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A Typewriter Expert and the Killian Memos

Pinstripe.com

Lots of reasons to think this was typed on a typewriter. The most important is sentence periods are followed by double spaces. In Microsoft Word, double spaces after periods cause false indents in the following line. Yet twice when false indents should occur, the Killian memos remain lined up on the left.

No doubt the Freepers will howl that the forgery was done on a typewriter, next. Howl, Freepers, howl.

The Killian Memos: What's At Stake

I'm not going to polish this post up - it's a timeline for Bush's fifth year of service, fitting the Killian memos into the framework. It shows you clearly what is at stake if the memos can be proven authentic.

UPDATE: I've included the two new memos that have been released. It appears to me that some of these memos and letters are carbon copies of letters sent to Austin, Bush, or other places. Some are for personal use. The fact that Killian signs carbon copies suggests how CYA a lot of these memos are. Let me emphasize, as I do below, that the memos and letters tell an internally consistent story that fits the official records like a key into a lock.

Killian Memo - 2 February 72
- Killian asks for update on flight certification
- Specifically mentions Bush and Bath

***Was Killian gunning for Bush at this early date?

Dad calls Allison (Blount campaign), gets Bush deputy spot - Spring 72

Last Bush service date for a while - 14 April 72

Killian Memo - 4 May 1972
- Orders Lt. Bush to physical no later than 14 May 72
- By regulations, Bush had until end of July?
- Last physical: 10 May 71

***This appears to be a standard order, but new February memo puts a different light on it. The date for ordered physical is in line with last physical

Bush clears base (See 2 May 73) - 15 May 72

Killian Memo - 19 May 1972
- Bush calls about getting out of drill until November
- Informs Killian of "working on another campaign for his dad"
- Killian says 3 month of ET or transfer; Bush wants to transfer to any unit that will have him
- Get physical fixed by then? Bush will in Alabama if continuing in flight status, but has campaign and "other things to do after that"
- Killian reminds him of investment and commitment
- Bush then "has a unit in mind" - 9921st, evidently
- Killian suspects Bush is "talking to someone upstairs"

***Killian feels like he's getting played here. Bush first wants any unit that will have him, then suddenly produces ones? And he's getting antsy on the physical.

Bush Application for 9921st, Alabama - 24 May 72

9921st's Approval - 26 May 72

Fifth year of Guard service begins - 27 May 1972

111st Recommend Approval - June 72
- Killian not on this document

Bush Denied 9921st Assignment - Unclear
- Bush has a Military Obligation to fly
- Bush can't fulfill MO at 9921st

Bush Grounded on Killian's Verbal Order - 1 Aug 72
- Missed flight physical
- Source: 29 Sept 72 summary

Killian Memo - 01 August 1972
- Killian notes his verbal orders about grounding Bush
- Reasons: not meeting standards (no attempt to meet training certification) and not getting flight physical
- Requested orders of suspension and convening of flight review board
- Notes his recommend of transfer to 9921st which was denied.
- Also notes Bush's desire to be assigned to non-flying billets
- Looking for a pilot to replace Bush

***This is bad news: Killian grounds because Bush isn't attempting to train (payroll records confirm) and missed his flight physical (direct order). Killian is trying to suspend Bush, calls for a flight inquiry, and is looking for a replacement. IF THIS MEMO IS REAL, THEN WHERE IS THE PAPERWORK?

Republican National Convention - 21-23 August 1972
-Bush attended

Bush Asks Killian's Permission for 187th Assignment - 5 September 72
- For September, October, and November only

AL Approval 187th Assignment - 15th September 72
-Can't train September
-October 7-8, November 4-5
-"Bush can't satisfy flight requirements with our group"

Prescott Bush dies of cancer - 8 October 72
-Conflict with AL training in October

Bush resumes service - 28-29 October 72
-Payroll records
-Credited to October
-Arranged to miss 4-5 November service due to election?

