Tip o' the hat to Buckhead!!
Posted on 09/10/2004 7:46:03 AM PDT by alisasny
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. "Howlin, every single one of these memos to file is in a proportionally spaced font, probably Palatino or Times New Roman. In 1972 people used typewriters for this sort of thing, and typewriters used monospaced fonts. The use of proportionally spaced fonts did not come into common use for office memos until the introduction of laser printers, word processing software, and personal computers. They were not widespread until the mid to late 90's. Before then, you needed typesetting equipment, and that wasn't used for personal memos to file. Even the Wang systems that were dominant in the mid 80's used monospaced fonts. I am saying these documents are forgeries, run through a copier for 15 generations to make them look old."
Well, this is bandied about by dozens of Freepers, as they're called and is picked up at 8:30 am ET and added to by www.littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/ — this little green football guy is a very popular conservative blogger . . .
It's expanded upon by www.powerlineblog.com/ in the early morning:
and also by www.spacetownusa.com/hmmm
and here, at 10:36 am ET: www.allahpundit.com/.
Around midday, the popular author Roger L. Simon praises the blogosphere for getting this story . . . LINK
Between this time and mid-day, reporters in the MSM — that's the Main Stream Media to these folks (that's us) — are alerted by some sources to the blogosphere's agita . . . others have read the blogs themselves.
At 2:41 pm ET, one blogger even consulted his own forensic expert and told anyone using the blog that, well, they must credit him: indcjournal.com/.
To Drudge, around 3:00 pm ET . . .
and the Weekly Standard . . . around 5:00 pm ET . . .
to Fox after 6:00 pm ET and then the AP and then ABC . . .
John Podhoretz credits the blogosphere, as he should: LINK
In other stories: The Washington Post 's VandeHei and Edsall report on the "multi-front attack on President Bush's National Guard service" by Democrats yesterday. Notably there is only one line about the controversy over the authenticity of the documents unearthed by CBS News, with the paper dealing with that separately in another story Noted below. LINK
The Boston Globe does not get into the debate about the documents, focusing instead on the full-throated DNC push on Bush's service. LINK
A New York Times editorial on the new documents and Bush's Guard service does include a reference to the documents' authenticity being challenged. LINK
The White House lobs claims that the Kerry team is behind attacks on Bush's military service record. The Washington Times ' Bill Sammon reports White House press secretary Scott McClellan describes it as desperate measures for desperate times. "You absolutely are seeing a coordinated attack by John Kerry and his surrogates on the president." LINK
The New York Daily News writes that the revival of debates over Kerry and Bush's military records is turning New York voters off. LINK
Corky Siemaszko of the New York Daily News reports President Bush' former Harvard Business School proof, Yoshi Tsurumi, has come out of the woodwork to say his former student supported the Vietnam War but did not want to fight it. Tsurumi says Bush claimed his father's connections got him into the Texas Air National Guard. "But what really disturbed me is that he said he was for the Vietnam War," said Tsurumi.. "I said, 'George, that's hypocrisy. You won't fight a war that you support but you expect other people to fight it for you.' He just smirked." LINK
Rowan Scarborough of the Washington Times writes "For years, the Democratic attacks have centered on two charges, including one that Mr. Bush failed to meet drilling requirements from mid-1972 to early 1973. A less-persistent accusation was that he used his father's status as a prominent Texas politician to win entry into the Guard after he graduated from Yale and faced the military draft in 1968. That charge has never been proved. And the White House thought it had snuffed out the question on non-drill compliance last winter, when it released records showing he was paid for the drills during the period in question and that he received sufficient points to achieve an honorable discharge in October 1973 as he entered Harvard Business School." LINK
Any one of us now can make a big difference!
Wow. I am honored to be in the company of so many who push the envelope and ask the right questions....and then persist for the answers! Buckhead, thank you for getting the forces on the right track! :) Kudos! Bravo!
Tip o' the hat to Buckhead!!
"Digital Brownshirts" RULE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
God save the republic!
Dan Rather-Blather.
Welcome To
Boycott Dan Blather
http://www.boycottdanblather.com/new%20web%20site%20page%203.htm
http://www.nicedoggie.net/archives/004277.html
There are some impressive people on this web site.
And Democrats can rightly say that Fox News Channel seems to like the "forgery" story more than the original CBS version.
Oh, that Fox, focusing on the "forgery" angle over the "CBS version". The unfairness of it all!"
LOL
Also, as noted on another thread.
Buckhead deserves a Pulitzer
This comes as no surprise to those familiar with Free Republic. Extremely well-read, well informed, and intelligent people post consistently on FR.
CBS need only name their source and their expert.
I notice a distinct drop-off in the number of trolls joining us as well.
Even the DNC plants who have been among us for years have been quiet. Hah!
we have to give the credit to freerepublic
TLBSHOW posted on 2004-09-10 10:48:46 ET Reply Trace
LOL!
Great Job Guys! This is an excellent example how Freedom of Speech works and why the FreeRepublic is so important.
We're bad, we're nationwide!
Big ATTA BOY!!
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