Letters to the Editor
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Go get the bastards, Dan!
This whole sordid mess reaks of Bush's long and sorry life of incompetence, cronism, and fear mongering to reach his pathic goals. In may ways he is a product of the very and vast corruption presently absorbing corporate america today. No wonder Bush has been successful. The "free liberal press" has become a caricature and hollow shadow of its former self. Nauseating at many levels...
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Rather
Mr. Rather is in an awkward position since he already stated he would not have gone forward with his story with the new information. Now he claims he was coerced into this statement. This does not sound believeable. He must have known he was totally disgraced and his only hope was to stand by his story. Now he wants to reclaim his former fame and be seen as trustworthy. He brings more disgrace to himself with this action.
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Typed super- and sub-scripts
A key factor in disparaging the authenticity of the Rather documents was the existence of superscripts, which supposedly could not be done on a typewriter.
However, back in the stone age, in my high school typing class, we were taught how to make superscripts (and subscripts) on our manual Remingtons and Underwoods by turning the roller up (or down) a half line to type the number, and then returning it to its normal position to continue typing.
It was a technique I used over and over again when typing reports for my college engineering courses.
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In the end, the media is more interested
In stories about the media. One of the things I used to get a chuckle over on the Dom Imus show was Don talking to Tim Russert about what Chris Matthews said about Frank Rich. It's nine kinds of derivative nonsense. So too will Dan's fight against his former boss turn into a blogfest about DAN RATHER and not about the story. No one cares about the story, they never did. That's what doomed him from the start. Even you chickens have been cluck clucking for years looking for anything to embarrass Bush. But a) no one really cares and b) you can't shame the shameless. So it all devolves into one Glenn Greenwald column after another hacking at other bloggers about what other bloggers said or did not say about Glenn. You might as well be watching Entertainment Tonight. We already know that the press is a cardboard cutout the folds up as soon as anyone challenges them and the ONLY time you can get the press to rise to much of anything is when you threaten their perceived 1st Amendment rights to......print and say idiotic garbage about inconsequential things.
Once again - George Bush is not the problem. The problem is that he truly genuinely does in fact represent Americans. Incurious, dull, shallow, petty and mean.
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This is why we have the civil courts
Having heard Dan Rather speak a couple times in the last year or so, it is apparent that he has a few things to settle before retiring for good. He is in a position where he can devote his considerably energy and resources to right what he considers a basic wrong. People should not underestimate the resolve one can get as one approaches one’s later years. It is considerably more difficult to threaten an old war horse than it is a young colt who is still trying to establish credentials.
People who have studied the current national political practices can easily see the footprint of coercion, manipulation, stonewalling, disinformation, and obfuscation by the Bush White House in regards to this issue. Bush’s people can claim success in blocking the truth of this matter because Bush is holding political office. However, victories in the past do not always compensate for losses in the present or future.
Being very cautious and perhaps cynical, the only advice I can offer to Mr. Rather is that he should provide for the continuation of the law suit in case he is incapacitated before the suit is resolved. Clearly the suit will go forward, whether through the current court or another, as it should, but it will have a long life. Betrayal of public and private trust by powerful media corporations should be damned in a free society. The media bedding with political powers leads to copulation that births fascism.
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The Gift That Keeps On Giving!
The longer Dan Rather and Mary Mapes keep this alive, the more damage they are doing to any substantive criticism of Bush. There's plenty to go after Bush over. This isn't the way to do it. Move...on.
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Isn't there some kind of journalistic good samaritan law
that could make all the rest of the media culpable for virtually ignoring the very real damning information, or amazing lack of service records refuting charges that Bush got preferential treatment and then evaded his obligation?
Journalism enjoys (or at least used to) a special place in our legal system because of its unique vantage point and focused dissemination of information.
As long as our government undermines and manipulates the advantages and obligations of a "free press" and lets Rupert Murdoch's and corporate cartels have near-complete control of the media....this is what we will get. Selective and propagandized accounts that allow a miscreant like Bush to be elected, and then re-elected even after the facts are known. And to virtually destroy this country in the process.
Good for Dan Rather. Although it is too little, too late...one can always fall back on "better late than never." If he couldn't help prevent the carnage, at least he may be able to peel off the flight suit and expose the grotesque hypocrisy and deceit of the man wearing it.
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@elephantman
Yes, elephant man, let's do get all the facts out. They will speak for themselves. I especially look forward to your response when Rather's story is corroborated and your lovely Grand Old Crony Party has been dealt another blow. ...and speaking of blow... your ad hominem on Rather blows.
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Rather...
will settle because at the end of the day the documents were false and Rather never put his "critical" eye to them.
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It's not about the typing!!!!!
For all of you engaged in intellectual masturbation about typesets... go back and re-read the story. It is NOT about those documents.