Rather and CBS's falsehoods remembered

A year ago today CBS was still standing by the Dan Rather/Texas Air National Guard story it had broadcast 10 days earlier on 60 Minutes II.

In defending what most people knew by then were forged documents which served as the basis of the story, Rather and CBS had repeatedly claimed their anonymous source for the documents was "unimpeachable."

Rather and CBS knew a lot about their "unimpeachable" anonymous source, Bill Burkett.

Remembering that and what we learned a few days later about Burkett helps us to realize just how honest Rather and CBS were with the public.

This from a Sept. 21 Washington Post story:

The man CBS News touted as the "unimpeachable source" of explosive documents about President Bush's National Guard service turns out to be a former Guard officer with a history of self-described mental problems who has denounced Bush as a liar with "demonic personality shortcomings."

Over the past three years, retired Lt. Col. Bill Burkett has given dozens of newspaper and television interviews accusing the president and his aides of destroying documents and stealing elections. In e-mail messages to an Internet chat group for Texas Democrats, he has also said that the "Bush team" sent "goons" to intimidate him at his ranch in Baird, Tex.

"They can go to hell," the retired officer, 55, wrote in a March 29 posting. "I'll continue to defend the freedom of this nation -- not the liars who have wrested its helm."

There's much more. Read the whole thing.