CBS KILLIAN MEMOS: DFU EXCLUSIVE FREEPER INTERVIEW with the expert - Dr. Philip Bouffard

phone interview - Dr. Philip Bouffard | 9-10-2004 | Doug from Upland

[doug from upland]

For one expert, the jury is still out.

I was thrilled a short time ago to to have a phone call returned from the recognized expert in forensic investigation of documents. He is Dr. Philip Bouffard.

We discussed his preliminary findings "The biggest problem," he said, "is that these are terrible copies."

As of yesterday, Dr. Bouffard seemed to get aboard the feeling that the CBS Killian memos were forged. As of now, "it is a little bit up in the air." He needs to see better documents and has no idea what CBS has.

A colleage in Ottawa sent him some information yesterday about a CD ROM named "Interpol Cards." Since the 1950's, Interpol has collected and categorized type specimens. Dr. Bouffard recalled that he bought the CD back in 1983, so he checked it.

In 1972, something similar existed. He did find some font types that were somewhat similar. There is one in particular, and a few more that have the look of Times New Roman.

A machine that could have been used at the time was an IBM Selectric Composer (if I am reading my scribbled notes correctly). It was an expensive machine.

Someone from the CHICAGO SUN TIMES spoke with him. The man had a military background and knew of that machine. According to him, although some of the top brass might had had that machine, it would have taken some time to filter down to the National Guard. The superscript would have been an expensive special order. And it had 88 keys. To get superscript, you would have had to give up something else.

Some of the problems Dr. Bouffard still see are the "th", the auto centering, the vertical legs of the capital "M" and the crossing of the "F" - whether is was higher or lower.

Dr. Bouffard wonders if Killian kept just these memos or whether there are others. To be definitive, he needs to see the originals.

[TaxRelief]

Where your argument fails is that if you require proof that this ... is untrue, then any vomit, produced by anyone, must be proven to be untrue.

Looking for proof of falsity is fundamental to the process of "discrediting". CBS, CNN, ABC, AP and NBC are like gods to a good portion of the American population.

The Internet is becoming an acceptable alternative for up-to-date information for more people every year. Perhaps I'm wrong, but one of the main reasons so many people are turning from the "Media Wing of the Democratic Party", to news sources like FR, is because the process of discussion ultimately leads to greater ACCURACY.

I am an engineer. I was raised by an engineer. The scientific process does require challenging the hypotheses put forth by others. If these memos were put out there by a local weekly paper it would not be worth the effort, but discrediting the big guys is the best way to get people thinking about and questioning what they hear, rather than blindly accepting everything they are told.

---

That being said, discrediting the memos with bogus "facts" rather than good information, questions the credibility of FR. Under normal circumstances, the process of discussion on FR is what makes it one of the most accurate sources of news. However, when the whole group gets caught up in the excitement of "bash CBS" or "snag the DNC", it becomes more like a witch hunt or an emotion fest and less like a discussion amongst intelligent people.

---

For instance, many have argued that the Guard could not have afforded the machine that could do this. It's a weak argument at best. I call it the "far-fetched" argument. The "far-fetched" argument looks at the probability of an occurrence rather than the logical possibility of an occurrence. Probabilites are useful for determining which theory to test, but they are useless for ruling out 'modus operandi'. The typist could have used the machine anywhere. It could have been in his brother's business or the office of the guy who prints the newsletter. (You may notice that most liberal "expert" witnesses rely heavily on the "farfetched" argument.)

The Scientific Approach would be to determine the authenticity of the original documents through chemical and paper analysis. Handwriting analysis, while moderately subjective, is also helpful. Finding the colonel's fingerprints would be very damning indeed.

Accurately, rather than emotionally proving forgery, in this case would benefit the entire country. It is critical that the American people know if CBS or the rats are lying through their teeth, even if it does put "the burden of proof" on FR.

[Stentor]

I respect your position and knock yourself out.

[Casloy]

Since I don't know what Kern means I can't really say. The dictionary is no help either.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

A machine that could have been used at the time was an IBM Selectric Composer (if I am reading my scribbled notes correctly). It was an expensive machine.

See this:

Found a Owner of a IBM Selectric Composer Typewriter (Very interesting!)

And it still works!

It is in Redlands CA!!!!!

[hoosiermama]

My father still owns one and it is still being used....Computers can't fill in the blanks of forms....Must use a typewriter for that.....

[Diamond]

Computers can't fill in the blanks of forms....Must use a typewriter for that.....

Yes they can. I do it all the time at the office by to scanning the form as a .pdf, then using Adobe Writer to create the form fields and then feeding the blank printed forms through the printer. We still have some typewriters at the office but I don't like using one.

Cordially,

[mylife]

Great Job Doug!

[doug from upland]

He is really peeved at the Boston Globe.

[mylife]

It would be nice to watch the entire lib press fall like dominoes over this.

I can dream.

[slimer]

Does anyone know when the Swift Boat Vet ads first appeared?

[pollywog]

Hey Doug....Don't be beaten down....CBS is on the run. Thank you for some great digging....!

DITTO!!!

[Texasforever]

http://www.indcjournal.com/archives/000859.php


Doug have you seen this?

[dk/coro]

Doug, Other factors standing on their own merit, I might add one related aspect to this matrix:

In the middle of my first squadron command in the late 60's the outfit was re-located mid-tour, just prior to a deployment. When we took over this particular hangar, I did not even have a phone, much less an IBM Selectric. We had to go to battle stations to square the place away; and finally, we even had a mimeograph machine that worked.

To think that the some pissant outfit in the Texas ANG had the type of reproduction equipment that could replicate a MCWP 2000 "th" is incredulous. Those guys probably did their
daily flight skeds -- and all the rest of their correspondence -- the same way 99% of the rest of us did -- with old hand-me-downs that the senior staffs (shore pukes) passed on to the operators.

It wasn't until I was with Tom Moorer, and later, with Johnny Hyland at CINCPACFLT, that I saw first rate office equipment in the USN. As an aside, Hyland and I were like father and son. He was the finest Naval Officer I ever knew -- hands down !!

To he** with Rather. He will get his -- when he least expects it -- probably from a NYC cabbie -- Dead Man Walking !!

Cheers !! DKP

[doug from upland]

I don't count on them falling, but it really is a new world. Their influence has been challenged. First by talk radio, then by the Internet. They don't like letting go of power.

[doug from upland]

I did but thanks for the heads up. Does the Globe have a reputation for pulling this kind of stuff to p*ss off those they get to go on record?

[doug from upland]

I think I remember seeing that the machines were about $3,500 or so during that time. That could buy a car in those days. I can't see a Guard unit having that machine.

[Robert A Cook PE]

Uh.... NO.

No CD-Rom's in 83.

Heck, in 1983, it was BIG NEWS when the 1.4 Meg "Floppy" came out!

[doug from upland]

Can you imagine what is going on right now in the mind of the guy who created these documents? Some have suggested that it is a criminal act. I don't know about that because it wasn't created to be turned in to the government. It was not official business, simply a dirty political trick.

[UnbelievingScumOnTheOtherSide]

But he cannot say at this point with absolute certainty.

It has been pointed out that he will NEVER be able to say with absolute certainty that they are forgeries. Killian may have gone to a professional printer and had them typeset, just happening to match MS Word format PERFECTLY, so that if they were found Killian himself could say they were forgeries and deny any knowledge of them.

[doug from upland]

And that is why CBS will NEVER release the memos. I am certain that by now the first several generations of them have been destroyed. But wait a minute, that intern kept the dress. Hmmmmmmm.