Individual Liberty — Individual Responsibility

For those we lost, We will not forget 09/11/2001

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
— The Continental Congress, July 4, 1776

“The task of statesmanship has always been the re-definition of these rights in terms of a changing and growing social order.”
— Franklin D. Roosevelt (Commonwealth Club Address, 1932)

“Roosevelt was wrong! The principles laid down in the Declaration of Independence are the principles of individual liberty. Our unalienable rights, given to us by God are given to us as individuals. Our rights do not come from society or the government, and they cannot be redefined by politicians. The nature of these rights carries with it the implication of individual responsibility, without which we surrender them.”
— Perri Nelson, November 6, 2008

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Wikipedia scrambles to regain credibility

Published Thu, Mar 8 2007 2:07 PM
Technorati Tags: Computers and Internet

Now that one of Wikipedia's high ranking editors has turned out to be a fraud, they're going to require people that claim credentials to prove they hold them. From MSNBC.com

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales said in interviews by phone and instant message Wednesday from Japan that contributors still would be able to remain anonymous. But he said they should only be allowed to cite some professional expertise in a subject if those credentials have been verified.
"We always prefer to give a positive incentive rather than absolute prohibition, so that people can contribute without a lot of hassle," Wales wrote.
Wales suggested such a plan two years ago, but the idea suddenly gained currency after the recent discovery that a prolific Wikipedia contributor who wrote under the pen name "Essjay" and claimed to be a professor of theology turned out to be a 24-year-old college dropout, Ryan Jordan.

In his "defense" Mr. Jordan had this to say...

"It was, quite honestly, my impression that it was well known that I was not who I claimed to be, and that in the absence of any confirmation, no respectible (sic) publication would print it," he wrote.

Of course, implies that the answer to the question "Is Wikipedia a respectable publication?" is "No." After all Wikipedia had touted his credentials.

The anonymity of the site is a frequent cause of mischief — from juvenile vandalism of entries to the infamous case involving journalist John Seigenthaler Sr., who was incorrectly described as a suspect in the Kennedy assassinations. And that has raised concerns about the credibility of the site.

Like I've said before, I don't find Wikipedia credible anymore. I've tried to impress this on my son, who's currently in school and is encouraged to use Wikipedia as a source.

What I tell my son is that he should always try to see who's behind a statement. "Consider the source" and all that. That, and never rely on a single source when you're researching an important issue.

Single sources can lead you astray. Especially fraudulent sources or anonymous sources. This (requiring proof of claimed credentials) is a good move by Wikipedia.

Too bad it doesn't go far enough. I don't believe that anonymous sources should be accepted at all in an online encyclopedia. Anyone that edits an article in such a forum is making a claim to knowledge. And you just can't hold an anonymous author accountable for fraud.

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