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Dan Rather's Unimpeachable Source
Ace of Spades HQ ^ | 09-15-2004 | Ace of Spades

Posted on 9/15/2004, 9:52:41 AM by Warhead W-88

It has been my contention since Sunday that the identity of at least one of Mr. Rather's primary sources -- and perhaps the very source who provided him with the forgeries -- is being concealed not at the source's insistence, but at Mr. Rather's contrivance.

This source's identity is withheld not to protect the source, but to protect Mr. Rather-- because exposure of this source to scrutiny would prove embarassing to Mr. Rather and CBS News. The source in question has a strong political animus against Mr. Bush -- he is a member of what might be charitably called "the florid left" -- as well as a personal animus against Mr. Bush. The source in question blames Mr. Bush personally, in his capacity as Governor of Texas, for denying him medical treatment he needed due to illness contracted while serving in Panama, an illness which resulted in subsequent "nervous breakdowns," according to Newsweek.

This man is Bill Burkett. Although he quite plainly has strong reason to lie regarding George Bush, Burkett was nevertheless used as a "principal source" (according to Newsweek) for Dan Rather's now-infamous 60 Minutes II attack on George Bush's TANG service, and, indeed, is one of the sources called "unimpeachable" by Rather in defense of that report.

The New York Times has asked his lawyer whether Burkett was responsible for providing Dan Rather with the forgeries, a question the lawyer refused to answer. But it is not necessary to assume he had anything at all to do with the actual forgeries to question Rather's objectivity and ethics in using Mr. Burkett as a source at all -- and an anonymous one at that.

Because even if Burkett only provided background information and confirmations for other parts of the story, his credibility is extremely questionable -- not the sort of credibility one usually demands in a primary source, and certainly not an "unimpeachable" source in any event.

More... including all the interesting political statements Burkett has made through the years.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: billburkett; cbsnews; danrather; killian; rather; rathergate
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1 posted on 9/15/2004, 9:52:41 AM by Warhead W-88
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To: Warhead W-88

She's the hooker who services Terry McAuliff... That could be embarrassing. ;-)


2 posted on 9/15/2004, 9:53:41 AM by coconutt2000
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To: coconutt2000

He's a fan of Cynthia McKinney, by the way.


3 posted on 9/15/2004, 9:58:45 AM by Warhead W-88
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To: Warhead W-88

Exactly what disease does Burkett have??? There aren't that many diseases that require overly extensive medical care are there?


4 posted on 9/15/2004, 10:01:50 AM by swilhelm73
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To: Warhead W-88
"question Rather's objectivity and ethics"

No question required... obviously Rather has no semblance of objectivity and not a shred of ethics.

5 posted on 9/15/2004, 10:06:52 AM by EaglesUpForever
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To: Warhead W-88
Burkett isn't smart enough to use Word so he just gave the gossip to Dan Rather's daughter, Robin, who then had some forgery "expert" type some crap up, copy them over and over in an attempt to make them look old and then she got them to her dad. Of course Dan will not impeach his own daughter and he can't impeach Burkett or he will rat out his daughter. Dan Rathers can't squirm his way out of this one but he will just try to let it die out.
6 posted on 9/15/2004, 10:11:15 AM by tobyhill (The war on terrorism is not for the weak!)
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To: Warhead W-88
This is a plausible analysis, but there is a weak point. Burkett is so obviously a loon that most media people have treated him with scant regard. Rather and CBS would have been out of their minds to embrace him as a source for anything more than the time of day.
7 posted on 9/15/2004, 10:18:24 AM by Rockingham
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To: Warhead W-88
The source in question has a strong political animus against Mr. Bush -- he is a member of what might be charitably called "the florid left" -- as well as a personal animus against Mr. Bush.

Larry Flynt?

8 posted on 9/15/2004, 10:20:37 AM by JoeGar
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To: coconutt2000

>>She's the hooker who services Terry McAuliff... That could be embarrassing.

I bet Deep throat is Kerry! He knows Dan Rather.


9 posted on 9/15/2004, 10:23:00 AM by The Raven
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To: Rockingham
Rather and CBS would have been out of their minds to embrace him as a source for anything more than the time of day.

Based on performance to date one cannot lightly dismiss this possibility.

10 posted on 9/15/2004, 10:24:05 AM by Lonesome in Massachussets (Islam: Men defend most violently, not what they know to be true, but what they fear may be false.)
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To: swilhelm73

http://www.steveverdon.com/archives/politics/001110.html

meningoencephalitis


11 posted on 9/15/2004, 10:27:52 AM by rolling_stone
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To: JoeGar

Terry McCauliffe seemed pretty sure the memos were fake early on. Of course, he blamed Karl Rove. Projection?


12 posted on 9/15/2004, 10:29:49 AM by Callahan
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To: swilhelm73

Meningoencephalitis: Meningitis + encephalitis, inflammation of the meninges and brain. Called also: Encephalomeningitis.


13 posted on 9/15/2004, 10:39:54 AM by nonkultur
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To: swilhelm73

Meningoencephalitis: Meningitis + encephalitis, inflammation of the meninges and brain. Called also: Encephalomeningitis.


14 posted on 9/15/2004, 10:40:22 AM by nonkultur
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To: swilhelm73
Burkett is said to have contracted meningoencephalitis in consequence of a National Guard trip to Panama. He blames Bush for lack of timely medical help, supposedly in retaliation for Burkett's role in exposing a Texas National Guard payroll scam.

Meningoencephalitis is a real condition, with numerous possible causes: bacterial, fungal, or viral infections; toxic drug or chemical reactions; and so on. The part Dan Rather and CBS must cringe over is that the illness can cause personality changes, mental problems, and memory impairments -- not the sort of thing one wants to hear about a key source.
15 posted on 9/15/2004, 10:41:44 AM by Rockingham
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To: tobyhill
he just gave the gossip to Dan Rather's daughter, Robin, who then had some forgery "expert" type some crap up

What evidence do you have that his daughter was involved?

16 posted on 9/15/2004, 10:41:56 AM by Izzy Dunne (Hello, I'm a TAGLINE virus. Please help me spread by copying me into YOUR tag line.)
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To: Callahan

What surprises me is that its been 5 days and no one has thrown in, "Hoisted with his own petard" yet


17 posted on 9/15/2004, 10:41:57 AM by wildcatf4f3
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To: Rockingham
Just love the newfound friends of the media.

Types like Larry Flynt, Al Franken, Michael Moore, and now this kook Burkett.

18 posted on 9/15/2004, 10:45:59 AM by OldFriend (It's the soldier, not the reporter who has given US freedom of the press)
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To: Lonesome in Massachussets

Can we really be so fortunate that our adversaries have become so reckless? If so, Rather and CBS will have a hard fall.


19 posted on 9/15/2004, 10:49:40 AM by Rockingham
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To: Warhead W-88

I knew he had an ax to grind over getting medical care...but I had no idea he was of the Cynthia McKinney wing of dem left wing lunacy....I had no idea he was politically active at all in blogdom except for the "cleansing" the files story.

That story always left me very skeptical..If they were doing a secret cleansing...it was broadcast over a speaker phone and the records were left carelessly in the trash for anyone to see? Yeah, right.


20 posted on 9/15/2004, 10:59:32 AM by MEG33 (John Kerry has been AWOL on issues of national security for two decades)
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