2008/8/31 Steve Summit scs@eskimo.com:
[If "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery", I'm thinking close paraphrase is a pretty good second.]
Liberal commentators are of course having a field day with the nomination of [[Sarah Palin]] for the U.S. vice-presidency. The NYT's dishy Maureen Dowd compared the situation to a deliciously hokey chick flick, including this description of the heroine's kids:
Track (named after high school track meets), Bristol (after Bristol Bay where they did commercial fishing), Willow (after a community in Alaska), Piper (just a cool name) and Trig (Norse for "strength.") [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/31/opinion/31dowd.html]Now, was this fantastic satire, or based on truth? A quick check of our article reveals not only that it's truth, but also where Dowd got her facts from.
To be fair, there are only so many ways you can give a list of names together with their meanings. They should cite sources (to avoid circular references, if nothing else), but I don't see a copyright violation.