Free Republic

This is a golden opportunity to review the value of having the business unit at all. It might be most beneficial to the business to shutter the entire CBS News operation.

... it's almost like the press has decided that Burkett is the end of the line, the fall guy. And if he didn't fake the memos, somebody did ...

I don't think Burkett did, but he might have. Regardless of the affiliation of the forger, the DNC and Kerry campaign are up to their eyeballs in this, and CBS is going to be exposed as working in at least loose coordination (maybe through a small number of strategically placed operatives) with the DNC and Kerry campaign.

The other media outlets likewise work in harmony with the Democrat party, but instead of being caught in direct coordination, operate with selective and biased reporting.

Anyway, I speculate that a mid to lower-level party hack crafted the forgeries, and that Burkett was the bag man. Like CBS, Burkett wants to believe the forgeries are true.

He said, however, that during the meeting in which he gave the documents to CBS, he was also told by a producer that his phone number would be passed on to Kerry adviser Joe Lockhart.

"I was absolutely and clearly told that that was as far as anyone could go without crossing the line of [journalistic] ethics," Burkett said.

During a single phone conversation with Lockhart, Burkett said he suggested a "couple of concepts on what I thought [Kerry] had to do" to beat Bush. In return, he said, Lockhart tried to "convince me as to why I should give them the documents."

In the third paragraph, Burkett describes Lockhart as trying to convince Burkett to give "them" (who? CBS or Kerry campaign?) the documents.

In the first paragraph, Burkett is quoted as though CBS gives him assurance that his phone nmumber will be given to Lockhart - and this is AFTER CBS has the documents.

Which is it? I think that Lockhart's call was the trigger to Burkett, to give the documents to CBS.

Any chance of a leak of JFK military records? Or, if he has already signed the 180 for Brinkley, that O'Neill has the docs?

Kerry's personal records are, and should be, secure. But if he chooses to keep them private, the media should not give him a pass and let him say that all have been reviewd by the media or the public.

There may be some general records, after action reports and the like, that haven't made their way to public view. I think over the course of time, all will be clear about this bad person, John Kerry.

The odds that kerry referenced the same bogus manual in April as the CBS memo's did in September by chance are outrageous.

IIRC, the genuine documents released by Bush contained the so-called bogus reference. The reference is to a real section of the AF manual, it presrcibes the penalties for failing to follow an order, but does not prescribe the regulation that mandates the medical examination.

I can imagine the DNC using that reference, and in an incorrect way. Lots of DEMs have been fixated on Bush's records, and attempting to fill in the gaps that would make a "slam dunk" case against Bush's TexANG service.

It looks like the documents went to Lockhart at the Kerry campaign FIRST, and Mr. Lockhart is the unimpeachable source that CBS referred to.

I'm doubt the send part of that. If there was a direct shipment of documents from Kerry campaign or DNC to CBS, it would be too easy to assert and show coordination. I don't think CBS would refer to Lockhart as the unimpeachable source. More likely, Max Cleland vouched for the authenticity, or for Burkett's honesty, etc.

But I do believe that the DNC and Kerry campaign had/saw copies of the forgeries before CBS did. No firm evidence, independent of the article "Anatomy of a Forgery," but that scenario makes lots of sense.

I think he can and should be believed, painting him [Burkett] as a nut job is SOP.

Here's another example of where one term has a very wide range of possible meanings .. "nut."

I figure Burkett is sane, in the clinical sense, but obsessed against GWB. Similar to Mary Mapes in that regard, and Dan Rather, too. You can believe some of what they say, they are not literally delusional, and a good default position toward what they say is to assume it is a lie or a partial truth.

I'm sure Burkett has lied, as has Lockhart, Mapes, Rather, etc. The chore is to figure out which snippets of what they say are in fact true.

Look at the frustration over at Judicail watch and the Kerry Medal Flap; its almost as if geology works faster

Not that JW was "wrong," but it is chasing a minor detail in the COmbat V on a Silver Star, etc. The response they got from the archivist was very predictable.

