Posted on 09/11/2004 5:33:30 PM PDT by dickmc
As you may know a thread was started yesterday morning to attempt to summarize the important forgery points.
This original thread is at Evidence Against Rather
This was initiated by SkyPilot and I agreed to help out. This is a continuation of that thread.
The information below needs your review, analysis, and suggested changes
in the form of final edits. If you see things that should be changed,
please retype the suggested revision including the line number in a new reply.
While we have tried to capture the hundreds of comments and posts in the last few days,
the likelihood is that we may have gotten something wrong or missed an element.
This is why your review would be most helpful.
The table below shows where we are at this point:
CAUTION: FOR YOUR REVIEW, COMMENT, CHANGE, AND CORRECTION ONLY AT THIS TIME. SOME ITEMS MAY CHANGE. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT THIS NOT BE POSTED ELSEWHERE UNTIL WE ARE DONE!
ISSUES RELATED TO 60 MINUTES DOCUMENTS.
a. Font, type, typography, equipment, etc issues that can be processed from the pdfs alone.
1. proportional spacing not generally available (no confirmation this type of technology was available at TANG)
3. superscripts not generally available
4. Small "th" single element not generally available (not common, but available. Highly unlikely the machines were available at TANG)
5. 4's produced on a typewriter are open at the top. 4's on a word processor are closed. Compare the genuine Bush ANG documents, where the 4's are open at the top, to Rather's forgeries, where the 4's are closed at the top
6. Apostrophes in the documents use curled serifs. Typewriters used straight hash marks for both quotation marks and apostrophes.
9. Margins. These look like a computer's unjustified default, not the way a person typing would have done it. Typewriters had fixed margins that “rang” and froze the carriage when typist either hit “mar rel” or manually returned carriage.
11. Words run over consistent with word processor.
12. Times Roman has been available since 1931, but only in linotype printshops and some Selectric typewriters...until released with Apple MacIntosh in 1984 and Windows 3.1 in 1991.
13. Signature looks faked, and it cut at the very end of the last letter rather than a fade when pressure would have been released.
16. Exact match for Microsoft Word Processor, version disputed, but converted to pdf matches exactly.
18. Overlap analysis is an exact match (see #15).
19. Absence of hyphens to split words between lines, c/w 1970's typewriter. (see #8)
22. It would have been nearly impossible to center a letterhead with proportional spacing without a computer (not impossible, but for Killian, who did not type, improbable).
26. Kerning was not available in any office typewriter. For kerning photographic analysis of memo see http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1212812/posts Post 15
35. Why is the redacted address of Longmont #8 visible beneath the black mark? This would have been impossible after one copy, but it would be visible if the document was scanned.
47. Regarding superscript - typewriter example had it underlined in the keystroke but the forged document doesn't.
51. The vertical spacing used in the memos, measured at 13 points, is not available in typewriters, and only became possible with the advent of computer driven type word processors and printers.
52. May 4, 1972 "order" memo and the May 19, 1972 "commitment" memo typeface doesn't match the official evaluation signed 26 May 1972. Or does the TxANG have a new typewriter just for Col. Killian's memorandum.
68. The only device that could have produced the superscripted “th” in that period and proportional type in that timeframe would have been a Selectric Composer. This is not a typewriter but is used for special publication composing and cost some $4,000 then ($23,000 today) and was incredibly difficult to operate. The machine basically consisted of an IBM Selectric typewriter with a 3-1/2 ft. high upright case containing the magnetic tape reader reading long spools of magnetic tape in cartridges. It also needed a special IBM service person above and beyond repairing typewriters. It is not clear that the AirForce had even three units at that time and the TANG clearly did not. To suggest that Col Killian, who could barely type and even if he could, he would never have been able to operate one of these machines is absurd. The operating manual is here at http://www.ibmcomposer.org/docs/Electronic%20Composer%20Operating%20Instructions.pdf.
69. The typed squadron letterhead is centered on the page, an extremely difficult operation to perform manually.
b. Issues that can only be processed by a better or original copy
17. Paper size problem, Air Force and Guard did not use 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper until the 1980s.
31. Is the document original or a copy of an original? Why all the background noise such as black marks and a series of repeated dots (as if run through a Xerox).(Rather explained his document was a photocopy-brings up additional questions of how redacted black address was visible from a several generation copy)
c. Issues that relate to custom and usage of text within the documents
8. Signature block. Typical authentic military signature block has name, then rank, then on the next line the person's position. This just has rank beneath the name.
