What Harriet Klausner and Lance Armstrong Have in Common

Society has basic standards that are fairly uniform.  Lying, cheating, and breaking the law don’t fall within those values.  There is no line above which it’s wrong a person to do something and below which it's okay for another to do the same thing.  That would be a double standard (or situational ethics.)

We hold our  politicians, family members, accountants, doctors, dentists, spouses, and children accountable, and professional associates to certain standards.  World and national figures live or die by their behaviors.

No one disputes that Lance Armstrong should have been outed for cheating.  He did not deserve to hold the titles that he cheated to obtain.  Those who spoke up and told the truth did the right thing.  Insiders knew for years what he was doing, but no one was willing to pull the trigger until now.

Well known public figures, Harriet Klausner and Lance Armstrong, have a lot in common:

Lance Armstrong is a widely recognized world figure.

Harriet Klausner is a widely recognized national figure.

Lance Armstrong and his team won the Tour de France 7 times.

Harriet Klausner was Amazon’s No. 1 reviewer for 11 years.

Lance Armstrong cheated and lied to achieve his extraordinary feats.

Harriet Klausner has cheated and lied to achieve her extraordinary feats.

Lance Armstrong received endorsements as a result of  his status in the biking world.

Harriet Klausner received endorsements as a result of her status in the reviewing world.

Lance Armstrong’s behavior violated the law and sporting world standards.

Harriet Klausner’s behavior violates the law and industry standards.

Armstrong “earned” a lot of money as a result of his standing in the sporting world.

Klausner has “earned” a lot of money as a result of her standing in the publishing industry.

Lance Armstrong denied allegations of doping for 10 years.

Harriet Klausner has denied allegations of fraud for 11 years.

Armstrong’s behavior has harmed the credibility of athletes and the sports world everywhere.

Harriet Klausner’s behavior has harmed the credibility of reviewers and the industry.

Will Lance Armstrong ever be believed again?  No.

Should Hariet Klausner ever be believed again?  No.

Can Lance Armstrong continue to bike? Yes, but as a pastime.

Can Harriet Klausner continue to read and review books: Yes, but as a pastime.

When we allow lying, cheating, and deception to occur by passively turning a blind eye, we actively participate in the diminution of our societal values and the decline of our society.  We make the world a better place when we fight to do the right thing.

How Harriet Fudges Her Reviews - Part I

Plagiarism is defined as:  “to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own; use (another's production) without crediting the source; to commit literary theft; to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.”

Here are comparisons of a number Harriet’s reviews with the dust jackets and/or editorial materials provided on Amazon’s book page.  Decide for yourself.

Schmidt Steps Back, by Louis Begley
Editorial Comments		The Mad Hattie’s Language
New Year's Eve 2008	=	on New Year's eve 2008
a man now seventy-eight	=	septuagenarian
readying his Hamptons house	=	in the Hamptons
Alice Verplanck	=	Alice Verplanck
widow of his former law partner	=	his late partner's wife
from Paris	=	from Paris
Schmidt hasn't seen Alice since the summer of 1995	=	he thinks back to 1995
when he behaved like a brute upon discovering a betrayal of sorts and pronounced her unworthy of his unstinting love and commitment	=	he destroyed with his accusations of betrayal
she still doubts	=	Alice has doubts
She demands that he think long and hard about their past	=	she agreed to see him if he steps back to evaluate his life.
Meanwhile	=	meanwhile
his only confirmed child, Charlotte	=	his daughter Charlotte
had proposed a truce	=	offers her dad a reconciliation
in their perennially strained relations	=	dysfunctional relationship
which Schmidt accepted	=	which he accepts
despite its obliging him to resume dealings	=	though that means dealing
with her repulsive husband	=	a weak son-in-law
her mother-in-law-cum-psychiatrist	=	mother-in-law, a modern day Machiavelli shrink. the psychiatrist
turning Charlotte decisively against Schmidt	=	trying to widen the Schmidt chasm
expecting a second child	=	pregnant and with one child already
only two real friends left	=	two friends are still upright
darkly funny	=	dry humorous comedy; droll and witty

Becoming Clementine, Jennifer Niven
Editorial Comments		The Mad Hattie’s Language
1944	=	in 1944
An American, beautiful aviatrix Velva Jean Hart	=	American pilot Velva Jean Hart
volunteers to copilot a plane	=	agrees to fly copilot a plane
carrying special agents	=	taking undercover agents
to their drop spot over Normandy	=	to Normandy
their plane is shot down	=	Nazis shoot down her plane
she and five agents survive	=	her and five operatives to survive
now they are on the run for their lives	=	with the Nazis in pursuit
As they head to Paris	=	she travels to Paris
Velva Jean Hart becomes Clementine Roux	=	Velva Jean becomes Clementine Roux
to capture an operative known only as "Swan"	=	with plans to find and rescue agent Swan
falling in love with her fellow agent Emile	=	falls in love with Emile
Clementine works as a spy	=	in her secret identity,
she discovers	=	Clementine will learn
the depths of human cruelty	=	how evil mankind can be

