I call bullshit

So, how much electronic ink has been spilled in the last two days over the 60 Minutes documents' authenticity? Even normally sane people like Max are weighing in on this bullshit distraction. CNN, that powerhouse of reasoned reporting, solemnly informs us that "Independent document examiner Sandra Ramsey Lines said the memos looked like they had been produced on a computer using Microsoft Word software." Then they go on to offer the dumbest piece of evidence possible: "She produced a nearly identical document using her computer's Microsoft Word software."

Well, that convinces me. Of course, I could also produce a fair copy of the Gutenberg Bible in MS Word too - or at least a fair copy of a fax of a photocopy, which is what Lines was working from. Clearly, the Gutenberg Bible is also a forgery.

NB: Sandra Ramsey Lines may work independently, but I doubt she votes that way. A quick Googling reveals that she has made two donations to The Wish List, a 527 raising funds for Republican women running for office (not that I think that's a bad thing to do, by the way).

So. CBS News prepares a major, much-hyped report on the President's disputed National Guard service, they get first-hand testimony on tape from Ben Barnes, and then they supplement this ground-breaking news by having someone toss together a couple of forgeries on a desktop computer? Look, it's bad enough for the mainstream media to get distracted by these shiny objects Karl Rove keeps dangling before them. The rest of us need to act like grownups, and stay on task.

Kudos to Dan Rather last night - he looked righteously pissed, and I say it's about time.