10. Date inconsistent with military style type. Date with three letters, or in form as 110471.
15. No letterhead
23. Bush's grade would be abbreviated "1Lt" not "1stLt"
28. Language not generally used by military personnel.
29. Not signed or initialed by author, typist, or clerk.
30. Not in any format that a military person would use, e.g. orders not given by Memo.
33. Why no three hole punches evident at the top of the page?
37. Acronym should be OER, not ORET.
38. Last line of document 4 "Austin will not be pleased with this" is not in the same font and has been added!
46. The superscript "th" in the forged documents was raised half-way above the typed line (consistent with MS Word, but inconsistent with military typewriters which kept everything in-line to avoid writing outside the pre-printed boxes of standard forms).
41. The forged documents had no initials from a clerk
42. There was no CC list (needed for orders)
43. Subject line in memos was normally CAPITALIZED in the military
44. The forged documents used incorrect terminology ("physical examination" instead of "medical")
45. There was no "receipt confirmation box" (required for orders)
48. May 4, 1972 "order" memo and the May 19, 1972 "commitment" memo typeface doesn't match the official evaluation signed 26 May 1972. Or does the TxANG have a new typewriter just for Col. Killian's memorandum
50. The manual cited in the forged document "AFM 35-13" doesn't exist. That line of text reads: "to conduct annual physical examination (flight)IAW AFM 35-13". "IAW" means "In Accordance With" and "AFM 35-13" would mean "Air Force Manual 35-13". There is no such Air Force Manual 35-13.
54. AF letterhead, in required use since 1948. Instead they are typed. In general, typed letterhead is restricted to computer-generated orders, which were usually printed by teletype, chain printer or daisy-wheel printer, the latter looking like a typed letter. Manually typed correspondence is supposed to use official USAF letterhead. However, even special orders, which used a typed letterhead, were required to use ALL CAPS in the letterhead.
55. The typed Letterhead gives the address as "Houston, Texas". The standard formulation for addresses at USAF installations should require the address to read "Ellington AFB, Texas".
56. Killian's signature block should read: RICHARD B. KILLIAN, Lt Col, TexANG Commander This is the required USAF formulation for a signature block.
57. Lt Col Killian's signature should be aligned to the left side of the page. Indented signature blocks are not a USAF standard.
58. The rank abbreviations are applied inconsistently and incorrectly, for example the use of periods in USAF rank abbreviations is incorrect. The modern formulation for rank abbreviations for the lieutenant grades in the USAF is 2Lt and 1Lt. In 1973, it may well have been 2nd Lt and 1st Lt. In any event, they would not have included periods. Lt Col Killian's abbreviations are pretty much universally incorrect in the memos.
59. The unit name abbreviations use periods. This is incorrect. USAF unit abbreviations use only capital letters with no periods. For example, 111th Fighter Interceptor Squadron would be abbreviated as 111th FIS, not 111th F.I.S.
60. The Formulation used in the memos, i.e., "MEMORANDUM FOR 1st Lt. Bush..." is incorrect. A memo would be written on plain (non-letterhead) paper, with the top line reading "MEMORANDUM FOR RECORD". However, Lt Col Killian is known to have relied on hand written notes on scraps of paper and not gratuitous memos to files.
61. An order from a superior, directing a junior to perform a specific task would not be in the memorandum format as presented. Instead, it would use the USAF standard internal memo format with left hand justification as follows: FROM: Lt Col Killian, Richard B. (space) SUBJECT: Annual Physical Examination (Flight) (space) TO: 1Lt Bush, George W. Documents that are titled as MEMORANDUM are used only for file purposes, and not for communications.
62. The memos use the formulation "...in accordance with (IAW)..." The abbreviation IAW is a universal abbreviation in the USAF, hence it is not spelled out, rather it is used for no other reason than to eliminate the word "in accordance with" from official communications. There are several such universal abbreviation, such as NLT for "no later than".
70. Physical is due the last day of the birth month which be 31July; not at the May 14th date ordered in the memo.
d. Issues that relate to the context of the document (people retired, day of week, ANG policy, etc.)
20. 5000 Longmont #8 in Houston Tx. does not exist (actually does exist, but Mr. Bush had already moved TWICE from this address at the time the memo was written).
24. Subject matter bizarre
25. Air Force did not use street addresses for their offices, rather HQ AFLC/CC, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433.
