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Media Bias: Veteran reporter, author and commentator Bernard Goldberg reports that when CBS News did its fake National Guard story on George W. Bush avoiding service in Vietnam, it knew it was a lie.It's a liberal urban legend that Bush used the influence of his father and his father's friends to land a cushy position in the Texas National Guard to avoid service in Vietnam. The Democrats would run John Kerry as a hero in the war, and CBS News was all too eager to help with Mary Mapes producing a "60 Minutes II" segment in September 2004 charging exactly...

This story by Bernard Goldberg certainly takes me back to the early days of my blogging career. Shortly after the 2004 Republican convention, Mary Mapes produced a segment for 60 Minutes II that alleged that George W. Bush had manipulated his enlistment in the Texas Air National Guard to avoid serving in combat in Vietnam. The documents used by CBS, Mapes, and Dan Rather turned out to be clumsy hoaxes, which the blogosphere exposed through careful review of their substance and their form (the latter of which I played a small part in refuting, with my expertise in printing and...

Bernard Goldberg is getting a good bit of attention for something he said on O'Reilly tonight -- that documents show the CBS investigation in 2004 revealed that George Bush volunteered to fly combat missions in Vietnam. The following is from his website, Bernard Goldberg.com (via Newsbusters):

In 2007, Rather filed his $70 million lawsuit against his old company saying he wasn’t allowed to defend his story because the top management of CBS’ parent company, Viacom, wanted to appease the Bush Administration and protect its business interests. Until now, the controversy over the Rather/Mapes story has centered almost entirely on one issue: the legitimacy of the documents – a very important issue, indeed. But it turns out that there was another very important issue, one that goes to the very heart of what the story was about – and one that has gone virtually unnoticed. This is...

Over 1,100 years ago, an international crew of men set sail on a perilous journey. They are returning home from Tang Dynasty China with rare ceramics and gold, created by ninth-century Chinese craftsmen, desired by the rest of the world. For centuries, China has traded with the West over land, via the Silk Road. They traveled safely from the Middle East, all the way to China. But on their return voyage, they made a fateful decision. Here, off the coast of Indonesia, the reef-filled waters are so deadly that ancient sailors called the area the Treacherous Bay. Tilman Walterfang was...

Note: Photo included. PHOTO CAPTION: "Businessman Weizhen Tang has been accused of taking more than $40 million from more than 100 investors." "Weizhen Tang to defend against Ponzi allegations" Jun 11, 2009 04:30 AM MADHAVI ACHARYA-TOM YEW BUSINESS REPORTER SNIPPET: "The charges include securities fraud, unregistered trading in securities, illegal distributions of securities and making prohibited undertakings with the intention of effecting trades in securities, which were alleged to have taken place between Jan. 1, 2006, and March 31, 2009. The province's Securities Act states that no person or company can give written or oral representations on the future value...

When Dan Rather filed suit against CBS 14 months ago -- claiming, among other things, that his former employer had commissioned a politically biased investigation into his work on a "60 Minutes" segment about President Bush's National Guard service -- the network predicted the quick and favorable dismissal of the case, which it derided as "old news." So far, Mr. Rather has spent more than $2 million of his own money on the suit. And according to documents filed recently in court, he may be getting something for his money. Using tools unavailable to him as a reporter — including...

NEW YORK - A New York City judge says he wants to see documents that passed between a law firm and a panel CBS hired to investigate a Dan Rather story on President Bush. Judicial Hearing Officer Ira Gammerman told attorney David Versfelt on Wednesday to let him examine the papers so he can decide whether Rather's lawyers may see them. Versfelt's law firm was hired to advise the panel. Versfelt says the papers are protected by attorney-client privilege.

Military providing free healthcare to everyone 09:45 PM CDT on Thursday, August 7, 2008 By Allison Triarsi / 11 News BROWNSVILLE, Texas—The Air National Guard at Ellington Field stands ready to protect our borders both on land and at sea. Part of that duty includes providing free medical care to everyone. That is evident at a school in Brownsville where soldiers along with our state’s health and human services department help those in need. “We’re protecting our people and that’s our job,” said Master Sgt. Marcus Falleaf who is with the Air National Guard. But does that job include protecting...

