All sorts of Americans are suddenly experts on the “British meaning” of the word “fixed.” Last night, Hardball’s Downing Street Minutes special dwelled on the subject at length.

Former CIA director James Woolsey:

I think that`s not what fixing means in these circumstances. I think people are not listening to British usage. I don`t think they`re talking about cooking the books.

Former weapons inspector David Kay:

Now, in the normal American sense of the word, to me, that`s books are cooked….There is another English meaning for that, so it`s unclear as to what it does mean.

But what does the British journalist who broke the story have to say about the so-called controversy?:

Michael Smith: There are number of people asking about fixed and its meaning. This is a real joke. I do not know anyone in the UK who took it to mean anything other than fixed as in fixed a race, fixed an election, fixed the intelligence. If you fix something, you make it the way you want it…fixed means the same here as it does there…

This isn’t too surpising. We do speak the same language after all.

UPDATE: For more, check out Media Matters.

Rush Limbaugh has decided to start covering the Downing Street Minutes. He wasn’t interested in the memos when they were first revealed and contained damaging allegations about the pre-war intelligence on Iraq. But since right-wing rumor mongers have recently decided to take a shot at destroying the reputation of the British journalist (Michael Smith) who reported on the memos, he thought it would be a good time to weigh in.

Limbaugh: “I purposely haven’t talked about this Downing Street memo much because, frankly, it didn’t interest me. And, you know, if it doesn’t interest me I’m not going to talk about it. And the reason it didn’t interest me is because it was just another one of these ginned up things by the libs, and it looks like it’s got some similarities to Bill Burkett and the forged documents of CBS and Rathergate It seems to me this name Michael Smith, seems to me that there was a guy by the same name who worked with Mary Mapes at CBS during this whole Rathergate.”

As reported on ThinkProgress yesterday, CBS has denied that this is the same Michael Smith who worked for Mapes. But the right feels they are entitled to spread whatever rumors they want based on scant evidence. The good news is that Rush seems to be joining the call for the White House to be asked whether they in fact dispute the authenticity of the memos.

Yesterday, Rep. John N. Hostettler (R-IN) stood on the floor of the House of Representatives and said: “Like a moth to a flame, Democrats can’t help themselves when it comes to denigrating and demonizing Christians.”

Outrage ensued, obviously. But Hostettler’s hateful statement shouldn’t have come as any surprise; for months right-wing radicals have been leading an ugly, ugly campaign to disparage the religious beliefs of liberals ane paint them as somehow “anti-God.” Remember:

During the election, Republicans in West Virginia and Arkansas were caught mailing out flyers that said liberals wanted to ban the Bible. The pamphlets actually featured a photo of the Bible with a big, red “BANNED” stamped across the front.

After the election, Jerry Falwell said Americans who didn’t vote for George Bush did not “take the Bible seriously.” He also told CNN Democrats were on an “anti-God, anti-Christ, anti-religion kick.”

Rush Limbaugh opined liberals “don’t like God.”

Evangelical leader Bob Jones told conservatives “you owe liberals nothing. They despise you because they despise your Christ.”

Joe Scarborough attacked liberals for “taking solace” in “bigoted anti-Christian screeds.”

As religious leader Jim Wallis has said, ‘there are millions of Christians who want the nation to know…that Jesus isn’t pro-rich, pro-war and only pro-American. We don’t find that Jesus anywhere in the bible. ” It’s time for right-wing extremists like Hostettler to stop trying to use God as a political pawn.