Strange Flesh, A Novel, by Michael Olson
Editorial Comments		The Mad Hattie’s Language
sex and games	=	sexual encounters of many kinds and with strange flesh
A Harvard dropout	=	Harvard dropout
employed by Manhattan-based RedRook Security,	=	works for Redrook Security
James	=	James Pryce
the elite hacker	=	a hacker of note
finding people who don't want to be found	=	locating those who have seemingly vanished off the grid
pursuing their digital tracks	=	finding their electronic fingerprints
exacting creative high-tech revenge on behalf of his clients	=	using high tech vengeance against those who harmed a client
twins Blythe and Blake	=	twins Blake and Blythe Randall
Ten years ago,	=	a decade ago,
Blythe Randall broke James Pryce's heart.	=	Blythe blithely broke James' heart
Her enigmatic appeal lures him	=	he cannot say no to her.
multimedia artist Billy Randall	=	multimedia artist sibling Billy
sends a video of his own suicide	=	sent them a video of his "bleed" performance in which he simultaneously commits suicide
reanimating onscreen as an avatar	=	reanimates as an avatar
in a decadent online world called NOD	=	in a decadent online world NOD
Blythe uses her influence to install James	=	Blythe gets James masquerading as a documentarian
at GAME	=	the GAME
media collective	=	media collective
one of Billy's recent haunts	=	where Billy recently played.
In order to find him	=	to find Billy
James must play along	=	James realizes he needs to enter NOD.
"the Bleed"	=	Bleeding
when real and virtual selves intersect	=	of reality and virtual reality

Cowboy to the Rescue, by Trish Milburn
Editorial Comments		The Mad Hattie’s Language
the woman sitting across from her	=	Merline Teague
She needed this job, but didn't want to appear as desperate as she actually was	=	interviews Brooke Vincent for the position of a cook.
Your resume is a little thin."	=	that the applicant's résumé is thin
Merline Teague said	=	Mrs. Teague remarks
"I'll give you a tryout. . . . [Y]ou can cook for the family	=	but will give her a trial of cooking for the family.
"If it goes well"	=	if that works out
"[W]e're set up here to feed up to forty people,"	=	the guests who can number upwards of forty.
as if Brooke Alder had never existed.	=	that Brooke Alder no longer exists.
Before his traumatic tour in Iraq	=	before he served in the Iraq war
Ryan Teague was always a bit of a loner	=	Ryan was a loner
keeping to himself was a choice now	=	now he is all but a hermit
It was enough to make something in his chest perform an unexpected flip-flop	=	however, he feels more than just attracted to the new cook
He recognizes	=	Ryan senses
Brooke is hiding some scars of her own.	=	a fellow wounded warrior.
Brooke's past threatens to ruin it all	=	at the cost of her job, haven and him.
Brooke and Ryan help each other begin to heal	=	love/healing the protagonists

Slow Apocalypse, John Harley
Editorial Comments		The Mad Hattie’s Language
as well as 9/11	=	for what the country's terrorists did on 9/11
a slow-acting virus that feeds on petroleum, turning it solid	=	a bacterium that solidifies Saudi Arabian oil
A scientist has developed a cure for America's addiction-But he didn't consider that ...	=	Eddie's plan deploys perfectly except for one minor nuisance.
contagion of an Iraqi oil field could spread to infect the fuel supply of the entire world	=	the bacteria goes internationally viral.
In Los Angeles	=	In Southern California,
screenwriter Dave Marshall	=	screenwriter Dave Marshall
heard this scenario from a retired US marine and government insider	=	learns from a government insider friend
It sounded as implausible as many of his scripts, but the reality is much more frightening	=	that his script on oil actually is happening.
that the coming	=	that is coming
apocalypse that will alter the future of Earth-and humanity	=	the world collapses into deadly local chaos; pandemic impact of the vanished oil implosion on the unaware and less fortunate lacking.

When She Was Good, Laura Lippman
Editorial Comments		The Mad Hattie’s Language
is forced to make desperate choices to save her son and herself	=	has the complication of her tweener son
When Hector Lewis	=	her abusive father
told his daughter	=	informs young Heloise Lewis
that she had a nothing face	=	"You have a nothing face."
it was just another bit of tossed-off cruelty from a man	=	that was her cruel dad
who specialized in harsh words and harsher deeds	=	being his usual nastiness
But twenty years later,	=	Though now
Heloise considers it a blessing to be a person who knows how to avoid attention	=	she thrives on that non visage
In the comfortable suburb where she lives	=	as a suburban Maryland
she's just a mom	=	Heloise has been a doting mom
who somehow never misses a soccer game	=	who always attends her middle school son Scott's games
lobbyist with a good cause and a mediocre track record.	=	a failure lobbyist
she's the woman of your dreams—if you can afford her hourly fee	=	a successful madam
For more than a decade	=	For a decade
a life she was forced to build	=	her construct
is under siege.	=	collapses
another so-called suburban madam has been found dead in her car	=	a recently caught suburban madam died
a suicide. Or is it?	=	mysteriously.
she learns that her son's father	=	she learns that Scott's biological dad Val Deluca
might be released from prison	=	may get out of prison
he doesn't know he has a son	=	Val knows nothing about an offspring
former pimp	=	who was her pimp
a life sentence	=	on a homicide life sentence
Heloise betrayed him	=	who betrayed him
he's clearly beginning to suspect	=	as he would suspect
Heloise has to remake her life	=	Heloise knows it is time to reinvent herself
Disappearing will be the easy part.	=	she leans towards flight over fight.
She's done it before and she can do it again	=	she has reinvented herself in the past