Al-Qaeda Draws New Recruits Via Internet Al-Qaeda is using the Internet to recruit vulnerable young people to its terrorist network, according to a programme aired on Saudi Arabian TV late on Tuesday. Umm Osama, the founder of al-Qaeda's first women-only website, al-Khansa, joined several others on the programme to discuss how they renounced jihadist ideology. Among those who sought a response to this question was an imam from the Medina mosque, Saleh Ibn Awad al-Mudamsi, and the father of a young al-Qaeda suspect held in an Iraqi prison. Read More Qaeda Targets U.S. Oil Interests in North Africa U.S....

A bomb-laden van found on a Brooklyn street by a car thief was wired to detonate by remote control, and had likely been sitting there for more than five months... Investigators believe the homemade explosives found Thursday night in the Ford Econoline belonged to Yung Tang, 39, a Chinese national. He has been behind bars since he was caught Jan. 29 in Wallingford, Conn., with nearly identical bombs in his Mazda MPV minivan. Also found in the MPV were two silencers, four hollow-point bullets and two radio-controlled detonators. Days after that arrest, the NYPD searched his Brooklyn house and found...

First on TVNewser: Dan Rather's lawyers have served CBS with an amended complaint related to Rather's fraud case against his former employer. The complaint will be filed with the court tomorrow morning. TVNewser has learned the amended complaint contains details about Rather's last days at CBS including, we hear, particulars about that flawed National Guard Story. -snip-

A British terror gang plotted to use liquid explosives to blow up transatlantic passenger jets in mid-flight, a court heard today. Eight men planned to smuggle bombs disguised as soft drinks on to flights from Heathrow to the United States and Canada and detonate them on board, Woolwich crown court was told. It would have caused a civilian death toll on an "almost unprecedented scale" and a "global impact". The gang allegedly targeted seven flights operated by Air Canada, United Airlines and American Airlines. They were arrested in August 2006 after a surveillance operation — as they were "almost ready"...

It looks like the judge in Dan Rather’s lawsuit against CBS may let the case go to trial. But the fascinating thing about this Associated Press article on the case is how they describe the Rathergate scandal—without even mentioning that it was based on fake documents. Rather was removed from his “CBS Evening News” post in March 2005, six months after he narrated a report that said Bush disobeyed orders and shirked some of his duties during his National Guard service. The report also said a commander felt pressured to sugarcoat Bush’s record.

I love Rathergate. It is soooo satisfying on soooo many different levels. First of all there is the main player himself, Dan Rather, who is a flat out loon. Over the years it was FUn to watch Dan because you knew that underneath that thin veneer of sanity lurked a raving lunatic who was struggling to break out and frequently did. Then there is the fact that Rather was ultimately brought down by his own bias by using FAKE documents in an attempt to throw the 2004 election away from President Bush. Added to this is the fact that...

The present US president George Bush was trained to intercept Soviet bomber carrier TU-95 Bear aircraft while he was in the Texas Air National Guard. The US archives and retired colonel William Kampenii, Mr. President’s fellow soldier since 1970 till 1971 have proved this fact. ‘Pilots from Air National Guard used to intercept TU-95 regularly. The Bears used to make patrol flights, the aircrafts were usually intercepted along the eastern US coast, sometimes just near Cuba,’ says colonel Kampenii. George Bush J. reminisces in his autobiography A Charge To Keep how they were taught to direct to the target with...

Dan Rather's lawsuit at CBS achieved its first purpose; it's put Dan Rather back in the spotlight. After having disappeared into the black hole of HDNet, Rather once again has become noteworthy enough to get an invitation on Larry King Live and the rest of the talkshows. However, if he had hoped to resurrect his reputation with the lawsuit, his colleagues have not been impressed (via QandO): Rather’s former colleagues at CBS have something to say. Take, for example, Don Hewitt, the legendary producer of “60 Minutes.” “Any news organization, print or broadcast, has the right to protect its reputation...

