Nice little scoop about how CBS placated right-wing loonies

[kpete]

via Eschaton, it looks like Dan Rather's lawsuit has opened up a nice little scoop about how CBS couldn't wait to placate the right-wing loonies.)
http://mediamatters.org/blog/200907230014#531006

Actually, shaggles, it was only alleged that one piece of evidence was misrepresented as a photocopy of an original document that, according to people who don't know anything about typewriters, could only have been produced on Microsoft Word. These people maintained, incorrectly, that no typewriter of the period could have produced the same document.

CBS put a hugely enlarged image of the photocopied document online. A right-wing blogger shrank and otherwise manipulated the text and claimed it was identical with the same text typed from Word defaults. It was not, and contained artefacts of actual typewriting. But that fact wasn't interesting to the right-wingers, who had been after Rather for years.

via:
http://sideshow.me.uk/sjul09.htm#07241515

[TexasObserver]

1. Recommend

[FreakinDJ]

6. And Bush never proved he fulfilled his military commitment

Everyone rushed to judgment on Dan Rather but the question was never answered - "Did Bush Fulfill his Military commitment"

What kind of backwards 3rd world media do we have anyway

[Joe Bacon]

16. What kind of backwards 3rd world media do we have?

One that has been bought and paid for by the Republican Party!

[peacetalksforall]

32. and the DLC.

[sabrina 1]

36. Good question when someone like Jeff Gannon

fake journalist, could have so much influence in stories like what happened with Dan Rather and CBS.

If ever an event in the history of the press needs to be thoroughly investigated, this one does and I hope Dan Rather's lawsuit starts the process. Several people lost their jobs and reputations over this vendetta by the RW and Rove against finding out the truth about the coward-in-chief who was falsely presented to the public as a hero. For the sake of history, if nothing else, the facts really do need to be known.

"Breaking the Story"

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Rathergate:_Sumner_M._Redstone%2C_George_W._Bush_%26_CBS

Although bloggers almost immediately questioned the authenticity of the documents,<7> the White House correspondent Jeff Gannon of the Talon News/GOPUSA manufactured journalism scandal was apparently ahead of the mainstream media in questioning the integrity of not only the documents but also that of CBS and Dan Rather. For details see Rathergate: Jeff Gannon and Talon News.

On February 18, 2005, in an AMERICAblog piece on Gannon, John Aravosis asks:<8> "How would Gannon get inside information on the Dan Rather scandal BEFORE the rest of the major media? Assuming the producer is correct, did it come from a White House source, and if so, what does this say about possible White House involvement in creating this scandal in the first place? .
"According to my source," Aravosis writes, "Gannon's insider tidbits were always on the mark. 'Gannon's stuff was always golden,' the producer says. My source says they kept asking themself, 'how does this small news outfit get this info?'
"How indeed," Aravosis adds.

This story should never have been dropped and I hope it will be kept alive until every last human worm who was involved in the cover-up, from Gannon to Buckhead to Sumner Redstone has been placed under oath and rigorously questioned about their roles in helping to cover up Bush's shameful 'military record'.

And as a side benefit, maybe the unanswered questions about a fake journalist receiving a press pass to the WH press corps, might also resurface, giving the shamed and shameful media a second chance to let the public know how the news was manipulated, and how far they went to do so.

[DallasNE]

25. It Is More Complicated Than That

Because it depends on what you mean by "fulfill".

Bush was like Dan Quayle before him. Both were sons of powerful people and both families pulled strings. Both Bush and Quayle were able to pick the unit they wanted to attach with then go to the head of the line. This practice was widespread back then and was the primary reason for the all volunteer Army.

What set Bush apart was that he didn't bother to show up for training for months on end. Shortly after Bush was elected Governor of Texas the records on his National Guard service were purged. And that was what this 60 Minutes episode was all about; unofficial copies of items covering the period that got purged. If, by fulfill, you mean this period where Bush didn't show up for training you would be technically correct. Later, as Vietnam wound down, the reserves were downsized and people were allowed to apply for early discharge under certain conditions. Bush applied for an early discharge to go to Harvard and work on his MBA, which he did. This was one of those conditions, so if you were meaning that his early discharge meant that he did not fulfill his military committment you would be wrong. This part he did fulfill.

The one document in question came down to whether the IBM Selectric typewriter could have produced that document. The point the right wing made about the fractions was bogus as there were different balls with different print. The Selectric could do that. The only remaining issue was purportional spacing and whether the spacing on the document could have been produced by an IBM Selectric typewriter used by the National Guard. There remained doubts on this. The actual typist was located and interviewed and said the sentiments expressed were accurate but that she did not type it. That didn't answer the question on whether he may have typed it himself or had it done at his civilian job. That should have opened up new avenues to explore but instead people rushed to judge it a forgery.

[FreakinDJ]

40. If you or I failed to show up for months it would be on our records

plain and simple

1 of the criteria for a 635 discharge was that you could not be a deserter, and if you fail to show up for 30 days you are a deserter

[ginnyinWI]

27. may he (Rather) live to see vindication

and may Bush get the notoriety he deserves.

