Molly Ivins and the Little Red Book

The story of the innocent Dartmouth student who was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security for checking out Mao's Little Red Book made the rounds quickly.

Originally reported by reporter Aaron Nicodemus in SouthCoastToday.com, the story grew legs:

shrieked here by Gary Leupp in counterpunch,

and at The Daily Kos,

at truthout,

This story had everything. Irony: the student was researching fascism and repression. It came on the heels of allegations of government "eavesdropping" on al Qaeda cell phone conversation with Americans. It "exposed" Bush adminstration bumbling.

As it turns out, the story was a hoax.

And certified loonie lib columnist Molly Ivins was forced to apologize for spreading the story in her column.

Ha-ha.