Vodkapundit - From The "Don't They Have Better Things To Do" File

From The "Don't They Have Better Things To Do" File

Posted by Will Collier · 29 January 2006

I tend to take Wikipedia entries with at least a grain of salt, particularly those involving anything remotely controversial. Garbage in, garbage out is just as functional in the case of anonymous internet postings as in any other endeavor.

That said, this is just plain lame:

The staff of U.S. Rep Marty Meehan wiped out references to his broken term-limits pledge as well as information about his huge campaign war chest in an independent biography of the Lowell Democrat on a Web site that bills itself as the "world's largest encyclopedia," The Sun has learned.
The Meehan alterations on Wikipedia.com represent just two of more than 1,000 changes made by congressional staffers at the U.S. House of Representatives in the past six month. Wikipedia is a global reference that relies on its Internet users to add credible information to entries on millions of topics.

Matt Vogel, Meehan's chief of staff, said he authorized an intern in July to replace existing Wikipedia content with a staff-written biography of the lawmaker.

The change deleted a reference to Meehan's campaign promise to surrender his seat after serving eight years, a pledge Meehan later eschewed. It also deleted a reference to the size of Meehan's campaign account, the largest of any House member at $4.8 million, according to the latest data available from the Federal Election Commission.

With no pun intended, that's pretty bush-league.

Comments

TO: Will Collier
RE: The History Deletion Button

"The change deleted a reference to Meehan's campaign promise to surrender his seat after serving eight years, a pledge Meehan later eschewed." -- Will Collier, citing someone else

If Google can get away with it, why not a member of Congress?

Hey! Seriously. If we'll allow some corporate entity to re-write history in their favor, we should allow a member of Congress to do the same.

By the by....

...have you trashed your Windows-based platform yet?

Regards,

Chuck(le)
[Thinks are coming to an interesting head....

....which side do YOU fall on?]

Posted by: Chuck Pelto at January 29, 2006 04:45 PM

WIndows? Pffft. Mac user since 1989.

Posted by: Will Collier at January 29, 2006 04:46 PM

TO: Will Collier
RE: Go Mac!

"WIndows? Pffft. Mac user since 1989." -- Will Collier

So....

...what have you done lately to rale against the 'machine'? You've been rather quite about Microsoft and Google, of late. Is there a reason?

Regards,

Chuck(le)
[One of the blessings of virtue is a distain of death.]

Posted by: Chuck Pelto at January 29, 2006 04:50 PM

TO: Will Collier
RE: Interesting

Got a hot date? Or is there some other reason you've not answered my question?

You answered quickly enough at my first contribution....

Regards,

Chuck(le)

Posted by: Chuck Pelto at January 29, 2006 05:15 PM

Note that nothing is ever truely 'deleted' from Wikipedia. All revisions of the article are accessible by clicking on the 'history' tab and usually when someone does something like this the article is quickly reverted to an earlier edition.

Posted by: edgr at January 29, 2006 05:58 PM

Fred Barne's editorial in the latest weekly standard called term limits the "Nuclear Option". He suggested 2 terms for senators and 3 for house members. I would expand that to 5

Lets not just fault poor Mehaan... I do believe Term Limits were on the "contract with America".

Posted by: Aaron Hood at January 29, 2006 06:45 PM

Wikipedia is sooooo over.

Posted by: Robin Roberts at January 29, 2006 06:46 PM

Does anyone have any data, especially more than anecdotal data, on Wikipedia actually leaning in any direction politically? I mean, I know how it's "supposed" to work...but what in life ever works out the way it's supposed to?
Well, if anyone does have any such data, please email me and let me know.

Posted by: ModernConservative at January 29, 2006 08:50 PM

TO: ModernConservative
RE: What Indeed

"...but what in life ever works out the way it's supposed to?" -- ModernConservative

Anything God has promised?

Regards,

Chuck(le)

Posted by: Chuck Pelto at January 29, 2006 09:44 PM

"pretty bush-league"?

You obviously know little of Congressman Meehan. Of the midgets that constitute the Massachusetts delagation to Congress, Meehan is particularly tiny.

This was probably one of his staff's FINER ideas.......

Posted by: JAG at January 30, 2006 08:39 AM

There is a general guideline about what is considered acceptable regarding editing or creating information about yourself on Wikipedia. It would seem that this guideline was broken in this case, although it is just a guideline, not an official policy.

Posted by: Nick at January 30, 2006 08:49 AM