Outside the Perimeter

More detail on forgery using Word

Along with the post below, this is my analysis of the National Guard memos. I have been a user and teacher of Microsoft Word for nine years.

The relevent feature of Word is something called "Autoformat As You Type", which for sake of brevity, I will call AAYT. The point of AAYT is to help Word users make a document appear more professional by automatically reformatting certain types of text. For example, AAYT automatically converts "straight quotes" into the curly "smart quotes". As another example, AAYT converts fractions such as "1/2" into fraction characters.

One of the features of AAYT is to replace ordinals (1st, for example) with superscript.

Word uses AAYT to autoformat text as you type. When you type in the text "1st", for example, the text stays as you have typed it. After you type in that text and then press the spacebar, Word then automatically converts the text in the number/letter combination (the "st") to superscript.

AAYT can be frustrating at times, particularly for a novice user of Word. AAYT is "turned on" by default in Word and a novice user can have a difficult time figuring out how to turn it off - thanks to the infamous Help system of word.

Looking at the four memos, I can easily see where the forger or forgers ran afoul of AAYT. Microsoft Word is a computer program. As such, it will always do the same thing under the same conditions. Knowing what these conditions are, as I do, I can reconstruct what the forger was doing and WHY the documents are formatted as they are.

Here is what happened as the forger was typing up the documents:

Looking at the memos as a whole, you can see that AAYT automatically superscripted the text only some of the time. The first step in understanding why only part of the text following numbers was superscripted is to understand when AAYT will automatically superscript the text. AAYT will only automatically superscript the text when a user types in a number followed by text according to certain rules built into Word.

For example, if you type in the number 5, then the text "th" without a space between them, nothing happens. However, if after typing in "5th" and you then press the spacebar, Word will automatically superscript the text "th". Word "knows" which number and letter combinations will trigger AAYT. If you were to type in "3th" for example, Word does not automatically superscript the "th".

In other words, Word know which number/letter combinations should be automatically superscripted and which should not.

You can see two examples in the documents of where the Word did this automatically: In the memo "Annual Physical Examination" the word "147th" is superscripted and in the memo "CYA" the word "187th" is superscripted. This is consistent with the rules of AAYT in Word.

There are also more places in the documents where there are number/letter combinations that are NOT superscripted. In some cases, the explanation of why AAYT was not triggered is straightforward - the forger left a space between the number and the letters in the combination. For example, in the cases of the number/letter combinations "147 th" and "9921 st". In the cases of these combinations, AAYT would not recognize that the text should be superscripted, because of the space between the numbers and letters. This is also consistent with the AAYT rules of Word.

This explains what happened with the combinations "147th", "147 th", "187th", and "9921 st" combinations. However, there are other combinations where the rules seem to have been followed, and yet AAYT did not automatically superscript the text in the combinations.

Those combinations are "111th" and "1st". In these cases, it appears at first glance that the rules of AAYT were followed and yet Word did NOT automatically reformat the combinations. This is where knowing something about the typeface "Times New Roman" comes in handy: In the Times New Roman typeface, the number "1" and the lower case letter "L" appear virtually identical (See previous post for a screenshot of the two).

The forger did not type in "111th" and "1st" when creating the documents. Instead, the forger typed in "lllth" (or "11lth", or "ll1th" or "l11th") for one-hundred and eleventh. The forger typed in "lst" for first. (Note: It is hard to tell, because of the quality of the documents, which of the combinations the forger might have used. My best guess would be "ll1th" because of the slightly longer top of the last character in "ll1")

This IS consistent with why AAYT did not automatically reformat the number/letter combinations with superscript. Because in these cases they were not number/letter combinations. They were letter/letter (or number/number/letter/letter) combinations, and AAYT would not consider them text to be automatically reformatted.

AAYT Summary

There were three different types of apparent number/letter combinations in the memos, and they were all formatted in a way consistent with the default AutoFormat As You Type rules of Microsoft Word:

"187th" and "111th" - text that DID follow the rules of AAYT and were automatically reformatted.

