Just saw on Drudge that Kerry Poll where he ranks lower than Dukakis, Jesse Jackson, Martha Stewart, etc... I wonder if he would have polled ahead of JEN-JISS-KAAAN.

...The velvet marroon ones with the little IBM word processor buttons....

- Bush talking to the National Guard convention in Vegas pointedly made no mention of the "Rathergate" dustup. Best Bush camp tactic of this campaign...Letting the Kerry Klowns feed their own party into the woodchipper...

Does Rathergate violate the Viacom Code of Conduct?
CBS owner Viacom does have a Code of Conduct (“Viacom Business Conduct Statement”)….and arguably the Rathergate forgeries have violated it. The emphasis in the document is on financial and ethical controls, but a lack of journalistic ethics seems to be a real management problem in the CBS newsroom these days, so maybe there’s some applicability to bad business practices at CBS. Here’s the link, and below are some quotes from it, with my comments in brackets:

http://www.viacom.com/pdf/conductstmt.pdf

“You must always conduct your business affairs with honesty, integrity and good
judgment…. You must avoid all conflicts between the best interests of your Company and Viacom
and your own personal relationships or interests. Even the appearance of a conflict
of interest can undermine our integrity in the minds of your co-workers, our
customers, our suppliers or the public…

“… LIST OF PROHIBITED FINANCIAL PRACTICES THAT SHOULD BE REPORTED
We have listed below a few examples of financial practices that are always prohibited
and which you should always report if you are involved in them or have knowledge of
them. You should report not only improper accounting, but any breach of a control and
any weakness of a control of which you may be aware….[one of a list of examples] using Viacom assets, facilities or services for any improper purpose. You are personally responsible for all Viacom funds and other assets over which you have control…

“…All employees and directors should endeavor to protect Viacom’s assets and ensure
their efficient use. Theft, carelessness and waste have a direct impact on Viacom’s
profitability. Any suspected incident of fraud or theft should be immediately reported
for investigation….

“…Federal law and Viacom policy prohibit the contribution of Viacom funds, assets, services
or facilities to or on behalf of a federal political party, candidate or political action
committee (“PAC”)….

“COMPLIANCE OFFICERS
At the direction of the Viacom Board of Directors, Michael D. Fricklas, Viacom Inc.’s
Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Mark C. Morril, Viacom Inc.’s Vice
President, Deputy General Counsel, and Henry T.A. Moniz, Chair of the Viacom
Compliance Committee, serve as Viacom’s Compliance Officers. In addition, the
General Counsel of your Company serves as a Unit Compliance Officer… The Compliance Officers are responsible for…[two of a list of examples] «investigating violations or suspected violations of the Statement; and «determining necessary responsive actions, including disciplinary actions, in the
event of Statement violations...”

P.S. – I thought there might be a Sarbanes-Oxley angle on the forgeries as well, but that may be significant only in Q1 2005 Viacom SEC filings and other SOX documentation. Specifically, under SOX, the company must document every internal process and external effect that will have an impact on its financial health. Some interpret that narrowly, and others more widely. This Section 404 compliance takes effect in December. Again, it may be a stretch to posit a link from CBS forgery-as-a-business-process, to possible financial business risk to Viacom.

If they were to wear pajamas (and i wish they would) there would be a complete take over of the Media by the Blogosphere. I mean, don't you think Dan Rather would get much bette ratings if he showed up doing the Nightly News in Pajamas? In a hurricane?

New CBS ratings strategy:
Dan Rather goes back to his roots and reports on Ivan. Only this time from a row boat in the Gulf.

Prolly so-it-begins... But FOX would kill them anyway...

-Picture Heather Nauert or Laurie Dhue in flimsy silkies with CFM heels... no contest... Wearing those outfits they could report that the first Lady is a crack addict and no on would hear a word....

Yes, we at least need Paula Zahn in pyjamas! Or less.

I think we all need to keep the pressure up on forcing CBS to admit their mistake...

I believe we can only do that by applying pressure on the sponsors and the affiliates...

For more info on how to do this, check out this website:

A list of sponsors and contact data:
http://www.rathergate.com/index.php?p=19#more-19

A way to fax your local CBS affiliate:
https://www.grasswave.com/rathergate/fax.php

We need another popular uprising like with the that shoddy Reagan movie CBS attempted to air...

Johnson was just on. Pretty darn good interview.

