"Crude and amazingly foolish forgeries"

The Weekly Standard | 090904 | Stephen F. Hayes

[The_Media_never_lie]

Today I've had the most fun in a series of bleak newsdays, than I've had in a long time!

Thank you Dan Rather for providing this levity at you expense.

[NYCVirago]

Victory in this case justly has a thousand fathers. Tanker KC first pegged them as fakes by the overall look, and I later noted the font issue. Many other defects have been noted by others. I haven't gotten any work done, but it's been a ton of fun. The most amazing thing is how this thing has exploded across the internet. Mwuhahahahaha!!!

Isn't this cool? It's on the front page of tomorrow's Washington Post! Great work!

[XEHRpa]

Others have noted that the wordwrap of a manual typewriter works differently than a word processor.

To analyze this facet more specifically, MSWORD wraps the current word when the end of a word passes the right margin, whereas a person typing manually finishes the word he is typing when the right-margin bell rings, and then does a carriage return. The net effect of the manual typewritten style is that, if one draws a vertical line at the bell-margin, that line should go through (intersect) the last word of every line of text.

Clearly, from the 1 AUG 1972 memo, NO SUCH VERTICAL LINE CAN BE CONSTRUCTED THAT INTERSECTS THE LAST WORD OF EVERY WRAPPED LINE OF TEXT!

For example, in paragraph 3, on a typewriter, we have to assume the right-margin bell rang while typing the word "and" on the 1st line. Yet, if that was the case, then on paragraph 2, the margin bell would have rang while typing the word "orders", and the subsequent word "for" should have appeared on the next, not the same, line.

On another thread, bolobaby noted that "I believe the documents are forgeries, but this is not definitive proof by any stretch of the imagination."

To this, I added that it may not seem definitive, until you see that the actual memo wordwrap exactly coincides with what MSWORD produces. What are the odds that a manual typist, over the span of 4 memos, would exactly choose to squeeze in the EXACT SAME words, so as to "accidentally" coincide with what MSWORD would produce. I would say, with metaphysical certitude that the odds are nil.

[Barlowmaker]

The blogosphere comes of age...

With all due respect, this event showcases a phenomonon of "new media" power that could only have occured through a vehicle with the community force multiplying tools of FR.

TankerKC's initial post , casting suspicion on the documents displayed on 60 minutes, occurred approximately 30 seconds after the documents appeared on that show. THINK OF THAT! The fraud was well on its way to being debunked by 1 a.m. this morning. Littlegreenfootballs responded to some Freepers e-mail, or took a gander upon this forum, sometime around 4 am.

No single blog can rally a rapid response over a huge number of vital issues like FR can. This forum is, to use a trite old 90s term, synergy at its most powerful.

Places like FR (in other words FR because it is inimitable) and the blogosphere can work in concert. We're the town square arguing, vetting and digesting, they're the disseminating REPORTERS of valuable insights, leads and other interesting stuff we shake loose.

[lavrenti]

People are still finding stuff. I'm amazed at what's being discovered and pointed out.

[Bonaparte]

Excellent post. All you've said corresponds to my experience with typewriters and word processors.

And no hyphens at the end of any of these typed lines? I don't believe it for one minute.

[Robert A Cook PE]

Hey!

Good point!

CBS is BEING PORTRAYED AS THE VICTIM ... (by the rest of the press!)

[Fiddlstix]

BTTT

[evilC]

Dan Rather: "Another document has come to light that could be trouble for the Bush administration. CBS has verified this document with experts...."

Here is a copy:

[hmm! is ^that a proportional font or not?]

[XEHRpa]

Thanks. And your right about the hyphens too. I remember a lot of those in the days of manual typewriting.

[Grampa Dave]

[Lil'freeper]

Not yet! ;)

[fhayek]

It was amazing to watch. The first few posts suggesting that the memo was a fraud (such as TankerKC) came in, and I thought that it was wishful thinking. Then came some more, and the interaction of these freepers starting putting together a compelling case. These guys humiliated CBS for gosh sake. I was proud to be a part of FreeRepublic.

Similar thing happened election night 2000. I see you weren't around then. The networks had called Florida for Gore, and FreeRepublic was pretty bummed out. Without Florida, it was going to be very difficult for Bush to put together the needed electoral votes. Then some freepers started looking at some of the county data from Florida and came to a conclusion that the call for Gore was a little premature (talk about your understatements). Again, I was skeptical. The networks had a lot of experience and a lot of resources tied up in calling elections. One guy pounding on his keyboard at his home was no match for that. But then some others looked at the raw data posted by AP and a few other sources. Well it became clear around here that Florida was going to have to be pulled off the board long before the networks actually did so. This is truly an incredible place. The collective talents and experience of freepers can dissect a news story almost as it is breaking. And they are usually more insightful than anything you can find in the MSM.