Posted on 09/12/2004 2:43:11 AM PDT by 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?"
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Its flattering actually. After years of ignoring us, they ridicule us. They're going through the classic five stages of grief. The partisan media is having to deal with Free Republic like most of us deal with death - deny, deny and deny. Only its no longer working for them.
Its "open source" journalism. Most blog bios are posted, all sources, methods and viewpoints are openly exchanged and subject to peer review. The Old Media's proprietary fact-checking process is full of holes. They hate having to admit a bunch of amateurs ran rings around them.
As they say on KSFO, "CAN YOU HEAR US NOW??"
BTW: GO 49ERS! SCREW THE RAIDERS!
Not working any more.....got another?
Oh, and by the way, accounts registered before July 9 are no longer valid -- they need all-new, freshly-fresh reg data for their marketing-scum department.
Ooooh, kewl! Thanx!
Anyone possessing great power and seized of an idea, an ideology, like they are can make the same gross strategic error, which is to lose sight of the fact that the means are the ends, or a part of them, in a free society.
Second thought: Liberals really represent Hamiltonianism, which in 1788 was "conservative", in the sense that Hamiltonians wanted to lead us back to a more authoritative government -- a "government of inherent authority", kingdom without the king, a goal they have held in view down to the present day. That idea of authoritative government was of a piece with the ideology that led the Holy Office of the Inquisition to cross-examine Galileo Galilei, knowing intuitively that Galileo's views were correct, with a view to forcing him to recant -- because of the impact of new knowledge on Church power.
Power junkies have always been with us, and they have, for the last 60 years, stood with the liberal cause and the Democratic Party.
Let's hope to God that conservatives and Republicans always remember to keep humming that old Alan Parsons Project tune, "I Wouldn't Want to Be Like You".
"-The fear I have is: How do you know who's doing the Web logs?-"
What does it matter as long as the information is accurate. We sure as heck don't know who's doing what at CBS! And look how screwed up they got it.
We 'amateurs' got it right!!
Thank you!
http://www.bugmenot.com
Thanks!
We need to get that suggestion to the FReepstuff people!
Done! See http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1212966/posts?page=241#241
(I also sent an email to Gene at 0Cents.com yesterday)
Gene - more suggestions here!
You're welcome!
"Amateurs?" Does that mean writers for the MSM are professionals? Perhaps in the sense they get paid one might consider them professional, but not in the sense that their job requires skills unavailable to the general public without special training.
As someone else said recently, it's not possible for just anyone to step into an operating room and perform neurosurgery. Neurosurgeons have a special set of hard earned skills which an "amateur" cannot perform. But journalists can make no such similar claim. They simply use language and (supposedly) pursue the truth. Any "amateur" can do the same and, depending on the quality of his or her intellect and resourcefulness, sometimes (as we've seen in this case) do it far better than the "professionals."
Bump for the sheer beauty of it!!!
Username: slashdot
Password: slashdot
Email address (if requested): slashdot@slashdot.org
It works at the LA Slimes.
We just read this in the L.A. Times. My husband reads their paper almost every day.
Too funny! Go Buckster!
.
This is NOT the 1st Time that Freerepublic.com has altered History:
'Playboy site for Hispanic reception (Mine: Coffee, Tea or Me?)
http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3921ce6c7673.htm
The above FReerepublic Thread was credited by Washington, D.C. Writer ELIZABETH SHOGREN in a Los Angeles Times front page article during the week of the 2000 Democratic Convention as the reason DNC Leaders were FORCED to make LORETTA SANCHEZ cancel her Playboy Mansion Reception for Convention Delegates.
Freepers Rule 4-CLARITY..!!!
.
Once again, BRAVO to all of you!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.