Notes From Dallas, TX
Jason Evans
Hot off the press...from Dallas, even.
My partner seems to have an unhealthy obsession with the now infamous and some what dubious "memos" that CBS uncovered regarding President Bush and alleged favoritism. Check out this article from the Dallas Morning News. Their website requires you to log in, but it's totally worth reading what they have written.
The article covers an interview with Marian Carr Knox, former secretary for the Texas National Guard. If there were any memos typed, she would have typed them during the time period in question. She is now 86 and is apparently able to very clearly and exactly remember dates, names and events from her career. “I remember very vividly when Bush was there and all the yak-yak that was going on about it,” she said.
In a nutshell, she says that the documents presented to CBS are forgeries. She confirms what many have been saying about inconsistencies with the font and typewriter style. She also confirms that men in positions of authority didn't type their own memos back then.
The biggest revelation is her acknowledgement that the information contained in the documents "accurately reflect the viewpoints of Lt. Col. Killian and documents that would have been in the personal file." Mrs. Knox described a locked drawer which contained memos intended to "cover his (Lt. Col. Killian) back."
Mrs. Knox theorizes that someone probably transcribed the information submitted to CBS from actual memos which could have been handwritten by Killian and later destroyed.
This is far from over...let's watch the Republicans beat up on a little old lady.
Oh, and regarding my partner's unhealthy obsession, he went so far as to find a copy of the original printed ad for the IBM Executive Electric Typewriter with sample type. Thanks, Ebay.
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Sep 15, '04
Uh, no. It's going to be Dan Rather, on tonight's 60 minutes. Check it out.
The thing with the memos is that the Certsian philosophy applies (h/t Postrel): it's a candy mint AND a breath mint. Yes, the memos are fake. Yes, Bush probably got special treatment. Those are not mutually contradictory things.
The important thing is not the content of the memos; we know that already, or could easily guess. It's that a network news provider could be taken in by such a transparently stupid forger. Anyone whose head resides outside their colon can look at those memos and instantly see that they don't look like they came from 1973; they look like they came from 2004. Details and expert opinions confirm what is an obvious conclusion.
I am glad to see that the smarter people on the left openly acknowledge that the things are fake. Let's move on to discussing the manner in which we draw and quarter Dan Rather, and in which public square it will happen.
Sep 15, '04
Admittedly, I have to agree with you, Brett. Dan Rather seems to think that his years in the media give him carte blanche to make shit up. Very good point.
Sep 23, '04
I found this blog via Google, surfing on the word "Certsian" after I read it in another blog. Great word! But, back to the topic. I was in journalism school in the 1970's, and Dan Rather (still a correspondent then, not an anchor) was one of my heroes. The day he went toe-to-toe on one-liners with Richard Nixon at a press conference is still one of the classic moments in broadcast journalism. But I am, by turns, angry at and ashamed of Dan Rather today. Too many years as top dog has turned him into a fake journalist.
-- Randall from that state to the north of Oregon