NPR and Media Matters Can’t Tell Time
It’s a two-fer tonight: evidence of incredible carelessness at both NPR and Media Matters.
The moonbats at these organizations have been floating an absurd theory: that the individuals who first noticed discrepancies in the CBS documents may be the very people who forged the documents.
Unfortunately for the tinfoil hat crowd, this nutty theory is based on a simple mistake made by ABCNEWS regarding the timezone of a time stamp on an internet site. ABCNEWS failed to note that the time stamp was Pacific time. Based on this simple mistake, ABCNEWS falsely concluded that internet posters had posted their doubts about the documents before the program had ended.
Once that mistake had been made, it was a short hop to the sinister conclusion: the posters could not have seen detailed mistakes in the documents before the 60 Minutes program had even ended. They must have done the forgeries themselves!
ABCNEWS has since corrected the mistake. However, the crazy theory has been picked up by the sloppy “journalists” at NPR, and is also being perpetuated by the lunatics at Media Matters, who have yet to note ABCNEWS’s correction — and indeed are even now continuing to quote the original, mistaken version.
Pathetic.
Here are the amusing details:
A good summary of this wild theory can be found in an NPR segment that was broadcast this evening. You can find the audio of the NPR broadcast here. I have transcribed for you the final sentences of the piece, which contain the following dark suggestions:
Finally, the questions about the memos have raised some questions themselves. The first doubts about the documents’ authenticity were apparently raised on a weblog at 8:59 Wednesday night, just as the “60 Minutes” broadcast was ending. The blogger, according to the ABCNEWS web site, raised almost immediate questions about the font of the memos and the spacing of the letters, all of which would have tricky to determine based on a fleeting appearance on a TV screen.
Note the use of the word “apparently” — a weasel word that I have warned you about before, which is shorthand for: “I haven’t done my homework.” Because, as it turns out, NPR’s insinuations are based on a simple time-zone mistake by ABCNEWS.
The “blogger” referred to in the NPR piece is a member of FreeRepublic.com who goes by the name of Buckhead. In post #47 at this link, Buckhead made some now-familiar observations about the font used in the documents. Buckhead’s entry, as you can plainly see if you follow the link, was time-stamped 8:59:43 PM PDT — an abbreviation for Pacific Daylight Time. However, in an analysis of the genesis of the controversy, ABCNEWS failed to note the “PDT” part, and concluded that Buckhead’s observations had been posted before the “60 Minutes” program had even ended anywhere in the country:
[I]t is interesting to Note that the right (Drudge, Fox, right-leaning blogs, others) led the way in pointing out the questions we have all been asking — and they were onto the questions, with remarkable detail, relatively soon after the documents were made public.
Here’s part of how this story got here . . . from a little Marc Ambinder back-lurking on the blogs . . .
At 8:00 pm ET Wednesday night, CBS News does the story . . .
at 8:59 ET - before the broadcast is finished!!! - the documents come into question via a poster named Buckhead on the Free Republic Web site: LINK
Buckhead seems well-read on his forensic document examination skills.
But in reality, by the time Buckhead posted his comment, the internet had been abuzz for a couple of hours regarding the program, which had already aired on the East Coast. Anyone following the story on the internet had access to the .pdf files that Buckhead knew to review, having followed the story on the FreeRepublic forum boards.
ABCNEWS’s mistake has since been corrected. The relevant portion now reads as follows:
At 8:00 pm ET Wednesday night, CBS News does the story . . .
at 11:59 pm ET (8:59 pm PT), the documents come into question via a poster named Buckhead on the Free Republic Web site: LINK
I can’t find even a cached version of the earlier, mistaken version. Lucky for me, the wackos at Media Matters preserved the quote at the end of this Media Matters post. Like NPR, Media Matters never bothered to double-check the time-stamp on the original post. Instead, in a post that even now does not reflect ABCNEWS’s correction, the Media Matters conspiracy theorists concluded:
As The Note suggested, the speed and technical detail with which these websites attacked the CBS documents raised questions about where these documents originated and whether these websites had been given advance access to them. The Note also pointed to speculation by Democrats that Republicans may be behind the documents.
[quotes from the original, mistaken ABCNEWS story appear here]
ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos said on “Good Morning America” that “a lot of Democrats think this might have been a set-up” by Republicans - a sentiment we are likely to hear more of in the days to come.
The Democrats’ suggestion that the Republicans may be behind the documents is not outlandish when considering that Karl Rove, chief political aide to Bush, was suspected of bugging his own office during the 1986 Texas gubernatorial race in an effort to smear Democratic Governor Mark White (the opponent of the candidate for whom he was working, Bill Clements).
All of this was based on a simple mistake in reading a time-stamp.
It is time for Media Matters and NPR to admit that they screwed up — big-time.
P.S. Thanks to reader AMac for the tip about the NPR segment. And thanks to Instapundit for the link. As always, I hope new readers bookmark the site and return often. And any new visiting bloggers: feel free to blogroll the site and e-mail me — if I like your site I’ll reciprocate the link.
UPDATE: Buckhead has contacted me to corroborate my assertion in the post, that my argument based on the time-stamp makes all the difference. Here is what Buckhead told me:
I live in the eastern time zone. I posted the comment at 11:59:43 PM Eastern time, hours after the program aired in my time zone. This is an easily ascertainable fact by anyone who lifts a finger. Hell, the thread I posted to as post no. 47 was begun in the first place by Pikamax as follows: “Posted on 09/08/2004 11:10:56 PM EDT by Pikamax” - AFTER the broadcast was way over. I read the story at the top of the thread in question, which was from the NYT for the next day’s publication. The story reported on the broadcast in the past tense. Howlin linked to the CBS story in post 11, inviting all to look at them: “There are the documents; now you see if you think they say what the NYT says they say. 11 posted on 09/08/2004 11:17:50 PM EDT by Howlin.” I followed that link and read the story on the CBS website and then downloaded the pdfs from there and looked at them. The minute I looked at them I knew they were bogus for the reasons I stated, and posted my post at the indicated time of 11:59:43 PM EST. I never saw the program. I did not watch the broadcast because I don’t watch 60 Minutes, or CBS News, or Dan Rather. I don’t watch them because they are liars.
(All emphasis by Patterico.)
I can guarantee that this clarification came from the same Buckhead discussed in the post. Thanks to Buckhead for clarifying this. Case closed.
