URL: In Memoriam

So today, on the evening news, CBS tried to explain the documents they showed on 60 Minutes this last Wednesday which have been the source of much scrutiny on the web (since they align perfectly with a default Word document). Basically, they said that typewriters back then could do superscript (as seen in some manuals from the time) - however, they don't mention the fact that the superscript used in the documents was also a smaller font (who has a typewriter sitting around right now with a smaller font?). Basically, there would have had to been a key exactly for the "th" in the superscript - however, the typewriter being claimed by many to be the one used to create the documents, as it has the font spacing needed, doesn't have any special characters for superscript.

So...can you produce the machine these documents were made on? If so, over $25,000 is waiting for you. Remember, the typewriter must:

1) Use a proportionally spaced font with advanced kerning and proportional spacing identical to Microsoft Word

2) Have a left-curled apostrophe key

3) Have the ability to superscript not just in position, but also a decrease in font size from 12pt to 7-8pt

4) Have sentence breaking identical to Microsoft Word default rules

5) Have 13pt vertical spacing identical to Microsoft Word defaults

6) Have the ability to center text on the page identical to Microsoft Word defaults (this one I hadn't even thought of and, yeah, pretty much helps close the lid on this case -- unless you think Killian had the ability to eyeball-center a line of text to the millimeter.)

Now...even if a typewriter like this DID exist in 1972 or 1973, certainly, one would still exist now. Typewriters as a whole just don't disappear - especially in government work.

URL: DEFEATJOHNJOHN.COM

So first we have some guy go on CBS's 60 Minutes stating that he personally helped George W. Bush get into the National Guard to avoid going to Vietnam even though he stated on the record four years ago that he had no contact with the Bush family regarding getting George W. into the Guard. Then, during the same 60 Minutes report, they show documents from a now deceased Lieutenant which purportedly state that President Bush did not serve the time he signed up for while in the guard. However, the documents, dated 1972 and 1973 are in Times Roman which was never available on a typewriter and they also feature a superscript which also was never available on a typewriter along with proportionally spaced fonts (e.g. not fixed width like most typewriters where "i" takes up the same amount of space as "w"). Proportional fonts on typewriters were only available on super-high-end typewriters, which were likely not used by the National Guard in '72 or '73.

So, first we have Kerry himself lying about his past exploits in Vietnam and then we get a staunch pro-Kerry supporter on 60 Minutes claiming he helped get George W. into the National Guard despite saying that he didn't 4 years ago. On top of that, we still see the Kerry campaign trying to focus on events that happened 30+ years ago. With the poll numbers that came out today that show Kerry in a dead-heat in Pennsylvania with Bush (a must-win state for Kerry), things aren't looking up. Maybe if the focus shifted to the problems of today, we could actually go somewhere. But then again, we always hear Kerry say that the war in Iraq is being handled wrong, yet he offers no way to fix it. We hear him say that healthcare prices are too high, yet the only fix he's proposed is a national healthcare plan (which seems to be more of a slip than anything - I don't seriously think Kerry plans to socialize all healthcare in the U.S. - thought it is the only fix he's offered up). Kerry says that he can restore the U.S.'s prominence in foreign affairs, yet offers up no way to do so. And perhaps most apallingly, Kerry thinks we can win the war on terror by only fighting back after being attacked.

URL: ABCNEWS.com : Officer's Widow Questions Bush Guard Memos