"147 th", "9921 st", and "1 st" - text that DID NOT follow the rules of AAYT and were NOT automatically reformatted.

"lllth"/"11lth"/"ll1th" and "lst" - text that DID NOT follow the rules of AAYT and were NOT automatically reformatted.

"Who Might Have Done It"

Autoformat As You Type can be tricky for the novice user of Microsoft Word and different users figure out different ways to get around it. An experienced Word user would turn off the feature (Tools, AutoCorrect, then the Autoformat As You Type tab on the AutoCorrect dialog box) or he or she would reformat the text after AAYT does it's thing (select the text, right-click, choose Font, uncheck the Superscript option, then click on OK).

However, the forger seemed to use different techniques to get around AAYT in different documents. For example in the "Discussion with Bush, 1 st Lt. Bush" memo, the forger used a space so AAYT would not autoformat the text. However, in the memo "Suspension of Flight Status", the forger used a lower case "L" in "lst" to get around AAYT. However, in the document "Annual Physical Examination", the forger used "lllth" or "11lth" and "lst" to get around AAYT while seeming not caring that the "111th" in the second paragraph was autoformatted with superscript.

It is possible that one or more people typed these up, so they is why inconsistent methods were used to get around AAYT. It also possible that it was just one inexperienced Word user, and that he or she was just sloppy and/or frustrated by AAYT.

Whatever the case, it is clear to me, because the documents followed the AAYT rules, that these documents were produced in Microsoft Word.

My New Forgery

As below, I decided to make my own forgery, complete with signature to show you how this could have been done:

Click to Enlarge

How to "trick" Microsoft Word

I was looking through the 60 Minutes documents and noticed something specific on the "Suspension of Flight Status" memo.

You can see that whoever was doing this was trying to get around Microsoft Word's feature of "AutoFormat As You Type" by not having Word automatically superscript the "st" after the number 9921 or automatically superscript the "th" after 147. This is something I have run into myself, and I have been using MS Word since version 1.0. (Note: From what I remember the Autoformat as You Type feature came out with the '97 version. Don't quote me on that - it is just my best recollection). Autoformat As You Type does things such as replacing straight quotes (as a typewriter would have done) with curly, what Microsoft calls "smart quotes", and changes dashes with hyphens.

Sometimes when you are working on a document, some of this stuff can drive you crazy. So you either have to know how to turn the feature off or know how to work around it. (Forgers: See my previous post for tips on how to do that.)

I assume that the person who made this document was not very knowledgeable about MS Word, because of how they got around the Autoformat As You Type feature:

First, where they typed in "147th" and "9921st" they left a space between the last number and the first letter. This way, Word would not Autoformat the word. You can see this here:

The cleverness (as opposed to the intelligence) of the forger occurred to me when I saw the letterhead and that they DID NOT do the same thing with the word "111th". In other words, they did not leave a space between the "111" and the "th". But somehow they still got around the AutoFormat as You Type.

How?

Simple, they did not type in the number "111" followed by the text "th". They typed in lowercase letter "L"s instead. In the Times New Roman font, lower case "L" and the number "1" look almost the same.

Since Word will only automatically superscript when a NUMBER is followed by "th", "st", etc., then the forger was able to get past the Autoformat as You Type feature. If you look carefully, you can see that the Times New Roman number "1" has a longer base than the lowercase letter "l". Other than that, they look very much the same.

It looks like the forger repeated the same technique to type in the word "1st" without having word automatically superscript the "st".

I think what the forger did was clever, for a MS Word amateur. He or she was able to figure out a way around AutoFormat as You Type. However, for an experienced Word user (I blush), it was very easy to figure out what he or she did and why.

Don't worry, though, forger! I plan on working on more tips for Democratic forgers (see previous post)so you can do a better job next time. Keep your eyes open for that update.