UPDATE x2: Thanks to Mickey Kaus, Roger L. Simon, Beldar, Spoons, and others who have linked this post. By the way, the post is cross-posted at Oh, That Liberal Media, where a group of us blog about the liberal bias in the media. If you are concerned about such issues, you might want to make it a regular read.
UPDATE x3: Readers may be interested in my exclusive interview with the first known person to express doubts on the internet concerning the authenticity of the documents. I have posted that interview here.
UPDATE x4: An ABCNEWS reporter has written Mickey Kaus to deny that he insinuated that Buckhead et al. were behind the forgeries. As you can see in my post, that’s how Media Matters interpreted the ABCNEWS piece — but it’s nice to hear that the ABCNEWS reporter didn’t believe in the wild conspiracy theory.
UPDATE x5: Media Matters has finally corrected its post — but has not retracted the insinuation, despite the fact that the facts no longer even arguably support the insinuation.
KILLING TWO BIRDS
This is good. NPR and the Media Matters people are accusing FreeRepublic.com commenters of being the people who forged the…
Trackback by The Spoons Experience — 9/10/2004 @ 8:59 pm
Yeah, I saw this mistake on The Note — Terry Teachout emailed me about it. I didn’t think it was worth noting, though, because it seemed like such an obvious error.
Comment by Glenn Reynolds — 9/10/2004 @ 8:59 pm
NPR’s and Media Matters’ hysteria exposed
There is a joy in life in exposing someone’s loony conspiracy theories, elegantly and with style. My friend Patterico has had a joyous night at the expense of NPR and Media Matters, whose latest theory
Trackback by BeldarBlog — 9/10/2004 @ 9:02 pm
Pat..Pat..Pat.. When will you learn to just get along with the MSM. You will never garner their respect if you continue to fact check them. Soon you will be designated as one of the pajama people.
Wear your PJ’s proudly!
Comment by mikem — 9/10/2004 @ 9:02 pm
Pajama-wearers unite!
Comment by Beldar — 9/10/2004 @ 9:04 pm
I fully agree. Just see how the left has stepped up to defend a lost cause with ridiculous accusations, without even looking seriously at the claims being made, has discredited them even for people who perhaps would had given them the benefit of the doubt before.
That leaves them only with the true believers, who will always continue to believe those documents to be true.
Comment by Berend de Boer — 9/10/2004 @ 9:06 pm
Those memos were not forged, and besides, it was a bunch of right wingers who forged them.
Comment by Xrlq — 9/10/2004 @ 9:08 pm
Heard it on NPR this afternoon, and emailed Dvorkin right afterwards.
I had second thoughts though — wouldn’t this mean that 60 Minutes ran at 8PM PDT?
In any case, not holding my breath for a correction or clarification from NPR.
Comment by Purple Fury — 9/10/2004 @ 9:08 pm
They aren’t forgeries so stop fact-checking our asses! And even if they are, they were forged by Karl Rove, Free Republic, Rupert Murdoch, bloggers and other members of the vast right-wing conspiracy. We demand an immediate investigation.
Comment by DNC Hack — 9/10/2004 @ 9:10 pm
The protein wisdom interview: Dan Rather's Ego
**protein wisdom EXCLUSIVE. MUST CREDIT protein wisdom** protein wisdom: "To jump right in: this forged document story has really taken on a life of it's own. Question: Will all this negative press damage the credibility of CBS News, and do y…
Trackback by protein wisdom — 9/10/2004 @ 9:12 pm
Feh. Time is a patriarchal construct anyhow. Just another example of the Man keeping us tethered to the system of capitalist exploitation.
The Strawberry Alarm Clock. Now there’s a political deconstruction that borders on the artisticly sublime.
Comment by Jeff G — 9/10/2004 @ 9:15 pm
I had second thoughts though — wouldn’t this mean that 60 Minutes ran at 8PM PDT?
It did — but as I say in the post, people had seen it on the East Coast, and been talking about it on the internet, for over two hours by the time Buckhead posted his comment.
Comment by Patterico — 9/10/2004 @ 9:16 pm
ABC made an error and corrected it, but this type of thing is all NPR needs to keep rebroadcasting it happily for days. Nor will they issue any sort of correction. They just surf gaily on, from one anti-Bush talking point to the next.
Comment by ZD — 9/10/2004 @ 9:16 pm
This seems to be a recurring problem. One of the “turkeygate” memes was President Bush was serving the troops turkey and cranberries for breakfast. That went out because a reporter misread the timezone in the pool report.
As Glenn said, maybe CBS should get it’s reporters some of those pajamas… Dan would look good in a smoking jacket, look what its done for Hef!
Comment by John Bigenwald — 9/10/2004 @ 9:18 pm
I wish they’d stop harping on “conservative” bloggers pushing this story. I’m a registered Democrat, dammit. I’m a “liberal” blogger pushing this agenda! I demand equal time!
Comment by Bill Peschel — 9/10/2004 @ 9:26 pm
I guess the memos will revert back to being authentic now.
Comment by Molon Labe — 9/10/2004 @ 9:31 pm
Earlier, CBS anchor Dan Rather told The Dallas Morning News that he had heard nothing to make him question the legitimacy of the memos. He attributed the backlash to partisan politics and competitive journalism.
I have this picture in my head of Rather with his fingers in his ear, saying over and over again, “I can’t hear you!”
Comment by julie — 9/10/2004 @ 9:36 pm
It seems to me that the NPR and Media Matters reports would be “bad-faith” journalism even if ‘Buckhead’ had posted when the reporters thought, at 8:59:43 PM Eastern Daylight Time.
On Baltimore’s CBS affiliate, “60 Minutes” airs from 8:00pm EDT to 9:00pm EDT, in both analog and digital formats. Is it impossible to discern that the memos’ font is proportional from the on-air screen shots? Analog and digital both? The reporters don’t say, presumably because they didn’t check. When did CBS post the pdfs to their website? Again. the reporters don’t say.
‘Buckhead’ is simply being blamed for being too quick to suspect forgery. Bad Buckhead!
By this reasoning, the real unreported scandal is that ‘NYCVirago’ responded to ‘Buckhead’ only seven minutes later (9:06:44 PM), saying, “You’re absolutely correct. I just looked at the files, and they don’t pass the smell test.” Bad NYCVirago! Also a party to disseminating the forgery!
