Rather Admits Memos are Fake

[corplinx]

Despite Dan Rather admitting that the memos "can't be authenticated", I still hold on to the possibility of them being genuine because I heard there were typewriters back then that could do it. I also still refuse to examine any overlays done with IBM selectrics versus those done with word.


It ain't easy being in denial anymore......

 

[merphie]

Despite Dan Rather admitting that the memos "can't be authenticated", I still hold on to the possibility of them being genuine because I heard there were typewriters back then that could do it. I also still refuse to examine any overlays done with IBM selectrics versus those done with word.


It ain't easy being in denial anymore......

I think it was said best on an opinion segment on my local news stateing that either Rather did it; in rush to get the story first, influence the elections, or both.

I believe it was both.

 

[epepke]

OK, we got it. The memos are fake. You're pleased with yourself for knowing the memos are fake. You have contempt for those who don't think they're fake.

Now, can you give us some sort of order-of-magnitude estimate on how many new threads you will create and how long you are going to go onandonandon about it?

 

[Dorian Gray]

Despite Kay admitting that there were no WMDs, Bush still held on to the possibility of them being genuine because he needed them to be there, hidden or buried. He and Cheney also still refuse to stop drawing a link between al-Qaida and Iraq.

Corplinx, there are too many parallels between the memo and the Iraq war. Explain why Bush pressing on in the face of contrary evidence was/is okay, but Rather doing the same is foolish.

And hopefully, you will move your sexual fixations onto another subject. It has become obvious that you derive some sort of pleasure from starting threads about memos.

 

[peptoabysmal]

What I think would be far more interesting is who created those memos?

 

[corplinx]

OK, we got it. The memos are fake. You're pleased with yourself for knowing the memos are fake. You have contempt for those who don't think they're fake.

Now, can you give us some sort of order-of-magnitude estimate on how many new threads you will create and how long you are going to go onandonandon about it?

Is Rather not halfway admitting he got played not worthy of a new thread?

Why is the people who _wanted_ the memos to be real are so upset by discussing it?

I don't consider this a partisan matter. This is one of the "big three" getting duped regarding the election and its big news.

 

[Regnad Kcin]

Here's today's puzzler:

How is it that so very, very many--both in the media and among the general populace--are in high dudgeon, besides themselves with horrification, and generally running out of garments to rend over Mr. Rather's pas de faux...

But Robert Novak continues to float along untouched by so much as the sneeze of a flea?

 

[clk]

Here's today's puzzler:

How is it that so very, very many--both in the media and among the general populace--are in high dudgeon, besides themselves with horrification, and generally running out of garments to rend over Mr. Rather's pas de faux...

But Robert Novak continues to float along untouched by so much as the sneeze of a flea?

It must be that damned liberal media bias at work again.

 

[TragicMonkey]

What I don't get is why anyone cares about the damned memos. I'm not surprised by forgery, only that it was such a clumsy forgery. I would be equally unsurprised to find that all the allegations contained in the memos about Bush and influence were true, as I suspect they are. I would only be surprised that anyone would bother writing such stuff down in memo form.

That said, who cares? Is anyone changing their vote? Is anyone who was going to vote for Kerry going to decide that he must have been involved in a clumsy forgery plot and will now vote for Bush? Or is anyone who was going to vote for Bush now going to vote for Kerry solely on the basis of faked memos?

The whole memo thing just makes Dan Rather look like either a gullible idiot, an egotistical blowhard, or a failed conspirator. Who cares? He's a talking head, paid to read from a teleprompter! Does anyone actually care what he thinks about anything?

 

[Atlas]

What I don't get is why anyone cares about the damned memos.

It is a big deal. There may have been collusion between CBS and the DNC to bring down a President with tainted evidence.

An investigation should ensue. Heads should roll at CBS. Dan Rather still doesn't think they are forgeries. It's time to put him out to pasture. If this had been about Kerry, CBS would have been apologizing the very next day.

They were blinded by their own bias. They were improperly contacting the DNC arranging contacts. The perp, the old Texas Air National Guard guy should be fully investigated.

His Lucy Ramirez story reminds me of Lee Harvey Oswald's Raoul. Take your shot at the President and blame a Mexican. I'm rethinking this - Raoul was probably Cuban or something.

 

[BPSCG]

Just in - Burkett's going to sue CBS.

For libel, no less.

If you tried to peddle this script to Hollywood, they'd hoot you out the door.

One more idiot steps into the circular firing squad. RNC watches with horrified glee, but keeps a healthy distance away from this tar baby (I know, mixing metaphors here...).

 

[rikzilla]

What I don't get is why anyone cares about the damned memos. I'm not surprised by forgery, only that it was such a clumsy forgery. I would be equally unsurprised to find that all the allegations contained in the memos about Bush and influence were true, as I suspect they are. I would only be surprised that anyone would bother writing such stuff down in memo form.

That said, who cares? Is anyone changing their vote? Is anyone who was going to vote for Kerry going to decide that he must have been involved in a clumsy forgery plot and will now vote for Bush? Or is anyone who was going to vote for Bush now going to vote for Kerry solely on the basis of faked memos?

