NationStates Jolt Archive

The media certainly had a huge story last week - and promptly decided to drop the ball. The day after CBS's bombshell revelations, three wingnuts suggested on their blog that their documents might have been forged. http://www.powerlineblog.com/ Suddenly the Drudge Report picked up the story, and the media was off and running. At this point the story was being concocted out of whole cloth: the blog reported that the documents might be fake. Drudge reported that the blog was reporting that the documents might be fake. Drudge reported that CBS was holding an internal investigation. The blog reported that "it had been reported" that CBS was conducting an internal investigation. Dan Rather announced that the documents were genuine. Ergo, Dan Rather must be the culprit. Look, here's how it works: if you're a Democrat and the public record overwhelmingly supports the fact that you won three Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star, and a Silver Star, it only takes a few people with a grudge to lie about your actions and the media are all over it. http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/09/10/forgery/ "Did John Kerry really win a Bronze Star?" "Did he injure himself on purpose?" "Some people are saying..." - you get the picture. But if you're a Republican and the public record overwhelmingly supports the fact that your dad got you into the National Guard, you skipped out on your duties, you ignored direct orders from your superiors, and you didn't finish your six-year obligation, it only takes three Republicans with a website (and a lazy, complicit media) to turn the story on its head. Next thing you know the media is taking the word of "experts" who say things like, "These sure look like forgeries." http://weeklystandard.com/Utilities/printer_preview.asp?idArticle=4596&R=9FC Amazing how it all works, isn't it? Oh, and a note to Judy Woodruff: shut the f*ck up about Bush's "honorable discharge." John Muhammad got an honorable discharge from the National Guard. In case you didn't know [http://www.niagarafallsreporter.com/gallagher152.html , that was after he was court-martialed twice, went AWOL, and spent time in prison; and before he went on a sniper rampage in DC, Virginia and Maryland, leaving 10 people dead.

I credit this to the Democratic Underground. It can be found here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/top10/04/170.html#4

Sources are in bold.

if you're a Democrat and the public record overwhelmingly supports the fact that you won three Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star, and a Silver Star, it only takes a few people with a grudge to lie about your actions and the media are all over it. http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/09/10/forgery/ "Did John Kerry really win a Bronze Star?" "Did he injure himself on purpose?" "Some people are saying..." - you get the picture. But if you're a Republican and the public record overwhelmingly supports the fact that your dad got you into the National Guard, you skipped out on your duties, you ignored direct orders from your superiors, and you didn't finish your six-year obligation, it only takes three Republicans with a website (and a lazy, complicit media)
I really don't know what events that you are reffering to right now.
As of the moment we have a Democrat who has repeatedly written about his actions deaceds ago in order to make him look good. The public records might validate him, but, as they have never been released, we don't know. However, a number of people have "come forward" (although that really isn't the proper term, as many have been about this business for a pretty long time) to discredit him.
On the other hand we have a Republican who has never once made a refernence to being in the National Guard, and yet a liberal media (eager to bring him down) has tried to make it an issue many times. Among them is the latest load of sorry trash which includes heavily discredited memos, obtained from an "unnamed source"(primarily unnamed because no one ever gives their word processor a name) and a "biography" by a woman named "Kitty", whose primary source has already been discreditted.
Somehow, though, the media is determined to give this worthless garbage airtime, and now they are starting to get their rewards for wasting everyone's time.

*Smart apostrophes
*Superscripting
*Proportional typeface
*Compressed signature
*Unusual terminology
*Retired oficers

*Smart apostrophes
*Superscripting
*Proportional typeface
*Compressed signature
*Unusual terminology
*Retired oficers
*existed at the time, and in a typewriter commonly used by the military
*ditto
*ditto
*A signature analysis cannot be conclusive unless the originals are studied
*says SOME people, others find it consistent
*Retired but still exerting influence, say some

Look, this issue is still WAY up in the air, ON BOTH SIDES. Anyone who thinks otherwise is politically blind. STOP LOOKING FOR THE OUTCOME YOU WANT, and start just absorbing the facts as they come out, okay? Can we be evolved here, people?

*existed at the time, and in a typewriter commonly used by the military
*ditto
*ditto
*A signature analysis cannot be conclusive unless the originals are studied
*says SOME people, others find it consistent
*Retired but still exerting influence, say some

Look, this issue is still WAY up in the air, ON BOTH SIDES. Anyone who thinks otherwise is politically blind. STOP LOOKING FOR THE OUTCOME YOU WANT, and start just absorbing the facts as they come out, okay? Can we be evolved here, people?

