LA TIMES: No Disputing It: Blogs Are Major Players (FreeRepublic.Com & Buckhead Mentioned!)

The LA Times ^ | Sept. 12, 2004 | Peter Wallsten

[West Coast Conservative]

These days, CBS News anchor Dan Rather and his colleagues at the network's magazine program "60 Minutes II" are enduring an unusual wave of second-guessing by some of the public and fellow journalists.

For that, they can thank "Buckhead."

It was a late-night blog posting by this mystery Netizen that first questioned the validity of documents Rather cited Wednesday as proof that George W. Bush did not fulfill his National Guard duty more than 30 years ago.

Buckhead refuses to further identify himself, other than dropping hints that he is a male who lives on the East Coast — preferring to proclaim that the scramble to verify the contentions in his posting marks an extraordinary achievement for a medium that has operated more as an underground world of ideological venting than a source of legitimate news.

But Buckhead is vehement about one thing: He acted alone when he posted, to the conservative website FreeRepublic.com, what was widely believed to be the first allegation that the CBS report relied on documents that could have been forged.

"Absolutely, positively, on my own, sitting at my computer in my bedroom just before midnight — but not in my pajamas," he wrote in an e-mail exchange with The Times. "But once I posted the comment to Free Republic I was no longer working alone, and that is the real point of the story about the story about the story."

That story began Wednesday, 19 minutes after the "60 Minutes II" broadcast began, when another FreeRepublic poster, TankerKC, noted that the documents were "not in the style that we used when I came into the USAF…. Can we get a copy of those memos?"

[RogueIsland]

Buckhead, FreeRepublic demigod!

[Not A Snowbird]

That would be great!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Now, that is very nice!

[handy]

"That's not to say the documents didn't deserve examination. But apparently the entire thing was cooked up by a couple of amateurs on Free Republic. The speed with which it moved was breathtaking."

They don't know Buckhead. He could be an attorney specializing in law that sees a lot of document fraud, or an expert witness used by attorneys, or a PC programmer, or a retired typewriter mechanic. But one thing is for sure. Buckhead may be a pro who does this for a living, or he may be an "amateur, but he sure has a keen eye and is a lot better than the "professional" document examiners CBS hired.

Dems just can't admit the reason the story went from FR to the MSM in 12 hours is because it's true.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thanks for the link to a terriffic rant !

[handy]

"maybe we should take a poll for CBS about what kind of pajamas we wear."

I lean toward Hawaiian shirts, cargo shorts & sandals.

[Ursus arctos horribilis]

"At least FR is out now, mmmmmm this could be a good thing but may make some slimes start to log in"

One FR moderator is the equivlent of 50 MSM editors or fact checkers. Trolls will be zotted at the speed of the Blogosphere.

My Freepa..jamas are "not" in a "knot" over the influx of new Blog blood.

[airborne]

"-maybe we should take a poll for CBS about what kind of pajamas we wear.-"

Put me down as - Commando

[Patton@Bastogne]

.


Memo To: ALL


Richly-deserved Kudos are being passed around Free Republic over the last few days.


The magnificent insight and efforts of Howlin, TankerKC, TexasForever, ArmyBratProud, Pikamax and BuckHead have culminated in a brilliant tactical victory for those fighting to preserve America's future greatness.


These exciting days and nights remind me of other FreeRepublic heydays, such as the "grassroots" 2000 Election Protests in Broward County, where many a Free Republic patriot (featuring Registered and including my entire family) defended America from it's dangerous domestic enemies.


Then there were the Clinton Impeachment Heroes such as AlamoGirl and others who raised Truth's Standard against the tidal wave of propaganda spewed forth nightly by the socialist battalions marching from ABC-CBS-CNN-NBC-NPR ad naseum.


And who stood quietly in the background, much like Washington's calm and steady demeanor during America's first fight for freedom ?

Jim Robinson.



