I am an authentic blogger

We are bloggers. The media ignores us because we hate pompous, arrogant journalists who think that they have an exclusive window on the truth. The media only discovers us when it suits the agenda of some well oiled, propaganda machine that seeks to give us credit, for the sake of advancing a perverse agenda. We are being used and we absolutely reject the repugnant fools who target journalists like Dan Rather in our name. Dan Rather is nothing more and nothing less than a scapegoat, and any journalist who does not make that absolutely clear, is not blogger friendly.

The suggestion that a blogger, any blogger, has the power to instantly convince the world that a CBS news story is based on forged documents, is purely fraudulent. It is indeed quite comical to claim that a well known blogger who just by coincidence is a GOP attorney, waits for Dan Rather's show to air and within minutes, posts the accusation that documents which contain credible allegations are forgeries.

Make absolutely no mistake about it, if a story, any story, is instantly exposed as a "hoax" within hours of its breaking, it is due to the obsession to dictate the truth, and if you doubt that, ask ANY blogger who understands how the Internet works and how it doesn't.

If our knowledge about bloggers does not convince you, our knowledge about "Buckhead" the blogger who led the charge against the "Liberal" media, should. Buckhead is the GOP lawyer who filed suit to have President Clinton disbarred in Arkansas and his proven, politically motivated capacity to target and destroy, speaks for itself.

The massive delusion of those who currently claim that bloggers successfully scaled the citadel of the mainstream media is obscene because the exact opposite has happened. The mainstream media is essentially using a blogger to promote its own ideology, and this is nothing more and nothing less than the willful denial to obscure the fact that the current President of the United States has lead a disgraceful past.

Real bloggers are not in bed with a "mainstream" media. CNN just reported that 56% believe that the media is more Conservative than Liberal, and this very same, "mainstream" media spends a disproportionate amount of time talking about a Liberal media bias that does not even exist, if the majority is correct. When the minority begins to drive the agenda, the bias is clear and obvious and the bloggers who allegedly flushed out the facts and destroyed Dan Rather's reputation in the process, are more reckless than reliable.

The CBS controversy has generated the gut-wrenching, back-slapping laughter provoking claim that a propagandist like Bill Burkett is a Democratic strategist who is connected to the John Kerry campaign. Karl Rove has evidently trained Bill Burkett well. Mr. Burkett had an innocuous conversation with Joe Lockhart, and we are now supposed to believe that the DNC is responsible for fabricating George Bush's National Guard records. Forging Government Documents holds a minimum 10 year jail sentence, and as long as nobody seriously exposes the culprits who allegedly tampered with the President's National Guard Documents, fingers are being pointed for strictly political rather than substantive reasons.

Needless to say, Bush's handlers are too embarrassed to fully account for his service during the Vietnam War, and the obsession to divert attention away from the well publicized allegation that he ignored National Guard duty standards and demands is not a hoax. Bush did not fulfill his National Guard duties in an acceptable manner and now, we are not supposed to be able to prove anything because the documents that are necessary to expose the consequence of Bush's less than honorable duty have been altered. If Dan Rather is vigorously attacked over the authenticity of relatively innocuous documents, it is clearly not as serious as failing to arrest the criminals who allegedly tampered with these documents.

The real scandal is not about Dan Rather, it is about scapegoating Dan Rather by creating a controversy about the authenticity of official government records to make it appear as if there is no merit to the allegations which relate to Bush's National Guard duties.

Karl Rove may think he successfully obscured the truth by pointing fingers at the Kerry campaign but they do not need to forge documents to verify George Bush's delinquency from assigned, National Guard duty. Bush was clearly AWOL from the National Guard while many of his peers were drafted and sent to fight in Vietnam, and if altered, government documents suggest otherwise, then it is the responsibility of the Government of the United states to hold the culprits accountable.

The intellectually challenged journalists who are turning Dan Rather into the lone gunman and are crediting bloggers for exposing the truth about Bush's National Guard file ought to quote the blogger who wrote the following:

The Bushes love to ambush Dan Rather to divert attention away from their crimes. Bush sr. did it to cover up Iran Contra and Bush jr. did it to divert attention away from the fact that he was a National Guard deserter. Bush jr. hates to talk about the truth, but he loves to talk about documents, because, in his words, "I think what needs to happen is people need to take a look at the documents, how they were created, and let the truth come out." So that's what we did. We took a close look at the documents and we discovered that his Texas Air National Guard file show extreme signs of massive tampering. A close examination indicates that the altered parts disguise the fact that Bush did not receive an honorable discharge from the National Guard. The extensive tampering of Bush's discharge form covers up the embarrassing truth, and suffice it to say that if Bush received an honorable discharge for failing to show up, the need to tamper with his records would not exist.

Of course, when Bush claims that the truth must come out, regarding his military documents, he means that we ought to rely upon right wing hysterics like Anne Coulter, and we ought to attack legitimate reporters like Dan Rather.

In the final analysis, the truth is clear and obvious. After all, why would "no-show" Bush receive an honorable discharge from the National Guard? If Bush received an honorable discharge for refusing to fulfill his National Guard duties, he is the one who needs to produce the documents to prove it. It should not be Dan Rather's responsibility to authenticate Bush's own records.

The most telling fact about the entire, CBS fiasco is the fact that the White House knew what Dan Rather was going to say a full day before he said it. Indeed, White House Communications Director, Dan Bartlett was granted the opportunity to see copies of the violently challenged memo, and he even showed it to the President. And the ultimate response was absolutely fascinating, wasn't it? Not a battery of lawyers that threatened to sue the pants off Dan Rather, but a single, anti-Clinton attack dog, who is supposed to represent the blogger community. If that does not explain everything, nothing ever will.