No gymoor, actually it really isnt.

While you are correct that typewritters existed that could have done both the proportional spacing AND the superscripting(with the smaller font), here is what the author of the memos would have had to do.

proportional spacing
1) type a line of text(nothing is printed on paper at this stage)
2) take note of where on the ruler he ended.
3) do a little math and adjust a dial
4) type the line of text again(this time it will be printed)

repeat for every line of text.

superscript
1) advance paper downward.
2) change the ball in the typewriter
3) type the "th"
4) advance the paper upward
5) change the ball in the typewriter back to the original

Do you really believe that someone who was a mediocre typist(at best) did all this when he was writing his personal memos?

come on, be reasonable

No gymoor, actually it really isnt.

While you are correct that typewritters existed that could have done both the proportional spacing AND the superscripting(with the smaller font), here is what the author of the memos would have had to do.

proportional spacing
1) type a line of text(nothing is printed on paper at this stage)
2) take note of where on the ruler he ended.
3) do a little math and adjust a dial
4) type the line of text again(this time it will be printed)

repeat for every line of text.

superscript
1) advance paper downward.
2) change the ball in the typewriter
3) type the "th"
4) advance the paper upward
5) change the ball in the typewriter back to the original

Do you really believe that someone who was a mediocre typist(at best) did all this when he was writing his personal memos?

come on, be reasonable
let me try reasoning

link a reputable news source ( ie abc, nbc, fox NEWS (not hannity, o reilly, or anything like that), msnbc, cnn, cspan, you get the idea) STATING the documents have been PROVEN false
until then and not a moment sooner, be reasonable.

Oh, and a note to Judy Woodruff: shut the f*ck up about Bush's "honorable discharge." John Muhammad got an honorable discharge from the National Guard. In case you didn't know [http://www.niagarafallsreporter.com/gallagher152.html , that was after he was court-martialed twice, went AWOL, and spent time in prison; and before he went on a sniper rampage in DC, Virginia and Maryland, leaving 10 people dead.

Sources are in bold.

Wow. And by your line of reasoning, everyone who got an honorable discharge from the guard is another John Allen Muhammad.

You are the biggest http://www.genmay.com/images/smilies/tard.gif ever in the history of mankind, whose wild, frothing-at-the-mouth ramblings I have had the displeasure of reading should be banned forever from the internet.

No gymoor, actually it really isnt.

While you are correct that typewritters existed that could have done both the proportional spacing AND the superscripting(with the smaller font), here is what the author of the memos would have had to do.

proportional spacing
1) type a line of text(nothing is printed on paper at this stage)
2) take note of where on the ruler he ended.
3) do a little math and adjust a dial
4) type the line of text again(this time it will be printed)

repeat for every line of text.

superscript
1) advance paper downward.
2) change the ball in the typewriter
3) type the "th"
4) advance the paper upward
5) change the ball in the typewriter back to the original

Do you really believe that someone who was a mediocre typist(at best) did all this when he was writing his personal memos?

come on, be reasonable

And yet the superscripted "th" appears in documents from the period known to be real. Also, no one says the colonel himself was the typist. What if he had a clerk type it up for him?

Being reasonable means looking at ALL the information.

Wow. And by your line of reasoning, everyone who got an honorable discharge from the guard is another John Allen Muhammad.

You are the biggest http://www.genmay.com/images/smilies/tard.gif ever in the history of mankind, whose wild, frothing-at-the-mouth ramblings I have had the displeasure of reading should be banned forever from the internet.

How exactly did he say that ALL honorable discharges are like John Allen Muhammed? No, he merely cited an example that shows an honorable discharge does not necessarily mean one's servie was exemplary. In other words, more proof of service is needed above and beyond an honorable discharge. Your assumption is unfounded and is the worst kind of political discourse.

And yet the superscripted "th" appears in documents from the period known to be real. Also, no one says the colonel himself was the typist. What if he had a clerk type it up for him?

Being reasonable means looking at ALL the information.

Actually, for the most part he wasnt the typist(just heard that 20 minutes ago). Fox was talking on tv today about his secretary who did his typing for him(I dont know if this includes personal memos or not)

If I heard correctly, the typewriter she said she had has postscript(I dont know if its the regular same font postscript or the smaller one as in the memos) but no proportional spacing.

In any of these cases, regardless of who did the typing, and how skilled they were, would they do all this for PERSONAL MEMOS?

For a press release maybe, but for notes in your personal file?

His secretary does not remember typing the memos.