Election Day - 8 November 72

Bush's November service - 11-14 November 1972
-Four days
-Makeup for September time?
-Credited to November

Bush's bad month - December 1972
-Wrecks car, challenges dad to fight "mano a mano"
-Drives bicycle in front of mom's car

Bush January service - 4-6, 8-10 January 1973

Bush AL dental exam - 10 January 1973
***Why is Bush in Alabama? No recorded permission to train past November

Bush April service - 7-8 April 1973

"Bush not observed" report - 2 May 73 (?)
- As of this date, Bush was not observed at Houston for the year
***Killian 19 Aug 73 memo says this report backdated

Bush Buckles Down - May through July 1973
- Extensive service
- In late April, Bush is ordered to attend INACTRA dates
- Those dates are marked as code 50 on Bush's payroll records
- Many more code 50s are marked, and one long week of 22 (regular drills)

Killian Letter - 24 June 1973
- Official response to phone call asking for Bush's OETR
- Killian can't rate Bush because he wasn't there since April 72
- All recent activity (the buckle down) wasn't within rating period
- "Please advise"

Killian Memo - 19 August 1973
- Staudt (retired for 1 1/2 years) is pressuring Hodges about Bush
- Staudt wants Bush's OETR sugarcoated
- Killian has no info from 187th, and Bush wasn't in Houston during rating period
- A second call: Killian agrees to backdate OETR but not rate Bush with Harris's agreement

***Staudt is leaning on Hodges, and Hodges is leaning on Killian via Harris. This is about filing Bush's 72-73 OETR which isn't filed as of 19 August 73Killian was sitting on the OETR, and finally buckled on 19 August 73 - to a point. He doesn't rate because Bush didn't train in Houston during this time and he has nothing from the 187th, at this late date.

Which means: all payroll records from Bush's fifth year were in Alabama or were fraudulent pay. The frequency of pay records makes the Alabama choice untenable - no one remembers him! I could buy being missed by some in October and November, but January, February, and April as well? No way. No way.

The memos are evidence then of Bush's disobeying of a direct order and his failure to find a proper training unit. They are also evidence of a suspension and flight inquiry called for which appear nowhere in the records. They may also be evidence of Bush's attendance and payroll records being forged - which means rank corruption in the Texas ANG.

Which also alleges that the sitting President of the United States cashed government checks for service he had not performed, participating in a defrauding of the military during war and has lied about this to this very day.

The memos fit into the given records like a key into a lock. Their story remains internally consistent. The question of their authenticity will be the defining moment of this campaign. This must be settled beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Rather to Critics: You Can't Handle The Truth

CBS News

Rather gave the name of the handwriting expert who confirmed Killian signed the memos, Marcel Matley.

The typeset existed since the 30's, and proportional typewriters were available, as was a superscripted "th" key.

Now, President Bush, answer the questions. Did you get preferential treatment? Did you disobey a direct order? Why did you never take your physical?

And where are the missing documents from your military file?

Answer the question. And don't lie to us this time.

Word Doesn't Superscript Like The Killian Memos

Just a note: I'm using my copy of Word to reproduce the May 4 memo that orders Lt. Bush to take his physical in May.

I've having a devil of a time persuading Word to not superscript the top "th" in 111th, and also the "st" in 1st Lt. Bush. Those superscripts are also different from the memo's superscript - they remain below the top of the other letters, but the memo's superscript goes above the line.

And the Word superscripting is not a single "th" key - it's both letters in a smaller typeset that's aligned against the top letter. There's no simple way I can see to raise those letters above the top line of the other letters. You can actually delete those small letters one by one and then type whatever you want in that smaller font.

So if this document is a forgery, the forger would have to self correct the top "th" and the "st", and then find a way to defeat the programming to get the second "th" above the other letters.

So it's far more likely that this was typed on a sophisticated typewriter of the time.

Krugman: Bush's Plan To Cut Deficit Assumes Bush Tax Cuts Expire

The New York Times: The Dishonesty Thing

The administration claims to have a plan to cut the deficit in half over the next five years. But even Bruce Bartlett, a longtime tax-cut advocate, points out that "projections showing deficits falling assume that Bush's tax cuts expire on schedule." But Mr. Bush wants those tax cuts made permanent. That is, the administration has a "plan" to reduce the deficit that depends on Congress's not passing its own legislation.

Can you believe this? Of course you can.

After all, when Bush was Governor in Texas, he fought the Texas Patient Bill of Rights, let it become law without signing it in protest, and then used it as a campaign prop in 2000.