[high density]

2. Please God, not this bullshit again

You can do the test yourself.

[MADem]

4. Do what "test?" Do explain. nt

[Chulanowa]

10. Pretty simple, really

Does it bring the claims of a conservative into question? If so, then the document MUST be false

[Quantess]

12. Well, why would any DUer be groaning about having to see "bullshit" like this again?

I don't understand. It seems to be a worthy topic.

[Enthusiast]

37. Just another suspiciously

oddball remark by a DUer. There have been a barrel full of these remarks that defend the RW perspective as of late. Imagine that.

[KittyWampus]

34. The Secretary who typed that document told Dan Rather on tape we all saw that document was not right

She said it was LIKE the document she typed, but some terminology was incorrect.

In other words, Harriet Meyers scrubbed Bush's TANG records in Texas and someone provided Rather's people with a forged document that was like the original but slightly different thereby setting Rather up for a fall and diffusing the TANG situation.

[MADem]

3. I was loving the OPENING SALVO, myself!!

This explains why they made Katie Couric give Rush Limbaugh air time in the early days of her program.

This is not going to end well for CBS
July 23, 2009 11:28 am ET by Eric Boehlert

Just a note about Dan Rather's lawsuit over his firing from CBS in connection with the so-called Memogate story and how it continues to haunt the network. As the New York Times reported, Rather and his lawyers just won a key victory and were given permission to look at thousands of internal CBS documents.

My guess is that that will translate into more embarrassments for CBS. Because you'll recall that late last year we learned, via Rather's lawsuit, that internal memos indicated that CBS when first facing the right-wing firestorm over its 60 Minutes report about Bush's National Guard years, considered appointing Matt Drudge to sit on an "independent" fact-finding board to investigate the scandal. (A board which Bush refused to answers questions about his Guard service from.)

In fact, we learned that CBS was in full panic mode and was willing to take whatever step necessary to placate the right-wing fanatics frothing about Memogate. The picture painted by the CBS memos and documents already reviewed by Rather suggest a craven news organization that was less interested in uncovering the truth about the disputed memos, and more interested in appeasing Rush Limbaugh. It wanted to "mollify the right," as one internal CBS memo put it.

As I said, my guess is that with Rather and his lawyers about to dive into a new batch of documents, that portrait will only become more vivid.

And here's the kicker for the former Tiffany Network: Rather has vowed to never settle the case out of court.

[rurallib]

5. oh goody

:popcorn: :popcorn:

[sandnsea]

7. We need to pay more attention to this

As much as they say they aren't influenced, this is proof that they clearly are. I hope there's something in here about direct threats from the RNC though.

[beac]

20. "Rather has vowed to never settle the case out of court."

BRAVO, Mr. Rather! :applause:

He got a bum deal and it's nice that, for once, the injured party wants REAL justice instead of a fat payday to shut up and go away.

[myrna minx]

28. Very interesting.

I'm glad that Mr Rather will be vindicated after these loonies tried to destroy him.

"And that's the way it is." Indeed.

[Stephanie]

8. We knew that

And that is Rove's SOP dirty trick - plant a red herring and then scream accusals. Remember that was his first tactic back in college days when he bugged his own office and then blamed the campus Democrats. He's a one trick pony.

[pretzel4gore]

9. CBS= rightwing reactionary loonies, nay pah?

and dan rawther? that nasty two-timing back-stabbing cheating media slut (aka the 'ankles behind the ears' press) deserves everything the nazipoohs can give him (though rawther knows they, the 'poohs, are just playacting they's hateful - in fact they really like a good worker, a true moneymaker, like dan rawther, or his arse anyway, is....see 'JFK murder and coverup')

[volatileblob]

11. Wait! Did you say there were artifacts of actual typing!

I think we all need to see that. Then it completely proves that it was not a word doc. It is a breakthrough, no?

Pic or it didn't happen?

[MADem]

13. Yep. The old "Lie can travel round the world before the truth gets its pants on" deal. NT

[jimlup]

21. Doesn't matter

Bush was wired for the first debate and this was all but proven yet nobody cared. The media doesn't care. They seem to allow the Bush devil to get away with whatever it wanted. That devil is still with us. It will resurface under a different name but make no mistake. This is a very vile and power hungry faction that has all but controlled our society for the last 30 years.

[Enthusiast]

38. Yup

It was never repeated on the MSM about dumb shit being wired. I was disappointed at the time as I felt this was a crucial fact that should not be ignored. Ah, but not to worry the GOP is getting Jeb ready for his run.

[pnorman]

23. "artefacts of actual typing!"

I seem to recall reading about that several months ago, but can't recall the details. I may have enough key-words to make a successful web search, but at best it'll probable be tedious going. Can anyone here provide some help on this?

pnorman

[McCamy Taylor]

14. Either the NSA wiretapped 60 Minutes or CBS helped the RW, take your pick.

The RW had access to the document BEFORE the show, which means that they either received help from CBS or the Bush administration wiretapped. Either scenario stinks.