Or perhaps seven minutes is long enough to get him/her off the hook. NPR and Media Matters will have to decide that one.
It would be nice if, for the record, ‘Buckhead’ and ‘NYCVirago’ could say what actually prompted their posts.
Comment by AMac — 9/10/2004 @ 9:36 pm
Reminds me of an old line by Marilyn Monroe.
“What do you have on when you’re in bed?”
“The radio.”
Comment by patch — 9/10/2004 @ 9:50 pm
I question the timing of this questioning of the timing.
Comment by Jim Treacher — 9/10/2004 @ 9:50 pm
True, the MSM has a hell of a time working through facts… particularly those that contravene their preconcieved notions.
Comment by don — 9/10/2004 @ 9:54 pm
Patterico: NPR and Media Matters Can’t Tell Time
Patterico: NPR and Media Matters Can’t Tell Time
Trackback by Dummocrats.com — 9/10/2004 @ 10:09 pm
Media Bias - 3rd Update on the CBS Hoax
It’s looking worse and worse for CBS.
From Instapundit
ABC reports that:
Retired Maj. General Hodges, Killian’s supervisor at the Grd, tells ABC News that he feels CBS misled him about the documents they uncovered. According to Hodges, CBS …
Trackback by Time is a Factor — 9/10/2004 @ 10:10 pm
If everyone could standardize on ZULU (GMT), we wouldn’t have these problems. Of course, only us old moss-backs who were actually in the service, have any idea what ZULU means, and why we use it.
Comment by Drew — 9/10/2004 @ 10:21 pm
Drew:
Well, you moss-backs and telephone airline reservations agents.
Comment by SWLiP — 9/10/2004 @ 10:32 pm
Dan Rather drank the Kool-Aid.
I see a future where the dinomedia continue to insulate themselves from reality. Distributed journalism won’t have to depend on dinomedia for authentication, and their audience will continue to shrink as their echo chamber gets louder and more strident.
I look forward to the day when a dinomedia assertion about “unsourced losers in pajamas” goes completely unchallenged, because there will be no need. That will mean the blogosphere has achieved maturity.
Comment by Dan Lovejoy — 9/10/2004 @ 10:34 pm
Could this document have been typed with the same typewriter in 1972?
http://users.cis.net/coldfeet/doc2.gif
It is Bush’s request for a transfer.
it has proportional type. Looks like it is in Times Roman (New? I don’t know) and the letters are kerned.
Also it has the same closed 4.
Why couldn’t Killian have used this typewriter to make those docs?
Comment by quasi — 9/10/2004 @ 10:35 pm
naaah — Barney did it.
[good work, P!]
Comment by Claire — 9/10/2004 @ 10:40 pm
And Unix/C programmers who use time_t! (Long integer counting the number of seconds since Midnight January 1, 1970 GMT. Used internally for all date/time stamps.)
Comment by Eric E. Coe — 9/10/2004 @ 10:43 pm
“Why couldn’t Killian have used this typewriter to make those docs?”
Totally! And then he farted chocolate ice cream for everybody and they danced and waved their spoons and had a yummy-tum-tum time, and then they all spread their wings and flew up to Heaven, and there they had a lovely slumber party until the end of time. The End.
Comment by Angus Jung — 9/10/2004 @ 10:44 pm
Okay, now which scheming Republican villain is responsible for planting the red herring that Buckhead’s post went up before the 60 Minutes program ended?
Comment by William Bowe — 9/10/2004 @ 10:50 pm
The coldfeet phony doc has the wrong rank for Killian - how lame!
Neither is it a propotional font.
Comment by BobD — 9/10/2004 @ 11:01 pm
Quasi, that document you provide a link to clearly uses a monospaced font (the same kind a typewriter would use.)
An easy way to tell is to tell is compare the number of characters in two long lines of equal length. If they have the same number of characters, then the type is monospaced (meaning every character takes up the same space, instead of thin characters like an “i” or “l” taking up less room.)
I use monospaced fonts a lot for programing to keep the code neat and orderly, there’s an obvious difference after you spend a lot of time looking at both.
Comment by Goat Worship — 9/10/2004 @ 11:03 pm
Oh oh - spelled proportional wrong. My damn typewriter won’t accept whiteout!
Comment by BobD — 9/10/2004 @ 11:03 pm
I guess quasi-mono spaced out on that one.
Comment by BobD — 9/10/2004 @ 11:06 pm
Quasi, thanks for the link to that Bush doc by the way. I’ve been trying to track down as many real documents as I can to better illustrate the differences if I need to pound some logic into a disorderly liberal.
Comment by GoatWorship — 9/10/2004 @ 11:07 pm
Just a note to Patterico:
quasi is pasting that same post at every site that allows comments and is tracking this story.
The font in the linked picture is Elite or some Serif-based font, not Times New Roman (the lowercase ‘g’ has no lower loop, lowercase ‘r’ has too large a ‘foot’, lowercase ‘t’ is different, 6 is different, 1 is different, etc.).
There is no kerning. The spacing is monospaced, not proportional (type the document in Word using Times New Roman or Courier and notice the spacing differences).
The number 4 has a ‘foot’, which Times New Roman specifically does not have. There are thousands of fonts that have closed fours.
So, the premise of your entire post is false. You are wrong on every point. No kerning, not proportional, not Times New Roman font, and the 4 has a foot, that Times New Roman (which the allegedly forged documents are typed in) does not have.
Comment by addison — 9/10/2004 @ 11:10 pm
Quasi is a troll, cut-and-posting the same thing in three different blogs now.
i have no idea why, since it’s in obviously in courier font done on an ordinary typewriter.
Comment by See-dubya — 9/10/2004 @ 11:11 pm
Its sad that he’s spending so much time repeating that point, when his life would be so better spent making a legitimate one. (the poor soul.)
Comment by GoatWorship — 9/10/2004 @ 11:17 pm
http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040910/ELECTIONS/209100325
Now we know why Dan Rather has to run with the story.
Comment by M. Simon — 9/10/2004 @ 11:28 pm
Bloggers and fact checkers unite! You have nothing to lose but your pajamas.
Comment by John somers — 9/10/2004 @ 11:36 pm
Quasi,
re: http://users.cis.net/coldfeet/doc2.gif
The type is not proportional. It is fixed-width courier.
Each character lines up with the character immediately above it.
