(2007-09-21) — Former CBS news anchor Dan Rather today insisted that his $70 million breach-of-contract lawsuit against his former employer is authentic despite troubling questions raised by bloggers.
“I stand behind the authenticity of my lawsuit,” said Mr. Rather today, basing his assertion on what he called “the preponderance of evidence, including documents that were provided by unimpeachable sources, backed up by independent forensic document experts and sources familiar with the contents of my lawsuit.”
However, within hours of its filing, some right-wing blogs began to question whether the document had, in fact, been produced by the man who at one time was one of America’s most trusted voices.
Bloggers have noted that while Mr. Rather is a multimillionaire who spent decades building a reputation of journalistic credibility, the lawsuit appears to have been filed by “a cranky, stuffed-shirt who still believes the forged Bush memo was true like some folks believe the NASA moon landing was filmed by Stanley Kubrick on a sound stage in Great Britain.”
22 responses so far ↓
1 Hawkeye // Sep 21, 2007 at 8:06 am
Rather’s lawsuit is “fake but accurate”.
2 Hawkeye // Sep 21, 2007 at 8:10 am
Dan is “rather dumb”.
3 JamesonLewis3rd // Sep 21, 2007 at 8:14 am
God Bless America
4 Maggie // Sep 21, 2007 at 8:24 am
Hawkeye re#1 and 2,
You had to go there,didn’t you? :>)
5 Just Ranting // Sep 21, 2007 at 8:41 am
“Where are the documents, Kenneth?” - Dan Rather
6 Hawkeye // Sep 21, 2007 at 8:42 am
Maggie #4,
I figured we might as well get it over with.
7 Just Ranting // Sep 21, 2007 at 8:46 am
Rather? I’d rather not.
8 da Bunny // Sep 21, 2007 at 9:54 am
Face it, Dan…you reported a phony story as “fact,” in an effort to skew the results of a Presidential election. You’re so “over” it’s like you never existed at all!
9 gafisher // Sep 21, 2007 at 10:12 am
The lawsuit might be legit, but wait ’til Dan finds out his CBS Contract was drawn up by Mary Mapes …
10 Ms RightWing, Ink // Sep 21, 2007 at 10:48 am
Elvis helped Jimmy Hoffa create the documents in a low flying UFO while the missiles were hitting the Pentagon on 9/11. Bush could not be reached because he was in Iraq drilling oil while Cheney was clubbing baby seals.
Doncha know
11 Casey50 // Sep 21, 2007 at 12:14 pm
Hey, I challenge anyone to create the so called “fake” document. I tried - it’s simply not possible on Word - the superscript isn’t available and can’t be created in Word. And anyone creating a fake wouldn’t have used a superscript anyway, since that was the flash point attacked as indicating it was fake. The only place the superscript could have come from is a typewriter of that time.
The attack also had the fingerprints of a classic Rove attack - taking the obvious, turning it 180 degrees on it’s head, and then inserting the redefined logic into the addled brains of a confounded electorate. He earned the nickname “turd blossom”.
12 prettyold // Sep 21, 2007 at 2:10 pm
Well, scoff away. I think the lawsuit is a fake. Unless SeeBS settles ,this should be in the courts about next summer, Just before the election!!!!.
Rather and that network are out to blacken our President’s name , so President Bush can’t win the election!!!! And he might have to fire Karl Rove!!!!
What? What’s that you say? Bush isn’t running ?
Never Mind!!
Maybe someone should tell Moveon.ogre and Dan,before they make fools of themselves.
13 Later Gater // Sep 21, 2007 at 2:26 pm
Love the article. But I think maybe CBS did kind of scoot out of responsibility and imply that it was all his fault. Since when is the network not responsible for the actions of the people they employ? They were supposed to be reporting real news. And when a fake one comes up they say it’s the anchor’s fault? Are the people running CBS really dumb enough to not check on this stuff from time to time? Oh wait, maybe they are.
More thoughts. “Unimpeachable sources” obviously that means these sources are not currently holding political office. “Independent forensic document experts” one might safely assume that “independent” means they will agree with whomever offers them the most money, not being already tied by loyalty (and a steady paycheck) to somebody else.
RE # 10: Ms RightWing, you always crack me up.