Bush also threatened to veto the $87 billion before he signed it into law.

There is no good thing that Bush isn't willing to assume credit for, and there's no bad thing that Bush is willing to accept responsibility for. America can do better.

FactCheck.org Is Treating Killian Memos As Authentic

FactCheck.org

UPDATE: Also, someone emailed Jonas Goldberg his memories of a proportional IBM typewriter circa 1971-1974 at Patrick AFB. Nobody wanted to use it because backspacing required a "en" chart.

Which would make it the perfect typewriter for Killian to dash off memos to himself about various subjects.

And CYA has been a military slang term since the '50s.

SECOND UPDATE: The Washington Post has the forgery story on the front page. Someone at CBS spilled on the source who authenticated the content of the memos: Major General Bobby Hodges, who's named in the memos.

Are the Killian Memos Forged?

It looks like it.

The memos are typed using a proportional font. Such a font was not available to ordinary consumers, and unless we want to believe Killian had a souped up typewriter in a National Guard facility, we have to put these memos aside.

A proportional font is like the one you should be looking at right now. It's different from a monospace font, in which each letter, from "i" to "w" occupies exactly the same space on the page. Proportional fonts use less space for i's and l's and more space for w's and m's.

One of the messages refers to the 187th in Montgomery. The "th" is quite small and takes up half the space of the line. Microsoft Word does this when "th" follows a number. There's no way to do this on a 1973 typewriter.

The signatures don't match Killian's signature on Bush's Guard records.

There's some question about the size of the paper, but that's explainable. Unfortunately, these other things are not.

Especially when I used my copy of Microsoft Word to type one of the messages and made an almost exact copy.

What we are looking at, my fellow Democrats, is a master stroke from Karl Rove. These papers are so obviously forgeries that they discredit (once again) the entire AWOL search. They were intended to be so easily revealed.

Making anybody who relied upon them issue retractions and flee from this subject. Damn it, we've been had.

UPDATE: I've been advised to not give up the ship in comments (thanks, Jo). Proportional font typewriters with superscripted "th" were available in the early 1970s. So I'm holding off judgment on the memos.

And they came from Killian's file, not Bush's. Some other memos from his file would help establish this.

Hot Diggity Dog Diggity - Press Notices Missing Guard Files!

Bush's National Guard File Missing Records

What's missing, says the AP?

The five kinds of missing files are:

_A report from the Texas Air National Guard to Bush's local draft board certifying that Bush remained in good standing. The government has released copies of those DD Form 44 documents for Bush for 1971 and earlier years but not for 1972 or 1973. Records from Bush's draft board in Houston do not show his draft status changed after he joined the guard in 1968. The AP obtained the draft board records Aug. 27 under the Freedom of Information Act.

_Records of a required investigation into why Bush lost flight status. When Bush skipped his 1972 physical, regulations required his Texas commanders to "direct an investigation as to why the individual failed to accomplish the medical examination," according to the Air Force manual at the time. An investigative report was supposed to be forwarded "with the command recommendation" to Air Force officials "for final determination."

Bush's spokesmen have said he skipped the exam because he knew he would be doing desk duty in Alabama. But Bush was required to take the physical by the end of July 1972, more than a month before he won final approval to train in Alabama.

_A written acknowledgment from Bush that he had received the orders grounding him. His Texas commanders were ordered to have Bush sign such a document; but none has been released.

_Reports of formal counseling sessions Bush was required to have after missing more than three training sessions. Bush missed at least five months' worth of National Guard training in 1972. No documents have surfaced indicating Bush was counseled or had written authorization to skip that training or make it up later. Commanders did have broad discretion to allow guardsmen to make up for missed training sessions, said Weaver and Lawrence Korb, Pentagon (news - web sites) personnel chief during the Reagan administration from 1981 to 1985.

"If you missed it, you could make it up," said Korb, who now works for the Center for American Progress, which supports Kerry.

_A signed statement from Bush acknowledging he could be called to active duty if he did not promptly transfer to another guard unit after leaving Texas. The statement was required as part of a Vietnam-era crackdown on no-show guardsmen. Bush was approved in September 1972 to train with the Alabama unit, more than four months after he left Texas.

Let's see if anyone picks up on this...