Posted on 09/13/2004 5:47:30 AM PDT by DocFarmer
CBS Lies. Will Dan Rather Get Away With It This Time?
Written by Doc Farmer
Sunday, September 12, 2004
Last week, 60 Minutes The Sequel (This Time It's Personal) ran a hard-hitting no-hold-barred investigative report trashing President George W. Bush. This is the fourth or fifth time CBS News has done this. Normally, this is done in the fashion of taking Bush-bashing books being sold by a publisher owned by the parent company of CBS News (Viacom) and doing puffball interviews with the authors. This time, however, CBS decided to raise, ad nauseum, the already discredited canard regarding Dubya's National Guard service.
Dan Rather interviewed a completely unbiased former Lt. Governor of Texas, one Mr. Ben Barnes, who regretted helping out Dubya by interceding on his behalf with the TXANG. Odd thing, though – Mr. Barnes wasn't Lt. Governor at the time he said he ''helped out'' the Bush family. Mr. Barnes is also a major contributor to the DNC and a big booster of Jean François Kerrée.
This is nothing new for CBS News, of course. ''Fair and Balanced'' it most definitely is not--by any stretch of the imagination. So, it's really not a shock that Dan Rather would do a softball interview with yet another Bush-whacker. His big mistake, it would appear, was to try and back up his political viewpoint with documentary evidence.
As we all know, CBS News obtained four documents, purportedly written in 1972 by Lt. Col. Jerry Killian, that supports the oft-repeated claim of Dubya's failure to complete assigned duties in the National Guard. CBS News vetted the papers with signature and document experts, people who supposedly know what they're doing, and declared them genuine. Thirty years ago, that would probably have been enough. CBS News says the documents are genuine so, to coin a phrase, ''that’s the way it is.''
That was then. This is now. That's not the way it is any more.
CBS News, in an effort to prove just how nifty it is, decided to make the evidence available on the Internet. Folks (like me) downloaded them. It didn't take long for folks like me to question the validity of those four documents. Now, I'm the first to admit that I didn't pick up on the subtleties of the missing items to begin with. However, others did. Then more. Word spread, and a bunch of ''amateurs'' started to see stuff that CBS News ''experts'' seemed to miss, overlook, or simply ignore.
** Proportional font, which came from a typewriter that could only do fixed-width fonts.
** Times New Roman font was used, which was not available on IBM Selectric font balls.
** In some cases, the th after a number was superscripted, which was also not available font balls.
** In other cases, there was a space between the number and the th, which was not superscripted (word processors automatically superscript number suffixes when joined to the number).
** Curled apostrophes and quote marks were used instead of the straight ones contained on the Selectric.
** The heading on some of the documents were typed, instead of using headed stationery. This isn’t disqualifying in itself, but the address is given as a post office box instead of an actual street address.
** The other odd thing is the PO box number provided. 34567? A five digit sequential number? Doesn't this look slightly suspicious to you?
** The fonts were ''kerned,'' meaning that the spacing was varied according to the content of the words or sentences. This is a typesetting function, not a typewriting one.
** When the contents of the document were typed into a blank Microsoft Word™ document using the factory default settings, the layout was identical. Not virtually identical. Actually identical.
Then, there's the issue of the people 60 Minutes II decided to interview. For example, a producer contacted the son of the late Lt. Col. Killian and asked him some questions. His answers were apparently not to her liking (since it disagreed with the show's premise) and so the answers were ignored. She asked him to provide other people her staff could interview. According to Mr. Killian, he provided those names, and the producer dismissed them because they were (Shock! Horror!) Bush supporters.
This part seems a bit odd to me, since the chief witness, the aforementioned Mr. Barnes, is a big Kerry supporter. What's odder still is that the grand inquisitor, Mr. Rather, has spoken before a Democrat fundraiser organized by his daughter and attended by Mr. Barnes. I suppose, however, that Desperate Dan doesn't view that as a conflict of interest.
Then, there’s the case of the content of the documents. One states that Lt. Col. Killian was getting pressure from General Staudt to ''candy-coat'' Lt. Bush's record. Problem – the general retired 18 months before the memo was supposed to have been written. Didn’t anybody at 60 Minutes Redux bother to consult a calendar? I mean, there's slipshod and there's just plain stupid.
This is what the Tiffany network has sunk to.
On Friday, Dan (looking decidedly torqued off) defended the report and trotted out some experts to discuss why all those partisan political operatives and bloggers (no kidding, they actually said that stuff!) were wrong. How dare they question the news Brahmin. Therefore, in an almost Kerry-esque post-convention hissy-fit, Danny-boy decided to correct the masses. For close to five minutes on his broadcast, Mr. Rather put his case to show that he was right and the rest of the world was wrong. It was rather pitiful to watch, actually.