Update: Here is my better forgery. I typed in up in Word, using the font "Courier New", a monospaced font. I made a screen shot of the document in Print Preview, and then pasted the picture in Microsoft Image Composer and save part of the picutre as a jpeg. I then opened the jpeg in Microsoft Picture It! 9 and applied the "Photocopy" and then the "Old Paper" filter. It took me about 10 minutes, and I think it looks better than the amatuer version that 60 minutes used:

Click for a Larger View.

Hey Dems! The next time you need a document forged, send me an email. I can offer you a reasonable price and the public would probably believe it at least a couple of days longer than your version.

Microsoft Word Tips for Amateur Democratic Forgers

I was working all day without an Internet connection. last night, after talking to the kids and looking over their report cards (all A's for the older piglet, and all 100's for the younger one) and getting them to bed, I checked the news.

As is typically for me, I found myself skipping over my home page (MSNBC) and going straight to the blogs first. In this case Instapundit. I was a little fascinated with this post at Mr. Reynolds site, where he blogs on the ongoing CBS news forged memos controversy:

We can't yet say for certain that it's a forgery, I suppose -- but it looks that way. And we can say for certain that CBS was unforgivably sloppy, at the very most charitable, to bring documents like this forward and present them as genuine without noticing, and answering, these questions beforehand.

I surfed around some of the links, and then watched Special Report with Brit Hume (recorded on Tivo), who also mentioned doubts about the documents.

I assumed that most who read the blogosphere are aware of the documents experts and in particular all of the posts at Powerline about the documents. (Note: Lots more to read this morning there about this). The kicker for me is that you can type in the same document using the defaults of Microsoft Word, print out your copy, and then overlay one of the supposed "real" documents, and get an exact match.

Also interesting is the places in one of the documents where the typist left a space between a number and the the letters "th". Word has a feature called AutoFormat As You Type. When you type in a number followed by a "st" (as in 1st) or "nd" or "th", Word automatically makes the text smaller and in superscript. The way someone who is ignorant of Word might get around this is to leave a space between the number and the text, such as typing in "1 st".

A better way would have been for the forger to turn off the option in Microsoft Word by choosing Tools, then AutoCorrect Option, and then by clicking on the AutoFormat As You Type tab. On this tab, you would uncheck the option Ordinals (1st) with superscript option. Then you click on the OK button.

The result - no more automatic superscript for ordinal numbers. (Note: The less sophisticated can do this also by backspacing over the AutoFormatted superscript text, retype the text, and then by not pressing the Spacebar after typing in the text. You would make sure the text does not automatically superscript again by clicking in another space or word away from the formally superscripted text.)

I have been using and teaching others to use Microsoft Word for about 9 years, so I am fairly familiar with the program. In particular the default settings. My conclusion is this: This was not a sophisticated forgery. These documents appear to be a very amateur job by someone who was not particularly knowledgeable about Microsoft Word and how to deal with some of the features Microsoft put into the program to "help" with document formatting. (Note: Nothing personal Mr. Gates. I love Word, warts and all).

The crude way the author of the forgeries dealt with the "th" problem leads me to guess that they were someone a bit older, who did not have the either the time, knowledge, or patience to figure a way around their AutoFormat problem. (Word Help, as is typical, is not much help to the casual user in figuring out how to turn this option off) Perhaps someone who has a computer (or access to one) and who has someone always make their Word docs for him or her (say, by a secretary) or whose knowledge is limited to turning the thing on and checking his or her email.

I would think that when looking for the forger, assuming the media feels like it, would not involve looking for a "hacker" or someone younger than at least my age (38). I would look for some older (dare I say a Democrat - goes to motive) with a grudge, a laptop, and possibly a secretary who typically does his or her typing for him or her. I have had tons of these types of students over the past few years (typically after his or her secretary had been downsized) and these forged documents would be about par for the course for someone like that.

