Posted on 11/21/2005 2:17:55 PM PST by kristinn
Ever since the controversy over the CBS use of forged memos erupted, those disappointed by the exposure of the forgeries have wondered if the whole thing wasn't some sort of set up perpetrated by the Dark Lord, Karl Rove. Integral to this paranoid theorizing was their slack-jawed amazement that anyone could have observed and commented that the documents were fake based on typography as quickly as I did. How could anyone not on the inside have articulated a technical and convincing explanation that the documents were fake within a few hours of the broadcast? Well, here's your answer. It's probably too late to make any difference, but I am no longer able to stifle myself now that Mary Mapes' has written a several hundred page book parading her venomous disregard for those who exposed her lies and her delusional self-image as the Joan of Arc of investigative journalism.
So, how did I know?
The short answer is that I am 47 years old and I am not a blithering idiot.
A more elaborate answer is this:
I have been interested in computers since 1979. I have used dot matrix, mainframe line printers, daisy wheel, ink jet, & laser printers. I have worked in an office environment from 1980 forward, except for 3 years of law school from 1982-1985. I have typed thousands of pages on IBM Selectrics, and a few hundred on various mechanical and electric typewriters of the conventional variety. I have changed the type ball and pitch on Selectrics many, many times. I have changed the daisy wheel on daisy wheel printers. I have typed at least a thousand pages on a Wang word processing system, and had typed for me many thousands more. I was one of two people in our small firm that spearheaded the purchase and installation of a Apple Macintosh computer network in 1989. I was the office computer geek for 8 years. I read the manual for Microsoft Word 4 for the Macintosh. The manual has a discussion in the beginning explaining that with personal computers, word processing software and laser printers, typeset print quality and proportionally spaced fonts were available to everyone and not just those who could afford typesetting machines, and how this was a Great New Thing. The manual distinguished between monospaced fonts and proportionally spaced fonts. I immediately began using proportionally spaced fonts and have done so to this day. The distinction between monospaced and proportionally spaced fonts is very noticeable to me.
I have been typing my own documents in various versions of Microsoft Word, using proportionally spaced fonts, since 1989. In the 16 years since then, I have myself typed, prepared, and signed many thousands of pages using MS Word.
In my work career, especially the law practice, I have reviewed several hundred thousand, maybe more than a million, pages of documents prepared by businesses and government agencies from many time periods prepared on all manner of machines. I have many times reviewed documents that were multiple generation copies of the original, and bear the distortions that go along with that.
I have been a litigator for 20 years. I have encountered a lot of fancy and not so fancy lies.
In 1999, I filed a brief with the U.S. District Court, Northern Dist. of Ga., in Times New Roman 12. I used that font, which is rather small, to fit within the page limit, which I could not otherwise do using my preferred font, Palatino 12. (Most courts now specify font and type size by rule to preclude this ruse. Ask any litigator.) In any case, the other side objected to the brief on the grounds that it did not comply with the local court rule specifying that there could be no more than 10 printed characters per inch - a rule of which I was not aware at the time. I filed a brief in response to the objection. Trust me, the prospect of losing a contingency case over a font rule when you have invested years of work in the case will galvanize your attention on the subject of fonts. A pdf scan of a certified copy of that brief is available here at the link above to "1999 Brief." Compare what I said about typewriters, monospaced fonts and proportionally spaced fonts in the brief filed in 1999 with what I said in post # 47, on 9/8/04. I knew what I knew a long time ago, and the brief proves it definitively. So long, conspiracy theory.
I relied upon no one and nothing other than what I already knew and what I saw when I looked at the documents. I acted entirely alone, with no advance knowledge or warning of any kind or nature whatsoever from anyone anywhere at any time prior to the post. After the post, the blogosphere was on the case, and I was no longer alone at that point.
The notion that the ability to spot these memos as fakes for the reasons I articulated in that post is some kind of dark art limited to a select priesthood of credentialed experts in forensic typography is totally false and, on a moment's reflection, completely ridiculous. Any person who worked in an office before, during and after the desktop printing revolution and who was awake for more than a few minutes during that period could tell immediately that the documents were not from 1972. There are many millions of such people. If you read the thread you will see that less than seven minutes after my post another poster, NYCVirago, said "You're exactly correct." http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1210662/posts#49. There are many such comments later in the thread and in a later research thread on the subject, http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1210702/posts. Many such comments were posted before 6:00 AM the following morning, which proves that the knowledge is common and widespread. The outpouring on the rest of the web, at Powerline, Little Green Footballs, INDC Journal, etc., proves the same thing. The problems with the documents that I identified were obvious to millions of people and that is one reason that the story took off like it did. That it was me rather than someone else who first noticed the font problem is pure coincidence. It would have been picked up by someone else in a few minutes if I just gone to bed instead that night.