Comment by ATM — 9/10/2004 @ 11:45 pm
So if we assume that this theory is true for a minute: I’m really damn jealous of Buckhead! This is a one well connected and ingenious FReeper!
I mean damn!
First, he forges a bogus document with such artful precision that it could fool even the ELITE MEDIA’S ADVANCED SYSTEM OF CHECKS AND BALANCES.
Then through a complex network of informants and double-agents planted the documents directly into the hands of the Kerry campaign.
And when it finally found its way to the air, with a single post, he sparked a fireball of controversy so devastating that it could shatter the credibility of the CBS media juggernaut in a single blow.
All while wearing nothing but a pair of simple pajamas!
What an amazingly powerful man, this Buckhead! Nothing short of brilliant!
Comment by GoatWorship — 9/11/2004 @ 12:18 am
I believe the DNC gave the documents to CBS/Rather, because of this they have to maintain the documents are real…because as soon as they were to admit they were frauds, they would have to disclose who gave them the materials. As it would be the DNC it would be as large as Watergate the entirety of the scandal.
Since the documents are frauds regardless of the above conjecture, CBS has to say who the source is or the integrity (whats left) of MSM journalism would be torn apart. As anyone could send fraudulent stories to reporters in the hopes of getting them published without fear of any negative effect.
They have to say who gave the material in order to keep the premise of valid information from “unnamed sources” as being valid.
CBS is destroying the MSM, this is why this is like Watergate…it will destroy a trust in an instituion…unlike Filegate or Bimbogate or all the others.
Comment by reality check — 9/11/2004 @ 1:22 am
Don’t you think that even if the forger were a blogger out to entrap CBS, Dan Rather still has the responsibility to authenticate the documents. Does it mean that they believe everything bloggers said? Don’t they know how enormous the blogshpere is? Don’t they know there are bad guys even in the blogshphere? Of course, I don’t mean the blogger was the culprit. But the media’s excuse is pathetic.
Comment by ic — 9/11/2004 @ 1:26 am
Rather Duped in Memogate?
“Assuming that at least some of the documents are indeed forgeries as they now seem,” Goldberg says in an email to RatherBiased.com, “This is what happens when a news organziation operates in a bubble–a comfy liberal elite bubble. They…
Trackback by Sneakeasy's Joint — 9/11/2004 @ 2:15 am
Deja Vu? Remember the fake “Remote IQ Tests” done early in Bush’s administration that purported to show Bush had an IQ of 85, while Clinton and Carter had 140’s, etc?
It originated from a fake site in Canada and the left/mainstream media fell all over themselves reporting it. It may be said that it’s the source of the still current “Bush is dumb” rhetoric.
Comment by Sharpshooter — 9/11/2004 @ 2:21 am
ZULU fans and others. Find out what time it really is:
ZULU or What time is it? Really.
Comment by M. Simon — 9/11/2004 @ 3:35 am
ZULU fans and others. Find out what time it really is:
ZULU or What time is it? Really.
Comment by M. Simon — 9/11/2004 @ 3:35 am
I listen to NPR all the the time going to and from work. I have been amazed at their obvious bias. During the California Gov. race they did piece after piece on Cruz Bustamonta but not ONE on Arnold. I see the same pattern now with the Presidential race. You have to laugh at how desperate they get to smear Bush as either a moron or an evil genius. Somtimes in the same piece/ This is just another attempt. Like when they all thought they had him with the drunk driving charge.
Comment by Paul Gaddis — 9/11/2004 @ 3:37 am
NPR is trying to use the kindergarten “he who smelt it dealt it” theory. I think the word I am looking for is “childish” - yup - NPR = childish
Comment by chris — 9/11/2004 @ 4:32 am
This reminds me of the joke about the Kentucky (EST) basketball player that refuses to take the plane (45 minute flight) to the Indiana (CST) game because he gets there before he takes off. The punch line goes something like, “I’m not getting on some time machine!”
Comment by Dorf — 9/11/2004 @ 4:38 am
It must be quite a thrill to be Buckhead these days: knocking heads with Big Dan and eating him for lunch, to mix metaphors rather poorly.
Comment by rastajenk — 9/11/2004 @ 4:56 am
RE: Bloggers in Pajamas
Do we know for sure whether Dan Rather wears pants during his broadcasts?
Comment by BumperStickerist — 9/11/2004 @ 5:05 am
CBS needs to produce the hard copies of the documents. I bet a chemical analysis of the paper would be vvvvvery interesting. So…. CBS….. We’re waiting….
Jim English
Chicago
Comment by Jim English — 9/11/2004 @ 5:06 am
You know, I think you have discovered the anti-Lapham. The Lapham, as you probably are aware, is the reporting of an event which hasn’t happened yet as if it had been experienced by the reporter. Lewis Lapham wrote a report describing the RNC weeks before it happened. You have discovered the anti-Lapham: reporting of something that has happened as if it hadn’t yet happened.
If a Lapham and anti-Lapham ever come into contact, the entire MSM universe could be destroyed.
Comment by Patrick — 9/11/2004 @ 5:21 am
Dan Rather defense in this case appears to be that the story of Bush AWOL is true even if the evidence is false. So the memos were simply props in a story line that was to be triggered by 60 Minutes and then pushed by next day headlines, 15 second sound bites, and DNC talking points. It’s the STORY, Stupid! If a few days later a few questions were raised about memo authenticity, who cares! Just a bunch of Bushie crybabies.
So yes, the memos were fakes, the guy that created them and the people that distributed then knew that, and knew they were cheap forgeries at that. All they had to do was pass the overnight test, and then the gathering story would take over.
(Unfortunately for the perpetrators, Buckhead caught the lie before the next day headlines had a chance to cement the story in the public mind.)
So I was asking myself who is the master of employing this technique (phony props, good story line) to promote an agenda?
“Dan Rather, meet Mike Moore. Say, you already know each other?”
Comment by john — 9/11/2004 @ 5:22 am
Great site guys. I read it every day. Inherent in their argument is that the documents are, in fact, forged. Since they are already accepting the fact that the documents are forged, then these media outlets should be discussing why CBS would proceed with a report using forged documents. And, what person/entity actually gave them these documents. I’m sure CBS wouldn’t have accepted them from a “blogger.”
Comment by Stephen — 9/11/2004 @ 5:32 am
OK, OK…….enough with the forgeries talk.
