Apologies
Dean
I guess I owe an apology to this guy, this guy, this guy and to this guy.
Speculation about Bill Burkett as the forger of Dan Rather's documents is now running through mainstream news sources. If they're doing it, I can hardly excoriate bloggers for doing it.
Still, handwringing sissy that I am, I'm not very comfortable. I think the best thing to do when you think you've got something like this is to start making some private phone calls and exchanging notes with others in the know until you feel you've got more than inuendo and vague maybes.
That said, now that his name's popping up in multiple mainstream media sources as the possible forger, I can no longer object. Not very loudly, anyway. The evidence against this guy is all circumstantial, but I admit that here you've got someone with the means, the motive, the background, and who can (it appears) be placed near the scene. Who also has a military background that would allow him to make mistakes about the Air Force without realizing it. I cannot deny any of this.
I'm still going to feel pretty sick to my stomach if someone does something stupid. Or if this guy can prove he was nowhere near Kinko's that day.
But the barn door's been opened already and the horses have done hightailed it on out to the pasture (as Dan Rather would say).
That's right. If the mainstream media is doing it, then it's ok, as they should be our standard setter.
:-)
You have to ask why would Burkett do such BAD forgeries? Allah points out that the guy should know his military terminology and date formats, so why are they wrong in the forgeries? Because he didn't do them.
You were right to say what you said about publicly speculating about private individuals. Just because the MSM does it doen't make it right. Someone else's unethical behavior does not automatically justify my unethical behavior.
The MSM is right that bloggers don't have editors. We do however have other bloggers and readers who remind us that there is a line, and that we should think at least twice before crossing it.
Keep up the good work.
But I also believe that most of them contain information that is indisputable and, frankly, not newsworthy.
Except one.
Let Steve Smith take it from there:
A HANDWRINGING sissy.
That metaphor made my day :-)
I'm with you--at least where you were, before you got where you are!
I'm uncomfortable with drawing any conclusions--yet--about Burkett.
I't an interesting coincidence, but I'm not aware that Burkett is the only customer for Kinko's in Abeline.
Could be he responsible, but the facts as known so far are a very long way from being conclusive.
I'm not so sure, given some of the extreme sloppiness - indeed, the lack of consistency within the same memo - regarding military terms, ranks, and punctuation, that he wrote them, though.
Perhaps someone shopped them to him, he saw what he wanted, knew CBS had his views, and he shopped it to them.
We do know that it was a sloppy job all-around, and there are finer points that someone might not recall after a number of years. But no matter who did this, the question will always be, "why didn't they get it right?" At least go to a thrift shop and get a typewriter. Failing that, use the Courier font. The documents are breathtaking in their carelessness.
Among other things, one should note that Big Media can afford potentially libelous statements a bit more than your average blogger can. A big media company carries millions of dollars in libel insurance. Your average blogger will likely have to rely on his homeowner's policy if he gets sued ... and pray that his insurance company doesn't find a way out of covering the claim.
--|PW|--
No, really, your posts are funnier every time I see a new one.
In this case you cite a blogger who creates a totally fictitious scenario about Bush, then speculates on the ramifications. Hell, she admits herself that it's all hypothetical!
According to this logic, I can say "Well, there's the possibility that John Kerry was intimately involved with the plot 30 years ago to assassinate pro-war senators. We have "verbatim copies" of actual documents which indicate Kerry's involvement with the assassination plans. And, since Kerry hasn't yet denied these accusations, it means he has something to hide, right?
Smythe is, in fact, either unable to read, or so completely committed to nail Bush that author is still pushing the (now completely debunked) idea that Hodges really did verify that the memos indicated what Killian was thinking at the time.
This is technically known as "making shit up." The less precise form is (I believe) "talking out of your ass."
Hell, why not go the National Enquirer route and say that Bush is controlled by aliens? The World Weekly (IIRC) is already saying that Bush and Ashcroft will stop the fall elections!
Not too long ago, Ara, you had the bald-faced, dishonest audacity to claim that "the burden of proof lies on the accuser." Pretty funny, consiering how long you've pushed every anti-Bush rumor in your blog, and comments on others, for months.
But why not take your own advice? Try showing us some actual proof, instead of hypotheses based on (alleged) documents that no one's ever seen?
Two words: seek help, immediately. ;)
I'm going to do what CBS didn't do though, and hold out for harder proof before I jump on the "Burkett didit!!!" train.
Ah'll be fair jest becuze ah kin. ;]p~
Wotta concept, eh?
Of course we all lose our tempers now and then. Dean freely admits to being imperfect in this regard, which is why regulars to this establishment will generally be cut more slack than people who we don't know very well.
Still: behave like an adult, or go find somewhere else to play. Thanks.