Update: Please read the related Scrappleface "story":

(2004-09-09) -- CBS reporter Dan Rather today released the text of a recently discovered email from then-Lt. George W. Bush's Air National Guard commanding officer which casts more doubt upon the military service of the man who would become the 43rd President of the United States.

Read the rest. Hilarious!

No Bias Here!

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution loves the nuanced views of the left. When the Swift Boat ads first aired, their first reaction was a hack job on the John O'Neill. After the New York Times published their chart of the connections between the Bush White House and the Swift Boat Vets, the AJC followed along soon after.

Click for larger image.

Now with Ben Barnes making accusations that he helped Bush get into the Texas Air National Guard, the AJC prints an article in today's paper from the, you guessed it, New York Times:

"I'm not particularly proud of what I did," said Barnes, who in the 1960s was speaker of the Texas House at 26 and lieutenant governor at 30. "While I understand why parents wanted to shield their sons from danger, I abused my position of power by helping only those who knew me or had access to me."

Barnes, 66, an adviser to Sen. John Kerry's presidential campaign and a lobbyist with offices in Austin, Texas and Washington, told The New York Times that he intervened to get Bush, as well as other well-connected young men, into the National Guard in 1968. He made similar comments aired Wednesday on "60 Minutes."

Gee, where is the chart explain the connections between Ben Barnes and John Kerry. I took the liberty of creating one for the AJC, but I suppose it's probably not "nuanced" enough from the AJC to publish:

This message brought to you by the letter "W"

Washington, D.C. - In the latest campaign shakeup, John Kerry has selected Elmo as his new campaign spokesman. "I believe that W stands for wrong," said the candidate. "No one can help me communicate this message better that experienced letter bearer, Elmo. His universal appeal has been obvious since the great dancing Elmo craze of just a few years ago."

Elmo, whose partisan leaning were previously unknown, had this to say about his support for John Kerry. "Elmo reached up high and shout. He done it by himself. And Elmo wants to say. He's feeling pride here." It was unknown if Elmo was feeling pride in himself, or Kerry as a candidate.

Elmo, though, went on to say, "It's incredible where you can go, in your imagination. Hitch a ride on a cloud, and go sailing off into the blue. Ask the high flying birdies, to come with you, on your vacation, there's a rainbow of beautiful colors. Waiting for you, wheee!"

Kerry Campaign Chair, Mary Beth Cahill, clarified Elmo's comments. "Elmo is clearly getting our positive message out. Like a high-flying birdie, the Kerry campaign is going on to victory in this election so all Americans can experience the rainbow of beautiful colors in a Kerry administration.

Dem VP Candidate Miffed

A close John Edwards associate has privately expressed the Democratic VP candidate’s dissatisfaction at the selection of Elmo as a campaign spokesmen. "Edwards was supposed to be the cute, fuzzy one with the positive message. And John can handle talking about more than one letter a week, unlike Elmo. He has been working on this great D is for Dick riff that will put Cheney in his place." The Edwards confidant admits, "Now, John is not sure what his role in the campaign is supposed to be."

Kerry gets in touch with his inner Michael Moore

I am watching the Kerry package on Brit Hume (thanks Tivo!), and I wondering if he could be more obviously losing it:

It all comes down to one letter - W. George W. Bush. And the W stands for wrong ...

... raising Medicare costs. That's W. That's wrong.
... privatizing Social Security. That's W. That's wrong.

Not exactly soaring rhetoric. Someone should tell him, though, it's not W. It's Dubya.

Then Kerry was given a shotgun and struck a Saddam Hussein pose with it. I can only assume that his next task is to learn how to pull the trigger with his toe, in case his campaign tanks even more and he contemplates doing a Greg Stillson.

"I wonder what size spitball this thing holds?"

Then, some unnamed gray bearded dude jumps the shark for Kerry (in a yelling, angry voice):

When John Kerry was dodging bullets in Viet Nam. George Bush and Dick Cheney were dodging the draft in the United States.

