Just as an aside, the cartoon where Ted Rall calls Condoleeza Rice a “house nigga” is just unreal....it's amazing that liberals seem to allow themslves the privilege of expressive racist views

Let me get this straight: The documents are almost without a possible doubt forgeries. And forging such documents is a crime in Texas. So why hasn't anyone investigated these documents anyway? It almost makes you think there might be something to them after all!

Was she the victim of a hoax or not?

It was a hoax, yes. But Mapes wasn't a victim- she was one of the perpetrators.

Completely off topic, but have you seen the Op-Ed page of the NY Times today? If anything is worth blogging, genocide is.

Let's get real. Any private investigator looking into these memos would eventually run foursquare into Bill Burkett.
The T-B panel report gave at least 3 different stories about how the documents originated and the blogs had at least 1 more realistic (non conspiratorial) story. All these stories eventually trace back to, none other than, Bill Burkett, master storyteller (and part-time liar).

So exactly where does the truth go from there ? It doesn't, at least as far as authenticating these memos.

Next question (watch carefully here), what damn fool was stupid enough to believe Bill Burkett and why would they belief him, at all, when he is an obvious master storyteller (and part-time liar) ? This is where Mapes got in trouble with the PI. Mapes is that damn fool.

Well, yes, Neo, except that I don't think Mapes actually "believed" that the memos were real. I think she was stupid enough not to understand how easily debunked they would be.

Amy- scroll down about a half-dozen entries. It's being discussed.

Aha, absolute certainty exists! Beyond a reasonable doubt?

i am a reporter who did a fair amount of reporting and investigating on this when it broke.

my conclusion FWIW is that until legal proceedings are begun, and discovery is forced, we will never know the answer of who, if anyone, gave them to bill burkett. recall: BB said he was given them out of the blue at an agricultural fair in Houston--actually, he had recieved a deep-throat sort of call asking him to go there, but you catch the drift.

also: CBS has truly valid reasons for this clintonian "we dont know if they are conclusively forgeries" schtick. if they admit they ran forgeries--combined with the ineptitude journalistically they've already copped to--they have real legal liability.

For over 50 years the only racists in America have been liberals.

Mary and Dan tried to perpetrate a hoax. They had been working on the TANG smear since 1998. Viacom spent tens of $millions on "researching" the smear.

Hey, at least "they tried", which is more than I would usually say about the MSM.

Bigotry characterizes Leftists and Islamofascists. They done got a thought defect, literally.

Rod — Everybody knows the people who gave Burkett the memos were the same people who gave that Boston Globe reporter the tip to ask about Kerry's Magic Hat...

The hat he got on Christmas 1968 in Cambodia doing secret stuff for Nixon - who was not even President yet?