To Jim Robinson, AlamoGirl, and Registered for your valiant service in the recent past, and Howlin, TankerKC, TexasForever, ArmyBratProud, Pikamax and BuckHead (et al) for your keen and timely defense of America's Republic over the last few days ....

We Salute You All.




Strength and Honor,

Patton@Bastogne
Free Republic Member since 1998.

General George S. Patton Jr. Website



.

[GoLightly]

Interesting... Who's server were they on? I thought usa(something) was part of the URL.

[sweetliberty]

"It was something like an hour from when that information became available and long before the MSM yawned and opened their eyes."

Yeah, I remember that night. There were 3 or 4 LONG threads going full tilt with FReepers brainstorming, and no sooner than FReepers came up with something (the Nation of Islam" thing is a good example) then it was airing a few minutes later on Fox (not sure about the others). It was obvious that Fox was getting its news from us. That whole scene built to a giant crescendo right here on FR until they were caught. I can't help believing that we were instrumental in fitting the pieces together for LE as well.

[Polybius]

"But apparently the entire thing was cooked up by a couple of amateurs on Free Republic. The speed with which it moved was breathtaking."

The act of forgery was "exposed" on FreeRepublic.

The memos themselves were what was "cooked up".

[SauronOfMordor]

CBS's big mistake was in putting the documents on the web for all to examine. They stuck their foot into our domain. As soon as there was a speck of blood in the water, they had a school of piranas taking bites out of it, until the skeleton was stripped bare

The major strength of FR is the depth and breadth of expertise of our members, and the fact that we have so many long-time members who know exactly who to ping when something comes up that seems a bit odd

[sweetliberty]

" I'd pay for the costume rental if one of ur enterprising NYC Freepers would Freep CBS by dressing up as Grim Reaper with that quote on his sign!"

Paging Doctor Raoul! I don't think he's from New York, but he FReeps up there. Remember Baghdad Bob at the NYT?

[Ursus arctos horribilis]

That is a good one.

[adx]

No wonder Hillary wants a gatekeeper for the Internet. It is the biggest force of raw, unfiltered freedom that has existed since the Old West was civilized.

The Internet is the most dangerous thing to tyranny since the invention of the gun.

[sweetliberty]

"First mistake is thinking they are smarter than everyone else Second mistake thinking they have more knowledge than everyone else Last mistake, not knowing how to use google ... they are screwed."

You missed one. Fourth mistake, thinking the viewing public is too stupid to see through them.

[Bernard Marx]

the scramble to verify the contentions in his posting marks an extraordinary achievement for a medium that has operated more as an underground world of ideological venting than a source of legitimate news.

This arrogance jumped off the page at me -- as if anyone in their right mind accepts the LATimes as "a source of legitimate news!"

I canceled my LAT subscription 15 years ago precisely because it was no longer a publication that made the least effort to hide its ideological agenda. I realized one day it was actively suppressing any views other than its own Marxist-socialist-PC program and was engaging in blatant manipulation of the facts toward that end. It has only grown worse since then -- think Tass, Izvestia and Pravda during the 60s.

I have my problems with blogs (including FR) as well. There are lots of uninformed and silly posts, trolls and activists for this cause or that. But at least I have the power to pick and choose from a huge variety of viewpoints instead of having the information processed, packaged, pre-proportioned and "pre-sanitized" for "subversive" content.

[Dan from Michigan]

I was waiting for a cheap shot. That wasn't bad for the LA Times.

[Ursus arctos horribilis]

"I'm afraid we're about to go thru one of those 15-minutes-of-fame things. MSMs are going to be trolling FR cherry picking nutty rants and comments trying to make us look like a bunch of lunatics".

What possible embarrassment could the MSM cause to us, if they reprint lunatic ravings of the DU trolls that visit here? ;-)

LLS"

All that has to be done is to get some postings over at DU, and the other truly lunatic radical democrat sites, have the Bloggers run with them, send to the old media, (some will not resist going with them). We will come out appearing as the virgin Mary.

I Don't think this is a game the DNCCBS gang wants to play, and if they do, it is a game they are bound to lose.