Take a look at Kerry's face in the background as angry guy finishes his tirade:

"Yeah, that's what my campaign needs. More angry, yelling Union guys!"

Maybe Kerry came to the same realization that I did when watching angry guy in his matching Kerry-Edwards outfit: this makes him look petty and very non-Presidential.

Lastly, on behalf of National Guardsmen, current and former, I would like to invite angry guy to go fuck himself. Stupid ignorant dork.

Kiss my Grits!

The Dems are listing the "Lies, Mischaracterizations, Distortions, And Half-Truths" of the 2004 GOP Convention in a press release. Check out number 106 of 143 (emphasis mine):

106. Miller: “…Against the Trident missile, against, against, against. This is the man who wants to be the Commander in Chief of our U.S. Armed Forces? U.S. forces armed with what? Speeutbawlls?”[Miller Remarks, 9/1/04]

Thanks for the phonetic spelling Dems! Making fun of Southern accents in a press release is a sure way gain the hearts of the voters of the south.

Miller has addressed how the Dems feel about the South and how the South views the dems:

John Edwards doesn't have anything to do with Democrats carrying the South. He's an articulate spokesman and the no. 2 guy from the Democratic primaries. But southerners won't vote because of a zip code or an accent. They'll vote based on where candidates stand on the issues.

I used to have a fairly strong southern accent, but gradually lost it over the years. So much so that I was accused of talking too fast by a group of New Yorkers after presenting a two-day seminar in Long Island. But that does not mean I am ashamed of having spoken that way or think that my friends and neighbors who do are somehow less intelligent.

The Dems though, apparently having written off the South, show they love this stereotype by making fun of Zell Miller in their press release. Good job, guys! Thanks for making fun of the way we Southerners speak.

Finally, let me ax you something: What do you think would happen if the Republicans issued a press release where they made fun of a speaker with a different sort of accent? I am pretty sure that the shizzle would hit the fan-izzle in the media.

Update: What do you know, the Dems took down the press release from their web site. You can find it, and some more commentary on it, here.

Russians against, uh, somebody or something

Apparently, the Russians press is doing just about as good of a job as the America press is in articulating who might have been behind the terrorist attack on the school in Beslan, Russia (from the Chicago Tribune, reprinted in today's Atlanta Journal Constitution; emphasis mine):

"What did we do to deserve this?" one woman in the gym shouted. "Why didn't they protect us?"

Several young men in the crowd said they were ready to take up arms and fight, though they found it hard to articulate who the enemy was.

"We don't know who the fight will be against. Maybe it will be against our government," said Dzambulat Khodov, whose aunt, uncle and nephew died in the siege. "Regardless, this is the time to take up arms, because the blood that was spilled was ours. Who among us can just go home and live calmly?"

Maybe the Russians are reading the New York Times (from the same Malkin post linked above):

Take a look at how this front-page New York Times article describes the perpetrators of the siege in Beslan. Notice anything? The killers are called "guerrillas" and "fighters" and "armed captors" but not "terrorists." At one point the article grudgingly refers to these savage murderers as "people that Mr. Putin calls terrorists." In more than 1,750 words, the article includes not one reference to the religion of the Muslim perpetrators. Not one.

Still, some in the media are willing to call a terrorist a terrorist:

Earlier reports said 10 of the dead attackers were from Arab countries. Chechens have been affiliated with the al Qaeda terror network, and an Arab connection suggests a further link between the Chechen rebel movement and international terrorism.

The Russians quoted above might not know how to direct their anger, they are not sure who they are supposed to fight. Good thing the United States has a leader who knows:

From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime. Our nation has been put on notice, we're not immune from attack. We will take defensive measures against terrorism to protect Americans.

I invite the Russians to join us in going on the offensive against terrorists and their state supporters. The time for duplicitous action in opposing the United States is over. It is time for us all to join together to wipe out Islamic terrorism.