politicians are a special case: people tend to judge them holistically, and consider their personal life relevant to their professional career. this is an extension of the rule that , even relatively minor criminal matters are usually appropriate if adequately sourced where they might not be for most other people--it applies to the good but relatively unimportant things for them as well., I wouldnt want to use them as the basis for a general rule.
On Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 2:21 PM, WJhonson@aol.com wrote:
<<In a message dated 2/23/2009 6:11:09 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, sam.blacketer@googlemail.com writes:
do we really need to know the names and dates of birth of her children? And what of the career details of her husband, who is not notable in his own right? On the other hand, details of campaigns she worked on before being elected are highly salient to political views, and it's her political career that makes her notable.>>
"Need"? No, not at all. The political career makes her notable, and if she is notable enough that someone has written her biography, including those details, then we "can" include them. We don't "need" to include them. If the only sources commenting on her children (at all) are primary ones, than we should not include them. Primary sources extend, amplify, clarify and specify details, they should not be used to introduce details not otherwise present in the secondary sources.
So if secondary sources mention "her husband the plumber", and "her five children are named Marjory, Bruce, Wayne, Robin and Ambidextrous", then we can. If they don't, we shouldn't. That would be the first line of attack for anyone who wants to remove these details.
Will Johnson
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