[KT2000]

15. They had their bumper stickers

that said fire Dan Rather, ready to go. I remember seeing one just days after the story aired.

[Jackpine Radical]

17. Here's a story about the plant who "exposed" Rather.

He obviously had his attack set up & ready to go.

http://coletti.co.uk/?p=41

Harry ‘Buckhead’ MacDougald: The Interview

Posted by pcoletti on September 28, 2006 · 2 Comments

For my college studies I decided to try and get a grip on the old-media-shakin’, internet-quakin’ event that was Rathergate. During my research I got help from various members of the place where it all started: Conservative online forum Free Republic. Amongst the various ‘freepers’ I spoke to was the prime instigator himself, Buckhead, aka Harry Macdougald, Atlanta lawyer and major fan of the English Soccer Premier League! Later on I was honoured to be allowed to interview Mr MacDougald . . . read on for a profile of a real ‘Net Legend’:

He speaks in the slow drawl you’d expect of an Atlanta resident and has the impeccable manners associated with the US South. But make no mistake, when riled, 48-year-old Harry MacDougald will pin you down with a fierce debating style finely honed over his 21 years as a civil litigator. Just ask US broadcasting giant CBS.
On the night of 8 September 2004 – just two months before the presidential elections — CBS’ primetime investigative show 60 Minutes Wednesday aired internal memos which the show’s presenter, Dan Rather, claimed were proof a young George W. Bush had exhibited a less than perfect war record in 1972 while serving in the Texas Air National Guard.

After the programme finished CBS uploaded copies of the documents to their website for the world to see. A staunch Republican and sceptical of 60 Minutes’ claims, MacDougald downloaded the PDFs for a closer look. He instantly noticed something about the fonts that didn’t quite gel, so while the New York-based 60 Minutes team went home for the night congratulating itself on a job well done, MacDougald logged on to Conservative forum freerepublic.com under his online moniker of Buckhead (an Atlanta suburb) and the rest is history:

“. . . every single one of these memos is in a proportionally spaced font. In 1972 people used typewriters for this sort of thing, and typewriters used monospaced fonts. I am saying these documents are forgeries. This should be pursued aggressively.” Post #47, freerepublic.com

Pursued it certainly was. The story soon snowballed from freerepublic, onto other blog sites and then into the realm of talk radio before it was picked up – not without a certain amount of Schadenfreude it must be said – by rival networks. The resulting ‘blogswarm’ was an epochal moment in the internet’s short history.

[ContinentalOp]

18. FFS, this stuff was all debunked back at the time.

Typewriters of the day DID have proportionally spaced fonts available.

[Jackpine Radical]

19. Yes, I know that. Specifically, certain IBM Selectric type fonts.

I only posted this in order to show how well-coordinated the attack on Rather & Mapes was.

[TahitiNut]

30. Yup. I even posted one that was typed up in Viet Nam ... a memo to my DD-214.

We had an electric there that did the same proportionally-spaced font and that was 1969. It was ludicrous that anyone thought they didn't exist stateside in those years. It was a complete campaign of LIES.

[Glorfindel]

31. We had a couple of electrics in our office in Vietnam in 1967

I refused to use them, though. I was a manual typewriter enthusiast from the first time I ever saw one, and didn't really start to use electric typewriters before the early 1980's. Alas, manual typing and Gregg Shorthand are outdated skills, relics of a distant past. :(

[Enthusiast]

39. I am watching this

campaign of lies continue even right now on C-Span, this time about health care and the economy. I suspect this is the entire reason C-Span was created. American Pravda, like Faux News.

[1monster]

22. Continental Op is correct. I used one of them in my job as a secretary at the time.

[Jackpine Radical]

26. Yes, that typeface was well-documented at the time,

but the forgery story just sort of rolled over the facts as if they weren't there.

[progressoid]

24. I heard a RWer once say the three "lefties" he hated the most...

were Bill Moyers, Jimmy Carter and Dan Rather. (It was the 80's).

[gauguin57]

29. I always thought it was fishy that the secretary first supported Rather then recanted.

The secretary who typed the original memo first said that, regardless of whether the document Rather had was a true copy, the CONTENT of the memo was absolutely what she originally typed.

She later changed her story. I always wondered who got to her.

[KittyWampus]

35. No, she didn't recant or change her story. When asked by Rather she said she typed a document LIKE

the one he had but the one he had contained terminology that was incorrect.

At no point that I ever saw or read did she ever say otherwise. If you have proof she did and mislead Rather or changed her story, I'd be much obliged if you'd point me in that direction.

[KittyWampus]

33. Realistically, it has nothing to do with placating right-wing loonies. That's their pathetic excuse

and it bothers me that DU'ers would fall for such a flimsy attempt at explaining away CBS's collusion with Rove and the Republican operatives.