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Gettin' Sad
Talking Points Memo —
... Nutball Congressman Chris Cannon (R-UT) tried to hire an Oxford don to use his special computer program to prove that Obama's memoir was actually written by Bill Ayers. The program "can detect when works are by the same author by comparing favourite words and phrases." Apparently, he got cold feet after the he learned that the Oxford academic, Dr Peter Millican, would release the results publicly no matter what they showed. ...
HA!
Comments from Left Field —
... Well, it’s just been effectively put to rest by the same Oxford professor whose work Cashill used to try to prove his claim: ...
The search for the Rosetta Stone goes on
Ben Smith's Blog —
... One of the more entertaining conspiracy theories of the cycle was the notion that Bill Ayers wrote "Dreams for My Father," and it appears to have reached its conclusion in Republicans offering $10,000 to an Oxford expert on that kind of textual analysis to prove their case: ...
Republicans try to use Oxford don to smear Barack Obama(Tie Obama Bio to Ayers)
Democratic Underground Latest Breaking News —
... to prove that Ayers wrote Obamas book was made by Robert Fox, a California businessman and brother-in-law of Chris Cannon, a Republican congressman from Utah. He hoped to corroborate a theory advanced by Jack Cashill, an American writer. ----- Millican took a preliminary look and found the charges very implausible. A deal was agreed for more detailed research but when Millican said the results had to be made public, even if no link to Ayers was proved, interest waned. Read more: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_amer... F*cking desparate b*stards!
Two Polls: Obama Retains Strong Lead And Favored By Early Voters
The Moderate Voice —
... and a Republican sought help from an Oxford scholar to tie Obama’s autobiography to the traction-less Ayers issue..) have so far made any significant difference. ...
GOP Attempt to Prove Ayers Wrote Obama’s Bio Flops
Firedoglake —
... These guys never give up, do they? Don Millican of Oxford wrote a computer program which compares texts to see if they were written by the same author. Robert Fox, a Republican, approached him to run Ayers bio and Obama's through the program. A preliminary check made it seem very unlikely, and on being informed that a full check would cost $10,000, Fox wouldn't com up with the money. ...
The Audacity of Desperation
The Mahablog —
... This post and the commenters also bring up the rumor that Bill Ayers must have ghost-written one of Barack Obama’s books, apparently based on the observation they both speak English and use some of the same words. The Times of London tells us that Robert Fox, a California businessman and brother-in-law of Chris Cannon, a Republican congressman from Utah, are connecting the dots. And if they can’t find dots to connect, they make some. ...
The Auntie Z Oversight
Jules Crittenden —
... Meanwhile, in the ongoing effort by evil puppetmaster “Murdock” to destroy Obama,* Times of London reports that an Oxford don was drafted in a bid to show Ayers ghost wrote the Obama tome, but rightwing conspiracy echo-origination mechanism bagged it after learning the results would not be favorable. * Vast conspiracy revealed ...
A bumbling new chapter in the saga who wrote "Dreams from My Father"?
Althouse —
... Now, we see this about "Dr Peter Millican, a philosophy don at Hertford College, Oxford, [who] has devised a computer software program that can detect when works are by the same author by comparing favourite words and phrases." He's been contacted by "Robert Fox, a California businessman and brother-in-law of Chris Cannon, a Republican congressman from Utah" about running the test on Obama's book and Ayers's. ...
New mystery: Did Ayers write Ayers memoir?
Ben Smith's Blog —
Forget the wacky (but entertaining) unified-field theory that Bill Ayers ghostwrote Obama's memoir.
A historian of '60s and '70s radicalism is raising questions about whether Bill Ayers wrote his own memoir, "Fugitive Days."
Susan Braudy, author of a book on children of privelege turned domestic terrorists and no fan of Ayers, describes Ayers' 2001 memoir as "virtually ghostwritten by wordsmith [Phillip] Lopate."
Lopate, though, denies it.
"Absolutely not," he e-mailed me. "Susan's got a vivid ...
Midday Open Thread
Daily Kos —
... Republican donors/operatives have been getting desperate in recent weeks, even going so far as to try and prove that Obama's autobiographies were actually written by Bill Ayers. ...
Quote of the day: 'No last minute smear'
Ben Smith's Blog —
From a Salt Lake Tribune piece on the abortive attempt to hire an Oxford don to raise questions about the authorship of Obama's memoir:
[Rep.] Chris Cannon's brother-in-law, California businessman Robert Fox, dismisses the idea that he was helping to orchestrate a "Republican plot" against Obama. He says he felt compelled to explore the allegation but that no one else was behind the effort. "This is no last-minute smear," Fox said. "I'd say it's a desperate attempt to save the republic."
60 Seats in the Senate: The Road is Through the South
Firedoglake —
... or both, could sting even the best candidates. Liddy Dole is a machine Republican, and she felt the weight of the triple shift of the electorate. The new waves of Obama voters, plus the boom in "Research Triangle," plus the pain of the housing crunch in the coastal areas which grew on the climate and convenience, began to tear down the one time presidential aspirant. She struck with the most vicious slur of a campaign which has seen the Republicans pedal everything from guilt by handshake to another version of ...
McCain/Palin Bashing (Final Edition)
Discourse.net —
... & Liars & Copyeditors, Still Not Ready To Spell
Sam Stein, HuffPost, McCain Did Not Disclose Keating Business Deal To Investigators
TPM< Frank Calls Fork
Fafblog, Fafblog Interviews: JOHN MCCAIN
NBC, The Trouble With Palin
Obama Ad, Delighted
Times (UK), Republicans try to use Oxford don to smear Barack Obama (More details here) ...
No More Mister Nice Blog — ... We America-hating liberals chortled when patriots failed to come up with the $10,000 to pay that Oxford professor for a computer analysis of similarities between Barack Obama's Dreams from My Father and William Ayers's Fugitive Days. And, yes, the professor did twist the knife by saying that shared authorship was "very implausible." ...
Someone has to pay attention to this crap
Lawyers, Guns and Money —
... would be a no-brainer. I'd also be tempted to vote for the "Fake Obama Birth Certificate" story, which EvenTheDerangedWingnut Bob Owens dismissed. It's a sensible choice, and I suspect it will eventually carry the title Let's be honest, though. Any circle jerk that doesn't include Confederate Yankee isn't really worthy of the name. For that reason alone, my vote will go to "Bill Ayers Ghost Wrote Obama's Book," a rumor that Owens entertained and for which a couple of idiot Republicans were willing to waste $10,000.