The whole memo thing just makes Dan Rather look like either a gullible idiot, an egotistical blowhard, or a failed conspirator. Who cares? He's a talking head, paid to read from a teleprompter! Does anyone actually care what he thinks about anything?

No.

However.....

In the immortal words of David Byrne...STOP MAKING SENSE!

This subject is just plain fun!

-z

anyone catch the "Talking Head" reference?

 

[Atlas]

Just in - Burkett's going to sue CBS.

For libel, no less.

If you tried to peddle this script to Hollywood, they'd hoot you out the door.

One more idiot steps into the circular firing squad. RNC watches with horrified glee, but keeps a healthy distance away from this tar baby (I know, mixing metaphors here...).

It's gutsy. It's a risk of lawyers investigating everything detail about your sordid life.

However, CBS might just want the story to go away and will reach a settlement to keep him quiet.

 

[Rob Lister]

What I don't get is why anyone cares about the damned memos. I'm not surprised by forgery, only that it was such a clumsy forgery. I would be equally unsurprised to find that all the allegations contained in the memos about Bush and influence were true, as I suspect they are. I would only be surprised that anyone would bother writing such stuff down in memo form.

I care a great deal about many aspects of the memos. It doesn't surprise me that CBS/Rather got caught in this. I like that they got caught up in this. I like that the the truth concerning what CBS/Rather have always been is finally out there: partisan hacks. I also care about the 'original' source of the documents. It seems pretty clear from the timeline and the 'Fortunate Son' stratagy that the Kerry Campaign had prior knowledge of the contents of the broadcast. That's collusion. If CBS is not registered as a 527, perhaps they should do so quickly...and 'backdate' the paperwork as well.

That said, who cares? Is anyone changing their vote? Is anyone who was going to vote for Kerry going to decide that he must have been involved in a clumsy forgery plot and will now vote for Bush? Or is anyone who was going to vote for Bush now going to vote for Kerry solely on the basis of faked memos?

Some straws break some camels' back and others don't. This will make enough of a difference to some well-burdened voters to change their vote. For others, more persuasion is required. For still others, no amount of evidence or persuasion will do.

The whole memo thing just makes Dan Rather look like either a gullible idiot, an egotistical blowhard, or a failed conspirator. Who cares? He's a talking head, paid to read from a teleprompter! Does anyone actually care what he thinks about anything?

You are correct in the first part of that paragraph but you are incorrect in the second. Dan is much more than just a talking head. He was (and is) The Man at CBS news. He was (and is) editing manager. He has more real power than the CBSnews president and, assuming he gets fired, I suspect he will be fired after the CBSnews president, not before. Dan may well have thought the memos were real because they displayed a portrate of Bush that Dan saw as a mirror image of the one he held in his mind. Still, that doesn't excuse him from colluding with the Kerry campaign in reporting them, which I strongly believe that he did.

 

[TragicMonkey]

It is a big deal. There may have been collusion between CBS and the DNC to bring down a President with tainted evidence.

Hardly "bring down"; even if they were genuine, the memos didn't contain anything surprising. It's not like he had oral sex and lied about it.

 

[crimresearch]

Hardly "bring down"; even if they were genuine, the memos didn't contain anything surprising. It's not like he had oral sex and lied about it.

Yeah, forging memos is nowhere near as heinous as a 3rd rate burglary at the Watergate Hotel, right?

 

[TragicMonkey]

I like that the the truth concerning what CBS/Rather have always been is finally out there: partisan hacks.

I forgot how cynical I am: I had always assumed that for all the news on all the networks.

Dan is much more than just a talking head. He was (and is) The Man at CBS news. He was (and is) editing manager. He has more real power than the CBSnews president and, assuming he gets fired, I suspect he will be fired after the CBSnews president, not before.

Sad that the news is less important than the jerk reading it. He sounds as power-crazed as Bob Barker!

 

[TragicMonkey]

Yeah, forging memos is nowhere near as heinous as a 3rd rate burglary at the Watergate Hotel, right?

In my opinion, the worst part of all this isn't that they were forgeries, it was that they were inept forgeries. I can accept unethical action before I can accept stupid action.

Unless, of course, the memos were forged by pro-Bush people to make it look like the Kerry people were not only vile conspirators, but inept ones to boot. (It's what I would have done, but then I adore complicated plots. I'd fake an assassination attempt on myself the last week in October, for that matter, if I were Bush, to gain sympathy and make the threat of terrorism seem more immediate.)

 

[Atlas]

... I suspect he will be fired after the CBSnews president, not before. ...

Dan has always prided himself as being a tough guy himself. He'll retire. The CBS Pres will retire too. I think the board will do everything they can to convince these two men to retire gracefully rather than be chucked out onto the streets unceremoniously. Mapes - she'll be fired. From what I've heard about her, she's a strong feminist (read that: victim) who will see herself as a scapegoat and a good reporter doing what it takes to get the story.

I'd be open to friendly wagers (no money) -- Anybody sizing this up differently?

 

[crimresearch]

The ineptness of the forgeries does support the notion that someone wanted them to be exposed as forgeries, and on the face of it, the one with the most to gain would appear to be Bush.

Perhaps more will develop.