Ironically if he "proved" anything he "proved" they WERE a digital typeface.

Does this constitute a conspiricy? Does one person, trying to throw the election, using her professional capacity, make it one of those Karl Rove is the devil ideas? I can't remember where I read it but when you know that bad gossip is going to come out against you, you should accuse the other side of that very thing. That way when you deny it and accuse them of it you look like a kook.

I wonder if one were to dig deeper what connections would be found between Mapes, other key CBS figures, Hailey, and Utah State University?

- Because the good professor did such a poor job of producing "fakes of fakes" this digs the hole even deeper for CBS...But the fact that they think its ok to keep floating Radar balloons and Arieal Dummies may show they've already being assured the "independent investigation" will eventually issue a finding that "no credible evidence could be found that supports duplicity or fraud on the part of CBS or its employees".

- I'm convinced the only way the truth will ever come out is if someone, somewhere, takes legal action forcing "discovery", and causing all the weasles to atart biting and rolling over on each other. As long as they can keep this "inside", under their control, close ranks, CYA, and avoid disclosing their source this will go unresolved....

I think the conclusion--" That doesn't make them authentic. But it does take CBS off the hook a little bit", coupled with the Mapes connection, just might be intended to do exactly what it claims: provide *legal* cover against Texas forgery charges.

See Ernest Miller's posts at corante.com "Incompetent and/or unethical", and BummerDietz' stuff on possible criminal intent (over the top?) at scyllacharybdis.blogspot.com

And folks, this is serious stuff. It is up to the proper authorities to determine whether they think they can prove an offence, and public pressure at this early stage is inappropriate and counterproductive, IMHO.

You will, of course, be sending this information to the Texas Rangers investigating Rathergate, won't you?

Good work!

Hate to change the topic, but CBS has again tweaked the Cocco report, this time by adding a second organizational affiliation and clarifyig the relationship between the two groups.

If they went to all that effort, they really should have added the word "debunked" or discredited" or "hoax" to the sentence about the email.

But, then again, "the truth is absolutely irrelvant."

the david hailey that wrote this 'study' in support of CBS is the same david hailey that sent john kerry a campaign contribution.
gotta love the power of guys in pajamas

John S,

To piggyback what you just said: Why wasn't this information aired at the time of the report instead of "grandfathered" in after the fact?

Roundguy:

This is just a guess, but I'm betting that Cocco's affiliations were well know to CBS and dropped because they didn't jibe with the "just another voting mom" angle. Deceptive, and wrong.

The email is trickier. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the reporter didn't know the email was a hoax until after the fact. In that case, the only fair thing to do is immediately correct the report. After all, CBS flashed a hoax email on the screen and they ought to clarify that it's a hoax.

After being fired for being such a blatantly politically motivated manipulator, and for being just a horrible human being in general, CBS producer Mary Mapes, after fruitless searches for another job in journalism, resigned herself to the entertainment industry. Ms. Mapes has been spending time in design, and has recently put out a new perfume like, "Eau de Desperate." The scent was chemically reproduced by samping the atom particles surrounding Ms. Mapes, of which desperation was rife in the air.

After being fired for being such a blatantly politically motivated manipulator, and for being just a horrible human being in general, CBS producer Mary Mapes, after fruitless searches for another job in journalism, resigned herself to the entertainment industry. Ms. Mapes has been spending time in design, and has recently put out a new perfume line, "Eau de Desperate." The scent was chemically reproduced by samping the atom particles surrounding Ms. Mapes, of which desperation was rife in the air.

this is so cool! take em down bloggers!

Wonder how many trick-or-treaters this year are going to just wear their pj's and say they're bloggers. THE hottest thing of 2004, I'm going to bet.

Man. Just when you think memo-gate was about over we get another riveting episode of "Lost In BDS".

The self-delusional BDS vortex-of-no-escape is sucking in liberal academic schmucks now.

And look! Up pops Mary again.

Ooops! Sucking her back down again. There she goes....

Poor Mary.

It's gone now, and I can't find a cached version. Nor can I vouch for whether this website is or isn't really being run by Bill Burkett. But I distinctly recall that the first time I looked at the site — pretty close to 2:30am Central on Thursday, Sep. 30 — there was a post there which linked to Prof. Hailey's memo on the Utah State website as of the first time I visited www.billburkett.us. I know it was there because it was via that link that I first saw Prof. Hailey's memo; and I'm sure of the time because I posted a "welcome to the blogosphere" post on my own website, with a trackback ping (also to a since-deleted post purportedly from Burkett's kids).

The link and entire post containing it have since been deleted; I wish I'd taken a screencap, because I thought it was odd at the time, and I have no "proof" other than my own word and clear recollection. Perhaps there were already links to Prof. Hailey's memo on DU or dKoS or other websites that Mr. Burkett (if it's him, and the WHOIS data suggests that it might well be, with Geoff Staples as the billing contact) regularly visits. But ... it still strikes me as odd, especially since the post was deleted.

Well, all I could ever add here is that I knew the site would be gone within -- my original comments put it at "24 hours" -- 24 hours and it is, at least the contents that were the site as we saw it on Thursday evening.

Wizbang!, you've done a great job here, just great. Is it just me or has everyone else not seen a word about this in any of the "media?"

All I'm reading is more craziness from Eleanore Clift, Dixie Chicks, and "news" that bears a "Paid for by the Kerry/Edwards 2004 Campaign" tagline.

Thanks, Wizbang!, you make blogging wonderful. And worth reading, unlike most of the "network" "news" sites I'm seeing.