Rather than try to hide the fact that I royally flubbed up earlier today, I've decided to admit my mistake to the Daily Kos community, apologize, and say thank you for catching the error so quickly.
Since I deleted the diary within minutes of publishing it, per the recommendation of some highly respected Kossacks, the only way to reference it is to post some embarrassing segments below.
The information was sent to me by someone I trust - someone who has sent me solid information in the past. We were both duped. After listening to the audio and reading the story, I was excited to get the story out on Daily Kos. And what's worse - I prefaced the title with a big fat, 'BREAKING.' Had it been true, it certainly would have deserved the 'breaking' honor. And yes, okay, I admit it, my thoughts foolishly traveled to 'Watergate' for just a few egotistical seconds. How silly of me. I did look up Veterans Today and everything 'seemed' legitimate, but I skimmed through it so fast. I spent more time (hours) transcribing the text from the video, when I should have dug deeper and sought the advice of some of my writing mentors before posting something that appeared to be this big.
And you know that tiny little feeling you get in the pit of your stomach that says, 'Hold up. Something's not right here'… while the rest of your being is screaming, 'WTF are you waiting for? GO!'? I should know by now not to ignore that little guy.
For those who did not see the diary while it was up, here is the video/audio of the hoax and the Veterans Today story just below it.
And here is the Veterans Today article I read and linked:
To the trained ears/eyes, or to one looking for it, this might scream hoax. Not so much for me. I can't figure out why anyone would fabricate this story. What is there to gain? Can't Sundquist and Songstad file a
cease and dismiss order then sue Veterans Today for slander/libel? After living in Tennessee for close to 30 years, I also admit, I was a bit too eager to see the former Republican Governor Sundquist go down hard - but only with truth and facts. Otherwise, I'm no better than Fox news.
So once again, I apologize and thank you. I continue to learn the hard way - and the right way, from the Daily Kos community.