27. In the August 18, 1973 memo, Jerry Killian purportedly writes: "Staudt has obviously pressured Hodges more about Bush. I'm having trouble running interference and doing my job." but General Staudt, who thought very highly of Lt. Bush, retired in 1972.
34. Mr. Bush would have had automatic physical scheduled for his Birthday – in July! He would not have received correspondence.
63. The title of one of the memos is CYA, a popular euphemism for covering one's...ahem...posterior. It is extremely doubtful that any serving officer would use such a colloquialism in any document that might come under official scrutiny.
e. Other issues (veracity of experts, etc.)
2. CBS admits that it does *not* have the originals, but only original documents can be proven to be real; copies can *never* be authenticated positively...repeat: only original documents can be proven real. CBS never had the originals, so CBS knew that it was publishing something that couldn't be assured of authenticity
7. The blurriness of the copy indicates it was recopied dozens of times, common tactic of forgers (confirmed by CBS).
14. No errors and whiteout (CBS used copies)
32. The Killian family rejected these documents as forgeries. Then where did the “personal files” come from if not the family?
39. CBS validator was only signature expert, not a typewriting expert. Also seems emerging issues on signature. Signature authenticity http://www.washtimes.com/national/20040910-104821-5968r.htm and http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1213174/posts
40. Lt Col Killian didn't type
49. CBS admits that it does *not* have the originals, but only original document signatures can be proven to be real; copies can *never* be authenticated positively.
53. Retired Maj. General Hodges, Killian's supervisor at the Grd, tells ABC News that he feels CBS misled him about the documents they uncovered. According to Hodges, CBS told him the documents were "handwritten" and after CBS read him excerpts he said, "well if he WROTE them that's what he felt." Hodges also said he did not see the documents in the 70's and he cannot authenticate the documents or the contents. His personal belief is that the documents have been "computer generated" and are a "fraud". http://abcnews.go.com/sections/politics/NotedNow/Noted_Now.html
64. The records purport to be from Lt Col Killian's "personal files", yet, they were not obtained from his family, but through some unknown 3rd party. It is an odd kind of "personal file" when the family of a deceased person is unaware of the file's existence and it is not in their possession.
65. Both Lt Col Killian's wife and son, as well as the EAFB personnel officer do not find the memos credible.
65. These memos are totally inconsistent with the glowing OERs for Mr. Bush.
66. Both Lt Col Killian's wife and son relate that Killian wasn't a typist. If he needed notes, he would write them down longhand, but in general, he wasn't paper-oriented, and certainly wasn't a typist.
67. Col. Walter "Buck" Staudt was honorably discharged on March 1, 1972. CBS News reported this week that a memo in which Staudt was described as interfering was dated Aug. 18, 1973. Col Staudt was no longer in the food chain.
Elements that have been deleted from above list
21. Box 34567 is suspicious, at best. This would not be used on correspondence, but rather forms. The current use of the po box 34567 is Ashland Chemical Company, A Division of Ashland Oil, Incorporated P. O. Box 34567 Houston (this has been confirmed by the Pentagon, per James Rosen on Fox News) [THE BOX NUMBER IS CONSISTENT WITH OTHER CONTEMPORANEOUS DOCUMENTS].
36. Why were these exact same documents available for sale on the Internet y Marty Heldt, of leftist web site Tom Paine, as early as January 2004? Is this where CBS obtained their copies? [THIS NEEDS VERIFIED WITH A LINK (CACHED??)]
.
.
.
Found this in the replies for your link and at another site I was just on:
The campaign was not for George HW Bush, it was for Republican Winton Blount, who was running for the senate in Alabama.
The true linotype/typewriter superscript was/is different from that presented by a wordprocessor; eg:
Wordprocessor -- 147th
Typewriter -- 147th
See that little line under the 'th'? Dan Rather's "Times Roman from 1931" was just so, for 'th' , 'st' , 'rd' , and 'nd'.
My High School Print Shop and school Newspaper typewriters had them.
Good post, Dick.
ping
"59. The unit name abbreviations use periods. This is incorrect. USAF unit abbreviations use only capital letters with no periods. For example, 111th Fighter Interceptor Squadron would be abbreviated as 111th FIS, not 111th F.I.S."
I came across the Application for Reserve Assignment form signed by Lt Bush dated 24 May 72. Here, the Present Assignment and Attachment box says "111th F.I.S. (TNG] P.O Box 34567, Houston, Texas 77034". So this is a rare example of the legitimate use of "111th F.I.S" and also Box 34567.