Let’s get down to the important matter.
What does Wonkette wear when she blogs?
(I’m betting something with feet in it….and a zipper up the back……and maybe a teddy bear…..oooooooh……)
Oh, did I think that out loud?
Comment by TomB — 9/11/2004 @ 6:45 am
All Things Implied - question the timing of the questioning of the memos
I had to drive around this [update:yesterday] afternoon and caught All Things Considered. They covered the fake Bush memo around…
Trackback by Asymmetrical Information — 9/11/2004 @ 6:47 am
Oh posh, you and all the rest of the Pajama People are simplistic amateurs. Sure, you can tell time. And sure, you can read. So what? NPR doesn’t need childish concepts such as “time” and “reading”, NPR is *sophisticated*, NPR can *think* - note how their conspiracy theories requires no logical consistency. That is an achievement straight out of the nineties. Their leaders Derida and Foucault would be proud!
Comment by Sergio — 9/11/2004 @ 6:48 am
The NPR disease spreads to “senior correspondent” Juan Williams who on Fox last nite insisted that the President respond to the memos even if they were false! Way to go Juan–what a keen, insightful mind. NPR must receive the democrat’s talking points daily.
Comment by RogerA — 9/11/2004 @ 6:49 am
The first 60 seconds of the NPR segment is spent defending and quoting extensively from the “newly discovered” documents. They must consider them authentic, since they have been so reluctant to reinforce lies by repeating them.
At 2:04 “The documents, he says, were composed on a machine using a `proportional’ font, meaning the spaces between the letters were equally sized, unlike on a typewriter where for instance the `w’ takes up more space than the `i’.
Huh??!!
Comment by TomT — 9/11/2004 @ 7:49 am
sergio: So what are you saying? NPR is *nuanced*?
Comment by kj — 9/11/2004 @ 8:04 am
This ‘apparently’ is NPR’s version of fair and balanced:
1. First present the elements of the story.
2. Confuse the issue by getting the definition of proportional spacing exactly backwards (see TomT’s post).
3. Plant doubt about the whole story by repeating a bogus claim about timing that makes the fake documents story look like a setup.
Any idea when we can expect corrections from NPR?
Comment by SteveGeo — 9/11/2004 @ 8:05 am
What I don’t understand: Why didn’t the DNC flack or CBS intern who wrote the damn things just find an IBM Selectric? How stupid are they? See Scott Ott’s “Lt. Bush E-mail story”
Comment by craig mclaughlin — 9/11/2004 @ 8:12 am
On CSPAN Washington Journal this morning, a caller insisted that George Bush committed a felony by disobeying a direct order in not getting his “health check”.
I’m getting tired of explaining this:
(1) Failure to go to an appointment (a physical, a dental checkup, etc.) is not “disobeying a direct order.” You simply missed an appointment. You get it rescheduled. If you were a basic trainee or tech-school student, you’d get an AF Form 341, which your immediate supervisor would have to sign, and in the process you might get an ass-chewing for wasting his/her time.
(2) Paragraph 3, Article 2 of the UCMJ details just who the UCMJ applies to. It clearly states that it apllies to members of the Reserves and National Guard WHEN THEY ARE ACTIVATED INTO FEDERAL SERVICE. Was George Bush activated into federal service? No. Do UCMJ terms like “AWOL” and “desertion” apply to his service in the ANG? No.
(3) Service time is creditied to Reserve and ANG members by drill points. Each drill ady is 2 points. They muast complete a minimum of 50 points each year of obligated service. George Bush completed far more than the minimum obligation each year he was in the ANG.
The anti-Bush crowd contructed a straw-man with the whole ANG story. Now it might just burst into flames on them.
Paul S.
USAF veteran
Registered Democrat
Voting for George W. Bush
Comment by Paul S. — 9/11/2004 @ 8:50 am
1) Juan Williams has totally lost his mind.
2) Whatever kind of pajamas Buckhead wears, I want some. (Bet they’re proportionally spaced.)
Comment by JorgXMcKie — 9/11/2004 @ 8:55 am
If CBS is correct that Killian created these memos for his private file, then he has copyright protection, presumably passed to his heirs. Since the family appears to have denied their authenticity it is unlikely CBS obtained their permission. An infringement suit will permit discovery of CBS’s sources. The claim of fair use will be raised, but cannot be decided before discovery and trial. Of course, if the memos are forgeries then the family has no copyright. Perhaps some lawyers could volunteer their services.
The documents were allegedly created before the 1976 Act, but are covered by it nonetheless. Section 303 of the 1976 Act provides that documents created prior to the act but unpublished have the term of protection provided by Section 302. 17 USCA 303. That would be enough to cover 2004.
Comment by MJL — 9/11/2004 @ 9:33 am
The tin-foil hat crowd continues to make the same kind of time zone mistake when they bemoan the fighter response on 9/11. ‘If the Air Force could scramble jets and get to Payne Stewart’s plane in 20 minutes, why couldn’t they stop the hijacked planes?’ In actuality, the Air Force did NOT scramble jets and get to Stewart’s plane in 20 minutes. The Air Force redirected an already flying F-16 which arrived in the vinicity of Stewart’s aircraft around 1 hour and 20 minutes after the loss of communications.
The conspiracy theorists overlooked the time zone change in the official FAA Stewart accident report, emphasized below.
“At 0933:38 EDT (6 minutes and 20 seconds after N47BA acknowledged the previous clearance), the controller instructed N47BA to change radio frequencies and contact another Jacksonville ARTCC controller. The controller received no response from N47BA. The controller called the flight five more times over the next 4 1/2 minutes but received no response.
“About 0952 CDT,7 a USAF F-16 test pilot from the 40th Flight Test Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base (AFB), Florida, was vectored to within 8 nm of N47BA.8 About 0954 CDT, at a range of 2,000 feet from the accident airplane and an altitude of about 46,400 feet,9 the test pilot made two radio calls to N47BA but did not receive a response. About 1000 CDT, the test pilot began a visual inspection of N47BA.”
The cranks latched onto the 9:33 to 9:52 with complete disregard for the facts that Stewart’s plane travelled from the Eastern to Central time zones and that the report presents the time referenced to the accident aircraft’s location.
Comment by Lynxx Pherrett — 9/11/2004 @ 10:09 am
I’m ordering some pajamas today.