But I didn't, and so Mary Mapes hates Buckhead along with everyone else that has participated in refuting her lies.
you're right. I forgot about the backspacing, and I didn't consider the proportional font issue.
Of course, to Dems I suppose this would just prove they're authentic - "see, he just added up the characters in each heading, using the proportional font values for each, then divided by 2, etc..."
The Mapeist is a prime example of mentally ill the lunatic libs in the MSM and bigtime politics are.
They are totally incapable of recognizing when they have done something really evil/bad even after they get caught with the whole world seeing what they did.
'Ich bin ein Buckheader'
Thanks for the memories. Maybe one day Buckhead will be nominated for the Supreme Court, and all of the Freepers can stand up and say: 'Ich bin ein Buckheader'.
In a way, I think it does. We're old enough to have grown up with typewriters, both manual and electric, and had to master them in order to make it through school. We were around for the dawn of the computer age, and progressed from room-sized mainframes to notebooks, and green monochrome screens to virtual reality graphics.
We also remember Vietnam and Watergate, and how the Press (now: "The Media") took unrestrained glee in the downfall of a President whose policies they detested. The world has changed - but the Media have not. Except that today, there is a growing alternative Media, through talk radio and the Internet, and our friend from Atlanta applied his own life experience in a way that called attention to our own power to shape public events and perceptions.
You are still the Man!
So, how did I know?Although you do go on to explain how in-depth your knowledge on the subject actually is... BWAHAHA! I love you.The short answer is that I am 47 years old and I am not a blithering idiot.
Taxman Bravo Zulu!
Having slept on this ...
In terms of similarities with the MD4Bush case: I believe there is indeed evidence that MSMers came here and attempted to interfere with the main, long thread. It is certainly not a surprise. However, given what we now suspect regarding Mosk @ WaPo (& friends) and Mosk's overt attempts to continue to slime us, I am acutely tuned to the way that Mapes is also similarly trying to slime us. Sodden thought - are Mapes and Mosk maintaining backchannel coms and is there a "vast left wing conspiracy" involving multiple instances of MSM abusing FR accounts, attempting to entrap VIP-Freepers, and who-knows-what-else? If not already being done, I urge a broadened investigation, looking at the whole thing a bit more systemically. Any further coms let's take it off line ;)
He should be given the Medal of Freedom.
Check out the quotes from this DUmmie FUnnies thread:
DU proved her right. We all know she is right.
The memo was NOT obviously faked. I'm one of the ones who used an IBM Executive typewriter back then. It had proportional spacing.
It has been proved to the satisfaction of DU that the docs were legit
Thanks for the ping, bitt. I remember that night and following along - it was exciting!
From within the OP link at top. Buckhead's modest, to boot!
"The notion that the ability to spot these memos as fakes for the reasons I articulated in that post is some kind of dark art limited to a select priesthood of credentialed experts in forensic typography is totally false and, on a moment's reflection, completely ridiculous. Any person who worked in an office before, during and after the desktop printing revolution and who was awake for more than a few minutes during that period could tell immediately that the documents were not from 1972. There are many millions of such people. If you read the thread you will see that less than seven minutes after my post another poster, NYCVirago, said "You're exactly correct." http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1210662/posts#49. There are many such comments later in the thread and in a later research thread on the subject, http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1210702/posts. Many such comments were posted before 6:00 AM the following morning, which proves that the knowledge is common and widespread. The outpouring on the rest of the web, at Powerline, Little Green Footballs, INDC Journal, etc., proves the same thing. The problems with the documents that I identified were obvious to millions of people and that is one reason that the story took off like it did. That it was me rather than someone else who first noticed the font problem is pure coincidence. It would have been picked up by someone else in a few minutes if I just gone to bed instead that night.
But I didn't, and so Mary Mapes hates Buckhead along with everyone else that has participated in refuting her lies."
Thanks for posting this, kristinn.
buckhead, thanks for all that you have done.
Remember Dan Rather saying that it didn't matter whether or not the documents were authentic -- Bush still needed to answer the questions they raised?
PWN3D
What does that mean?
If it's dirty, don't tell me. (I am a lady.)
Andy, my friend, you should know by now that reasoning with a liberal using the brutal truth and undeniable and irrefutable fact is tantamount to teaching the intricasies of quantum physics to a severe Down's Syndrome victim.
Nerd speak for "Buckhead totally stomped Mapes"
pwn3d is a twisting of "owned," but spelled wrong in order to look "kewl." :)
You're right. I would far rather spend my time explaining to an involuntary victim of mental incapacity the nature of photons than to explain to a willing adherent of Liberalism the nature of reality. A Down's Syndrome victim has at least a fleeting chance at comprehension; a Liberal, willfully blinded, has none.
LOL!
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