Dan Rather, whose career at CBS News ground to an inglorious end 15 months ago over his role in an unsubstantiated report questioning President Bush’s Vietnam-era National Guard service, filed a $70 million lawsuit this afternoon against the network, its corporate parent and three of his former superiors. Mr. Rather, 75, asserts that the network violated his contract by giving him insufficient airtime on “60 Minutes” after forcing him to step down as anchor of the “CBS Evening News” in March 2005. He also contends that the network committed fraud by commissioning a “biased” and incomplete investigation of the flawed...

CAMP MABRY, Texas – The Texas Army National Guard has recruited 3,478 new Soldiers so far this fiscal year, needing only nine months to surpass the year-end goal of 3,300 set by the National Guard Bureau. “It’s terrific that we have already achieved our year-end recruiting goals,” Lt.  Gen. Rodriguez Adjutant General of the Texas Military Forces said. “Most importantly, we have met this quantitative goal while ensuring a very high quality of Soldier accessions.  The Texas National Guard maintains very high standards and strictly enforced enlistment criteria.” Lt. Col. Ron McLaurin, Commander for Recruiting and Retention for the Texas...

Title Can the internet ever produce a purity of consent? A case study of Rathergate. Introduction On September 8th 2004, memos by the late Lieutenant Colonel Jerry B. Killian purporting to show that a subordinate of his, one George W. Bush, had a less than perfect war record during the Vietnam conflict, were aired by CBS show 60 Minutes II. I believe no academic study on this topic exists. A search of the Proquest dissertations database reveals no existing work. There are several books extant which subjectively cover the episode from various points of view. I will utilise these as...

Declaring he “absolutely” believes “the truth” of his discredited story based on forged memos, about President Bush's National Guard record, on Wednesday's Larry King Live on CNN Dan Rather contended that “we had a lot, a lot of corroboration, of what we broadcast about President Bush's military record. It wasn't just the documents.” Rather then attacked those who dared to expose his misdeeds: “It's a very old technique used, that when those who don't like what you're reporting believe it can be hurtful, then they look for the weakest spot and attack it, which is fair enough. It's a diversionary...

But let's have a show of hands: How many knew he was still there? It is a classic case of karma. For years he held a power that Presidents couldn't match. He could go home after the interview and edit remarks, leak themes, and shape expectations so thoroughly that viewers would see what they were told they would see -- and only that. He could raise questions, balance or imbalance carefully weighted views, cast doubts, editorialize while claiming merely to report, meet politicians personally, get to know them, carry grudges, foist off partisan schemes as if they were news, critique...

It's over. After 44 years, Dan Rather will leave CBS by the end of the month, at the latest, industry sources said Friday. His departure could come as early as next week. Rather, 74, whose contract runs until late November, is working out the final details of his exit agreement, the sources say. Money is not an issue, they say. Among the sticking points: Whether Rather will have access to his archival CBS material. CBS issues its standard non-denial denial: "Dan is a 60 Minutes correspondent, and we don't comment on contractual matters." Rather declined to comment. Anchor of CBS...

Kudos again to FR, Buckhead, Howlin, Texasforever, NYCVirago, and of course Jim for having this site to begin with. "Chapter 9 "We're Toast" pg 143 - 145 directly credits Freepers above with uncovering the "missing Documents" out of President Bush's National Guard Service that were distinctly unflattering to the President, and also flat forgeries. I am reading the book at the moment, and I wanted to pause and give credit where credit is due. I thank all those who helped bring to light these roaches that considered themselves so important as to try to influence a Presidential Election. I thank...

Presidents are often memorialized in their most famous moments -- George Washington crossing the Delaware, Theodore Roosevelt at San Juan Hill. Now President Bush's time in the Texas Air National Guard has been immortalized in bronze. The National Guard Association of the United States yesterday unveiled a bust of a young Lt. George W. Bush. The association expressed its pride in Bush, who is perhaps its most famous alumnus around today. Bush's service may still be a bit of a sore subject for him, though. He seemed no more eager to talk about it yesterday than he did in his...