More sophistry from Derek Reeve

     Today, the Capistrano Insider’s Jonathan Volzke (SJC Councilman Reeve's Response to Plagiarism Allegations....) explains that CI received a “column” by SJC City Councilman and Saddleback College adjunct Derek Reeve. Reeve asked CI to publish it, which they did. (See.)
     The column includes yet another defense against the charge that Reeve repeatedly plagiarized others' writings:

...On balance, I may be partly responsible—along with most of the human race that uses the Internet. In the atmosphere of today’s massive electronic echo chamber, in which we are assaulted with dozens of concepts and ideas each minute, I doubt if any of us have had a totally original idea in the past 50 years. Certainly that is the way it is in the legal profession in which I work. Yes, in formal documentation, one is more precise in adding footnotes to identify the origin of our ideas, which makes it extremely complicated when wading through such writing. However, in normal everyday communication, not to mention blogging, it is impossible for us to precisely identify each antecedent and besides, the atmosphere is much more relaxed and informal (or so I thought). [My emphasis.]

     Just to be clear: based on information presented by the SJC Patch (see), Reeve repeatedly submitted the works of other writers, under his own name, modifying wording slightly. These instances are classic plagiarism. (For a concrete instance, see this.)
     Reeve's guff about "precisely" identifying antecedents is a red herring (or utter nonsense). One is not obliged to identify the "precise" antecedents of one's ideas, whatever that is supposed to mean. One is, however, obliged to identify the sources of writings by others that one quotes or repeats. Reeve repeatedly failed to do so, posing as the actual author. That's dishonest.
     Obviously, that he presented others’ writings as his own on a blog—as opposed to, say, a journal or newspaper—is immaterial to whether he was plagiarizing. That he presented others’ writing as his own means that he was plagiarizing, and plagiarism is a serious sin, especially among writers, journalists, and academics.
     One would naturally suppose that it is a serious sin among Christians, too, but Reeve evidently feels otherwise. He's a special kind of Christian, I guess.
     Oddly, Reeve told the Capistrano Insider that he can’t now comment on whether his employment at Concordia U of Irvine has come to an end. But he implied that he will comment on that matter in future.
     We look forward to it.