14 camojack // Sep 21, 2007 at 4:36 pm
I question the authenticity of Dan Rather.
15 Sally Struthers // Sep 22, 2007 at 4:37 pm
HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MAN’S REPUTATION?
Every 20 minutes, another professional journalist falls victim to what is rapidly becoming an epidemic in this country. That’s right, I’m talking about the heartbreak of Reputation Loss. And isn’t it conveeeeeeenient for the gang of liars, thugs, and criminals occupying the Oval Office that in literally every known case, the victim “just happens” to be pointing out the blithering idiocy of our Chimperor-in-Chief, Gee Dubya Bu$Hitler?
Coinky-dink? If you believe that, you probably think old Prescott Bush didn’t really drink blood from the purloined skulls of Native American infants at those Skull & Bones meetings either! These rich people are all alike - thank heavens Kerry is still one of the little people!
Look what happened to Piers Morgan. One moment he’s pointing what is obvious to any thinking human being – that “only an idiot” falls off a Segway. The next he’s lying on a SoCal sidewalk with three broken ribs!!! Of course no one saw Bush’s bully boys anywhere - he’s FAR too clever for that. But we know what really happened.
And look what happened to the Reuters reporter who tried to point out the Shrub’s racially insensitive and historically misleading hijacking of Nelson Mandela’s legacy. Everyone knows Saddam had nothing to do with apartheid, but all those neocons can do is shriek about metaphors instead of focusing on the Twig’s incompetence! It’s a classic set-up job - Rove’s fingerprints are all over this!
And look how they smeared Keith Olbermann, who was demonized by the wingnuts for using a perfectly valid analogy:
And that whack job Maguire tries to make him look like some kind of *extremist* or something! But it doesn’t have to be this way.
You may think, “I’m just an ordinary American. How can *I* stand up to the thugs and criminals in the White House? How can I stop them from stealing the reputations of brave, hardworking journalists who are the only thing standing between the public and dangerous
informationpropaganda put out by the White House and our armed forces? How will I ever know what to think, much less be able to sort out the wheat from the chaff, if they allow me to see news in its raw, unprocessed form? Besides, I’ve seen what happens to those who speak truth to power in this culture of fear. I don’t want to end up like Tim Robbins and Sue Sarandon – pushing up daisies outside the Oval Office!”But I’m here to tell you how YOU CAN HELP. For just $2.50 cents a day – less than you spend on a cup of mocha latte down at your local Starbucks – you can sponsor your very own journalist! Your generous contribution to REPUTATIONS”R”US will ensure that no more journalistic careers go AWOL. You’ll even receive a signed photo of your professional journalist that you can show to friends and family!
Call now! Don’t delay. We can’t afford to let another journalistic reputation end up in the lost and found!
Because a Columbia J-School education is a terrible thing to waste.
16 camojack // Sep 23, 2007 at 6:25 am
OK…who turned over that rock?
Something crawled out from underneath…
17 Sally Struthers // Sep 23, 2007 at 11:42 am
Rock?
Sir. I submit you’d have to have a heart as hard as a stone, not to open your heart and your pocketbook to help these poor, helpless journalists!
Were you not paying close attention to my impassioned plea?
Do you realize that every 20 minutes another member of the Fourth Estate loses his reputation trying to protect the public from the actual words of their elected President?
The media are all that stand between ordinary Americans and the truth! It’s a sacred trust, and one they do not take lightly.
Have pity! Pick up your phone right now and call 1-800-REPUTATIONS-r-US and buy one of these fine journalists a clue. You won’t be sorry.
18 camojack // Sep 23, 2007 at 8:11 pm
Cass…I know that’s you.
Check out my blog too. ↓
19 camojack // Sep 24, 2007 at 12:04 am
‘Hurricane Dan’ still blowing hot air
20 Monday Blog Buffet | Adam's Blog // Sep 24, 2007 at 10:05 am
[…] Satire Break: Bloggers Question Authenticity of Rather Lawsuit […]
21 Sally Struthers // Sep 24, 2007 at 3:52 pm
Wasn’t sure if you were yanking my chain or just didn’t check the link :p
22 camojack // Sep 25, 2007 at 8:20 am
Heh. Gotcha!
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