Comment by Catherine — 9/11/2004 @ 10:28 am
It’s a whole new genre — there’s print journalism, broadcast journalism, and now there’s pajama journalism.
Comment by Snowy — 9/11/2004 @ 10:54 am
Ha! That’s funny! FWIW, here’s a post I made at Bill Quick’s Daily Pundit site on the 9th…
– start –
The Dem’s will arrange to have others argue that this is best viewed as an attack on — Kerry!
The proof will be the obviousness of the forgeries, which were constructed to be undeniably refutable so the Republicans could convincingly sweep them away after “discovering” their falseness. The Brownshirts probably planned to wait to debunk the records until after Kerry commented on them so that Kerry’s embarrassment would be maximized and the forgeries could acquire a direct link to Kerry in voters’ minds. In the bargain, Bush would have been protected on a soft spot and could keep on being perceived as stronger on defense than Kerry.
Oh, one other thing. This political dirty trick represents another right-wing attempt to destroy freedom of speech in America by silencing the administration’s critics. It’s just what you’d expect from the VRWC ideologues that stole the 2000 election. Thank Heaven for the diligence of the networks in uncovering this dastardly plot before it could be sprung in full. American democracy could scarcely survive were the Big Three not standing guard.
There how was that? Mr. Carvelle, please dip deep into the sloshing sludge of your slushiest fund and send the check to me care of “Purebred Pitbulls.” You call, we maul.
– end –
Comment by Lastango — 9/11/2004 @ 11:16 am
Bloggers may be working in pajamas, but Rather is clearly working in bed, and it looks like he isn’t alone.
Comment by Mike — 9/11/2004 @ 11:36 am
See, When the Big Hand is On The Four….
Patterico’s Pontifications: NPR and Media Matters Can’t Tell TimeThe moonbats at these organizations have been floating an absurd theory: that the individuals who first noticed…
Trackback by Daily Pundit — 9/11/2004 @ 1:27 pm
That Should Cover It, Eh?
Xrlq sums up the liberal defense of the Dan Rather/Memogate forgery scandal….
Trackback by Daily Pundit — 9/11/2004 @ 1:30 pm
That Should Cover It, Eh?
Xrlq sums up the liberal defense of the Dan Rather/Memogate forgery scandal….
Trackback by Daily Pundit — 9/11/2004 @ 3:53 pm
Michael Moore could have been labeled with the moniker(pajama jounalist).Just think of an unwashed,unshaven,barefoot Mike,with spagetti sauce stains on the front of his pjs……..aggghh!!! No, don’t think about it! It’s just too..too..horrible!
Comment by DJ — 9/11/2004 @ 4:48 pm
Swallowed Whole
The forgery firestorm is still in full-swing. Here’s a tidbit via the Commissar and Bill at INDC Journal—who’s done some outstanding work including consulting a forensic document specialist, Philip Bouffard. (To get the bulk of Bill’s extensiv…
Trackback by baldilocks — 9/11/2004 @ 4:57 pm
Believe that there’s something overlooked in this matter. The ANG is at all times formally (under federal law) a part of USAF. Ditto the Army NG is USArmy. The special status of the Guard and Reserve Forces means that they are usually not on Title 10 active duty, though sometime individuals and entire ANG organizations are so on active duty. Especially in time of war, as at present.
That being said, should these purported ANG documents be shown convincingly to be forgeries, then federal law has been broken, forgery of federal documents is usually a felony.
The Justice Department should then begin a criminal investigation. Someone who knows a military/Justice Dept. lawyer should check up on this (I’m no lawyer).
Comment by Gerry — 9/11/2004 @ 5:11 pm
Something worth producing:
With all the apparent media gaffes in Rathergate, it would be helpful if someone put up a page listing (1) each error or likely error by a major media outlet, (2) an explanation of why it’s an error, preferably with links to evidence tha…
Trackback by The Volokh Conspiracy — 9/11/2004 @ 8:08 pm
Only One Thing Left To Do; Figure Out Who The Fall Guy Will Be
Rathergate has already made the full circuit from the sublime to the ridiculous. That some of the media Old Guard…
Trackback by Ipse Dixit — 9/11/2004 @ 9:48 pm
Snowy, you left out Yellow Journalism. Personally, I prefer the pajamite variety to that…
Comment by Robin Goodfellow — 9/12/2004 @ 12:58 am
You folks need to check out Atrios where this link was posted Friday at 8:58 a.m.: http://amygdalagf.blogspot.com/2004/09/ibm-executive-typewriters.html
The first proportional font IBM came out in 1941. http://www-1.ibm.com/ibm/history/history/year_1941.html
Both of these links are courtesy of Atrios here: http://www.atrios.blogspot.com/ Atrios claims to have spent five seconds doing a google search to find out that “proportional spacing” was not invented by Bill Gates. Maybe the so called “experts” ought to learn the advanced art of forensic googling.
And, here’s the Selectric Composer : http://ibmcomposer.org/docs/Selectric%20Composer%20Operations%20Manual.pdf
Gee, the Selectric came out in 1961. The IBM Selectric was hardly a rare curiosity that you would never have found at a military base. The bottom line is that the kerneling, Roman font and proportional spacing flaws in the Killian documents are all factually inaccurate. Buy, hey, why let the facts get in the way of a good smear.
And Salon has an interesting piece on the conservative PR firm pushing the “forgery” story here:
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/09/10/forgery/index.html
“By Thursday, the online Drudge Report and the Weekly Standard were also trumpeting the accusations. And Creative Response Concepts sent out a press release to major news organizations stating that the “documents on Bush might be fake.”
In the release, Creative Response promoted a Web site called Cybercast News Service, one of several groups directed by Brent Bozell, a longtime right-wing activist who has devoted years to attacking the “liberal bias” of the mainstream press. His Media Research Center and other similar efforts have been heavily funded by conservative billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife.”
I don’t expect any of this will make any difference. I’m just curious how the counterspin is being handled over here in the echo chamber.
Comment by JollyBuddah — 9/12/2004 @ 2:40 pm
Why have you posted essentially the same comment on two posts here?
Comment by Patterico — 9/12/2004 @ 3:34 pm
He is on a suicide mission from God via DRather, trading his self-respect for a Kerry victory.
Comment by mikem — 9/12/2004 @ 5:38 pm
Talking points about typography details became irrelevant before the addled JollyBuddah re-posted his screed at 2:40PM on 9/12/04, above.