The centered heading in the 4 may document looks to be the same typeface, sizing, and layout as the rest of the letter. Pre-printed forms in 1972 were usually done on physical linotype machines, and would certianly have been different. There were very expensive offset printers in those days, but this looks like one of those things like, "well, it COULD have been done by X".
Well, it likely wasn't, and you get a couple dozen "likely wasn't" and you're into PROOF of FORGERY territory.
a)52 and b)48 are the same comment.
Correction: a)52 and c)48 are the same.
c)56 refers to RICHARD Killian. I thought his name was Jerry.
Your right, TomPaine takes you to a not found site. However, if you click on the link and tell it to Open Link In Composer you can actually trick TomPaine to get to the page since whatever that does doesn't trip the TomPaine Not Found page. That page has the following text:
FINALLY, THE
TRUTH ABOUT
BUSH'S MILITARY
SERVICE RECORD
George W.'s Missing Year
Marty Heldt is a farmer. He told us, "I
spent 17 years as a brakeman [for the
railroad] before moving back to the farm.
That job had some long layovers that
gave me a lot of time to read and to
educate myself." He lives in Clinton,
Iowa.
Nearly two hundred manila-wrapped
pages of George Walker Bush's service
records came to me like some sort of
giant banana stuffed into my mailbox.
I had been seeking more information
about his military record to find out what
he did during what I think of as his
"missing year," when he failed to show
up for duty as a member of the Air
National Guard, as the Boston Globe first
reported.
The initial page I examined is a
chronological listing of Bush's service
record. This document charts active duty
days served from the time of his
enlistment. His first year, a period of
extensive training, young Bush is credited
with serving 226 days. In his second year
in the Guard, Bush is shown to have
logged a total of 313 days. After Bush got
his wings in June 1970 until May 1971,
he is credited with a total of 46 days of
active duty. From May 1971 to May
1972, he logged 22 days of active duty.
Then something happened. From May 1,
1972 until April 30, 1973 -- a period of
twelve months -- there are no days
shown, though Bush should have logged
at least thirty-six days service (a
weekend per month in addition to two
weeks at camp).
I found out that for the first four months of
this time period, when Bush was working
on the U.S. Senate campaign of Winton
Blount in Alabama, that he did not have
orders to be at any unit anywhere.
On May 24, 1972, Bush had applied for a
transfer from the Texas Air National
Guard to Montgomery, Alabama. On his
transfer request Bush noted that he was
seeking a "no pay" position with the
9921st Air Reserve Squadron. The
commanding officer of the Montgomery
unit, Lieutenant Colonel Reese R.
Bricken, promptly accepted Bush's
request to do temporary duty under his
command.
But Bush never received orders for the
9921st in Alabama. Such decisions were
under the jurisdiction of the Air Reserve
Personnel Center in Denver, Colorado,
and the Center disallowed the transfer.
The Director of Personnel Resources at
the Denver headquarters noted in his
rejection that Bush had a "Military
Service Obligation until 26 May 1974."
As an "obligated reservist," Bush was
ineligible to serve his time in what
amounted to a paper unit with few
responsibilities. As the unit's leader,
Lieutenant Colonel Bricken recently
explained to the Boston Globe, ''We met
just one weeknight a month. We were
only a postal unit. We had no airplanes.
We had no pilots. We had no nothing.''
The headquarters document rejecting
Bush's requested Alabama transfer was
dated May 31, 1972. This transfer refusal
left Bush still obligated to attend drills
with his regular unit, the 111th Fighter
Interceptor Squadron stationed at
Ellington Air Force Base near Houston.
However, Bush had already left Texas
two weeks earlier and was now working
on Winton Blount's campaign staff in
Alabama.
In his annual evaluation report, Bush's
two supervising officers, Lieutenant
Colonel William D. Harris Jr. and
Lieutenant Colonel Jerry B. Killian,
made it clear that Bush had "not been
observed at" his Texas unit "during the
period of report" -- the twelve month
period from May 1972 through the end of
April 1973.
In the comments section of this evaluation
report Lieutenant Colonel Harris notes
that Bush had "cleared this base on 15
May 1972, and has been performing
equivalent training in a non flying role
with the 187th Tac Recon Gp at Dannelly
ANG Base, Alabama" (the Air National
Guard Tactical Reconnaissance Group at
Dannelly Air Force Base near
Montgomery, Alabama).