What breaks the story regarding Kerry's Vietnam record will be either the official documents that Kerry has refused to release, or a substantive two-sided public exchange that airs the SBVfT assertions, in detail, against Kerry's rebuttals, again in detail.

On the other hand, what breaks the CBS/Kerry/DNC coordination story does not rely on Kerry or his campaign being forthright. You might be right that the connection won't be established until after the election, but IMO, that is okay becuase GWB doesn't need that advantage in order to win.

Are there any prosecutable acts hidden in here, or will this all blow over?

There might be in the election/campaigning laws. There is strong evidence of at least Kerry/Burkett/CBS connection, that could accomplish coordination of some sort. At this point though, I am ignorant of election/campaigning law, other than the buzzword "coordination" as being forbidden between 527's and candidate's campaign organizations.

It will be very difficult to tell who is actually telling the truth in this mess, but a simple check of phone records could easily establish how many times Burkett and Lockhart talked on the phone and for how long.

Some subpoenae would work even better.

Meanwhile, it's clear that Burkett is, at and on this point, more likely to be telling the truth. He has nothing left to lose. The exposure of Lockhart at the trigger-man (starting Fortunate Son by signalling Burkett to give memos to the media) puts a serious taint on at least the Kerry campaign. Lockhart has a strong motive to lie. Burkett does not.

Why would Burkett, a former Texas Air National Guard member with Bush have any concern about the Swift Boat Veterans?

As one other has pointed out, Burkett was ARMY, not AIR, but that is not why I am posting to you.

I think the "connection" with the Swift Boat Veterans is in the "tit for tat" arena. Kerry's Vietnam fabrications are being attacked by the Swift Boat Veterans, so Kerry has to attack GWB with ... [whatever Burkett has].

The Selective Service might help by telling the callers that Democrat Congressmen are putting legislation forward, to institute a draft. Emphasize the word Democrat.

It is ironic that the liberals who dominate education in this country insulate themselves from the facts and seek to silence others who disagree

It is also deliberate subtrefuge, what better way to subvert a society, over time, than to infiltrate the institution of education.

Sec. 32.21. FORGERY. (a) For purposes of this section:
~ ~ (1) "Forge" means:

[For talking purposes, let's stipulate these are forgeries of government documents]

~ (b) A person commits an offense if he forges a writing with intent to defraud or harm another.

[Here is where it gets rough, IMO. Check definitions of "defraud" and "harm." The legal definitions, in order to criminalize the conduct, are different from ordinary everyday meaning. For example, my "buddy" has a girlfriend, and I decide to try to turn her off to him. To that end, I forge a government record that shows he had a dishonorable discharge. I forge a government document. I show it to the girl. I defraud her, in a way, but not in a way, I don't think, that triggers this statute.]

[Your mileage may vary.]

No need for an ace when your opponent has five jacks.

That service has been available for pets for some time now and has recently been made available for parents to implant on their kids. Or perhaps still earlier, didn't Tim McVeigh claim the army had implanted a chip in his butt-tocks?

All true, but none of these devices broadcasts its location. The devices provide ID to a person (or device) that posesses the object.

... a stunning propensity to take political cheap shots for his own benefit ...

It was worse than a political cheap shot. Kerry dismissed the leader of a country that we want to "fix" and "leave" as well and quickly as we can. Kerry is playing with fire on this matter.

Kerry's history shows his actions include worse than taking cheap shots, as well. Cut and run, telling the most vile lies about your brothers, and turning an entire country against its armed forces. Those are part of Mr. Kerry's legacy.

He has an interview with President Bush "in the can," and is promoting it.

He is also angling for an interview with Kerry. Mr. O'Reilly still dismisses the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth as "discredited," generally by erecting straw men and accepting print stories about them.

The question is, are we going to fight back?

I would assume that we'll keep doing what we've always done, a little bit better as we get more experienced. Hit pieces by the media have ZERO impact on the collective abilities of Free Republic.

Isn't it just like a Leftist to play political football with Nick Berg ...

Yes. And I don't like that a conservative host "takes advantage of it," either. I'd prefer that Mr. Berg and similarly minded parents who have suffered a loss have their media appearances limited to programs hosted by liberals.