Everybody knows the mainstream media is biased quite far to the left. Everybody except Dan, Tom, and Peter (and those people with fewer than 17 active brain cells, aka lib/dem/soc/commies), it would seem.
There's an old rule that if somebody lies in a court of law about one issue, you can pretty much ignore anything else s/he say. Dan Rather, and the entire mainstream news media, are in a much larger court--the court of public opinion.
Dan Rather lied. 60 Minutes II lied. They've all lied. Many times. This is just the latest example.
Folks, it's time that we pronounce sentence.
About the Writer: Doc Farmer is a writer and humorist who is also a moderator on ChronWatch's Forum. He formerly lived in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, but now resides in Indiana. Doc receives e-mail at docfarmer9999@yahoo.co.uk.
This Article Was First Published In ChronWatch At: http://www.chronwatch.com/content/contentDisplay.asp?aid=9639
Wow, this is a new – and better one – than I had.
Against this, Time magazine has come up with a typewriter repairman to back the MSM's reluctance to accuse Rather of the obvious.
I think this will just push CBS into the niche of the looney moore left. CBS is ceeding the approximate 45% concervatives, the self proclaimed 35% moderats for the 19% self described liberals.
Eventually CBS news as a division will be gone because it is just a liabilty for atings and reputation.
That's priceless!
I'm not forgeting it.
I am still contacting sponsors but my main target is my local affiliate. I have written the FCC and wrote a letter of complaint for their relicensing file.
That can NOT be allowed to happen!!
If the rest of the MSM does not hold him and CBS accountable then someone HAS to.
http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=14993
Now that CBS has been exposed as a party to fraud of the most serious kind, this is becoming a death struggle. It is fascinating to watch I will say.
Jammie Nation
http://www.melaniesemporium.com/curious%20george%20pajamas.jpgI'm with Amy and N.Z. Bear. Jammies now! I want a pair, yo.
"Bloggers have no checks and balances . . . [it's] a guy sitting in his living room in his pajamas." -- Jonathan Klein
This is, of course, far too delicious a statement to simply ignore. Already, bloggers have taken it up as a badge of honor.
Welcome to Jammie Nation, where Dan Rather gets his ass kicked by guys in pajamas.
Via Instapundit, "NO DISPUTING IT -- Blogs Are Major Players." Viva la revolucion. Left, Right, Center. Who cares? We don't need you anymore, Mr. Rather. We can do for ourselves just fine now, thank you.
Yes he will get away with it as will CBS and 60 Minutes. While the main stream media smells blood in the water right now, they will not push this. Doing so would be to their own detriment.
How can the other alphabet networks justify going after one of their own for doing exactly the same thing they do. We all know the networks flat out lie about most Republican positions. Everything from false statistics on economic news, to the number of homeless and poor in the country to ridiculous charges on the end of the assult weapon ban. To go after one of their own for making false claims, makes them vunerable.
As the elites have for 40 years.
These "news organizations", are politcal organizations.
cbsabcnbccnnnprnyt.....
This fact needs to be before the public in a grass-roots effort.
It should be relentless, consistant, with the total distruction as the goal.
Or "what's the font type, Kenneth?"
The only problem is the 34567 thing which is the legit P.O. Box.
Rather would say, "See! See! That proves you're lying and the memos are genuine!"
CBS apparently has no checks and balances either.
Is it just me, or is there a whiff of fascism in that Klein statement?
The legit PO Box to what? National Guard units normally provided a street address, not a PO Box. Besides, I didn't say it was fake - I said it looked fishy. Still does.
Who does/did PO Box 34567 belong to?
No, no, no, no!
We run a full page Washington Times ad. Laying out the LIES by CBS and Dan Rather's attempt to throw a National Election.
We list our Experts, their determinations, the facts and
let America decide.
At the bottom a Statement from us, saying In today's world the word of a worn out Shill for the DNC is NOT a place to attempt to get the News regardless if the are a MSM news anchor, because what you are really getting is the Socialist slant with a taste of Political smear interjected for effect.
They can't be trusted!
"Bloggers have no checks and balances . . . [it's] a guy sitting in his living room in his pajamas." -- Jonathan Klein
This is, of course, far too delicious a statement to simply ignore. Already, bloggers have taken it up as a badge of honor.
Welcome to Jammie Nation, where Dan Rather gets his ass kicked by guys in pajamas.
Via Instapundit, "NO DISPUTING IT -- Blogs Are Major Players." Viva la revolucion. Left, Right, Center. Who cares? We don't need you anymore, Mr. Rather. We can do for ourselves just fine now, thank you.
32 posted on 09/13/2004 6:37:45 AM PDT by saveliberty (Liberal= in need of therapy, but would rather ruin lives of those less fortunate to feel good)
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