This was incorrect. Bush didn't apply for
duty at Dannelly Air Force Base until
September 1972. From May until
September he was in limbo, his
temporary orders having been rejected.
And when his orders to appear at
Dannelly came through he still didn't
appear. Although his instructions clearly
directed Bush to report to Lieutenant
Colonel William Turnipseed on the dates
of "7-8 October 0730-1600, and 4-5
November 0730-1600," he never did. In
interviews conducted with the Boston
Globe earlier this year, both General
Turnipseed and his former administration
officer, Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Lott,
said that Bush never put in an
appearance.
The lack of regular
attendance goes against
the basic concept of a
National Guard kept
strong by citizen soldiers
who maintain their skills
through regular training.
Bush campaign aides claim, according to
a report in the New York Times, that Bush
in fact served a single day -- November
29,1972 -- with the Alabama unit. If this
is so it means that for a period of six
weeks Lieutenant George W. Bush
ignored direct instructions from
headquarters to report for duty. But it
looks even worse for Lieutenant Bush if
the memory of Turnipseed and Lott are
correct and Bush never reported at all.
After the election was over (candidate
Blount lost), Bush was to have returned
to Texas and the 111th at Ellington Air
Force Base. Bush did return to Houston,
where he worked for an inner-city youth
organization, Project P.U.L.L. But, as I
mentioned already, his annual evaluation
report states that he had not been
observed at his unit during the twelve
months ending May 1973. This means that
there were another five months, after he
left Alabama, during which Bush did not
fulfill any of his obligations as a
Guardsman.
In fact, during the final four months of this
period, December 1972 through May 29,
1973, neither Bush nor his aides have
ever tried to claim attendance at any
guard activities. So, incredibly, for a
period of one year beginning May 1,
1972, there is just one day, November
29th, on which Bush claims to have
performed duty for the Air National
Guard. There are no dates of service for
1973 mentioned in Bush's "Chronological
Service Listing."
Bush's long absence from the records
comes to an end one week after he failed
to comply with an order to attend
"Annual Active Duty Training" starting at
the end of May 1973. He then began
serving irregularly with his unit. Nothing
indicates in the records that he ever made
up the time he missed.
Early in September 1973, Bush submitted
a request seeking to be discharged from
the Texas Air National Guard and to be
transferred to the Air Reserve Personnel
Center. This transfer to the inactive
reserves would effectively end any
requirements to attend monthly drills. The
request -- despite Bush's record -- was
approved. That fall Bush enrolled in
Harvard Business School.
Both Bush and his aides have made
numerous statements to the effect that
Bush fulfilled all of his guard
obligations. They point to Bush's
honorable discharge as proof of this. But
the records indicate that George W Bush
missed a year of service. This lack of
regular attendance goes against the basic
concept of a National Guard kept strong
by citizen soldiers who maintain their
skills and preparedness through regular
training.
And we know that Bush understood that
regular attendance was essential to the
proficiency of the National Guard. In the
Winter 1998 issue of the National Guard
Review Bush is quoted as saying "I can
remember walking up to my F-102 fighter
and seeing the mechanics there. I was on
the same team as them, and I relied on
them to make sure that I wasn't jumping
out of an airplane. There was a sense of
shared responsibility in that case. The
responsibility to get the airplane down.
The responsibility to show up and do
your job."
Bush has found military
readiness to be a handy
campaign issue.
Bush's unsatisfactory attendance could
have resulted in being ordered to active
duty for a period up to two years --
including a tour in Vietnam. Lieutenant
Bush would have been aware of this as
he had signed a statement which listed the
penalties for poor attendance and
unsatisfactory participation. Bush could
also have faced a general court martial.
But this was unlikely as it would have
also meant dragging in the two officers
who had signed off on his annual
evaluation.
Going after officers in this way would
have been outside the norm. Most often
an officer would be subject to career
damaging letters of reprimand and poor
Officers Effectiveness Ratings. These
types of punishment would often result in
the resignation of the officer. In Bush's
case, as someone who still had a
commitment for time not served, he could
have been brought back and made to do
drills. But this would have been a further
embarrassment to the service as it would
have made it semi-public that a
Lieutenant Colonel and squadron
commander had let one of his
subordinates go missing for a year.
For the Guard, for the ranking officers
involved and for Lieutenant Bush the
easiest and quietest thing to do was
adding time onto his commitment and
placing that time in the inactive reserves.
