USA Today, keep da hoax alive

[corplinx]

From USA Today: (http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-09-12-bush-documents_x.htm)
Two retired FBI forensic document examiners who studied the memos at USA TODAY's request said Sunday that they probably are forgeries. Four other authorities interviewed by USA TODAY, including typewriter and type font experts, said the technology existed at the time to create the documents.

Now, you and I both know that USA Today didn't merely ask these typewriter and fonts experts if it was theoretically possible to produce the documents. There was typesetting equipment at the time that of course (as opposed to typewriters).

USA Today of course asked these experts if the documents were fakes and it makes you wonder why they didn't print the answer.

That's it USA Today, do your part like NBC to keep the hoax alive. Remember not to mention at all that one of the memos was written by someone retired from the guard a year after he retired. I guess you have to keep the suspense up for a few days to sell more papers.

Really, this is one of the downright stupidest hoaxes I have seen a well regarded news institution fall for and its amazing how the other old guard institutions are maneuvering to not be too harsh.

[Cleon]

Originally posted by corplinx

USA Today of course asked these experts if the documents were fakes and it makes you wonder why they didn't print the answer.

Because answers like "there's no way to tell" don't make good copy.

Even if the document is genuine, what CBS has is not the original, but a copy of the original. If these "experts" have a shred of honesty they'd own up to saying "I don't know if it's fake." Now that I think on it, I wonder what Joe Nickell would make of it; he has some experience (in)validating old documents.

In any event, whether this stuff is real or not probably won't play much role in the election. Can we get back to "real" issues, like whether Kerry was really in Cambodia on Christmas Eve or Bush's 30-year-old drug/alcohol habits?

[TragicMonkey]

"It's not inconsistent" is the last refuge of the expert witness.


Can we get back to "real" issues, like whether Kerry was really in Cambodia on Christmas Eve or Bush's 30-year-old drug/alcohol habits?

They were both together in Cambodia that Christmas Eve, only Bush was too high to recall it.

[Charlie Monoxide]

If they do turn out to be forgeries, shame on the DNC supporters.

It's not like the DNC has a monopoly on pulling dirty tricks.

Charlie (let's have a push-poll to decide) Monoxide