The spacing attributes of the TrueType Times New Roman font used by MS Word–which are identical to the spacing used on the forged memos–were the subject of three patent applications filed by Apple Computer in 1989 and 1992, and subsequently granted. This information was posted online here Saturday night (9/11), although it is currently offline due to ISP complaints over bandwidth usage. The patents are listed here.
Superscripts, curly quotes, the use of Times New Roman by 1950s printers, centering, word wrap, and the capabilities of IBM Selectrics and Selectric Composers are receding in importance.
Why have the only successful perfect matches been generated on computers using TrueType or TrueType-based Times New Roman? Because the forgeries’ character placement is governed by TrueType’s patented hinting algorithm.
Comment by AMac — 9/13/2004 @ 9:46 am
JollyBuddah and others skeptical of the claims that these memos are forgeries need to read this page: http://www.flounder.com/bush2.htm
The author gives a detailed analysis of these memos and what sort of printing technology would be needed to create them. He conclusively demonstrates that the 18 August 1973 memo has to be the product of either professional hard typesetting (which would never be used to create a memo anywhere) or a modern word processor.
I dare anyone to look at this evidence and then have the nerve to suggest that a fancy 1970’s EBM typewritter produced these documents.
Comment by David C — 9/13/2004 @ 3:25 pm
That should be IBM not EBM.
Comment by David C — 9/13/2004 @ 3:27 pm
Keith Olbermann, Unable to Read a Time-Stamp, Spins Right-Wing Dirty Trick Theory Regarding Memos
As you probably know, the liberal media spun a conspiracy theory based on the fact that “Buckhead” wrote his famous “post 47″ at a time-stamp of 8:59 on Wednesday — suspicious, NPR thought, because Dan Rather’s broadcast had only ended…
Trackback by Ace of Spades HQ — 9/14/2004 @ 12:54 pm
NPP has no liberal bias. Haven’t you read about how the Bushies have intemidated NPR into presenting only Pro-Bush news by threating to cut thier funding. I know this has to be true because I heard reported by the MSM. So all this talk about NPR having a liberal bias is just the dilution of a bunch paraniod right wingers.
Comment by James — 9/14/2004 @ 1:56 pm
Submitted for Your Approval
First off… any spambots reading this should immediately go here, here, here, and here. Die spambots, die! And now… here are all the links submitted by members of the Watcher’s Council for this week’s vote. Council links:NPR …
Trackback by Watcher of Weasels — 9/14/2004 @ 8:43 pm
http://www.allahpundit.com/archives/000962.html
Wasn’t the CBS press release supposed to be out at noon? You can almost hear the ticking of the 60 Minutes stopwatch. While we wait, Bill has a link to an article in the New York Sun that says the…
Trackback by Allah Is In The House — 9/15/2004 @ 11:17 am
http://www.allahpundit.com/archives/000962.html
Wasn’t the CBS press release supposed to be out at noon? You can almost hear the ticking of the 60 Minutes stopwatch. While we wait, Bill has a link to an article in the New York Sun that says the…
Trackback by Allah Is In The House — 9/15/2004 @ 11:38 am
MY Turn to Question THEIR Timing
Unfortunately for the left, even their questioning of the time is in question.
Trackback by Memento Moron: Remember, Thou Art Stupid — 9/15/2004 @ 12:59 pm
The Council Has Spoken!
First off… any spambots reading this should immediately go here, here, here, and here. Die spambots, die! And now… the winning entries in the Watcher’s Council vote for this week are NPR and Media Matters Can’t Tell Time by …
Trackback by Watcher of Weasels — 9/16/2004 @ 9:28 pm
The Council Has Spoken Shouted
The votes are in. Congratulations to Patterico for the winning Council entry, “NPR and Media Matters Can’t Tell Time,” and übercongratulations to former Council member Bill Ardolino of INDC Journal for the decising victory of “Are the CBS Nationa…
Trackback by damnum absque injuria — 9/16/2004 @ 11:13 pm
THE COUNCIL HAS SPOKEN.
Congratulations to this week’s Watcher’s Council winners! The best of the best just got better…. in the Council members category, Patterico took the honor with NPR and Media Matters Can’t Tell Time. And in the non-council category (though he is…
Trackback by The SmarterCop — 9/17/2004 @ 5:45 am
The Council Has Spoken
The Watcher’s Council has met and voted on the posts of the week: Winning Council Entry: NPR and Media Matters Can’t Tell Time Patterico’s Pontifications Winning Non-Council Entry: Are the CBS National Guard Documents Fake? INDC Journal Happy Friday….
Trackback by King of Fools — 9/17/2004 @ 10:44 am
Watcher’s Council - In A Hurry Edition
Haven’t had time to think of a gimmick for this week’s Watcher’s Council winners post. So…I’ll just tell you who they were. (Huh, THERE’S a novel idea.)
Council Winner:
NPR and Media Matters Can’t Tell Time
Patterico’s Pontifications
N…
Trackback by Ubique Patriam Reminisci — 9/17/2004 @ 12:29 pm
The Coalition of the Willing
As you may or may not already be aware, members of the Watcher’s Council hold a vote every week on what we consider to be the most link-worthy pieces of writing around… though I don’t actually vote unless there happens…
Trackback by Watcher of Weasels — 9/18/2004 @ 8:47 pm
Watchers Council
As you may or may not already be aware, members of the Watcher’s Council hold a vote every week on what they consider to be the most link-worthy pieces of writing around… My pieces only get the Chumley Award for…
Trackback by The Commons at Paulie World — 9/19/2004 @ 5:21 am
Behaving Badly
As you may or may not already be aware, members of the Watcher’s Council hold a vote every week on what they consider to be the most link-worthy pieces of writing around… per the Watcher’s instructions, I am submitting one…
Trackback by In Search of Utopia — 9/19/2004 @ 4:04 pm
Submission entry
As you may or may not already be aware, members of the Watcher’s Council hold a vote every week on what they consider to be the most link-worthy pieces of writing around… per the Watcher’s instructions, I am submitting one…
Trackback by The Glittering Eye — 9/21/2004 @ 12:45 pm
NRA’S POLITICAL VICTORY FUND ENDORSES PRESIDENT BUSH!
Today, NRA’s Political Victory Fund (http://www.nrapvf.org/) endorsed President George W. Bush for re-election to the White House.