I totally agree, he was great! See update.

i look forward to seeing all the talking heads denouncing Senator Kerry for not denouncing the forgeries, as they did re: GWB and SwiftVet ads.

if that doesnt happen, we can assume either:
1. Kerry truly believes the memos are authentic. Hmm.. i thought he was supposed to be the "intelligent, sophisticated" one.
2. Kerry knows in his heart that the memos are fake fake fake! But he has nothing to say about this, even though a major fraud has just been committed in his name, near the end of a wartime election.

my guess is he is waiting for feedback from the focus groups, to figure out the proper non-response.

Why are you commenting under this thread? Keep it on topic.

I was waiting for Brit or the powerline guy to mention you (the document analysist gave the story legs)and Allah, and waiting and waiting.....

Did anyone catch CBS "Inside Story" on the evening news -- these people have lost it! They reported Bush's speech with the National Guard today and said something to the effect that he made no mention of the new allegations 60 minutes uncovered last week... they're just digging deeper and deeper.

Commenting on Laura Bush's radio comment that the doc's we likely altered, CBS said the FIRST LADY OFFERED NO PROOF! CBS -- the network that is using typewriter repairmen as experts -- is demanding proof from the FIRST LADY?!?

Mr. Johnson did a fine job, without a doubt. But Brit Hume's stone-faced final comment in the segment, describing CBS's latest guru, Bill Glennon (who bears a striking resemblance to Larry "Bud" Melman), was absolutely hilarious!

Drudge is reporting that Killian's secretary is saying that she typed memos that *say* what these phony memos memos *say*. She says the memos are fakes but speculates that "My guess is that someone in the outfit got hold of the real ones and discussed it with a former Army person."

No one wants to call this "sweet old [partisan Democrat] lady" a liar, but Killian's son and everyone else is standing by his claim that these memos aren't Killian's style.

Soooo...This lady says.

A)The memos are fakes.

B)Some unconnected person wrote them to damage Bush.

C) But she supposes off the top of her head that some originals DID exist and she knows what was in them. In order to make them work she rearranges the timeline to make Staudt pressure Killian 18 months earlier. (Killian's son says Staudt and his father were on good terms after this alleged event and Killian was an admirer of GWB).

No doubt this will be offered by CBS as more iron-clad evidence that the memos are *real*.

Sigh. Everyone wants in on the act. Society is going mad.

ABC News has found two more experts that CBS relied on:
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/politics/NotedNow/Noted_Now.html

EMILY WILL TO ABC: "I did not feel that they wanted to investigate it very deeply."

LINDA JAMES TO ABC: "I did not authenticate anything and I don't want it to be misunderstood that I did."

Emily Will:
http://www.hgexperts.com/hg/ex_consultants.asp?action=page&pcomp=34146&page=1&extra=sb&subcategory=Handwriting

Linda James:
http://www.document-examiner.com/

"has gone"

See the post above this one, Orion.

The success of the blogosphere is that its a collaborative, cumulative information medium. Powerline broke the story, but the blogosphere built it.

Of course, but you don't think any individual blogs deserve special credit? Most of all, powerline?

We are capitalists, not a communist collective. There has to be an incentive to innovate and break stories, and it certainly ain't money.

I think being first deserves props.

Reynolds on, Hinderaker not. Operator of Free Republic blog on instead.

The Freep rant was not helpful.

Glenn's bemused headshake at the end was perfect.

And now, who is interviewed in the final segment? MORE TIME THAN THE PREVIOUS SEGMENT IS TOTALLY DEVOTED TO WONKETTE. Because potty humor and jokes about ass-sex are certainly more important than perhaps the biggest media controversy in a generation. CNN - you are idiots.

Now pardon me, I must go have a stroke.

Marry me, Bill. Or at least let me clean your house or something if you've got a wife already. You're always having strokes for all the right reasons.

I don't have a wife, but I'd have to see a pic first. At the very least, I'll let you clean my house.

(I live downtown DC, so it's small)

Bill, your humility is admirable, and yes...'props' to Powerline, but do not underestimate your inpact here. You didn't merely report your suspicions, you took action.

As for Reynold's, yes...he's the original, but this one belongs to Powerline, Allah, Free Republic, LGF and you.

Holy Moly. Just saw Reese Schonfeld on Hannity & Combes, and it was clear CNN was founded by an idiot. What an explicit lack of ethics or credibilty.

Darn...I should preview first...IMPACT was the word I intended.

Thanks.

Dang. I didn't know Hinderaker was supposed to be on. That makes me feel bad. Power Line deserves the credit for this, as I said in a post a couple of days ago.

I got invited and bumped (I declined anyway), and then Hinderaker got bumped. I spoke to the producer after hearing that and she assured me that both of you would be on. Shrug.