HODGES SAID HE WAS MISLED BY CBS

Noted Now - ABC News The Note ^ | 09/11/04 | ABC News The Note

[WashingtonSource]

What's the frequency, Kenne^th?

Home1, great comeback!

Unfortunately, I was ignorant of why it was such a great comeback until I looked up the sentence and found the report below on Ask Yahoo!, which I post for all the others who might have wondered about it:

What's the story behind R.E.M.'s song "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?"

Dana

Nashua, New Hampshire

Dear Dana:

CBS News anchor Dan Rather, renowned for his unusual expressions and sayings, has led a colorful life. However, one bizarre event really takes the cake.

One night in October 1986, Rather was walking down a Manhattan street when he was punched from behind and thrown to the ground. His assailant kicked and beat him while repeating, "Kenneth, what is the frequency?"

No one could explain the event, and the rumors flew fast and wide. Some speculated the assailant was a KGB agent, while others claimed the attack was the work of a jealous husband. Rather himself couldn't shed any light on the subject. His explanation at the time?

I got mugged. Who understands these things? I didn't and I don't now. I didn't make a lot of it at the time and I don't now. I wish I knew who did it and why, but I have no idea.

Apparently the strange event moved R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe, who said of the incident:

It remains the premier unsolved American surrealist act of the 20th century. It's a misunderstanding that was scarily random, media hyped and just plain bizarre. The attack inspired the 1994 R.E.M. hit "What's the Frequency, Kenneth." Being a good sport, Dan Rather even accompanied the band when they performed the song on a Late Show with David Letterman appearance.

In 1997, based on a tip from a psychiatrist, Rather's attacker was identified as William Tager. According to the psychiatrist, Tager, who was currently serving time for killing an NBC stagehand, blamed news media for beaming signals into his head, and thought if he could just find out the correct frequency, he could block those signals that were constantly assailing him. Hence the enigmatic inquiry.

[Grampa Dave]

Phil Dragoo has provided us with the incredible link below that will show us how the forgery was done.

Go to the link and just sit back and watch the forgery recreated in about one minute.

http://img41.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img41&image=60minbusted.swf

[longshadow]

The duplicity of suddenly flashing the smoking handwritten letter would look even more suspicious, and it's very doubtful that Killian, in his easily checked handwriting, would have written such things so completely contrary to all his known sentiments regarding the Bushes.

The handwritten docs would also be forgeries; getting the opposition to vent against the typed versions is the misdirection.

[cousair]

There is all kinds of dirt on Ben Barnes that he himself created.He is from the Sam Rayburn/Lindon Johnson DNC when they totally controlled Texas politics. I lived there for 36 years and watched the rise a fall of this bandit. Barnes was involved in a huge paint scandle kick back for painting the hiways and byways of Texas roads. His rising star in the DNC fell like a bomb right after his Lt. Gov. time in office. HE didn't make the Gov seat. His political past is checkered with a lot of devious stuff. Kerry apparently has promised him a place in his administration should he (Kerry) win because Barnes has raised a lot of money for him.

[suzyq5558]

I should have explained,your image needs to be on a web server your own or the place where you found it. example: I have a personal website that is free through my isp and store various pic's i get from around the web there to use here or other places. or if i know where a pic is on the web i go find it then i click on properties and copy the pic property then paste it into my img src= tag. also there are a few places around here to get a few quick tips on HTML like http://www.htmlgoodies.com/primers/basics.html
or http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/Guide/

[ruoflaw]

Thanks for posting the boot camp...some day I will try it on a old thread so no one can see me fail! lol

[yellowhammer]

Good to know. Thanks. I'll see if my library has that.

[need_a_screen_name]

Bump

Drudge has this story up now!

[need_a_screen_name]

Oops... I may have Robert Strong confused with Ben Barnes. Not enough sleep since all this fun began. I'll try to check later and get back to you.

[tjwmason]

It's the coverup...
Standing behind the false story and trying to prove that forgeries are bona fide.
...that takes them down every time.

Same thing happened with the fake 'abuse' photos of British soldiers. The editor of the Daily Mirror was sacked more because of the defence which he provided that for printing fakes in the first place; he seems to have crawled back under his rock (no doubt only for a short while), and the paper's circulation is still well-down. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/05/16/npiers116.xml

A result like this one would be quite beautiful, I can tell that from right across the Atlantic.

[spokeshave]

"It also explains why they had a handwriting analyst instead of a document analyst as an expert, and why they only showed him examining the signature.....

The "bait and switch" is about to be played on us....

Well then...explain the reference to the non-existent AFM 35-13 in the forged Killian memo of 4 May 1972.

AFM 35-13 is related to payment for foreign language skills and NOTHING to do with annual physical exams.

[oceanagirl]

No, I don't have a crystal ball! If I did, I'd be rich. Gen. Hodges could not let this stand if it wasn't true. It would impugn his credibility.

And I do feel more comfortable now.

[jimbo123]

Contact Dan's bosses:

Sumner M. Redstone, chairman/CEO - Viacom

sumner.redstone@viacom.com

Leslie Moonves, president/CEO, CBS -

leslie.moonves@tvc.cbs.com

[fortheDeclaration]

"And nothing will come of this. I will be surprised if anybody is fired, or anyone gets in trouble"

I think you are correct
CBS will move on like nothing has happened

[longshadow]

Well then...explain the reference to the non-existent AFM 35-13 in the forged Killian memo of 4 May 1972.

Your question has no apparent connection with what I wrote.

[JPJones]

CBS read him excerpts he said, "well if he wrote them that's what he felt."

You've gotta be kidding me! That's cbs' journalism?

[JPJones]

Hodges said his response was "well if he wrote them that's what he felt."

Is there a link to this transcript anywhere? I would imagine this clarifiction of what CBS' key corroborating eyewitness said, and bumping that to the top, would be a big nail in CBS' coffin.

[JPJones]

Sorry link is at top, my bad!

[I'm ALL Right!]

Dan Rather's statment Friday: "I want to emphasize: I stand by my president. We are in a time of war, and I stand behind my president. There is not joy in reporting such a story, but my job as a journalist is not to be afraid, and when we come with facts, and legitimate questions supported by witnesses and documents that we believe to be authentic, to raise those questions no matter how unpleasant they are."

Wrong answer. We don't buy the "I'm just doing my job, no matter how unpleasant it is" crap. He proved he couldn't do that unbiasedly with the Condit story. Also, I'm just wondering WHICH President Rather is referring to when he says "my president." Dan has done his gut-level best to avoid calling W anything other than "Mr. Bush" for the past 3 years. Surely Blather wouldn't call him "my President" now!

[Ed_in_NJ]

They WERE handwritten before they WEREN'T handwritten.