Among these old documents there is a
single clue as to how Bush finally
fulfilled his obligations and made up for
those missed drill days. In my first
request for information I received a small
three-page document containing the
"Military Biography Of George Walker
Bush." This was sent from the
Headquarters Air Reserve Personnel
Center (ARPC) in Denver Colorado.
In this official summary of Bush's
military service, I found something that
was not mentioned in Bush's records
from the National Guard Bureau in
Arlington, Virginia. When Bush enlisted
his commitment ran until May 26, 1974.
This was the separation date shown on
all documents as late as October 1973,
when Bush was transferred to the
inactive reserves at Denver, Colorado.
But the date of final separation shown on
the official summary from Denver, is
November 21, 1974. The ARPC had
tacked an extra six months on to Bush's
commitment.
Bush may have finally "made-up" his
missed days. But he did so not by
attending drills -- in fact he never
attended drills again after he enrolled at
Harvard. Instead, he had his name added
to the roster of a paper unit in Denver,
Colorado, a paper unit where he had no
responsibility to show up and do a job.
Bush has found military readiness to be a
handy campaign issue. Yet even though
more than two decades have passed since
Bush left the Air National Guard, some
military sources still bristle at his service
record -- and what effect it had on
readiness. "In short, for the several
hundred thousand dollars we tax payers
spent on getting [Bush] trained as a
fighter jock, he repaid us with sixty-eight
days of active duty. And God only knows
if and when he ever flew on those days,"
concludes a military source. "I've spent
more time cleaning up latrines than he did
flying.">
None of the gif links in the text open. They go to a not found set of gifs at http://www.cis.net/_coldfeet/
Do you think this is the reference you were thinking about, or was it something else?
My office had a ream of the old 8x10.5 bond paper which we used last year just to get rid of it. Does anyone remember if govt bond paper in 70s had a figure, I believe of an eagle, lightly imprinted on it that would not been seen if some made a copy?
Question: Did the 70s military govt bond paper have a figure light imprinted on it? I can't remember. The figure would not come through on a copy and would be missed when typed over.
The forgeries fit very nicely with a broad based coordinated campaign over the last two months led and orchestrated by Kerry, the DNC, Dan Rather/CBS, Move-On.org, and The Boston Globe/NY Times. Rather screwed up on a vital part of this carefully crafted campaign of deceit: hence his massive denial of the obvious.
Only the Internet, beginning with Free Republic's efforts, blasted this media juggernaut in its tracks, an electronic David unexpectedly slaying the Democrat Party Mass Media Goliath.
One more very important point: John Kerry had a reputation as an mega-narcissist OCD micromanager of his campaign. In other words, he is a self-absorbed control freak. He even personally designed the paint job on his campaign jet.
Kerry's psychological pathology means that he was personally involved in the forgeries: at the very least approving their shipment to CBS.
No, remember many reams of paper whether for the typewriter or for the copier labeled 8x10.5.
I was just looking for a Marty Heldt link to see if he was hawking "documents" on the internet. The date of the TomPaine page is 2000 which is interesting as none of the networks ran with this then.
Re Post 113
You can get into the site. Found by looking for posters from the site domain w Bush w AWOL. The site is at http://users.cis.net/coldfeet/
It has lots of gifs of Bush records, but of course not the ones that we are looking for. He does however, make this statement at the top of his www page:
This is not a hunt for credible eyewitnesses and first hand statements. The officers involved have stepped forward. We have their testimony and we have the signed statements of those no longer living.
What ever that means. However, I don't think we can use this to justify Item 39 unless you can find a posting in the some 1000 that DejaNews gets by a search of cis.net & bush & AWOL.
Regards,
Dick
The senior CBS official said the network had talked to four typewriting and handwriting experts "who put our concerns to rest" and confirmed the authenticity of Killian's signature.
Yet only one of these "experts" has been revealed, and he's only a handwriting, not a document expert. Who are the other three "experts", and why won't CBS reveal them?
And how about this:
CBS officials insisted that the network had done due diligence in checking out the authenticity of the documents with independent experts over six weeks.
Yet, by their own admission, they didn't contact Hodges until 48 hours before the story ran. Why didn't they, and why didn't they show him the documents themselves, instead of reading them to him over the phone?
The official said the network regarded Hodges's comments as "the trump card" on the question of authenticity, as he is a Republican who acknowledged that he did not want to hurt Bush.
Since he has since said that he thinks the documents are fake, their trump card has disappered.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9967-2004Sep9_2.html
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.