Monday morning roundup

It was a slow weekend for blogging, but plenty is going on, as you probably already know.

First, CBS is now admitting that "they were mislead" on the National Guard memos.

Mr. Rather interviewed Mr. Burkett on camera this weekend, and several people close to the reporting process said his answers to Mr. Rather's questions led officials to conclude that their initial confidence that the memos had come from Mr. Killian's own files was not warranted. These people indicated that Mr. Burkett had previously led the producer of the piece, Mary Mapes, to have the utmost confidence in the material.

It was unclear last night if Mr. Burkett had told Mr. Rather that he had been misled about the documents' provenance or that he had been the one who did the misleading.

And it doesn't really matter to CBS anyway, does it? They were able to get their story out - in fact, they were able to get TWO full stories out on 60 Minutes that were based entirely on false information and forged documentation. What is most disappointing about this whole affair is that - not only did Rather & Co. pull a broadcasting hoax, I'm confident that there will be no real repercussions for Rather or CBS.

They will come out with some statement containing a pseudo-admission of guilt, then they'll move on, concocting the next campaign flim-flam - one with less loose ends, I would imagine - in support of their chosen saviors, Lurch & John Boy. No matter what else comes out, or how much bloggers and alternative news outlets try to hold CBS' feet to the fire, nothing will come of this. I'll still be listening to contrived drunken colloquialisms from Dan Rather on election night in November, and to quote Jocelyn Elders, "that bothers me."

In other news, is anyone else offended by Madonna's pilgrimage to Israel this past week? Surely no one with one eye and a lick of sense buys this bullshit. It's disappointing that Israeli officials were so quick to lick her boots on this trip, but as the article points out, they need tourist dollars in a desperate way.

Israel hopes the star - the biggest pop celebrity to visit in years - will revive tourism battered by four years of violence, and government officials were on hand at a Tel Aviv hotel to share the spotlight, the glory and the photographs.

She made it clear, however, that she's only there to find out what Israel keeps doing to make people hate the Jews with such a passion.

Speaking without notes, Madonna said the people she met during her five-day Holy Land trip "have one thing in common - we want to create peace in the world."

"We want to put an end to chaos and suffering," she said, "but most of all we want to put an end to hatred with no reason."

The singer said she was not representing a religion. Rather, she said, "I'm here as a student of kabbala. A kabbalist sees the world as a unified whole. A kabbalist asks why."

Thank God Esther is here! Or whatever the hell her name is this month. This self-absorbed hag learned well from her hero Bill Clinton, however, imitating his performance at the Ron Brown funeral:

Led by a rabbi, Madonna and her small entourage recited blessings over food and wine, drank from small plastic cups and circled the raised stone grave. Toward the end of the ceremony, Madonna wiped tears from her eyes.

I'm moved. In fact, so much so, that I'm heading for the toilet right now.