Having been given advance knowledge, it is not even remotely plausible to suggest that the White House was not prepared to pounce on Rather's story as soon as it aired on September 8, 2004. As a matter of fact, the entire Internet was following the story and preparing to respond, BEFORE the September 8 broadcast --and that is what you call insider trading, it is not blogger spontaneity. Indeed, on September 7, left-leaning blogs were anticipating the story with the spin, the documents would shed light on "Bush's guard service or lack thereof" while Free Republic bloggers claimed that "CBS should have to register as a Democratic campaign organization". Dan Rather got closest to the truth, when he said, "Those who have criticized our story have never criticized the heart of it... that George Bush received preferential treatment to get into the National Guard and, once accepted, failed to satisfy the requirements of his service."

In the final analysis, all the questions have been answered:

Question: What happened?

Answer: George Bush's National Guard records have been tampered with to cover up a dishonorable discharge and Bush's smear machine had to divert attention away from the criminal tampering that has obscured the record and towards a scapegoat like Dan Rather.

Question: Why did it happen?

Answer: DUH !

Question: What might prevent it from happening again?

Answer: Deservedly long prison sentences.

Facing questions about George Bush’s service raised in the NY Times and its own possible involvement with the disputed National Guard documents, the RNC canceled a hyped-up attack call with Ed Gillespie. After that, the Bush campaign canceled scheduled appearances by Dan Bartlett and Ed Gillespie on cable networks. These cancellations came as the Bush operatives refused to appear in a Q & A format alongside Kerry official Joe Lockhart. Needless to say, Joe Lockhart has nothing to hide. The relative silence of Republican operatives is as clear as the failure to authentically document George Bush's National Guard duty. What is George Bush and his entourage, trying to hide? Well, the obsession to target and destroy anybody who explores the simple truth, is Rather clear, don't ya think?

In dropping the legal bombshell, Rather, 75, alleges that CBS and his former bosses “coerced” him into apologizing for a controversial story in which his role was little more than that of a narrator. Two months after the broadcast, he was bounced from the anchor desk, two years earlier than originally planned. Rather also maintains that he was subsequently marginalized in his new full-time job at “60 Minutes,” robbed of airtime and shortchanged on staffing. And although he was found largely blameless, Rather contends that a CBS-commissioned probe of the story was “biased,” asserting in the suit that the investigation reached “conclusions that were preordained to find fault with the broadcast and those persons responsible for it.”

There was a motive, he argues, for this “egregious conduct toward him.” He was being made the “scapegoat” by, among others, CBS executive chairman Sumner Redstone and CBS chief executive Leslie Moonves. Their motives were “to pacify the [Bush] White House,” “appease angry government officials” or “to curry favor with the Bush administration” as a means of advancing the corporate interest of CBS owner Viacom. In addition, Moonves’s “wrongful acts” partly reflected unspecified “personal interests.” Among other things, Rather contends, the acts constituted a “breach of contract, fraud … and interference with prospective economic advantage.” He asserts that he suffered “significant financial loss” and serious damage to his reputation. The suit appears designed to burnish his image and recover his financial losses.

CBS dismissed Rather’s assertions as yesterday’s news. “These complaints are old news and this lawsuit is without merit,” the network said in a statement.

That's not true, Dan Rather's claim is full of merit...

Dan Rather should not have been obliged to apologize for trying to report the truth. CBS verified the authenticity of the documents by talking to individuals who stated they had seen the documents at the time they were written. These individuals were close associates of Colonel Jerry Killian and also confirmed that the documents reflected his opinions at the time the documents were written.

Now if somebody destroyed the original documents and produced forgeries to discredit credible allegations, that would explain everything. On September 8, 2004 60 Minutes aired a report on President Bush's Air National Guard service, based on notes from the personal records of the late Lieutenant Colonel Jerry B. Killian. These consisted of multiple memos regarding Bush's failure to attend a physical and meet other standard requirements. Lieutenant Killian had died in 1984 and CBS relied on the opinion of handwriting analysts and document experts who believed the material was authentic. "Documents obtained by the CBS News program "60 Minutes" shed new light on one of the most controversial episodes in Bush's military service, when he abruptly stopped flying and moved from Texas to Alabama to work on a political campaign."

" The documents include a memo from Bush's squadron commander, Lt. Col. Jerry B. Killian, ordering Bush "to be suspended from flight status for failure to perform" to U.S. Air Force and National Guard standards and failure to take his annual physical "as ordered."

"The documents alleged that President Bush failed to carry out a direct order from his superior in the Texas Air National Guard in May 1972 to undertake a medical examination that was necessary for him to remain a qualified pilot."

"A spokeswoman for "60 Minutes," Kelli Edwards, declined to say exactly how the new documents were obtained other than that CBS News understood they had been taken from Killian's "personal office file." In addition to the order to Bush to report for a physical, the documents include various memos from Killian describing his conversations with Bush and other National Guard officers about Bush's attempts to secure a transfer to Alabama. Killian died in 1984."

"Phone call from Bush," Killian recorded in a "memo to file" dated May 19, 1972. "Discussed options of how Bush can get out of coming to drill from now through November."

According to "60 Minutes," Killian's personal files show that he ordered Bush "suspended from flight status" on Aug. 1, 1972. National Guard documents already released by the White House and the Pentagon show that Bush was suspended from flight status on that day for "failure to accomplish annual medical examination" but do not mention his alleged failure to comply with National Guard and Air Force standards.

The only thing that makes sense in this controversy is that the original documents were destroyed and replaced with detectable forgeries to discredit the simple fact that Killian was under pressure from his superior, Col. Walter B. "Buck" Staudt, to "sugar coat" Bush's officer evaluations. That's where the trail of evidence leads.

Next: JFK Jr, was an experienced and cautious pilot.

Plus: Rumsfeld's world