“On behalf of NRA’s four million members and tens of millions of American gun owners and sportsmen I’m proud to endorse President Bush for re-election to the White House,” said NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris W. Cox. “The differences between President Bush and John Kerry on issues of concern to gun owners and sportsmen couldn’t be clearer. John Kerry has never met a gun control bill he didn’t like. He has voted against gun owners more than 50 times as a U.S. Senator, and has accepted the endorsement of the Humane Society of the United States-one of the most virulently anti-hunting organizations in America,” Cox added.
“NRA stands with President George W. Bush on November 2,” said Wayne LaPierre, NRA Executive Vice President. “If you believe in freedom and want to preserve the Second Amendment for future generations, vote to re-elect President Bush and Vice President Cheney. In the United States we have a long tradition of hunting and sport shooting,” stated LaPierre. “President Bush and Vice President Cheney both love to hunt and fish. They know the Constitution guarantees people the personal right to bear arms. And, they want to pass the values of our Nation on to a new generation.”
President Bush: Friend of Gun Owners
The Bush Administration stated, “that the text and original intent of the Second Amendment clearly protect the right of individuals to keep and bear firearms,” reversing the Clinton Administration position that the Second Amendment only applies to state militias;
President Bush sent representatives to the United Nations with a clear message: we will not allow the UN to impose international regulations that would violate the Second Amendment and infringe on our sovereignty;
George W. Bush respects America’s sporting and hunting heritage. His administration signed an agreement with 17 major sportsmen’s organizations to improve hunting and fishing access to Federal lands, and initiated a conservation agenda to protect millions of acres of forest, wetlands, and grasslands for future generations of hunters;
As President, he gave money to prosecute federal gun crimes through Project Safe Neighborhoods and signed a national Right-to-Carry law for law enforcement officers;
President Bush knows that holding the American firearm industry responsible for the acts of criminals is wrong. That’s why he supported the “Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act,” to prevent reckless lawsuits against lawful American businesses.
John Kerry: A Gun Owner’s Worst Nightmare
Kerry voted in 2004 to ban most center-fire rifle ammunition, including the most common rounds used by deer hunters, siding with Ted Kennedy, and said in a CNN interview, “I think you ought to tax all ammunition more, personally, I think you ought to tax guns.” (”Late Edition,” Nov. 7, 1993);
Kerry cast numerous votes to ban guns, and currently is a co-sponsor of S. 1431, which would ban all semi-automatic shotguns, all semi-automatic rifles with detachable magazines, and many other guns commonly used by sportsmen;
Kerry voted to effectively shut down gun shows in America; voted to hold firearm manufacturers responsible for the acts of criminals; and voted 11 times to impose waiting periods on law-abiding gun buyers;
Kerry has a 100% voting record with, and earned the endorsement of, the Brady Campaign (Formerly Handgun Control, Inc.)-a group that says you have no right to own any gun. And, he repeatedly earns the support of PETA and the Humane Society of the United States-groups who openly want to ban all hunting in America.
Chris Cox summed it up well: “Without a doubt, John Kerry and John Edwards are the most anti-gun presidential ticket in our country’s history.”
Not understating the importance of the November 2 election for the future of our Second Amendment rights, Wayne LaPierre concluded, “The future of our freedom is at stake on November 2. Join with us, and ask your family, friends, and fellow sportsmen to join with us, in voting for a freer and stronger America. Vote to re-elect President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.”
There are a number of ways you can get involved with the Bush-Cheney re-election efforts:
1) The Republican National Committee (RNC) has put together a sportsmen specific 72-Hour Deployment plan. This entails sportsmen and sportswomen from “non-target” states traveling to “target” states to organize sportsmen during the last 72 hours of the campaign. A 72-Hour Task Force Volunteer must be willing to participate in grassroots activities such as walking door to door, mailing literature, and phone banking. He or she must be willing to commit at least five to seven (or even more) days of his time to the 72-Hour Task Force Volunteer Program (though if you can only volunteer a couple/few days, you will be utilized). Each volunteer would need to commit to arriving in the assigned target state no later than the evening of Thursday, October 28, and stay through Election Day. Travel and hotel expenses would be covered. In addition, volunteers will receive a per diem for food. (The RNC will make your travel arrangements.) If you or someone you know can help with this endeavor, please contact Angela Hill at (202) 863-8600 or via e-mail at: ahill@rnchq.org. WHEN CONTACTING ANGELA, PLEASE LET HER KNOW YOUR ARE AN NRA MEMBER AND SECOND AMENDMENT SUPPORTER!
2) Please contact your local NRA-ILA Election Volunteer Coordinator (EVC), who is a local NRA member spearheading our pro-gun volunteer campaign efforts. To locate your EVC, please visit NRA’s websites (http://www.nraila.org/ or http://www.nrapvf.org/) or contact the ILA Grassroots Division at (800) 392-VOTE-8683.
PROTECT YOUR RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS
BY EXERCISING YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2!!!
VOTE BUSH-CHENEY ON ELECTION DAY!!!
• Volunteer
• Find Your EVC
• Write Your Reps
• Get a Yard Sign
• Join the NRA
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Comment by MD — 10/16/2004 @ 10:32 am
[…] After all, it is possible to hate someone and admit their occasional truthfulness or correct policy choices. But time and again, we observe something most peculiar with the Chaits of this world. We have met very smart people whose feelings are so intense that they constantly get the facts wrong: it is as though they are looking for a peg on which to hang the cloak of their intense feelings. So they get it wrong on Rathergate, SwiftBoatVets, 16 words, and other matters where the facts are simple and demonstrable. The Rathergate memos were cheap frauds, immediately identifiable as such to even the casual observer. The SwifBoatVets were correct, starting with Christmas in Cambodia and through episodes both serious and funny. The 16 words in the State of the Union address were and are correct; Bush certainly wasn’t lying. (Captain Ed has a funny post about an encounter with an MSM dupe — we don’t know her politics, but we can guess.) Here’s our point: these people just know, deep down in their bones, that Bush is a bad guy, so the scandals are true, even if they’re not. Heck, Dan Rather continues pathetically to insist that his story of September 8. 2004 was true. […]
Pingback by Dinocrat » Blog Archive » The survival instinct and the Bush plan to fracture the Democratic Party — 8/7/2005 @ 10:20 am