained down on him.

As I reflect on the wedding, I realize his innocent perspective is what I should remember when I evaluate life's joys and disappointments. Life journeys are to be a learning experience; we are to use even the most disheartening to make us grow. Wisdom seems to come as a result of discouragement. I often am a slow learner. I need to be pounded on the head before I "get it". I am learning to be focused on the end of the journey, not on the many road blocks I may encounter.

Oh, to be a child again...